Carbon-Cutting Test Run Sees Welsh Timber Return To Railway
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on RailBusinessDaily.
These are the first two paragraphs.
For the first time since 2005, a freight train carrying Welsh timber left Aberystwyth as part of a trial that could see regular freight traffic return to the Cambrian line.
The successful trial, aimed at exploring the feasibility of transporting timber by rail to reduce carbon emissions, opens up the possibility of removing hundreds of large lorries from the rural roads of mid Wales.
These are a few details and points from the article.
- The terminal at Aberystwyth appears to have been just outside Aberystwyth station.
- The timber was taken to Kronospan at Chirk in North Wales.
- The 700 ton load of ten wagons was hauled by a pair of Class 37 locomotives.
- The pair was needed because of the route.
- Network Rail claim that upwards of sixteen trucks were taken off the roads of mid-Wales.
This Network Rail picture shows the loading of timber at Aberystwyth station.
And this Network Rail picture shows the two Class 37 locomotives.
It looks to me, that the locomotives pushed the empty train in and pulled the full train out. Once on its way, the train took the Cambrian Line to Shrewsbury and then it was about twenty miles to tyhe Kronospan factory at Chirk.
This video shows the train leaving.
I appears to have been filmed at a convenient level crossing.
Conclusion
It must have been a success, as they are going to repeat the exercise.
There would appear to be only one problem. The pair of Class 37 locomotives make a bit of a noise.
- The pair have a power of 2610 kW.
- I estimate that the journey between Aberystwyth and Chirk will take around two hours and thirty minutes.
- Aberystwyth and Chirk is a distance of about a hundred miles.
It looks to me that this journey could be handled by one of the new Class 99 locomotives, that I wrote about in Class 99 Electro-Diesel Locomotive Order Confirmed.
I also doubt whether a battery-electric Class 99 locomotive could handle the route, but a hydrogen-powered locomotive, that fuelled at Aberystwyth might be able to do it.
I do think though, that passenger trains between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury could in the future be hydrogen-powered.
So if hydrogen were to be provided at Aberystwyth, hydrogen haulage of the timber trains would be a possibility.
SGN And INEOS Hydrogen Fuel Network Trial Launches In Scotland
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
These are some points from the article.
- The project appears to be based at Grangemouth.
- It will help determine how existing gas networks can be repurposed.
- SGN has partnered with INEOS on a hydrogen fuel network trial designed to help bring the UK a step closer to widespread H2 distribution networks.
- The trial is being funded by the Energy Regulator as well as gas distribution companies.
- It will involve using INEOS-supplied H2 along a 29-kilometer section of decommissioned pipeline that runs from the Grangemouth site.
It is a good idea to do thorough research to identify any problems early.
Royal Mail Rolling Back The Years To Put More Post On Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Daily Telegraph.
This is the sub-title.
Post transported by train will treble under plan to ditch planes and lorries.
These are some points from the article.
- They are in discussion with Network Rail.
- Roughly 4pc to 5pc of Britain’s mail is transported on the railways.
- Keith Williams is executive Chairman of Royal Mail and also was the independent chair of the recent Government-supported Rail Review.
- One of the aims of the strategy is to rescue the share price.
- Royal Mail are building some fully-automated parcel-hubs, with the first two at Warrington and Northampton.
I have some further thoughts.
The Warrington Parcel Hub
This appears to be at the Omega Business Park on the closed RAF Burtonwood airfield.
This Google Map shows Warrington.
Note.
- The M62 running across the map in an East-West direction.
- The two junctions on the M62 are 8 and 9, with junction 8 to the West and junction 9 to the East.
- The Omega Business Park is on both sides of the M62 to the West of Junction 8.
- Royal Mail appear to have three sheds to the South of the motorway.
- Amazon, Asda, Hermes, The Hut Group and others have sheds in the Omega Business Park.
- The red arrow indicates the location of Royal Mail’s Warrington Rail Terminal, where mail services between London and Scotland call.
This second Google Map shows Royal Mail’s Warrington Rail Terminal in more detail.
Note.
- The West Coast Main Line runs North-South to the West of the terminal.
