From Charing Cross To London Bridge
I took these pictures on a trip from Charing Cross station to past London Bridge station.
The train used the new viaduct over Borough Market.
I’m All For This!
This article on the BBC web site entitled Lib Dems pledge to halve London morning commuter fares, caught my eye. This is said.
London mayoral candidate Caroline Pidgeon has promised if she is elected in May she will cut Tube and rail fares for journeys before 07:30 by half.
As someone who has generally started work before eight, ever since I marked up newspapers at 05:30 in the morning as a sixteen-year-old, if I’d worked in London over the years, I would have saved money.
Now of course, I don’t pay, as I have a Freedom Pass. it would be interesting to see how many journeys, I do start before 07:30. It’s probably about four a week.
This is one of those ideas that could be tested using sound Control Engineering principles.
At the present time, any journey starting before 04:30 is in the Off Peak.
So for a period of six-months say, you would use 05:00 and see how the usage and revenue changes.
And then later, you move it to 05:30 for a period.
With some clever analysis of the data, I suspect that the time that is the best compromise between customer satisfaction, service costs and revenue can be found.
Giving a fixed time now, is totally wrong!
But in my view, if a politician said, they were aiming to increase the time in which Off Peak fares applied, it would be a sensible policy.
Could IPEMU Trains Use KERS?
I have just read this article on The Business Desk, which is entitled Torotrak’s bus KERS system gets all-clear. The article starts like this.
Torotrak, a developer and supplier of emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology in vehicles, and Wrightbus are celebrating the successful completion of the in-service trial of the Flybrid mechanical kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) for buses.
The trial was conducted with Arriva, one of the largest bus operators in the UK.
It must have been successful, as other reports say Torotrak shares have risen and the company is expected to start production of the Flybrid KERS in 2016.
I’m probably not the only engineer, who’s wondering, whether the technology can have applications with trains.
My one regret is that I only bought a thousand pounds worth of shares in the company.
The Future Of The Calder Valley Line
On Saturday and Sunday, I did four trips on the Calder Valley Line
- From Leeds to Burnley Manchester Road
- From Burnley Manchester Road to Manchester Victoria
- From Manchester Victoria to Hebden Bridge
- From Hebden Bridge To Leeds
The pictures aren’t as comprehensive, as I would like, but at times the rain was very heavy.
The Route And Trains
This diagram clipped from Wikipedia, shows the route of the Calder Valley Line.
Calder Valley Line
Note.
- Since the opening of the five hundred metre long Todmorden Curve last year, there is now a direct hourly service between Blackburn and Manchester Victoria via Accrington, Burnley Manchester Road and Todmorden. I used this valuable new service on Sunday.
- Brighouse station reopened in 2000 on a link between the Calder Valley Line and the Huddersfield Line.
- The Huddersfield Line is being electrified.
- Low Moor station is being built and should open next year.
There is not much electrification.
- Leeds to York is either electrified or will be in conjunction with the Huddersfield Line electrification.
- Other routes between Leeds and the other Bradford station; Forster Square are electrified.
- Manchester Victoria station is electrified.
- Preston station is electrified and hopefully will be electrified to Blackpool North station.
The trains are a mixture of diesel Class 150 and Class 158 trains, run by Northern Rail. The Class 150s are a bit small and uncomfortable for the route and the top speeds of 75 mp for the Class 150s and 90 mph for the Class 158s, are probably not fast enough, especially as the two ends of the line have higher speed limits.
The Future
Wikipedia has a section on the Future of the Calder Valley Line. This is said.
Improvements to the line are proposed as part of Network Rail’s Northern Hub plans, which would allow for more frequent services on the line. Some services via Bradford would also be extended to Chester,Crewe, Liverpool and Manchester Airport. The Chester & Liverpool services have since been incorporated into the new Northern Rail franchise agreement – awarded to Arriva Rail North in December 2015 and due to start in April 2016, these will be marketed under the “Northern Connect” brand and operated by new 100mph DMUs once delivered. The Manchester Airport trains will follow one the Ordsall Curve is completed in 2018.
