The Train Station At The Northern End Of The Netherlands
Eemshaven station is the northernmost station in the Netherlands.
One of the reasons I went, was that the station is only a year old and I wanted to see how the Dutch build new stations.
Note this about the station.
- It is very basic, with few facilities.
- The single platform is very long.
- The station is surrounded by oil and gas installations on one side and the sea on the other.
It appears that for a lot of the day, the station gets two trains per hour.
This Google Map shows the station by the beach.
I would assume that most of the cars are those of workers at the oil and gas complex.
I returned on the train, I had arrived on, after a few minutes taking the pictures.
The Stadler GTW Train
Shown in the pictures is one of the Stadler GTW trains,which work the services in the North of the Netherlands.
- They are electric trains, with their own diesel power pack in the middle.
- This train had three passenger cars, but some only have two.
- Noise from the engine was noticeable and probably about the same in a Class 170 train.
- Ride quality wasn’t bad, considering the unusual configuration. But then the track looked very neat and tidy.
- Arriva call the trains Spurt.
Stadler have not stood still, since they built these trains and Greater Anglia’s new Class 755 trains are built by Stadler to similar principles.
At the turnround at Eemshaven with the driver. He indicated that there had been speculation about battery and hydrogen trains in the North of The Netherlands.
Level Crossing Accidents
An interesting aside is to look at the Wikipedia entry for Spurt.
Three of the trains have been involved in serious level crossing accidents.
The Dutch Plan For Hydrogen
This now a separate post at The Dutch Plan For Hydrogen.
Changing Trains At Zwolle Station
Zwolle is a place that has stuck in my mind since I was about ten and had my first decent atlas. The gazetteer at the end of the atlas had Zwolle was the last entry. In my current larger atlas, it is still in the last ten entries.
I don’t think, I ever looked it up on a map and I certainly had never visited or even driven past. The nearest I ever got, was refuelling an aircraft at Groningen Airport, about twenty miles to the North.
I didn’t have time to explore the town, as the thirty minutes I had to wait was really only long enough for a hot chocolate. But, if my train had been on time, I wouldn’t have even had time for that.
It is just a functional station, mainly built out of concrete and without any soul.
- The wooden seating was less cold, than the usual steel seats you get in Europe.
- The staff were not visible, but there was someone in a tunnel underneath.
- There was no enclosed shelter.
- There was only a little displayed information.
- I should think it could be a bleak station in the wrong sort of weather.
We need to think how we make stations more friendly to passing travellers.
Is This Stadler’s Plan For A Multi-Mode Future?
We have not seen any of Stadler’s bi-mode Flirts in service yet although Greater Anglia’a Class 755 trains have been rumoured to be speeding between London and Norwich in ninety minutes from this May!
Today, I rode on one of Stadler’s diesel GTWs between Groningen and Eemshaven in the Netherlands, which I wrote about in The Train Station At The Northern End Of The Netherlands.
GTWs are a diesel electric train with a power-pack car in the middle of the three car train. The diesel electric Flirts are a later train with a similar layout to the GTW.
So are the diesel GTWs and Flirts just a bi-mode without a pantograph? Or more likely the bi-mode is a diesel electric train with the addition of a pantograph and extra electrical gubbins.
Looking at the visualisations on Wikipedia of the bi-mode Class 755 train and the all-electric Class 745 train, it appears that the next-to-end car has the pantograph.
Are these cars with the pantograph identical on both the bi-mode and the all-electric versions? It would certainly be sensible from a engine erring point of view.
So could it be that all that is needed to convert a diesel electric Flirt into a bi-mode Flirt is to add the pantograph car and swap the power pack car for a bi-mode one? The old power pack car could then be converted into another bi-mode power pack car to convert another train.
But the power pack cars are not as simple as they look. They have four slots for diesel engines. Three-car and four-car Class 755 trains have two and four engines respectively.
I believe that one or more of the slots can be filled with a battery to create Flirts like the tri-mode ones proposed for South Wales.
So could we see some of the Greater Anglia Flirts converted in this way? Surely, Colchester Town to Sudbury could be a service that could benefit from battery power West of Marks Tey?
Today, I had a chat with a GTW driver, who said that the train he’d been driving was diesel-electric and that he had heard that batteries or hydrogen power could be used on the eoute.
The lines around Groningen seem to employ quite a few GTWs and distances are not overly long. So could some be converted to 1500 VDC electric/diesel/battery tri-modes? There is electrification at Groningen station and some of the bay platforms used by GTWs already have wires.
