Old Street Station – 28th March 2022
More beams have gone up at Old Street station in the last ten days.
Several beams have now been erected.
West Midlands To Run ‘Largest Hydrogen Bus Fleet’ Due To New Funding
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are a few points from the article.
- The region is set to get 124 new hydrogen vehicles.
- The West Midlands is set to run the UK’s largest hydrogen bus fleet after securing new funding.
- The region will get 124 new buses after it won £30m from the Department for Transport to fund a switchover.
- Twenty four of the new vehicles will be articulated tram-style buses set to run on a new bus priority route between Walsall, Birmingham and Solihull.
Does the last statement mean, that they will buying a hundred double-decker hydrogen buses?
A few thoughts.
Riding Birmingham’s New Hydrogen-Powered Buses
These are a few pictures from Riding Birmingham’s New Hydrogen-Powered Buses.
They were excellent buses from Wrightbus.
The Tram Style Buses
The Belgian firm; Van Hool have a product called Exquicity. This video shows them working in Pau in France.
These tram buses run on rubber types and are powered by hydrogen.
Similar buses running in Belfast are diesel-electric.
Could these be what the article refers to as tram-style buses?
It should be noted, that the West Midlands and Pau have bought their hydrogen filling stations from ITM Power in Sheffield.
So has there has been a spot of the Entente Cordiale between Pau and the West Midlands?
Will The West Midlands Buy The Other Hundred Buses From Wrightbus?
There doesn’t seem to be any problems on the web about the initial fleet, so I suspect they will.
It should also be noted that Wrightbus make the following types of zero-emission buses.
- StreetDeck – Hydroliner FCEV – Double-deck hydrogen bus
- StreetDeck – Electroliner BEV – Double-deck battery bus
- GB Kite – Hydroliner FCEV – Single-deck hydrogen bus
- GB Kite – Electroliner BEV – Single-deck battery bus
These would surely enable the West Midlands to mic-and-match according to their needs.
Conference Calls For More Freight Routes To And From Spain
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
Salvador Galve, Chairman of the Railway Commission of the General Council of Industrial Engineers, presented the European Alliance for the Development of Railway Corridors in the Iberian Peninsula initiative at a conference held in Madrid on March 9.
These are some points from the article.
- Less than 4% of freight is currently transported by rail in Spain, compared with an average of 18% across the EU.
- The Spanish government wants to raise this to 20%.
- Incidentally, in the UK, rail freight is at a level of 5 %.
- Italy has seven main lines connecting it to its neighbours, Spain has only two!
- Spain also has a break of gauge, whereas the UK and Italy do not!
- Plans exist for more freight corridors in Spain, and linking these to ports in North Africa and logistics hubs in the rest of Europe.
- Zaragoza, could be turned into a key southern European logistics hub, linked by tunnels to the main line between Toulouse and Bordeaux.
But to me the most interesting plan is set out in this paragraph.
On March 1 the Infrastructure Ministry gave its provisional approval for study into the feasibility of converting the single track, non-electrified line from Huesca to Canfranc from 1 668 mm gauge to 1 435 mm gauge, ahead of any possible reconstruction of the through route to Pau in France in the longer term.
It has always been on my bucket list to visit the magnificent Canfranc station.
UK On Track To Reach 4,000 Zero Emission Bus Pledge With £200 Million Boost
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the Government.
These are the main points of the press release.
- Nearly 1,000 more zero-emission buses to be funded in towns and cities across the country, bringing the total funded in England to 2000 so far under this government.
- A further 600 zero-emission buses have been funded in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Comes as consultation launched on ending sale of all new non-zero emission buses from 2025 to 2032.
- Government continues taking unprecedented action to hit net zero and level up transport across the country.
Areas to get the new buses include.
- Blackpool
- Greater Manchester
- Hertfordshire
- Norfolk
- North Yorkshire
- Nottingham
- Oxfordshire
- Portsmouth
- South Yorkshire
- West Midlands
- West Yorkshire
- York
I would also like to see the government fund trials for the conversion of suitable buses to zero carbon. I certainly believe that London’s New Routemaster buses could be converted to hydrogen.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks And H2 Infrastructure Could Benefit From New Legislation
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
Politicians from both main parties in the United States are promoting a Hydrogen for Trucks Act, to support the conversion of domestic trucking from diesel to hydrogen.
These are the three main parts of the Act
- Provide incentives for adopting hydrogen fuel cell trucks by covering the difference in cost between them and conventional diesel-powered vehicles.
- Encourage tandem fueling station and vehicle deployment, to ensure that one doesn’t need to exist before the other is in place, solidifying the overall fueling infrastructure.
- Collect data and establish benchmarks for various forms of fleet operation, helping to accelerate deployment by incentivizing private investment.
We could do with an Act like this in the UK.
But whereas the United States would start with hydrogen for trucks, we would probably start with hydrogen for buses.
Stadler Reports ‘Best Year’ Since IPO
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
Stadler has reported record orders and earnings before tax for the 2021 financial year.
And these are a few statistics.
- Orders were up by 28%.
- Revenue was up 18 %.
- Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was up 43 %.
- EBIT margin rose to 6·2%.
Overall group profits was slightly down on the previous year due to exchange rate losses.
There is a note of caution.
