Shapps Wants ‘Earlier Extinction Of Diesel Trains’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the East London and West Essex Guardian.
This is the first two paragraphs of the article.
The phasing out of diesel trains from Britain’s railways could be intensified as part of the Government’s bid to cut carbon emissions.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told MPs he is “hugely concerned” that the current policy means diesel trains will continue to operate until 2040.
In some ways the positioning of the article in a newspaper serving East London and West Essex is a bit strange.
- The only diesel trains in the area are freight trains, after the electrification of the Gospel Oak and Barking Line.
- Grant Schapps constituency is Welwyn and Hatfield, which is twenty or so miles North of London.
It looks to me to be a syndicated story picked up by the paper.
But as it reports what he said to the Transport Select Committee, there is a strong chance that it is not fake news.
How Feasible Would It Be To Bring Forward The 2040 Diesel Extinction Date?
Government policy of an extinction date of 2040 was first mentioned by Jo Johnson, when he was Rail Minister in February 2018.
This article on Politics Home is entitled Rail Minister Announces Diesel Trains To Be Phased Out By 2040, gives more details about what Jo said.
Since then several developments have happened in the intervening nearly two years.
Scores Of Class 800 Trains Are In Service
Class 800 trains and their similar siblings can honestly be said to have arrived.
Currently, there appear to be over two hundred of these trains either delivered or on order.
Many have replaced diesel trains on Great Western Railway and LNER and stations like Kings Cross, Paddington and Reading are becoming over ninety percent diesel-free.
It should be noted that over half of these trains have diesel engines, so they can run on lines without electrification.
But the diesel engines are designed to be removed, to convert the trains into pure electric trains, when more electrification is installed.
Midland Main Line Upgrade
This line will be the next to be treated to the Hitachi effect, with thirsty-three of the second generation of Hitachi’s 125 mph trains.
- The Hitachi trains will use electrification South of Melton Mowbray and diesel power to the North.
- The trains will have a redesigned nose and I am sure, this is to make the trains more aerodynamically efficient.
- The introduction of the trains will mean, that, all passenger trains on the Midland Main Line will be electric South of Melton Mowbray.
- St. Pancras will become a diesel-free station.
Whether High Speed Two is built as planned or in a reduced form, I can see electrification creeping up the Midland Main Line to Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield and eventually on to Leeds.
Other Main Line Routes
The Midland Main Line will have joined a group of routes, that are run partly by diesel and partly by electricity.
- London and Aberdeen
- London and Bradford
- London and Cheltenham
- London and Harrogate
- London and Hull
- London and Inverness
- London and Lincoln
- London and Middlesbrough
- London and Penzance via Exeter and Plymouth.
- London and Sunderland
- London and Swansea
- London and Worcester and Hereford
Once the Midland Main Line is upgraded, these main routes will only be these routes that use pure diesel for passenger routes.
- TransPennine Routes
- Chiltern Route
- London and Exeter via Basingstoke
- London and Holyhead
Plans already exist from West Coast Rail to use bi-mode on the Holyhead route and the Basingstoke route could also be a bi-mode route.
TransPennine and Chiltern will need bespoke solutions.
Some Electrification Has Happened
Electrification has continued at a slow pace and these schemes have been completed or progressed.
- Chase Line
- Between Birmingham and Bromsgrove
- North West England
- Between Edinbugh, Glasgow, Alloa, Dunblane and Stirling.
- Gospel Oak to Barking Line
- Between St. Pancras and Corby.
- Crossrail
In addition London and Cardiff will soon be electrified and a lot of electrification designed by the Treasury in the past fifty years has been updated to a modern standard.
Battery Trains Have Been Developed And Orders Have Been Received Or Promised
Stadler bi-mode Class 755 trains have been delivered to Greater Anglia and these will be delivered as electric-diesel-battery trains to South Wales.
Stadler also have orders for battery-electric trains for Germany, which are a version of the Flirt called an Akku.
In the Wikipedia entry for the Stadler Flirt, this is a paragraph.
