Northern line Extension’s Opening Date Announced
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
Services will start on Monday, September 20th.
This sentence from Ian describes the service levels.
There will be an initial peak time service of six trains per hour on the extension, increasing to 12 trains per hour by mid-2022. There will be five trains per hour during off-peak times, doubling to 10 trains per hour next year.
I shall certainly try it when it opens, but I doubt I’ll be a regular user, as the Charing Cross Branch of the Northern Line can be difficult to access from Dalston. My best way is probably to use a 73 bus to Goodge Street station.
How Do I Use The Northern Line to Go Between The new Battersea Power Station Station and Bank or Moorgate Stations?
This map from cartometro.com shows, the track layout of the extension.
Note.
- The extension to Battersea links to the loop that turns trains that have come South through London on the Charing Cross Branch of the Northern Line, which runs North-Westerly from Kennington station.
- The Bank Branch of the Northern Line is the pair of tracks that runs North-Easterly from Kennington station.
- The Victorian builders of the Northern Line didn’t dig the tunnels and add the track, so that the loop could turn trains coming South through London on the Bank Branch of the Northern Line.
So passengers will have to change, with these possible routes.
- For London Bridge, Bank, Moorgate and Old Street change at Kennington for the Bank Branch of the Northern Line.
- For Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus and Paddington change at Waterloo for the Bakerloo Line.
- For Canary Wharf, London Bridge, Westminster, Green Park, Bond Street, Baker Street and Paddington change at Waterloo for the Jubilee Line.
- For Tower Hill, Monument, Westminster, Victoria and South Kensington change at Embankment for the Circle or District Lines.
- For Holborn and Kings Cross St. Pancras and Harrods change at Leicester Square for the Piccadilly Line.
- For Liverpool Street, Bank, St. Paul’s, Holborn, Bond Street and Marble Arch change at Tottenham Court Road for the Central Line.
- For Canary Wharf, Liverpool Street, Moorgate, , Bond Street, Paddington and Heathrow change at Tottenham Court Road for Crossrail.
Note.
- These are a selection of the possible routes available.
- I have included some of the possible routes to London’s important transport, tourism and business hubs.
- I suspect many will change at Tottenham Court Road station for the City, as the station has been completely rebuilt for Crossrail with full step-free access.
Residents and visitors to the large amounts of new residential properties around Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms stations, will probably find their best routes fairly quickly, but there are a large number of routes to try to most important hubs.
Will Battersea Become An Area, Where Visitors To London Stay?
Consider.
- The Northern Line Extension has connections to to Central London’s important transport, tourism and business hubs.
- The Thames Clippers give access to the Thames.
- There appears to be several good hotels open in the area.
- For Gatwick Airport, it’s Gatwick Express and a taxi from Victoria station, at around a tenner.
- For Heathrow Airport, it’s an easy journey from Heathrow on Crossrail with a change at Tottenham Court Road.
- For City Airport, it’s a direct journey on a Thames Clipper from Royal Wharf to Battersea Power Station pier.
- For Eurostar, it’s probably a £25 taxi from St. Pancras, but if you know the Underground there are several one-change routes via Euston, Kennington, Leicester Square and Warren Street.
I feel that if they get the hotels and the hospitality right, that the area could become an important one for visitors to London.
Battery-Electric Trains And The TransPennine Upgrade
In Is There Going To Be Full Electrification Between Leeds And Huddersfield?, I showed this map of the TransPennine Upgrade between Huddersfield and Westtown near Dewsbury.
Note.
- There will be electrification between Dewsbury and Huddersfield.
- Tracks will be doubled from two to four.
- Ravensthorpe, Mirfield, Deighton and Huddersfield stations will be electrified and probably upgraded.
- Dewsbury and Huddersfield stations are eight miles apart.
This page on the Network Rail website gives more information.
Click on Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury) and you get this information.
On 31 March 2021, we submitted a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) application to the Secretary of State for Transport for the Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury) scheme.
Throughout this eight-mile section of the route, we’re proposing to double the number of tracks from two-to-four, electrify from Huddersfield to Dewsbury and make big improvements to the four stations in this section – Huddersfield, Deighton, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe; where we also need to separate the lines going to/from Leeds from the lines going to/from Wakefield, with either a bridge or a tunnel.
It is a much larger scheme than the one between Bolton and Wigan, which I wrote about in Bolton-Wigan £78m Rail Electrification Project Announced.
- Huddersfield-Westtown is eight miles, whereas Bolton-Wigan is 6.5 miles.
- Both involve upgrading four stations.
- Both involve full electrification.
- Huddersfield-Westtown involves doubling the number of tracks, whereas Bolton-Wigan needs little work to the track.
- Huddersfield-Westtown will need a bridge or a tunnel, whereas Bolton-Wigan might need minor work to a couple of flat junctions.
- Huddersfield station is Grade 1 Listed, whereas Wigan Wallgate station has some good features.
- The Huddersfield-Westtown scheme is costed at £2.9 billion, whereas Bolton-Wigan is just £78 million.
The Huddersfield-Westtown scheme is thirty-seven times larger in terms of money.
What Passenger Services Use The Route Between Huddersfield And Dewsbury?
