Hayes Shuttles To Start
This is the headline on an article in the May 2016 Edition of Modern Railways about the May 15th timetable changes. This is said.
Great Western Railway had planned a launch of electric services using Class 387/1 EMUs transferred from Govia Thameslink Railway with the start of the new timetable on 15 May. The operator was to use the ‘387s’ on a series of peak hour shuttles between Paddington and Hayes and Harlington, but delays to the introduction of Class 700s on Thameslink services mean the cascade of ‘387s ‘ has also been delayed.
I have searched the Oracle (National Rail’s Journey Planner) and can find just one extra train from Paddington, which is a new service at 07:15 going to Hayes and Harlington.
The Oracle also shows that the first two services of the day on the Greenford Branch only go as far as West Ealing after May the 15th.
How many people from the Greenford branch will be complaining about the loss of their early morning trains to Paddington?
The Modern Railways article also suggests, that as Bombardier have been making good progress on the building of the eight extra Class 387 trains, that these might be delivered in the summer, to enable GWR to run more services. As some of the Porterbrook trains have been promised to c2c before the end of the year, that means that GWR’s extra trains will be delivered before December 2016, as they are first in the queue.
The article says that a full service can’t be run until infrastructure works at the East of Hayes and Harlington station is completed.
I think we’ll see a gradual improvement of electric services between Paddington and Hates and Harlington over the rest of this year.
These questions will certainly be answered.
- When will the bay platform at West Ealing station for Greenford Branch Line trains be opened?
- Will the bay platform at West Ealing station be electrified?
- Will the eight extra Class 387 trains have an IPEMU-capability, as had been rumoured in Modern Railways?
- How much acrimony is being heaped on Siemens about the non-delivery of the Class 700 trains?
- Are the bosses of Great Western Railway and Govia Thameslink Railway still talking?
- Will Porterbrook add to their order of twenty extra Class 387 trains?
It does seem to me, that the big winners out of this mess, could well be Bombardier and Porterbrook.
I also feel that there will be some surprises between now and the end of the year.
I will keep most of my predictions to myself!
However, it would appear that if there was a plan to create an IPEMU variant of the Class 387 trains, the non-delivery of the Class 700 trains, has effectively made this plan difficult and late.
A Little Chord Goes A Long Way
This article in Rail Magazine is entitled Halton Curve Gets The Green Light.
I wrote about the Halton Curve in Could Tram-Trains Be Used To Advantage In Liverpool? I said this in a section entitled Upgrading The Halton Curve
Funds have been made available to upgrade the Halton Curve, so that trains can reach Chester from Liverpool South Parkway via Runcorn.
The Halton Curve
The two blue squares indicate the two ends of the current single-track curve. The top one is where the curve leaves the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line south of Runcorn station and the bottom one is where it joins the Chester to Manchester Line east of Frodsham.
The main reason for doing this would be to allow trains from Chester and North Wales better access to Liverpool Lime Street and South Parkway stations, and the John Lennon Airport.
As the Tier Two and Three electrification plans for the North as they effect Merseyside, includes full electrification of the lines around Chester, this would mean that an upgraded curve would be electrified.
There are probably good reasons to add an extra track to the curve, which would make it possible for Chester to be a new southern destination of the Northern Line.
The Rail Magazine article says this.
The Liverpool City Combined Authority has approved a range of projects aimed at improving travel across Merseyside, including reinstatement of the Halton Curve.
Also endorsed by the Welsh Government and by Cheshire West and Chester Council, bringing the line back into full use will entail an hourly direct service between Liverpool and Chester, and the extension of some services into Wales.
So just as the Todmorden Curve helped with the rail system around Burnley and the Ipswich Chord helped in Suffolk, will the Halton Curve help to develop the railways on Merseyside?
What is interesting about this decision, is that this appears to be a Liverpool decision, not one from Central Government.
Should more infrastructure decisions be devolved?
I think it’s very much a big yes!
