Are Greater Anglia Making Ipswich Station A Better Interchange?
Services In A Few Years
By the end of this decade, Greater Anglia will be running the following services through or from/to Ipswich station.
- 3 trains per hour (tph) Norwich to London, taking sixty minutes to London – Platform 2
- 3 tph London to Norwich, taking 30 minutes to Norwich – Platform 3
- 1 tph Peterborough to Colchester – Platform 2
- 1 tph Colchester to Peterborough – Platform 3
- 1 tph Ipswich to/from Cambridge – Platform 4
- 1 tph Ipswich to/from Felixstowe – Platform 0 or Platform 1
- 1 tph Ipswich to/from Lowestoft – Platform 0 or Platform 1
I have assumed a new Platform 0 is built outside of Platform 1, is as I speculated in A Good Look At Platform 1 At Ipswich Station And The Work On The Far Side.
A Service Pattern
As each of these trains has fairly clear routes in and out of Ipswich station, could we see a sequence like this at the station, at a fixed time in every hour?
- Trains from Cambridge, Felixstowe and Lowestoft arrive in their respective platforms.
- London-Norwich and Norwich-London call at the station.
- Trains leave for Cambridge, Felixstowe and Lowestoft.
As the Peterborough-Colchester service provides a second service between Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds, this would be scheduled thirty minutes after the Cambridge-Ipswich service.
Services To Nearby Towns
It is worth showing a table of frequencies to nearby towns.
- Bury St. Edmunds – 2 tph
- Cambridge – 1 tph
- Colchester – 4 tph
- Felixstowe – 1 tph
- Lowestoft – 1 tph
- Manningtree – 4 tph
- Newmarket 1 tph
- Norwich – 3 tph
- Stowmarket – 5 tph
- Woodbridge – 1 tph
There are also places, that lack a direct service from Ipswich, such as Cambridge North, Aldeburgh, Harwich, Sudbury and Yarmouth
Independently-Powered Trains
Services from Ipswich to stations that are not on the Great Eastern Main Line, will need to use independently-powered trains.
Greater Anglia will have three possible types of independently-powered trains.
- The existing Class 170 trains, some of which may be retained.
- The new bi-mode Flirts.
- The new Aventras, which could be fitted with on-board energy storage.
All are modern trains, with at least a 100 mph capability.
Extra Services From Ipswich
Intriguingly, because the current one tph Ipswich-London service has been extended to Norwich, there is probably space to terminate another service from the South.
To the South, there are only two possibilities for extra services.
- Harwich, which already has a very limited service from Ipswich.
- Sudbury, which will be served from Colchester Town.
Neither is an obvious terminal for services, So I think it likely, that no Southern services would be added at Ipswich.
The only other possibility for extra services South from Ipswich, would be if it was decided to create a second route across East Anglia connecting Ipswich and Colchester to Cambridge and the East West Rail Link, via Sudbury and Haverhill, using the existing Gainsborough Line and a rebuilt Stour Valley Railway.
But if a Suffolk Circular Railway is ever built, it will be a long time coming.
Services along the Ipswich to Ely Line to Cambridge and Peterborough, will be as follows in a couple of years.
- Bury St. Edmunds – 2 tph
- Cambridge – 1 tph
- Ely – 1 tph
- Newmarket 1 tph
- Peterborough – 1 tph
- Stowmarket – 5 tph
It’s certainly better than it was, when I lived in the area, but there is a big new station at Cambridge North, that needs to be adequately served from Bury St. Edmunds, Ipswich and Suffolk.
Passengers from Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich to Cambridge North will have a choice of three routes.
- Take a Peterborough service and change at Ely.
- Take a Cambridge service and change at Cambridge.
- Take a Cambridge service and change at Cambridge to the Cambridge Guided Busway.
None is ideal and the last can get stuck in Cambridge’s legendary traffic jams.
Greater Anglia’s full plans have not been disclosed, but Wikipedia says this.
- 5tph to Cambridge, with 2tph continuing to London King’s Cross; 1tph continuing to London Liverpool Street and 1tph continuing to Stansted Airport.
- 4tph to Ely, with 1tph continuing to King’s Lynn, 1tph continuing to Birmingham New Street and 1tph continuing to Norwich.
So all stations to Birmingham get a direct service, but Suffolk doesn’t!
Consider.
- Norwich-Cambridge services will be extended to Stansted, releasing a bay Platform 5 at Cambridge station.
- Trains can’t go between Cambridge North and Bury St. Edmunds will have to reverse at Ely station.
- Kennett to Ely could be double-tracked to improve freight routes between Felixstowe and Peterborough.
- Soham station could be reopened.
- This Network Rail document talks of improving connections at Newmarket.
- The East West Rail Link will connect to Cambridge at a proposed Cambridge South station.
I can see a package of work emerging, that would include.
- Dualling from Kennett to Ely.
- Provision for Soham station.
- Improvements to Ely station and the various lines in the area.
- Improvements to the junctions between Newmarket and Kennett.
- Provision for connection to the East West Rail Link.
This would enable more capacity for freight trains.
It would also allow a second Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds service to Cambridge, via Kennett, Soham, Ely and Cambridge North stations.
- There would be capacity in Platform 4 at Ipswich and Platform 5 at Cambridge for the service.
- Between Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds there would be three tph.
- The new station at Soham would have excellent connectivity.
- Kennett station has excellent connectivity, is surrounded by space and is close to the A14 and A11. Could it be developed as a Parkway station?
- A chord might be built at Ely to connect the lines to Cambridge and Kennett, which would avoid the reverse at Ely.
- Greater Anglia will have trains for the route.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years, but services to Cambridge will call the tune.
Along The Felixstowe Branch
In the December Edition of Modern Railways magazine there is an article entitled Loop Planned For Felixstowe Branch.
The Proposal
To allow an increase in the numbers of freight trains on the line from 33 to 47 every day, Network Rail propose to do the following.
- Create a 1.4 km loop at Trimley. Note that 775 metres is the maximum train length in the UK.
- Close six level crossings
- Create a bridge for a bridleway.
Network Rail hope that this will be sufficient for a few years, but in the future the aspiration is for double-tracking and electrification all the way between Felixstowe and Nuneaton.
I have flown my helicopter along the route and it is single track all the way between Westerfield and Trimley stations, with the exception of a passing loop East of the Spring Road Viaduct, which is centred on Derby Road station.
