Hartlepool Nuclear Reactor Moves To UK Regulatory Assessment
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Northern Echo.
This is the sub-heading.
Plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations moved closer after the Government approved the next regulatory stage for an advanced reactor planned for Hartlepool
These two paragraphs add more details.
The approval follows a partnership between X-energy and Centrica to build a new generation of UK nuclear power stations using Xe-100 Advanced Modular Reactors, starting in Hartlepool.
On the partnership’s first anniversary, the Government directed regulators to begin assessing X-energy’s Xe-100 reactor under the Generic Design Assessment, a major step towards commercial licensing in the UK.
This Google Map shows the area around the current Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station.
Note.
- Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station is indicated by the red arrow.
- Hartlepool serves as a major industrial, manufacturing, and logistics hub supporting offshore wind farms rather than a landing point for their electricity grid connections.
- Full details of the current nuclear power station is given in its Wikipedia entry, but here’s a summary.
- It is an Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor, which uses carbon dioxide for cooling.
- It was commissioned in 1983.
- It is scheduled to be closed in 2030.
- It produces 1,185 MW of electricity.
- The current site has rail access from the Durham Coast Line.
Nothing is said in the article about the capacity or the timescale for building the new power station.
What Will Be The Capacity Of X-energy’s New Nuclear Power Station At Hartlepool?
I took a quick look with Google AI and received this answer.
AI Overview
X-energy’s planned new nuclear power station at Hartlepool is proposed to have a capacity of up to 960 megawatts (MW), using a 12-unit deployment of its Xe-100 advanced modular reactors.
Project Details
Technology: X-energy Xe-100 high-temperature, gas-cooled small modular reactor (each individual unit generates 80 MW of electricity).
Configuration: A 12-reactor plant (“12-pack” multi-unit layout).
Location: Adjacent to the existing Hartlepool Power Station in Teesside, northeast England.
Timeline: First electricity generation is targeted for the mid-2030s, following the scheduled closure of the current operating plant.
That was an excellent answer, that gave me all I needed.
Hartlepool’s Rail Links
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Durham Coast Line and the rail links to the current Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station.
Note.
- The orange track going North-South across the map is the Durham Coast Line between Newcastle and Middlesbrough.
- Hartlepool station is indicated by the blue arrow.
- A rail connection goes East from the Durham Coast Line to the Port of Hartlepool and the current Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station, which I believe is the big square building by the black line.
- Hartlepool station is served by six trains per day (tpd) to and from London King’s Cross, with five tpd on Sundays.
- All London services are operated by open access operator Grand Central Trains, who have new Hitachi Class 820 tri-mode trains on order for delivery in 2028.
Current timings are a few minutes over three hours, but I suspect that the new Hitachi trains could do the trip very close to three hours.
Centrica, X-energy Advance Nuclear Plans As UK Regulators To Begin Design Review For Xe-100
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
This is the sub-heading.
On the one-year anniversary of the Centrica X-energy partnership being signed, the UK Government has directed regulators to accept the X-energy Xe-100 Advanced Modular reactor into the Generic Design Assessment, marking a significant step toward UK commercial licensing.
Under their partnership, the companies intend to deploy up to 6 GW of new nuclear capacity in the UK (10-20 Xe-100 power stations depending on size of each installation)
These first two paragraphs add some details.
Centrica and X‑Energy, Inc., a leading developer of advanced nuclear reactors and fuel technology, today announced that X‑energy’s Xe‑100 Generation IV advanced Small Modular Reactor (“SMR”) has been accepted into the United Kingdom’s Generic Design Assessment (“GDA”) process.
GDA acceptance formally triggers the process of assessing the design’s acceptability for deployment and operation ahead of the technical and environmental evaluations required for site‑specific licensing and permitting. The assessment is expected to take approximately three years and will be administered by the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (“ONR”), the Environment Agency (EA), and Natural Resources Wales
To learn more, I asked Google AI for what it knows on the Xe-100 reactor and I received this.
The Xe-100 is an advanced Generation IV high-temperature gas-cooled pebble-bed small modular nuclear reactor developed by the American company X-energy.
Key Specifications & Design
Power Output: Generates about 80 megawatts of electricity (MWe) or 200 MW thermal per unit, and can be scaled up into a four-pack configuration yielding 320 MW.
Cooling System: Uses inert helium gas instead of water to remove heat from the core, reaching operating temperatures above 750°C.
Fuel Type: Runs on proprietary TRISO-X fuel pebbles, where each billiard-ball-sized pebble contains roughly 18,000 microscopic TRISO fuel particles that act as individual containment vessels.
