An Interloper At Euston
I took these pictures as I came through Euston on Saturday night, as I returned from Blackburn.
The engine is an immaculate Class 86 locomotive, which was built in the 1960s.
According to Wikipedia, Freightliner still have ten upwards of the locomotives in service and I recently saw two working together on a long intermodal freight service through Dalston Kingsland station.
They may have been bog-standard electric locomotives in their day, but surely if they can be restored and kept running, they are probably a lot more affotdable for main line use by charters, than anything else.
I would assume that E3137 had been hauling a charter into Euston. Long may it continue to do this.
An Excursion To Clitheroe
On Saturday morning before the football, I took a train along the Ribble Valley Line to Clitheroe and back to have a look.
On the way back I stopped to have a look at the 48-arch Whalley Viaduct. Whalley is also a village with an ruins of an abbey.
Clitheroe reminded me very much of a Lancashire version of several I know well in Suffolk.
From the new houses, that I saw in the area, I suspect it’s becoming more important as a dormitory town.
The later history of the Ribble Valley Line between Manchester Victoria and Hellifield via Bolton, Blackburn and Clitheroe, is one of closure and reopening.
- Blackburn to Hellifield was closed to passengers in 1962.
- The only train, other than freight and diversions, was a once a week train between Manchester and Glasgow, which stopped in 1964.
- Blackburn to Bolton was reduced to a single-track.
- Public pressure led to a service between Blackburn and Clitheroe in 1994.
- Later a Sunday service was started between Blackburn and Hellifield.
- The line became a community rail line in 2007.
In the last few years, Network Rail have spent millions of pounds on improvements.
- A five million scheme renewed the permanent way between Blackburn and Clitheroe in 2008.
- Sections of single track have been doubled.
- Signalling has been improved.
- Line speed has been increased.
- Platforms have been lengthened.
- The passing loop at Darwen has been lengthened.
Builders certainly seemed to have been at work on the stations between Clitheroe and Whalley.
It All Happens In 2017
All of this should mean that two trains per hour (tph), can run between Manchester Victoria and Clitheroe in December 2017.
Probably by design rather than co-incidence, December 2017 is also given as the opening date of the Ordsall Chord and the completion of the electrification of the Manchester to Preston Line.
A year later, in December 2018 there could be the extra two through platforms into use at Manchester Pioccadilly, which will help alleviate capacity problems.
I don’t think we’ll see direct services between Clitheroe and London, but an improved Ribble Valley Line connecting with Manchester’s new cross-city line can only be good for passengers.
Things that could or should happen include.
- Two tph between Manchester Victoria and Clitheroe has virtually been promised.
- The service will become faster because of track improvement and new trains in a few years. Applying a conservative estimate reduces the end-to-end journey time from seventy-five to somewhere around fifty minutes.
- The Manchester Victoria to Clitheroe service could probably run two tph each of four carriages by December 2018. It all depends on rolling stock deliveries.
- TransPennine services will go through Manchester Victoria and any sensible train planner would arrange a decent link between Clitheroe and TransPennine services.
It will certainly be a big improvement.
Manchester Airport And Clitheroe
One journey that illustrates how the Ordsall Chord will improve services, is getting between Clitheroe and Manchester Airport.
Currently, these are typical timings.
- Clitheroe to Manchester Victoria – 75 minutes
- |Cliteroe to Manchester Airport via Bolton – 126 minutes
- Salford Crescent to Manchester Victoria – 9 minutes
- Salford Crescent to Manchester Airport – 30 minutes
As Manchester Victoria to Manchester Airport, is effectively via Salford Crescent with the train taking a short cut, it’s probably reasonable to assume that Manchester Victoria to Manchester Airport won’t be more than 39 minutes.
Current services take about twenty minutes from Manchester Piccadilly, but it’s not a proper airport service, which the full route to Victoria could be.
- It doesn’t use the same platforms every time.
- The trains are not built for heavy luggage.
The service certainly doesn’t say Manchester is open for business.
Wikipedia says this about services to Manchester Airport after the Ordsall Chord opens.
On completion, it is anticipated that the chord would allow four trains per hour to travel between Manchester Airport/Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria in each direction, with a further eight trains per hour possible from Manchester Victoria towards the west via Chat Moss, and six trains per hour from Manchester Piccadilly towards either Chat Moss or Bolton and Preston.
