Trams Tested On New Section Of West Midlands Metro
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the South Wales Argus.
I don’t understand why test running of the battery trams on the West Midlands Metro has been reported in South Wales.
But it does report, that the UK’s first battery trams could be running in December.
Dewsbury Station
I broke my journey between Leeds and Huddersfield at Dewsbury station, where I had a very acceptable gluten-free pizza and a glass of cider.
I took these pictures of the station.
Note.
- There appears to be an avoiding line, through the station, which means that faster trains can pass slower ones stopped in the station.
- The station has a step-free bridge, but no toilets.
- The square outside the station has been recently landscaped.
- The station is Grade II Listed.
- The station has four TransPennine Express trains per hour (tph) in both directions.
Overall it is an excellent station with a touch of class, that probably deserves a few more trains.
Electrification
I cover possible electrification between Leeds and Huddersfield in Is There Going To Be Full Electrification Between Leeds And Huddersfield?.
Electrification as far as Leeds, which would offer faster acceleration and shorter station dwell times could offer the following.
- The solution to the problems at Morley station. using longer and faster trains.
- A faster journey time between Leeds and Huddersfield for the stopping trains.
Northern’s new Class 331 trains would probably do just fine.
If the stopping trains could run between Leeds and Huddersfield in perhaps twenty-five minutes, which may or may not be possible after the upgrade, just two trains would be needed for a two tph service.
I could see electrification opening up the following services on the electrified route, through Dewsbury.
- Two tph – Leeds and Huddersfield – Stopping at all stations
- One tph – Leeds and Wigan North Western – Stopping at all stations
- Four tph – Leeds and Huddersfield – Stopping only at Dewsbury and other selected stations.
All except the Wigan service would be electric trains.
Conclusion
Dewsbury station is going to get a much-improved train service.
The Bridges At Mirfield
The tracks through Mirfield station are due to be upgraded as part of Network Rail’s £2.9billion project to upgrade the Huddersfield Linebetween Huddersfield and Dewsbury stations, that I wrote about in Network Rail Reveals Detailed £2.9bn Upgrade Plans For TransPennine Route.
This Google Map shows the railway bridges, a road bridge and the surrounding land.
These pictures show the bridges.
The bridge is in two parts and the original stone bridge is Grade II Listed. The entry on Historic England contains this description of the bridge.
Railway bridge. Circa 1840. Engineer George Stephenson, supervisor T. L. Gooch, for the Manchester and Leeds Railway. Rock-faced stone with rusticated dressings. Four segmental arches over river and a further five arches to west and two to east, all on bull-nosed abutments. String course at base of stone parapet. Later steel bridge on south side, not included in the item.
I suspect that it will be needed to be treated very sensitively, because of the age, the Listed status and the builder.
I also feel, that any work won’t be easy, due to the restricted site and the River Calder underneath.
I feel that the most likely track layout through Mirfield station will be the reduced four-track layout, that I found in this document on the Digital Railway web site is entitled Transpennine Route Upgrade SDO1 ETCS – Analysis.
Note.
- There are four tracks between Mirfield station and Heaton Junction, where trains go South-West towards Deighton and Huddersfield.
- The older stone bridge would appear to be carrying the slow trains and those going between Brighouse and Wakefielld.
- The steel bridge on the South side would appear to be carrying the fast trains.
It looks to me, that the track layout has been designed, so that the steel bridge can be replaced if required, without too much disruption.
The Weight Limit Of The Existing Bridges
TransPennine Express have bought a series of trains, that will be running over the existing bridges.
So they can’t be that weak!
Electrification
Electrification could be a problem on the older stone bridge, as it is the sort of project like the Steventon Bridge, that the Heritage Lobby like to attack!
Upgrading Mirfield Station
Mirfield station is due to be upgraded as part of Network Rail’s £2.9billion project to upgrade the Huddersfield Line between Huddersfield and Dewsbury stations, that I wrote about in Network Rail Reveals Detailed £2.9bn Upgrade Plans For TransPennine Route.
