Swift Express Freight Demonstrator To Be Tested
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
Leasing company Eversholt Rail and Ricardo have teamed up to develop an electric multiple-unit intended to demonstrate a cost-effective and low carbon way of transporting parcels.
Other points include.
- A Class 321 train will be converted.
- The trains have a top speed of 100 mph.
- Each vehicle will handle up to twelve tonnes of freight.
Eversholt are talking to possible operators.
Conclusion
There are various train leasing companies and operators looking at similar concepts.
I’m sure one will create a viable model.
3,000 Homes To Be Built Next To Dagenham Dock Railway Station
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
These are the first two paragraphs.
A sleepy railway station in East London is due to get a lot busier as a large housing development is to be built next to it.
The former Dagenham Stamping Plant car works site has been cleared, and has now been bought by Peabody housing association for development. The initial phase will see 1,550 affordable homes built, supported by an £80 million grant from the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Programme.
There is a lot of housing under construction the area and the c2c lines and the London Overground are being expanded to cope.
- The Gospel Oak and Barking Line is being extended to Barking Riverside station.
- Renwick Road station may be added to this route, where it joins the c2c lines.
- Dagenham Dock station is now fully step-free.
- A new station is to be built at Beam Park to provide a link to housing development.
But there is still only two trains per hour (tph) through Dagenham Dock and Beam Park, as opposed to the four tph, that will run to Barking Riverside.
The simple solution would be to improve the Fenchurch Street and Grays service.
- Currently it is two tph.
- The service calls at Limehouse, West Ham, Barking, Dagenham Dock, Rainham and Purfleet.
- Renwick Road and Beam Park will be added to this service, when and if, they are built.
It needs to have the same frequency as Gospel Oak to Barking which is four tph.
So how could this frequency increase be provided?
For a start, the bay platform at Grays could probably handle four tph with improvement and the route possibly with some signalling improvements could probably cope.
The bay platform at Grays station would probably need lengthening.
It’s just where do you terminate the trains at the Western end?
Fenchurch Street is probably at capacity, as it handles 8 tph in the Off Peak.
- 4 tph – Shoeburyness
- 2 tph – Southend Central
- 2 tph – Grays
But the station handles up to 20 tph in the Peak.
Could it be that with the installation of full digital ERTMS signalling on this route, that four tph between Fenchurch Street and Grays could run all day?
A Possible Crossrail Branch
Crossrail is a herd of testosterone-loaded elephants in the room, that have been locked up by some very poor decision making from the Mayor and Transport for London.
- If ERTMS signalling is one of the keys to unlocking capacity on the tunnels for Crossrail and Thameslink, could its application to c2c services open up possibilities for serious new services in East London.
- As I said, ERTMS signaling could open up the capacity into Fenchurch Street, but would it also allow Grays to be a terminal for Crossrail?
This map from cartometro.com shows Forest Gate Junction, where the Gospel Oak to Barking Line connects to the lines into Stratford and Liverpool Street.
Note.
- The orange tracks are the Gospel Oak to Barking Line (GOBLin).
- Gospel Oak is to the North West and Barking is to the South East.
- The mauve-blue tracks are Crossrail, through Manor Park and Forest Gate stations.
- The black track are the fast lines into Liverpool Street station.
- Forest Gate Junction in the middle is regularly used by c2c trains accessing Liverpool Street, when there are engineering works.
I believe that with ERTMS signalling four or possibly six Crossrail tph could travel between Stratford and Barking stations via Maryland, Forest Gate and Woodgrange Park stations.
This second map from cartometro.com shows the lines through Barking station.
Note.
- Barking station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The orange platform on the North side of Barking station is Platform 1, which is the current terminal of the GOBLin.
- After the Goblin is extended to Barking Riverside, the GOBLin services will share Platforms 7 and 8 with the Fenchurch Street to Grays services.
- Platforms 7 and 8 are on the South side of the station and they are connect to the GOBLin lines by a flyover.
- To the East of the station, the GOBLin route is shown in orange.
- The GOBLin turns South to Barking Riverside station, which is by the Thames.
I suspect that there is capacity for more trains.
- There will only be six tph through Platforms 7 and 8 at Barking station.
- There will be four tph over the flyover and through Woodgrange Park station.
I believe that terminating four Crossrail tph at Grays could be an interesting possibility.
What Is The £150m Global Centre For Rail Excellence Scheme In South Wales?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Business Live.
This sub-title is a good summary.
The Welsh Government project aims to create a world first in testing trains and rail infrastructure at the same facility
It looks like it will be very comprehensive and is a classic example of the sort of things we should do to attract world class companies to the UK.
This paragraph talks about one of the site’s uses.
Rail infrastructure cannot be tested on a live railway because there isn’t a safe way of doing it. The internal track will have a wagon travelling around at 40mph putting new infrastructure through its paces with rigorous assessment. When owner of the UK rail network Network Rail, which is committed to using the facility, want to test equipment it has to use the Pueblo testing centre in Colorado, as do equivalent organisations in Europe.
It’s surely easier to go from anywhere in Western Europe to Wales than Colorado. Especially, if you want to take some equipmement that might weigh several tonnes.
Conclusion
The Welsh seem to have done their homework and also come up with an innovative use for a worked-out open cast coal mine.
Why I Will Never Use DPD
I keep getting messages from DPD say they have missed me. I’ve had about six.
I know they are scams as the sending e-mail is xxxx.xxxx@hotmail.it. I have the real address.
So I thought I should report this idiot, to DPD, as perhaps it might help find the scammer, so he can be arrested.
But there is no information on their web site, let alone a place to report them.
I don’t deal with companies who don’t look after their customers.
I reported the message to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Highview Power Introduces Revolutionary Cryogenic Energy Storage Technology To The African Market
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the African Review.
This is the first paragraph.
Javier Cavada, CEO and President of Highview Power spoke to African Review about the company’s cryogenic (air liquefaction) battery storage solutions and why they are a perfect fit for the continent
It appears to me, that the story, which started in a garage in Bishops Stortford, is going to have a happy ending for the world.
The article is a must read and I particularly liked this paragraph.
Cavada also noted how cryogenic technology complemented this transition. He added, “The main energy companies call our technology ‘pumped hydro in a box’ and that is how we have been making it. You can deploy over 1GWh without geographical constraints. There is no combustion, no emissions and no rare materials needed. All it comprises is some piping work, compressors and a generator, so it is pretty simple. Our mission is to enable a world that is grid powered by solar and wind, not fossil fuels, and this technology will help us achieve this.”
This is the brightest shade of green!
The Anonymous Widower 