Difficulty Looking At Pictures On The Blog
One reader of this blog, has informed me, that he’s started having difficulty looking at the pictures.
I haven’t changed anything in the production of this blog, but I do feel WordPress have done a recent upgrade.
If anybody has any problems, please tell me.
First Order In For Revolutionary Modular Railway Footbridge
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on New Civil Engineer.
Greater Anglia seem to have ordered the footbridge for Stowmarket station, without seeing a real one.
A prototype is also being installed at the former Widmerspool station on the Old Dalby Test Track.
I wrote about the proposed footbridge at Stowmarket in Stowmarket Station To Go Step-Free.
Council ‘Talking’ To Government On Improving Train Provision, Leader Says
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Barking and Dagenham Post.
These are the introductory paragraphs.
Barking and Dagenham Council leader Darren Rodwell said the authority is “talking” to the government about improving train provision through the borough.
Last week saw the opening of the Elizabeth line, which stretches more than 100km from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.
But none of its stations are in Barking and Dagenham – with the nearest being Chadwell Heath – and Cllr Rodwell does not believe the borough stands to benefit from the line at the moment.
He has a point and is asking for extra stations in the borough.
Dagenham East on c2c is mentioned.
This paragraph also talks about HS1 domestic.
Cllr Rodwell, who is beginning a third term as council leader, also said HS1 domestic should stop in the borough.
At the moment, the domestic services that run on the line are operated by Southeastern and travel between London and Kent.
The sole stops in the capital are St Pancras and Stratford International.
“It should be Ebbsfleet, Purfleet, Barking, Stratford International” before terminating at St Pancras, Cllr Rodwell said.
“That would be massive for the ability of our young people to get jobs.
I feel he’s right about the jobs, but would the extra stations be possible.
Dagenham East
This map from cartometro.com shows the location of Dagenham East station.
Note.
- The Elizabeth Line passing through Romford at the North of the map.
- The District Line and c2c passing through Upminster across towards the bottom of the map.
- Upminster is in the London Borough of Havering, as are all stations after Dagenham East.
- Dagenham East station is the second station on the line and used to be a c2c station until 1962.
This Google Map shows Dagenham East station.
These pictures show the station.
Note.
- The c2c platforms appear to be still in place. Although, some work needs to be done.
- A new bridge will be required to access the far platform.
- six c2c trains per hour (tph) pass through the station.
I feel that perhaps a two tph service between Dagenham East and Fenchurch Street could be possible.
A Thought About High Speed One
High Speed One links London and the Channel Tunnel.
- Every time a train stops, it increases the total journey time by a couple of minutes.
- So two extra stops on Southeastern Highspeed services at Purfleet and Barking, would slow the service and take up capacity on High Speed One.
- If you read the Wikipedia entry for the link, there are several operators, who seem to be hoping to run extra services on the route.
- In addition Thalys and Eurostar have merged and surely, they will bring London more into their routes.
I feel that what spare capacity, there is on High Speed One will more likely be allocated to European services than domestic services in East London. It’s probably more profitable for the operator of High Speed One for a start.
Purfleet
This Google Map shows Purfleet station and its location in relation to High Speed One.
Note.
- Purfleet station is in the South-West corner of the map.
- High Speed One runs across the North-East corner of the map.
- Purfleet station is served by two tph between Fenchurch Street and Grays.
- In Purfleet Station – 19th August 2021, there is a gallery of pictures of Purfleet station.
- In that post, I also describe planned developments at Purfleet station.
Given the distance between the current Purfleet station and High Speed One, and the planned developments, I think that an interchange between c2c and High Speed One at the current Purfleet station, would not be a very practical one.
But there may be possibilities to the East, where c2c and High Speed One cross.
This Google Map shows the location of their crossing by the QE2 bridge.
Note.
- High Speed One going diagonally NW-SE across the map
- The A 282 crossing over the QE2 bridge going North-South.
- The c2c line going East-West across the map.