This Google Map shows the station and the surrounding land.
These pictures show the station.
Currently, it is a three-station platform, with a wide island Platform 1/2 and a separate platform 3. The platforms are used as follows.
- Platform 1 for all Eastbound trains.
- Platform 2 for Westbound through trains.
- Platform 3 for Westbound stopping trains.
This document on the Digital Railway web site is entitled Transpennine Route Upgrade SDO1 ETCS – Analysis.
It is mainly about using digital signalling called ETCS on the Transpennine Route, but it does give these track layouts between Huddersfield and Dewsbury.
This is the current layout.
This is a reduced four-track layout.
In Proposed Track Layouts Between Huddersfield And Dewsbury, I came to the conclusion, that the reduced four-track layout or something better could handle the current trains through the area.
If the reduced four-track layout is used, the requirements for a new Mirfield station can now be stated.
- Platforms 1/2 sharing an island on the slow tracks.
- Platforms 3/4 sharing an island on the fast tracks.
- Some better shelters than at present.
- Step-free footbridges or a tunnel
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 Mirfield station?
- There is plenty of space.
- The bridge would have the correct clearance for the electrification.
It could also replace the subway to Platform 1/2.
Upgrading Ravensthorpe Station
Ravensthorpe station is due to be upgraded as part of Network Rail’s £2.9billion project to upgrade the Huddersfield Line between Huddersfield and Dewsbury stations, that I wrote about in Network Rail Reveals Detailed £2.9bn Upgrade Plans For TransPennine Route.
This Google Map shows the station and the surrounding land.
Note.
- The lines through the station go between Huddersfield in the East and Dewsbury in the North-East.
- The line going East goes to Wakefield.
These pictures show the station.
I did try to get a picture of the bridges over the River Calder, but I was unable to find the route and the weather was about to deteriorate.
The station is currently just two platforms on the lines between Huddersfield and Dewsbury, with a terrible overbridge, a poor shelter and a couple of seats.
The Wikipedia entry for Ravensthorpe station says this.
Ravensthorpe station is adjacent to Thornhill LNW (London North Western) Junction, where a line branches to Wakefield Kirkgate. There are plans to extend the station by building new platforms on this line, which was built by the former Manchester and Leeds Railway.
This document on the Digital Railway web site is entitled Transpennine Route Upgrade SDO1 ETCS – Analysis.
It is mainly about using digital signalling called ETCS on the Transpennine Route, but it does give these track layouts between Huddersfield and Dewsbury.
This is the current layout.
This is a reduced four-track layout.
In Proposed Track Layouts Between Huddersfield And Dewsbury, I came to the conclusion, that the reduced four-track layout or something better could handle the current trains through the area.
If the reduced four-track layout is used, the requirements for a new Ravensthorpe station can now be stated.
- Two platforms on the tracks to and from Dewsbury.
- Two platforms on the tracks to and from Wakefield.
- Some better shelters than at present.
- Step-free footbridges.
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 Ravensthorpe station?
- The platforms from Dewsbury and to Wakefield, could probably be arranged as a walk-across interchange.
- This would mean that the flexible nature of the bridge design would enable a single bridge with three lifts and three sets of stairs to be erected to join all the platforms together.
- The bridge would have the correct clearance for the electrification.
I doubt it would be the most complicated of stations.
Proposed Track Layouts Between Huddersfield And Dewsbury
Tracks between Huddersfield and Dewsbury stations are due to be upgraded as part of Network Rail’s £2.9billion project to upgrade the Huddersfield Line between the two stations, that I wrote about in Network Rail Reveals Detailed £2.9bn Upgrade Plans For TransPennine Route.
This document on the Digital Railway web site is entitled Transpennine Route Upgrade SDO1 ETCS – Analysis.
