2023 March « The Anonymous Widower

Welsh Government Greenlights Erebus Floating Offshore Wind Farm

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

The Welsh Government has granted consent for the country’s first floating offshore wind farm located 40 kilometres off the coast of Pembrokeshire

This is the first paragraph.

Project Erebus will feature seven next-generation 14 MW turbines on floating platforms, providing enough renewable energy to power 93,000 homes.

This near 100 MW project is the first in the Celtic Sea, where there 4 GW are to be installed in the next decade.

This is another paragraph.

Future phases of the development could realise an additional 20 GW of renewable energy, according to the Government.

Wales is not going to be short of energy!

March 13, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Energy | Celtic Sea, Erebus Wind Farm, Floating Wind Power, Offshore Wind Power, Wales, Wind Power | Leave a comment

Should There Be Five-Car High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains?

The High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains have the following characteristics.

Eight cars.
200 metres long.
550 passengers.
Two can be coupled together to make a 16-car train, that is 400 metres long.
Trains can join and split en route.

This graphic shows the preliminary schedule.

Note that Train 4, starts as a pair of trains, before splitting at Crewe, with one train going to Lancaster and the other to Liverpool Lime Street.

I wonder, if some trains were to be five-cars, would this give the operator more flexibility, by allowing three trains to be coupled together to serve three destinations.

This could be a simple example.

A three train formation could leave Euston.
At Crewe one train would detach and go to Liverpool Lime Street, with stops at Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway.
At Preston, the two remaining trains would split, with one train going to Lancaster and the other going to Blackpool with appropriate stops.

Three trains might give the operators more flexibility in providing appropriate capacity to various destinations.

Other Applications

I believe these trains would have other applications.

These are a few thoughts.

Battery-Electric High Speed Train

Battery technology is improving and I believe that a train could be designed with the following specification.

Five cars
High-Speed Two Classic-Compatible performance.
A battery pack in each car.
Up to maximum operating speed of digitally-signalled high speed lines.
140 mph on digitally-signalled classic high speed lines, like the East and West Coast Main Lines. the Midland Main Line and the Great Western Railway.
Range on battery of around 120 miles at 100 mph.
Ability to work with fully-electric versions.

Note.

I suspect that like current Hitachi AT-300s and Bombardier Aventras, the onboard computer would know what cars have been coupled together and what the train can do.
A battery in each car would distribute the extra weight of the batteries equally and not affect the handling too much.
These trains would allow High Speed Two services to be extended onto non-electrified lines.

I suspect that an eight car battery-electric High-Speed Two Classic-Compatible train would also be possible for working with the standard length trains.

March 12, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Design, Transport/Travel | Automatic Splitting And Joining Of Trains, Aventra, Battery-Electric Trains, Class AT-300 Train, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains | Leave a comment

Is Match Of The Day Better Without The Chattering?

The BBC have just announced that last night’s Match of the Day-Lite had a million more viewers than last week’s full-fat edition.

I watched last night’s program and enjoyed it.

Perhaps, if the BBC wants to save money, they could go to a lite-format for MotD.

And whilst, they’re at it if they want more viewers, why not do MotD editions for the three other divisions?

March 12, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Finance & Investment, Sport, World | BBC, Football, Match of the Day, Television | Leave a comment

Hydrogen Truck Can Make Garbage Day A Much Quieter Event

The title of this post in the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.

This is the first paragraph.

Hyzon Motors has announced that it will be rolling out a 27-ton Australian-made hydrogen truck to be used for vehicle towing as well as potentially for garbage collection this year.

Less noise, less pollution\2 What more can you want?

In London, we something rather important, a hydrogen policy, rather than a Mayor, who hopes the problem will fade away.

The writer of this article finds it interesting, that Hyson, who are an American company are making the trucks in Australia.

They say this.

Hyzon opened an Australian location three years ago in order to benefit from the substantial industry talent that became available there when Ford, Toyota and Holden closed their local operations. As the country also places a considerable focus on H2 production, it has opened several doors for moving forward with various types of hydrogen truck design.

So vehicle manufacturers beware! If you close an operation in a country, you may find competitors starting up!

March 12, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel, World | Australia, Hydrogen-Powered Trucks, Hyson, London Hydrogen Policy, Refuse Truck, Trucks | Leave a comment

No Shortcuts In Evia Aero’s Path To Being Europe’s First Green Regional Airline

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on FutureFlight.