So this means that even if you just miss the connection at Manchester Victoria, you’d only wait a maximum of fifteen minutes for the next train to the Airport.
As I think we can reasonably assume that there will be a Clitheroe to Manchester Victoria time of around fifty minutes, this means that Clitheroe to the Airport could be about ninety minutes plus how long you wait at Victoria for the Airport train.
But I suspect there could be a better connection for Manchester Airport at Bolton.
If you opt for a route with only one change, then the journey takes a few minutes over two hours, often with a wait of thirty-five minutes, whilst trains are changed at Bolton.
- A route with only one change at Bolton, takes a few minutes over two hours, often with a wait of thirty-five minutes at the change.
- I wouldn’t be surprised to see Clitheroe to Manchester Airport in under ninety minutes via Bolton, with the current trains, after the Ordsall Chord is opened.
- But hopefully in |December 2017, Bolton to Manchester Airport will be served by 100 mph electric trains.
- December 2018 could bring the extra two through platforms into use at Manchester Pioccadilly.
Incidentally, various web sites, say it takes an hour to go by car.
One project that will speed up these services is the updating of Bolton station. I showed pictures and made some small assumptions in this post called Bolton Station.
I think it would be possible to have same- or cross-platform interchange between the following services.
- Clitheroe and Manchester Victoria.
- Preston and Manchester Piccadilly/Airport
- Preston and Manchester Victoria
- Wigan Wallgate and Manchester Piccadilly/Airport
This happens to a certain extent at Bolton already, as the Windsor Link Line allows trains to go direct from Bolton to Manchester Piccadilly and onto Manchester Airport.
If it could be arranged that the frequency between Bolton and Manchester Airport was 4 tph, then this would mean a maximum wait of fifteen minutes.
Currently, the frequency is a miserly 2 tph, which explains the long waits at Bolton.
Manchester Piccadilly
I suspect that because even with the Ordsall Chord built, that Piccadilly with its completion date a year later could be the main bottleneck.
You could say run twelve-car semi-fast Class 319 trains from Preston to Manchester Airport,, but if Mancunians are anything like Londoners for ducking and diving, then this could just add to the congestion at Manchester Piccadilly.
It all shows the problems of how the adding of the two extra platforms 13 and 14 in the 1960s was not a project that had any degree of future proofing.
When I see those draded numbers 13 and 14 against my train to or from Manchester Piccadilly, I breathe a sigh and ask myself, why I came this way.
Trains always seem to be late through the platforms and sometimes, I feel the platforms aren’t the safest.
Onward From Clitheroe
I have not taken the line northward from Clitheroe to Hellifield, where it joins to the Leeds to Morecambe Line with its connections to the Settle and Carlisle Line.
At present the historic Settle route is closed after last winter’s storms, but Network Rail is spending £23million to bring it back into top condition.
With the new franchise saying it will run extra trains on this route, I feel that the Settle route will have a busy future.
Blackburn to Carlisle via Settle is certainly a trip I want to take.
You have to ask the following questions about the current services to Clitheroe
- When two tph are going from Manchester Victoria to Clitheroe, should one tph go on to Hellifield?
- Given rivalry across the Pennines, do loyal Lancastrains feel that Leeds has no right to services along the Settle route and some should start in the county of the red rose?
From what I saw of the Ribble Valley Line at Blackburn, Whalley and Clitheroe, the track and stations would certainly be up to the increased footfall.
All the line needs is modern trains.
Conclusion
Without doubt, the Ribble Valley Line is ready to take its place in that group of secondary and rural rail lines across the North, that will take be good for the locals and will attract tourists to the area.
Around Blackburn Station
I stayed in the Premier Inn by Blackburn station and I took these pictures of the area around the station and the nearby Blackburn cathedral.
It is an arrangement, that gives the visitor a good welcome to the town. It has the scent of the unexpected about it.
Note these points about the station and the trains.
- The station has recently been rebuilt, but the new trains won’t arrive for a couple of years.
- There are a lot of direct trains across the North from the station to places like Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester, Preston and York, with a couple of rural branch lines in the interesting category.
