Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme – Lower Addiscombe Road / Windmill Bridge
The rebuilding of this bridge is key to the Croydon Enhancement Scheme.
IThe scope is described on this web page.
This is the introductory paragraph.
To provide more platforms at East Croydon station and allow the Selhurst triangle junctions to be remodelled we need to expand the railway from five to eight tracks north of East Croydon. This means we need to rebuild the road bridge over the railway, increasing its span, to provide space for three additional tracks.
This Google Map shows the bridge and East Croydon station.
Note.
- Windmill Bridge is the road crossing the railway at the top of the map.
- East Croydon station is in the South West corner of the map.
- Adding three extra tracks between the new bridge and East Croydon station will be challenging.
I took these pictures as I walked between around the current Windmill Bridge.
Note.
- The bridge is very busy with traffic.
- It is a nightmare for pedestrians, as pavements are narrow and there is no crossing on the bridge.
- I suspect that it is a bridge, that cyclists hate and avoid.
- I also believe it may have a low weight limit.
It certainly needs replacing, with something wider and more substantial for road traffic.
Benefits
Network Rail lists these benefits of a new bridge.
- Longer bridge to accommodate additional tracks
- Dedicated cycle lanes
- Vehicle weight restriction removed
- Opportunity for new pedestrian and cycle links under the bridge.
It certainly looks like it will be a lot better and my observations will be addressed.
Network Rail’s Proposals
The following is taken from the web page.
The construction of the new bridge would take place early in the programme as it is a key enabler for the rest of the Scheme.
To construct the new bridge, we would:
- Permanently close the southern end of Gloucester Road (the ramp to the bridge)
- Build the new bridge offline south of, and next to, the existing structure, reducing disruption to road users
- Slide the new bridge deck across the railway without closing the track below
- Close the existing bridge to traffic and pedestrians
- Use the new bridge in its temporary location as a pedestrian and cycle route while the existing bridge is closed
- Demolish the existing bridge and slide the new bridge into its permanent position.
I would score Network Rail a full ten out of ten for ingenuity.
I don’t think, I’ve ever heard of a scheme, where the new bridge is used temporarily to get pedestrians and cyclists across an obstacle, before it is moved into its final position.
This visualisation from the site shows the completed bridge and the eight tracks underneath.
It looks like it will be a tight fit.
Other Thoughts
These are other thoughts on various issues.
Project Management
Network Rail are saying they will do this sub-project early,
This will mean that they get the space to do all the rest of the work and keep traffic, pedestrians and cyclists away from the following sub-projects.
On the Introduction page of the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme, the video shows how the bridge will be installed. It is well worth a watch.
Gloucester Road
It took me about five minutes to cross Gloucester Road, where it joins the bridge and the pedestrian provision is terrible.
But will those who live and work on the Southern part of the road, accept the closure?
These pictures show that part of the road.
A Design Crime – Pedestrian Chaos At London Bridge
To get home from London Bridge station, I usually get the 141 bus in the station, or if I’m walking along the riverside, I get a 21 or 141 bus from the stop at the Southern side of the bridge.
There is now, no stop on the bridge, so it meant walking nearly to Bank station to get a bus. Not everybody of my age could manage that!
I hope the pea-brained idiot, who designed the current scheme at London Bridge, with no bus stops in either direction has been given his marching orders.
I know that for COVID-19 and wannabe terrorists something must be done, but surely one of the bus-stops in each direction should be working.
I suspect, it was designed by the same idiot, who decided to close the important Waterloo and City Line.
The Mayor won’t care, as he’s a South Londoner.
Bi-Modes Offered To Solve Waterloo-Exeter Constraints
The title of this post is the same as an article by Richard Clinnick in Issue 912 of Rail Magazine.
The article is in turn based on this Continuous Modular Strategic Planning document from Network Rail, which is entitled West of England Line Study 2020.
The document is probably best described, as a document, that will need a lot of digestion for a full reading, but it does provide the reasons for what is said by Richard Clinnick.
