Success For The Dartmoor Line
This article on Railnews is entitled Railway Braces For Weekend Changes.
The article flags up that rail timetables will change to the summer timetable and uses the Dartmoor Line where services will go hourly, as an example.
The article says this about the changes to the Dartmoor Line and the success of the restored service to Okehampton station.
One of the many changes includes the doubling of service frequencies on the recently-reopened Dartmoor Line between Exeter and Okehampton, where scheduled passenger trains were restored last November. From Sunday trains will be running every hour, and rail minister Wendy Morton visited Okehampton yesterday to celebrate the improvements.
The reopening is part of the government’s promise to ‘Restore your railways’, and the Okehampton line is the first practical example of this in action. The line was upgraded for £10 million less than the £40.5 million budgeted, and Network Rail said the route has proved ‘hugely popular’, because passenger numbers have been more than double than predicted, reaching an average of over 2,500 a week during the first 20 weeks. The number of passengers at nearby Crediton, where the Dartmoor Line joins services on the Tarka Line from Barnstaple, is also 39 per cent higher than it was before the pandemic.
I have some thoughts.
Reopening Of The Line
Network Rail can build projects on time and on budget, if they get the project management right.
Passenger Numbers Between Exeter And Okehampton
If 2,500 passengers per week can use the line in the winter, when there is only one train per two hours (tp2h), how many passengers will use the train, when there is an hourly service?
2,500 passengers per week, throughout the year would be 125,000 passengers per year and as surely the summer will be busier, I don’t think it will be an unreasonable figure.
Okehampton station car park appears to have around 300 spaces, so at 2,500 passengers per week, there might be a not too distant day, when it fills up.
Passenger Numbers At Crediton
I am not surprised that traffic at Crediton is up by 39 percent.
Consider.
- Pre-pandemic, Crediton station had one train per hour (tph) to and from Exeter.
- Post-pandemic, Crediton has three trains per two hours to and from Exeter.
It looks like the train frequency has been increased by 50 % and the number of passengers has increased by 39 %.
That surely is not surprising and passenger numbers might increase further when one tph are running between Exeter and both Barnstaple and Okehampton, if there are more possible passengers to attract.
Car parking at Crediton station may also be a problem, as there appears to be less than a hundred spaces.
Okehampton Parkway Station
Okehampton Parkway Station is likely to be built to the East of Okehampton. Wikipedia says this about the station.
Okehampton Parkway is a proposed railway station in Okehampton on the Dartmoor Line. The station would be part of the Devon Metro and has been described as a priority station. The station is to be sited at the A30 junction at Stockley Hamlet and would be sited at the Business Park at Okehampton as well as serving a further 900 homes close to the site.
Wikipedia, also says that Devon County Council has bought the site.
This must be one of the best sites to build a parkway station in the UK.
- It’s on the dual-carriageway A 30, between London and Cornwall.
- The good people of Devon seem to like to use trains given the passenger numbers at Okehampton and Crediton stations.
- Housing is being built nearby.
This Google Map shows Devon and Cornwall to the West of Okehampton and Barnstaple.
Note.
- Okehampton with two stations is in the South-East corner of the map.
- Barnstaple, which has a station, is in the North-East corner of the map.
- There are well-visited holiday resorts all along the cost including Ilfracombe, Westward Ho! and Bude.
It strikes me that if Devon put together a network of zero-carbon buses, it would be well-used and they could sell the area for zero-carbon holidays.
Rolling Stock
Currently, the Okehampton and Barnstaple services are operated by Class 150 trains.
These are definitely not good enough, due to their age and diesel power.
The distances of the two services are as follows.
- Exeter and Barnstable – 39.5 miles
- Exeter and Okehampton – 25.5 miles
I feel that these routes could be handled by a battery-electric train like the Hitachi Regional Battery Train, which is shown in this Hitachi infographic.
Note.
- For these routes, the trains would probably be based on four-car Class 385 trains, with a top speed of 90 mph.
- Charging would be in Exeter.
- Charging may not be needed at Barnstaple and Okehampton as the routes are downhill.