- It looks to be a cramped site.
- I doubt that Royal Mail would want to transfer parcels between the rail terminal and the parcel hub, because of the number of trucks involved and the carbon they will generate.
- They could use Hydrogen or battery trucks, but that would be a considerable expense.
Perhaps the best thing to do, would be to bore a tunnel.
- It’s about six kilometres.
- Electric shuttles would be zero-carbon.
- Everything could be highly-automated.
- No drivers would be needed.
It would probably cost less to run.
Royal Mail At Northampton
Where the Northampton Loop Line meets the West Coast Main Line between Rugby and Northampton, there is a massive logistics park, which is shown in this Google Map.
Note.
- There are at least three Royal Mail sites here.
- One at the top of the map is labelled Royal Mail NDC NEW SITE.
- One at the bottom of the map is labelled Royal Mail National Distribution Centre.
- There is a rail connection.
This must be a very large investment for Royal Mail.
Further Parcel Hubs
No further hubs are mentioned in the article. But I’m sure, that the systems at Warrington and Northampton could be replicated.
The East Coast, Great Western And Midland Main Lines
I suspect, when these lines are fully electrified, they could be brought into the system.
A Hub At Calais
Why not?
Conclusion
It looks a good plan and one that can be realised.
Are The Office Of Rail And Road (Or Their Lawyers) Too Risk Averse?
An article in the April 2022 Edition of Modern Railways is entitled Uckfield Third Rail Is NR Priority.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Electrification of the line between Hurst Green and Uckfield in East Sussex and the remodelling of East Croydon are the top Network Rail investment priorities south of the river, according to Southern Region Managing Director John Halsall. He told Modern Railways that third rail is now the preferred option for the Uckfield Line, as it would allow the route to use the pool of third-rail EMUs in the area. This is in preference to the plan involving overhead electrification and use of dual-voltage units put forward by then-Network Rail director Chris Gibb in his 2017 report (p66, September 2017 issue).
NR has put forward options for mitigating the safety risk involved with the third-rail system, including switching off the power in station areas when no trains are present and section isolation systems to protect track workers. ‘The Office of Rail and Road hasn’t yet confirmed third rail would be acceptable, but we are working out ways in which it could be’ Mr Halsall told Modern Railways. He added that bi-mode trains with batteries were not a feasible option on this line, as the 10-car trains in use on the route would not be able to draw sufficient charge between London and Hurst Green to power the train over the 25 miles on to Uckfield.
As an Electrical Engineer, who’s first real job in industry at fifteen was installing safety guards on guillotines nearly sixty years ago, I don’t believe that an acceptable solution can’t be devised.
But as at Kirkby on Merseyside, the Office Of Rail And Road, do seem to be stubbornly against any further third-rail installations in the UK.
I wonder what, the Office Of Rail And Road would say, if Transport for London wanted to extend an Underground Line for a few miles to serve a new housing development? On previous experience, I suspect Nanny would say no!
But is it more than just third-rail, where the Office Of Rail And Road is refusing to allow some technologies on the railway?
Battery-Electric Trains
I first rode in a viable battery-electric train in February 2015, but we still haven’t seen any other battery-electric trains in service on UK railways running under battery power.
Does the Office Of Rail And Road, believe that battery-electric trains are unsafe, with the lithium-ion batteries likely to catch fire at any time?
Hydrogen-Powered Trains
The hydrogen-powered Alstom Coradia iLint has been in service in Germany since September 2018.
But progress towards a viable hydrogen train has been very slow in the UK, with the only exception being demonstrations at COP26.
Are The Office Of Rail And Road still frightened of the Hindenburg?
Although hydrogen-powered buses have been allowed.
A Tale From Lockheed
When Metier Management Systems were sold to Lockheed, I worked for the American company for a couple of years.
I met some of their directors and they told some good American lawyer jokes, such was their disgust for the more money-grabbing of the American legal profession.
At the time, Flight International published details of an innovative landing aid for aircraft, that had been developed by Lockheed. It was a suitcase-sized landing light, that could be quickly setup up on a rough landing strip, so that aircraft, like a Hercules, with an outstanding rough field performance could land safely.