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Where Are The Battery Trains? – Part 2
My Trip To Corby today got me thinking more about the reasons for the non-appearance of IPEMUs, that I wrote about in Where Are The Battery Trains?
I have released several software products in my time and I’ve made certain that when I do this, that the product is fully tested and up to the job.
I suspect that Bombardier are no different, except they are probably a lot more thorough!
Testing The IPEMU And The Batteries
This article in Rail Technology Magazine is entitled Bombardier enters key analysis phase of IPEMU and it goes on to describe the sort of work being done. This is said.
Engineers in Mannheim are comparing four battery types, including the Valence batteries used on the demonstrator.
“What we’ve seen from the trial is that there is some work that we’ve still to finish on understanding the number of batteries that we apply for a particular performance,” he said. “We are looking at the packaging design in terms of how we pack the batteries together and how we monitor the overall temperature of the batteries for service. This is all to do with closing the triangle.”
I suspect most of this battery testing is being done on an off-train test rig, as if you have at least one rig for each battery type, testing can be done in parallel.
These rigs would be fairly simple affairs, where a computer with the route profile cycles the batteries through what they’d go through on an actual train, again and again.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this testing has widened, as obviously they are looking for a battery system with these characteristics.
- Very high reliability.
- The ability to hold as much energy as possible.
- A size and weight, that would enable a complete battery to be under the floor of a train.
- An acceptable cost.
Bombardier have not said, whose batteries they are testing, except that the ones they used in the prototype from Valence are on the list.
But supposing a reputable company, came to Bombardier and said, they could modify the batteries they’ve used successfully in such-and-such an application, do you think Bombardier would dismiss them out of hand?
Of course they wouldn’t!
I think that if the IPEMU gets introduced into service, that there could be a surprise in the type and manufacturer of the batteries.
Battery Choice Before Manufacture
Some battery types would inevitably be better than others and the testing would obtain a packaging design, range and cost for each design.
The big problem for the trains, is that until you decide on the type of battery to use, you can’t finalise the design of the battery pack and start manufacture.
This testing could throw also up strengths as well as problems.
The Problem Of Range
Range on batteries, is very important, as the longer it is, the more routes become possible for an IPEMU.
I was told on the Class 379 demonstrator, that a range of sixty miles was possible with that train. In this document on the Bombardier web site, this is stated about the objectives for the IPEMU.
The target is to operate a 185 tons four-car BOMBARDIER* ELECTROSTAR* train on battery up to 120 km/h for a distance of up to 50 km, which requires battery capacity in the range of up to 500 kWh. The design solution charges the batteries with the existing line converter equipment and connects the motor converters to the batteries when the 25 kVAC overhead line is not available. The lithium-ion batteries weigh less and can charge more quickly than industrial-form batteries, such as those used in automobiles.
Hard evidence of the actual range is difficult to find, although the figure of sixty miles is quoted in this section in Wikipedia.
I will now look at four longer routes, where the IPEMU may be the solution.
1. St. Pancras to Corby and Oakham
In my trip today to Corby, I saw how Network Rail are creating a fast route to the town, which it looks like will be double-track all the way to Oakham, This would include the route over the Welland Viaduct, which would be the sort of electrification, that would be difficult for engineering, aesthetic and heritage reasons.
Given that North Northamptonshire and the surrounding area, is going to see the development of several thousand houses, it would seem to me that an ideal IPEMU should be able to reach at least Oakham from St. Pancras. As Corby is about thirty-two miles and Oakham is forty-six miles from Bedford, this would mean that to provide a service would need a IPEMU with a range of sixty-four miles to reach Corby and ninety-two to reach Oakham, respectively.
So on the face of it, Corby and Oakham would be out of the range of a train fitted with the original Valence battery pack with its range of sixty miles, unless there was some electrification onwards from Bedford.
Yesterday, I saw that the piles for the electrification were going in North of Bedford. A rough calculation shows that for a sixty mile range IPEMU to reach Corby would need tjust a few miles of electrification North from Bedford. Oakham would need nearly twenty.
