The Anonymous Widower

London And Edinburgh By Lumo Using the Joint Line Diversion

This press release on the First Group web site is entitled FirstGroup Applies To Run Rochdale To London Rail Service With New British-Built Trains.

These are the first two paragraphs.

FirstGroup plc, the leading private sector transport operator, has submitted the first phase of an application for a new open access rail service between Rochdale and London to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), restoring this direct link for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.

FirstGroup plans to expand its open access rail operations as part of its successful Lumo business, building on Lumo’s existing service which has transformed long-distance connectivity between London and Edinburgh and helped support a growth in passenger numbers for all operators on the East Coast Mainline. All of the trains on this new route will be electric and battery powered, and the service will be operated by brand new trains built in the UK.

Note.

1. This service will be run under the Lumo brand.
2. Battery-electric trains will be used.
3. Stops will include Manchester Victoria, Eccles, Newton-le-Willows and Warrington Bank Quay.
4. Only 15 km. of the route, between Miles Platting and Rochdale is not electrified.

Allowing for out and back trips between Platting and Rochdale, a sensible reserve and I suspect a battery-electric train with a range of 40-50 kilometres, would allow the train to be able to do a round trip to Rochdale from London Euston.

Hitachi have now published this page on their web site, which is entitled Intercity Battery Trains.

These are the first two paragraphs.

A quick and easy application of battery technology is to install it on existing or future Hitachi intercity trains. Hitachi Rail’s modular design means this can be done without the need to re-engineer or rebuild the train and return them to service as quickly as possible for passengers.

Replacing one diesel engine with just one battery reduces emissions by more than 20% and offers cost savings of 20-30%. Our intercity battery powered trains can cover 70km on non-electrified routes, operating at intercity speeds at the same or increased performance.

It would appear that Hitachi’s standard Intercity Battery Train will have a range of 70 km.

• A 70 km. range would be more than enough to handle Lumo’s Euston and Rochdale service.
• Lumo’s Class 803 trains don’t have a diesel generator to replace.
• One car does have a smaller battery for emergency hotel power, should the electrification fail.

As an Electrical Engineer, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the traction batteries of Hitachi’s standard Intercity Battery Train and the emergency batteries of Lumo’s Class 803 trains are of a similar design. The batteries could even be interchangeable, which would enable both Lumo’s routes to Scotland and Rochdale to use identical Class 803 trains.

Lumo’s Class 803 trains would have this specification.

• All-electric.
• Emergency battery to provide back-up hotel power.
• A range on battery of 70 km or 43 miles away from electrification.

The off-electrification range could be very useful in getting round incidents or overhead wiring problems.

An extended range of 70 km. would allow the following destinations to have all-electric services from London.

• Beverley #
• Bristol Temple Meads #
• Cheltenham #
• Chester
• Harrogate
• Huddersfield
• Hull
• Lincoln
• Middlesbrough
• Swansea #

Destinations marked with a hash (#), would need charging at the final destination.

A more detailed analysis will probably show other possible routes.

It looks to me, that Hitachi have got the specification of their Intercity Battery Train about right.

Bridging The Joint Line Diversion

This OpenRailwayMap shows the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE) or Joint Line.

Note.

1. Doncaster is in the North-West corner of the map.
2. Peterborough is in the South-East corner of the map.
3. The red line connecting them is the East Coast Main Line.
4. Lincoln station is marked by the blue arrow.

Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE) is described like this by its Wikipedia entry.

The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, colloquially referred to as “the Joint Line” was a railway line connecting Doncaster and Lincoln with March and Huntingdon in the eastern counties of England. It was owned jointly by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and the Great Eastern Railway (GER).

Over the last decades of the Twentieth Century, the Joint Line declined and British Rail did their worst to simplify the route.

But in the 2010s, Network Rail developed the route into a by-pass for the East Coast Main Line between Werrington and Black Carr junctions via Lincoln.

• Trains are routed via Spalding, Sleaford, Lincoln, Saxilby and Gainsborough.
• There is no electrification.
• The route can handle two freight trains per hour.
• The route can handle 9 ft. 6 in containers.
• There is a passenger service between Doncaster and Peterborough via Lincoln.
• Self-powered trains like InterCity125s, Class 800 trains and Class 802 trains can use their diesel power to use the diversion.
• All-electric trains, like LNER’s Class 801 trains and Lumo’s Class 803 trains have no self-power, so can’t use the diversion.
• Black Carr junction and Lincoln is 35 miles.
• Werrington junction and Lincoln is 51.7 miles.

The January 2024 Edition of Modern Railways says that the diversion is approximately 90 miles or 145 kilometers.

It would appear that there are two simple solutions.

1. Electrify a section through Lincoln, so that Lincoln is within 70 kilometres of the electrification at both Werrington and Black Carr junctions.
2. Fit bigger batteries to the trains.

A combination of both solutions might be possible.

August 17, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | British Rail, Class 800 Train, Class 801 Train, Class 802 Train, Class 803 Trains, Edinburgh Station, Euston Station, FirstGroup, Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE), InterCity 125, Kings Cross, Lumo, Lumo King's Cross And Edinburgh, Network Rail, Rochdale Station