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Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain began in the late 19th century. A range of voltages has been used, employing both overhead lines and conductor rails. The two most common systems are 25 kV AC using overhead lines, and the 750 V DC third rail system used in Southeast England and on Merseyrail. As of October 2023, 6,065 kilometres (3,769 mi) (38%) of the British rail network was electrified.
According to Network Rail, as at 2003, 64% of the electrified network used the 25 kV AC overhead system, and 36% used the 660/750 V DC third-rail system.
The electrified network is set to expand over the coming years, as 25 kV electrification is extended to currently unelectrified lines such as the Midland Main Line, as well as lines in the North of England as part of the Northern Hub.
The first electric railway in Great Britain was Volk's Electric Railway in Brighton, a pleasure railway, which opened in 1883, still functioning to this day. The London Underground began operating electric services using a fourth rail system in 1890 on the City and South London Railway, now part of the London Underground Northern line. The Liverpool Overhead Railway followed in 1893, being designed from the outset to be electric traction, unlike the City and South London Railway which was designed to be cable hauled initially.
Main line electrification of some suburban lines began in the early years of the 20th century, using a variety of different systems. The Mersey Railway converted to 600 V DC electric multiple-unit operation on 3 May 1903, thus eliminating the problems caused by steam traction in the long tunnel under the River Mersey, and the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway's Liverpool Exchange to Southport (and on to Crossens) suburban commuter line was similarly electrified at 625 V by March 1904. Both of these lines initially used a fourth rail system.
Other early projects followed German practice at the time and installed AC OLE systems at a lower frequency (in this case 25 Hz) than mains electricity (50–60 Hz). This was initially pioneered by the Midland Railway on the short line between Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham in 1908 using AC OLE at 6.6kV 25 Hz. This was quickly followed in 1909 by a more extensive scheme in South London using similar technical standards on the suburban line between London Bridge and Victoria. Further extensions of 6.6kV OLE in South London were swiftly pursued throughout the 1910s and 1920s. However, the system was fully removed in 1929 and replaced with 660V DC 3rd rail following the grouping of these lines into the wider Southern Railway that preferred the conductor rail system implemented by the former London and Southwestern Railway.
Wishing to avoid a repeat of the Gauge War, the Ministry of Transport commissioned inquiries into implementing a standard system for future rail electrification schemes other than London Underground lines. An advisory committee in 1921 recommended 1,500V DC for both overhead and third rail systems. This was reviewed by a committee chaired by Sir John Pringle in 1927 which revised the recommendation to 1,500V DC overhead and 750V DC third rail systems, which was formalised in legislation in 1932.
After World War II and the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, British Railways (BR) expanded electrification at both 1,500 V DC overhead and 660/750 V third rail. In 1951, a British Transport Commission review of electrification generally endorsed the findings of the Pringle Committee, but additionally recommended further investigation into advances in 50 Hz AC electrification. The following year, the Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham 6.6kV 25 Hz AC line was experimentally converted to 50 Hz. The success of this experiment, combined with the successful 25kV electrification at Aix-les-Bains, led BR in 1956 to adopt 25kV 50 Hz AC overhead as standard for all projects outside logical extensions of third-rail systems under the Modernisation Plan, and the 1932 regulations were revoked. The Plan authorised the electrification of the West Coast Main Line as far as Manchester and Liverpool along with diversionary routes through Stoke and around Birmingham. This was a significant step in the history of British electrification – not only for implementing new technological standards, but also in scale and scope of the work. This delivered close to 200 route miles of continuous electrified railway serving long distance and higher speed passenger services as well as significant freight traffic and several suburban lines. Up to this point the longest electrified route was 87 miles between London and Portsmouth via Arundel on the 3rd rail DC system and most electrification had been specifically for commuter and suburban traffic. Although the West Coast Main Line was the main headline for electrification under the 1955 plan, it also sanctioned other AC suburban schemes in Glasgow and North East London/South Essex that were delivered in the early 1960s as well as significant expansions of the 3rd rail system throughout Kent and from west of Woking to Bournemouth removing steam traction.