- Station staff are not very numerous, when you need them.
- You’ll have to hunt the ticket machine.
- There is a Booking Office for buying Ranger and Rover tickets.
- Some parts of the station are showing poor quality construction.
- A return ticket up the Clitheroe Line to Clitheroe cost me £2.50 with a Railcard.
I think with the new trains and some more services, things can only get better.
I might even close the Booking Office, put two ticket machines on each main platform group; 1 to 3 and 4, and get the staff more visible.
In the morning, I had a walk around the part of the town centre nearest to the station.
- There are no maps and just a few finger posts, but it’s not really a place to get lost.
- I bought my paper in a convenient Morrisons about two hundred metres from the station.
- I made the mistake going into the large Shopping Centre, but it was designed like a maze and I didn’t find what I was looking for.
- One gem, I did find later was Cafe Northcote in the Cathedral, where I had an extremely delicious gluten-free egg sandwich.
You could certainly waste an hour or so enjoyably in Blackburn, whilst waiting for a train.
If I compare it to various mid-size towns and cities, where you might miss an hourly train home or get seriously delayed, you get the following.
- Brighton, Cambridge, Liverpool Lime Street, Oxford and Reading – Acceptable for everybody including gluten-free, as there’s an M&S Simply Food in the station.
- Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich – Except for hot drinks and sandwiches, there’s nothing. And you’re away from the centre!
- Derby, Doncaster, Leicester, Nottingham and York – Dreadful, if like me you’re gluten-free.
- Rochester – You’re just across the road from the centre.
- Romford and Southend – You’re in the large town centre, with an M&S, pubs and cafes nearby.
In addition to being better than many in my list, in my view, Blackburn is certainly a better place to get stuck than Blackpool, Burnley or Preston.
Blackburn has certainly raised the stakes about creating a welcoming station.
Northern Rail’s Ticket Machines
This picture sums up Northern Rail’s ticketing machines; lonely, unreliable and crap.
A Niortern Rail Ticket Machine At Manchester Victoria Station
This machine at Manchester Victoria station did work though and after scratching around for a few coins, I was able to get to Blackburn.
A few other comments on my trip to Blackburn on Saturday.
- On my arrival at Liverpool Lime Street station, the queue for the ticket machine was at least fifteen people. So by the time, I’d bought a ticket, my train had left.
- At Manchester Victoria station, there were only two machines for a very busy station.
- At Blackburn station, the machine was hidden in the subway.
- I never saw a machine at the two small stations; Clitheroe and Whalley.
- The last two stations have independent platforms, so if you’re travelling from one without a ticket machine, you’ll have to have a long walk first.
- When I passed through Manchester Piccasdilly on Saturday evening, neither of the Northern Rail ticket machines were fully operational.
The company needs a lot more machines, hopefully with better functionality and reliability. They should also make sure they’re better placed.
Whilst, I’m giving Northern Rail a good kicking, here’s some more annoyances
A couple of stations I visited had a truly dreadful mobile phone signal. I think the law should be that all stations and bus stops should have a top class signal, so that those, who need to text or call their partner, friend or parents can do so.
The two-coach Class 156 train, I rode from Blackburn to Preston was the most overcrowded train I’ve ever ridden. The staff must have known it was so bad as Blackpool had just been beaten at Accrington. So why weren’t we told by the station staff?
Probably because they were keeping well away!
At least we had a nun on board and she probably prayed for our safe deliverance to Preston.
Surely, Northern could have rustled up another or bigger train from somewhere. A four-car Pacer would have been manna from heaven!
What’s missing from this picture?
Getting My Train To Blackburn
Although, it was the Peak, there was no prominent staff on the platform to help unload and load this four-car Pacer.
I had to look it up on the Internet, whether our train stopped at Rochdale for a fellow traveller.
Incidentally, Manchester Victoria is starting to look tired and dirty. Is it all the diesel exhaust?
Northern also seem to specialise in bad information on stations. The bus information at Blackburn was abysmal and pointed you to a non-existent bus stop to get to Ewood Park.
I do wonder that Northern are worried if they improve things, then too many passengers might want to use the service and they’d have to buy more trains.
Manchester Oxford Road Station
Manchester Oxford Road Station, is that rare animal, a modern station with a Grade II Listing.
