The Anonymous Widower

Rail Freight At A Crossroads

I take the headline from this article in Rail Magazine, which is entitled Coal power station closures place rail freight at “important crossroads”.

The article talks about how the closure of coal-fired power stations and the reduction in size of the steel industry, will bring about fundamental changes to the pattern of freight on the railways.

The rail freight industry must develop new markets to take more and more trucks off the roads.

The article says that the industry is looking for government support to improve the East Coast Main Line, the West Coast Main Line and the routes to Felixstowe.

I would also add in the routes that serve the poorly-sited London Gateway, which mean too many noisy and smelly Class 66 locomotives pull freight across North London.

Life is about give-and-take, so it would be wrong to electrify routes that could be used by freight, without the freight companies investing in new electric locomotives.

But Class 66 diesel locomotives are a cheap solution that can go anywhere, that are unloved by those living by rail lines and also by drivers.

Diesel locomotives also mean that they make port and distribution depot operations safer and more efficient. You wouldn’t want idiots with cranes in an area with masses of overhead wires.

Incidentally, the Class 66 locomotives do not meet the current European emission regulations.

But solutions have been designed and are now available.

• The Class 88 locomotive is an electro diesel locomotive, that is primarily an electric locomotive, with a large on-board diesel engine, for use when there is no electrification.
• The TRAXX Last Mile locomotive may also be suitable for some routes, but is probably two big for the small British loading gauge.

I feel that as Vossloh Espana, who make the Class 88, has just been taken over by Stadler, who seem to me to have a reputation for innovation, that the Class 88, may be our best hope for less intrusive freight trains.

It is worth looking at how the Class 88 would help on one route that I know well; Felixstowe to Peterborough and then up the East Coast Main Line to the North.

The route is as follows.

• Felixstowe to Ipswich – A branch line that is not electrified. The Port of Felixstowe have said that they would pay for dualling some of the branch, but they haven’t and have pushed fir the removal of passenger trains from the branch.
• Ipswich to Peterborough – Except for a few miles to Haughley Junction the line is not electrified.
• Peterborough to Doncaster – The East Coast Main Line is electrified, but many freight trains now use the Great Northern Great Eastern Joint Line through Lincoln.
• North of Doncaster – Some routes to Leeds, Newcastle and Scotland are electrified.

So a quick naive look, might say that a Class 88 would be ideal for the route.

But.

• A new Class 88 would probably be more expensive to lease than an old Class 66.
• The Class 66 has a power output of 2,460 kW, whereas the Class 88 has only 700 kW from its diesel.

The freight industry’s preferred option is probably that all routes are electrified, but not at their expense!

But even then there are no new electric locomotives, that fit the UK loading gauge! The freight industry is probably looking jealously at the elderly Class 90 locomotives used for London-Norwich trains and hoping that the line gets electric multiple units.

I’m certain that for cost reasons, the industry would prefer to stick to its beloved Class 66.

I think that London is key to weaning the freight companies away from the dreadful Class 66 locomotives.

When the Gospel Oak to Barking Line has been electrified, London could be in the position to ban Class 66 locomotives from that line and the North London Line, if a few extra pieces of electrification were performed.

But it won’t happen!

I would also like to see the Government make freight companies run locomotives that met the current European regulations.

November 19, 2015 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 66 Locomotive, Freight