US Transportation Dept Cancels Funding For 12 Offshore Wind Port Projects To ‘Invest In Real Infrastructure’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has withdrawn or terminated funding for twelve offshore wind-related port projects, totalling USD 679 million (approximately EUR 580 million). These funds will be used, where possible, “to invest in real infrastructure, restoring American maritime dominance,” according to a press release issued by USDOT on 29 August.
The rest of the article is in two sections.
- US Wind-Backed Sparrows Point Steel Marshalling Port on the List
- ‘Prioritizing Real Infrastructure Improvements Over Fantasy Wind Projects’
Both sections are worth a detailed read.
They sound even more stupid decisions, if read in a voice reminiscent of Baldrick with an American accent.
Midlands Rail Hub Looks To The Future With Preferred Alliance Partners
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Network Rail.
The press release has a spectacular picture, which I’m showing here.
Note.
- High Speed Two’s Curzon Street station is on the left.
- Birmingham Moor Street station is in the centre.
- There appears to be parkland between the two stations.
- Is that the West Midlands Metro running across in front of Moor Street station?
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railway lines in the area.
Note.
- Electrified tracks are shown in red.
- Tracks without electrification are shown in black.
- West Midlands Metro tracks are shown in mauve.
- The red tracks going diagonally across the map are the four electrified tracks going into Birmingham New Street station.
- Birmingham New Street station is off the map to the West.
- To the North of the tracks going into Birmingham New Street station, there are the seven platforms of High Speed Two’s Curzon Street station.
- The four platforms without electrification are shown South of the tracks into Birmingham New Street station.
- Two platforms at Birmingham Moor Street station are through platforms, that pass under Birmingham City Centre to Birmingham Snow Hill station.
- The other two platforms at Birmingham Moor Street station are bay platforms.
- The West Midlands Metro appears to take a loop around the stations.
But when you get into the words of the press release, there are a lot of vegetables and very little meat.
- The Midlands Rail Hub could cost around £1.75bn if delivered in full.
- The government’s recent spending review committed to progress the next stage of Midlands Rail Hub.
- Alongside this, planning is underway to begin to deliver two smaller but significant upgrades to benefit passengers as quickly as possible.
- The Alliance partners will be VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke, AtkinsRéalis, Siemens Mobility, and Network Rail.
These four paragraphs indicate the work, that could be done.
The biggest change will be connecting the Chiltern main line, which runs into Moor Street, with the Camp Hill lines which run towards the South West and East Midlands via two new chords in Bordesley, near Birmingham city centre.
The transformation of the network will include running more train services on key routes through Birmingham and significantly improving connections for the millions of people who use the railway every day.
Work will be prioritised to explore how smaller, but vital, pieces of work which will provide passengers and communities with quicker benefits, including new journey options and more trains can be delivered as soon as possible.
They include reopening platform 4 at Snow Hill station so additional Chiltern Railways services can run directly between Birmingham’s business district and London Marylebone, and redeveloping Kings Norton station and the lines through it so extra Cross City trains can be added and new Midlands Rail Hub-enabled services can call there.
Three projects are specifically mentioned.
- The new chords in Bordesley.
- The reopening of platform 4 at Snow Hill station.
- The redeveloping of Kings Norton station.
I shall now look at each in detail.
The New Chords At Bordesley
This OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks going into and around Birmingham Moor Street station.
Note.
- Electrified tracks are shown in red.
- Tracks without electrification are shown in black.
- West Midlands Metro tracks are shown in mauve.
- The red tracks going diagonally across the map are the four electrified tracks going into Birmingham New Street station.
- Birmingham New Street station is off the map to the West.
- To the North of the tracks going into Birmingham New Street station, there are the seven platforms of High Speed Two’s Curzon Street station.
- The black track running NW-SE is the Chiltern Main Line between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street stations.
- Birmingham Moor Street station is indicated by the blue arrow in the North-West corner of the map.
- The black track running NE-SW is the Camp Hill Line, that allows services to cross Birmingham.
Two new chords will be built where the Chiltern Main and the Camp Hill Lines cross, to allow services on the Camp Hill Line to call at Birmingham Moor Street station.