This is the first paragraph.

The closer you examine the task of establishing a green airline, the clearer it becomes that it does not begin and end with sourcing net zero carbon aircraft. Evia Aero is a case in point in that while the German start-up has made provisional commitments to a pair of electric aircraft developers, for now, it is more preoccupied with getting a somewhat daunting operational ecosystem in place.

The article is an interesting read and certainly follows this old joke about aviation.

If you want to make a small fortune in aviation, start with a large fortune.

The article is mainly drawn from an interview with the founder of Evia Aero; Florian Kruse and these are some of his thoughts.

On Sustainability

This paragraph talks about a truly sustainable aviation company.

First you have to be sure that you can operate as a truly sustainable aviation company,” Evia Aero founder Florian Kruse told FutureFlight. The Bremen-based venture plans to invest in photovoltaic (PV) solar energy plants at the airports it intends to serve to fulfill its commitment to being self-sufficient in green energy, which could include electricity and hydrogen fuel. The next step will be installing the required refueling and recharging facilities.

I’ll agree with that objective, but is it an affordable commitment?

On An Air Operator Certificate

This paragraph talks about an Air Operator Certificate.

Only when these tasks are well advanced, probably in 2024, will Evia Aero secure the air operator certificate it needs to launch commercial scheduled services in Europe. The company has yet to determine whether it will establish an operation from scratch or acquire an existing AOC holder.

Having seen a friend struggle to get an airline going, I wonder, if existing AOC holders will have an advantage in getting fully certified.

Why Not Start A Traditional Airline And Transition To A Green One?

This was Florian Kruse’s answer.

Some people ask us why we don’t just start operating normal [fossil-fuel-burning] aircraft today and then make a transition [to net zero],But we don’t think that works. The only way to be successful in this is to be green with everything from the start.

But by his choice of the Britten-Norman Islander, Florian is taking a conservative route with a proven small airliner, that has been flown into hundreds, if not thousands, of airfields all over Europe and the wider world.

I suspect too, that a lot of experienced Islander pilots from all over the world, will want to add these aircraft to their log book. So recruitment of top quality pilots will not be a problem!

Refuelling And Maintenance

This is said about refuelling and maintenance.

In this regard, Evia Aero’s strategy isn’t based purely on a sustainability agenda. It views the plans for refueling and maintenance as key parts of its revenue stream.

Does this mean, it will be supplying support services to other operators of zero-carbon aircraft?

It should be remembered that the business model of some companies is based heavily on a business aircraft. Will these companies change their philosophy or change the aircraft?

One company that used business jets to sell construction equipment in the past was JCB. Prospective customers would be flown to the UK for demonstrations at their test site near the factory. GEC also used to use their business jet creatively.

The Eviation Alice, which Evia Aero intend to fly, will also be available in a six-seat business configuration.

I can imagine many companies using zero-carbon business aircraft creatively and to send the right message to customers and green activists, who haven’t been friendly in the past.

Thinking about this, as I type, I think that zero-carbon business aircraft could be a significant sector of the zero-carbon aircraft market. It would also appeal to many politicians, royalty, innovative business me and women and the very rich.

In the case of King Charles, I suspect a six-seat Eviation Alice or similar based at Northolt Airport would cost less to run than the Royal Train.

Pricing

This is said on pricing.

It believes (passengers) will pay a premium to access airfields in locations across northern Europe that are not well served by road and rail links.

I’ll go with that, as many years ago, I needed to go to Stavanger for a day or so from Ipswich. So I flew Air Anglia from Norwich in a Bandeirante, rather than go from Heathrow with a change at Oslo.

Backing And Expertise

This is a paragraph from the FutureFlight article.

Evia Aero is not without expertise as it seeks to put these building blocks in place. One of its backers, Energiequelle, is involved in a business that owns and operates PV plants in Finland and Germany. Its leadership team also includes Gerd Weber, CEO of regional airline OLT, and the chair of its advisory board is Axel Trampnau, who previously ran the carrier Germania.

That seems reasonably strong.

If Energiequelle live up the mission statement on their web site, they could be particularly useful.

Hydrogen-Powered Islanders

This is said about their purchase of conversion kits for Islanders to be converted to hydrogen power.

Under current plans, the first aircraft in the Evia Aero flight will be nine-passenger Britten-Norman Islanders under a plan being advanced by Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) to convert the piston-powered models to hydrogen propulsion. Evia Aero expects these aircraft to be ready to enter service in 2026 and has agreed to buy 15 of the conversion kits.

