A Tale Of Two Trains
Last week I attempted to have rides in two ground-breaking trains.
- A battery-powered version of Vivarail‘s Class 230 train.
- A hydrogen-powered Alstom Coradia iLint.
Some months ago, I also had an early public run in a Crossrail Class 345 train.
The latter trains have now been introduced more fully into service, although there are still some Class 315 trains in service between Liverpool Street and Shenfield stations.
Transport for London performed the introduction with plenty of well-trained staff about to both handle any problems and ask passengers for feedback.
It was all very professional and despite Crossrail’s well-reported lateness, it is difficult to find bad reports about the performance of the Class 345 trains between Liverpool Street and Shenfield.
Vivarail’s Class 230 Train
I went to the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, to see this train last Wednesday and wrote about the train in Battery Class 230 Train Demonstration At Bo’ness And Kinneil Railway.
- This service was not a paid-for public service but a free demonstration open to all, who wanted to turn up.
- Many people did for the first run at 11:00 and they looked to be a mixture of locals, people with transport interests, families and enthusiasts.
- Vivarail came mob-handed with engineers, designers, public relations staff and the Chairman; Adrian Shooter.
- There was no restrictions as to who talked to whom.
Search the Internet and it is very difficult to find negative reaction to the demonstration.
This article with a video in the Scotsman is entitled Video: Battery Trains On Track To Cut Emissions and gives a lot of information.
- Each car weighs thirty tonnes.
- Chassis and body are aluminium.
- Each car has two 100 kWh batteries underneath.
- New batteries in 2019 will enable sixty mph for forty miles and take just four minutes to charge.
- Regenerative brakes recharge the batteries.
The article has a very positive, typified by this paragraph.
Beyond the recycled exterior, Adrian explains how renewable energy and eco-friendliness are at the heart of the train’s design and a sign of things to come.
I haven’t read any reports from bloggers, enthusiasts or the general public about the train, but like myself, I suspect many went home quietly satisfied after watching a very professional demonstration.
My only negative comment about the Vivarail demonstration, is that it could probably have done with a modicum of classic marketing and upsexing.
Alstom’s Coradia iLint
Last week was the second time, that I tried to get a ride on this train.
- But as with my first trip, although I saw a train, none were actually running.
- This time, I heard that there was a shortage of drivers and one train had gone back to the manufacturer.
- These innovative trains are going to attract visitors from all over the world and I think that Alstom are not being at all professional with their handling of the testing.
- There was just no information, let alone staff at any of the stations, that will be served by the hydrogen-powered trains.
The important people were happy enough to turn up for the grand launch, but did not see fit to provide the information for the general public, who are interested in a genuine innovation, that could cut carbon emissions.
Conclusion
We will see a diesel-powered Class 230 train in service this December and it will then be possible to judge this innovative train on a fair basis.
But after the professional demonstration I saw in Scotland, I very much feel that this launch will not be handled in a sloppy way, such that it leaves a lot of disillusioned travellers.
But I am beginning to wonder, if Alstom’s project was launched too early without real planning to gain lots of brownie points about green issues.
It is one thing to get a new train working on a test track, but passengers with their own needs and appointments to keep, add a whole new dimension.
Alstom may well not be alone, as Porterbrook seem to be having troubles with launching their innovative Class 769 train.
Edinburgh’s Missing Link
In Edinburgh, I’ve walked in an Easterly direction, several times through Princes Street Gardens, with the final intention of taking a train from Edinburgh station.
But as the pictures show, there’s no way through.
You have to walk up to the road, fight your way across a pedestrian crossing and then walk down a ramp into the station.
Why isn’t there a pedestrian tunnel?
My Hotel In Hamburg
These pictures show my hotel and my room in Hamburg; The Europäischer Hof.
My room was unusual in that it was a proper single room, with everything I needed.
Except one thing; a BBC channel for the News.
I have now stayed in Hamburg in two hotels, where I got a free bus, U-Bahn ans S-Bahn ticket.
The ticket covers the main city zones including the |Airport.
That is an idea I like.
Bring Your Own Bed!
This guy had certainly found a way to avoid the hard seats on Thameslink’s Class 700 trains, when I returned from Gatwick Airport on Friday night.
He laid down on the exercise bench he was carrying.