2. Liverpool Street to Lowestoft
Another route talking about as an IPEMU prospect is the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Lowestoft. This would need a train with a range of ninety-eight miles.
But as from Bedford, there could be a section of electrification at the Southern end of the line near Ipswich and perhaps some method of charging the train at Lowestoft.
3. Paddington to Bedwyn, Newbury and Oxford
Ever since I wrote Rumours Of Battery Powered Trains, which was based on an article in the September 2015 edition of Modern Railways, which was entitled Class 387s Could Be Battery Powered, I have believed that the Thames Valley could see several service run by IPEMUs.
I wrote this in a letter to a railway magazine in a letter entitled Class 387 IPEMUs to Oxford.
This sounds like an impossible dream, but if you were running Great Western Railway, you need some crumb of comfort, to cope with the arrival of Chiltern Railways at Oxford station in December 2016.
In September 2015, there was an article in Modern Railways with the headline of Class 387s Could Be Battery Powered, that described how GWR were thinking of creating some Class 387 IPEMUs.
In April 2016 the same magazine stated that electrification to Maidenhead could be ready before the end of 2016.
So that would enable Class 387 IPEMUs to reach Reading, Henley and Marlow, by doing the last few miles on batteries.
Also min the same issue of the magazine, Roger Ford also reported that the Reading to Didcot test track could be electrified by the end of the year.
As Didcot to Oxford and back, should be within the range of a Class 387 IPEMU running on batteries, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an electric service to Oxford before 2017.
I think it is true to say that this scenario is helped by every small extra morcel of range.
4. Basingstoke to Exeter
This section of the West of England Main Line is always being touted as needing electrification, but this section at nearly a hundred and thirty-five miles is certainly too long for a first-generation IPEMU.
On the other hand, selective short section of third-rail electrification, might make this route possible.
Note.
- These four routes would give significant advantages to operators, with faster electric services to London and in the case of Oakham and Exeter, they would release high-quality diesel multiple units to provide other services.
- As all of these routes are over sixty miles, it shows how, advances in battery design, which might bring increased capacity could increase the places where IPEMUs could provide an electric train service.
So are Bombardier’s engineers working on battery designs, that will handle as many routes as possible, that would be worthwhile to run with IPEMUs?
Other Technology
I am of the opinion that other technologies will stretch the range and applications of IPEMUs.
- Automatic control of the pantograph up and down at line speed would surely be important.
- Short sections of electrification in stations, where the trains stop.
- Various aids would probably help the driver make the most of the battery capacity.
- Improved signalling and track.
I am strongly of the opinion, that we’ll see a constant improvement in the range of an IPEMU.
Conclusion
I have only talked about medium length routes in the range of upwards of sixty miles.
If you add in all of short distance uses on branch lines, I think we’ll be seeing a lot of IPEMU-equipped trains in the future.
Their current non-appearance, may just be that Bombardier want to get the train absolutely right.
If they do that and the financial case stacks up, then Bombardier could see orders for a lot of new trains.
A Trip To Corby
I’d never been to Corby station before, but had planned it for some time.
I went this morning to both have a look at one of Network Rail’s new stations and see the work going on in the area.
These are pictures I took.
Note.
- I don’t think I saw one tricky bridge to electrify North of Bedford.
- A lot of the second track to Corby is in place.
- It would appear that the works at Corby will create a double track railway through the station to Oakham.
- I was told at Corby station, that there is to be a closure of the station later in the year, to finish the works.
- I saw no sign of any electrification North of Kettering.
- Piles with batty yellow covers, for electrification had started from Bedford.
But one thing that surprised me, was how the line constantly moved changed from four tracks to three and back again and that it was surrounded by lots of space.
Electrifying from Bedford to Kettering wouldn’t be the most difficult of jobs.
Only the stations would be tricky.
But I do have this feeling from what I saw at Horwich Parkway station and wrote about in Are The Electrification Gantries Going In The Middle At Horwich Parkway Station?, that Network rail have some better and non-traditional ways of dealing with the electrification of stations in their tool-box these days.