Low Moor station, between Bradford Interchange and Halifax, is due to be re-opened in 2016. A business case is being developed to re-open Elland station between Halifax and Brighouse.
There is no mention of electrification, for which the earliest dates are quoted as somewhere in the period from 2019-2024.
But there is this article is on the Shields Gazette web site, with a title of Electrification of the Calder Valley is ‘top priority’ says Rail Minister.
This article is backed up by other statements, so Network Rail and the Government are thinking seriously about electrification of the Calder Valley Line.
Network development and/or electrification is happening at both ends of the Calder Valley Line and I’ll look at both.
Network Development in Leeds and Bradford
The West Yorkshire Metro has proposed electrification of the Harrogate Line and have performed an extensive new station study.
They have already opened Apperley Bridge station and Kirkstall Forge station will follow in a few weeks.
The new stations survey mentions these new stations.
- East Leeds Parkway – This will be a Parkway station on the Selby Line and will also be a terminus for services from the West, that now terminate in Leeds.
- Elland – This will be between Halifax and Brighouse.
- Haxby – This will be on the York to Scarborough Line
- Crosshills – This will be on the Airedale Line
As I said earlier Low Moor station is being built. It will be on the unelectrified line between Bradford Interchange and Halifax. If Elland station is reopened, then it will be the other side of Halifax towards Brighouse. To serve both these new stations trains will have to serve the following stations.
- Bradford Interchange
- Low Moor
- Halifax
- Elland
- Brighouse
- Huddersfield
This is a modification to the current hourly service from Bradford Interchange to Huddersfield via Brighouse.
In the next few years hopefully, Huddersfield will be electrified, but there is no chance that this route into Bradford Interchange will be electrified at the same time. It would probably be pointless, as Bradford Interchange station, unlike Bradford Forster Square station is not electrified.
To make matters a lot more complicated, the stupid fact that Bradford has two entirely separate stations, means the following.
- There is no train, that calls at both Leeds and Bradford and goes on to Huddersfield and Manchester.
- There is no train, that calls at both Leeds and Bradford and goes on to Halifax and Hebden Bridge.
- There will be no direct train between Leeds and Low Moor.
I think other journeys of less than twenty or thirty miles in the Leeds-Bradford area will probably be either impossible or much more complicated than they should be.
Also, at the moment, two of the Leeds-Bradford routes are electrified and the Calder Valley Line is not.
The only new electrification in the area planned, will be the fast route on the Huddersfield Line from Leeds to Huddersfield via Dewsbury.
To help in comprehension, this is a Google Map, showing how the Calder Valley Line links into Bradford Interchange.
Bradford And The Calder Valley Line
Bradford Forster Square Station is in the North-East corner of the map, with Bradford Interchange below it.
Note how the Calder Valley Line comes in from Leeds in the east, before doing a turn to the north and Bradford Interchange station. After reversing in the station, trains leave the station in a southerly direction towards the new Low Moor station and onto the West. Because of the dark scar below the line, I wonder if in the past, there has been a connection by-passing the station.
It’s a mess!
The solution needs to be four-fold.
- Electrify Leeds to Huddersfield via Dewsbury. This is being done.
- Electrify the Calder Valley Line from Leeds through Bradford and Low Moor as far as Halifax.
- Electrify the link between the Calder Valley Line and the Huddersfield Line through Brighouse.
- Sort out the absurd situation of the two Bradford stations.
This would enable the West Yorkshire Metro to expand its network of electric trains in the area. It could even use IPEMUs, which would charge their batteries on the electrified core network and then provide services to other towns and cities.
- Scarborough via York and Haxby
- Hull
- Sheffield via Doncaster
- Ripon via Harrogate – I wrote about this in North Yorkshire Proposes Rail Expansion
- Colne via Skipton and a new section of track. – I wrote about this in The Todmorden Curve Has Helped A Campaign For More
I’m sure that the West Yorkshire Metro can be ambitious and will have other and better ideas.