The Need For Bi-Mode Trains
This is the a slightly edited version of the start of the Rail Magazine article.
Bi-mode trains should be ordered as part of a scheme to improve the service offered on the West of England route between London Waterloo and Exeter St, Davids, according to Network Rail.
In their extensive study, NR explains that additional capacity could be achieved on the route not only through infrastructure improvements, but also through lengthening some services.
The Network Rail report says.
This cannot be achieved using the current rolling stock fleet currently in operation; which are coming to end of life. Therefore, in the medium term, the opportunity to introduce new,
potentially bi-mode, rolling stock capable of achieving faster journey times and providing more capacity should be considered.
The report also suggests that electric, battery and hydrogen are mentioned as possible power.
South Western Railway’s Short Term Solution
In the short term, South Western Railway (SWR) have reorganised the service to meet short term objectives, which are described fully in the Network Rail report, but can be summed up as follows.
- There is a need for a capacity increase between London Waterloo and Basingstoke and Salisbury.
- There is a need for a capacity increase between Axminster and Exeter St. Davids.
SWR’s solution has probably been strongly driven by the needs of COVID-19, which means that a greater amount of space must be provided for each occupied seat. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve made six journeys in SWR’s Class 159 trains and like most other travellers, I’ve had four seats to myself. The trains may be thirty years old, but like most British Rail trains of that era, they keep giving valuable service.
For most of the day, SWR seem to offer the following solution.
- Nine-car formations of Class 159 trains work between London Waterloo and Salisbury stations at a frequency of two trains per hour (tph)
- Six-car formations of Class 159 trains work between Salisbury and Exeter St. Davids stations, at a frequency of one train per two hours (tp2h)
- Passengers use a one-way system at Salisbury to walk between the two trains.
Yesterday, I took SWR’s trains between Clapham Junction and Yeovil Junction stations to observe the working of the route and take a few pictures.
My Observations
These are my observations.
Salisbury Station
This Google Map shows Salisbury station and the nearby Salisbury Depot.
These are some pictures I took at the station.
Note that the train in the platform is a nine-car formation which is 207 metres long. I would estimate that the platforms are around 220-240 metres long.
Yeovil Junction Station
This Google Map shows Yeovil Junction station.
These are some pictures I took at the station.
Note that the two trains in the platforms are six-car formations which are 138 metres long. I would estimate that the platforms are around 140-50 metres long.
Replacement Of The Current Class 159 Trains With Bi-Mode Trains
Consider the following train lengths and capacities.
- A nine-car formation of Class 159 trains – 207 metres – 588 seats
- A six-car formation of Class 159 trains – 138 metres – 392 seats
- A nine-car Class 802 train – 234 metres – 647 seats
- A five-car Class 802 train – 130 metres – 326 seats
- A pair of five-car Class 802 trains – 260 metres – 652 seats
The figures for Class 802 trains are taken from the trains that are in service for Great Western Railway (GWR).
The following timings should also be noted.
- London Waterloo and Salisbury – One hour and thirty minutes
- Turnback time at Salisbury – Up to thirty minutes
- Salisbury and Exeter St. Davids – Two hours and six minutes
- Turnback time at Exeter St. Davids – Trains appear to go to Exeter New Yard for refuelling.
- Wait at Yeovil Junction – Fourteen minutes
Note.
- The wait at Yeovil Junction station is so that trains can fit in with the large lengths of single-track on the West of England Main Line.
- The need to refuel the diesel trains would appear to be a major constraint on running more services on the route.
- Both legs of the journey have convenient times of one-and-a-half and two hours respectively.
Overall, I think the timings are helpful.
Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train
Hitachi have recently released details of their new Battery Regional train, which are summarised in this Hitachi infographic.
They have also signed an agreement with Hyperdrive Innovation to develop battery packs for their Class 80x trains, as I wrote about in Hyperdrive Innovation And Hitachi Rail To Develop Battery Tech For Trains.
Looking at the length and capacity table, I displayed earlier, it would appear there are several ways to run the service between London Waterloo and Exeter St. Davids using Regional Battery Trains.
