Battery Traction Trial Ahead As TransPennine Express Fortunes Improve
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette International.
This is the sub-heading.
Overcrowding and short-notice cancellations at state-owned TransPennine Express have declined since the December timetable change, prompting Managing Director Chris Jackson to suggest the operator is in a ‘better place’.
It is a must-read article and the section called Battery Power Trial, says this.
Meanwhile, the Class 802 trainset which was damaged in a shunting accident in March 2022 remains out of traffic. Although No 802 207 has now been repaired, it will not be returning to service yet, as it is receiving modifications for use as a battery testbed.
This will see a 6 m long, 2·2 m wide battery module installed in place of one of the existing engines, which will improve fuel efficiency by using two diesel powerpacks rather than three.
The battery module will provide top-up power for peak demand and give regenerative braking capability when operating in diesel mode, which the trains currently do not have. Arrival and departure at stations is also to be trialled in battery mode to assess noise and air-quality improvements. The train is planned to re-enter traffic in December.
‘We’re supplying that unit to support what we think is a sensible industry scheme to look at whether we can do something to move from bi-mode to tri-mode, which could be beneficial for the industry from a green perspective’, Jackson confirms.
That looks to be a good plan, but I can’t help feeling that battery power for the Class 802 trains has been a long time coming.
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%, which announced the project was published on the 15th December 2020.
It will be four years from when Hitachi and Eversholt Rail said go, before the prototype is running.
Is this why LNER bought their new trains from CAF?
Designing A Battery-Powered Mountain Goat
When I wrote Up To Ebbw Vale From Newport, this comment was posted.
I’m not surprised that the Class 150 train, had no difficulty in climbing up to Ebbw Vale Town. The max gradient is around 1 in 65. There are plenty of places in Britain where gradients are steeper and indeed part of the type test for all dmus was to climb the 2 mile, 1 in 37.7 Lickey Incline starting a couple of hundred metres before the beginning of the slope.
It certainly got me thinking.
Could a line like Newport and Ebbw Vale be decarbonised, by simply fitting batteries to an appropriately-sized electric train?
- The battery would be charged using the 25 KVAC overhead electrification in Newport station.
- The train would climb the hill to Ebbw Vale Town on battery power.
- Coming down the regenerative braking would charge the battery.
- Once in the platform at Newport station, the battery would be topped up, to the level needed to climb the hill, from the existing electrification.
The question is can the train carry enough juice in a battery?
I will work the example through with a three-car Class 331 train.
- I have chosen a Class 331 train, as CAF have a factory in Newport.
- The train weighs 30.48 tonnes.
- It has 213 seats.
- If I assume that each passenger is 80 Kg including baggage, bikes and buggies, that gives a mass of 17.04 tonnes or a total mass of 47.08 tonnes.
- The difference in altitude between Ebbw Vale Town and Newport is 764 feet.
Using Omni’s Potential Energy Calculator, that gives a value of 29.9 kWh.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks from Newport to Pye Corner.
Note.
- Red tracks are electrified and black ones are not.
- Newport station is in the North-East corner of the map, with the South Wales Main Line running through.
- Pye Corner station is marked by the blue arrow and is the first station on the climb to Ebbw Vale.
- The unelectrified Ebbw Vale branch has a triangular junction with the electrified South Wales Main Line.
- The electrification continues for a short way towards Pye Corner and goes all the way to Newport and Cardiff.
- Trains take 24 minutes to turn round in Newport.
- Newport and Ebbw Vale Town is about twenty miles.
It can be safely said that trains will start their climb to Ebbw Vale with a full battery.
What Battery Size Will Be Needed?
I don’t think it will be that large and it will be the smallest battery, that could take a train up the hill.
As part of the climb is double track, the up track could be electrified to enable a smaller battery to be used, which would mean less power would be needed, due to the lower weight.
Conclusion
I believe that it will be possible to fit CAF’s Class 331 trains with a battery large enough to take a train up the hill to Ebbw Vale Town.
Ebbw Vale Town Station – 3rd February 2024
I took these pictures as Ebbw Vale Town station.
Note.
- There is a cableway to the main town.
- But t wasn’t working as it was Saturday.
- There is a large college.
- There was no information, as to how to get to the town.
- The Cardiff and Newport trains alternate every half hour.
The area certainly needed better information and perhaps a cafe, so that commuters can buy a coffee for their journey!
These are my thoughts.
The Capacity Of Ebbw Vale Town Station
According to this page on the Network Rail web site, the single platform at Ebbw Vale Town station is approximately 150 metres in length to fit up to six train carriages.
As at the current time, services are run by two- or three-car, it would appear that if a train failed in the station, the platform is long enough to accommodate another train to continue the services.
In the Wikipedia entry for Ebbw Vale Town station, it is indicated that a second platform could be built. There is certainly enough space.
Operation Of Ebbw Vale Town Station
I was at Ebbw Vale Town station for nearly two hours and I watched three Newport and two Cardiff trains arrive and leave every half-hour.
- I had arrived on the first train from Newport.
- The Cardiff trains were busy with passengers for the rugby.
- I took the third Newport train, so I could catch my train back to Reading.
- The system seemed to be working well.
Is there another single-platform station on a branch line, that serves two main line stations alternatively every half hour?
Increasing Capacity To Ebbw Vale Town Station
In Designing A Battery-Powered Mountain Goat, I stated that I believe that a small fleet of CAF’S Class 331 trains fitted with batteries could handle the Cardiff and Newport services to Ebbw Vale Town.
The sight and the curiosity of battery-electric trains climbing up the hills will certainly create more traffic on the route.
The simple solution is to lengthen the trains and that is easy at the moment, as the services are run using Class 150 trains with a Class 153 to add extra capacity, where needed.
But could a half-hourly service be run to both Cardiff and Newport?
This would double the capacity and make it more user friendly.
Nothing is said on the Internet about whether this is possible on not, but I believe that with modern digital signalling and battery-electric trains, with better performance than the elderly British Rail-era diesels, that it would be possible to run a half-hourly service to both Cardiff and Newport.
Conclusion
I believe that Network Rail have done a good job in designing this scheme.
City Of London: Skyscraper As Tall As The Shard Planned
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A skyscraper the same height as The Shard is being planned for London.
These are the first three paragraphs.
One Undershaft would reach 74-storeys, according to revised plans submitted to City of London Corporation.
The amended proposals include a new stepped design instead of a previous rectangular shape, with the building initially receiving approval in 2016.
A public consultation has taken place on the proposals, which would see London’s highest public viewing gallery at the top of the skyscraper.
This Google Map shows the site.
Note.
- One Undershaft is indicated by the red arrow.
- The Gherkin is next door.
- This web page shows the architect’s visualisation.
I don’t think it will a sore thumb like The Shard, which intrudes into so many London views.
The Anonymous Widower 