This Google Map shows the Branch Line East of Trimley station.
The Eastern End Of The Felixstowe Branch Line
Trimley station is in the North West corner of the map, whilst Felixstowe station is in the South East corner.
Just before the level crossing at Trimley, the line splits into two and the two tracks run together for a time, before the Southern track branches off to the North Terminal at the Port of Felixstowe.
The other track then continues East and splits with one branch going straight into Felixstowe station and the other going to the South Terminal at the Port.
All tracks are single track, except between Trimley station and the first junction.
The Intermediate Stations
I think it is probably true to say, that Westerfield, Derby Road and Trimley stations are one the worst run of three stations in the country.
In James Cook Station – The Reinvention Of The Halt, I talked about the new James Cook station, that serves Middlesborough Hospital. This station had 23,000 passengers in 2014/15, as against the 30,000 average for these three Suffolk stations in the same year.
I’m sure if they were of the same standard as James Cook station, they would see an increase in passengers.
This Google Map shows Westerfield station.
Westerfield Station
Note how the single-track Felixstowe Branch leaves the double-track East Suffolk Line to the East of the station.
A large housing development called Henley Gate, which is part of the Ipswich Garden Suburb could be built to the West of the station. This might be an opportunity to improve the station and the level crossing. This web page on the Ipswich Borough Council web site, shows a map and a few details.
If the thousand houses promised for the site are built, I’m sure Westerfield station could be one that attracted a few more passengers, who cycled to the station.
According to Wikpedia, this Derby Road station used to be a lot busier. This is said.
People living on the eastern side of the town generally preferred to use Derby Road when travelling to Felixstowe and the station could be very busy on sunny weekends with day trippers to Felixstowe Beach and Felixstowe Pier stations. They could reach the station on the Ipswich Tramway which terminated outside the station entrance.
But this Google Map, of the area round the station show that it surrounded by housing.
Around Derby Road Station
The station is at the South West corner of the map, with The Ipswich Hospital is at the North East corner of this map. I ask these questions.
- Is there a shuttle bus between the station and the hospital?
- Is there secure bicycle parking at Derby Road station?
- Could it be that if a decent train with greater capacity and perhaps better provision for bicycles and buggies ran through the station, that there could be an increase in passengers?
From what I’ve seen of the station, it’s suffering from Abellio’s Managed-from-Norwich Syndrome, which a lot of stations in East London did, until placed under the control of Transport for London.
The next station after Derby Road used to be Orwell station, which served the villages of Orwell and Nacton.
At some point in the future, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a station between Derby Road and Trimley, either inside or outside of the A14.
Trimley station is virtually derelict, but there are plans to convert it for community use.
I believe, all the intermediate stations on this line could have a future. Factors involved could be.
- Nearby housing and/or commercial development.
- Cycle-and-Ride passengers.
- A decent train to Ipswich and Felixstowe, with plenty of space for bicycles and buggies.
- A reliable clock-face hourly service.
- Easy connection to Long distance trains at Ipswich station.
- A cafe or coffee kiosk
Passengers, who are going to work, need a service that is totally reliable, and this service has suffered in the past few years.
Dualling The Line
If my virtual helicopter ride, showed one thing, it was that there are wide margins around the current single track from Derby Road to Trimley, which hopefully would make installation of a second track reasonably straghtforward.
However, I did count six level crossings with barriers and what looked like five crossing points without. All will have to be upgraded for the second track or removed.
It is interesting to see, that Network Rail are proposing to close six crossings in their current plan, so is this to get rid of one of the major problems of the dualling early?
Perhaps, they have decided that removing six level crossings and dualling the line at the same time, would raise too many simultaneous problems for their legal department. But doing the level crossings first with a less ambitious dualling is less likely to be challenged.
The other big problem could be widening the bridge over the A14 dual-carriageway.
This Google Map shows the bridge.
The Felixstowe Branch Line Crosses The A14
But it looks to me, that everything is there to just slip in a second span.
So that could be at least future-proofed!
Where Is The Proposed Dualling?
According to the article in Modern Railways, the loop at Trimley is 1.4 km. long.
My estimate is that the distance between the two junctions, where the two branches go off to the Port of Felixstowe, is about this distance.
So could it be, that the loop is not for freight trains, but to allow the passenger trains to access Felixstowe station?
- The Northern track would be bi-directional and connect Trimley and Felixstowe stations and would be for exclusive use of passenger trains.
- The Southern track would be bi-directional and connect Trimley station to both the lines to the Port of Felixstowe and would be for exclusive use of trains to and from the Port.
- At night, the track could be configured, so that two bi-directional tracks, that joined just to the West of Trimley station, went to each freight terminal The Northern track would serve the South Terminal and the Southern Track would serve the North Terminal.
The Port of Felixstowe has argued at times, that the Felixstowe Branch Line should be freight-only. Is this Network Rail’s proposal to create two separate freight and passenger lines using the same track?
From my observations at Ipswich that I wrote about in Curious Rail Construction At Ipswich Station, I am convinced that they have simplified track layout around Ipswich Freight Yard, so that freight and passenger trains, don’t conflict with each other at Ipswich.
So does this proposal remove conflicts at Felixstowe?
I think it does.
After the proposed loop is built, the line will be effectively in three sections.
- A core line between Westerfield and Trimley stations with the existing passing loop at Derby Road.
- At the Felixstowe end, there will effectively be separate lines into Felixstowe station, and the North and South Freight Terninals.
- At the Ipswich end, there will be separate lines into Platforms 0 and 1 at Ipswich station, Ipswich Freight Yard and to both directions on the Great Eastern Main Line.
- All of the connecting end lines would work with the simple rule of only allowing one train on the line at any one time.
At Felixstowe, freight trains might even be paired with one going into the North Terminal at the same time as one came out of the South Terminal. And vice-versa!
The train coming out, would wait at a signal before the junction for its branch and then when the other train had cleared the other junction going into the Port, it would be allowed to proceed through Trimley.
At night, trains could also be assembled as flights, so that several trains came in and out of the port in a stream. The reorganised Ipswich Yard must help in this.
As the new passenger trains will be somewhat faster than the current Class 153 trains and will be able to get away from stations quicker, I wonder if the timings will be such that two trains per hour might be possible.
These are current timings between Westerfield and Trimley in the core section.
