Will It Be All Systems Go For The Ordsall Curve?
This article in Rail Technology Magazine is entitled Court of Appeal dismisses Ordsall Chord legal challenge and it talks about Mark Whitby’s fight to stop the Ordsall Chord being built.
This is said.
A legal appeal following the dismissal of a challenge to the process for granting permission for the Ordsall Chord has been dismissed.
The Court of Appeal today upheld a ruling to dismiss a challenge from Mark Whitby, former president of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
The Court dismissed all three appeals made by Whitby against the decision of Lang J in the Mrs Justice Beverley Lang: two statutory challenges of the Transport and Works Act order and of the Listed Building Consent, and a judicial review of the planning permission. The Court of Appeal will hand down its judgement early in the new term, after Easter.
I hope this is the end of it, and work can proceed on the much-needed new infrastructure.
But I suppose there’s always the Supreme and European Courts!
I am a Londoner and one thing puzzles me about this case. If say in London, there was an argument about such a piece of infrastructure, those making the fuss would be local people, as they are in Chelsea and Wimbledon over Crossrail 2. In all the reports on the Ordsall Chord, the councils, politicians and the media seem to be in favour and only one lone person is against.
This article in Building gives an insight into Mark Whitby.
Will Redevelopment Of Fenchurch Street Station Help To Pay For Crossrail 2?
I have just written Could Crossrail 2 Go To Grays?, after various articles suggested that a Hackney Branch of Crossrail 2 could take over c2c lines through Barking and have termini at Bssildon and Grays.
This map is provided.
Possible Crossrail 2 Eastern Branch
The red section is new track, which would need to be in tunnel as far as East Ham.
Looking at this proposal, it became apparent, that the number of trains terminating at Fenchurch Street station could be severely reduced.
This Google Map shows Fenchurch Street station.
Fenchurch Street Station
Note Tower Gateway station on the DLR and Tower Hill station on the District and Circle Lines, to the South of the lines into Fenchurch Street.
The site must be worth a fortune in the City of London and could surely be redeveloped.
- It could have enough capacity to provide four trains per hour to Southend and/or Shoeburyness.
- The Docklands Light Railway terminus could be moved alongside the new station.
- It could have direct connectivity to Tower Hill station.
- There would obviously be a lot of offices on top.
There has been a proposal in the past to extend the DLR to Charing Cross and Victoria.
A rebuilding of Fenchurch Street station with the c2c and DLR stations underneath, might enable this extension from the Toewer Gateway branch.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the rail lines from Tower Gateway to Charing Cross.
Tower Gateway To Charing Cross
This is said about the proposed route in Wikipedia.
Two reasons driving the proposal are capacity problems at Bank, having just one interchange between the DLR and the central portion of Underground, and the difficult journeys faced by passengers from Kent and South Coast between their rail termini and the DLR. Intermediate stations would be at City Thameslink/Ludgate Circus and Aldwych.
Could it be, that one of the drivers of linking Crossrail 2 to c2c services is to enable the Fenchurch Street station site to be redeveloped?
Could Crossrail 2 Go To Grays?
This article in Your Thurrock is entitled Is Crossrail about to stop at all stations in Thurrock?
It talks about a branch of Crossrail 2 going East from a junction between Angel and Dalston stations calling at Hackney Central, Stratford International, East Ham and Barking, before taking over the c2c routes to Basildon and Grays.
This map is provided.
Possible Crossrail 2 Eastern Branch
The red section is new track, which would need to be in tunnel as far as East Ham.
Connectivity Of The Route
The route would appear to tidy up a lot of the connectivity problems in East London.
- Stratford International station will be properly connected to London’s local rail network, instead of by a sizeable walk through Eastfield.
- The Western parts of Essex between Upminster and Grays, which will see a lot of much-needed new housing built in the next few years, get a much better rail connection to Central London.
- c2c services get a new excellent connection to Central London at Barking, which by-passes the inaccessible Fenchurch Street.
- Hackney gets its own direct connection to Central London.
And of course there will be a large increase in capacity with 200m. long trains to Basildon and Grays.
