Ealing Broadway Station – 31st May 2021
This article on Rail Technology Magazine, which is entitled Transport for London Completes Step-Free Access At Ealing Broadway, alerted me that the station might be worth a look.
I took these pictures this morning.
This map from cartometro.com shows the station layout.
Note.
- The black lines in Platforms 1 and 2 are the Great Western Railway main line platforms.
- The black/blue lines in Platforms 3 and 4 are the Great Western Railway slow line platforms, which are also used by Crossrail.
- The red tracks in Platforms 5 and 6 are the Central Line platforms.
- The green tracks in Platforms 7, 8 and 9 are the District Line platforms.
These are my thoughts.
Step-Free Access
Consider.
- Access between platforms 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 is on the level, as it has been for years.
- There are a pair of lifts to access these six platforms from street level.
- There are also two other lifts to Platform 1 and Platform 2/3.
- There are three typical Network Rail stairs to the platforms, with double-handrails, which at 73, I can still manage.
I’ve certainly seen much worse stations with supposedly step-free access.
I also wonder if another lift will be added to directly serve the District Line platforms.
It could be one of those additions, that has been catered for, so it can be added if necessary.
Crossrail And Routes Into And Out Of London
Crossrail will change commuting and leisure routes, into and out of London.
- Crossrail serves the West End, the North of the City and Canary Wharf directly.
- Crossrail has good connections to the Central, Circle, District and Jubilee Lines.
- Crossrail has a direct connection to Thameslink.
- All Crossrail interchanges will be step-free.
After it has been opened for a few months, I can see that direct connections and ducking and diving will have seriously changed London’s well-established commuting and travel patterns.
Using Ealing Broadway Station As An Interchange
It will certainly be easier with all the new step-free access, but I suspect some passengers, who previously changed at Ealing Broadway station, will go straight through on Crossrail.
In Will Crossrail Open To Reading in 2019?, I said that Ealing Broadway station will get the following total number of Crossrail trains.
- 12 tph in the Peak
- 10 tph in the Off-Peak
Note.
- tph is trains per hour.
- Six tph would go between London Paddington and Heathrow.
- Two tph would go between London Paddington and Reading.
It will be interesting to see what Crossrail timetable is delivered.
The Overall Design
It is a fairly conservative design, that follows the principles of good step-free access.
Interchange is level and good between Crossrail and the tube lines.
There are still a few details to be finished and I suspect it will be a well-thought of station.
A Few Questions
These are a few questions.
Will The Station Be A Gateway To Heathrow?
I suspect it could be, as the station is well-connected by bus and tube to large numbers of places.
Conclusion
Ealing Broadway will be a busy interchange and I’m sure, it’s been designed to handle a lot of passengers.
Thoughts On Batteries On A Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train
This Hitachi infographic describes a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
Hitachi are creating the first of these battery trains, by replacing one of the diesel power-packs in a Class 802 train with a battery-pack from Hyperdrive Innovation of Sunderland.
This press release from Hitachi is entitled Hitachi And Eversholt Rail To Develop GWR Intercity Battery Hybrid Train – Offering Fuel Savings Of More Than 20%, gives a few more details.
The Class 802 train has the following characteristics.
- Five cars.
- Three diesel power-packs, each with a power output of 700 kW.
- 125 mph top speed on electricity.
- I believe all intermediate cars are wired for diesel power-packs, so can all intermediate cars have a battery?
In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, I estimated that the trains need the following amounts of energy to keep them at a constant speed.
- Class 801 train – 125 mph 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile
- Class 801 train – 100 mph 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile
The figures are my best estimates.
The Wikipedia entry for the Class 800 train, also gives the weight of the diesel power-pack and all its related gubbins.
The axle load of the train is given as 15 tonnes, but for a car without a diesel engine it is given as 13 tonnes.
As there are four axles to a car, I can deduce that the diesel power-pack and the gubbins, weigh around eight tonnes.
How much power would a one tonne battery hold?
This page on the Clean Energy institute at the University of Washington is entitled Lithium-Ion Battery.