I read somewhere that a Flying Doctor service or similar had acquired some of these landing aids, so they could provide a better service to their clients.
But Lockheed’s lawyers were horrified, that they would get sued, if someone was seriously injured or even died, whilst the aid was being used.
Apparently, in the end, the aids were marked Not For Use In The USA.
Conclusion
I do wonder, if third-rail electrification, battery-electric trains and hydrogen-powered trains have come up against a wall created by over-cautious lawyers.
Study Suggests Solar Energy Can Be Cleanly’ Converted Into Storable Hydrogen Fuel
The title of this post, is the same as that, as this news item from Strathclyde University.
This section entitled Green Hydrogen, describes the research.
Most hydrogen is still made from natural gas, producing greenhouse gasses, and green hydrogen production is urgently needed. Green hydrogen is produced from water using a photocatalyst – a material which drives the decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight.
The study, ‘Photocatalytic overall water splitting under visible light enabled by a particulate conjugated polymer loaded with iridium’ is published in Angewandte Chemie, a journal of the German Chemical Society. It suggests that using a photocatalyst under simulated sun light facilitates the decomposition of water when loaded with an appropriate metal catalyst – in this case iridium.
When used in a fuel cell, hydrogen does not emit any greenhouse gasses at the point of use and can help decarbonise sectors such as shipping and transportation, where it can be used as a fuel, as well as in manufacturing industries.
Using this photocatalyst may not be the final solution, but I do believe from my mathematical modelling of catalysts in an unrelated application in the 1970s, that this research could lead to an affordable way to create green hydrogen.
Siemens Mobility and Deutsche Bahn Present New Hydrogen Train
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Global Railway Review.
This is the sub-title.
Deutsche Bahn and Siemens Mobility have presented the newly developed Mireo Plus H and a newly designed mobile hydrogen storage trailer.
It seems that Deutsche Bahn and Siemens Mobility have put together a well-thought out plan to use hydrogen on a lot of unelectrified lines.
The Germans have given the project, the catchy name of H2goesRail.
How does that translate into German?
Is This One Of The Most Useful Lifts In London?
This lift at King’s Cross station must be one of the most useful lifts in London’s extensive public transport system.
At the top-level it comes out into King’s Cross Square and it is a level walk to the following.
- All the platforms in King’s Cross National Rail station.
- The shops, which include Leon, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and W H Smith, in King’s Cross National Rail station.
- The taxi rank.
- The Eastbound buses, which line up at their stops along the side of King’s Cross Square.
I was using it yesterday, to get a bus to Boots at the Angel, as I had a prescription to pick up. The 30 or 73 bus is quicker than the Northern Line, as that is a long walk and a road crossing at the Angel.
I’d arrived at King’s Cross on the Circle Line from Paddington and the bottom level of this lift is by the ticket gates under King’s Cross Square, that give access to all lines through King’s Cross Underground station.
There is also a middle level on the lift, that takes you under Euston Road to get a Westbound bus or gives you access to a step-free route to St. Pancras station.
A Gluten-Free Sandwich In Costa
Costa announced a couple of months ago, that they would be selling M & S Food.
Even so, I was still surprised to find this gluten-free sandwich in Costa at Paddington station.
I actually prefer their egg sandwiches, as for some reason egg sandwich fillings seem to go well with gluten-free bread.
Are Finally Battery-Electric Trains Going To Enter Service?
In the April 2022 Edition of Modern Railways, there are three articles about battery-electric trains on four different routes.
- Effort To Contain Costs For Hoo Reopening talks about the reopening of the Hoo Branch in Kent.
- Uckfield Third Rail Is NR Priority talks about running battery-electric trains on the Uckfield Branch and the Marshlink Line.
- Vivarail’s Battery ‘230’ For Greenford Branch, talks about the Class 230 train, that will be running on the Greenford branch.
The technology has been a long-term arriving, as I had my first ride in a battery-electric train in February 2015, which I wrote about in Is The Battery Electric Multiple Unit (BEMU) A Big Innovation In Train Design?.
What kept it so long?
The Anonymous Widower 