- Run nine-car trains between London Waterloo and Exeter St. Davids
- Run five-car trains between London Waterloo and Exeter St. Davids
- Run nine-car trains between London Waterloo and Salisbury and five-car trains between Salisbury and Exeter St. Davids
- Run a pair of five-car trains between London Waterloo and Salisbury and a single five-car train between Salisbury and Exeter St. Davids, with selective splitting and joining at Salisbury.
Alternatively, the route could be electrified. But that has a few obstacles and disadvantages.
- Would the various jobsworths allow this substantial length of third-rail electrification?
- Would there be serious objections to using overhead electrification?
- Would the travellers on the route, be prepared for all the disruption?
- There is also the excessive cost of electrification.
I also believe, that only limited small infrastructure improvements would be needed to replace the current diesel trains with battery electric bi-mode trains like the Regional Battery Trains.
Regional Battery Trains Between London Waterloo And Salisbury
Consider.
- London Waterloo and Salisbury stations are 83.5 miles apart.
- The fifty miles between London Waterloo and Worting Junction is fully electrified.
- Only the 33.5 miles between Salisbury and Worting Junction are not electrified.
- In the infographic, Hitachi are claiming a 90 kilometre or 56 mile battery range and a static charging time of between 10-15 minutes.
It would certainly appear, that if a train from London passed Worting Junction with full batteries, it would reach Salisbury. Also a train leaving Salisbury with full batteries would certainly reach Worting Junction and the electrification.
There would be three ways of charging the Regional Battery Trains at Salisbury.
- Fit a number of charging stations on the platforms.
- Install 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- Install 750 VDC third-rail electrification.
I prefer Option 3 in a station like Salisbury.
- It would be easy to install and British Rail probably drew up detailed plans several times, when full third-rail electrification was under consideration.
- The trains will be fitted with third-rail shoes to access the third-rail electrification on the way to London.
- Because of the depot, there’s probably a good power supply.
- For increased safety, modern electrical design, could mean that power was only switched on when a train is connected.
As trains currently wait for some time in Salisbury, it would be likely, that trains would leave the station with a full battery.
Regional Battery Trains Between London Salisbury And Exeter St Davids
Consider.
- Salisbury and Exeter St. Davids stations are 88.5 miles apart.
- There is no electrification.
- Yeovil Junction station is approximately half way and is 49.5 miles from Exeter St. Davids and 39 miles from Salisbury.
- Typically, trains wait at Yeovil Junction station for up to fourteen minutes, to get through the single-track sections.
I believe that a similar method of charging to that at Salisbury could be used at Yeovil Junction.
There would also need to be charging at Exeter St. Davids station.
This Google Map shows Exeter St. Davids station.
Services from London Waterloo and Salisbury currently turnback at Exeter St. Davids station in the following manner.
- They arrive from the track running to the station from the South East.
- They unload passengers in Platform 1 which is the long platform on the East side of the station.
- It seems that they then continue through the station to New Yard, where they refuel and do other things, that Class 159 trains do after a long journey.
- At the appropriate time, they return to Platform 1, where they load up with passengers and leave by the way they arrived.
If a charging system or electrification, were to be added to Platform 1, the trains would be able to fill up in the station.
- Currently, it appears that the Class 159 trains take over an our to do this complicated manoeuvre.
- Hitachi are quoting a charging time of 10-15 minutes for their Regional Battery Train.
Could valuable minutes be saved, that would enable a more passenger-friendly timetable?
Charging Regional Battery Trains At Yeovil Junction Station
Currently, the timetable is arranged like this.
- The Salisbury to Exeter St. Davids train and the Exeter St. Davids to Salisbury trains pass at Yeovil Junction station.
- Both trains wait in the station for nearly fifteen minutes, which is an adequate time to fully-charge the batteries.
The picture shows the two trains in the platform together.
Currently, the timetable would seem to be ideal for battery electric train operation between Salisbury and Exeter St. Davids stations.