If battery-electric trains can’t handle the routes, I’m sure hydrogen-powered trains could.
New Mobile Hydrogen Unit Unveiled By Logan Energy In Bid To Accelerate Greener Transport
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Fuel Cell Works.
This sums up the development, that has been unveiled by Logan Energy.
It is a compression trailer, that looks like it could be towed by any vehicle capable of towing a horse box.
- The compressor can transfer hydrogen between any two cylinders at all the usual pressures.
- It is aimed at both the bus and heavy goods vehicle market.
- The hydrogen capacity of the trailer is not stated.
I feel that this sort of development will help operators embrace hydrogen.
A bus company for instance could have an appropriate number of trailers, for their fleet of hydrogen buses.
- The bus company would need a suitable towing vehicle, like a light truck.
- Trailers would be filled at an electrolyser outside of the city.
- Each bus depot could have a space, where a trailer could be parked to fill the buses.
- A schedule would probably need to be developed for filling the trailers.
We will see more developments like this.
But they will have to compete with companies like ITM Power, who can supply on-site electrolysers.
Ofgem Enables National Grid To Make Early Payment Of Interconnector Revenues, Helping To Reduce Household Bills
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.
These are the first three paragraphs.
National Grid has offered to pay £200m of interconnector revenues ahead of schedule rather than at the end of the standard five-year review period to play its part in reducing household energy bills.
Interconnectors, which are subsea electricity cables connecting the UK and Europe, enable the import of cheaper, cleaner energy from European neighbours, supporting security of supply and reducing carbon emissions.
It’s estimated that National Grid’s interconnector portfolio will help the UK avoid around 100 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030.
Ofgem has approved National Grid’s request to make early payments.
These are my thoughts.
What’s In It For Consumers?
National Grid is making a payment early, so they are not getting anything, they won’t eventually get.
But they are getting it early!
What’s In It For National Grid?
As National Grid is making a payment early, they are forgoing interest on the £200 million.
In New Electricity ‘Superhighways’ Needed To Cope With Surge In Wind Power, I talked about National Grid’s plan to build new North-South interconnectors, that would handle all the extra wind-power.
National Grid currently owns all or part of these operating or planned interconnectors.
- BritNed
- HVDC Cross-Channel
- IceLink
- IFA-2
- Isle of Man to England Interconnector
- NemoLink
- North Sea Link
- Viking Link
- Western HVDC Link
National Grid would appear to have a substantial interest in the UK’s interconnectors and is the £200 million payment to ensure they get the contract to build and operate any new UK interconnectors? I’m not saying it’s a bribe, but it’s just operating the interconnectors in a manner that is an advantage to the UK and its electricity customers.
Surely, if the ultimate customers are happy, there will be less calls for the break-up of National Grid.
What Is A Cap And Floor Regime?
The press release explains a cap and floor regime like this.
Ofgem’s cap and floor regime sets a yearly maximum (cap) and minimum (floor) level for the revenues that the interconnector licensees can earn over a 25-year period. Usually, revenues generated by the interconnector are compared against the cap and floor levels over five-year periods. Top-up payments are made to the interconnector licensee if revenues are lower than the floor; and similarly, the licensee pays revenues in excess of the cap to consumers.
Ofgem’s approval enables National Grid to make payments of above cap revenues significantly earlier than originally planned, which will contribute to reducing consumer energy costs over the next two years. National Grid is now working with Ofgem to explore how to ensure the early payments can have the most impact for consumers.
I wonder if Ofgem and National Grid feel that a cap and floor regime is not only good for them, but for electricity consumers as well.
Cap And Floor Regimes And Energy Storage
There has been talk that cap and floor regimes should be used for energy storage.
This article on Current News is entitled Cap And Floor Mechanism The ‘Standout Solution’ For Long Duration Storage, KPMG Finds.
These are the first two paragraphs.
A cap and floor regime would be the most beneficial solution for supporting long duration energy storage, a KPMG report has found.
Commissioned by Drax, the report detailed how there is currently no appropriate investment mechanism for long duration storage. Examining four investment mechanisms – the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, Regulated Asset Value (RAV) model, cap and floor regime and a reformed Capacity Market – it identified cap and floor as the best solution.