I also think, that they could phase the work in places, as the lines are often in separate pairs.
From Bromley-by-Bow To Mile End Park
This Google map shows the c2c railway line from where it passes through Bromley-by-Bow station in the East to where it crosses Mile End Park in the West
From Bromley-by-Bow To Mile End Park
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the railway lines around the triangular junction towards the top of the map and to the East of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.
Lines Around Eleanor Street
The map certainly shows, there has been a lot of building of railways in the area. This Wikpedia entry for the former Bow station gives some of the history.
These pictures show the route taken from a c2c train going towards London.
Note.
- The Crossrail ventilation and evacuation shaft at Eleanor Street is at the point of the triangle, where the Underground lines go Northwards and the c2c lines go Southward.
- The travellers site is in the middle of the triangular junction.
- The single-track chord for Stratford, links the c2c lines into Fenchurch Street to the Great Eastern Main Line.
- This chord is clearly visible on the map of the Lines around Eleanor Street.
- Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, which is worth a visit and I wrote about in Around Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.
- The Crossrail ventilation and evacuation shaft at Mile End Park, which is in the South East corner of the Park by the railway.
In The Ventilation Shafts For Crossrail, there is more details on the shafts and some pictures from April 2015.
A Tribute To Victorian Engineering
These pictures of the Berrmondsey Dive-Under, were taken from a train going between London Bridge and East Croydon stations and eventually on to Uckfield.
I think we are seeing the creation of a piece of superb railway engineering, that although the Victorians did brick arches and interwoven viaducts all the time, creating them now is all too rare.
It doesn’t appear to be a simple struct. But then Wikipedia says this about it.
With the completion of Borough Market Viaduct to the west of London Bridge, Thameslink trains will use the pair of tracks to the north, and Charing Cross trains will use the new pair of tracks to the south. At present, northbound Thameslink trains arrive into London Bridge to the south of the Kent lines. Construction work will be undertaken to the east of London Bridge so that Thameslink trains from the Brighton Main Line can use a grade-separated crossover to avoid impeding trains from Kent bound for Charing Cross.
Services to Charing Cross on the Kent lines will be diverted slightly south in the vicinity of Trundleys Road onto the route of the former branch line to Bricklayers’ Arms. They will then slope up alongside the Brighton Main Line just north of South Bermondsey station. Thameslink trains in both directions will cross over the Kent lines on a new bridge, meeting the existing alignment just north of Jarrow Road.
Simple it isn’t!
I am pleased to see that it looks like they are building some new arches under the lines. Look at the last four pictures!
Development At Kidbrooke Station
This article on the BBC web site, is entitled Transport for London set to become private landlord to create revenue.
One of the sites mentioned is Kidbrooke station.
This is a Google Map of the area around the station.
Kidbrooke Station
It looks to me that there is some development going on already and that there could be scope for more.
For those of you who like me, don’t know the area well, this Google Map shows the Bexleyheath Line between Blackheath and Eltham stations.
Blackheath To Eltham
Kidbrooke is the station in the middle. sitting in a semi-circle of roads.
Note the A2 which passes to the North East of the station. Could it be that all the spare land to the North of the station was part of London’s 1960s road-building schemes.
I shall be visiting with my camera.
The Windsor Link Railway Gets Public Approval
This article in the Windsor Express reveals the results of the consultation of a railway to connect the town’s two railway stations.
Surprisingly in my view, 64% of the public approved of the project.
I am dubious, that this project will ever get built, as it is too radical and Network Rail have their own plans for more railways into Heathrow.
But if I was Lord Adonis, I’d recommend building the line, as I think it gives tremendous possibilities for business, tourism and leisure in the Thames Valley.
Where Are The Battery Trains?
I was asked this question last week and it is just as much a puzzle to me, as it is to the person, who asked the question.
There doesn’t appear to be much hard news and in the May 2016 Edition of Modern Railways, IPEMUs to give them Network Rail’s preferred name or battery trains, as some will call them, there was only one reference to trains powered by the technology.