Stratford International Station
Stratford International station has never been properly connected to London’s local rail network.
At present, it is only really a domestic station for Southeastern’s HighSpeed services to Kent and some have branded it a white elephant.
With more and more international services likely to run into London, I think it is only a matter of time, before Stratford International gets some international services.
The Future Of c2c To Central London
If c2c services to Basildon and Grays are replaced with higher capacity Crossrail 2 services, does this have repercussions for c2c services.
- Basildon station currently has four trains an hour going between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness.
- Grays station has four trains per hour to Fenchurch Street and two to Southend Central.
This says to me that there might be scope to simplify the pattern of c2c services.
Fenchurch Street Station
This Google Map shows Fenchurch Street station.
Fenchurch Street Station
Note Tower Gateway station on the DLR and Tower Hill station on the District and Circle Lines, to the South of the lines into Fenchurch Street.
The site must be worth a fortune in the City of London and could surely be redeveloped.
- It could have enough capacity to provide four trains per hour to Southend and/or Shoeburyness.
- If the Docklands Light Railway terminus was moved alongside the new station, it might be possible to extend the DLR to Charring Cross station, as has been proposed
- It could have direct connectivity to Tower Hill station.
- There would obviously be a lot of offices on top.
Could it be, that one of the drivers of linking Crossrail 2 to c2c services is to enable the Fenchurch Street station site to be redeveloped?
Hackney Central to Stratford International
This Google Map shows the area between Hackney Central and Stratford International stations.
Crossrail 2 – Hackney Central to Stratford International
Hackney Central station is at the extreme left of the map and Stratford International station is north of the Olympic Stadium.
At least the engineers know it is good tunnelling country as there is already a large pair of tunnels between the two stations – High Speed One.
Stratford International to Barking
This Google Map shows the area between Stratford International and Barking.
Crossrail 2 – Stratford International to Barking
Barking is at the extreme East of the map.
The Surface Route From East Ham to Barking
This Google Map shows the surface lines between East Ham and Barking stations.
Crossrail 2 – East Ham to Barking
East Ham station is in the South West corner and Barking station is in the South East corner. The large structure on the railway by the park is c2c’s East Ham Depot.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines through East Ham and Barking.
East Ham to Barking Lines
The engineers also have a lot of choice as to where Crossrail 2 can emerge to join the surface network.
Conclusions
It certainly seems to be a feasible route through East London, that effectively gives Crossrail 2, two eastern termini.
I also think, that it could release the Fenchurch Street site for redevelopment with perhaps a smaller station with four trains per hour to Southend Central, good connections to the Underground and the DLR and lots of offices on top.
That would help to pay for the extension.
Along The Marshlink Line
After writing Will We See IPEMUS in Hastings?, I thought it would be a good idea to see, if there were any other reasons, why running longer IPEMUs on the Marshlink Line would be a good idea.
So I took a Class 395 train from St. Pancras International station to Ashford International station along High Speed One.
From Ashford International, I took the Marshlink Link to Hastings station, in one of the services run by Southern using Class 171 trains.
These are my observations from the trip.
Class 171 Trains
These are two-car modern diesel multiple units with a top speed of 160 kph and they can be coupled together to make longer trains.
They are totally adequate for the current service between Ashford International and Brighton via Hastings, Bexhill, Eastbourne and Lewes.
Class 387 Trains With An IPEMU Capability
I believe that if battery trains or IPEMUs are used to provide an electric service on the Marshlink Line, that only Class 387 trains can be delivered in a reasonable timescale.
- The Class 387 train is a cousin of the Class 379 train, which was used to create the demonstrator.
- The Class 387 train is a four-car 175 kph train, that can be run in 4, 8 or 12 car formations.
- The capability of the train on battery power, would be more than adequate to go between Ashford International and Hastings.
- There are over twenty Class 387 trains in service, that will start to be replaced this year with new Class 700 trains.
- Another twenty trains are on order for Porterbrook.
- Because of the late delivery of the Great Western electrification, quite a few trains have no home to go to.
- Southern are very familiar with Class 387 trains.