In July 2019, Schleswig-Holstein rail authority NAH.SH awarded Stadler a €600m order for 55 battery-powered Flirt Akku multiple unit trains along with maintenance for 30 years. The trains will start entering service in 2022 and replace DMUs on non-electrified routes.
55 trains at €600 million is not a small order.
Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, Hitacxhi and Siemens all seem to be involved in the development of battery-electric trains.
I think, if a train operator wanted to buy a fleet of battery trains for delivery in 2023, they wouldn’t have too much difficulty finding a manmufacturer.
Quite A Few Recently-Built Electric Trains Are Being Replaced And Could Be Converted To Battery-Electric Trains
In 2015 Bombardier converted a Class 379 train, into a battery-electric demonstrator.
The project showed a lot more than battery-electric trains were possible.
- Range could be up to fifty miles.
- The trains could be reliable.
- Passengers liked the concept.
Judging by the elapsed time, that Bombardier spent on the demonstrator, I would be very surprised to be told that adding batteries to a reasonably modern electric train, is the most difficult of projects.
The Class 379 trains are being replaced by by brand-new Class 745 trains and at the time of writing, no-one wants the currents fleet of thirty trains, that were only built in 2010-2011.
In addition to the Class 379 trains, the following electric trains are being replaced and could be suitable for conversion to battery-electric trains.
- Thirty Class 707 trains from South Western Railway.
- Thirty-seven Class 350/2 trains from West Miidlands Railway.
- Perhaps twenty Class 387 trains from various sources.
There also may be other trains frm Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect.
All of these trains are too good for the scrapyard and the leasing companies that own them, will want to find profitable uses for them.
Porterbrook are already looking at converting some Class 350 trains to Battery-electric operation.
Vivarail And Others Are Developing Fast Charging Systems For Trains
Battery trains are not much use, unless they can be reliably charged in a short time.
Vivarail and others are developing various systems to charge trains.
Hydrogen-Powered Trains Have Entered Service In Germany
Hydrogen-powered Alstom Coradia Lint trains are now operating in Germany.
Alstom are developing a Class 321 train powered by hydrogen for the UK.
Stadler’s Bi-Mode Class 755 Train
The Class 755 train is the other successful bi-mode train in service on UK railways.
I would be very surprised if Grant Schapps hasn’t had good reports about these trains.
They may be diesel-electric trains, but Stadler have made no secret of the fact that these trains can be battery electric.
Like the Class 800 train, the Class 755 train must now be an off-the-shelf solution to use on UK railways to avoid the need for full electrification.
Class 93 Locomotives
Stadler’s new Class 93 locomotive is a tri-mode locomotive, that is capable of running on electric, diesel or battery power.
This locomotive could be the best option for hauling freight, with a lighter carbon footprint.
As an example of the usability of this locomotive, London Gateway has around fifty freights trains per day, that use the port.
- That is an average of two tph in and two tph out all day.
- All trains thread their way through London using either the North London or Gospel Oak to Barking Lines.
- Most trains run run substantially on electrified tracks.
- All services seem to go to freight terminals.
With perhaps a few of miles of electrification, at some freight terminals could most, if not all services to and from London Gateway be handled by Class 93 locomotives or similar? Diesel and/or battery power would only be used to move the train into, out of and around the freight terminals.
And then there’s Felixstowe!
How much electrification would be needed on the Felixstowe Branch to enable a Class 93 locomotive to take trains into and out of Felixstowe Port?
I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing a lot of these tri-mode freight locomotives.
Heavy Freight Locomotives
One of the major uses of diesel heavy freight locomotives,, like Class 59 and Class 70 locomotives is to move cargoes like coal, biomass, stone and aggregate. Coal traffic is declining, but the others are increasing.
Other countries also use these heavy freight locomotives and like the UK, would like to see a zero-carbon replacement.
I also believe that the current diesel locomotives will become targets of politicians and environmentalists, which will increase the need for a replacement.
There could be a sizeable world-wide market, if say a company could develop a powerful low-carbon locomotive.