Note.
- 320 MW may seem small, but you have to remember Sizewell A was two 210 MW Magnox reactors and it operated for forty years.
- I like the choice of helium for a coolant. Especially, as the gas is widely used for cooling superconducting magnets, so there must be plenty of expertise.
- Helium is also present in the atmosphere at 5.2 parts per million.
- I also like the concept of the fuel pebbles.
These are some of my questions.
Where Was TRISO Fuel Developed?
The Wikipedia entry for TRISO Fuel has a History section, which starts with this paragraph.
Coated-particle ceramic fuels were initially developed in the United Kingdom as part of the Dragon reactor project. During the development of the Dragon reactor, its designers became concerned by the need to purge gaseous fission products from the reactor core and their potential migration to other parts of the reactor This concern led to the choice of coated-particle fuel, where the fuel would be formed from small particles of uranium then coated with pyrolytic carbon. The inclusion of silicon carbide as a diffusion barrier was first suggested by D. T. Livey in 1961, in order to better retain fission products.
Note.
- The United States and Germany made contributions to the development of TRISO fuel.
- the first commercial reactor to use TRISO, was the 330 MWe Fort Saint Vrain Nuclear Power Plant
- The experimental High Temperature Test Reactor in Japan, constructed in 1998, uses prismatic UO2 TRISO fuel.
- Japan has the only TRISO-fueled reactor in commercial operation.
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States, developed the process used to make TRISO fuel.
The Wikipedia entry for the Dragon reactor is worth a read.
These are the first two paragraphs of its Wikipedia entry.
Dragon was an experimental high temperature gas-cooled reactor at Winfrith in Dorset, England, operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). Its purpose was to test fuel and materials for the European High Temperature Reactor programme, which was exploring the use of tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuel and gas cooling for future high-efficiency reactor designs. The project was built and managed as an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency international project. In total, 13 countries were involved in its design and operation during the project lifetime.
Originally conceived as a small research reactor, during the design phase it grew larger. The choice of helium coolant was made after a long debate within the UKAEA between proponents of helium and carbon dioxide, with helium ultimately selected. Groundbreaking occurred in 1960. It operated from 1965 to 1976, and is generally considered extremely successful.
Who Are The Technology Partners Of X-energy?
I had to ask Google AI this question and received this reply.
X-energy works with major technology, industrial, and energy partners to develop and deploy its advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) and TRISO-based fuel technology.
Key Technology and Strategic Partners
Amazon and AWS: A primary investor (through the Climate Pledge Fund) and customer, Amazon collaborates with X-energy on scaling nuclear energy for data centers and AI infrastructure. X-energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS), NVIDIA, and Idaho National Laboratory are founding members of Project Prometheus to apply AI to advanced nuclear deployment.
NVIDIA: A founding partner in Project Prometheus alongside AWS and Idaho National Laboratory, helping integrate AI accelerators and tools into nuclear design and operations.
Doosan Enerbility & Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP): South Korean industrial partners collaborating to support multi-gigawatt deployments of Xe-100 reactors and manufacture key components.
Energy Northwest: A utility partner working on X-energy’s first-of-a-kind project development in Washington state.
Dow Inc.: Partnered with X-energy to deploy an initial four-unit Xe-100 plant at Dow’s Seadrift chemical manufacturing site in Texas.
Centrica: Partnered through a Joint Development Agreement to deploy Advanced Modular Reactors and pursue up to 6 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity in the United Kingdom.
IHI Corporation: Partnered to expand U.S.-Japan supply chain collaboration and commercial-scale manufacturing for reactor components.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Collaborates with X-energy’s fuel subsidiary, TRISO-X, on advanced nuclear fuel research.
Note.
- There are companies and organisations here from Korea, Japan, the US and the UK.
- Do Amazon and Centrica see an Xe-100 reactor as a reliable way of powering a data centre without a grid connection?
- The Korean and Japanese companies would be ideal to ensure the quality of reactor and other key compoonents.
- Chemical manufacturing sites use a lot of electricity and Dow’s contribution could define a widespread use of the Xe-100.
- Oak Ridge have been a client of mine in the past and like AWRE in England, I would trust their nuclear technology.
I also believe that if you put these companies in a joint venture, you’ll get out more ideas than you expect.
Who Are The Financial Partners Of X-energy?
I had to ask Google AI this question and received this reply.
Amazon & Climate Pledge Fund: Led major funding rounds (including a $500 million investment in 2024 and ongoing backing) and holds a significant stake in the company.