Probably, the most significant thing about the listing of Manchester Oxford Road station, is that there are few stations, built in the 1960s, worthy of any merit.
c2c’s Class 387/3 Trains On Test At Crewe
I took these pictures of two Class 387 trains destined for c2c at Crrwe, as my train passed through on the way to Liverpool.
They were numbered 387301 and 387302 and their destination boards said they were going to Wembley Central.
Now that would make an interesting route for c2c!
Why Number The Trains As Class 387/3?
Seriously, though, I’m curious why the c2c trains are numbered as Class 387/3 trains, whereas the trains for Great Western Railway are all numbered as Class 387/1 trains.
This is said in Wikipedia about these trains.
In April 2016, c2c announced that it would operate six of the 20 additional units ordered by Porterbrook until a fleet of 68 new carriages are delivered in 2019.
So as they are a short term fleet, that will do the rounds of various operators, who are short of trains, perhaps starting a new group of numbers is good for housekeeping purposes at Bombardier?
On the other hand if c2c and its customers and staff like the new trains and c2c see that an all-Electrostar fleet has advantages for operational reasons, perhaps the extra 68 new carriages will be Class 387/3 trains.
After all, the highest number for a Class 387/1 is 387174, which only allows for another 25 trains in the sequence, before the numbers interfere with the Class 387/2 numbers.
Which all points to sensible housekeeping, as there is nothing on the Internet, to say there is any differences between the Class 387/1 and Class 387/3 trains.
Could The Class 387/3 Trains Have Batteries?
There are several well-publicised reasons for adding batteries to an electric multiple unit.
- Handling regenerative braking.
- Depots and stabling sidings without overhead wires.
- Train recovery in case of overhead power failure.
- Remote train start-up, ready for the driver.
- Extending routes over lines without electrification.
Note.
- The current Class 357 trains and all Class 387 trains have regenerative braking, so c2c routes can obviously handle it.
- c2c’s depot at Barking is crowded, but would they want the expense of building a second depot anyway.
- Train recovery could be very valuable, especially if a whole fleet was fitted.
- Remote train start-up is available for Aventras and I’ve met a couple of drivers, who would love it!
c2c likes to take a strong green stand as this page on their web site shows.
So the main serious reason we have left is route development.
An Innovative Scheme For A Rail Link To Glasgow Airport
This article on Renfrewshire 24 is entitled New Option Could See Glasgow Airport Rail Link Run From Relocated Glasgow St. James Station.
The new option, which is proposed by Junction 29 (Scotland) Ltd, would relocate Paisley St. James Street station nearer to the airport and it would be connected to the airport using a PRT system similar to that used at Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
This Google Map shows the area.
Note.
- Junction 29 of the M8 is the mass of spaghetti in the upper middle of the map, with the Inverclyde Line passing to the South-west of the junction.
- Paisley St. James station is towards the bottom of the map.
- Junction 29 (Scotland) Ltd. own the block of land to the West of the railway and the new station would be built in this area, where the PRT system would connect to the Airport.
I think it could be a feasible plan and these are my thoughts.
A Proven System
Wikipedia says this about the PRT System at Heathrow.
Construction of the guideway was completed in October 2008. The line is largely elevated, but includes a ground level section where the route passes under the approach to the airport’s northern runway. Following various trials, including some using airport staff as test passengers, the line opened to the public in May 2011 as a passenger trial. Subsequently it was made fully operational and the bus service between the business car park and Terminal 5 was discontinued. The pods use 50% less energy than a bus. They run 22 hours a day. Unlike all UK road and rail traffic, which drives on the left, the PRT system drives on the right. As of May 2013 the system passed the 600,000th passenger milestone.
The interesting thing, is that it runs under the runway approach, so it must have a fairly small footprint.
I actually think that using this system has other advantages.
- It could go on a roundabout route between the station and the Airport, serving car parks and other important places.
- It could serve the car parks, which are also proposed for the site.
- It could bring those with movement difficulties to the station for the Park-and-Ride to Paisley and Glasgow.
- It is very much a proven system.
- The tram-train alternative works in many places in the world, but the concept seems to cause Network Rail indegestion.
- The PRT System is independent of the railway.