Network Development in Lancashire
Currently, there is a lot happening at the other end of the Calder Valley Line.
- The Todmorden Curve has opened and a new hourly service runs between Blackburn and Manchester Victoria.
- Manchester Victoria station is becoming a top class station and an electrified hub for services spreading out from Manchester.
- Manchester Victoria to Liverpool Lime Street is now electrified.
- Manchester Victoria to Blackpool North via Bolton and Preston is being fully electrified.
- The Ordsall Curve is finally being built to link Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria stations.
- Merseyrail is acquiring a new fleet of trains, which may include IPEMUs.
With the devolution of local rail services to local bodies, I suspect other things will happen.
Northern Connect
Northern Connect is a new sub-brand that will be introduced by Arriva Rail North.
Services in the sub-brand using the Calder Valley Line include.
- Chester to Leeds via Warrington, Manchester Victoria and the Calder Valley
- Blackpool North to York via Preston and Leeds
- Bradford to Manchester Airport via the Calder Valley.
Will the first two services call at Bradford Interchange and will the third call at Leeds?
According to the January 2016 Edition of Modern Railways, these routes will be worked by new diesel multiple units.
The Chester and Manchester Airport services may need to be delayed until after the Ordsall Chord is opened.
But whatever happens Arriva Rail North will be running more services on the Calder Valley Line.
For commercial reasons, they would like to do the following.
- Run faster services.
- Run more frequent services.
- Run services with smart new trains.
- Run services with electric trains.
All except the last could be possible in the next few years.
The Current Infrastructure
The Calder Valley Line between Halifax and Burnley is summed up by Wikipedia like this.
For the section between Halifax and Burnley the line uses the valley of the River Calder, which in fact comprises two separate valleys with rivers of the same name, that of West Yorkshire and the Lancashire River Calder thus giving the services their name; it also follows the Rochdale Canal from Todmorden into Manchester. Since the route crosses the Pennines, there are many tunnels to negotiate en route.
I counted twelve tunnels and at least two major viaducts. The tunnels include at least three over a thousand metres, one of which; the Summit Tunnel is over 2.6 miles long.
The Summit Tunnel is one of the oldest rail tunnels in the world, is lined with 23 million bricks and has been used continuously since it opened in the 1840s.
This Google Map shows the challenging nature of the line.
Between Burnley And Todmorden
Note how the line threads its way between the hills and houses and uses a tunnel to get through.
It must be a nightmare on which to work.
As if the hills, valleys and rivers wasn’t enough, stuck in the middle of the line is the Grade II Listed Hebden Bridge station. I wrote about it in Hebden Bridge and feel that the heritage lobby will strongly resist any changes to this station.
In fact, electrification across the Pennines could bring out all the environment lobby, who feel views are more important, than jobs and prosperity.
I have a feeling, that any sane electrification engineer will look at this line between Manchester Victoria and Halifax and between Blackburn and Todmorden and say that electrifying the line is just not on!
He or she would also feel that leaving the sleeping giant of the Summit Tunnel lie would be best.
But apart from that, the line seems sound and in good order.
Electric Trains On The Calder Valley Line
If electrification of the Calder Valley Line is a top priority of politicians how can that be squared with the undoubtedly difficult nature of the work that would be required to electrify the line.
So what can be electrified?
- As I said earlier, there will be strong pressure to electrify around Leeds and Bradford. to perhaps as far as Halifax and Brighouse.
- I also suspect that electrifying from the West Coast Main Line at Preston to Blackburn would be relatively easy.
So this would leave the these gaps of lines and routes without electrification.
- Blackburn to Halifax – Around thirty miles
- Manchester Victoria to Halifax – Around thirty-five miles
- Blackburn to Manchester Victoria – Around forty miles
All of these runs would be totally within the range of an IPEMU.
