The Anonymous Widower

FirstGroup Acquires London – South Wales Open Access Business And Plans Lumo To Devon

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

This is the sub-heading.

‘Growing our open access rail portfolio is a key priority’, FirstGroup CEO Graham Sutherland said on December 5 when the company announced that it had acquired Grand Union Trains GWML Holdings Ltd. GUT holds track access rights to launch an open access passenger service between London and Carmarthen. FirstGroup has also applied for paths to launch a London to Paignton service.

FirstGroup seem to have acted quickly to replace the business that they have lost to the Government.

This is said about the London Paddington  and Carmarthen route.

The London Paddington to Carmarthen service is now expected to launch in December 2027, with GUT having secured track access rights to the end of 2037.

There will be five services each way per day, calling at stations including Bristol Parkway, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction, Cardiff Central, Gowerton and Llanelli. FirstGroup said it would provide low fares, ‘more customer choice and much-needed additional capacity’.

It is still considering rolling stock options, and ’updates will be provided in due course’. The trains would have one class, free wi-fi and onboard catering.

After the successful trial of battery-powered high speed trains that I wrote about in ‘UK-First’ Intercity Battery Trial Exceeds Expectations, I would suspect that the train would run between London Paddington and Carmarthen like this.

• Run between London Paddington and Cardiff Central using the 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
• Whilst running between Paddington and Cardiff Central, the train’s batteries will be fully charged using the overhead electrification.
• Run between Cardiff Central and Carmarthen using the onboard battery power.
• Charge the train as required at Carmarthen.

Note.

1. London Paddington and Cardiff Central is 145.2 miles or 233.7 km.
2. Cardiff Central and Carmarthen via Gowerton is 75.3 miles or 121.2 km.
3. In case of disruption, trains could wait at Cardiff Central, until the batteries had enough charge.

A battery capability of 121.2 km will be needed.

This is said about the London Paddington and Paignton route.

An application has been submitted to the Office of Rail & Road for the service to incorporate five return trips per day between London Paddington and Paignton via stations including Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton, Exeter St David’s and Torquay from May 2028, as well as a sixth path between Highbridge & Burnham and London.

I suspect that the Paignton route will use a similar profile to the Carmarthen route.

• Run between London Paddington and Chippenham using the 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
• Whilst running between Paddington and Chippenham, the train’s batteries will be fully charged using the overhead electrification.
• Run between Chippenham and Paignton using the onboard battery power.
• Charge the train as required at Paignton .

Note.

1. London Paddington and Chippenham is 93.5 miles or 233.7 km.
2. Chippenham and Paignton is 128.6 miles or 207 km.
3. In case of disruption, trains could wait at Chippenham , until the batteries had enough charge.

A battery capability of 207 km will be needed.

This page on the Hitachi Rail web site is entitled Intercity Battery Trains, where this is a paragraph.

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.

I am a Graduate Control and Electrical Engineer and I believe that, if you have a train with two batteries, then by sequencing and managing the power, a range of 140 km. should be possible. As a typical Class 802 train, as used by Hull Trains has three diesel engines, would the train have a range of 210 km., if all three were swapped for batteries?

One fact, that has been disclosed by Hitachi, is that diesel engines and battery packs are identical in weight and power, so train performance and handling is unaffected, by the number of batteries.

If we look at the routes of First Group present and future subsidiaries and how much is on unelectrified track, we can create the following table.

• Beverley – Hull Trains – 71.3 km.
• Carmarthen – Lumo – 121.2 km.
• Hull – Hull Trains – 58,1 km.
• Paignton – Lumo – 207 km.
• Rochdale – Lumo – 16.7 km.
• Sheffield – Hull Trains – 37.5 km.
• Worksop – Hull Trains – 12.2 km.

Note,

1. One two or three batteries could be fitted.
2. Some destinations could be served without any charging at the destination.
3. Hitachi have proposed short lengths of 25 KVAC overhead line to charge trains.
4. For some destinations, it may be a more affordable to add another battery than add a charger.

It’s all very modular.

December 5, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Carmarthen Station, Class 802 Train, Devon, Electrification, FirstGroup, Hull Trains, Lumo, Lumo Paddington And Carmarthen, Lumo Paddington And Paignton, Paignton Station