Hyundai Delivers World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Trucks
The title of this post, is the same as this article on Car Advice.
The trucks llok impressive and they are going to Switzerland.
Could ERTMS And ETCS Solve The Newark Crossing Problem?
This is an updated version of what, I originally published the following in Will The East Coast Main Line Give High Speed Two A Run For Its Money To The North East Of England?
The Newark Crossing is the railway equivalent of a light-controlled pedestrian crossing in the middle of a motorway.
This Google Map shows the crossing.
Note.
- The East Coast Main Line (ECML) running roughly North-South
- The A 46 road crossing the line.
- The Nottingham-Lincoln Line running parallel to the road.
- A chord allowing trains to go between the Nottingham-Lincoln Line and Newark North Gate station, which is to the South.
- The River Trent.
Complicated it certainly is!
I wrote about the problems in The Newark Crossing and felt something radical needed to be done.
Looking at the numbers of trains at the Newark Crossing.
- The number of trains crossing the ECML is typically about three trains per hour (tph) and they block the ECML for about two minutes.
- But then there could be a fast train around every four minutes on the ECML, with eight tph in both directions.
Would a Control Engineer’s solution, where all trains are computer controlled through the junction, be possible?
ERTMS, which is digital in-cab signalling is being installed on the ECML and will allow the following.
- Trains to be able to run at up to 140 mph.
- Trains to be precisely controlled from a central signalling system called ETCS.
ERTMS and ETCS are already working successfully on Thameslink.
Suppose all trains going through the Junction on both the ECML or the Nottingham-Lincoln Line, were running using ERTMS and ETCS.
- Currently, there are three tph crossing from East to West and three tph crossing from West to East. Which means that the junction is blocked six times per hour for say two minutes.
- Suppose the signalling could control the crossing trains, so that an East to West and a West to East train crossed at the same time.
- To cater for contingencies like late and diverted trains, you might allow the trains to cross at up to for tph.
Instead of six tph, the frequency across the junction would be no more than four tph.
A similar paired crossing procedure can be applied to trains on the ECML.
The outcome is that you are scheduling a smaller number of double events, which must be easier.
I suspect there are other tricks they can do to increase capacity.
There’s also the problem of what happens if a crossing train fails, as it goes over the East Coast Main Line. But that must be a problem now!
Whatever happens here will be a well-thought through solution and it will add to the capacity of the East Coast Main Line and increase the line-speed from the current 100 mph.
BNSF And Wabtec Prepare To Test Battery-Electric Locomotive
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
Some points from the article.
- It is a 4,400 hp or 3.3 MW locomotive.
- The battery is formed from 20,000 cells.
- The locomotive uses regenerative braking.
- Testing will be on a 560 km route in California.
But what I find interesting, is that the locomotive is designed to work commonly with a diesel locomotive and this is discussed in detail.
I have this feeling, that running two different locomotives as a pair might be more efficient and I wrote Could A Battery- Or Hydrogen-Powered Freight Locomotive Borrow A Feature Of A Steam Locomotive?, where I examined the concept.
In the article, they say that when a train hauled by a diesel and a battery locomotive, slows, the batteries are recharged. This would seem to make the combination more efficient.
I’ll be interested to see the results of the tests performed by BNSF and Wabtec.
Vivarail And Hitachi Seem To Be Following Similar Philosophies
This press release on the Vivarail web site, is entitled Battery Trains And Decarbonisation Of The National Network.
This is the two paragraphs.
Vivarail welcomes the recent announcements regarding new technologies for rail, and the growing understanding that battery trains will be a key part of the decarbonisation agenda.
Battery trains have been much misunderstood until now – the assumption has been that they can’t run very far and take ages to recharge. Neither of these are true! Vivarail’s trains:
To disprove the assumptions, they then make these points.
- Have a range of up to 100 miles between charges
- Recharge in only 10 minutes
They also make this mission statement.
Vivarail’s battery train, Fast Charge and power storage system is a complete package that can drop into place with minimal cost and effort to deliver a totally emission-free independently powered train, ideally designed for metro shuttles, branch lines and discrete routes across the country.
They add these points.
- Batteries can be charged from 750 VDC third-rail or 25 KVAC overhead electrification or hydrogen fuel cells.
- A daily range of 650 miles can be achieved on hydrogen.
- Vivarail seem very positive about hydrogen.
- The company uses modern high-performance lithium Ion pouch batteries from Intilion.
- It also appears that Vivarail are happy to install their traction package on other trains.
The press release finishes with this paragraph.
The rail industry needs to move now to hit its own decarbonisation targets and assist with the national effort. Battery trains are the quick win to achieve that.
Following on from Hitachi’s announcement on Monday, that I wrote about in Hyperdrive Innovation And Hitachi Rail To Develop Battery Tech For Trains, it does appear that battery trains will be arriving soon in a station near you!
Eurostar Amsterdam To London Treaty Formally Signed
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railnews.
The first paragraph says it all.
The treaty allowing full customs and security procedures for Eurostar passengers at Amsterdam and Rotterdam has been formally signed, said the Department for Transport.
Perhaps, next time I go to Amsterdam, I’ll come back by train.
Proposal To Reopen Camberwell Railway Station
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
It is an excellent article on the pros and cons of the station, with a good picture and a map from TfL.
Ian says, that there are worries, that the station would slow trains for commuters further out.
The Anonymous Widower 