Preston to Blackburn electrification, might also allow IPEMUs to take over the following routes.
- Blackpool South to Colne and possibly on to Skipton on a new section of track.
- Blackpool North to Settle
- Manchester Victoria to Clitheroe via Blackburn
So I believe it is possible for the Calder Valley Line to get electric trains, without the cost and disruption of installing the overhead wires.
The Summit Tunnel On The Calder Valley Line
Until I started writing my post called Manchester Victoria To Hebden Bridge, I’d never heard of the Summit Tunnel on the Calder Valley Line.
Reading Wikipedia, the tunnel sounds like a masterpiece of Victorian engineering.
- It is 2.6 km. long and was built by hand through shale, coal and sandstone, in the 1830s.
- It was once the longest rail tunnel in the world.
- The tunnel takes two tracks in a single horseshoe-shaped bore, which is lined with twenty-three million bricks.
- It has caused odd bits of trouble in the last thirty years, so I suspect it is well known to and respected by tunnel engineers.
- It has been in continuous use since it opened.
I suspect many engineers will let this sleeping giant lie, after taking every check that he or she is fast asleep.
I also suspect that the heritage lobby, could get very protective about this tunnel.
If they electrify the Calder Valley Line, they would probably treat this tunnel in one of two ways.
- Leave well enough alone and use electric trains with an IPEMU capability.
- Call in the Swiss, who seem to be the experts in electrifying tunnels.
I would think, that the first option will be chosen, as it will be more affordable and probably have no more risk, than today’s use of diesels through the tunnel.
The IPEMU could have been designed for this tunnel, as it is the only electric train, that could pass through, without any modifications to the tunnel.
A Design Crime – Manchester’s Totally Crap MiGuide
When I see things like this, it really gets my anger up.
All I want in a City Centre, is a map that will show me where to go, not some indecipherable device, that I probably can’t work, as I have the sort of fingers that don’t work well with touch screens. I don’t want to be bombarded with advertising.
If I need information, like the nearest gluten-free restaurant, I’ll search Google.
Give me maps on liths like Ipswich, Glasgow, Preston, Bristol, Birmingham, Southampton and Sheffield! Or big ones with seats like Krakow!
Manchester used to have some nice maps, but they seem to have been removed.
Perhaps they’;re kept with the Ed Stone?
These devices are total crap, that should be consigned to the dustbin of the future.
They’re certainly a Design Crime.
Why Does Bradford Have Two Stations?
When I wrote The New Apperley Bridge Station, I noted that on my journeys on the Calder Valley Line on Saturday and today, my trains called at Bradford Interchange, but that the trains through Apperley Bridge station called at Bradford Forster Square station.
So I asked myself, the question, that is the title of this post.
This Google Map shows the two stations.
Bradford Stations
Bradford Forster Square station is towards the top and Bradford Interchange station is towards the bottom of the map.
Bradford Interchange, which is a combined bus and rail station rebuilt and opened in the 1970s, which is not an outstanding period for superbly executed Rail stations.
To make matters worse, all trains must reverse at Bradford Interchange, which means the driver changes ends.
Note that between the two stations, there is a large shopping centre, that has been opened in 2015.
You’d have thought with all this rebuilding that a solution to the two station problem would have been found.
Two solutions have been proposed.
- Bradford Crossrail – A heavy rail link between the stations.
- A tram-train is outlined in this article in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
I know the Germans would squeeze a tram-train through somewhere, but I suspect there might be something more imaginative and much more affordable.
After all the distance is 0.7 km. and the stations only have seven platforms between them.
Around the world, there are several successful lightweight people movers in city centres.
- High-tech and expensive monorails.
- Light railways like the Docklands Light Railway in London.
- Tram shuttles.
- Travelators and escalators.
- Free mini buses as in Manchester.
Surely, a good engineering solution at an affordable price must exist., which could connect the two stations to each other and to the shopping centre.