- Passenger train – 14 minutes
- Freight train – 16 minutes
As trains don’t conflict on the double-track outer sections and have their own separate routes, it should be possible to have one 14 minute passenger and one 16 minute freight cycle in every half-hour, provided the trains pass at Derby Road.
With faster trains, fitting in two passenger trains and two freight trains in both directions in every hour might well be possible.
But you also have to content with other services on the East Suffolk Line and other constraints, so I suspect that by being extremely thorough and downright devious, that the published figure of 47 trains a day is very feasible. And feasible when running two tph between Ipswich and Felixstowe!
Two passenger trains would be needed for the service.
Higher Speed Between Westerfield And Trimley
Once all the improvements at the two ends of the line are complete, the major constraint on capacity on the line is the time a train takes between Westerfield and Trimley.
The line is configured for 75 mph, but I wonder what sort of speed could be reached could be attained safely on the line between Westerfield and Trimley, with the following.
- Removal of level crossings
- Improved signalling.
- Some minor track improvements.
It should be born in mind that there are no junctions from where the Felixstowe Branch leaves the East Suffolk Line at Westerfield and Trimley.
The speed limit would then probably be set by the maximum speed over the Spring Road Viaduct.
The distance between Westerfield and Trimley is almost exactly 10.5 miles.
This means that the freight train averages about 40 mph and the passenger train a miserly 45 mph.
So what sort of speeds can the various trains achieve.
- Class 153 – 75 mph
- Class 170 – 100 mph
- Class 66 – 65/75 mph
- Class 67 – 125 mph
- Class 68 – 100 mph
- Class 70 – 75 mph
- Class 88 – 100 mph
It could be that the slow speed of the Class 66 locomotives are one of the constraints on the line, as timings must assume that locomotives could be the 65 mph variant.
If it were possible to raise the line speed to 90 mph, it could reduce timings on the line between Westerfield and Trimley.
These figures certainly show, why Network Rail are so keen to remove the level crossings on the line.
I suspect that suitable trains and locomotives could reduce times as follows if the line had a 90 mph limit.
- Freight – 13 from 16 minutes.
- Passenger – 12 from 14 minutes.
It might only save a couple of minutes with my crude estimate, but it certainly shows there are savings to be made by upgrading the line and using modern trains and locomotives.
Class 66 Locomotives
I don’t like Class 66 Locomotives and have believed for some time, that they have little place on the electrified lines in built-up areas. I wrote The Noisy Class 66 Locomotive on the subject a couple of years ago.
My crude analysis in the previous section shows that their slow speed actually cuts capacity.
Freightliner are one of the big operators of |Class 66 locomotives to and from the Port of Felixstowe. Wikipedia has a section on Class 66 Locomotives operated by Freightliner.
This is said.
Freightliner followed EWS by initially ordering five new Class 66/5 locomotives, and have continued to order in small batches. As of summer 2010, the 66/5 fleet had reached 98 examples; 66521 was withdrawn after the 2001 crash at Great Heck and later scrapped.
In 2000 a new Class 66/6 sub-class was built, with a lower gear ratio, enabling heavier trains to be hauled, albeit at slower speed. There are presently 25 examples of this class, numbered 66601-625. Some of these locomotives have since been exported for use with Freightliner Poland.
As freight trains are getting longer, it would appear that the slow 66/6 locomotives should be removed from this route as their 65 mph maximum speed is a constraint on maximising traffic between Westerfield and Trimley.
Electrification
Electrification is often talked about with respect to the Felixstowe Branch.
Reasons in favour include.
- Freight trains going to and from London could be electric hauled.
- Engine changes at Ipswich Yard would be minimised.
- Electric haulage is more environmentally friendly.
But there are powerful reasons not in favour.
- Cranes in a Port and 25kV overhead wires are bad bedfellows.
- If the Class 88 Locomotive and other electro-diesel types are a success, they are probably more affordable than electrification.
- Passenger services in the near future will be run by trains with an on-board power source; diesel, bi-mode or battery.
- The main route to the Midlands via Peterborough and Nuneaton is not electrified.
But above all we seem so bad at electrification, the risk in wiring the line is too great.
I don’t think it is likely that the Felixstowe Branch will be electrified until the whole route to the Midlands is wired.
The Definitive Branch Line For An Electric Train With On Board Energy Storage
In Curious Rail Construction At Ipswich Station, I described how the current five-car Platform 1 has been electrified and given an electrified route of a few hundred metres to the Felixstowe Branch Line.
I then outlined how an ow an electric train with on-board energy storage, could work the Ipswich-Felixstowe service.
- I’ll assume that a fully-charged train starts from the new depot at Manningtree or some other suitable overnight stabling.
- The train positions early in the morning for the first service from Felixstowe, using overhead power to Ipswich and on-board power on the branch.
- Passengers load at Felixstowe and the train proceeds to Ipswich under on-board power to the current Platform 1 at Ipswich.
- The train would sneak into the platform on the North side of Ipswich Freight Yard, well out of the way of the Great Eastern Main Line and any freight movements.
- If the platform was busy and the train had to wait at a signal, it could even up pantograph to start the recharging of the on-board energy storage.
- Once in Platform 1, the train would either start or continue the charging process.
- The pantograph would be lowered, when the charging was complete or at any time before the train left for Felixstowe.
The process would continue all day.
But things don’t always go to plan, so what happens at Ipswich, if Platform 1 is blocked by a failed train?
As the train will be approaching Ipswich on a dedicated line, it would stop at a signal and wait. As the overhead wire to the station will be continuous, it would immediately up pantograph to start the charging process, to make certain, it wasn’t stuck with a flat battery.
There has been a lot of thought, in how trains with on board storage should be operated.
Similar layouts seem to be being installed at other places.
Maidenhead and the Marlow Branch Line
Maidenhead station is where the Marlow Branch Line connects to the Great Western Main Line.
Platform assignments after Crossrail will probably be.
- Down Fast
- Up Fast
- Down Slow – Crossrail
- Up Show – Crossrail
- Marlow Branch
Note that Platform 5 has recently been extended to the full Crossrail length of 200 metres, so could this platform be shared between the Marlow Branch trains and the Class 387 trains that will start to shuttle between Maidenhead and Paddington in mid-2017.
These are pictures taken at Maidenhead station.