Jane Street: Led X-energy’s oversubscribed $700 million Series D financing round.
Ares Management: Provided financial backing and funds across multiple investment rounds alongside special purpose acquisition sponsorships.
Emerson Collective: Participated as a key venture capital backer across multiple funding rounds.
NGP Energy Capital Management: Contributed significant capital through multiple financing stages.
Segra Capital Management: Acted as an ongoing financial participant in major capital raises.
Other Investors: Includes ARK Invest, Point72, Galvanize, Ken Griffin (Citadel founder), XTX Ventures, Reaves Asset Management, and the University of Michigan.
Note that like the technology, the finance comes from a wide variety of sources.
This all sounds like a good positive start.
Will Centrica, X-energy Be Going For A Multi-Country Design Review For Xe-100?
There are four major countries with extensive nuclear power experience, with stakes in the Xe-100; Japan, Korea, the US and the UK.
There is also Oak Ridge in the US, which appears to be supplying the concept of the fuel.
If this group can’t convince the regulators in these four countries, that they have a safe and viable project, then they shouldn’t be in business.
Conclusion
It’s now mainly up to the regulators.
Unfortunately, you get stories with titles like this article on the BBC, which have a title of Green Party Leader Criticises Nuclear Reactor Plan.
We tried Lumo’s New Train Offering Direct Route From London To A historic UK City For Less Than £30
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on GB News.
This is the sub-heading.
GB News boarded Lumo’s brand-new route between London Euston and Stirling
These are the first two paragraphs.
Lumo’s new direct service between London Euston and Stirling launched just months ago, and it is already regularly selling out services.
We stepped on board one of the recently refurbished trains to see what the six-hour journey to the historic Scottish city was like.
Three things surprised me about the review.
- It is very upbeat, which surprised me, as GB News is often very critical.
- It didn’t mention Lumo’s misbehaving toilets.
- But it did say that the trolley came around regularly for anyone getting on at a later stop or needing a second coffee.
It also said, that the route is already proving incredibly popular.
But you’d hope that would be the case, if they’d chosen the route with care.
I have some thoughts about the route.
Stirling Station Is Well Connected
The Wikipedia entry for Stirling station lists these services.
Trains operate north to Dunblane (three trains per hour), to Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen (hourly), Inverness (four trains per day), south west to Glasgow Queen Street (three trains per hour), and east to Edinburgh Waverley (half-hourly). The service to Alloa and Dunfermline was withdrawn in October 1968, but the reopening of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail link partially restored that service with an hourly service from Glasgow to Alloa as an extension of the Croy Line services. This utilises the existing DMU from Glasgow, which previously spent considerable time in one of the bay platforms at Stirling with engines idling, but now utilises the layover time to make the return trip to & from Alloa.
It makes the city a good base for exploring Scotland.
Stirling Station Is Surrounded By Hotels
This Google Map shows the station and a few hotels.
Note.
- There are nine hotels on this map.
- There is a Premier Inn and a Travelodge for £38 per night.
- There is also a Vue cinema.
It reinforces, what I said earlier about the city being a good base for exploring Scotland.
Lumo Has Increased The Number of Direct Services To London From One To Five!
Prior to Lumo commencing services a few weeks ago, Stirling only had one train per day (tpd) to and from London.
Now there are five!
That surely can only have positive effects for Stirling.
Will Lumo Have Any Impact On The Economy Of Stirling?
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this reply.
Lumo’s direct, low-cost rail service connecting Stirling to London Euston, which launched on May 25, 2026, is boosting the local economy by increasing tourism, encouraging business investment, and offering four daily return trips with fares starting at £29.90.
Economic Benefits
Tourism Growth: Affordable ticket prices from Lumo make it easier and cheaper for visitors from England to travel directly to historical sites like Stirling Castle.
Business and Investment: Four daily return trains improve connectivity for local companies, supporting inward investment and commercial links with London.
Job Creation: The route expansion has added around 100 new roles within the rail and supply chain sectors.
Sustainable Travel: Providing a budget-friendly rail alternative helps shift travelers away from higher-emission car and air journeys.
It looks like Lumo will be good for Stirling.
Larbert, Greenfaulds And Whifflet Get Direct Services To London And England
These three stations to the East of Glasgow will get four directtpd to and from London and intermediate stations.
These services will be the first direct services to the capital for these three stations.
Motherwell and Lockerbie Get Four Extra Direct Services To London And England
Motherwell has eleven tpd to London, but Lockerbie has only two, with one on Sundays.