It is mainly about using digital signalling called ETCS on the Transpennine Route, but it does give these track layouts between Huddersfield and Dewsbury.
This is the current layout.
This is a full four-track layout.
This is a reduced four-track layout.
As I see it, if the reduced layout can handle the required number of services, it has major advantages over the full scheme.
- There are no changes to track layout between Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury stations.
- Rebuilding Ravensthotpe station should be a smaller project.
- The current and reduced layout have three tracks between Mirfield and Ravensthorpe stations.
- There are no expensive new bridges to be built.
By using bi-directional running on the centre track between Ravensthorpe and Mirfield stations, which is controlled by ETCS, the track layout is simplified, with three tracks instead of four.
- Slow trains from Huddersfield to Dewsbury will dive under the Brighouse lines and call in/pass Platform 1 at Mirfield station before going straight on to Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury. This is as trains do now.
- Slow trains from Dewsbury to Huddersfield will use the centre track from East to West and call in/pass Platform 2 at Mirfield station before turning South-West on to Huddersfield. This is as trains do now.
- Fast trains from Huddersfield to Dewsbury will call in/pass Platform 3 at Mirfield station and then cross over to the top track and go straight on to Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury.
- Fast trains from Dewsbury to Huddersfield will use the centre track from East to West and call in/pass Platform 4 at Mirfield station before turning South-West on to Huddersfield.
- Trains from Brighouse to Wakefield will call in/pass Platform 1 at Mirfield station and then cross to the centre track and go straight on to Wakefield. This is as trains do now.
- Trains from Wakefield to Brighouse will use the centre track from East to West and call in/pass Platform 2 at Mirfield station and go straight on to Brighouse.
Note.
- Platforms at Mirfield station are numbered 1 to 4 from the North
- The slow lines between Mirfield and Huddersfield are shown in black.
- The fast lines between Mirfield and Huddersfield are shown in blue.
- Passengers can use Platforms 1/2 as a cross-platform interchange between slow Huddersfield-Leeds and Brighouse-Wakefield services.
I also think it likely, that the proposed layout will improve the timetable.
Conclusion
I think it is highly likely that the reduced four-track layout will be used.
Unless of course something better is devised.
Progress At Syon Lane Station – 27th August 2019
At last, something seems to be happening about erecting the new step-free footbridge at Syon Lane station.
Easily spotted are the following.
- An access road seems to have been fenced off.
- The tea huts and the toilets have arrived.
- Some scraping and digging has commenced by the down platform
- There is a poster saying finish, will be by the end of the year.
Nothing seems to have happened on the up platform.
It also seems strange that no building materials appear to have been delivered.
Could it just be that a concrete slab will be created on the down platform and on the up platform, the two advertising hoarding will be removed to create space for the bridge tower and stairs?
A prefabricated bridge, built off-site, will then be lifted in.
It’s the only way, that the bridge could be built by the promised completion date of the end of the year.
World’s First Solar-Powered Trains Are Coming To England
The title of this post, is the same as that on this article on Lonely Planet.
This is the first paragraph
The first ever solar unit to directly supply a railway line with electricity has been put in place in England, paving the way for the world’s first solar-powered trains
I am not sure yet about this technology., powering large sections of the UK’s railways.
But the technology does have applications, if it is combined with energy storage.
Boosting Power With Third-Rail Electrification
Third-rail electrification has a problem, in that it needs to be fed with power every few miles. Inevitably, as timetables get busier, there are areas, where there is not enough power to supply the trains.
These systems can provide that fill-in power.
Note that 25 KVAC overhead electrification doesn’t have the problem, as the wires themselves distribute the electricity.
This means that the Great Western Main Line electrification is only supplied with power from the electricity grid at three places; the two ends and one in the middle.
Electrification In Visually-Sensitive Places
Look at this picture of Brunel’s magnificent Wharncliffe Viaduct.
It has been recently electrified and some groups object to the electrification of Grade I Listed structures like this.