But in my view the system’s biggest advantage is that it could have a serious wow factor for children of all ages.
Cost
The cost of the PRT option is quoted at £70-£80m, as opposed to £144m for the tram-train alternative.
Journey Times
Journey times to the airport will certainly be competitive, but I think the wow factor will encourage passengers to use it, whether they come by train or car to the station.
Why Would You Want To Close The Existing Station?
I would not close the existing Paisley St. James station for these reasons.
- It serves Paisley Town centre and St. Mirren Football Club.
- Closing it could be a hassle.
- Extra stations are never a bad thing.
- Modern trains stop and start again at a station very quickly.
- The new station could be called Glasgow Airport to avoid confusion.
But then there may be better reasons to close it.
Train Frequency
There needs to be at least four trains per hour (tph) to Paisley Gilmour Street and Glasgow.
If not more, as the frequency of the PRT system will annoy passengers waiting for the trains.
I also think that a turnback facility should be provided, so that a posh Airport shuttle train could work a 2 tph limited-stop service to Glasgow Central.
If Glasgow got its act together, the posh train could also serve Edinburgh.
Construction
It is stated in the Renfrewshire 24 article, that the new station and the PRT system could be built in twelve months alongside the existing network.
As all the land is owned by the Airport, Junction 29 and Network Rail, this must help, unless they find newts.
They could even lift a lot of the design of some of the other new stations like Kirkstall Forge.
Future Development
I’m sure Junction 29 (Scotland) Ltd. have got some good plans for the rest of their site.
Conclusion
Go for it! Glasgow has been procrastinating for far too long!
I think we’ll see a lot of systems like this around the world!
The system is described here in Wikipedia.
It’s British by the way and was developed in Cardiff and Bristol.
Behind London’s Contactless Ticketing
I have just read this article on London Reconnections, which is entitled Don’t Fear the Beeper: Bus Hopper Tickets and the Future of Oyster.
It is fascinating stuff and a lot consists of an interview with Shashi Verma, TfL’s Director of Technology and Customer Experience.
One thing that surprised me is that Oyster and Contactless have separate back-ends, but the two will be combined in 2018.
So I think we’ll see lots of new features coming in after 2018.
As many of these will improve the customer experience, isn’t Sadiq a lucky Mayor, as he’ll get the credit rather than the geek who had the idea and did the coding.
This is said in the article about the Bus Hopper
This isn’t to say, of course, that the Hopper was an entirely new idea.
“[It] is something we have wanted to do for years and years.” Verma confirms. “But we haven’t wanted to do in the way that some politicians have wanted it to be done.”
So it was there all along.
How many other things will be possible, when the back offices are combined?
Use With Railcards
According to this page on the TfL web site, railcards don’t work with contactless cards.
I would suspect that one feature after 2018, would be that if you create an account for contactless or Oyster and add a railcard to the account, your fares will be adjusted accordingly.
The system could also handle the very popular Two Together Railcard. You’d just register two accounts for each traveller with the same railcard, then if they’re both used within say five minutes for the same journey, the back office applies the discount.
Use With Freedom Pass
Once the back offices are combined, the Freedom Pass could be made to work in two ways.
As now!
Or it is registered in your TfL account along with your contactless card and the back office would charge you an appropriate fare.
So if say I wanted to go to Gatwick Airport or anywhere in the Oystercard area, I just tap in and out with my contactless bank card and the back office charges be the £3, I would be charged if I went to East Croydon using my Freedom Pass and left the station before coming back in using contactless to get a train to the Airport.
If such a method was possible, I would certainly use it, as quite a few of the journeys I do are just outside the Freedom Pass area, but still within the Oystercard area.
It would then mean that I would only have to carry one card in my pocket.
The Outer London Freedom Pass
Say you live in one of the administrative districts that ring London. I’ll use Epping Forest as an example.
Because of your age or circumstances, you are entitled to a bus pass, but you get no free travel on trains or the Underground.
If your local authority decided to have a Freedom Pass scheme for all travel in the district, you would get any train or tube travel between stations in the local authority or to the boundary of the area, free.
In the case of Epping Forest, you’d get the outer reaches of the Central Line.