A Possible Timetable Between London Waterloo And Exeter St. Davids
It did occur to me, that South Western Railway might be running a timetable, that could possibly be designed for Regional Battery Trains.
- A nine-car formation between London Waterloo and Salisbury could be replaced with a nine-car or a pair of five-car Regional Battery Trains.
- A six-car Salisbury and Exeter St. Davids could be replaced by a five-car Regional Battery Train.
- Trains could pass at Gillingham station between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction, as it is a two-platform station about half-way.
- Trains could pass at Honiton station between Yeovil Junction and Exeter St. Davids, as it is a two-platform station about half-way.
I think if it was needed, that two tph would be possible not only between London Waterloo and Salisbury, but also between London Waterloo and Exeter St. Davids.
I also think that the following detailed service pattern would be possible.
- A pair of five-car Regional Battery Trains would leave London Waterloo at a frequency of two tph.
- The front train would be for passengers for all stations between London Waterloo and Exeter St. Davids.
- The rear train would only be for passengers for all stations between London Waterloo and Salisbury.
- On arrival at Salisbury, both trains would charge their batteries.
- When the batteries were fully-charged, the two trains would split.
- The front train would continue on its journey to Exeter St. Davids, leaving the rear train in the platform.
- The Exeter St. Davids to London Waterloo service would arrive at Salisbury and join to the train in the platform.
- The pair of trains would then run to London Waterloo.
This service pattern has the big advantage that passengers travelling between a station East of Salisbury and one to the West of Salisbury, will not have to change trains
- All stations on the line also get a two tph service.
- Services would be the same or better on the whole route, to the pre-COVID-19 timetable.
- There would be extra capacity between London and Basingstoke.
High Speed Train Seats Used To Deliver Fresh Fish
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
East Japan Railway is testing the use of high speed passenger trains to move fresh fish from Sendai to Tokyo.
The last paragraph explains the title.
These services do not use passenger accommodation, unlike JR East’s latest test programme where the No 1 car is closed to passengers so that the seats can be used to transport the containers of fish.
But then the idea isn’t new as Great Western Railway ran a trial in 2015, with the fish travelling in the back of the locomotive on an Intercity 125. That story is also in Railway Gazette.
Linde And RVK Unveil New Hydrogen Station For Buses
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 View.
This is the introductory paragraphs.
Linde and regional transport company Regionalverkehr (RVK) today presented an innovative hydrogen station for fuel cell buses to the public.
With a capacity of up to 20 refills per day, the new station located near Cologne, Germany features, for the first time, a new high-pressure storage technology developed by Linde: constant pressure tubes ensure that the refuelling pressure always remains at a constant level, even as the storage tank volume decreases.
It does appear that Linde is going to be big in hydrogen, as they already are an investor in electrolyser company;ITM Power.
Beeching Reversal – Magor And Undy Walkway Station
This is one of the Beeching Reversal projects that the Government and Network Rail are proposing to reverse some of the Beeching cuts.
I actually covered this proposal before in ‘Walkway’ Rail Station Plan For Magor As M4 Relief Road Scrapped,
I’ll repeat the start of that post.
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the introductory paragraphs.
A village heavily affected by the decision to scrap the planned M4 relief road is bidding for help to build a £7m railway station there.
Residents of Magor in Monmouthshire have the mainline rail service to London running through the village, but no station.
They want to create a “walkway” station – one with no car parking that travellers will walk or cycle to.
The original Magor station was shut in the Beeching cuts in November 1964.
The Villages Of Magor And Undy
This Google Map shows the villages of Magor and Undy and their relationship to the roads and railway in the area.
Note.
- The Northern motorway is the M48, which leads to the original Severn Bridge.
- The Southern motorway is the M4, which leads to the newer Second Severn Crossing.
- Between the two lies the South Wales Main Line, with the two stations; Severn Tunnel Junction and Caldicot.
- At the Western end of the map, the railway runs between the two villages of Magor and Undy.
This second Google Map shows the villages.