Note the platform 5 for the Marlow Branch and the first couple of hundred metres of the branch are being electrified.
Trains with on-board energy storage between Maidenhead and Bourne End stations could certainly use the same procedure as the one I outlined for trains between Ipswich and Felixstowe. They would probably come into Platform 5 at Maidenhead, as the Marlow Branch trains currently do.
But they also have the advantage at Maidenhead of a very long two hundred metre Platform 5.
Note that four-car Class 387 trains couldn’t go past Bourne End station, so the remainder of the branch to Marlow would probably be served by a diesel shuttle.
On November 25th, 2016, I took this picture from a passing train.
Note.
- I was looking directly down the Marlow Branch.
- The two lines join around the position of the last gantry and the nearest one goes into Platform 4, with the farthest one going into Platform 5.
- You can’t really see it too well in the picture, but the overhead wire appears to be only above the line into Platform 5.
This Google Map shows a close-up of the Western \end of Platforms 4 and 5 and the start of the Marlow Branch.
Hopefully, it will be clearer than mud now!
Note the two-car train in Platform 5.
So why is there no connecting electrification between Platform 4 and the Marlow Branch Line?
It could be that it hasn’t been erected yet, but on the other hand, it could be that it isn’t needed.
- All trains arriving at Maidenhead from Bourne End would use Platform 5.
- These trains would only use the wiring to the West of Platform 5, if say the platform was blocked, by say a failed train.
- Trains between Bourne End and Paddington, after arriving at Platform 5 would up pantograph and after leaving the platform, they would use an existing crossover to access the Up Slow line for Paddington.
- Trains between Paddington and Bourne End would probably use the existing crossovers to stop in Platform 5 after arriving on the Up Slow. Once in Platform 5, they would down pantograph and continue to Bourne End under on-board power.
So a second electrified line not being needed, could be the explanation of only one being created.
Note that when Crossrail starts, Crossrail trains will use Platforms 3 and 4 and will reverse using a reversing siding to the West of the station..
So the Marlow Branch and Crossrail will effectively be two separate systems with their own tracks, trains and arrangements.
Slough And The Slough to Windsor & Eton Line
Slough station is where the Slough to Windsor & Eton Line connects to the Great Western Main Line.
As I passed through Slough station, I noticed that the gantries are such, that just as at Maidenhead, the bay Platform 1 could have a short length of overhead wiring installed, so that the shuttle to Windsor and Eton Central station could be run using an electric train with on-board energy storage.
This small add-on to the electrification, would create a branch line independent of the main line.
- It would be worked as a single train shuttle.
- The train would be electric with on-board energy storage.
- The train would charge at Slough station.
- It would have dedicated platforms in the two terminal stations; Slough and Windsor and Eton Central.
- The train could be worked using the principle of only one train on the line at a time or One Train Working.
- Trains would enter and leave the dedicated branch tracks for servicing and other tasks, as they do now, through a connection to the Fast lines at Slough station.
Unlike the Marlow Branch, it would not need protection for failed trains, as there is only one train.
I would suspect that capacity at the Windsor end of the branch would limit any expansion unless a scheme like the Windsor Link Railway was brought forward and that a four-car electric shuttle train would be sufficient to work the line for many years.
Twyford And The Henley Branch Line
Twyford station is where the Henley Branch Line connects to the Great Western Main Line.
I wrote about using trains with on-board energy storage on the Henley Branch in Twyford Station And The Henley Branch and came to the conclusion, that electric trains of this type could serve this short branch of just four miles in length, with very little change to the infrastructure
Installing a short length of electrification in the bay platform 5 at Twyford station and for a short distance on the branch could be used to charge the trains.
As on the Marlow Branch and the Slough to Windsor and Eton Line, this would create a branch line independent of the main line.
I doubt that this line will ever be fully-electrified.
Certainly, as I passed the line today, there was no sign of any electrification.
West Ealing And Greenford Branch Line
West Ealing station is where the Greenford Branch Line connects to the Great Western Main Line.
But seeing as the last direct train from Greenford to Paddington seems to be on the 23rd of December 2016, the Greenford Branch Line will become an independent branch line with its own bay Platform 5 at West Ealing station, where passengers will have to change to and from Paddington.
In West Ealing Station – 12th October 2016, I showed the progress a couple of months ago and as at Slough gantries are in place, that could be used to electrify the new bay platform.
Once the wires were in place at the platform, all it would need to provide a quality service to Greenford, would be suitable electric train with on-board energy storage.
- The journey would take around ten minutes.
- Trains would charge their storage at West Ealing.
- Two trains per hour would be possible with one train.
- Four trains per hour would be possible with two trains, as the branch has a lot of double-track to allow passing.
The only infrastructure needed, other than the electrification might be some platform lengthening for the new trains.
As I passed the line today, there was some evidence of wires going up, but they probably can’t be completed until the new station is finished at West Ealing station.
Surely, if the branch was going to be run in perpetuity by diesel trains, there would be no evidence of electrification in the bay platform 5 and at the start of the Greenford Branch.
The Emerging Design
If you look at all these examples, most of which are ongoing projects, they have a series of common features.
- The branch line is fairly simple, often just a shuttle between two dedicated terminal platforms.
- The branch line is within the range of an electric train with on-board energy storage, to go out and return.
- Some branches are worked using the principle of only one train on the line at a time or One Train Working.
- At least one terminal platform will be electrified, so that the on board energy storage can be charged.
- The branch line is within the range of an electric train with on-board energy storage.
The only feature not common to all the detailed examples, is where the electrified platform could be shared as at Ipswich and Maidenhead,
In these cases, provision must be made for another train failing in the station.
If Network Rail can get this philosophy right, it has the following advantages.
- New or refurbished environmentally-friendly electric trains can replace elderly diesel trains on suitable routes.
- As the electric trains will typically be four-cars or more, there will be large capacity increases.
- There will be very little infrastructure work, except for platform lengthening and possibly electrifying an extra platform in a station on an already electrified line.
- Network Rail will gain a bit of credibility.
As an example, Ipswich Felixstowe could go from an hourly single -car Class 153 train to an hourly five-car modern Aventra with Wi-fi and lots of space.
Congestion At Ipswich Station
Ipswich station suffers from too much traffic and not enough platforms
This set of pictures was taken as I changed trains for Felixstowe, at around 12:00
In the short time, I was there, I saw the following trains go through the station.