Could the proposed station be built, where the two rail lines cross?
Probably, but!
- High Speed One would only connect to the Fenchurch Street and Grays service running at two tph.
- Passengers for the City of Southend would have to change at Grays.
- There would probably need to be separate lines for expresses to pass stopping trains.
- Stations on viaducts are expensive to build.
I don’t think a station at Purfleet would be the most practical or affordable of projects.
Barking
This OpenRailwayMap shows the routes of High Speed One and c2c through Barking.
Note.
- The red line is High Speed One.
- High Speed Two is shown in pink, when it is in tunnel.
- The orange line is the c2c line between Fenchurch Street and Grays.
- Dagenham Dock station is in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
- Rainham station is in the London Borough of Havering.
It looks like Dagenham Dock station would be the only station, where an interchange could be built.
This Google Map shows Dagenham Dock station.
Note.
- The top pair of lines are the c2c lines.
- The next pair of lines are High Speed One.
- The lines below High Speed One are a freight link between High Speed One and the Barking freight hub.
There certainly would appear to be space for two platforms on High Speed One.
But then we still have the problem of an extra station using up valuable space on High Speed One.
The only solution, that I can think of, is that Southeastern HighSpeed services would perhaps stop only at Dagenham Dock or Stratford, but not both.
Conclusion
In this simple analysis, it looks like an extra stop on c2c at Dagenham East is possible, but extra stations on High Speed One might be difficult to fit in.
Possible Regular Services Between West Somerset Railway And Taunton
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
These are the introductory paragraphs.
Hopes are growing that regular scheduled train services will once more operate between the West Somerset Railway (WSR) and the national rail network.
There is an increasing interest in re-opening long-closed stations and lines on the network. To this end, a partnership working group has been set up to look at the prospects of running scheduled trains between WSR’s Bishops Lydeard station and Taunton, which would safeguard the WSR’s long-term future.
The working group comprises representatives of the Heart of South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Great Western Railway, Network Rail, Somerset County Council, and WSR Plc.
Given the success of the reopened Okehampton station, that I wrote about in Success For The Dartmoor Line, where 2,500 passengers a week have used the trains since last November, I wonder if Somerset is aiming to emulate Devon’s success, with the West Somerset Railway.
There are certainly similarities between the two routes.
Connection To The County Town
Both routes connect to the county town.
- The Dartmoor Line connects to Exeter, which is the county town of Devon.
- The West Somerset Railway connects to Taunton, which is the county town of Somerset.
As the county town usually contains important local services like the council offices and the Courts, this is often convenient.
Connection To The Great Western Railway
Both routes could have excellent connections to the Great Western Railway.
- Exeter St. David’s station is a major interchange.
- Taunton station could be a more important interchange.
Note.
- Both stations have connections to Bristol, London and Cornwall.
- The two stations are well-connected to each other.
- Both stations have six platforms, which include some bay platforms for branch line services.
This Google Map shows the less developed Taunton station.
Note that there appears to be lots of space for development of rail and related development.
Both Branches Were/Are In Use Before Development
Before the Dartmoor Line was reopened, the route was in occasional use for both freight and passenger trains. Great Western Railway have in recent years run InterCity125 trains to Okehampton station.
With reopening the line to Okehampton, there was no major viaduct or bridges to rebuild, although Network Rail took the prudent decision to relay the track.
It would appear that the West Somerset Railway has similar use for both freight and passenger trains. How much work will be needed to bring it up to an acceptable standard.
Great Western Railway Are Providing Initial Weekend Services
On the Dartmoor Line services started between Exeter and Okehampton in 2019 and Wikipedia says this about initial services between Taunton and Bishops Lydeard station.
In 2019, the WSR entered into a partnership with the modern Great Western Railway (GWR) to operate Summer Saturday services to Bishops Lydeard from Taunton beginning on 27 July 2019. The introduction of these GWR services will mark the first time the station has been connected to the rest of the national rail network since its initial closure in 1971.