The main thing that would need to be done, would be to add an appropriate battery pack to the number of trains needed for a Brighton to Ashford or St. Pancras service.
As a battery pack was designed over a year ago, I’m sure Bombardier have this under control.
This article in Rail Technology Magazine, talks about how Bombardier are doing extensive tests on battery systems in Mannheim.
Ashford International Station
This Google Map shows the various lines through Ashford International station.
Lines Around Ashford International Station
Note.
- High Speed One goes through the station calling at the long island platforms 3 and 4, or on the flyover, as appropriate.
- The Ashford to Ramsgate Line goes off to the North East.
- The Marshlink Line goes south alongside the white teardrop, which is the Ashford Designer Outlet.
There are three alternatives for Marshlink Line trains.
- Currently, trains from the Marshlink Line terminate in Platform 1. This could continue.
- Trains could go to and from London on High Speed 1
- Trains could go to and from London on classic lines.
I suppose there could be a mixture of all three.
I don’t know if it is possible to run trains between High Speed One and the Marshlink Line, but I can’t believe that it would be impossible to arrange, as Network Rail have mentioned Hastings to St. Pancras services via High Speed One in some of their reports.
Ham Street Station
Ham Street station is a simple affair on a double-track section, with two staggered platforms.
I took these pictures of the station.
This is a Google Map of the station.
Ham Street Station
it would appear that quite a few houses have been built recently.
The station doesn’t appear to be of the same quality as the houses.
Appledore Station
This Google Map shows the Appledore station.
Appledore Station
It is simple affair, with very few houses locally.
- Appledore itself is two miles away.
- It has two staggered platforms.
- There is a level crossing.
- There is no footbridge.
South of the station the line becomes single-track and the Dungeness Branch goes off to Dungeness and Lydd.
Dungeness
A proportion of the freight traffic on the Marshlink Line serves the Dungeness Nuclear Power Station using the Dungeness Branch.
The Google Map shows the area of Dungeness.
Dungeness
At one time, the line had several stations including one at Dungeness.
Other than the power station, there is just a few houses, Lydd Airport, a nature reserve and a few tourist attractions like the iconic Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.
The only other things that could effect the area, is a possible building of Dungeness C Nuclear Power Station and other energy related developments, like a cross-Channel energy link or support for wind turbines.
So to say that the Dungeness Branch will never be developed with a passenger train service, is a bit like saying human beings will never set foot on Mars.
I’ve never been down to Dungeness, although C flew to Beauvais near Paris in the 1960s from the Airport using an airline called Skyways (?).
Rye Station
Rye station is the only substantial station on the unelectrified part of the Marshlink Line.
This Google Map shows the station.
I visited Rye in 2015 and wrote Lunch At Rye, where I found it a charming little town, lacking in information.
The station has a passing loop, a footbridge and a booking office, and it probably would need little work for longer trains.
However, there was evidence of general tidying up and the relaying of track.
Evidence Of Work At Rye
In fact, this was virtually the only work, that I saw anywhere on the Marshlink Line.
Winchelsea, Doleham And Three Oaks Stations.
Of these three stations, we only stopped at Winchelsea station.
Except for well-maintained single platform, there is not much there.
Doleham and Three Oaks stations are also fairly basic, with Three Oaks only able to handle a single carriage.
From Ore To Hastings
Ore station is the next station after Three Oaks and it is fully electrified from the station all the way to Eastbourne and Brighton.
An Article In Rye News
This article in Rye News is entitled More give than take on Marshlink, was written by Stuart Harland who is chairman of the Marsh Link Action Group.
It gives a summary of the work needed to allow Class 395 trains to Bexhill.
As we know from the Network Rail presentation to MLAG last year, the physical issues to be resolved are:
- electrification of the Marshlink line
- signalling at Bexhill;
- remodelling of the track layout at Ashford;
- the dualling/ passing loop at Rye
- the two level crossings at East Guldeford where input is awaited from the Highways Agency to remove the need for two level crossings on the A259
All of this needs funding, as do the additional Javelin units built by Hitachi.