- A Norwich to London Express.
- A London to Norwich Express
- A very long freight train.
- A train arrive from Lowestoft and wait in Platform 1.
- My train arrived from Felixstowe.
What made matters worse was a light engine sitting on the avoiding line between the two main lines.
I took these pictures later on my return from Felixstowe.
The two sets of pictures illustrate some of the problems at Ipswich station.
- There is a large number of freight and passenger trains, that go through the station.
- The platforms available for services to Cambridge, Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Norwich and Peterborough is limited.
- Trains sometimes have to terminate in the Through Up Platform 2.
- Two long passenger trains per hour between London and Norwich, go through in each direction.
Unfortunately, 3 and 4 interact badly with each other and this interaction will get worse with the new Flirt trains, which are longer than the current trains.
One solution would be a second bay platform, alongside the current Platform 1.
The new Greater Anglia Franchise has also had a sort out of services through Ipswich. The two most important ones that will be implemented are.
- Peterborough-Ipswich will be hourly and continues to Colchester. So Colchester has the problem of turning the train.
- The hourly Liverpool Street to Ipswich service will be extended to Norwich, to increase the Liverpool Street to Norwich frequency to three trains per hour.
These two changes reduce the amount of platform space needed, as these services will stop and hopefully be quickly on their way!
A Good Look At Platform 1 At Ipswich Station And The Work On The Far Side
In Curious Rail Construction At Ipswich Station, I wondered what was happening on the far side of Platform 1 in the station.
This morning although there was congestion later, that I wrote about in Congestion At Ipswich Station, the platform was empty long enough for me to take these pictures.
Note that in the pictures and this reasoning, I refer to the construction as Platform 0, but it could be just a ramp so that drivers can access their freight locomotives.
Consider.
- Platform 1 would accommodate a five-car train and it could be lengthened to perhaps six-cars.
- Platform 0 would accommodate a one-car Class 163 train or possibly a two-car train.
- It might be possible to extend Platform 0 towards the main part of the station, by digging out the corner of the car park and moving a few steel girders.
- The end supports for the catenary would need replacing with a longer Platform 0, but that is not difficult electrification.
- An extended Platform 0, wouldn’t need moving of the free bicycle parking and the waiting room.
- If Platform 0 and 1 were for Felixstowe and Lowestoft, interchange between the two lines and London trains would be easy.
- Changing from trains from London to trains at Platforms 0 and 1 would be by using the nearby recently-built step-free bridge.
With two bay platforms 0 and 1, there would be no need to use Platform 2 as a terminus, as my Felixstowe train did today.
The curious point, is that except for the Express London to Norwich services, there are no current or planned electric passenger services to Norfolk or the West from Ipswich.
So why are the wires in Platform 1 and the area that could become platform 0, so comprehensive?
I believe that Greater Anglia might be thinking of running electric trains with on-board energy storage from the station.
Felixstowe is the most likely possibility, as the other routes could be too long.
So could we see a five-car Aventra with on-board energy storage shuttling along the Felixstowe branch?
It’s all a bit different from the Class 105 train, that I rode on the route in the early-1960s
As I said a few days ago, it’s all very curious.
Autumn Statement: Is Rail Devolution In London Dead?
This is the title of an article on the BBC web site.
This is how the article starts.
Sadiq Khan is not the first mayor to want more control over London’s rail service.
Previous mayors have managed it – Ken Livingstone took over Silverlink and Boris Johnson gained control of West Anglia.
But it looks like the chances of more takeovers are not that promising.
The article then goes on to make the point, that the timescale for taking over Southeastern metro services is very tight.
As time is a very absolute constraint, action needs to be taken now!
Curious Rail Construction At Ipswich Station
I came into Ipswich station today on a train from Lowestoft and took these pictures before I got on a train to London.
They would appear to show the following.
- An electrified line has been created to the North of Ipswich Yard between the Felixstowe Branch Line and Ipswich station.
- Some construction on the far side of the siding that lies next to the platform used for Lowestoft and Felixstowe trains.
Could the construction, be tye start of work for a dedicated platform for the Felixstowe Branch?
Consider the following about traffic on the Felixstowe Branch Line.
- According to this article in Rail Magazine, there are now twenty-three daily freight trains out of Felixstowe.
- The freight trains are getting longer and I have seen trains hauled by a pair of Class 66 locomotives.
- Passenger trains are a single-car Class 153 train every hour.
- The Class 153 train takes twenty-six minutes.
- The line is around fifteen miles of unelectrified line.
- The Freightliner motive power depot is going to be moved from Ipswich to Felkixstowe.
- The December 2016 Edition of Modern Railways is saying that a 1.4 km loop will be built on the branch and six level crossings will be closed.
Despite the last two points, the single track branch line must be very much full.
There are also issues with the Class 153 trains at Ipswich.
- Do they sometimes find it difficult to get through all the freight trains to the bay platform at Ipswich?
- Sometimes, they use the end of the main platform 2, but as the Flirts will be longer, this won’t be possible when the new trains arrive.
- Various reports have said that two bay platforms are needed; one for Felixstowe services and one for Lowestoft services.
We don’t know their actual plans, but Greater Anglia would probably love to put a modern electric train on the Ipswich-Felixstowe route.
Electrification of the Felixstowe Branch is not even likely.
- Electrification of the Felixstowe Branch without wiring all the way to Nuneaton would probably not be good value for money.
- Where would Freightliner get all the electric locomotives?
- The Port of Felixstowe isn’t wired and might not want wires all over the place with cranes everywhere!
- The Gospel Oak to Barking Line will be electrified and what effects will this have?
The only bright spot on the horizon is Greater Anglia’s new Flirts, which could release fifteen well-maintained and reliable Class 90 locomotives.
A modern two-coach train, even if it was a diesel, would have benefits.
- It would be faster and thus scheduling the crowded route could be easier.
- It might attract more passengers to the line, especially, if there was space for bicycles and buggies.
- It should be more reliable.
But I suspect Greater Anglia would want an electric train with all the trimmings.
So am I right, that a new electrified line has been created into the station in a place where a new platform can be created?
- I might be wrong and it could have been there for years to enable the movements of electric locomotives, without blocking the main line.
- But there are certainly modern style gantries and supports for the overhead wires.
- The existing bay platform 1 is wired. Why? No current or possible electric services could use the platform.