A Class 93 locomotive has the following power outputs.
- 1,300 kW on hybrid power
- 4,055 kW on electric
It also has a very useful operating speed on 110 mph on electric power.
Compare these figures with the power output of a Class 70 locomotive at 2,750 kW on diesel.
I wonder if Stadler have ideas for a locomotive design, that can give 4,000 kW on electric and 3,000 kW on diesel/battery hybrid power.
A few thoughts.
- It might be a two-section locomotive.
- Features and components could be borrowed from UKLight locomotives.
- It would have a similar axle loading to the current UKLight locomotives.
- There are 54 UKLight locomotives in service or on order for the UK.
- Stadler will have details of all routes run by Class 59, Class 66 and Class 70 locomotives, in the UK.
- Stadler will have the experience of certifying locomotives for the UK.
Stadler also have a reputation for innovation and being a bit different.
Conclusion
All pf the developments I have listed mean that a large selection of efficient zero carbon passenger trains are easier to procure,than they were when Jo Johnson set 2040 as the diesel extinction date.
The one area, where zero carbon operation is difficult is the heavy freight sector.
For freight to be zero-carbon, we probably need a lot more electrification and more electric locomotives.
London St Pancras Twins With Bordeaux Saint-Jean To Promote Direct Service
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Channel Tunnel rail link concessionaire HS1 Ltd announced a twinning agreement between its London St Pancras International station and SNCF’s Bordeaux Saint-Jean station on October 18, saying this would help to progress the development of proposals for a through passenger service between the cities.
I tend to think, that all twinning arrangements are mainly about giving directors, mayors and those at the top, junkets and expensive free dinners.
It is much more important that the links go much deeper and hat those lower down meet the important objectives.
In the case of this twinning, will it accelerate the start of a direct London and Bordeaux service, which could be much-needed or a waste of resources.
Let’s get on with trialling the service, rather than wasting time thinking about it and posing for photographs.
Big Step Forward’ For Colne To Skipton Rail Link Dream
The title of this post is the same as that of this article in the Lancashire Telegraph.
This is the introductory paragraph.
THE inclusion of the re-opening of the Colne to Skipton rail link in a government planning document has been hailed as ‘a big step forward’ by Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson.
Some points from the article.
- The project is included in Department for Transport’s Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline for 2019 to 2024.
- There is also a load of cynicism from other politicians.
However, this document from the South-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership is more encouraging.
Road Toll Proposal To Plug Electric Car Tax Shortfall
The title of this post is the same as an article in today’s copy of The Times.
Last year, tax on petrol and diesel raised £27.9 billion. As the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) is saying that all new cars and vans should be electric by 2030 or 2035 at the latest, it seems very likely that there will be a tax shortfall, as electric cars don’t pay fuel tax.
So the CCC is suggesting that road pricing be introduced
I predict that whichever government introduces it, they will lose the next election.
Fresh Calls For ‘Missing Link’ Buxton To Matlock Railway Line To Be Reopened
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in the Buxton Advertiser.
I wrote in full about this route in Connecting The Powerhouses, after an article was published in the June 2017 Edition of Modern Railways.
This was my conclusion.
It’s very difficult to find a reason not to reopen the Peak Main Line.
I think in the last two years the case for reopening the Peak Main Line between Buxton and Matlock may have become even stronger.
MEMRAP
A group called the Manchester and East Midlands Rail Action Partnership or MEMRAP has been setup to promote the case for reopening.
A web site has been created.
New Lower-Carbon And Quieter Passenger Trains
Rolling stock has improved and trains like tri-mode Class 755 trains and possible battery electric trains, should be able to handle the route in a more environmentally-friendly way.
Transport Of Building Materials
This is a paragraph from the Buxton Advertiser article.
Funding for the project, according to Mr Greenwood, would come from working in partnership with local quarries which are supplying materials for the new Heathrow Airport runway and are involved with the HS2 project.