However, it cautions that it is unlikely to achieve its target EBIT margin of 8 to 9% in 2023 as previously forecast, predicting instead that this would be achieved by 2024-25.
Overall the company is doing well and certainly producing the best trains in Europe.
Driver Hospitalized After Brightline Train Hits Pickup Truck In Hallandale Beach
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on 850 WFTL.
The driver certainly didn’t have a full load in the front of his pickup.
This paragraph describes the incident.
Dashcam video provided by Brightline captured the moment the driver of the silver pickup drove around the gate arm and onto the track a split second before impact. The arm was down when the collision happened.
Perhaps, the driver was trying to get a Darwin Award.
Wagons Ordered For Growing Freight Traffic
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
GB Railfreight and leasing company Porterbrook have placed an order for Greenbrier Europe to supply 50 JNA 60 m3 capacity four-axle box wagons for transporting construction materials.
Other points from the article.
- The wagons will be built in Romania.
- They will be delivered in the Autumn.
- Porterbrook research is indicating a possible increase of 35 % in construction sector traffic between now and 2034.
Certainly, judging by the number of posts about freight, the sector seems to be innovating and running more trains.
Freightliner’s New Livery
.As I passed through Ipswich yesterday, I took these images of Freightliner’s locomotives in their new livery.
Note.
- Freightliner’s new depot on the town side of the Great Eastern Main Line appears to be fully open.
- Freightliner’s Class 90 locomotives, which they received from Greater Anglia now seem to be in the new livery.
- Freightliner’s Class 08 shunter is also shown in the new livery.
It also looked like up to four Class 90 locomotives were parked by Ipswich station.
This Google Map shows the tracks at the Western end of Ipswich station.
Note.
- The Greater Anglia Class 755 train in Platform 1 of Ipswich station.
- The two Freightliner Class 90 locomotives in the old green livery in the locomotive parking.
- I wonder, if freight trains are now changing to electric haulage after being hauled out of Felixstowe into Ipswich Yard, before continuing their onward journey.
Yesterday, by the use of Real Time Trains, I found these trains changed to electric haulage at Ipswich.
- 0250 – 436K – Felixstowe North to Garston – Changed back to diesel at Crewe.
- 0912 – 496K – Felixstowe North to Trafford Park – Changed back to diesel at Crewe.
- 0932 – 497K – Felixstowe North to Ditton
- 1113 – 412L – Felixstowe North to Trafford Park
- 2046 – 410M – Felixstowe North to Trafford Park
- 2152 – 412M – Felixstowe North to Garston – Changed back to diesel at Crewe.
These are my thoughts.
Changing Locomotives At Ipswich
It seems to take about 25 minutes to change a locomotive from diesel to electric.
At Ipswich, this seems to fairly easy.
- The freight train from Felixstowe stops in Ipswich Yard to the West of the station.
- The diesel locomotive is detached and probably moved to the yard to the South of the station.
- The electric locomotive is moved from by the station and attached to the train.
- The train goes on its way using electric traction.
All locomotive movements don’t seem to be too challenging.
Could More Electric Services Be Run?
I found these paths yesterday, where services left Felixstowe and went South to London.
- Coatbridge – 1
- Ditton – 2
- East Midlands Gateway – 1
- Garston – 2
- Hams Hall – 2
- Lawley Street – 3
- Trafford Park – 5
- Wentloog – 3
This is a total of nineteen trains and currently only six are electrified between Ipswich and London.
Would Bi-Mode Locomotives Be More Efficient?
In GB Railfreight Plans Order For Future-Proofed Bi-Mode Locomotives, I wrote about how GB Railfreight were planning to acquire a fleet of bi-mode locomotives.
In the related post, I said this.
I feel that, as the locomotive must fit current routes and schedules, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the following specification.
- UK loading gauge.
- Co-Co
- Class 90 locomotive power and operating speed on electricity of 3.7 MW and 110 mph.
- Class 66 locomotive power and operating speed on diesel of 2.5 MW and 75 mph.
- Ability to change between electric and diesel power at speed.
- Ability to haul a heavy freight train out of Felixstowe.
- Ability to haul passenger trains.
Stadler will have one eye on the fact, that if they get this design right, this order for up to fifty locomotives could be just the start.
These locomotives would be ideal for Felixstowe to Ditton, Garston and Trafford Park.
- They would eliminate changing locomotives on these routes.
- They would reduce carbon emissions and fuel usage.
- They would be able to run at at least 100 mph on the Great Eastern and West Coast Main Lines.
They might also open up other partially electrified routes from Felixstowe via London.
Felixstowe And Wentloog
Wentloog freight terminal in South Wales.
In Movable Overhead Electrification To Decarbonise Freight, I used the Ipswich and Wentloog route to show how a long route could be decarbonised by the use of moveable electrification.
Conclusion
It looks like a philosophy is emerging to decarbonise a large proportion of freight services out of the Port of Felixstowe.
Design Contract Awarded To Extend Railway Arches Low Line Concept
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Plans to revamp the railway arches running through Wandsworth and Lambeth to create an extension of Southwark’s “low line” have taken a step forward after a contract was awarded to a design agency.
The extension would create a continuous walking and cycling route from Battersea to London Bridge, to connect communities with the creation of new spaces alongside the viaduct.
It looks to be an interesting concept with lots of possibilities.
The Anonymous Widower 