So if you were travelling from Theydon Bois to Liverpool Street, you’d only get charged for the tube between Woodford or Grange Hill and Liverpool Street.
You would create a contactless/Oyster account on TfL and add your bus pass and/or railcard to the account.
The back office would do the rest and you’d travel all over the Oystercard area using your contactless card.
I think that some local authorities could look at this concept seriously to encourage card holders to shop locally.
Stations Could Allow Freedom Passes Outside Zone 6
I’ll take Greenhithe for Bluewater station as an example.
The clue is in the station name.
Suppose that the Shopping Centre felt it would get a lot more business from Freedom Pass holders if it were to be in Zone 6, would it pay for the cost of tickets for Freedom Pass holders to attract them to their relaxed shopping experience.
It should be noted that there are already stations outside Zone 6, like Watford High Street and Shenfield stations, that allow Freedom Passes provided you use the London Overground or TfL Rail.
Other possibilities include.
- Gravesend by an extended Crossrail.
- Gatwick Airport
- Watford Vicarage Road
- Windsor
Who knows, which local authorities, events and attractions would find subsidising travel worthwhile.
Imagine for instance Winter-only Off Peak use of a Freedom Pass to say Brighton or Southend.
Conclusion
Travel in London is going to get even more interesting.
I look forward to the day, when I have a single card in my pocket!
A Walk Around White Hart Lane Station
I took these pictures as I walked around the area between White Hart Lane station and Tottenham Hotspur‘s White Hart Lane stadium.
Looking at the station, I come to a few conclusions.
- It certainly isn’t fit for serving a 61,000-seater football stadium.
- The access to the platforms with staircases and no lifts or escalators is terrible and not much better than it was when I used it regularly in the early 1960s.
- The platforms look like, they might be able to handle a twelve-car train.
- The platforms are on top of what looks to be a solid well-built viaduct.
- Walking away from White Hart Lane towards the South, there would appear to be few important buildings alongside the viaduct.
I think this all leads to a unique situation you don’t often find in the rebuilding of a station. It would appear that if you clear the land on both sides of the railway along Penshurst Road and Love Lane, you can create a station that encloses the railway and gives access underneath. A similar situation was exploited at Haggerston and Hoxton stations to create very passenger-friendly stations.
This visualisation from the Architects Journal shows the station from the East.
I’ll repeat my nearest picture.
I think that it looks good.
Note that the rightmost arch, which is partially hidden in the second picture, is the rightmost arch in the visualisation.
If you look at the other pictures in the Architects Journal, it would appear that the two staircases go up in two sections to the platforms, in a similar way to they do in several of the Overeground’s rebuilt stations.
At least in common with London’s two other big club grounds at Arsenal and West Ham, White Hart Lane is served by several Underground and rail stations.
This station certainly, looks like it will handle its share.
I think there could be controversy, as there have been reports that Tottenham Hotspur would like to sell naming rights to the stadium and possibly the station, as other clubs have.
Renaming the stadium would probably not be controversial, but renaming the station could well be. It will certainly be expensive, as Transport for London would have to change a large quantity of maps.
As someone, who supports Ipswich, I don’t care.
Oxford Now Wants Silent Track
Network Rail must rue the day they agreed to extend the Chiltern Line to Oxford, as the locals have done everything they can to tell Network Rail, that they don’t want the new railway. I wrote about it in July 2015, in Network Rail’s Problems In Oxford.
This article in the Oxford Mail was published yesterday. This title is.
City council bosses to force Network Rail to install Silent Track on another stretch of North Oxford railway.
Which is a good precis of the article.
So what is silent track?
This article on Railway Technology is entitled Tata Steel’s SilentTrack to reduce noise levels at London Blackfriars station.
It gives a sensible explanation.
I know something about noise and vibration and feel very strongly that we should do what we can to minimise noise, where it causes problems.
Noise from a railway comes from several sources.
- The track
- Diesel locomotives and multiple units.
- Pantographs on electric locomotives and multiple units.
- Freight wagons.
All contribute to a various degree.
In my view, the worst noise comes from diesel locomotives like the noisy and smelly Class 66 locomotives and there is not much point on spending millions on silent track and then allowing these to run through sensitive areas.
The sooner lines like this one through North Oxford are electrified the better.
The Anonymous Widower 