I also suspect that if the operator does a National Grid with the revenues, a cap and floor regime, must be even better.
I would not be surprised to see schemes like Coire Glas pumped hydro operating under a cap and floor regime.
Effect On Other Energy Companies
Wind farms seem to be operated under the Contracts for Difference scheme in many cases, but will we see cap and floor regimes being used in this market?
I can certainly see a new regime emerging, that is better for investors, wind farm builders, consumers and the Treasury.
In some ways keeping a happy relationship between the investors, Government and consumers is most important. So as National Grid, the Government and consumers don’t seem to be jumping up and down about their cap-and-floor regime, it must be working reasonably well!
Conclusion
Get the right regime and quality investors could be flocking to the UK’s energy generation and supply industry.
National Grid by their actions in paying up early, have thoroughly endorsed the system.
Sustainable Marine Delivers Floating Tidal Power To Nova Scotia Grid
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Renewable Energy Magazine.
This is the first paragraph.
Ocean energy pioneer Sustainable Marine has successfully harnessed the enormous tidal currents in Canada’s Bay of Fundy, delivering the first floating in-stream tidal power to Nova Scotia’s grid.
This Google Map shows the Bay Of Fundy.
Note.
- The hydrology of the Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world of sixteen metres, against a worldwide average of about a metre.
- According to the Renewable Energy Magazine article, Nova Scotia has allocated circa 30MW of capacity via demonstration permits.
- The article also indicates that up to 2.5 GW of clean and predictable energy for Canada could be generated.
- By comparison Hinckley Point C nuclear power station will generate 3.26 GW.
The Bay of Fundy would be the largest tidal power station in the world.
But this list in Wikipedia gives these proposed tidal power stations.
- Incheon Tidal Power Station – 1.32 GW
- Severn Barrage – 8.64 GW
- Penzhin Tidal Power Plant Project – 87 GW
There are another two Russian proposals and a South Korean one.
Note.
- There are some large numbers.
- There are also some huge ambitions and massive budgets.
But will we ever see large scale tidal power stations?
Work Begins In South Africa On Largest Fuel-Cell Vehicle In The World
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is an explanatory paragraph.
The Anglo American mining company in South Africa is seeking to lead the way in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. It will be starting this effort with a 210 metric ton truck. The fuel-cell vehicle is the largest in the world and will operate at the Mogalakwena platinum mine.
These are some points from the article.
- The nuGen haul truck began as a Komatsu 930E with a diesel-electric powertrain.
- The haul truck’s traction motors are now powered by eight 100-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cell modules. The modules were provided by Ballard.
- They are complemented by a Williams Advanced Engineering lithium-ion battery pack capable of outputting 1.1MW.
- The components were integrated in Seattle by First Mode.
- The fuel-cell vehicle’s powertrain is 2MW (2,682 hp).
- That is adequate for the haul truck to keep up its rating of 300 metric tons.
- The truck and payload will reach 510 metric tons combined.
There are a lot of heavy numbers there.
There is this video from Anglo American.
Clapham Junction Station – Platform 0 – 11th May 2022
These pictures show the current progress at Clapham Junction, where platform 0 used to be.
Note.
- The rails have been painted and are now a brighter red colour.
- Two bug houses have been added alongside the planters.
I still can’t find anything on the Internet about this project.
Hanover Square – 9th May 2022
I went to have a look at the new entrance to Bond Street station in Hanover Square.
I have a strong affection for Hanover Square. The first picture shows a new block now, but it was where my bank manager friend had his office for a time.
I spent a lot of time with him and meetings in that office overlooking the square had a lot to do with the success of Metier Management Systems.
They don’t make bank managers like that anymore.
This Company Does What It Says In The Name
I took these pictures on Tottenham Court Road.
This is a Google Streetview from a few months ago.
I don’t think it will be missed. But it looks like another Crossrail related redevelopment.
Are There Any Medical Application For Large Amounts Of Electricity?
I ask this question, as an eminent medical researcher has just thanked me by text for my energy posts.