Note.
- The M4 running East-West to the North of Magor.
- Magor services is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The South Wales Main Line running through the villages.
There certainly seems to be a lot of housing to provide passengers for the new station.
The Location Of Magor And Undy Station
On this web page on Rail Future, which is entitled Magor, this is said.
The station site is where the B4245 road passes closest to the railway line. The Monmouthshire County Council traffic survey shows that some 11 – 12,000 cars a day pass along this road through the middle of the villages. The shift from car to train use is primarily aimed at capturing those who at present are not prepared to drive the two and half miles to the east just to catch the train at Severn Tunnel Junction to travel the two and a half miles back passing their homes for the seven and a half mile journey into Newport, and hence at present use their car for the whole journey instead. The site also has the advantage of direct integration with the buses as the bus services pass the entrance to the site of the proposed Station and Community centre every half an hour.
This Google Map shows the B4245 road and the railway.
Note.
- The B4245 curving across the map.
- There are already two bus stops, which are marked by blue dots.
- There is a footbridge over the railway, which doesn’t appear to be step-free.
As Rail Future is probably correct, the position of the station is fairly obvious.
Various documents on the Internet talk about the station being built on the Three Field Site, which the local council bought for community purposes some years ago. Could the triangle of land between the B4245 and the railway, be this site?
Thoughts On The Station
Reading the web page on Rail Future, the following seems to be stated.
- The platforms will be on the two outside tracks of the four through the station. These are the Relief Lines.
- The two Fast Lines will be in the centre.
- Existing crossovers will allow trains from the Fast Lines to call in the station.
Unlike at other proposed stations to the West of Newport, the tracks will not need major works to slew them to accommodate the new platforms.
I would also do the following.
Incorporate Wide Platforms
This picture was taken of the new platform at Stevenage station.
If the station gets busy, a wide platform will ease loading and unloading.
As Magor and Undy station, will be one that encourages passengers to cycle to the station, would a wide platform make it easier for passengers, who are travelling with bicycles?
Step-Free Between Train And Platform
Greater Anglia are using similar trains to South Wales and the Stadler Flirts in East Anglia offer step-free access between train and platform, as this picture shows.
South Wales should offer a similar standard of step-free access. as it eases access and cuts train delays.
A Step-Free Footbridge
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at Magor and Undy station?
- The bridge can be sized to fit any gap.
- If the platforms were wide enough, I think it would be possible.
- It can have lifts that can take bicycles.
- A bridge like this would also reduce the cost.
So the station can have a stylish, affordable, fully step-free footbridge.
A Walkway Along The Railway
It strikes me that a walkway on the Southern side of the railway to connect the communities South of the railway to the station could be very useful.
Electrification
The South Wales Main Line is electrified between London and Cardiff and Great Western Railway’s Class 802 trains between London and Swansea, change between electricity and diesel at Cardiff Central station.
All four lines at Severn Tunnel Junction appear to be electrified, so will all four lines at Magor and Undy station be electrified?
They certainly should be, to improve the reliability of electric services between London and South Wales.
Train Services
I suspect that the calling pattern of train will be similar to that at Severn Tunnel Junction, which is the next station to the East. The Wikipedia entry for Severn Tunnel Junction says this about services at that station.
The station is served by two main routes – Transport for Wales’ Cheltenham Spa to Cardiff Central and Maesteg via Chepstow local service and Great Western Railway’s Cardiff to Taunton via Bristol line. Both run hourly on weekdays & Saturdays, albeit with some two-hour gaps on the Chepstow line. In the weekday peaks, certain Cardiff to Portsmouth Harbour also stop here, whilst there is a daily train to Fishguard Harbour. CrossCountry also provides very limited services to/from Manchester Piccadilly via Bristol and to Nottingham via Gloucester and Birmingham New Street.
On Sundays, the Bristol to Cardiff service is once again hourly (and runs to/from Portsmouth) whist the Cheltenham service is two-hourly.
I think that this could result in these train frequencies in trains per hour (tph), from Magor station.