So how does using Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability affect this list.
- Electrification of the Marshlink Line would not be needed.
- The signalling at Bexhill, can already handle eight-car Electrostars, like the Class 387 train, so I would assume modifications would be simpler, if at all.
- The remodelling of the track layout at Ashford would only need to connect Platforms 1 and 2 to High Speed One.
- The passing loop at Rye seems capable of accepting two four-car Class 171 Turbostar trains, which are closely related to Class 387 Electrostar trains.
- The level crossing problems would remain, but the speeds could be kept to those used now.
- New trains would not need to be purchased from Hitachi.
In addition, there would need to be work done to make sure that all stations and signalling on the Marshlink Line could accept the length of train, that Southern want to run between |St. Pancras and Hastings.
Conclusion
Class 387 IPEMUs could easily provide service on the Marshlink Line and the cost of the work would be very much reduced compared to using Class 395 Javelin trains, with the biggest expense probably being adding the battery packs to the Class 387 trains.
Two Bus Stops On High Holborn
I went to visit one of my investments on Fetter Lane and I knew that if I could find the stop I could get a 341 bus from the area to Islington or my home.
There were two bus-stops and I knew I was on the right side of the road.
But which one do I go to? I had to walk to both of them to find the answer.
I don’t show it in the pictures, but there was a street sign between the two stops.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a finger post to tell you where the stops are for various buses?
High Holborn is also one of those places, where there aren’t enough crossings.
Does London need a reporting system for poor street layouts or an army of elderly/disabled/teenage street walkers to collect possible simple improvements to the walking realm in the city?
Liverpool’s Railways Get A Makeover
Unlike some places, which are getting major new stations or lines on their rail networks, Liverpool is getting a package of smaller projects according to this article on the BBC.
- New and longer platforms at Lime Street station, with upgraded signalling equipment. This will enable longer trains and more frequent services
- Renewing tracks on the Merseyrail underground loop
- Laying additional track between Huyton and Roby – this will enable faster services between Liverpool and the east
- Building a new station at Maghull North – between the existing Maghull and Town Green stations
- Newton-le-Willows station will be improved
- New Liverpool-to-Chester service and the re-opening of the Halton Curve
But they do add up to a total of £340million.
Liverpool Lime Street Station
Liverpool Lime Street station got a major upgrade for when Liverpool was the 2008 European Capital of Culture and the lines are currently being fully electrified, so the station improvements will complete the transformation of the station into a fitting gateway to the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It might even become a Grade I Listed Building in its own right.
This is said about the remodelling of the station in Wikipedia.
A £340m remodelling of the station will take place from 2017 This will create two new platforms between the existing platforms 7 and 8, with other platforms being lengthened and widened. The remodelling will allow for new services to Glasgow, starting in 2019. A supermarket and new shops will also be built. The station will close for nine days from 30 September 2017 and will also close in autumn 2018 (with dates yet to be confirmed)
On a personal note, I hope it will allow Virgin to run two trains per hour (tph) to and from London. They might even be longer too!
I also wonder if the platforms will be large enough for the trains for HS2, when Liverpool gets two tph from the South.
Newton-le-Willows Station
What happens at Newton-le-Willows station will be interesting to see.
This used to be said under Relocation Proposal in the Wikipedia entry for the station.
There have been proposals to move the station eastwards, due to the poor accessibility of the approach roads and very limited parking, to a site possibly near the M6. However, this could cause some political issues, as it may place the station partially over the Merseyside border into theGMPTE area. Some benefits of this though, would be an opportunity to create a substantial interchange with the West Coast Main Line which passes just east of the existing station, and a large park and ride, reducing car traffic into both Liverpool, Warrington and Manchester. The proposed plans were scrapped in June 2009
It strikes me that Liverpool and Manchester should bury the hatchet on this one!
Apparently, they have buried it, as under Redevelopment this is now said.
Merseytravel put forward proposals in December 2015 for the station to be developed as an interchange station. The proposals were later approved with the work scheduled to be completed by March 2018.
This Google Map shows Newton-le-Willows station and the surrounding area.