Consider.
- The press release described these chords as the biggest change.
- The chords will probably not be fully used, until the new stations are built on the Camp Hill Line.
- There may be need for extra platforms at Birmingham Moor Street station to accommodate any new services.
For these reasons, I suspect that these chords could well be the project that is pushed back to a later date.
The Reopening Of Platform 4 At Snow Hill Station
This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at Birmingham Snow Hill station.
Note.
- The two lilac tracks are the West Midlands Metro.
- The two orange tracks are the two through tracks between Birmingham Moor Street and Stourbridge Junction stations.
- Platform 3 is the Southbound track to Birmingham Moor Street on the right.
- Platform 2 is the Northbound track to Stourbridge Junction on the left
- Platform 1 is a loop on left.
- Platforms 1, 2 and 3 are all bi-directional.
- The closed Platform 4 is on the right and is shown by the black track.
I would expect that this reopening could be fairly straightforward and may also have worthwhile benefits.
- Would an extra platform, allow all Chiltern services to serve both Birmingham Moor Street and Birmingham Show Hill stations?
- Chiltern would probably find it easy to extend services from Birmingham to the North-West of the city.
- In this century, services have run as far as Wrexham from Marylebone.
- If all Chiltern services terminated at Birmingham Show Hill station would this have operational and/or marketing advantages?
- If all Chiltern services terminated at Birmingham Show Hill station would this, make it easier for some passengers to get a train to London and the South?
- If all Chiltern services terminated at Birmingham Show Hill station would this release a platform at Birmingham Moor Street station for other services?
These are a few pictures of Birmingham Snow Hill station.
Platform 4 at Birmingham Snow Hill station could be a Build One Platform-Get One Free At Another Station situation!
The Redeveloping Of Kings Norton Station
This will probably be needed for running services on the Camp Hill Line, so why not get some of the work done early, so the rebuilding doesn’t effect existing services?
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Eastern end of Kings Norton station
Note.
- Electrified tracks are shown in red.
- Tracks without electrification are shown in black.
- The station has four platforms, but some are unused.
- Two platforms are on an island, with a single platform on either side.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Western end of Kings Norton station.
The notes to the previous map apply.
These two paragraphs from the Wikipedia entry for Kings Norton station, describe the station.
With the development of both bus and tram services, the need for such a large facility reduced from the 1930s onwards. The result is that today although all four platforms remain in place, only the outer two are in passenger use, with the middle island platforms now derelict.
Refurbished as part of the Cross-City line in 1978, it retained some of its original features following refurbishment, unlike the other ‘cross city line’ stations. The original station building survived, leased out for commercial purposes, until it was demolished in February 2006 for safety reasons. An extension car park provides a Park and Ride facility.
Disabled-access doesn’t seem to be the best either.
These pictures show the station.
Note.
- As I guessed, there is no disabled-access.
- But there are Braille markings on the handrails down to the platforms.
- Two CrossCountry trains are seen going through the station.
- The local Class 730 trains, lights and information screens appeared to be new.
- Three platforms are electrified, but the fourth is not.
- The electrification structure could probably be used to electrify the fourth platform.
- Only the two outside platforms ; 1 and 4 are in use, with the central island platforms ; 2 and 3 left derelict.
- There is car parking and possibly space for more.
- The two active platforms are 150 metres long and the six-car Class 730 trainstrains appear to be 144 metres long.
- The Class 220 trains, that are run by CrossCountry Trains appear to be 93 metres long.
It was one of the scruffiest stations, that I’ve ever seen.
These are my thoughts on the station.
Handling The Camp Hill Line
Refurbishing Kings Norton Station
I don’t feel, that this will be the most horrendous of jobs, as it is very much a job, where all the rubbish and wild forest is removed and new platforms and a bridge are built.
Rolls-Royce SMR Advances To Final Stage In Swedish Nuclear Competition
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Rolls-Royce.
This is the sub-heading.
Rolls-Royce SMR has been selected by Vattenfall as one of only two companies to reach the final stage in the process to identify Sweden’s nuclear technology partner.
