Avanti West Coast Increases Liverpool – London Services With Launch Of Electric Evero Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the sub-heading.
Avanti West Coast officially launched the Class 807 electric only-version of its Hitachi-built Evero trainsets into service on November 11. This enables the operator to offer an additional weekday return service between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston.
On the 14th of November 2024, these services were run by new Class 807 trains.
- 3F79 – 807001 – 2100 – Northampton to Liverpool Lime Street
- 3F80 – 807001 – 0023 – Liverpool Lime Street to Edge Hill Depot
- 5A99 – 807001 – 0836 – Edge Hill Depot to Liverpool Lime Street
- 1A99 – 807001 – 0901 – Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston – 02:40
- 1F12 – 807003 – 0743 – London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street – 03:07
- 1A28 – 807003 – 1043 – Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston – 02:20
Note,
- I have shown all Class 807 movements that happened. Some possibly didn’t!
- There appear to be extra services, which I’ve marked with their times.
- Time seems to be available to go to Edge Hill Depot if needed.
- I suspect an open return ticket can be used on any train, that’s running.
Services seem to be slow, but they can be booked.
Avanti Are Ramping Up The Service
I suspect that as they add more trains, times will come down and a stop at Liverpool South Parkway will be added.
The Class 390 trains currently used on the Liverpool route are too long for Liverpool South Parkway station.
But seven-car Class 807 trains would fit easily.
The shorter and lighter seven-car Class 807 trains may well have faster acceleration and deceleration than the nine- or eleven-car Class 390 trains with their heavy tilting mechanism.
Could this extra performance mean that the Class 807 trains could still meet the timetable with extra stops?
In Is Liverpool Going To Get High Speed One-Point-Five?, I discussed various options for the London and Liverpool service.
I believe that a practical timetable like this could work.
- Eleven-car Class 390 train – one tph – Non-stop or perhaps a single stop in the Midlands – Under two hours
- Seven-car Class 807 train – one tph – Stopping at Nuneaton, Stafford, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway – Current time or better
Note.
- An hourly service between London and Liverpool in under two hours would surely be a passenger magnet.
- Two tph would be a 43 % hourly increase in the number of seats between London and Liverpool.
- There would be better connections between Liverpool Lime Street and the East Midlands.
The Railway Gazette article also says this.
From the December timetable change AWC will supplement the current hourly Liverpool – London service with an extra two trains each way every weekday and a third service on Saturdays.
In the short term, AWC will not be delivering the long-standing plan for a half-hourly service on the route, but further services are to be introduced over the next year.
One constraint relates to the power supply. Network Rail has identified two locations where additional electric services cannot currently be accommodated, and discussions over a resolution are ongoing.
A fast service could also be applied to one of the London and Manchester services.
It should be noted, that the two hours and eight minutes record between Manchester and London Euston was set by an InterCity 225 in 1992, so perhaps a seven-car Class 807 could do better than a Class 390 train.
Could A Pair Of Class 807 Trains Leave Euston For Liverpool And Manchester, And Split At Crewe?
Train lengths are as follows.
- Seven-car Class 807 train – 182 metres.
- Fourteen-car Class 807 train – 364 metres.
- Nine-car Class 390 train – 217.5 metres.
- Eleven-car Class 390 train – 365.3 metres.
- Caledonian Sleeper – 374 metres.
I suspect with perhaps a small amount of platform lengthening, a pair of Class 807 could be fitted into all stations, where they would need to call.
This might be a way of adding extra capacity and faster services to Manchester, without needing an extra path on the West Coast Main Line.
Could A Single Class 807 Train Call At Manchester Airport Station?
The platforms at Manchester Airport station are 192 metres long, so a single Class 807 train should fit.
This would allow an hourly service from Manchester Airport to the South, without a change at Manchester Piccadilly or Crewe.
To save paths, it could split and join with the second Liverpool service at Crewe.
Conclusion
The new Class 807 trains could increase performance to between London Euston and both Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly.
German Firm Plans To Build Britain’s Biggest Solar Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on The Times.
These three paragraphs outline the project.
The developers behind a controversial solar power project in Oxfordshire have submitted a planning application for what is thought will be the largest such scheme in western Europe.
The site in Botley West is being developed by Photovolt, a German company, and could generate 840 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power about 330,000 homes.
However, the project has sparked a backlash among some local residents, who argue the scheme will blight the landscape.
A map shows the site and it is certainly a large one.
- The Botley West site will cover a total of about 3,200 acres.
- It will pass through 15 villages.
- About 1,235 acres will not be covered with solar panels.
- It has a web site, which gives more information.
- There is also a Stop Botley West web site.
I can certainly understand the opposition.
These are my thoughts.
I Would Add A Battery To The Panels
An added battery would undoubtedly smooth the output of the solar panels. Especially, when the sun is not out to play!
A total capacity of 840 MW is planned for Botley West and in my opinion as a Control Engineer, a sizeable battery is needed.
I would not use a Battery Energy Storage System or BESS based on lithium-ion batteries, as I believe that Highview Power’s liquid air batteries and others offer cost and environmental advantages. But that is one for the accountants and the environmentalists!
I Might Add A Few Appropriately-Sized Wind Turbines To The Farm
In Skegness Wind Turbine Trial To Light Up Pier In UK First, I discuss using small, vertical wind turbines from a Norwegian company called Ventum Dynamics.
This picture shows a Ventum Dynamics turbine on Skegness Pier.
On the Ventum Dynamics web site, there are several pictures of buildings with flat roofs, that have several turbines on each.
Surely, if you’re installing a comprehensive electrical network, then it should be used to collect all the electricity it can.
I believe that Ventum’s turbines could be alternated in a line with trees, so that they merged more into the countryside. Some experiments need to be done.
I Would Also Fit Solar Roofs To Suitable Buildings
Every little helps!
Conclusion
When mixing solar panels and wind turbines into the countryside, you need to be bold and discard preconceived ideas.
Ricardo’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Module Celebrates Key Milestone To Successfully Generating Power
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Ricardo.
This is the sub-heading.
Ricardo’s ground-breaking high-powered multi-stack hydrogen fuel cell module has reached a new milestone. Following its initial activation, the module is generating significant power output.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Initially developed to generate high energy output with zero-emissions for the maritime sector as part of the Sustainable Hydrogen Powered Shipping (sHYpS) project, the core technology is suitable for a wide range of high-power applications. Ricardo is already seeing strong interest from sectors including, stationary power, rail, off-highway and high-performance vehicles.
The module has already achieved Lloyd’s Register’s Approval in Principle for the system’s safety and certification approach for ocean-going applications. As well as the fuel cell power plant, the sHYpS project is developing a novel swappable liquid hydrogen storage solution, which can be adapted to multiple types of vessels and accelerate the achievement of the International Maritime Organisation’s decarbonisation targets.
Note.
- It seems to be a versatile fuel cell module.
- Ricardo also seem to have designed or sourced a novel refuelling solution.
- The power of the fuel cell module is not given.
I can see a lot of applications for a large fuel cell module.
The Anonymous Widower 