It could be that he sees some benefit in having lots of energy available from wind.
I have a few thoughts.
Are Electricity Bills Getting To Be A Larger Proportion Of The Running Costs Of Hospitals Or Medical Research Establishments?
We are all suffering to some extent from higher electricity prices, but some of the latest medical equipment with large electromagnets and powerful X-rays must be expensive on electricity.
Proton Therapy
Does proton therapy use very large amounts of electricity and is this one of the reasons, that these seemingly-powerful machines are thin on the ground?
So if electricity is much more plentiful and hopefully more affordable, is this going to mean that proton therapy is used more often?
Synchrotrons
The Diamond Light Source is described like this in Wikipedia.
Diamond Light Source (or Diamond) is the UK’s national synchrotron light source science facility located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. Its purpose is to produce intense beams of light whose special characteristics are useful in many areas of scientific research. In particular it can be used to investigate the structure and properties of a wide range of materials from proteins (to provide information for designing new and better drugs), and engineering components (such as a fan blade from an aero-engine) to conservation of archeological artifacts (for example Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose).
There are more than 50 light sources across the world. With an energy of 3 GeV, Diamond is a medium energy synchrotron currently operating with 32 beamlines.
When the history of the pandemic is written, Diamond may well turn out to be one of the heroes.
This page on the Diamond web site, lists some of the applications of a particular analysis, that Diamond can perform.
Under Life Sciences and Bio-Medicine, this is said.
One of the remarkable exploits of SRIR microspectroscopy is probing single isolated cells and tissues at sub-cellular resolution, collecting broadband molecular information with excellent spectral quality via the diffraction limited microbeam. Studying individual cells is important because it reveals the cell-cell differences (e.g. due to cell cycle or biological variability) which are averaged together in conventional IR imaging or spectroscopy. This is important for identifying the subtle underlying spectral differences of interest in the research.
Applications include developing spectral biomarkers for disease diagnosis – particularly cancer research, location of stem cells within tissues, following effects of natural and synthetic chemicals on stem-cell differentiation and quantifying drug sensitivity.
A key development recently achieved is moving from fixed and dried samples to ex vivo, living conditions in the natural aqueous environment and time-dependent studies of biological processes. The combined requirements of high spatial resolution, rapid data acquisition and high photon flux (due to strong IR absorption by water) make synchrotron radiation an invaluable microanalysis tool.
In the THz part of the spectrum, very bright (coherent) synchrotron radiation (CSR) is useful in the study of low energy modes, especially in highly absorbing samples. The THz properties of biological materials is a rapidly growing field, from the organism level (imaging) down to fundamental spectroscopy at the biochemical level, where, for example, the solvation shell around proteins can be studied via changes in low energy hydrogen bonds.
That all sounds impressive.
As with NMR, which I used in the 1960s and as since been developed into MRi, I wonder if important hospitals and universities will have their own mini-Diamonds to do the analyses described above.
Again what will be the electricity bill?
Conclusion
I suspect that electricity may be a significant cost of the running some of these new machines and an abundance of wind power, which reduces the cost of electricity, may improve medical research and treatment.
Clean Air Power Adds Hydrogen To Class 66 Fuel Mix
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the International Rail Journal.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Fuel injection technology developed by Clean Air Power that enables a class 66 locomotive to run on a combination of diesel, biogas and hydrogen has successfully completed nine months of trials with British freight operator Freightliner.
This is the first time that the injection technology has been tested by the rail freight sector and, according to Clean Air Power, paves the way for reducing the emissions of other class 66 locomotives.
Note.
- There are 450 Class 66 locomotives in service in the UK, with more in service in Europe.
- Freightliner was Clean Air Power’s main project partner.
- Nothing was disclosed about carbon savings.
- The trial was backed by £400,000 of Government money.
- The locomotive has completed a nine month trial.
This would appear to be a good professional start to decarbonisation of rail freight.
It’s also rather ironic, that this successful trial of a diesel-saving locomotive was announced on the day of Vlad the Mad’s big parade.
The Anonymous Widower 