Is history going to repeat itself?
The First Step
This paragraph from the Rail Advent article, indicates the first step to reopening a service between Taunton and Minehead.
The first task will be to look at the simplest and most effective way in which the link between the WSR and the mainline can be improved, signalled, and operated. An outline business plan will then be developed to estimate how much it would cost.
This Google Map shows the link between the West Somerset Railway and the mainline.
Note.
- The large triangular junction.
- The Bristol-Exeter railway runs East-West across the bottom of the map.
- Minehead is to the North.
- Taunton is to the East.
- A disused line to Barnstaple is to the West.
- The site to the West of the top of the triangular junction is a ballast cleaning site.
It does appear that there could be the space to create an efficient junction linking the two railways.
Initial Regular Services
This was one of the introductory paragraphs.
There is an increasing interest in re-opening long-closed stations and lines on the network. To this end, a partnership working group has been set up to look at the prospects of running scheduled trains between WSR’s Bishops Lydeard station and Taunton, which would safeguard the WSR’s long-term future.
This page on the Railway Touring Company web site is entitled The West Somerset Steam Express.
This paragraph describes the trip.
This series of trains from London Paddington to Minehead features haulage by two steam locomotives in one day.
One steam locomotive will haul our train from London Paddington to the West Somerset Railway at Bishops Lydeard.
The Heritage Railway will then provide a steam locomotive to haul our train to Minehead and back. This provides a truly fascinating day out travelling through beautiful scenery to the Bristol Channel coast.
So it looks like, the initial services on the between Taunton and Bishops Lydeard stations, will duplicate services that are already planned on a very much less frequent basis.
Bishops Lydeard Station
Bishops Lydeard station is the station, where mainline and West Somerset services meet.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at the station.
Note.
- The station is the Southern terminus of the West Somerset Railway.
- Track is single to the North and South of the station.
- Bishops Lydeard station has two platforms.
- There is a passing loop.
If the terminal station has a serious problem, it doesn’t appear to have much parking.
So it would appear, that a link to Taunton might improve the finances of the West Somerset Railway, by attracting more visitors.
Onward To Minehead
This OpenRailwayMap shows the last section of the West Somerset Railway to Minehead.
Note.
- Minehead station is in the North West corner of the map.
- Minehead station appears to be a well-equipped station, with two platforms.
- Minehead station even has a turntable for turning locomotives.
- There are four or five stations close to the coast.
The Wikipedia entry for Minehead, says this about the town.
The parish of Minehead has a population of approximately 11,981, making it the most populous town in the western part of the Somerset West and Taunton local government district, which in turn, is the worst area in the country for social mobility.
The West Somerset Railway could become both a useful and a real bucket-and-spade railway. Surely, that could generate revenue and level-up the area.
Financing
If you want something to work well, you must get the finances right.
I have lived in Dalston in London for twelve years now. When I moved here after my wife died and I had had a serious stroke, which left me unable to drive, I relied on an antiquated mainly bendy-bus-based public transport system.
Then along came the Overground and fleets of shiny new buses and Hackney and Dalston in particular was more than levelled up with London’s more salubrious boroughs.
Shopping improved with M & S returning after at least seventy years. There’s even a Pret, which boomed during the pandemic.
Transport for London got the financing for the Overground right and they created a success.
Conclusion
Can the initial working group find a financial model so that the West Somerset Railway can do for West Somerset, what the Overground has done for Dalston and the Dartmoor Line appears to be doing for Devon?
I thoroughly hope so!
How Not To Sell Flatpack Furniture
I recently bought a Teknik Kneeling Stool from Ryman.
As is shown by these pictures, I was able to put it together and the product looks the business.
But the pictures hide the big fault of the stool!
It has the worst set of instructions, I’ve ever seen for flat-pack, which are shown in this image.
Basically, it’s just a parts list and a vague layout.
- I had to have several goes to assemble it.
- Assembly is job for at least three hands.
- Some parts must be assembled before others and this is not indicated.