But something is certainly happening.
- Is it a new platform or just tidying up?
- Is it a walkway to enable train drivers to get to locomotives in Ipswich Yard?
- Is it a short platform to take up to a two-car train?
There is one other possibility, that fits with my observations at Maidenhead and the Marlow Branch, that I wrote about in Bourne End Station And Improving The Marlow Branch Line.
At Maidenhead, I came to the conclusion, that electric trains (Class 387s?) with on-board energy storage were going to be used on the Marlow Branch to Bourne End, with a diesel shuttle between Bourne End and Marlow.
Is the current Platform 1 at Ipswich, which could probably accommodate a five-car Aventra going to be used in the same way?
Consider how an electric train with on-board energy storage, would work the Ipswich-Felixstowe service.
- I’ll assume that a fully-charged train starts from the new depot at Manningtree or some othe suitable overnight stabling.
- The train positions early in the morning for the first service from Felixstowe, using overhead power to Ipswich and on-board power on the branch.
- Passengers load at Felixstowe and the train proceeds to Ipswich under on-board power to the current Platform 1 at Ipswich.
- The train would sneak into the platform on the North side of Ipswich Yard, well out of the way of the Great Eastern Main Line and any freight movements.
- If the platform was busy and the train had to wait at a signal, it could even up pantograph to start the recharging of the on-board storage.
- Once in Platform 1, the train would either start or continue the charging process.
- The pantograph would be lowered, when the charging was complete or the train was approaching the limit of the overhead wiring on its way out to Felixstowe.
The process would continue all day.
But Aventras will be a clever train. This is a snippet from an article in the Derby Telegraph.
Unlike today’s commuter trains, Aventra can shut down fully at night and can be “woken up” by remote control before the driver arrives for the first shift.
So could we see a train parked at Felixstowe overnight, ready for the driver to get into a nice warm train?
I used to live round the corner from Felixstowe station and as the train would be in full view of the Police Station opposite and electrifically dead, I doubt there would be any security problem.
A five-car Aventra parked overnight with an appropriate all-over paint scheme might even encourage new passengers to give it a try.
Obviously, the suitable Aventra doesn’t exist yet, but putting in a new short platform 0 at Ipswich station, that can accept a three-car train, would mean.
- Platform 2 would no longer be needed for terminating trains at Ipswich.
- Twelve-car Flirts could work the London-Norwich services, without terminating services interfering.
- Felixstowe and Lowestoft services would have a short platform 0 and a longer platform 1, to use appropriately.
- The infrastructure would be ready for the Aventra with on-board storage.
But surely the biggest advantage is that a second bay platform would probably be to make it possible to schedule all trains such that if passengers were changing between the various lines to Bury St. Edmunds, Cambridge, Felixstowe, London, Lowestoft and Norwich, it was a convenient process of less than ten minutes.
Whether an Aventra with on-board storage will ever appear on this route is unknown at present, but there could be other advantages to running such a train on the Felixstowe Branch.
- Electrification of the branch can be kicked into some very long grass or buried at sea.
- The branch gets a massive increase in passenger capacity, without losing any paths for freight trains.
- The extra capacity with plenty of space for bicycles and buggies.
- Greater Anglia get a line for training drivers to use on-board storage.
- Bombardier get a demonstration of a train with on-board energy storage.
It could be a win for all parties.
Why I Like The Heathrow Southern Railway Proposal
Rail Projects
For nearly twenty years I spent a lot of time talking to project managers and reading about the implementation of large projects and systems.
It has led me to various conclusions about large projects and what makes some succeed and others fail.
If you look at rail projects over the last few years, you get some very good examples of projects and some very bad ones too!
Look at how the following factors affect the outcome.
Size
In my view, size can be discounted, as it doesn’t seem to affect the outcome. There’s been good and bad projects of all sizes.
I think it’s just as likely to get a severe problem on a small project as a large one.
Stations
There has been the occasional station project delivered late, but in general stations have been on time and mostly on budget.
Some like Canary Wharf, Kings Cross, Manchester Victoria, Reading and St. Pancras aren’t small and a few existing ones have been rebuilt around a working station.
The project management has been good, but could it also be that building a station, with the exception of the tracks, is not much different to constructing any other complicated hi-tech modern building, like an office block, university building or a hospital?
Tunnels
In all the tunnels built in London over the last fifty years, there has only been a couple of problems with the actual tunnels during construction and since.
None were serious!
I think until proven otherwise, we seem to have tunneling under control.
Tracks, Chords, Bridges and Dive-Unders
Over the last few years, several major bottlenecks have been removed at places like Acton, Hitchin, Ipswich, Jane Croft, Norton Bridge and other places by creating lengths of new railway. Sometimes, they have even been electrified.
Network Rail and their contractors seem to have improved dramatically, since the dark days of Hatfield.
I’ve Started So I’ll Finish
I believe that the best way to give a project problems, is to get everybody all geared up to start work, only for management or politicians to have second thoughts.
Give The Public Bread And Circuses
We can’t rate Crossrail yet, but Thameslink has not been a very happy project.
A lot of Thameslink’s problems have been magnified by the way they have treated the public.
Crossrail on the other hand has been open, as to what is happening and hasn’t been slow to use things like archaeology to their advantage.
Large Projects Should Be A String Of Smaller Ones
In my view large projects should be a string of smaller projects, that can be done independently.
If you look at Crossrail, the largest project is the creation of the tunnels through London, which can be built without affecting the existing railway. When they are virtually complete, then the tracks are changed to connect the new and old railway.
In some ways it’s a bit like building a housing estate on a greenfield site, where you put in the roads and services first and then build all the houses.
With Crossrail, very few Londoners or travellers will have had their daily lives disrupted.
The smaller, but still large projects are now being built along the tunnels.
Crossrail has been well-designed around a project plan that allowed it to be built.
Thameslink on the other hand, is several big projects, all of which have the ability to cause major disruption.
- The creation of two new tracks from London Bridge to Charing Cross.
- The total rebuilding of London Bridge station.
- The Bermondsey dive-under to untangle the tracks.
- The project is also complicated by the introduction of the new Class 700 trains.
As these projects are all being done at the same time, it is a recipe for chaos and disruption.
Thameslink is very delayed from its original planned finish date and it has been started and stopped more times than a 73 bus on Oxford Street.