But what about some eco-friendly battery buses, as the distance is under a kilometre.
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Leeds Station And The New Entrance
On my trip up to Burnley, I went up via Leeds station and because of the weather, I came back the same way.
On the way up the new southern entrance to the station wasn’t open, but it opened on Sunday morning.
Apart from a few snags, it seemed to be a great addition to the station.
This Google Map shows the new entrance under construction in the South-west corner of the station.
New Southern Entrance To Leeds Station
This image also shows the solid nature of the 2002 station roof, which is glass and not plastic like Manchester Victoria, Birmingham New Street and Crystal Palace stations.
Roof technology has moved on and I suspect costs have moved down.
One problem they may have is the shops like Boots, WH Smith and M & S are outside the barriers in the old (north) entrance.
So passengers needing these shops after entering the station on the south side, will have to go through the barriers to do it.
This problem will probably be solved with a new south concourse.
With other expansion, including new platforms and splitting Platform 1 into three separate platforms and the arrival of HS2, Leeds station is certainly having a lot of men (and women!) in!
From Hebden Bridge To Leeds
The weather was bad and on the last leg from Hebden Bridge to Leeds, I didn’t see much.
According to the Bradford-Halifax section in the Wikipedia entry for the Calder Valley Line, there are five tunnels of which two are over a thousand yards.
So as on the rest of the line electrification could be challenging.
On the other hand some sections, like Sowerby Bridge-Halifax might be easier to electrify.
But I can’t help feeling, that whatever Network Rail decide to do about this line, that IPEMU technology will be part of the solution.
Say you have a section of a couple of miles, that because of various issues would be virtually impossible or very expensive to electrify.
Could a train approaching the neutral section drop its pantograph, use battery power in the neutral section and then automatically put the pantograph up to reconnect to the electricity supply, once the neutral section was passed?
As a Control Engineer, I know such automation is possible, but can it be implemented on a train at 100 mph?
I suspect that the answer is yes and by the end of 2017, there’ll be videos of an IPEMU, swapping from overhead to battery power and back at high speed.
Hebden Bridge
I’m treating Hebden Bridge and the Grade II Listed Hebden Bridge station as a single post, as one would do other places where the station welcomes you to the town or city and is most certainly part of the identity. I would also place Brighton, Cambridge, Liverpool Lime Street, Portsmouth and Rochester, in that category, but there are others.
These pictures show my very wet visit.
I shall go back one dsy, when the weather is better.
This Google Map shows the town and the station.
Hebden Bridge
Note the Rochdale Canal and the River Calder running in the same direction as the railway.
I believe that Hebden Bridge could be key in the electrification strategy of the Calder Valley Line.
A personable member of Northern Rail’s staff told me a tale about step-free access at the station. There is a subway under the tracks and this used to be served by two parcels lifts. I was told, that it was suggested that the lifts be replaced by passenger lifts, to make the station step-free, but as the station is Grade II Listed, this was not allowed.
What will happen in the end over access, I know not, but in my dealings with Listed Buildings Officers in Suffolk, they tend to be practical and lookfor a compromise, that satisfies all parties. Surely, there could be a design of lift, that would satisfy both the heritage and disabled lobbies without an outrageous expense.
This leads me to the electrification through Hebden Bridge station.
Look at this enlarged Google Map of the station.
Hebden Bridge Station
I think you can see the following.
- The platforms aren’t that long and would need to be lengthened for the four-car trains that would surely be appropriate after electrification.
- The canopies of the platforms will have to be cut back, so that the overhead wires and their supports can be erected.
I don’t think the heritage lobby will like either of these changes.
But what could they object to, if the electric trains were quiet four-car Class 387 IPEMUs, using selective door opening on the current platforms?
These trains could serve Hebden Bridge station tomorrow, if Leeds to Bradford and Blackburn were electrified.
There would be no other overhead wiring needed
The Anonymous Widower 