- A colour photograph of the finished product would have helped.
- I did catch my finger badly at one point.
But then I like puzzles and eventually solved it.
I shan’t be buying any more Teknik products.
A French Banker’s View Of The French Police
After the violence at the weekend in Paris, I am reminded of a meeting with a French banker.
Many years ago, I used to do business with a French banker; Andre, who lived and worked in Geneva.
Whether, there had been an excess of violence by French police at the time, I can’t remember, but in a restaurant in Geneva we got talking about the different between French police and other forces in Europe. Andre stated that if you join the French police, you immediately lose all your friends, as no-one wants a policeman as a friend, such is the distrust of the police.
Andre had worked all over Europe, and felt that only in France, is there this attitude to the police.
Does this closed society of the French police lead to them going over the top, as they regularly seem to do?
I’d love to know what the French police think of refugees! I wonder, if they see them as a supreme nuisance and feel the sooner, they have left French soil the better.
Will It Be Third-Time Lucky For Grand Union Trains In Wales?
It is three years since I wrote Grand Union Seeks ’91s’ To Cardiff and their proposal has not been accepted and the third iteration has been announced.
This article on Wales Online is entitled Independent Rail Firm Bids To Launch As Rival To Great Western On The Mainline From South Wales To London.
These are the introductory paragraphs.
An independent rail firm is hoping to launch a rival train service in Wales which they say will slash journey times between Carmarthen and London. Grand Union Trains is making a fresh bid to introduce an initial service in both directions between Cardiff and London on the existing Great Western line.
The company believes the move will “create passenger choice” and increase the number of trains available, with the hope that the service can be extended west in South Wales towards Carmarthen.
Other points in the article include.
- Swansea will be by-passed, which will speed up services to and from Llanelli and Carmarthen.
- A new Park-and-Ride station will be built by Grand Union at Felindre, which is to the North of Swansea.
- Services will stop at Llanelli, Cardiff Central, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction and Bristol Parkway.
- When Cardiff Parkway opens, this will be an extra stop.
An article in the June 2022 Edition of Modern Railways, which is entitled Grand Union Bids For London To Carmarthen, gives extra details.
- Three classes.
- 2023 start for the service.
- Five return trains per day.
- Cycle provision.
- Vanload freight will be carried.
- Electric trains could start between London and Cardiff by 2023.
- In 2025, trains could be nine-car bi-modes.
- South Wales-based operation and maintenance.
- 125 full-time jobs created.
It certainly seems to be a comprehensive and well-thought out plan.
These are my thoughts and observations.
Felindre Station
Felindre station is named in Wikipedia as the West Wales Parkway station, where it is introduced like this.
West Wales Parkway is a proposed railway station north of Swansea, near to the boundaries of the neighbouring principal area of Carmarthenshire, and the villages of Felindre and Llangyfelach. The station is proposed to be situated at the former Felindre steelworks, near Junction 46 of the M4 and A48, and near Felindre Business Park and Penllergaer Business Park. The project is in the planning stages, as part of a wider Department for Transport proposal to re-open the Swansea District line to passenger traffic.
This Google Map shows where, it appears the Felindre station will be built.
Note.
- The Felindre Business Park in the North-West corner of the map, with a Park-and-Ride.
- The M4 running across the bottom of the map.
- The Swansea District Line runs East-West between the motorway and the Business Park.
It looks that the new station could be located on the South side of the Business Park.
According to Wikipedia, the station would cost £20 million to build.
- It would need a comprehensive rethinking of transport improvements in the Swansea area.
- But it could result in time savings on services between Carmarthen and Cardiff.
The Modern Railways article says this.
GU proposes to build the Felindre station near Swansea and invest in Severn Tunnel Junction station, where it says it will increase parking, provide direct access from the M4 motorway and improve passenger and staff facilities, backing up plans being evaluated by the Welsh Government for the station.
Grand Union is not a charity and does this indicate that a bank or infrastructure company is prepared to fund parking and the extra passengers pay the charges.