Lumo’s extra four tpd will probably more important at Lockerbie, than Motherwell.
Calls At English Stations
These are the number of calls at English stations.
- Carlisle – 4 tpd
- Preston – 4 tpd
- Crewe – 2 tpd, 4 tpd on Saturday
- Nuneaton – 4 tpd
- Milton Keynes Central – 4 tpd
Note.
- Effectively, 4 tpd seem to stop at all stations, with two not stopping at Crewe.
- As 4 tpd stop at all Scottish stations, this could be a useful direct service for many.
- When the unions sort out their differences, Milton Keynes Central could be a useful interchange to the East-West Rail for Oxford, Universal Studios Bedford, Bedford and Cambridge.
- Nuneaton could be a useful interchange for CrossCountry for Birmingham, Leicester, Peterborough, Ely, Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
- Crewe and Preston could be a useful interchanges for Liverpool, Manchester and Blackpool.
- Carlisle could be a useful interchange for the Northernmost parts of England.
It is a very well connected service.
New Train Service Connects Finland And Sweden For First Time In Decades
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A new passenger train linking Finland and Sweden has begun running, creating the first rail connection between northern Finland and southern Europe in nearly 40 years.
These three paragraphs add more detail.
Shortly after 05:00 local time (03:00 BST) on Monday, a double-decker train set off from the coastal Finnish city of Oulu, rumbling its way across the border to Sweden.
As the inaugural service crossed the Torne river from Finland and pulled into Sweden’s Haparanda station, it was met by crowds of people waving Finnish and Swedish flags.
The route was initially suspended in the late 1980s to the early 1990s, due to low passenger numbers and technical differences in the tracks between Finland and Europe.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the route between Oulu and Haparanda stations.
Note.
- The map is drawn by track gauge.
- Finnish gauge tracks are shown in red.
- Swedish gauge tracks are shown in black.
- The location of Oulu in Finland is shown by the blue arrow.
- The location of Haparanda in Sweden is at the Eastern end of the black track in the North-Western corner of the map.
- The route seems very much along the coast.
- I wouldn’t be surprised that the sea views are excellent.
This second OpenRailwayMap shows the route between Kemi and Haparanda stations.
Note
- The location of Haparanda in Sweden is shown by the blue arrow.
- The location of Tornio in Finland is indicated by the blue lettering to the North-East of Haparanda.
- The location of Kemi in Finland is indicated by the blue lettering to the South-East corner of the map.
This third OpenRailwayMap shows the route between Tournio and Haparanda stations.
Note.
- The map is drawn by track gauge.
- Finnish gauge tracks are shown in red.
- Swedish gauge tracks are shown in black.
- The track to Oulu in Finland is shown by the blue arrow.
- Tornio station is by the marshalling yard on the Finnish side.
- Haparanda station is by the marshalling yard on the Swedish side.
- The track between Haparanda and Tornio is shown dashed red and black, as it accepts trains of both Finnish and Swedish gauges.
I have some thoughts.
Torne River Railway Bridge
This is is the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the Torne River Railway Bridge.
The Torne River Railway Bridge is a dual gauge railway bridge on the Tornio–Haparanda railway between Haparanda, Sweden and Tornio, Finland; the bridge can be used by the 1524mm gauge trains of Finland, as well the 1435mm gauge trains used in Sweden. A temporary ice river track was built over the Torne River in 1917.
Note
How Do Trains Cross The Torne River Railway Bridge?
I asked Google AI the title of this section and received this answer.
Trains cross the Torne River Railway Bridge on dual-gauge tracks featuring four rails.
This setup accommodates both Finland’s wider 1,524 mm track gauge and Sweden’s standard 1,435 mm track gauge, allowing freight and specialized rail equipment to pass directly between Tornio, Finland, and Haparanda, Sweden, without stopping.
Bridge and Track Design
Dual-Gauge System: Four physical rails are laid on the bridge deck. They interlace the wide-gauge and standard-gauge tracks so different wheel sets fit.
Electrification: The 410-meter truss bridge and connecting line feature overhead catenary wires aligned with Finnish electric standards.
Control and Operations: Train movements across the bridge and its shared dual-gauge sections are managed by Finnish rail traffic control.
Cross-Border Travel
Freight Transport: Freight trains and containerized goods (such as shipments from Outokumpu) use the dual-gauge tracks to move directly between the marshalling yards of both countries.
Passenger Services: While regional passenger train connections operate across the border via the Tornio–Haparanda railway, regular passenger operations involve seamless station transfers at Haparanda rather than continuous through-running for all service types.