- Caldicot – 2 tph
- Cardiff Central – 4 tph
- Cjeltenham – 1 tph
- Chepstow – 2 tph
- Gloucester – 1 tph
- Newport – 4 tph
- Severn Tunnel Junction – 4 tph
Note.
- I have assumed that the CrossCountry services don’t stop.
- As there seem to be proposals to add extra stations between Newport and Cardiff Central, these new stations could also get a service with a frequency of between two and four tph.
Working on rules that apply in Liverpool and London, and may apply to the South Wales Metro, I think that a Turn-Up-And-Go service of a train every fifteen minutes is needed between Magor and Undy station and the important Newport and Cardiff stations.
Battery Electric Trains Along The South Wales Main Line
The railways are being decarbonised and plans will have to be made to run all secondary services on the South Wales Main Line without diesel.
Hitachi have already played their cards, with the announcement of a Regional Battery Train, which will be created by replacing some of the numerous diesel engines on a Class 802 train with battery packs.
This is Hitachi’s infographic for the train.
The range of ninety kilometres or fifty-six miles is interesting.
- Cardiff Central and Swansea are 46 miles apart, so with a charging facility at Swansea, Great Western Railway could run diesel-free between London Paddington and Swansea.
- I suspect too, that destinations to the West of Swansea could also be served with intelligent placing of a second charging facility at perhaps Carmarthen.
But it’s not just Hitachi, who have made plans for battery electric trains.
- Transport for Wales have ordered twenty-four Stadler Class 756 trains, which are tri-mode and can run on electrification, diesel or battery power.
- Transport for Wales have also ordered eleven Stadler Class 231 trains, which are only bi-mode.
- Both these fleets seem very similar to Greater Anglia’s Class 755 trains, which Stadler have said can be converted to 100 mph tri-mode operation, with perhaps a forty mile range on battery power.
- I have ridden several times in Class 755 trains and without doubt, they are one of the best diesel-powered trains, I have used in the UK.
So I don’t think it is unreasonable to believe that Transport for Wales have the capability to run battery electric services with the fleet they have ordered given a few simple upgrades, that may already be planned for Greater Anglia.
But will the Welsh train builder; CAF, be happy with Hitachi and Stadler running their battery electric trains at high speed past their factory and onward to England and West Wales?
I doubt it and CAF have already made a response.
In Northern’s Battery Plans, I said this about CAF’s plans to create a battery electric Class 331 train for Northern.
It appears that CAF will convert some three-car Class 331 trains into four-car battery-electric trains.
- A three-car Class 331 train has a formation of DMSOL+PTS+DMSO.
- A fourth car with batteries will be inserted into the train.
- Batteries will also be added to the PTS car.
I suspect that CAF would be happy to convert some of Transport for Wales order for diesel Class 197 trains into one for suitable battery electric trains.
I believe some of the services that are planned to be run by these diesel trains into Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, appear to be ideal routes for battery electric trains.
These diesel trains will still be serviceable in 2060, which will be long past the cut-off date for diesel trains in the UK.
So why not replace them before they are built?
- The CAF Civity train is modular, so I doubt it would make much difference to CAF’s manufacturing process.
- The diesel version of the Civity has a noisy transmission compared to the electric version.
It would surely, be better for CAF’s marketing.
Could the various routes through Magor be operated by battery electric trains?
These are my thoughts on the various routes.
Maesteg And Cheltenham Spa
This service is hourly and run by Transport for Wales.
- Currently, the service seems to be running to Gloucester.
- Maesteg and Cardiff Central is not electrified and 28.5 miles long.
- Trains seem to take over 8-9 minutes to turn back at Maesteg.
- Cardiff Central and Severn Tunnel Junction is electrified.
- Severn Tunnel Junction and Gloucester is not electrified and is 35 miles long.
- Trains seem to take over 25 minutes to turn back at Gloucester.
It certainly looks that with charging facilities at Maesteg and Gloucester, this service could be run by a battery electric train with a range of forty miles on battery power.