The Islander may have flown nearly sixty years ago, but nearly 1300 have been built and they are still being manufactured, so there should be plenty available from conversion and spare parts shouldn’t be a problem.

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, is a spin-out of Cranfield University and the article says this about an ongoing project between CAeS and Evia Aero.

In 2022, the new airline signed a wider agreement with CAeS covering a provisional order for 10 hydrogen-powered 19-seat aircraft. The companies have not yet determined whether these would be conversions of existing aircraft or a clean-sheet design. Under the UK’s Project Fresson, CAeS is working on plans for new 19- and 75-seat zero-emissions regional airliners.

CAeS look like another serious contender in the zero-carbon airliner market.

Eviation Alice

This is said about the Eviation Alice.

Evia Aero has signed a memorandum of understanding covering provisional orders for 25 of Eviation’s nine-passenger, all-electric Alice aircraft. It expects to add the first of these to its fleet in 2028, a year after the U.S.-based manufacturer now says it aims to complete type certification, initially with the FAA.

Note.

Alice is running two years behind the Islander.
Certifying the Islander should be easier as it is an existing airliner.

I could see the earlier delivery and entry into service of the Islander, being used to develop the business.

Range And Routes

This is said about range and routes.

With either of these aircraft, Evia Aero will be launching its services with the equipment providing a modest payload and range. The Cranfield Islanders will be able to fly up to around 200 kilometers (109 nm), while Eviation last year reduced its range projections from 440 to 250 nm, citing the limitations of current battery technology.

Kruse accepts these limitations, while already laying plans to add subsequent 19-seat aircraft to his fleet. He showed FutureFlight route maps for both aircraft including planned destinations extending along the North Sea and Channel coasts from Denmark through Germany and the Benelux countries and into France and the UK.

The range isn’t that long.
It is 629 kilometres between Evia Aero’s base at Bremen and Southend.
Schiphol is closer at 89 kilometres with Groningen at 147 kilometres.

But the interesting one is Heligoland at 139 kilometres.

Heligoland

This Google Map shows the archipelago.

Note.

Heligoland is the island in the West.
Düne is the island in the East.
You can just pick out the characteristic pattern of Heligoland Airport‘s three concrete runways.

Why would anybody want to go to a rock in the North Sea?

This article on the Guardian, which is entitled Heligoland: Germany’s Hidden Gem In The North Sea, gives lots of reasons, including.

History.
It is a regular day trip from the German coast by ship.
It used to be British.
It could be at the heart of offshore wind developments.

But for German day-trippers, it’s probably the attraction of the island being duty-free.

It could be a nice little earner for an airline based in Bremen and it would be within the range of the Islanders.

A Pattern Of German Islands

This Google Map shows the German corner of the North Sea.

Note.

The island of Heligoland at the top of the map.
Bremen in the South-East corner of the map.
The string of islands along the German and Dutch coasts.
The red area marks out the most-Easterly island of Wangerooge.

This Google Map shows Wangerooge in detail.

Flugplatz Wangerooge is in the South-East corner of the map.

It has an 850 metre asphalt runway.
The island appears to have a sizeable beach.
The island has a population of around 1200.

The Wikipedia entry for Wangerooge says this about the character of the island.

In order to guarantee a relaxed atmosphere, cars are prohibited on the island. The island can be reached by ship from Harlesiel, or it can be reached by plane via its airfield, regular service being offered from Harlesiel, Bremen, or Hamburg. The ferries leave at different times every day according to the tide. As on most East Frisian Islands, a small narrow gauge railway line, the Wangerooge Island Railway, connects the harbor to the main village.

The Wikipedia entry, for the Wangerooge Island Railway gives a lot of detail about what looks to be a fascinating railway, including this opening paragraph.

The single track Wangerooge Island Railway (Wangerooger Inselbahn) is an unelectrified narrow gauge railway with a track gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) located on the East Frisian island of Wangerooge off the northwestern coast of Germany. It is the most important means of transport on the island and is the only narrow gauge railway operated today by the Deutsche Bahn.

I must visit next time, I go to Hamburg.

Working towards the West the next airfield, I can find is on Langeoog, which is shown in this Google Map.

Flugplatz Langeoog is marked by the blue arrow towards the South-East corner of the map.

Working towards the West the next airfield, I can find is on Nordeney, which is shown on this Google Map.