These are the first two paragraphs, which add details.
After being shortlisted in 2024, Rolls-Royce SMR has progressed through a detailed assessment and will now work with Vattenfall through the final technology selection which could initially result in Rolls-Royce SMR delivering three SMRs.
This positive news is testament to Rolls-Royce SMR’s transformative approach to delivering proven nuclear technology in an innovative way through modularisation and builds on our successful selection in both the United Kingdom and Czech Republic.
Some other points from the press release.
- Sweden is initially looking to build three SMRs.
- Each SMR will supply 470MWe of clean low-carbon electricity.
- They are expected to have a lifetime of sixty years. Sizewell B was originally expected to have a lifetime of forty years, but appears to be being extended to sixty years, so I will accept Rolls-Royce’s expected lifetime.
- The first units will be at the Ringhals site on the Värö Peninsula, where there is an existing nuclear power station.
This Google Map shows the Ringhals site in relation to Gothenburg.
The site is marked by the red arrow.
On taking a closer look, it appears to be a site with expansion possibilities.
The British Media Don’t Seem Very Interested
It is now the 31st of August and the only paper to report the story has been the Financial Times.
DB And PKP To Expand Cross-Border Rail Services Between Germany And Poland
The title of this post, is the same of that as this article on Railway=News.
These two introductory paragraphs add more detail.
From mid-December 2025, Deutsche Bahn (DB) and PKP Intercity (PKP) are expanding their joint long-distance rail services, increasing the number of direct daily connections between Germany and Poland by more than 50 percent.
Starting on 14 December, 17 daily train pairs will operate across the border, up from the current 11. The additional capacity will provide a two-hourly service on the Berlin–Warsaw route, with seven trains in each direction.
I did a lot of this route, when I did a Home Run From Krakov.
I feel this German-Polish route will attract a lot of passengers, as it serves three excellent Polish cities Gdansk, Krakov and Warsaw, where you can spend a few days and it connects you to Berlin.
‘This Has Nothing To Do With National Security’ | Revolution Wind Halt Leaves Connecticut Leaders Demanding Answers
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Connecticut officials say they have been left in the dark about why the US federal government suddenly ordered construction of the Revolution Wind offshore project to stop, even as billions of US dollars, hundreds of jobs, and counted-on grid capacity hang in the balance.
This paragraph outlines what has happened.
On 25 August, the Connecticut State Government, joined by congressional leaders and representatives from the offshore wind supply chain, held a press conference at the New London State Pier after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a directive on 22 August halting all offshore activities on the almost-completed Revolution Wind, citing national security concerns and interference with US waters.
This may only appear to be about Trump stopping the erection of a wind farm in its tracks, but it is classic example of how to not do things.
He has left two states very angry, because of his prejudices.
Green Hydrogen – Meranti Green Steel Launches Green Iron Project In Oman
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
The title shows how if you have plenty of energy, you can produce green steel.
Surely, if the Omanis can do it, we can attract a company to make green steel in the UK, as we have lots of renewable energy around our shores.
All the current steelmakers do is blackmail the UK Government into paying them subsidies.
Siemens Mobility Looks To Build Battery Trains In Goole
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway News.
These first three paragraphs add more details.
Siemens Mobility has announced plans to build battery-powered trains in Goole, Yorkshire, to replace ageing fleets on Britain’s railway.
The manufacturer envisions that battery trains could replace rolling stock for operators such as Chiltern, Great Western Railway (GWR), Northern, ScotRail, TransPennine Express (TPE) and Transport for Wales (TfW) within the next decade.
This would mitigate the need to electrify all sections of the track to deliver zero-emission solutions. In doing so, 3.5 billion GBP could be saved and 12 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could be avoided over 35 years.
Note.
- The post is dated in June 2024, so I am sorry I didn’t spot it earlier.
- It talks in detail about Siemens’ plans for battery-electric trains.
- It also talks about the Siemens’ Rail Charging Converter, which can power short lengths of overhead wires for charging trains from the domestic grid.