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Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain began in the late 19th century. A range of voltages has been used, employing both overhead lines and conductor rails. The two most common systems are 25 kV AC using overhead lines, and the 750 V DC third rail system used in Southeast England and on Merseyrail. As of October 2023, 6,065 kilometres (3,769 mi) (38%) of the British rail network was electrified.
According to Network Rail, as at 2003, 64% of the electrified network used the 25 kV AC overhead system, and 36% used the 660/750 V DC third-rail system.
The electrified network is set to expand over the coming years, as 25 kV electrification is extended to currently unelectrified lines such as the Midland Main Line, as well as lines in the North of England as part of the Northern Hub.
The first electric railway in Great Britain was Volk's Electric Railway in Brighton, a pleasure railway, which opened in 1883, still functioning to this day. The London Underground began operating electric services using a fourth rail system in 1890 on the City and South London Railway, now part of the London Underground Northern line. The Liverpool Overhead Railway followed in 1893, being designed from the outset to be electric traction, unlike the City and South London Railway which was designed to be cable hauled initially.
Main line electrification of some suburban lines began in the early years of the 20th century, using a variety of different systems. The Mersey Railway converted to 600 V DC electric multiple-unit operation on 3 May 1903, thus eliminating the problems caused by steam traction in the long tunnel under the River Mersey, and the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway's Liverpool Exchange to Southport (and on to Crossens) suburban commuter line was similarly electrified at 625 V by March 1904. Both of these lines initially used a fourth rail system.
Other early projects followed German practice at the time and installed AC OLE systems at a lower frequency (in this case 25 Hz) than mains electricity (50–60 Hz). This was initially pioneered by the Midland Railway on the short line between Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham in 1908 using AC OLE at 6.6kV 25 Hz. This was quickly followed in 1909 by a more extensive scheme in South London using similar technical standards on the suburban line between London Bridge and Victoria. Further extensions of 6.6kV OLE in South London were swiftly pursued throughout the 1910s and 1920s. However, the system was fully removed in 1929 and replaced with 660V DC 3rd rail following the grouping of these lines into the wider Southern Railway that preferred the conductor rail system implemented by the former London and Southwestern Railway.
Wishing to avoid a repeat of the Gauge War, the Ministry of Transport commissioned inquiries into implementing a standard system for future rail electrification schemes other than London Underground lines. An advisory committee in 1921 recommended 1,500V DC for both overhead and third rail systems. This was reviewed by a committee chaired by Sir John Pringle in 1927 which revised the recommendation to 1,500V DC overhead and 750V DC third rail systems, which was formalised in legislation in 1932.
After World War II and the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, British Railways (BR) expanded electrification at both 1,500 V DC overhead and 660/750 V third rail. In 1951, a British Transport Commission review of electrification generally endorsed the findings of the Pringle Committee, but additionally recommended further investigation into advances in 50 Hz AC electrification. The following year, the Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham 6.6kV 25 Hz AC line was experimentally converted to 50 Hz. The success of this experiment, combined with the successful 25kV electrification at Aix-les-Bains, led BR in 1956 to adopt 25kV 50 Hz AC overhead as standard for all projects outside logical extensions of third-rail systems under the Modernisation Plan, and the 1932 regulations were revoked. The Plan authorised the electrification of the West Coast Main Line as far as Manchester and Liverpool along with diversionary routes through Stoke and around Birmingham. This was a significant step in the history of British electrification – not only for implementing new technological standards, but also in scale and scope of the work. This delivered close to 200 route miles of continuous electrified railway serving long distance and higher speed passenger services as well as significant freight traffic and several suburban lines. Up to this point the longest electrified route was 87 miles between London and Portsmouth via Arundel on the 3rd rail DC system and most electrification had been specifically for commuter and suburban traffic. Although the West Coast Main Line was the main headline for electrification under the 1955 plan, it also sanctioned other AC suburban schemes in Glasgow and North East London/South Essex that were delivered in the early 1960s as well as significant expansions of the 3rd rail system throughout Kent and from west of Woking to Bournemouth removing steam traction.