I wonder what would happen, if we all brought our own seats or beds at peak times.
Disappointing Kiel
After my disappointment with not getting a ride on the hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint, I decided to take a trip to Kiel.
I had expected a bustling riverside with perhaps nice places to eat overlooking the water. Perhaps, I was expecting somewhere similar to Bordeaux, Gdansk or Stockholm
I was at least able to buy a drink in a cafe, but I didn’t find any suitable food.
So I retreated to a shopping centre and bought a tuna salad in a plastic bowl.
I don’t think, I’ll be going back.
A Pedestrian Level Crossing And A Lone Coradia iLint At Bremervörde Station
öI’d waited at Buxtehude station for a Coradia iLint to appear in vain, so I moved on to Bremervörde station, where I took these pictures.
It turned out that one train had returned to the factory, so there wasn’t much to see. Coupled with the news I heard earlier about Not Enough Drivers, I suspect that the Germans seem to be suffering in the same way, as we are on the introduction of new trains.
Not Enough Drivers
I have just been told that the hydrogen trains will.not be running today between Buxtahude and Cuxhaven as there are not enough drivers.
Where have I heard that before?
The Relaxed Pace Of German Commuter Stations
I am at Buxtehade station on the outskirts of Hamburg and the area looks like it could be a suburb typical of those around big cities all over the world. But it is so relaxed compared to others I’ve visited.
Note.
- The diesel-hauled commuter service running under wires.
- No-one and the trains don’t seem to be in a hurry despite it being around nine in the morning.
- Trains seem to wait several minutes at each station.
- Staff were not to be seen.
In addition, there was absolutely no information about the hydrogen trains, that I could find.
Engine Change At Bad Bentheim
I’m on a train frim Amsterdam to Osnabruck. The train, which goes all the way to Berlin, is not very fast, but they’ve now stopped for ten minutes, whilst the Dutch engine is changed for a German one! Can’t both railway companies use the dame Euro-blighter and just have a change of drivers, as we do on Anglo-Scottish services.
Surely, these are the problems that the EU should solve. Or do German and Dutch rail unions make the RMT look like pussy-cats?
From Amsterdam To Hamburg The Hard Way
You might think that Amsterdam, which is a city of nearly two-and-a-half million people would have a good rail connection to the North German cities of Bremen and Hamburg, which have population of two-and-a-half and five million people, respectively.
But you would be wrong!
- Amsterdam to Bremen is 354 km. and takes 3 hr. 26 min to drive, but the train takes 4 hr. 16 mins with a change at Osnabruck.
- Amsterdam to Hamburg is 464 km. and takes 4 hr. 35 min to drive, but the train takes 5 hr. 14 mins with a change at Osnabruck.
The train to Osnabruck is the same for both destinations and runs every two hours.
I arrived in Amsterdam at 12:32 and the next train left at 13:00, which I didn’t try to catch as I had to queue up for a ticket
So I caught the 15:00, as I had planned, which should get me into Hamburg at 20:14, hopefully in time for supper.
I would need the supper, when I arrived, as I could find nothing gluten-free worth eating in Amsterdam Centraal station. But I did have some EatNakd bars.
The train to Osnabruck, wasn’t one of Germany’s finest and the only customer service was the checking of tickets. I didn’t check, but I got the impression, that the onboard restaurant car had gone AWOL.
There wouldn’t have been anything I could eat, if there had been a restaurant car anyway!
Incidentally, I don’t travel First Class in Germany anymore, as all you get is a better seat, with not even any free coffee.
And you have to pay about five euros for a seat reservation!
The train to Osnabruck wasn’t the fastest either, doing about 80 mph most of the way, which compares badly to the 100 mph typically attained by trains on secondary main lines in the UK like London to Norwich.
There was also an Engine Change At Bad Bentheim.
I’ve had serious delay in Osnabruck before, as I wrote in From Hamburg To Osnabruck By Train.
For a time it looked like it would be episode two, but the Hamburg train only turned up about ten minutes late.
By running at 125 mph part of the way to Hamburg, the train had picked up a few minutes.
So I had a lovely supper as a reward.
Conclusion
I’ve had worse train journeys. But not many!
At 105.61 euros it wasn’t cheap either!
The Anonymous Widower 