Flughaven Nordeney is at the bottom of the map.

It has a 1000 metre runway and judging by the planes on the map, it is very busy.

Continuing West brings me to the Eastern end of the island of Juist, which is shown on this Google Map.

Flugplatz Juist is indicated the rightmost blue arrow. This extract from the Wikipedia entry, illustrates the importance of this airfield.

As of 2013, the airfield had up to 500 takeoffs and landings on weekends, the second most aircraft movements in the state of Lower Saxony, after Hannover Airport. The airfield is a critical piece of infrastructure for the island, due to ferry traffic being dependent on the tides.

The airfield was also the first on the East Frisian Islands to have a paved runway

Continuing West brings me to Borkum, which is shown on this Google Map.

Note.

Borkum Airport is in the Eastern half of the map.

It has a 1000 metre asphalt runway.
Borkum has a population of around 5000.

On this brief exploration of the German East Frisian Islands, I have been surprised to find five airfields; Borkum, Juist, Langeoog, Nordeney and Wangerooge.

All seem to have asphalt or concrete runways.
Were these runways built as part of a plan to improve transport to the islands, as it appears the tides make the ferries a bit variable?

It also appears that the islands are totally or at least partially car-free.

On one island I noticed that the taxis are horse-drawn carriages.

So does this all fit well with the philosophy of Evia Aero of flying zero-carbon aircraft?

I suspect it does.

I also think, that Evia Aero’s thinking has been influenced by recent events in the area, which I talked about in From Groningen To Leer By Train.

To put it simply, a freighter called the Emsmoon, demolished the Freisenbrücke, which carries the Groningen and Bremen railway over the River Ems.
Zero-carbon aircraft flying between Groningen and Bremen would be a viable and quicker and more comfortable alternative to the bus I took.

I wonder if Evia Aero are planning a service between Groningen and Bremen.

Groningen and Bremen is 147 kilometres.
Islanders can cruise at 240 kph.
The service could call at the five intermediate airports.
I would reckon, that the service would take about an hour between Groningen and Bremen.
The aircraft would be refuelled at Groningen and Bremen.
I am fairly certain that two planes could run an hourly service.

I also suspect that the ticketing could be run by an app and if there were no passengers wanting to get on or off at an intermediate stop, then the plane would continue to the next stop, which would save fuel. If a passenger missed a plane, there would be only a wait of an hour until the next one.

Get this right and if it proves successful, then extra services could be added, to create a true Turn-Up-And-Go air service.

Landing And Take-Off Performance

This is a paragraph from the FutureFlight article.

Both the Islander and the Alice offer short takeoff and landing performance that will allow them to get in and out via limited runways in small communities. In the case of the Islander, which has been in service for several decades, it will even be able to operate from grass landing strips.

Every little helps.

Islanders can also use sand runways, as they do at Barra.

Refueling The Islanders

This image of the hydrogen-powered Islander was clipped from the Cranfield Aerospace Solutions’ home page.

Consider.

Many years ago, I had fun with a farmer friend moving a lot of apples in boxes, that were destined for Aspall Cyder with his forklift. The machine was powered by gas in a cylinder strapped horizontally behind the driver.
We ran out of gas halfway through and it was a simple matter of disconnecting the bottle and connecting another.
Drop tanks have been used in military aircraft for almost a hundred years.
Universal Hydrogen refuels its hydrogen-powered aircraft by changing a fuel capsule.

Look at the above picture and note the two green cylinders under the wings.

Could they be two hydrogen tanks for the aircraft?
They appear to have some aerodynamic features. Could this reduce drag, but increase lift?
Could they be cylinders for the hydrogen fuel?
If they are fuel cylinders, is it possible for one or two people and/or possibly a special truck to easily swap an empty one for a full one?

Fast refuelling would allow the aircraft to work hard.

Connecting To Major Hubs

My proposed East Frisian Islands service, only connects to Groningen and Bremen on the mainland.

Schiphol and Groningen Airports are only 93 kilometres apart.
Bremen and Hamburg Airports are only 103 kilometres apart.

After refuelling, flying on without a change of plane to a major hub would be possible.

Channel Hops

This is said about range.

With either of these aircraft, Evia Aero will be launching its services with the equipment providing a modest payload and range. The Cranfield Islanders will be able to fly up to around 200 kilometers (109 nm), while Eviation last year reduced its range projections from 440 to 250 nm, citing the limitations of current battery technology.