If the conversion is successful, then Stadler could be on a Swiss roll, as there are a lot of GTWs and Flirts out there, many of which are diesel-electric, like the one I rode today.
Would a train operator prefer to upgrade a diesel electric train that works well or buy a new bi-mode from another train manufacturer?
Could also an electric Flirt be converted into a bi-mode, by splitting the train and sticking a power pack car in the middle. Engineering common sense says that the passenger cars must be very similar to those of diesel Flirts to simplify manufacture of the trains.
We already know, that four-car Flirts are only three-car trains with an extra passenger car. Stadler could mix-and-match passenger, pantograph and power pack cars to give operators what they need.
Intelligent computer software would choose which power option to be used and the driver would just monitor, that the train was behaving as needed.
Looking at my route yesterday between Groningen and Eemshaven, it is a route of just under forty kilometres or twenty-five miles. Adrian Shooter is talking of ranges of sixty miles with battery versions of Class 230 trains. So I don’t find it impossible to create a tri-mode GTW or Flirt for this lonely route at the very North of the Netherlands.
Conclusion
Stadler seem to have created a very imitative modular train concept.
As some Flirts can travel at 125 mph, could they be serious bidders to provide the new trains for the Midland Main Line?
Will NightJet Connect To Eurostar?
NightJet is Austrian Railways sleeper service, that they took off the hands of the Germans when they closed it as a waste of money.
Ridership is increasing and they will be bringing in new trains in the next few years.
They also appear to have formed a partnership with Hungarian, Croatian and Polish Railways to take the network further East.
But what about the West? NightJet serves German cities like Cologne and Frankfurt, which are on Eurostar’s wish list.
Frankfurt is boring, but Cologne is the sort of city where you can fill time enjoyably.
So will we see travellers taking a morning Eurostar to Cologne, spend a day in the city and then take an overnight NightJet to Vienna. Vienna is linked by more NightJet services to places that non-European tourists love.
I don’t know the Austrian psyche well. But it does seem to me, that they have taken a loss-making Getman sleeper network and may succeed in turning it jnto something profitable and worthwhile with a little help from their friends. Do Austrians like getting one over the Germans?
A Eurostar connection in the West at Cologne and possibly in Switzerland, where NightJet runs to Zurich, would surely be beneficial. Eurostar have ambitions on Geneva and the connections between the two Swiss cities are good and picturesque!
I feel that we could be seeing the takibg of train tourism to a new level. How cuvilised?
A Bridge Station Over Still Waters
Overamstel station is as the name suggests built on a bridge over the River Amstel.
I didn’t have time to exit the station and explore.
Stations On Bridges
What puzzles me, is that there are so few stations built on a bridge or viaduct over water or perhaps a park, with entrances on both sides.
Only Blackfriars station in London comes to mind.
Although, there are rumours, that Charing Cross will be extended over the Thames to fit in longer platforms.
Surely, if you need a station nearby and a footbridge over a river, isn’t a combined station and footbridge a dual-purpose solution. Especially, if you want a station on both sides of the river.
Amsterdam Metro Trains
These pictures show the trains on the Amsterdam Metro.
The pictures show the latest trains, which were built by Alstom.
Good Design On The Amsterdam Metro
Sometimes, it’s good design that catches my eye as I roam around.
These pictures are from the Amsterdam Metro.
Most of the escalators I saw in The Netherlands had traffic lights and I like that. Stations in the UK don’t seem to have a policy about which side is up or down. Some shops also deliberately make their escalatoprs complicated, so you take a detour round the shop.
I would like to see a law, that all escalators (and ticket gates) had much better lights to show their direction of operation.
The wooden handrail must be the only one I’ve seen in a new station or building. Transport for London repairs old ones, but doesn’t seem to install new ones.
By Overground To High Speed Two
The North London Line will be my route to High Speed Two when it opens in 2026.
This map from Wikipedia, shows how the lines connect.
I will actually have two Overground stations, that I will be able to use.
- Old Oak Common Lane station on the North London Line between Stratford and Richmond stations.
- Hythe Road station on the West London Line between Stratford and Clapham Junction stations.
Note.
- Wikipedia says that both stations should open in 2026, which is the same date as High Speed Two.
- Hythe Road station is 700 metres from the High Speed Two station.
- Old Oak Common Lane station is 350 metres from the High Speed Two station.
Currently, both lines have a four trains per hour (tph) service.
- The Class 378 trains are five cars, which can get very busy in the Peak.