It is a simple but ingenious system.
I’ve never seen one anywhere else, although I have ridden on the three rail track at Zwickau.
Note.
- Standard gauge trains use the two outer rails.
- Metre gauge trams use the two far rails, which are a metre apart.
- In the UK, all modern trams are standard gauge, so we don’t have the problem.
But say a narrow-gauge heritage railway wanted to connect into a standard gauge station, I’m sure that the Zwickau system could be used.
Do Other Bridges Use The Same Interleaved Dual Gauge Track As The Torne River Railway Bridge
I asked Google AI the title of this section and received this answer.
Yes, other rail locations use an interleaved dual-gauge track setup (technically known as a gauntletted or four-rail configuration) when two track gauges are too close together to share a common rail.
Why Interleaved Tracks are Used
Gauge Proximity: When the difference between two track widths is small (such as Finland’s 1,524 mm and European standard 1,435 mm, a difference of only 89 mm), a standard three-rail shared setup cannot fit the necessary rail-fastening hardware.
Space Constraints: Interleaving four separate rails inside the same restricted width allows different trains to cross narrow infrastructure like bridges or tunnels without building entirely separate parallel spans.
Examples of Similar Infrastructure
Russia-North Korea Border: The crossing over the Tumen River utilizes multi-gauge configurations to accommodate Russian broad gauge and standard gauge connecting to the port of Rajin.
Historical and Industrial Lines: Short interlaced stretches have been historically deployed on restricted-width civil engineering structures like the Boyne Viaduct in Ireland during structural renewals, or on specific quarry tramways (such as the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway in the UK) to temporarily interchange standard and narrow gauge wagons.
Chinese Offshore Wind Foundation Manufacturer Inks MoU With Scotland’s Ardersier Port
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Dajin Heavy Industry and Haventus, the owner and developer of Ardersier Port in Scotland, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore combining Dajin’s manufacturing and transport capability with Ardersier’s port infrastructure to support both fixed-bottom and floating wind projects in the UK and across Europe.
These two paragraphs add more details.
Dajin and Haventus will also work together to identify potential new commercial opportunities and how Ardersier Port could provide a site for storage, marshalling, assembly and transportation of offshore wind components to the offshore wind foundation manufacturer.
According to Haventus, Ardersier Port’s extensive quayside land, deep-water access and a high-voltage power connection can support the manufacturing, fabrication, assembly and storage of large-scale structures for offshore wind and other energy-related projects.
These are my thoughts.
Where Is Ardesier?
This Google Map shows the location of the Port of Ardesier in relation to Inverness, the Orkneys and Shetlands, and Norway.
The Port of Ardesier would appear to be ideally placed to bring in business for the partnership.
This Google Map shows more detail around Haventus – Ardesier Port.
Note.
- Haventus appears to be located close to Inverness Airport, which has a railway station on the Inverness and Aberdeen Line.
- Inverness is on the Moray Firth.
Are Haventus A British Company?
I asked Google AI the question in the title of this section and received this answer.
Yes, Haventus is a British company.
It is registered in the UK with its corporate headquarters in London, and its primary operations focus on redeveloping the Ardersier Port in the Scottish Highlands to support offshore wind energy.
Company Details
Registration: Registered in England and Wales (Haventus Limited).Head Office: London, United Kingdom.
Project: Transforming the former fabrication yard at Ardersier Port near Inverness, Scotland, into an energy transition facility for offshore wind.
Key Backing: Funded by British institutions like the UK Infrastructure Bank and the Scottish National Investment Bank, alongside major private equity investment from US-based Quantum Capital Group.
Could The Port Of Ardersier Have A Rail Connection?
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Port of Ardersier, the Aberdeen and Inverness Line and Inverness Airport.
Note.
- The heavy black track is the Aberdeen and Inverness Line.
- The Port of Ardersier is above it in the middle of the map.
- Inverness Airport is marked by the blue arrow.
There seems to be a lot of space in the area.
Could A Steel Mini-Mill Be Built In The Area?
Consider.
- Dajin Heavy Industry could need a lot of steel.
- A steel mini-mill would need a lot of energy.
- The UK has a lot of scrap steel, that could be of good enough quality to make the steel gubbins needed for offshore wind components.
- Scrap could be brought in by sea or rail.
- That part of Scotland has lots of offshore wind power.
- Three pumped storage hydro systems are being built in the Scottish Highlands to store electricity.