Network Rail has already have spent a lot of money to improve freight access to the quarries, as I reported in £14m Peak District Rail Freight Extension Unveiled. So the demand for building materials must be there and going via Matlock would remove some heavy freight trains from the Hope Valley Line.
Heavy freight trains might not be welcomed by all stakeholders.
Possible High Speed Two Cutbacks
As I wrote in Rumours Grow Over Future Of HS2, The Eastern leg of High Speed Two might be axed.
This may or may not change the case for reopening the Peak Main Line.
There Will Be Opposition
This is two paragraphs from the Buxton Advertiser article.
Peak Rail has long campaigned to re-open the line for heritage trains to run between Buxton and Matlock. However, director Paul Tomlinson said he was not in favour of the new plans.
He said: “I’m all in favour raising the profile of the line to get it re-opened but we can’t support this new idea.
Others will also object.
Conclusion
There will be various opposing pressures on both sides of reopening the Peak MNain Line.
In favour will be.
- The quarries.
- Cities like Derby and Nottingham and passengers wanting better links to and from Manchester and its Airport.
- Transport for the North, as opening could increase capacity on the Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield.
Local interests will want to maintain the status quo.
‘Flying Taxi’ Made In Britain Takes Off On Maiden Flight
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
There is a video of the plane, which can carry a 250 Kg payload.
I don’t think we’ll see practical aircraft of this type in large numbers for some years yet, but the technology is getting there with scores of projects starting up all over the world.
This project is funded by Stephen Fitzpatrict, who founded OVO Energy.
What Will Happen To Great Western Railway’s Class 387 Trains?
I have been looking at the services that Great Western Railway run using Class 387 trains.
Current services run by these trains are.
London Paddington And Didcot Parkway
This service has the following characteristics.
- The frequency is two trains per hour (tph)
- Services are run by two trains working as a pair.
- Intermediate stops are Ealing Broadway, Southall, Hayes and Harlington, West Drayton, Iver, Langley, Slough, Maidenhead, Twyford, Reading, Tilehurst, Pangbourne, Goring and Streatley and Cholsey.
- Journey time is one hour twenty-three minutes, giving a three hour round trip.
I estimate that twelve trains are needed to run this service.
From the 15th December 2019, this service appears to run to a similar timetable.
London Paddington And Reading
This service has the following characteristics.
- The frequency is two tph.
- Services are run by two trains working as a pair.
- Intermediate stops are Ealing Broadway, Southall, Hayes and Harlington, West Drayton, Slough, Burnham, Maidenhead and Twyford
- Journey time is fifty-seven minutes, giving a two and a half hour round trip.
I estimate that ten trains are needed to run this service.
From the 15th December 2019, this service will be run by TfL Rail using Class 345 trains.
Reading And Newbury
This service has the following characteristics.
- The frequency is one tph.
- Services are run by two trains working as a pair.
- Intermediate stops are Reading West, Theale, Aldermaston, Midgham, Thatcham and Newbury Racecourse.
- Journey time is twenty-nine minutes, giving an hour round trip.
I estimate that two trains are needed to run this service.
From the 15th December 2019, this service appears to run to a similar timetable.
Current Trains Needed
Summarising the trains needed gives the following.
- London Paddington and Didcot Parkway – twelve trains
- London Paddington and Reading – ten trains
- Reading and Newbury – two trains.
This gives a total of twenty-four trains.
Trains Needed After 15th December 2019
Summarising the trains needed gives the following.
- London Paddington and Didcot Parkway – twelve trains
- London Paddington and Reading – no trains
- Reading and Newbury – two trains.
This gives a total of fourteen trains.
Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express will use twelve Class 387 trains in the near future.
Great Western Railway’s Future Need For Class 387 Trains
Summarising the trains needed gives the following.
- London Paddington and Didcot Parkway – twelve trains
- Reading and Newbury – two trains.
- Heathrow Express – twelve trains.
This gives a total of twenty-six trains.
Great Western Railway have a total of forty-five Class 387 trains. Wikipedia is a bit confusing on this point, but I’m fairly certain this is a correct figure.