Electrification
Electrification is the fox in the chicken coop, especially when it is being added to existing lines.
Look at these schemes.
- Great Western Electrification
- North Western Electrification
- Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Program
You could even include the Gospel Oak to Barking Line Electrification, where things don’t seem to be going very fast on a smaller scheme.
Is it we’re just not any good at it, or is it that electrifying old infrastructure, with all the problems that brings, a very difficult job.
The Heathrow Southern Railway
It is outlined on this web site, which I suspect will become more informative. If you want to know more, buy the December 2016 Edition of Modern Railways.
This Google Map shows Heathrow Airport and the area to the South and South-West.
South And South-West Of Heathrow Airport
Note the A30 road going diagonally across the map South of the Airport.
South of this road is a row of three stations; Staines, Ashford and Feltham, which are all on the Waterloo to Reading Line. To the West of Stains, the Staines to Windsor and Eton Line branches away to the North via Wraysbury.
The proposal for the Heathrow Southern Railway envisages.
- A short tunnel into the existing Heathrow Terminal 5 station, which was designed to accept a line from the West
- A rail link alongside the M25 to a junction on the Staines to Windsor and Eton Line just West of the M25.
- A chord at the junction of the Staines to Windsor and Eton Line and the Reading to Waterloo Line to allow trains to go between the Airport and Reading.
- The rail link alongside the M25 would continue South and connect the Airport to Chertsey station on the Chertsey Branch Line. This would allow trains to run between the Airport and Woking.
This Google Map shows where the rail link would go between Terminal 5 and Staines.
Terminal 5 To Staines
Staines is the station at the South of the map with Wraysbury at the West. \they are joined by the Staines and Windsor and Eton Line, will will have a connection to the Airport.
This Google Map shows Stainesstation and the rail lines in detail.
The line to the North West goes to Windsor, whilst the one to the West goes to Reading. The line to the East goes to Waterloo via Feltham, Twickenham and Clapham Junction.
It might be tight to create a chord between the Windsor and Reading Lines, but Heathrow Southern Railway believe there is room for a bay platform at Staines station. They also propose, that Staines could be another Crossrail destination.
This Google Map shows the route to connect the rail link to Chertsey station.
Chertsey Station And The M25
Chertsey station is in the South-East corner of the map, with Thorpe Park Resort in the North East corner.
The junction between the rail link from Terminal 5 and the Chertsey Branch, would probably be close to the motorway.
So why do I like this proposal?
The main work needed for the core of the railway is as follows.
- Create a rail tunnel into the existing station at Heathrow Terminal 5.
- Build a railway alongside the M25 to connect to existing rail lines to Waterloo, Stains and Woking.
- Update the railways and stations under Heathrow to allow trains to go from Old Oak Common through the Airport and out the other side.
Once the core is complete, a succession of smaller projects would connect the railway to longer distance services at Basingstoke, Clapham Junction, Old Oak Common, Reading and Waterloo stations.
There is a lot to like about the concept.
Construction
These points apply to the construction of the rail link.
- Much of the difficult construction work is probably inside the fence at Heathrow, creating the connection to Terminal 5 station.
- The problems of constructing on this route alongside the motorways, are probably well-known.
- The M25 could even be put in a tunnel, with the railway on top.
- The map in Modern Railways shows no tunnels except for the one to Terminal 5 and just three rail bridges.
- I doubt there would be much demolition of properties.
- Land take inside built-up areas would be minimal, with junctions outside of the towns and villages.
I feel that with good project management the railway could be built without disrupting existing rail services or road traffic.
Electrification
The route would be electrified with the following points applying.
- Heathrow Terminal 5 station is electrified at 25 KVAC overhead.
- Most of the lines South-West of Heathrow are electrified using 750 VDC third-rail.
- Modern trains like Crossrail’s Class 345 trains and Thameslink’s Class 700 trains can handle both systems.
- There is no electrification of existing railways.
- Electrification of any new railway could use third-rail, to be less visually intrusive.
I doubt there will be any problems with electrification.
Connectivity
The new link provides excellent connectivity to places like Basingstoke, Clapham Junction, Guildford, Paddington, Reading, Richmond, Waterloo, Windsor and Woking.
It also has excellent links to these services.
- Crossrail at Heathrow, Old Oak Common and Paddington.
- South Western Railway at Guildford, Waterloo and Woking.
- Chiltern and HS2 at Old Oak Common.
- Great Western Railway at Paddington and Reading.
The Heathrow Southern Railway is so much more than a link into Heathrow from the South and West.
South Western Railway
The new franchise for London and the South-West would appear to be ambitious and it has already decided to change its rather assorted suburban trains for a new fleet of Class 701 trains.
These new trains are from the same Aventra family as Crossrail’s Class 345 trains.
South Western Railway also has a common part-owner with Great Western Railway, which must mean that co-operation between the two operators is more likely, than a turf war about who runs services into Heathrow.
In some ways though, one of the biggest strengths of the Heathrow Southern Railway, is that it could take the pressure of the South West Main Line and allow some services to use Paddington instead of Waterloo as a terminus.
Heathrow’s Plans
Heathrow may get a third runway, but their plans do envisage a complete rebuilding of the airport into two main terminals; East and West, which would be served by all trains.
Whatever they do, one of Heathrow’s biggest problems is the pollution caused by the road traffic servicing the airport.
A comprehensive rail network stretching East and West of the airport, must surely help in reducing this pollution, by bringing more passengers, works and freight into the airport on electric trains.
Funding
Because of the possible returns on capital, I suspect that it would be very easy to finance privately.
Conclusion
It is definitely one of those projects, where by creating something a bit out of the ordinary, leads to lots of other worthwhile things.
Out Of The Mouths Of Brummies
The December 2016 Edition of Modern Railways has a special report on railways and trams in the West Midlands.
There are some choice quotes from those involved in planning the future of the rail network in the area.
On HS2
“It’ll be half an hour from Birmingham Interchange station to the Crossrail interchange at Old Oak Common. That means Birmingham Airport will be in London Zone 4, timewise.”
On Stations
“Nobody looks at their strategic value to the community”
On New Street Station
“The Birmingham New Street Gateway rebuilding has quadrupled the passenger circulation area in the station, but it hasn’t addressed the key issue of lack of track capacity”`
On Battery Power For Trams
“Since then there has been lots of work and we’re now comfortable that battery technology has advanced sufficiently for it to be viable.”