- Workers could be brought in by train from as far as Aberdeen.
The Port of Ardersier could be an ideal place for a steel mini-mill.
How Many Acres Do You need for a Small Steel From Scrap Mill?
I asked Google AI the question in the title of this section and received this answer.
A small scrap-based steel mini-mill requires roughly 5 to 20 acres of land for basic production, casting, and rolling units.
If you include a dedicated on-site scrap yard and heavy inventory storage buffers, the requirement expands closer to 25 to 50+ acres.
Core Space Breakdown
Melt Shop & Electric Arc Furnace (EAF): 2 to 4 acres for the core melting furnace, ladle metallurgy furnace, and pollution control equipment.
Casting & Rolling Mill: 2 to 5 acres for continuous casting (billets or blooms) and the hot re-rolling lines.
Scrap Yard & Raw Materials: 5 to 20 acres depending on how much local scrap inventory you need to stockpile.
Finished Goods & Logistics: 3 to 10 acres for cooling beds, product staging, truck loading docks, and internal roadways.
From this crude analysis with Google AI, I believe that there is enough space to put a small steel mill in the area.
Ideas Borrowed From Failures During The Years Of North Sea Oil and Gas
I suspect there are a few of these, which might be possible to develop at Ardersier.
Conclusion
The Port of Ardersier has lots of possibilities,
What Is MiQ-Certification?
This is one for AI
I asked Google AI and received this answer.
MiQ certification is an independent, third-party framework that grades natural gas and oil based on how well operators manage and reduce their methane emissions.Developed by RMI and SYSTEMIQ, the MiQ standard assigns facilities a transparent grade from A through F to help create a market for certified low-emissions gas.
Key Evaluation Pillars
Methane Intensity: Measures the quantity of methane lost relative to the total amount of gas produced.
Company Practices: Evaluates internal corporate policies and operational management procedures.
Monitoring Technology: Checks the deployment and effectiveness of advanced detection and measurement tools.
How the System Works
Independent Auditing: Certified, accredited third-party auditors perform rigorous on-the-ground asset evaluations.
Grading and Issuance: Facilities receive a grade (A-F) determined by their lowest score across the core pillars.
MiQ has a web site.
Centrica And MiQ
In February 2026, I wrote Centrica Energy And Seneca Resources Company Sign First-of-Its-Kind Long-Term MiQ Methane Emissions Certificates Agreement, which was based on a Centrica press release with the same title.
This is the sub-heading of the press release.
Centrica Energy and Seneca Resources Company are proud to announce a groundbreaking agreement, marking the first long-term deal of its kind to support independently verified methane emissions from an MiQ-certified US natural gas producer, helping to underpin reductions over time. This ten-year agreement underscores the commitment of Centrica and Seneca to support global efforts to reduce methane emissions.
It looks to me, that Centrica have put down a marker for the sort of gas deals they would like.
Could MiQ Certification For Methane Be A Bit Like Organic Certification For Food?
Google AI gave this answer to my question.
MiQ certification for methane and organic certification for food share a similar core concept: both are independent, third-party verification systems that audit production standards to provide transparency, market differentiation, and trust for buyers.
How They Are Alike
Independent Auditing: Both systems rely on certified, independent third parties to inspect operations and verify claims rather than trusting self-reporting by producers.
Graded Labels: Organic food uses labels like “100% Organic” or “Made with Organic Ingredients” to show quality levels, while MiQ uses a letter grading scale (from A to F) based on methane intensity, quantification accuracy, and company practices.
Market Incentives: Both create economic value for cleaner practices, allowing producers to market their goods at a premium or meet growing demand from eco-conscious buyers and regulators.
How They Are Different
Core Focus: Organic certification measures a broad set of agricultural practices (avoiding synthetic pesticides, GMOs, or artificial fertilizers), whereas MiQ strictly measures methane emissions intensity and management in oil and gas operations.
Measurement Approach: Organic food rules are largely binary compliance standards (you use or do not use forbidden substances), while MiQ uses continuous or periodic performance metrics to score the precise volume of leaked or vented gas.
Regulatory Role: Organic standards are heavily codified by government bodies (like the USDA or EU rules), whereas MiQ operates as an independent, non-profit standard backed by market adoption rather than direct government mandates.
I think it is a classic case of great minds thinking alike or did MiQ just apply, what they saw was working with Organic food and apply it to methane?
Aberdeen For £76.85 On A Walk-Up Basis On LNER
Yesterday, I was chatting with a friend, who had had trouble getting a reasonably priced ticket of any sort to Aberdeen.