There was an article entitled Bi-Modes To Bexhill?, which contained the sentence.
Also under consideration is replacement of Class 170 DMUs by bi-mode or battery trains on the Marshlink route.
In several posts here, I believe I have shown how IPEMU technology can improve the UK rail network and from numerous on-line sources, I have come to the conclusion that the mathematical and operational reasons behind the trains are sound.
But I come to the following possible reasons, for the non-appearance of the battery trains.
The Technology Doesn’t Work
Although, this could be the reason, I find it unlikely, given that the IPEMU is just a slightly bigger application, than say a hybrid bus or a plug-in electric car.
There have been some problems with buses and cars, but nothing so serious to prompt wholesale withdrawal from service.
It should also be pointed out, that because of the physics of steel-wheel-on-steel-rail, IPEMUs have an advantage over their rubber-tyred cousins.
The Batteries Don’t Work
Some might question the batteries, but battery technology is moving on apace and Bombardier are reportedly testing four different battery systems in Mannheim.
Installing IPEMU Technology On A Class 387 Train Has Issues
The most likely train to be given an IPEMU capability is a Class 387 train.
It is closely related to the Class 379 train, that was used successfully as a public test train.
As two of the possible applications of an IPEMU; Uckfield Branch and the Marshlink Line, are in the territory of Southern, who are an operator of Class 387 trains, I don’t think obtaining a train for a prototype should be a problem.
But one problem that might have arisen is that all of the Class 387 trains in service can’t be given an IPEMU capability, as there is a major modification needed to install the on-board energy storage.
In which case, are we waiting for the first of Porterbrook’s new build of twenty to be manufactured?
There could of course be other technical issues that must be solved.
- I have seen nothing about how two or three IPEMUs would be coupled together to make longer trains. This will be very important to some operators.
- Control of the pantograph, so if possible it deploys automatically.
- The choice of battery.
I think it could be the last, as the one thing Bombardier, don’t want is a train with not quite enough range and unreliable energy storage.
Are Bombardier Going For KERS?
I think we could see something truly mind-blowing in train on-board energy storage in the future.
My money would be on a flywheel-based system similar to KERS, as is used in Formula One and that has been successfully tested in hybrid buses.
The company behind all this technology is called Torotrak. who are based in Leyland in Lancashire. I wrote about the company recently in Low Emission Buses On Hold. In the post I quote, the company as saying this.
Beyond this, Torotrak said its KERS off-highway technology has gained significant traction and said it has seen strong interest in its V-Charge technology from carmakers.
What do they mean by off-highway technology?
So will we be seeing the Formula One train?
I have no idea, but I have made a small investment in Torotrak shares. So at least, I’ve put my money where my mouth is!
Certainly, waiting for train-based KERS, would explain the delay!
The Trains Are Too Expensive
This must always be a possibility and there might be a problem, in that using IPEMUs may be more expensive for the operator, but produce a large saving for the owner of the infrastructure.
So places, where there is a strong connection between the tracks and trains, like London, Merseyside and perhaps Chiltern, may be more enthusiastic about IPEMUs. Merseyrail have been quoted, that they are thinking about IPEMUs!
There Are Issues With Class 700 Trains
Class 700 trains certainly haven’t started running on Thameslink and the May 2016 Edition of Modern Railways reported that although, there are issues, they are nearing resolution.
Once these trains are starting to be delivered, the current electric trains on the route Class 319, 377 and 387 trains can start to be released.
Only the two Electrostars; 377 and 387 trains could be converted to IPEMUs.
So is the knock-on from the non-introduction of the Class 700 trains, meaning that operators are fighting over the Class 387 trains, as I pointed out in Are The TOCs Auguing Over The Class 387 Trains?
Once a supply of Class 387 trains are available, will we see some given an IPEMU capability?
Southern’s Labour Relations Problems Are Getting In The Way
Southern seem to be going to have a summer of discontent, with all sorts of labour relations problems.
