The Anonymous Widower

A Class 93 Locomotive Hauling A 1500 Tonne Train Between The Port Of Felixstowe And Nuneaton

I am writing this post to show how I believe the new Class 93 locomotive would haul a freight train between the Port of Felixstowe and Nuneaton, where it would join the West Coast Main Line for Liverpool, Manchester mor Scotland.

Why 1500 Tonnes?

This article on Rail Engineer, which is entitled, Re-Engineering Rail Freight, gives a few more details about the operation of the Class 93 locomotives.

This is said about performance.

As a result, the 86-tonne Class 93 is capable of hauling 1,500 tonnes on non-electrified routes and 2,500 tonnes on electrified routes. With a route availability (RA) of seven, it can be used on most of the rail network.

So as I’m talking about non-electrified routes, I’ll use 1500 tonnes.

Sections Of The Route

The route can be divided into these sections.

• Port of Felixstowe and Trimley – 2.3 miles – 7 minutes – 19.7 mph –  Not Electrified
• Trimley and Ipswich Europa Junction – 13.5 miles – 43 minutes -18.8 mph – Not Electrified
• Ipswich Europa Junction and Haughley Junction – 12.1 miles – 24 minutes -30.2 mph – Electrified
• Haughley Junction and Ely – 38.3 miles – 77 minutes -29.8 mph – Not Electrified
• Ely and Peterborough – 30.5 miles – 58 minutes -31.6 mph – Not Electrified
• Peterborough and Werrington Junction – 3.1 miles – 5 minutes -37.2 mph – Electrified
• Werrington Junction and Leicester – 49.1 miles – 97 minutes -30.4 mph – Not Electrified
• Leicester and Nuneaton – 18.8 miles – 27 minutes -41.8 mph – Not Electrified

Note.

1. The train only averages around 40 mph on two sections.
2. There is electrification at between Europa Junction and Haughley Junction, at Ely and Peterborough, that could be used to fully charge the batteries.
3. In Trimode Class 93 Locomotives Ordered By Rail Operations (UK), I calculated that the 80 kWh batteries in a Class 93 locomotive hauling a 1500 tonne load can accelerate the train to 40 mph.

I can see some innovative junctions being created, where electrification starts and finishes, so that batteries are fully charged as the trains pass through.

• There must be tremendous possibilities at Ely, Haughley and Werrington to take trains smartly through the junctions and send, them on their way with full batteries.
• All have modern electrification, hopefully with a strong power supply, so how far could the electrification be continued on the lines without electrification?
• Given that the pantographs on the Class 93 locomotives, will have all the alacrity and speed to go up and down like a whore’s drawers, I’m sure there will be many places on the UK rail network to top up the batteries.

Consider going between Ely and Peterborough.

• Leaving Ely, the train will have a battery containing enough energy to get them to forty mph.
• Once rolling along at forty, the Cat would take them to the East Coast Main Line, where they would arrive with an almost flat battery.
• It would then be a case of pan up and on to Peterborough.

These are my ideas for how the various sections would be handled.

Port of Felixstowe And Trimley

As I stated in Rail Access To The Port Of Felixstowe, I would electrify the short section between the Port of Felixstowe And Trimley. This would do the following.

• Charge the batteries on trains entering the Port, so they could operate in the Port without using diesel.
• Charge batteries on trains leaving the Port, so that they could have a power boost to Ipswich.
• The trains could be accelerated to operating speed using the electrification.

There would also be no use of diesel to the East of Trimley, which I’m sure the residents of Felixstowe would like.

Trimley and Ipswich Europa Junction

This section would be on diesel, with any energy left in the battery used to cut diesel running through Ipswich.

Ipswich Europa Junction and Haughley Junction

Consider.

• This is a 100 mph line.
• It is fully-electrified.
• All the passenger trains will be running at this speed.

If the freight ran at that speed, up to 17 minutes could be saved.

Haughley Junction And Ely

This section would be diesel hauled, with help from the batteries, which could be fully charged when entering the section.

There are also plans to improve Haughley Junction, which I wrote about in Haughley Junction Improvements.

One possibility would be to extend the electrification from Haughley Junction a few miles to the West, to cut down diesel use in both Greater Anglia’s Class 755 trains and any freight trains hauled by Class 93 locomotives.

As there are plans for an A14 Parkway station at Chippenham Junction, which is 25 miles to the West of Haughley Junction, it might be sensible to electrify around Chippenham Junction.

Ely and Peterborough

This section would be diesel hauled, with help from the batteries, which could be fully charged when entering the section.

It should also be noted that the tracks at Ely are to be remodelled.

• Would it not be sensible to have sufficient electrification at the station, so that a Class 93 locomotive leaves the area with full batteries?
• Acceleration to operating speed would be on battery power, thus further reducing diesel use.

It probably wouldn’t be the most difficult of projects at Peterborough to electrify between Peterborough East Junction and Werrington Junction on the Stamford Lines used by the freight trains.

On the other hand, I strongly believe that the route between Ely and Peterborough should be an early electrification project.

• It would give a second electrified route between London and Peterborough, which could be a valuable diversion route.
• It would allow bi-mode trains to work easier to and from Peterborough.
• It would be a great help to Class 93 locomotives hauling freight out of Felixstowe.

As the Ely-Peterborough Line has a 75 mph operating speed, it would Class 73 locomotive-hauled freights would save around thirty ,inutes.

Peterborough and Werrington Junction

This section looks to be being electrified during the building of the Werrington Dive Under.

Werrington Junction and Leicester

This section would be diesel hauled, with help from the batteries, which could be fully charged when entering the section.

Leicester and Nuneaton

This section would be diesel hauled, with help from the batteries,

As there is full electrification at Nuneaton, this electrification could be extended for a few miles towards Leicester.

Conclusion

This has only been a rough analysis, but it does show that Class 93 locomotives can offer advantages in running freight trains between Felixstowe and Nuneaton.

But selective lengths of electrification would bring time and diesel savings.

January 17, 2021 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 93 Locomotive, Freight, Leicester Station, Nuneaton Station, Peterborough Station, Port of Felixstowe, Werrington Dive Under, Wly Station