Most modern electric trains can be dual-voltage and can work on both electrification systems used in the UK; 25 KVAC overhead and 750 VDC third rail. They can also change between electrification systems at maximum speed
So could we see selective use of solar-powered third-rail electrification in visually-sensitive areas?
Possibly! But battery/electric trains may be a better alternative!
Charging Battery-Electric Trains
There are some branch lines, that will be served by battery-electric trains in the future.
These solar-powered systems could be used to provide the energy to charge the batteries for the return journey.
Powering Remote Stations
Stations are increasingly needing better electricity supplies with more lighting and various ticket and parking machines, and charging for electric cars will become more important.
Solar power systems and batteries could be used.
Conclusion
Solar power will be increasingly used on the railways, with a large number of stations like Blackfriars and the recently-opened White Hart Lane.
But that will happen, irrespective of the result of the Aldershot trial, as many stations are easy places to install solar panels, either on the roof or redundant spaces.
This Google Map shows one of my local stations; Haggerston.
It was rebuilt and reopened in April 2010, so solar panels were probably not thought about for the station.
From my helicopter, it appears that the stations at Dalston Junction, Hoxton and Shoreditch High Street, which were all built at the same time, don’t have solar rooves either.
Perhaps Transport for London and/or Network Rail should rent their roof areas to companies, who run solar farms?
I’m sure there’s a mutually beneficial deal in there somewhere!
As to powering trains, I’m sure they that Riding Sunbeams has a place on third-rail networks, where power needs boosting.
However, electric trains with batteries might be a better option in other applications.
The New White Hart Lane Station Opens
The new White Hart Lane station opened on Monday and I went along this morning and took these pictures.
Some points about the design.
- The station has three entrances on the stadium side and two on the other.
- Materials used include terracotta pots and weathered steel.
- There is a pedestrian tunnel under the railway for those that don’t want to use the trains.
- There are two sets of stairs to both platforms
- There are lifts to both platforms.
- The station can probably handle twelve-car Class 710 trains if required on match days.
- There are solar panels on the roof.
- The station must have some of the tallest overhead electrification gantries in the UK.
From what one of the project managers told me, it appears that the station was built by cleaning, refurbishing and strengthening the viaduct and then erecting an independent steel frame on either side to form the station.
It looks like a technique that could be used on other stations on viaducts.
It’s certainly a better station with a larger capacity, than the previous one, that I used many times back in the 1960s.
The old station is to be demolished, at some point in the future.
Conclusion
It is an excellent station, that should serve its main function of getting supporters to and from Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium.
But will the station and the soon-to-arrive new trains have other effects.
- As I said earlier, the design could be repeated with different cladding for other stations on viaducts.
- I believe that good public transport infrastructure tends to calm crime and anti-social behaviour. Only the statistics will give a verdict.
- Will the passenger numbers rise through the station?
- Will the station and the stadium attract some better class retain premises and cafes, as the Emirates has done?
And perhaps most importantly! Tottenham Hotspur now has two new stations to serve the ground! Will this reduce the congestion caused by large crowds?
Corby Class 360/1s Earmarked For 110 mph Running
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article on Page 10 of Issue 886 of Rail Magazine.
In Are Class 360 Trains Suitable For St. Pancras And Corby?, I came to this conclusion.
In my view there is a lot of upgrade work to be done to the Class 360 trains to make them suitable for working on the services between St. Pancras and Corby.
- They need a new upgraded interior.
- The trains need upgrading to at least 110 mph.
- A possible upgrading with digital signalling.
I can’t help feeling that the Class 360 trains would make a good stop-gap, but in the long-term it might be better to have a small fleet of electric trains.
The Rail Magazine article says the following will be done.
- Trains will be upgraded for 110 mph running.
- 3+2 seating will be replaced by 2+2 seating.
- Wi-fi, tables and updated information screens will be added.
This all sounds a lot better.
The Anonymous Widower 