The Anonymous Widower

Skegness Station To Benefit From A £3.3m Improvement Package

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.

I took these pictures of Skegness station, on a visit to the town in July last year, which I wrote about in A Trip To Skegness.

I feel that Skegness station would welcome some improvement.

The Rail Technology Magazine article says this about the project.

Upon completion of the project, customers will be able to utilise a number of enhanced facilities, including an improved accessible toilet with changing spaces, two new start-up offices, a community café and retail provisions. Upgrades will continue through improved access into the station for pedestrians and vehicles, offering integration with the surrounding community.

Work is hoped to start this year.

A Modern Zero-Carbon Train Service

If £3.3 million is going to be spent on Skegness station, would it not be a good idea to have better trains serving the station.

In A Trip To Skegness, I talked about updating the hourly Nottingham and Skegness service using Class 170 trains with Rolls-Royce MTU Hybrid PowerPacks.

I wonder if this route could be improved by fitting the Class 170 trains with Rolls-Royce MTU Hybrid PowerPacks?

• The hybrid technology would have a lower fuel consumption and allow electric operation in stations.
• The prototype hybrid is already working on Chiltern Railways in a Class 168 train.
• The Class 168 train is an earlier version of the Class 170 train and they are members of the Turbostar family.
• Rolls-Royce are developing versions of these hybrid transmissions, that will work with sustainable fuels.
• As we have a total of 207 Turbostar trainsets, these could be a convenient way of cutting carbon emissions on long rural lines.
• As Rolls-Royce MTU are also developing the technology, so their diesel engines can run on hydrogen, it is not outrageous to believe that they could be on a route to complete decarbonisation of this type of train.

I believe that we could see hydrogen-hybrid Class 170 trains, with a Rolls-Royce badge on the side.

But would it be possible to go the whole way using one of Stadler’s battery-electric trains?

Consider the service between Nottingham and Skegness.

• It is hourly.
• The route is run by 100 mph Class 170 trains.
• Nottingham and Grantham are 22.7 miles apart.
• Grantham and Skegness are 58.2 miles apart.
• Trains take four minutes to reverse at Grantham.
• Trains wait 20 minutes before returning at the two end stations.
• Trains reverse at Nottingham in a bay platform, which is numbered 2.
• Grantham is electrified.
• Nottingham station will be electrified in the next few years.
• Skegness station is next to the bus station in the middle of the town, so hopefully the electricity supply is robust enough to charge buses and trains.

Stadler make a train called an Akku.

• It is a member of the FLIRT family.
• It is a 100 mph train.
• I wrote Stadler FLIRT Akku Battery Train Demonstrates 185km Range, which means it could run between Nottingham and Skegness without intermediate charging.

This leads me to the conclusion that with charging systems at Nottingham and Skegness and taking a four-minute top-up at Grantham if needed, a FLIRT Akku could handle this route with ease.

Conclusion

Skegness is a town that needs leveling-up. A refurbished station and 100 mph electric trains to Grantham and London would be a good start.

February 8, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Class 170 Train, Decarbonisation, Levelling Up, mtu Hybrid PowerPack, Nottingham Station, Skegness Station, Stadler FLIRT Akku