- In the end she’d taken the Caledonian Sleeper, as she needed to get to Aberdeen early.
- I asked her, if she’d tried the LNER walk-up tickets, where you get what they haven’t sold, at a better price than the full price.
- I talked about these tickets in An Affordable Trip To Doncaster.
She hadn’t heard of them.
So this morning, I went to King’s Cross to look at LNER’s offers for travel to Aberdeen.
- I would have been able to get a Super Off Peak Single with my Senior Railcard for £76.85 on any one of four trains, each with a single change.
- Now back home, I am certain, that I could have gone both ways for £76.85 each way.
But I suspect that the intelligent machines at King’s Cross could have sold me a Super Off Peak Return for a better price than £153.70.
If I want to book at the beginning of September, I can do it for £132.45 from a reputable ticket site.
Do We Need More Anglo-Scottish Rail Services?
I have spent nearly sixty years analysing data and as the walk-up tickets seem to bottom out for Aberdeen at £76.85 and some trains are labelled as Sold Out, I feel that we need to add more capacity in Anglo-Scottish services.
- My friend’s difficulty in booking an Aberdeen ticket would seem to indicate that.
- Are travellers between London and Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling deserting the airlines in favour of zero- or at least lower-carbon rail travel?
I believe some AI is needed.
Are Anglo-Scottish Travellers Travelling By Rail Instead Of Flying To Cut their Carbon Footprint?
Google AI gave me this answer.
Yes, a significant and growing number of Anglo-Scottish travellers are choosing rail over flying between London and Scottish cities like Edinburgh, motivated partly by the fact that train travel emits up to 90% less carbon than the equivalent short-haul flight.
Travel Trends and Shift to Rail
Majority preference: On the Edinburgh-to-London corridor, rail has overtaken air as the preferred choice, with over 57% of travellers taking the train rather than flying.
Public sector leadership: Government bodies and public sector organizations have actively adopted “think rail first” policies, driving a steep decline in domestic work-related flights to London.
New operators: The arrival of budget-friendly rail competitors like Lumo alongside established operators like LNER has increased capacity and lowered average advance ticket costs, making the shift easier.
Why Travellers Choose Trains
Lower emissions: A train journey from London to Edinburgh accounts for roughly 12.5kg of CO2e per passenger compared to over 165kg of CO2e via a commercial flight.
Door-to-door convenience: City-centre to city-centre train connectivity bypasses airport security queues, baggage drops, and long transfers to and from outlying airports.
Productivity: On-board Wi-Fi and stable table space allow for continuous work that is difficult to maintain during a cramped short-haul flight.
I would only fly from London to Scotland, if I wanted to write about the flight.
My Interim Conclusion
It would be my conclusion, that we need more Anglo-Scottish rail services.
But how?
East Coast Digital Programme
The East Coast Digital Programme has its own web site.
As a Graduate Control Engineer, I suspect, it will bring the following benefits.
- Continuous running at 140 mph on some sections of the East Coast Main Line, as opposed to the current maximum of 125 mph.
- The 14 mile Selby Diversion was built in 1983 by British Rail, with a maximum speed of 160 mph to avoid the Selby coalfield. Trains at 125, 140 and 160 mph will take 6.72, 6 and 5.25 minutes.
- Will we see more 160 mph running? I wouldn’t be surprised,as in 1989 on Stoke Bank between Peterborough and Grantham, an InterCity 225 was recorded at a speed of 162 mph.
- The high speed capabilities of the InterCity 225 were again demonstrated via a 3 hours and 29 minutes non-stop run between London and Edinburgh on 26 September 1991.
- Trains can be flighted, where one train sets the speed and others follow. Think cycling pursuit at 140 mph with 10-car trains.
- As I indicated in Hopes Railway Station In Picturesque Village Could Become ‘Gateway’ To Northumberland Coast, strategic stops could be added to improve connectivity.
- Proven ideas from other lines with full digital signalling will be able to be applied to the East Coast Main Line.
- Journey times will be reduced.
In the 1960s, the sections, that I worked in at ICI, were applying digital control to complex chemical plants and this gave large productivity benefits.
West Coast Digital Programme
I believe that what can be applied to the East Coast Main Line can also be applied to the West Coast Main Line.
Could There Be Better Transport Connections Between Leeds/Bradford and Glasgow/Edinburgh?
How Much Does Each Ride On The Silvertown Cycle Shuttle Cost Taxpayers?
This post was suggested by an article in the Daily Express, which was picked up by one of my Google Alerts.