This is a sentence from the page.
Compared to the other high-quality rechargeable battery technologies (nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal-hydride), Li-ion batteries have a number of advantages. They have one of the highest energy densities of any battery technology today (100-265 Wh/kg or 250-670 Wh/L).
Using these figures, a one-tonne battery would be between 100 and 265 kWh in capacity, depending on the energy density.
As it is likely that if the diesel power-pack replacement would probably leave things like fuel tanks and radiators behind, so that the diesel engines could be reinstalled, I would expect that a battery of around four tonnes would be fitted.
On the basis of the University of Washington’s figures a 400 kWh battery pack would certainly be feasible.
Using. the energy use at 100 mph of 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile, I can get the following ranges for different battery sizes.
- 400 kWh battery – 36.53 miles
- 500 kWh battery – 45.67 miles
- 600 kWh battery – 54.80 miles
- 800 kWh battery – 73.06 miles
As Lincoln and Newark are just 16.6 miles apart, it looks to me that a 500 or 600 kWh battery could be a good choice for that route, as it would leave enough hotel power for the turnround.
It should also handle shorter routes like these.
- Newbury and Bedwyn – 13.3 miles.
- Didcot and Oxford – 10.3 miles
- Newark and Lincoln – 16.6 miles
- Leeds and Harrogate – 18.3 miles
- Northallerton and Middlesbrough – 20 miles
- Hull and Temple Hirst Junction and Hull – 36.1 miles
Some routes like Temple Hirst Junction and Hull would need charging at the destination.
The Range Of A Five Car Train With Three Batteries
Suppose a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train had three battery-packs and no diesel engines.
- It would be based on Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train technology.
- It would have two driver cars without batteries.
- It would have three intermediate cars with 600 kWh batteries.
- It would have 1800 kWh in the batteries.
- The train would be optimised for 100 mph running.
- My estimate says it would need 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile to cruise at 100 mph.
It could have a range of up to 164 miles.
If the batteries were only 500 kWh, the range would be 137 miles.
The Ultimate Battery Train
I think it would be possible to put together a nine car battery-electric train with a long range.
- It would be based based on Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train technology, which would be applied to a Class 800 or Class 802 train.
- It would have two driver cars without batteries.
- It would have seven intermediate cars with 600 kWh batteries.
- It would have a total battery capacity of 4200 kWh.
- The train would be optimised for 100 mph running.
- My estimate in How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, said it would need 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile to cruise at 100 mph.
That would give a range of over 200 miles.
If the batteries were only 500 kWh, the range would be 178 miles.
Aberdeen, Inverness, Penzance and Swansea here we come.
Can Hitachi Increase The Range Further?
There are various ways that the range can be improved.
- More electrically-efficient on-board systems like air-conditioning.
- A more aerodynamic nose.
- Regenerative braking to the batteries.
- Batteries with a higher energy density.
- Better driver assistance software.
Note.
- Hitachi have already announced that the Class 810 trains for East Midlands Railway will have a new nose profile.
- Batteries are improving all the time.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a ten percent improvement in range by 2030.
Conclusion
I was surprised at some of the results of my estimates.
But I do feel that Hitachi trains with 500-600 kWh batteries could bring a revolution to train travel in the UK.
Edinburgh And Aberdeen
Consider.
- The gap in the electrification is 130 miles between Edinburgh Haymarket and Aberdeen.
- There could be an intermediate charging station at Dundee.
- Charging would be needed at Aberdeen.
I think Hitachi could design a train for this route.
Edinburgh And Inverness
Consider.
- The gap in the electrification is 146 miles between Stirling and Inverness.
- This could be shortened by 33 miles, if there were electrification between Stirling and Perth.
- Charging would be needed at Inverness.
I think Hitachi could design a train for this route.
The Two Problems With Israeli Politics
I liked the comment on the Radio Five Live from an Israeli political commentator.
There are only two problems with Israeli politics; Benjamin and Netanyahu.
Israeli politics is certainly different.
The Anonymous Widower 