The Anonymous Widower

A Fraught Journey Between Worcester Shrub Hill And Reading Stations

My train home from Worcester Shrub Hill station didn’t make the most impressive of starts to my journey back to Reading.

• The five-car train was supposed to leave at 15:15.
• It was also supposed to arrive in Reading at 16:58.
• But the relief driver was delayed.

Eventually, we left at 15:31.

The train didn’t appear to be running at full speed and around Moreton-in-Marsh, staff started distributing water, which in my view is always a sign that all is not well.

I measured the temperature and humidity at 26.7 °C and 40% respectively, so the water was welcome.

I asked one of the staff what was up and was informed, that two of the engines were overheating because of the heat, so were we effectively running on the remaining cool engine?

Eventually, we were informed that the train would terminate at Charlbury station, where we would all be picked up by the following train, which would have nine cars.

After Charlbury, things didn’t get much better.

• The rescue train eventually left Charlbury at 17:38, which was twenty-six minutes late.
• The train wasn’t full and I had a table to myself, but after Oxford, there wasn’t a seat anywhere.
• We missed out the stop at Didcot Parkway station because of flooding, caused because of a violent thunder storm.
• The rescue train didn’t even make Paddington and it was terminated short in the bi-directional Platform 7 at Reading, because of an unwell passenger.

Eventually, when I arrived in Reading station at 18:55, the rescue train was fifty-five minutes late.

As my original train, should have arrived at 16:58, I was actually, three minutes short of two hours late.

By the time, I got to Platform 14 for the 16:59 Elizabeth Line train to Central London, it had gone, so I had another thirty minute wait.

I finally arrived home at 21:00, after a nearly 5¾ hour journey.

I have a few thoughts.

Changing At Reading

Part of the reason, that I missed my Elizabeth Line train, was that the escalators to Platform 14 were out of action and I had to wait for the lift, as I don’t trust myself going down stairs.

I have said before that if you need a ticket in your change a Reading, there should be a ticket machine on the bridge.

As Reading station is managed by Network Rail, perhaps, they should examine the operation of the station with a good dose of old-fashioned time and motion in more detail.

The Elizabeth Line Frequency To London

The Elizabeth Line only runs two trains per hour (tph) between London and Reading.

This may be fine when everything is going well, but on days like Sunday, when trains aren’t performing well and the weather is not behaving itself, would four tph be better?

Perhaps, the two extra trains would run between Reading and Abbey Wood, and only stop at say Twyford, Maidenhead, Slough, Hayes & Harlington, Southall, Ealing Broadway, Old Oak Common, Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich.

Great Western Railway Trains Between Oxford, Reading and Didcot Parkway and London

The three terminals get the following services to and from London

• Didcot Parkway – 4 tph
• Oxford – 4 tph
• Reading – 11½ tph – 8½ fast and 3 slow

Consider these questions.

• How many travellers between Didcot Parkway, Oxford and Reading and Paddington, now use the Elizabeth Line for onward travel from Paddington?
• How many of the endless visitors to Oxford start their journey on the Elizabeth Line?
• How many visitors to Oxford combine a trip with one to Bicester Village?
• How many travelling by train between Oxford and Cambridge will use part of the Elizabeth Line for the journey?
• Is it fair, that Cambridge is connected to four London rail terminals; King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, London Bridge and St. Pancras and Oxford is connected to just two; Marylebone and Paddington?

I suspect there’s considerable scope to reorganise services between the three stations and London to provide a better service.

GWR’s Paddington and Didcot Parkway service, which has a frequency of two tph,  could be moved to the Elizabeth Line and possibly extended to Oxford, once Didcot Parkway and Oxford is electrified.

This would give.

• Didcot Parkway would have  two fast tph to Paddington and two stopping tph on the Elizabeth Line with all its connectivity and delights.
• Oxford would have  two fast tph to Paddington and two stopping tph on the Elizabeth Line.
• Reading will have a much-needed Elizabeth Line frequency of four tph.

Note.

1. Terminating the Elizabeth Line at Oxford, means that there are services connecting Oxford and Cambridge, with a single change at either Farringdon or Liverpool Street.
2. Oxford would also get one change connectivity to Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted Airports.
3. The slow lines between Oxford and Maidenhead typically have operating speeds of 90-100 mph. So if the Class 345 trains on the Elizabeth Line and the track were upgraded to 100 mph, this might save a few minutes in the outer reaches of the Elizabeth Line.
4. The Elizabeth Line could terminate in one or two South-facing bay platforms on the East side of the station. This position would reduce passenger traffic on the crowded footbridge.
5. If all the bay platforms were on the same East side of the station, this would simplify and ease passenger flows.
6. Chiltern and East West Railway services could be timed for an easy interchange.
7. The proposed Cowley Branch could also use the South-facing bay platforms.

The more I look at it, the more I like the idea of running the Elizabeth Line to Oxford.

The Heat Problem On The Class 800 Trains

The Wikipedia entry for the Class 800 trains has this paragraph on the overheating of the engines or generator units (GUs) on the trains.

The GU is installed on vibration-isolating mountings, and fitted with side-mounted cowls to reduce external noise. Heat management measures include thermal insulation around key areas such as cable ducts. According to Modern Railways magazine, the limited space available for the GUs is responsible for them being prone to overheating. It claimed that, on one day in summer 2018, “half the diagrammed units were out of action as engines shut down through overheating”.

That was in 2018, which was five years ago. But it appears to be still happening.

Would Overheating Happen With Battery Units?

One of the reasons, I went to Worcester was to assess the feasibility of battery-electric trains on the route.

This article from EV-Lectron is entitled Electric Cars in Hot Weather – What You Need To Know, gives a detailed set of answers.

But it probably comes to the conclusion, that cold weather with the extra heating load might be more of the problem.

I suspect, that if you were running battery electric trains on a route of over fifty miles, the best thing would be to have electrification at both ends of the route.

If, as I have calculated in Reading And Oxford – 10th June 2023, that to run battery-electric trains to Hereford needs a length of electrification between Worcester Shrub Hill and Great Malvern stations, then when they leave the electrification, they should have the interiors at the right temperature for staff and passengers.

I also suspect that battery-electric trains need to be well insulated to cope better with cold weather.

 

June 13, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | bicester Village, Chiltern Railways, Class 345 Train, Class 800 Train, Cowley Branch, Didcot Parkway Station, East West Railway, Elizabeth Line, Great Malvern Station, Network Rail, Oxford Station, Paddington Station, Reading Station, Worcester Shrub Hill Station