The only hops, I can find less than two hundred kilometres are.

Calais and Manston – 61 kilometres
Calais and Lydd – 71 kilometres
Calais and Southend – 111 kilometres
Le Touquet and Lydd – 69 kilometres
Le Touquet and Manston – 94 kilometres
Le Touquet and Southend – 134 kilometres
Ostend and Manston – 107 kilometres
Ostend and Lydd – 138 kilometres
Ostend and Southend – 210 kilometres
Cherbourg and Southampton – 147 kilometres

Note.

Manston and Southend are probably the two best British airports, as they have or will have a rail connection.
Only Le Touquet has a railway station close to the airport on the European side.

I do suspect, that Eurostar could kill channel-hopping, by adding extra services.

Possible Markets

The methodology developed at Bremen, could probably be applied to other services around Europe and the wider world.

This is a paragraph from the FutureFlight article.

Evia Aero, which Kruse said is already in talks with as many as 30 regional airports about possible air services, is also eyeing the Nordic countries, the UK’s islands, and parts of southern Germany as target markets. Norway with its mountainous coastline seems a promising early adopter for short flights in net zero aircraft, not least because the country’s government plans to ban conventional aircraft on domestic routes from 2030.

The low noise of the electric aircraft might make them acceptable, where other aircraft have been rejected in the past.

Conclusion

T think Evia Aero plans are sound, but I do wonder whether the freighter trashing the railway got Florian Kruse and his friends thinking.

March 11, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | Aviation, Bremen Airport, Britten-Norman Islander, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, Cranfield University, Electric Aircraft, Eurostar, EVIA AERO, Eviation Alice, Germany, Groningen Airport, Hamburg Airport, Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft, JCB, King Charles III, Northolt Airport, Project Fresson, Regional Aviation, Royal Train, Schipol Airport, Southend Airport, Wangerooge, Zero-Carbon Aircraft, Zero-Carbon Business Aircraft | Leave a comment

Is Transport for London’s Management Dysfunctional?

Perhaps six years ago, I e-mailed TfL to ask, if the five-digit number displayed on the bus-stop, to get details of how long you will wait for the next bus, could be repeated under the shelter, so that if you are waiting in bad weather you can find out the next bus time without venturing outside.

I got a reply saying they’d look into it.

About a year ago, they changed the instructions on the bus stops and the new posters have a space for the installers to put in the stop number.But have I seen one of these spaces with the number in it? Of course not!

Sounds like one department made a worthwhile change and then didn’t inform those, who would carry it out.

TfL is a dysfunctional operation, that needs a thorough overhaul of management. Starting at the top!

March 11, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Buses, Information, London Mayor, Transport for London | 2 Comments

UK Company Introduces Robotic Ecosystem For Offshore Wind Farm Inspections

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Marshall Futureworx, the venture building and advanced technologies arm of Marshall of Cambridge, has unveiled plans to provide offshore wind farm inspection services using a resident robotic ecosystem.

These two paragraphs outline the system.

Lilypad is an ecosystem of multiple autonomous BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) which utilise artificial intelligence and navigational sensors to provide dynamic and on-demand offshore inspection services, Marshall Futureworx said.

The UAVs are deployed from dedicated offshore charging stations and monitored by a single remote pilot stationed in an onshore command and control centre. Inspection data and reports are then transmitted back to the wind farm operators, which is said to enable faster, more frequent, reliable, and predictive maintenance scheduling and more effective utilisation of assets.

I can think of lots of uses for a system like this.

March 10, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Artificial Intelligence, Design, Energy | Drones, Innovation, Marshall of Cambridge, Offshore Wind Power, Robots | Leave a comment

Thoughts On High Speed Two

These are a few thoughts about High Speed Two, after the reports of major changes today.

This article on the BBC is entitled HS2 Line Between Birmingham And Crewe Delayed By Two Years.

This is the sub-heading.

The Birmingham to Crewe leg of high speed railway HS2 will be delayed by two years to cut costs.

These are the three opening paragraphs.

Some of the design teams working on the Euston end of the line are also understood to be affected.

Transport secretary Mark Harper blamed soaring prices and said it was “committed” to the line linking London, the Midlands and North of England.

HS2 has been beset by delays and cost rises. In 2010, it was expected to cost £33bn but is now expected to be £71bn.

Delivering The Benefits Of High Speed Two Early

It is my belief that with a large project taking a decade or more , it is not a bad idea to deliver some worthwhile benefits early on.