Rolling Stock
Wikipedia says that the rolling stock could be nine-car InterCity 225s hauled by Class 91 or Class 93 locomotives.
As the Class 93 locomotives are bi-modes, these would handle the Carmarthen and Cardiff leg.
The Modern Railways article says this.
Trains could start between Cardiff and London Paddington as early as May 2023 if electric only, with services extended west around two years later with new bi-mode trains in up to nine-car formations.
Would a new Class 93 locomotive count as a new bi-mode train?
I suspect the new locomotive would be more affordable, than a new bi-mode train.
Vanload Freight
This is an interesting idea and it follows similar thinking to Royal Mail’s latest ideas, that I wrote about in Royal Mail Rolling Back The Years To Put More Post On Trains.
One coach could be a nice little earner, if it were modified to carry roller cages, that were loaded and unloaded at the end of the route.
One advantage of the InterCity 225s is that they are 125 mph trains, so that this will be high speed freight.
Timings
Consider.
- A GWR Carmarthen and London service takes three hours and 47 minutes.
- This includes a nine-minute reverse at Swansea.
- GWR makes seven more stops than Grand Union will.
- GWR does seven diesel stops, whereas Grand Union will only do two.
I would estimate that Grand Union will be under three hours and thirty minutes.
Carmarthen Station
This Google Map shows Carmarthen station.
Note.
- The station has two platforms.
- There are certainly pictures of the station with an InterCity 125 in the station.
These pictures show the station.
I suspect that the station will be upgraded to accommodate Grand Union.
Rrenewable Energy Developments In South West Wales
In Enter The Dragon, I talked about renewable energy developments in South West Wales.
I used information from this article on the Engineer, which is entitled Unlocking The Renewables Potential Of The Celtic Sea.
The article on the Engineer finishes with this conclusion.
For now, Wales may be lagging slightly behind its Celtic cousin to the north, but if the true potential of the Celtic Sea can be unleashed – FLOW, tidal stream, lagoon and wave – it looks set to play an even more prominent role in the net zero pursuit.
The Red Dragon is entering the battle to replace Vlad the Mad’s tainted energy.
South West Wales could see a massive renewable energy boom.
The Railways To The West Of Carmarthen
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the rail lines to the West of Carmarthen.
There are three main branches to Fishguard, Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock.
I can see the railways becoming increasingly important in supporting the growing renewable energy in the area.
- There would be more frequent services.
- Services would tie in with London and Cardiff trains at Carmarthen.
- Closed stations could be reopened and new ones built.
It may also be possible to bring in large components needed by the renewable energy industry.
Conclusion
I feel that Grand Union have seen the opportunities presented to a frequent Carmarthen and London service and have grabbed them with both hands.
2.7M Tonnes Of Co2 Could Be Saved Per Year If UK Domestic Flights Went Electric
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Simple Flying.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Analysing over 100 domestic routes within the UK, researchers have uncovered some significant Co2 reductions upon the inevitable switch to electric.
It is an excellent summary of the state and potential of electric airliners in the UK.
The article gives this example of the sort of carbon savings, that can be achieved.
One of the shortest domestic flights in the United Kingdom, a 38-minute hop between Belfast International and the Isle of Man, uses around 36kg of carbon dioxide per passenger. In 2019, the route served approximately 20,000 passengers – with a switch to electric aviation, 752 tonnes of carbon dioxide could be cut on the 76-mile flight.
The article says this about one of the more developed electric aircraft; the ES-19 from Heart Aerospace.
One manufacturer, in particular, is seeing a significant surge in interest; Swedish electric aircraft startup, Heart Aviation. Currently holding letters of interest from United Airlines and Finnair, Heart’s 19-seat ES-19 is set to be the first all-electric regional aircraft, boasting a 400km range with a full-charge time of just 40 minutes. The first flight is planned for 2024, with an anticipated 2026 start date.
Airports within a 400 km range from London would include.