Fishguard And Gloucester
This service is occasional and run by Transport for Wales.
The problem with this service will be to the West of Swansea.
But if Great Western Railway and Transport for Wales put their heads and services together, I feel there is a cunning plan to run battery electric trains to Fishguard, with perhaps charging facilities at Fishguard, Carmarthen and Swansea.
Cardiff And Bristol Temple Meads
This service is two tph and run by Great Western Railway.
On the Welsh side of the Severn Tunnel, this could be an electric service.
On the English side, there is only ten miles of line without electrification between the South Wales Main Line and Bristol Temple Meads station.
This service in wales can be considered an electric service, as it is only onwards from Bristol Temple Meads to Taunton and Portsmouth Harbour, that charging facilities will be needed.
Conclusion
I like this scheme and as it looks like the trains will be running on electric power, through Magor and Undy station, it could be a very good one.
ANALYSIS: Managing Our Earthworks – The Task Gets Harder Each Year
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.
The on line article is only an introduction and just a taster, of what will be fully available in the magazine.
But it does look to be a serious account of the problems about keeping the railway safe in all this bad weather.
I shall be interested to read the full article, when the magazine hits my door-mat.
Solving The Problem With Electric Bus Design
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International.
The article opens with this paragraph.
A number of European cities have committed to securing only zero-emission buses by 2025. However, to achieve this objective, manufacturers must make bold design choices, radically changing bus componentry, systems, and bodywork. Here, it looks at the debate for greater electric bus design standardization.
Standardisation is one thing, but the article doesn’t talk about the major problem with electric bus design – For many countries like the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Germany, where there are lots of double-decker or articulated high-capacity buses, battery electric buses are just not big enough.
Battery-electric buses are also generally not big enough to compete with the latest designs of tram and metro systems.
These pictures show the Chinese double-deck electric double-deck buses, that ran in London.
Half of the downstairs was take up by batteries.
Where are they now?
The Belgian firm; Van Hool have a product called Exquicity. This video shows them working in Pau in France.
But these buses are powered by hydrogen.
Similar buses running in Belfast are diesel-electric.
In both the Pau and Belfast applications, I wonderwhy they didn’t use trolley-bus versions of the WxquiCity or conventional trams.
Conclusion
Until we get more efficient battery storage, electric buses will have difficulty competing economically in the high-capacity bus sector.
Eurostar Plans To Start Direct Amsterdam – London Trains In October
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette International.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Cross-Channel high speed operator Eurostar has confirmed its intention to launch direct Amsterdam – London St Pancras services from October 26, complementing the London – Amsterdam trains which have run since April 2018.
The article then goes on to give more details of the service.
- Security checks will be undertaken at Amsterdam CS and Rotterdam Centraal stations.
- Amsterdam to London will be nine minutes over four hours.
- There will initially be two trains per day.
- There was a hint of more next year.
- It will carry Shengen area passengers between Amsterdam and Brussels.
Eurostar says it will offer flexible booking options to help, if the Government changes COVID-19 quarantine regulations.
Conclusion
It looks a sensible offering and as I’ve used it between London and Amsterdam three times, I will be trying to fit in a trip before the end of the year.
Nightjet Depot Investment To Support Sleeper Train Network Expansion
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette International.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Austrian Federal Railways held a groundbreaking ceremony on August 21 to launch the construction of a €40m facility at its Wien Simmering depot for the maintenance of its Nightjet overnight train fleet.
The article then goes on to give more details of Nightjet‘s expansion.
- A service between Vienna and Brussels was introduced earlier this year.
- The Nightjet network currently has nineteen routes.
- A service from Amsterdam to München, Innsbruck and Vienna, will be introduced in December.
- Vienna is the EU city with the most night train services.
- In August 2018, Nightjet ordered thirteen new seven-car trains from Siemens.
- Another twenty seven-car trains were ordered this month.
It does look like Nightjet is linking up with Eurostar to take people far into Europe.
The Anonymous Widower 