The Elizabeth Line opened in stages.

The new Class 345 trains started replacing scrapyard specials in 2017.
The rebuilt Abbey Wood station opened in 2017.
Paddington local services were transferred to the Elizabeth Line in 2019.
Outer stations reopened regularly after refurbishment from 2018.
The through line opened in May 2022.

There’s still more to come.

Some projects wait until everything is ready and everybody gets fed up and annoyed.

Are there any parts of High Speed Two, that could be completed early, so that existing services will benefit?

In 2020, the refurbishment of Liverpool Lime Street station and the tracks leading to the station was completed and I wrote about the station in It’s A Privilege To Work Here!, where this was my conclusion.

Wikipedia says this about Liverpool Lime Street station.

Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world.

I’ve used Lime Street station for fifty-five years and finally, it is the station, the city needs and deserves.

I’ve been to grand termini all over the world and Lime Street may be the oldest, but now it is one of the best.

Are there any stations, that will be served by High Speed Two, that should be upgraded as soon as possible to give early benefits to passengers, staff and operators?

Avanti West Cost have solved the problem of the short platforms at Liverpool South Parkway station, by ordering shorter Class 807 trains. Will High Speed Two lengthen the platforms at this station?

A good project manager will need to get all the smaller sub-projects in a row and work out what is the best time to do each.

Digital Signalling

I would assume, as this will be needed for High Speed Two services in the West Coast Main Line to the North of Crewe, this is surely a must for installing as early as possible.

If the existing trains could run for a hundred miles at 140 mph, rather than the current 125 mph, that would save five worthwhile minutes.

Trains could run closer together and there is the possibility of organising services in flights, where a number of trains run together a safe number of minutes apart.

Remove Bottlenecks On Classic Lines, That Could Be Used By High Speed Two

I don’t know the bottlenecks on the West Coast Main Line, but there are two on the East Coast Main Line, that I have talked about in the past.

Could ERTMS And ETCS Solve The Newark Crossing Problem?

Improving The North Throat Of York Station Including Skelton Bridge Junction

Hopefully, the digital signalling will solve them.

Any bottlenecks on lines that will be part of High Speed Two, should be upgraded as soon as possible.

Birmingham And Crewe

I will start by looking at the leg between Birmingham and Crewe.

This section of the HS2 map shows High Speed Two between Birmingham and Lichfield.

Note.

The blue circle on the left at the bottom of the map is Birmingham Curzon Street station.
The blue circle on the right at the bottom of the map is Birmingham Interchange station.
The High Speed Two to and from London passes through Birmingham Interchange station.
The branch to Birmingham Curzon Street station connects to the main High Speed Two at a triangular junction.
North of the triangular junction, High Speed Two splits.
The Eastern branch goes to East Midlands Parkway station.
The Northern branch goes to Crewe, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Preston and Scotland.

At the top of the map, the Northern branch splits and lines are shown on this map.

Note.

The junction where the Northern and Eastern branches divide is in the South-East corner of the map.
To the North of Lichfield, the route divides again.
The Northern purple line is the direct line to Crewe.
The shorter Southern branch is a spur that connects High Speed Two to the Trent Valley Line, which is the current route taken by trains between London Euston and Crewe, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Preston and Scotland.
Crewe station is in the North-West corner of the map.

The route between the junction to the North of Lichfield and Crewe is essentially two double-track railways.

High Speed Two with a routine operating speed of 205 mph.
The Trent Valley Line with a routine operating speed of 140 mph.
High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains can run on all tracks.
High Speed Two Full-Size trains may be able to run on the Trent Valley Line at reduced speed.
Eighteen trains per hour (tph) is the maximum frequency of High Speed Two.

I feel in an emergency, trains will be able to use the other route.

Will This Track Layout Allow An Innovative Build?

Suppose the link to the Trent Valley Line was built first, so that High Speed Two trains from London for Crewe, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Preston and Scotland, could transfer to the Trent Valley Line as they do now.

All lines used by High Speed Two services North of the junction, where High Speed Two joins the Trent Valley Line would be updated with digital signalling and 140 mph running. This will benefit current services on the line. For instance Euston and Liverpool/Manchester services could be under two hours.
The current services would be replaced by High Speed Two services run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
The direct High Speed Two route between Lichfield and Crewe would now be built.
When this section of High Speed Two is complete, High Speed Two services would use it between Lichfield and Crewe.
As the direct route would be built later, this would delay the building of the Birmingham and Crewe high-speed route.