Newton-le-Willows Station
I wonder if there is a Grand Design for the UK’s ultimate parkway station.
Trains With An IPEMU Capability
This is an aside to explain the concept of an Independently Powered Electrical Multiple Unit or IPEMU.
It’s just an electrical multiple unit, with some form of energy storage, which is typically a battery. The battery is charged, where there is overhead wires as in Lime Street or third-rail as on the Wirral and Northern Lines.
To a passenger, they’re just like a normal electric train.
On Merseyside, the classic route would be to go up the Northern Line to Ormskirk and then use the batteries to get to Preston via the electrified main line.
Merseyrail have stated that they want their new trains to have this capability.
There are four main reasons.
- They can open up new routes.
- The energy created when the train stops can be used to get it moving again, thus making the train more energy efficient.
- The power in the batteries can be used in emergency in the tunnels, if the main power supply fails.
- Short lengths of up to a few miles of railway can be left without electrification.
Trains with this capability will become increasingly common.
Onward To Chester And North Wales
You can never accuse Merseyrail of not being ambitious and reopening the Halton Curve and running services to Chester, opens up possibilities for services between Liverpool, John Lennon Airport and North Wales.
As Liverpool also have plans to link the Wirral Line to the Borderlands Line possibly using trains with an IPEMU capability, connectivity between Liverpool and North Wales is set to be increased substantially.
Conclusion
I think it is true to say, that Liverpool have a very useful package of improvements here and when coupled with the new trains that Merseyrail are choosing, Liverpool appears to be moving towards a very good local rail network.
Are Network Rail Losing The IPEMU Argument?
Network Rail’s preferred term for a train, that uses batteries as a range extender or to increase train efficiency, is an Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit or for short an IPEMU!
The latest mention of the trains is this article in the Hastings Observer, which is entitled Hybrid trains alternative to electrifying 1066 country railway.
The article mentions hybrid trains and battery trains and gives a good description of the train.
Network Rail’s senior strategic planner in the south east Paul Best explained how they are proposing an ‘incremental approach’ to electrifying the railway between Ashford and Bexhill.
He said they can increase speed limits in certain places but also look into using hybrid trains with a battery so they can be used on the normal track and electric line from St Pancras to Ashford, which would reduce journey times.
But the term IPEMU is never mentioned.
When I rode the prototype, I wrote about it in Is The Battery Electric Multiple Unit (BEMU) A Big Innovation In Train Design? I said this.
A Hybrid Train
In some ways to consider this train a battery electric multiple unit is wrong, as its nearest cousin is probably the hybrid bus, such as the New Routemaster in London. In the bus the battery is charged by a small diesel engine and final drive is all-electric.
In the rest of this article, I will continue to use BEMU, but hybrid electric multiple unit or HEMU might be better. It could be argued that the general public associate hybrid with something good, so there may be sensible public relations reasons for calling the trains HEMUs.
No matter what Network Rail says, I think they’ll be called hybrid trains by the media and passengers.
Long Live The Hybrid Train…
Riding The Cable Car
I hadn’t ridden the Emirates Air-Line for some time, so I thought it would be a good idea on Sunday.
As you can see, I got a car to myself.
I think the trouble with the line, is that it is pushed at tourists, who don’t realise that the cheapest way to cross it, is by the use of an Oyster card.
But it doesn’t appear to accept cashless payment, which as this is most of London’s preferred payment method, probably doesn’t help ridership.
Let’s face it, who in their right mind would use Oyster? I have a Freedom Pass, so I don’t need Oyster, but I do get peeved that I have to carry one with perhaps twenty pounds on it, just so I can use the cable-car.
The North End Of The Connaught Tunnel
The Connaught Tunnel takes Crossrail under the Royal Docks.
If you take the DLR to the East from Custom House station, you can see the North End of the tunnel.
The track is there and I suspect fairly soon, we’ll be seeing overhead wires going up.
Custom House Station – 20th March 2016
Progress at Custom House station.
It’s certainly going to be an impressive entrance to Crosrail from the Excel.
The Anonymous Widower 