- I also talked about Siemens’ technology in Technology Behind Siemens Mobility’s British Battery Trains Hits The Tracks.
It is certainly a must-read article.
Coventry To Leicester In A Flash? New Rail Plans Promise Faster, Greener Travel!
The title of this post, is the same as this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the sub-heading.
Passengers travelling between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham have outlined their support for proposed upgrades to reconnect the cities by direct rail for the first time in over two decades.
These first two paragraphs add some detail.
Despite being located just 23 miles apart, travelling between the cities requires passengers to change trains in Nuneaton, with wait times for the connection often exceeding 30 minutes. As a result, just 3% of trips between Coventry and Leicester are made by train; compared to 30% of journeys made between Coventry and Birmingham.
Midlands Connect recently visited Nuneaton railway station to speak with passengers travelling between the cities, waiting for their onward connection, about the proposed upgrades and how they would be impacted.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the route between Coventry and Leicester.
Note.
- Coventry is in the South-West corner of the map.
- Leicester is in the North-East corner of the map.
- Nuneaton, where you currently have to change trains,is marked by a blue arrow.
- The red track passing through Nuneaton station, is the Trent Valley Line.
Services between Coventry, Leicester and Nuneaton are run by two companies.
- CrossCountry run a half-hourly service between between Birmingham New Street and Leicester via Nuneaton.
- West Midlands Trains run an hourly service between Leamington Spa and Nuneaton via Coventry.
I feel ideally, that Leicester and Coventry need a half-hourly service, but an hourly service would be easy and a half-hourly service would mean a four-trains per hour (tph) service between Leicester and Nuneaton.
Probably, the easiest service would be to extend the hourly Leamington Spa and Nuneaton to Leicester, with a reverse at Nuneaton.
What Does The Article Mean By Greener Trains?
I would expect the article means battery-electric trains, but the only mention is in the title.
Could Leicester And Coventry Be Served By Battery-Electric Trains?
This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at Nuneaton station.
And this OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at Coventry station.
As electrified tracks are shown in red, it would appear that all tracks at both stations are electrified.
The platforms at Coventry and Nuneaton, may be good enough for a quick Splash and Dash, but trains don’t spend long enough in the stations for a full charge.
- Perhaps the solution is to install one of Siemens’s Rail Charging Converters in Leamington Spa and Leicester stations.
- The distance between Leamington Spa and Leicester stations is 48.3 miles, which is well within the range of a battery-electric train.
- Leamington Spa and Nuneaton takes 38 minutes.
- Leicester and Nuneaton takes 27 minutes.
I feel an efficient hourly service could be created between Leicester and Leamington Spa using battery-electric trains.
Onward To Nottingham
Nottingham is another 27.5 miles from Leicester and currently takes 48 minutes in a Class 170 train.
Connections To The North-West And Scotland At Coventry And Nuneaton
They are good and could be more numerous and better.
Could Hydrogen-Powered Trains Be Used?
Yes! If a UK hydrogen-powered train existed!
Cost Of The Project
As reasonably modern trains happily use the route between Leamington Spa and Leicester every day, I suspect that little needs to be done on the full route to create a new service.
So the cost of the project would be sufficient new battery-electric trains and the ability to charge them at Leamington Spa and Leicester.
Conclusion
I believe that Coventry and Leicester would be an easy route to run using an hourly battery-electric train.
It could be extended to Leamington Spa at one end and Nottingham at the other.
Electrification – The Baldrick Way
Electrification In England
There are two major electrification projects underway in England at the moment; the Midland Main Line to Sheffield and Nottingham and the TransPennine Upgrade between Church Fenton and Stalybridge via Leeds and Huddersfield.
In addition, there are other important routes, that need to be electrified around the UK.
- Edinburgh and Aberdeen
- Crewe and Holyhead
- Newbury and Taunton
- Cardiff and Fishguard
- Bristol and Penzance
- Peterborough and Birmingham
- Peterborough and Doncaster via Lincoln
- Felixstowe and Peterborough
There must be loads of other important routes.
Do We Need Electrification Or A Zero-Carbon Railway?
A zero-carbon Railway is probably sufficient, as that would include traditional electrification.