Currently, trains run the 41.8 miles between Lichfield and Crewe in 28 minutes, which is an average speed of 89.6 mph.

I can build a table of average speeds and times for Lichfield and Crewe.

100 mph – 25.1 minutes – 2.9 minutes saving
110 mph – 22.8 minutes – 5.2 minutes saving
120 mph – 20.9 minutes – 7.1 minutes saving
125 mph – 20.1 minutes – 7.9 minutes saving
130 mph – 19.3 minutes – 8.7 minutes saving
140 mph – 17.9 minutes – 10.1 minutes saving
160 mph – 15.7 minutes – 12.3 minutes saving
180 mph – 13.9 minutes – 14.1 minutes saving
200 mph – 12.5 minutes – 15.5 minutes saving

Note.

Even a slight increase in average speed creates several minutes saving.
Times apply for both routes.

I believe that a 125 mph average should be possible on the Trent Valley route, which may be enough for Euston and Liverpool/Manchester services to be under two hours.

Improving Classic Lines Used By High Speed Two North Of Lichfield

Real Time Trains shows these figures for a Glasgow Central to Euston service.

Glasgow and Lichfield Trent Valley is 298.2 miles.
Glasgow and Lichfield Trent Valley takes five hours.

This is an average speed of 59.6 mph.

Note.

The average speed is low considering the trains are capable of cruising at 125 mph and 140 mph with digital signalling.
High Speed Two services between Euston and Glasgow will use the classic network, to the North of Lichfield.

I can build a table of average speeds and times for Glasgow and Lichfield.

100 mph – 179 minutes – 121 minutes saving
110 mph – 163 minutes – 157 minutes saving
120 mph – 149 minutes – 151 minutes saving
125 mph – 143 minutes – 157 minutes saving
130 mph – 138 minutes – 162 minutes saving
140 mph – 128 minutes – 172 minutes saving

This table illustrates why it is important to improve all or as many as possible of classic lines used by High Speed Two to enable 140 mph running, with full digital signalling. Obviously, if 140 mph is not feasible, the speed should be increased to the highest possible.

Routes that could be updated include.

London Euston and Glasgow Central
London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street
London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly (all routes)
London Euston and Blackpool
London Euston and Holyhead
London Euston and Shrewsbury

Not all these routes will be served by High Speed Two, but they could be served by 140 mph trains.

What Times Would Be Possible?

The InterCity 225 was British Rail’s ultimate electric train and these two paragraphs from its Wikipedia entry, describe its performance.

The InterCity 225 was designed to achieve a peak service speed of 140 mph (225 km/h); during a test run in 1989 on Stoke Bank between Peterborough and Grantham, an InterCity 225 was recorded at a speed of 162 mph (260.7 km/h). Its high speed capabilities were again demonstrated via a 3hr 29mins non-stop run between London and Edinburgh on 26 September 1991. British regulations have since required in-cab signalling on any train running at speeds above 125 mph (201 km/h) preventing such speeds from being legally attained in regular service. Thus, except on High Speed 1, which is equipped with cab signalling, British signalling does not allow any train, including the InterCity 225, to exceed 125 mph (201 km/h) in regular service, due to the impracticality of correctly observing lineside signals at high speed.

The InterCity 225 has also operated on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). In April 1992, one trainset achieved a new speed record of two hours, eight minutes between Manchester and London Euston, shaving 11 minutes off the 1966 record. During 1993, trials were operated to Liverpool and Manchester in connection with the InterCity 250 project.

The fastest London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly services appear to be two hours and six minutes tomorrow, with stops at Nuneaton and Stoke-on-Trent.
The fastest London King’s Cross and Edinburgh service is four hours seventeen minutes tomorrow.

It does appear that British Rail’s 1980s-vintage InterCity 225 train did very well.

Trains that would be able to run at 140 mph with updated signalling include.

Alstom Class 390
Hitachi Class 800, 801, 802, 803, 805, 807 and 810
British Rail InterCity 225
High Speed Two Classic-Compatible.

All are electric trains.

Could High Speed Two, West Coast Main Line and East Coast Main Line Services Be Run By High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains?

I don’t see why not!

They would be able to use short stretches of High Speed Line like Lichfield and Crewe.
LNER and CrossCountry could also use the trains.
High Speed Two is providing the framework and it’s there to be used, provided the paths are available.