So could this be another factor holding up the release of the Class 387 trains?
Is Everybody Waiting For Sir Richard?
If you have a Class 387 IPEMU, that could run at 110 mph on main lines and then could perhaps do sixty miles on batteries, the routes that might be possible include.
- Euston to Blackpool
- Euston to Chester
- Euston to Huddersfield
- Kings Cross to Harrogate
- Kings Cross to Hull
- Kings Cross to Lincoln
- Kings Cross to Middlesbrough
In A High Speed Train With An IPEMU-Capability, I showed that extensions to fast routes might have applications for a fast IPEMU.
All the routes named come into the category of high speed routes with extensions and all are in Virgin Territory, so are we waiting for the Great Publicist to unveil the Green Formula One Train?
At least he would solve the problem of what to call the trains. Batteries are something in a mobile device not a train!
Conclusion
I think that probably the non-appearance is down to a mixture of issues, with technical ones and a shortage of Class 387 trains most prominent.
I do think though, that we shall be seeing IPEMUs working on the UK rail network within a year.
Consider.
- Network Rail are doing extensive work to create a fast double-track railway line between St. Pancras and Corby.
- The Uckfield Branch has been upgraded for twelve-car trains. Would they do that, just to run strings of Class 170 DMUs?
- The Marshlink Line is being upgraded.
- The new East Anglian franchise specified extra points would be given to those who used new technology.
- IPEMUs could run Euston to Blackpool, Euston to Chester, Birmingham New Street to Rugeley and many other routes tomorrow.
I think we’re waiting for a technical issue to be solved.
It’s either batteries or multiple running of trains, which would certainly be needed for some services.
A High Speed Train With An IPEMU-Capability
Bombardier were reported by Ian Walmsley in the April 2016 Edition of Modern Railways, to be developing Aventra, with a 125 mph capability.
Bombardier have also told me, that all Aventras will be wired so they could be fitted with on-board energy storage.
I don’t know all the masses and speeds, but imagine if an Aventra with an IPEMU capability ran at high speed down an electrified main line and then with its on-board energy storage full to brimming, turned on to line with a reasonably high speed, where it might make a number of calls before returning.
A typical line could be London to Norwich via Cambridge, along the Breckland Line, which is not electrified from Ely to Trowse Junction south of Norwich. Parts have a 90 mph speed limit and I’m sure the speeds could be improved.
The train would need to use the energy storage, but this storage would be partially recharged every time the train stopped, by the regenerative braking of the train.
An interesting fact, is that the kinetic energy of a train is given by half the mass times the square of the speed. So if the train leaves the electrified section, as fast as is reasonably possible, it is carrying extra energy.
Because of the regenerative braking of Aventras and for that matter, Electrostars and some other trains. some of this energy can be recovered and stored in the on-board energy stoppage of an IPEMU, every time the train stops at a station
Intuition and many years of doing this sort of dynamic simulation, tells me, that the faster the train goes at the start, lengthens the range if on-board energy storage is available.
It is worth noting the energy levels involved. If you take the energy of a train travelling at 40 mph as one, the energy of a train travelling at 60 mph is 2.25 times as much and one travelling at 125 mph, a massive 9.76 times.
I think that other factors will also help.
- A track built for speed.
- Modern signalling.
- An efficient train.
- Low dwell-times in stops.
- Advanced driving aids.
- Good driving.
I suspect that Network Rail and Bombardier are doing extensive simulations of possible routes for trains with an IPEMU capability.
These calculations will probably show some routes are more suitable than others.
A route that could might be ideal, would be a branch where the line speed was high to a single station, so that by the use of the regenerative braking, the train could start the return journey with a high level of energy in the storage.
London to Norwich via Cambridge, is not a line to a single station, but both ends are electrified, so the trains will start the journey with full storage, probably losing a proportion of the energy at each stop.
I’d love to be doing those simulations. But it’s all physics that Isaac Newton would have understood.
The Anonymous Widower 