- Anglesey
- Blackpool
- Exeter
- Guernsey
- Jersey
- Leeds/Bradford
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- Newquay
- Norwich
- Paris
- Schipol
Dublin, Isle of Man and Newcastle are just over 400 km.
Note.
I also suspect that Dublin, Edinburgh, Leeds and Liverpool would make excellent hubs for electric aircraft.
I used Free Map Tools to get the distances.
Does The Paddington Bakerloo Line Link Make The Bakerloo Line A NW-SE Cross-Branch Of The Elizabeth Line?
The Elizabeth Line has these major North-South cross-branches.
- Jubilee Line at Bond Street station.
- Charing Cross Branch of the Northern Line at Tottenham Court Road station.
- Thameslink at Farringdon station.
- Bank Branch of the Northern Line at Moorgate station.
- East London Line of the Overground at Whitechapel station.
With the opening of the Paddington Bakerloo Line Link, another North-South cross-branch of the Elizabeth Line has been added.
It could be argued that London has a new NW-SE high frequency link between Harrow & Wealdstone and Abbey Wood stations.
- Bakerloo Line – Harrow & Wealdstone and Paddington
- Paddington Bakerloo Line Link – 165 metre level step-free walk
- Elizabeth Line – Paddington and Abbey Wood via Whitechapel and Canary Wharf
The journey would appear to take 73 minutes from the National Rail journey planner, which allows fifteen minutes for the change at Paddington.
A New Route Between New Cross Gate And Queen’s Park Stations
In Does The Elizabeth Line Offer Similar Benefits To The Bakerloo Line Extension?, I said this.
I suspect that the easiest way between New Cross Gate and Harrow & Wealdstone will be with changes at Whitechapel and Paddington.
I also said, I would try out the route today.
I did a shorter route between New Cross Gate And Queen’s Park stations, with the same two changes.
For each extra station, I can apply Irene’s Law, by adding two minutes for each station.
I took these pictures on the route.
Note.
- On the Overground and the Elizabeth Line, there were few spare seats and a number of standees.
- Quite a few passengers changed at Whitechapel.
- The tunnel at Paddington between Elizabeth and Bakerloo Lines wasn’t very busy.
- The Bakerloo Line wasn’t very busy.
I have a few thoughts.
First Time Riders
I got the impression, a lot of passengers were first-time riders.
This could explain the passenger numbers.
Timings
These were my timings.
- It took me forty-six minutes for the fourteen stations.
- The interchange at Whitechapel was about four minutes.
- At Paddington, I walked between the Elizabeth and Bakerloo Line platforms in under five minutes and then just missed a Northbound train.
Irene’s Law
I talk about Irene’s Law in Irene’s Law – Estimating Tube Journey Times, where I define it like this.
If you want to get an estimate of how long a journey will take on the London Underground, you count the number of stations and multiply by two, before adding five for every interchange.
For the Overground, I’ve found that using three minutes for the number of stations gives a reasonable answer.
So how does it fit for my journey?
- The base time is forty-six minutes.
- Deduct ten minutes for the two changes gives thirty-six minutes.
- 36/14 gives 2.6 minutes.
I’ll go with that! But it looks like for a mixed journey like this, 2.5 might give a rough estimate.
How Would This Time Compare With An Extended Bakerloo Line?
Consider.
- New Cross Gate station could be on an extended Bakerloo Line.
- The Bakerloo Line timetable gives a time of 26 minutes between Queen’s Park and Elephant & Castle stations.
- There are three extra stations, which would probably be two minutes per station.
So the time between Queen’s Park and New Cross Gate stations would be 32 minutes via an extended Bakerloo line.
Conclusion
It looks like an extended Bakerloo Line will be a few minutes quicker.
But that the Elizabeth Line will be a good alternative for a few years.
My feeling is that the Elizabeth Line will have enough capacity for several years, but that eventually the Bakerloo Line will need to be extended.
The Anonymous Widower 