This graphic shows the preliminary schedule.

It only shows ten trains going through Crewe, so there could be up to eight spare high speed paths between Birmingham and Crewe.

Could High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains Be Used To Advantage On The East Coast Main Line?

I published this extract from the Wikipedia entry for the InterCity 225 earlier.

The InterCity 225 was designed to achieve a peak service speed of 140 mph (225 km/h); during a test run in 1989 on Stoke Bank between Peterborough and Grantham, an InterCity 225 was recorded at a speed of 162 mph (260.7 km/h). Its high speed capabilities were again demonstrated via a 3hr 29mins non-stop run between London and Edinburgh on 26 September 1991.

The London and Edinburgh run was at an average speed of around 112 mph.

I wonder what time, one of LNER’s Class 801 trains, that are all-electric could do, once the new digital signalling has been fully installed on the route? I suspect it would be close to three hours, but it would depend on how long the trains could run at 140 mph.

It should be noted that the Selby Diversion was designed for 160 mph, when it was built by British Rail in the 1980s.

In Are Short Lengths Of High Speed Line A Good Idea?, I look at the mathematics of putting in short lengths of new railway, which have higher speeds, where this was part of my conclusion.

I very much feel there is scope to create some new high speed sections on the current UK network, with only building very little outside of the current land used by the network.

I would love to know what some of Network Rail’s track experts feel is the fastest time possible between London and Edinburgh that can be achieved, by selective upgrading of the route.

If some of the trains were High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, with a top speed of 205 mph, provided the track allowed it, there could be some interesting mathematics balancing the costs of track upgrades, new trains with what passengers and operators need in terms of journey times.

Could High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains Be Used To Advantage On The West Coast Main Line?

Much of what I said about the East Coast Main Line would apply to the West Coast Main Line.

But in addition, the West Coast Main Line will be a superb place to test the new High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains.

I believe, that before High Speed Two opens, we’ll see High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, carrying passengers between Euston and Avanti West Coast’s destinations.

Could High Speed Two Be Split Into Two?

Consider.

Under earlier plans, the East Coast Main Line to the North of York, will be used by High Speed Two.
With digital signalling the East Coast Main Line will support continuous running at 140 mph for long sections of the route.
The East Coast Main Line has a recently-rebuilt large Southern terminal at King’s Cross with eleven platforms and good suburban services and excellent connections to the London Underground.
The East Coast Main Line has a very large Northern terminal at Edinburgh Waverley with twenty platforms and good local train connections.
There are large intermediate stations on the East Coast Main Line at Doncaster, Leeds, Newcastle, Peterborough and York. All these stations have good local train connections.
The East Coast Main Line has important branches to Cambridge, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull King’s Lynn, Lincoln, Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Scarborough, Sheffield, Skegness and Sunderland.

We are talking about an asset, that needs improving rather than sidelining.

Could High Speed Two Be A One-Nation Project?

Over three years ago, I wrote Could High Speed Two Be A One-Nation Project? and tried to answer the question in the title.

But now the core network is better defined, perhaps it is time to look at extending the High Speed network again.

The next few sections look at possible extensions.

Serving Chester And North Wales

I looked at this in Could High Speed Two Trains Serve Chester And North Wales?, which I have updated recently.

This was my conclusion.

It looks to me, that when High Speed Two, think about adding extra destinations, Chester and Holyhead could be on the list.

I also suspect that even without electrification and High Speed Two services, but with the new Class 805 trains, the route could be a valuable one for Avanti West Coast.

These are current and promised times for the two legs to Holyhead.

Euston and Crewe – 90 minutes – Fastest Class 390 train
Euston and Crewe – 55 minutes – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train from Wikipedia
Crewe and Holyhead – 131 minutes – Fastest Class 221 train
Crewe and Holyhead – 70 minutes – 90 mph average speed
Crewe and Holyhead – 63 minutes – 100 mph average speed
Crewe and Holyhead – 57 minutes – 110 mph average speed
Crewe and Holyhead – 53 minutes – 120 mph average speed
Crewe and Holyhead – 45 minutes – 140 mph average speed

Note.

I have assumed that Crewe and Holyhead is 105.5 miles.
The operating speed of the North Wales Coast Line is 90 mph.
In the following estimates, I have assumed a change of train at Crewe, takes 6 minutes.

I think there are several options to run fast services to Chester and North Wales.

Pre-HS2 – Class 805 all the way