Are The Electrification On The Midland Main Line And The TransPennine Upgrade Working To Similar Objectives?
The Midland Main Line carries the following services.
- Long distance expresses between London St. Pancras and Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield, which will be run in the future, by Hitachi bi-mode express trains.
- Local suburban electrics between London St. Pancras and Bedford and Corby.
- A variety of heavy freight trains between Chesterfield and London.
- Various regional services run by diesel multiple units.
The Midland Main Line is a typical mixed railway.
It is electrified between London St. Pancras and Wigston Junction, which is a total of 95.3 miles.
Sheffield is a further 69.4 miles from Wigston and Nottingham is just 31.1 miles.
The maximum range needed by a battery-electric train is 69.4 miles.
The TransPennine Route carries the following services.
- Long distance expresses between Liverpool and Newcastle and Hull via Manchester, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds, which are run by Hitachi bi-mode express trains and diesel multiple units.
- Local suburban electrics around Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds
- A variety of heavy freight trains along the route.
- Various regional services run by diesel multiple units.
The TransPennine Route is another typical mixed railway and carries a similar traffic mix to the Midland Main Line.
Much of the TransPennine Route is electrified, with these exceptions.
- Cleethorpes and Doncaster 52.1 miles
- Doncaster and Manchester Piccadilly – 61.2 miles
- Manchester United FC and Liverpool South Parkway – 26.2 miles
- Hull and Leeds – 51.8 miles
- Redcar and Northallerton – 28.1 miles
- Scarborough and York – 42.1 miles
- Stalybridge and Church Fenton – 50 miles
The maximum range needed by a battery-electric train is 61.2 miles.
This brief analysis indicates to me, that Hitachi battery-electric bi-modes with a range of eighty miles on batteries and charging at selective stations like Cleethorpes, Hull, Nottingham, Redcar, Scarborough and Sheffield could run electric high speed trains on both the Midland Main Line and the TransPennine Route with very little extra infrastructure.
I asked Google AI what is the range of a Class 802 train on batteries and received this reply.
A Class 802 train converted for a battery-electric trial, known as BEMU, has demonstrated the capability to run up to 60 miles (approximately 97 km) on batteries in a trial setting, with real-world data suggesting potential future trains could achieve a range of 100 to 150 km (62 to 93 miles). This technology is intended to allow these trains to cover non-electrified sections of track, reducing the need for overhead wires and potentially saving on electrification costs for intercity routes.
In What Will Be The Range Of A Hitachi Class 800 Battery Train?, I came to this conclusion.
The first version of the battery-electric train will have a range of around a hundred miles, so that they can handle the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line diversion, which is 93.7 miles, on battery power.
But fairly soon after introduction into service, I will be very surprised if they don’t claim the Guinness world record by running farther than the Stadler FLIRT Akku’s 139 miles.
No-one likes being second!
The 93.7 miles needed for the East Coast Main Line diversion via the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line through Lincoln will be more than enough range for Hitachi’s battery-electric trains to run the full length of both the Midland Main Line and the TransPennine Route.
Electrifying A Route
I think that Network Rail have identified an efficient way to electrify an express route.
You start by doing these actions.
- Get the track layout right, so that trains can use the route at the optimal speed.
- Update the signalling to a high standard. I suspect digital signalling would be a good idea, to maximise the capacity of a route.
- Make sure, that the chosen battery-electric express trains can handle the route.
- Charging stations would be installed as required.
The battery-electric trains would be introduced as soon as the route is ready.
Hopefully with good project management, there would be the following benefits compared to traditional electrification.
- Difficult sections like tunnels could be left without electrification.
- Fewer bridges would need to be demolished and rebuilt.
- There would be less disruption to local residents.
- Siemens have developed a Rail Charging Converter, which connects to the domestic rather than the National Grid, so is easier to install.
But the big benefit is that new electric trains could probably be introduced earlier, which hopefully should increase ridership and revenue.
Once the expresses were working well, the best way to decarbonise the rest of the services on the route can be ascertained and actioned.
The Anonymous Widower 