- It would need an additional five trains to increase the frequency to five tph on both routes.
- Six new five-car Class 710 trains are on order for North and West London Line services.
- I feel the higher frequency could be in operation by the opening of High Speed Two.
- Most stations between Stratford and Willesden Junction would appear to be able to accept six-car trains, if selective door opening were to be used.
I think by 2026, there will be a more than adequate service between Stratford and High Speed Two.
- There will be at least ten tph to Stratford, with services split equally between Hythe Road and Old Oak Common Lane stations.
- Richmond and Clapham Junction stations will get at least five tph.
- Step-free access is not currently available at Brondesbury Park, Brondesbury, Finchley Road & Frognal, Kentish Town West and Dalston Kingsland stations.
But what other developments will or might happen?
Highbury & Islington Station
Highbury & Islington station is the thirteenth busiest station in the UK and it is in need of a major upgrade to bring the deep level platforms and their access up to the standard of the four London Overground platforms, which all have lifts.
I also think that the track layout at the station could be modified to allow trains on the East London Line to continue further to the West. This was mentioned, when the Oveground was created, but is seldom talked about these days.
Step-Free Access On The North And West London Lines
These two lines which form a Y-shaped railway that splits at Willesden Junction, will provide these services from High Speed Two to major interchange stations.
The only thing that is needed is to complete step free access at all stations on the North and West London Lines.
The Maximum Frequency Across North London
Five tph on both the North and West London Line would give the following turnback frequencies at the four terminals.
- Clapham Junction – 5 tph
- Richmond – 5 tph
- Stratford – 10 tph
This chart from TfL shows planned improvements on the London Overground
Note that it clearly shows that it is possible to run a six tph service between two single platform stations.
I think it likely that it would be possible to run six tph on both routes, provided that the route and the signalling could handle the increased frequency.
Twelve tph between Stratford and Willesden Junction stations would probably be the maximum frequency.
But would the number of freight trains allow this frequency?
A Reduction In Freight Services
Currently, the North London Line carries a lot of freight trains, going between Barking, Felixstowe and London Gateway in the East to virtually everywhere West of London.
- Noises from the East West Rail Consortium are hinting that services to and to and from Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, South Wales, Southampton and the West Midlands might use their new route between Oxford and Cambridge.
- Could more freight use ports like Liverpool and Teesport in the North of England, which would reduce the traffic through the ports in the South?
Whatever happens, the current succession of diesel-hauled freight trains across London is not environmentally-friendly and it will raise increasing numbers of protests.
I think it is inevitable that the number of freight services will reduce, thus allowing more paths for passenger trains.
Digital Signalling
To handle the increasing traffic on the North and West London Lines, I can see digital signalling being installed. There could even be a degree of Automic Train Control.
Six-Car Trains
Only a few stations can handle six-car trains without selective door opening and even the rebuilt West Hampstead station still has platforms for five-cars.
Selective door opening would allow six-car trains to use the five-car platforms and passengers have in London have shown they can cope with moving forward to get out at certain stations. Especially, as the walk-through design of the train, makes this a lot easier.
A Round-The-Corner Service
I can remember reading in Modern Railways, that one of the reasons for the East and North London Lines running parallel through Canonbury to Highbury & Islington was to possibly enable extension of the East London Line to perhaps Willesden Junction, where there is a handy bay platform.
This has not happened and I doubt we’ll ever see something like a New Cross to Willesden Junction service, as Crossrail will effectively provide a faster frequent service between Whitechapel and Old Oak Common stations.
West London Orbital Railway
The proposed West London Orbital Railway will have two routes.
- West Hampstead Thameslink and Hounslow
- Brent Cross Thameslink and Kew Bridge
Both routes will have four tph and have a connection to Crossrail, High Speed Two and the North London Line at Old Oak Common station.
The only possible problem would be the eight extra tph through Acton Central station and level crossing and South Acton station.
But it would become an important feeder route to Crossrail, Heathrow Airport and High Speed Two.
Conclusion
The North and West London Line route between Stratford and Willesden has the ability to handle a lot more traffic than it currently does.
Dgital signalling and six-car trains could add over another fifty per cent capacity to the route.
I very much feel that digital signalling will be absolutely necessary.
White Hart Lane Station – March 25th, 2019
I took these pictures of the new White Hart Lane station today.
Hopefully, the project will be completed this year.
The New White Hart Lane Stadium Is Open For Business
I took these pictures today of the new White Hart Lane Stadium.
Does it look so impressive inside?
The Anonymous Widower 