This means that Great Western Railway have nineteen trains available for expansion of services.
Great Western Railway’s Class 769 Trains
Great Western Railway have also ordered nineteen dual-voltage bi-mode Class 769 trains.
These are for the following routes.
- Reading – Redhill or Gatwick Airport
- London Paddington – Reading and Oxford
As the spare number of Class 387 trains is the same as that of the bi-mode trains, was it originally intended, that these routes could be run by the Class 387 trains, after Network Rail had joined the electrification together.
But the extra electrification never happened.
So Great Western Railway ordered the bi-modes trains.
Great Western Railway’s Dilemma
The Class 769 trains appear to be running late, so Great Western Railway are running the Gatwick and Oxford services with diesel multiple units, that they’d like to send to the West Country.
Bombardier appear to have moved on with their battery technology, that was successfully trialled using a similar Class 379 train in 2015. I wrote about the possibility of battery Electrostars on the Uckfield Branch last month in Battery Electrostars And The Uckfield Branch.
I believe that both routes would be within range of a battery-electric Class 387 train.
Reading – Redhill or Gatwick Airport
The various sections of the route are as follows.
Reading and Wokingham – Electrified with 750 VDC third-rail.
Wokingham and Aldershot South Junction – Not electrified – 12 miles
Aldershot South Junction and Shalford Junction – Electrified with 750 VDC third-rail.
Shalford Junction and Reigate – Not electrified – 17 miles
Reigate and Redhill/Gatwick – Electrified with 750 VDC third-rail.
To my mind, this is a classic route for a battery-electric train, as it is mainly electrified and both gaps are less than twenty miles long.
Some or all of the Class 387 trains are dual-voltage.
London Paddington – Reading and Oxford
The distance between Didcot Parkway and Oxford is under twelve miles, so a return trip should be well within range of a battery-electric Class 387 train.
There are also plans at Oxford station to put a new bay platform on the London-bould side of the station. This could be fitted with a charging station to avoid any range anxiety.
A Gatwick And Oxford Service
Could the Oxford and Gatwick services be joined together to make a direct Oxford and Gatwick service via Reading?
- I estimate that the service would take around two hours.
- Assuming a fifteen minute turnround at both ends, a round trip would be four and a half hours.
Running a half-hourly service would need just nine trains.
Or eighteen, if they were to run as eight-car trains!
Could this explain the order for nineteen trains, as it’s always a good idea to have a spare?
Conclusion
Great Western Railway can dig themselves elegantly out of a hole of Network Rail’s making by converting the spare Class 387 trains to battery-electric trains.
I’m sure Bombardier have the design available and would be happy to oblige after they have finished conversion of the Heathrow Express units.
There might also be an argument for fitting all Class 387 trains with batteries.
- A more unified fleet.
- Train recovery in the event of electrification failure.
- Better safety in depots.
- Direct services between Paddington and Henley and Bourne End.
- Would it allow Class 387 trains to run between Paddington and Bedwyn?
- Reduced electricity consumption.
It’ll be a decision for the accountants.
One collateral benefit of a successful conversion program for the Great Western Railway, is that it would enable Great Northern’s twenty-eight trains and c2c’s six trains to be easily converted to battery-electric versions.
- Great Northern’s coulde be used by sister company; Southern on the Uckfield Branch and the Marshlink Line.
- c2c trains are soon to be replaced by new trains.
I’m sure that quality four-car battery-electric trains won’t wait long for an operator.
A Stray TransPennine Express Class 802 Train In London
I took these pictures of a TransPennine Express Class 802 train running around London.
In the first three pictures, it was parked in the sidings to the East of Southall station.
The rest were taken at Willesden Junction station.
Looking at Real Time Trains it appeared to be going between the Hitachi depots at North Pole and Doncaster.
Is This The Longest Bus Stop Repair in London’s History?
This picture shows the bus stop outside Dalston Junction station.
I use this bus stop regularly and since about 2012, the top bit above the information has been missing.
But not any more!
The Anonymous Widower 