Google AI gave me this answer.
The Silvertown Cycle Shuttle costs taxpayers between £43 and over £100 per passenger ride, depending on fluctuating daily usage data.
Because the zero-emission shuttle is a free service, the entirety of its operational funding is subsidized by Transport for London (TfL).
Cost Breakdown
According to official figures scrutinized by the Greater London Authority and London Assembly members, the service features the following financial profile:
Total Annual Cost: Approximately £2 million per year (£1,967,010 contractual cost).
Daily Running Cost: Roughly £5,400 per day to operate the buses on a continuous 12-minute frequency.
Average Cost Per Ride (£43): Calculated when the shuttle sees a typical baseline demand of 100 to 130 cyclists per day.
Peak Cost Per Ride (£100+): Triggered during low-demand periods, such as select winter weeks when numbers plummeted to just 51 cyclists per day.
Context of the Subsidy
The shuttle service was launched to provide a river-crossing alternative because bicycles are strictly prohibited from riding through the motor-vehicle-only Silvertown Tunnel.
Despite ongoing criticisms from assembly members regarding low passenger turnout and value for money, TfL is legally required by a Department for Transport Development Consent Order to maintain the service until at least 2028. To maximize utility, TfL has explored opening the shuttle to pedestrians.
Conclusion
This post shows how easy it is to use AI to check a fact and then post it.
Hopefully, as more people get familiar with simple AI systems, governments around the world will be called to account.
Between Cardiff Queen Street And Cardiff Bay In A Class 398 Tram-Train
Yesterday, I made a quick trip to Cardiff to see the new Class 398 tram-train, which runs as a shuttle betteen Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay stations.
These are some of the pictures, that I took.
Note.
- Transport for Wales Rail are acquiring 36 Class 398 tram-trains.
- Each can hold 126 seated and 126 standing passengers.
- Both stations have step-free access to the tram-train.
- A second platform will be built at Cardiff Bay station.
- Google AI says the second platform at Cardiff Bay station will be electrified.
- The platform appears to be wide.
- In Karlsruhe, their German cousins regularly climb hills, as they will in South Wales.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the stations to the East of Cardiff Central station.
Note.
- Cardiff Bay station is in the South-East corner of the map and marked with the blue arrow.
- Cardiff Queen Street station is at the top of the map.
- The orange tracks are the South Wales Main Line.
- Cardiff Central station is on the main line at the left of the map.
The Cardiff Crossrail will link Cardiff Bay and Cardiff Central stations as a street tram.
I wonder how many short rail routes could be improved or even extended using tram-train technology?
Gwynt Glas Offshore Wind Project Strengthens Development And Welcomes New Partner, Sumitomo
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Gwynt Glas.
These three initial paragraphs add some detail.
The Gwynt Glas offshore wind project has today announced a significant strengthening of its joint venture with Sumitomo Corporation joining as an equal partner alongside EDF power solutions UK and Ireland and ESB. Each partner now holds a 33.33% stake, while DP Energy continues to provide critical development support, leveraging its expertise in early stage project delivery and local engagement.
This strategic collaboration brings together three global leaders in renewable energy combining deep expertise in large scale development and delivery. The partnership positions Gwynt Glas to advance confidently through its next phases, reinforcing its role in delivering clean, homegrown energy for Wales and the UK while supporting energy security and economic growth.
Gwynt Glas is a proposed innovative floating offshore wind farm in the Celtic Sea. The up to 1.5 GW project continues to make strong progress and successfully submitted its Scoping Report to the Planning Inspectorate this summer.
Are Sumitomo Involved In Offshore Wind?
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this answer.
Since making its first investment in a European offshore wind project in 2014, Sumitomo Corporation
has accumulated extensive expertise throughout the development, construction and operation phases of offshore wind projects.This marks Sumitomo Corporation’s first participation in a floating offshore wind project.
Are Sumitomo learning about floating offshore wind, by participating in a major project or are they up to something very innovative technically?
In Is Sumitomo Heavy Industries Highview Power Energy Storage System On Line At Hiroshima?, I talked about how Sumitomo’s engineers had taken Highview Power’s ideas for energy storage using liquid-air and downsized it to improve the efficiency of an LNG Terminal at Hiroshima, by adding a 4MW/20 MWh battery.
I just wonder, if some of the steel floats that will support the wind turbines, will also be used for liquid-air tanks as part of one of Highview Power’s batteries. As initially, there will be 66 turbines at Gwynt Glas, the battery could be a monster, but a very environmentally-friendly one!