“Under test conditions with plain straight track a tram could travel 20 km catenary-free. In practice, this would be rather less for a fully laden tram ascending the 9% gradient on Penfold Street. The longest catenary-free run we’ve envisaged is around 2 km, and we’re comfortable we can achieve that”
On More Trams
“They will have to be bespoke to a degree in order to operate catenary-free, but the rail sector is embracing alternative technology and on-board energy store so we may be looking at something more advanced afain.”
Conclusion
It’s all upbeat and it looks like Birmingham is looking forward to the battery trams.
No-one mentioned the B-word!
The Natives Are Getting Restless In Crofton Park
One of my Google Alerts picked up this article on Brockley Central, which is entitled You Shall Go To Blackfriars – Join The Campaign For Crofton Park Trains Every Fifteen Minutes.
This is said.
Local action groups aren’t supposed to be this successful. The Cinderella Line is a campaign to improve the frequency and quality of services that run through Crofton Park Station.
The group has had a recent success, in that there are now four more trains stopping at the station in the peak.
So I thought I’d go and have a look, getting my paper and some bits of shopping I need on the way.
I had started out, just before 0900, with the aim of getting the 0930 Thameslink train to Crofton Park station. Hopefully, it would have been running a bit late, so I could use my Freedom Pass.
But it was worse than that, as the train had been cancelled, so in the end, I had to take a train to Catford station and then come back a station to get to Crofton Park. As I couldn’t afford to wait, I had to pay for the ticket myself.
Not that I’m bothered!
But did Thameslink cancel the first train after 0930, to force people to catch an earlier train at full price, if they wanted to get to work on time?
Am I being cynical?
These pictures tell the story of my journey to Crofton Park and back via Peckham Rye station to Haggerston station, from where I walked home.
A few points.
Overcrowding
I took three Thameslink trains and one London Overground train this morning.
- St. Pancras to Catford – 8-cars and overcrowded until Farringdon.
- Catford to Crofton Park – 4-cars and crowded.
- Crofton Park to Peckham Rye – 4-cars and overcrowded
- Peckham Rye to Haggerston – 5-cars and plenty of space, with seats for those who wanted them.
Considering, that all these journeys were in the Off Peak, except for the last Overground train, it is just not good enough.
Crofton Park Station
Crofton Park station, is typical of many stations, that are South of the Thames.
- It is certainly scruffy.
- The main entrance is not step-free and the stairs are steep.
- The platforms are ready for twelve-car trains.
- There was a bad gap to mind, between train and platform.
- Staff were only noticeable by their absence.
- A fellow passenger said that announcements were unreliable.
- The information displays were not of the best.
- Typical Off peak services are 2 trains per hour (tph)
But it was certainly a station, that with the spending of some money to add lifts, could be a station of high quality and a modicum of quality.
The New Class 700 Trains
Hopefully, the new eight-car Class 700 trains will improve matters at Crofton Park, as they are better designed than the overcrowded four-car Class 319 trains, that I had to endure this morning.
This report on Brockley Central, says this about the new trains.
“We have also been pushing Thameslink to introduce new Class 700 trains, with 30% more capacity than the trains we currently have. The first of these will appear from the end of November and then replace our current trains at the rate of one per week.
So that is good news.
Extra Services To Victoria And Blackfriars
The report on Brockley Central, says this about the new services.
“From December 12th, four new trains will stop at Crofton Park between 7-9am . Three will go on to Denmark Hill and Victoria and one to Elephant & Castle and Blackfriars.
“The Victoria services currently pass through Crofton Park but don’t stop there, so they will now make the additional stop at Crofton Park.
So that is good news as well.
The interesting thing about these new train services, is that no new services are actually being introduced, but the extra service at Crofton Park is being created by getting a train that normally goes straight through to stop at Crofton Park.
The latest generation of trains, are designed to execute a stop and start in a minimum time, so I think we’ll see extra stops added on more than a few services.
This quick stop feature is achieved by several things.
- Powerful braking and acceleration.
- Wide doors.
- Level step between train and platform.
- Good information, so passengers getting on can find space.
- Good coordination between the driver and staff on the platform.
Increasingly, for some operators, a fast dwell time will be an important factor in choosing the trains to procure and providing a better service.
Here at Crofton Park station, it is being used to get extra trains to stop at the station.
Increasing Thsmeslink Frequency From 2 tph To 4 tph At Crofton Park Station
This is an aspiration for Crofton Park, but I suspect that this cannot be done at present, as there are not enough paths through the core Thameslink tunnel.
So until Thameslink is fully open in 2018, Crofton Park will probably get 2 tph.
Thameslink is consulting on the service when the full service opens.
This document on the Thameslink web site, shows two different services calling at Crofton Park.
- TL8 from Blackfriars (Welwyn Garden City in the Peaks) to Sevenoaks
- TL9 from Kentish Town (Luton in the Peaks) to Orpington.
Both have a frequency of 2 tph at all times,so this gives 4 tph through Crofton Park.
Thameslink put it like this in their proposal.
Thameslink Metro Routes TL8 and TL9 combine to provide four trains per hour (daily) between Central London, Catford, Bromley South and Bickley. During peak times these services may be supplemented by Southeastern Metro services providing six trains per hour.
That’s a well-thought out service, by any standards.
The Catford Metro
I always like calling lines like this a Metro.
As Govia Thameslink Railway have just given the name of the Great Northern Metro to the services out of Moorgate, why not call this line the Catford Metro?
It would call at the following stations.
- London Blackfriars
- Elephant & Castle
- Camberwell (if added)
- Denmark Hill
- Peckham Rye
- Nunhead
- Crofton Park
- Catford
- Bellingham
- Beckenham Hill
- Ravensbourne
- Shortlands
- Bromley South
So it looks like Crofton Park could be in the middle of a Catford Metro.
- It would have a frequency of at least 4 tph.
- It would be running new eight-car Class 700 trains.
- 2 tph would go North to each of Welwyn Garden City and Luton in the Peak
- 2 tph would go North to each of Blackfriars and Kentish Town in the Off Peak
- 2 tph would go South to each of Orpington and Sevenoaks.
- It would have a good connection to the 4 tph South London Line at Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye.
It’s a lot better than Crofton Park has at the present time!
Conclusion
Crofton Park has a big future.
The Anonymous Widower 