These services use the route, all or in part.
- Northern Trains – Wigan Wallgate and Leeds via Manchester Victoria, Hebden Bridge, Brighouse, Mirfield, Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury – 1 tph
- Northern Trains – Huddersfield and Castleford via Deighton, Mirfield and Wakefield Kirkgate – 1 tph
- TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough via Manchester Victoria, Stalybridge, Huddersfield and Leeds – 1 tph
- TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Redcar Central via Manchester Victoria, Stalybridge, Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Leeds – 1 tph
- TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield and Leeds – 1 tph
- TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Newcastle via Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Leeds – 1 tph
- TransPennine Express – Manchester Piccadilly and Hull via Stalybridge, Huddersfield and Leeds – 1 tph
- TransPennine Express – Huddersfield and Leeds via Deighton, Mirfield, Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury – 1 tph
Note.
- All trains are one train per hour (tph)
- Three tph run non-stop between Huddersfield and Leeds.
- Two tph stop at Deighton station, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe.
After completion of the Huddersfield and Westtown upgrade, there will be electrification at the following places.
- West of Manchester Victoria station
- Between Huddersfield and Westtown
- Between Leeds and York – Currently being electrified between York and Church Fenton.
And these routes will not be electrified.
- Dewsbury and Leeds – 9.2 miles
- Leeds and Hull – 51.5 miles
- Mirfield and Castleford – 16 miles
- Manchester Piccadilly and Stalybridge – Could be electrified – 7.5 miles
- Manchester Victoria and Heaton Lodge Junction via Hebden Bridge – 47.4 miles
- Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge – Could be electrified – 7.7 miles
- Redcar Central and Northallerton – 28.1 miles
- Stalybridge and Huddersfield – 18 miles
- York and Scarborough – 42.1 miles
Note that all routes except Mirfield and Castleford and Leeds and Hull have electrification at both ends.
Which Routes Between Huddersfield And Westtown Could Be Handled By Battery-Electric Trains?
I will assume that operators will have a battery-electric train capable of running 56 miles on batter ypower. This distance comes from Hitachi’s specification for the Hitachi Regional Battery Train, which is shown in this Hitachi infographic.
These are the routes and my answers.
Northern Trains – Wigan Wallgate and Leeds
The longest section without electrification is Manchester Victoria and Heaton Lodge Junction via Hebden Bridge, which is 47.4 miles.
I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.
Northern Trains – Huddersfield and Castleford
The longest section without electrification is Mirfield and Castleford, which is 16 miles.
But it must be handled on both an out and back basis. So the train will cover 32 miles on battery power.
I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.
TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough
The longest section without electrification to the West of Leeds, is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.7 miles.
At the Eastern end, as York and Scarborough is 42.1 miles without electrification, there would need to be some electrification or a charging system at Scarborough station.
I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.
TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Redcar Central
The longest section without electrification to the West of Leeds,is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.7 miles.
At the Eastern end, as Northallerton and Redcar Central is 28.1 miles without electrification, there may need to be some electrification or a charging system at Redcar Central station.
I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.
TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh
The longest section without electrification is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.7 miles.
Leeds and Edinburgh is fully electrified.
I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.
TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Newcastle
The longest section without electrification is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.7 miles.
Leeds and Newcastle is fully electrified.
I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.
TransPennine Express – Manchester Piccadilly and Hull
The longest section without electrification to the West of Leeds, is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.5 miles.
At the Eastern end, as Leeds and Hull is 51.5 miles, there would need to be some electrification or a charging system at Hull station.
I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.
TransPennine Express – Huddersfield and Leeds
The longest section without electrification is Dewsbury and Leeds, which is 9.2 miles.
I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.
Handling The Eastern Ends
At Hull, Redcar Central and Scarborough stations, there will need to be some means to recharge the trains, so they can get back to the electrification on the East Coast Main Line.
There could either be a short length of 25 KVAC overhead electrification or a special-purpose charging station.
There would need to be an allowance in the turnback, of perhaps 10-15 minutes to make sure trains started back with full batteries.
Will Huddersfield And Westtown Be Long Enough To Charge A Battery-Electric Train?
I have looked at train times between Huddersfield And Westtown and typically trains take around 11-12 minutes to go between Huddersfield and Dewsbury stations.
That should probably be enough, especially, as the trains will probably be using regenerative braking to batteries at any station stops.
Conclusion
I am absolutely certain that by completing the TransPennine Upgrade with full electrification between Huddersfield and Westtown, that all passenger services through the section could be run by battery-electric trains with a range of ninety kilometres or fifty-six miles.
There would probably need to be some electrification or a charging system at Hull, Redcar Central and Scarborough stations.
A Thought On Short Sections Of Electrification
As with the Bolton-Wigan scheme to the West of the Pennines, a length of electrified track that is less than ten miles, allows several services to be run by battery-electric trains and decarbonised.
How many other sections of less than ten miles of electrification can transform train services and reduce the use of diesel around the UK, by the introduction of fleets of battery-electric trains?
Skeleton To Supply Ultracapacitors To CAF
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Electrive.
These two sentences are in the last paragraph.
In its German plant in Großröhrsdorf, Skeleton Technologies is working on so-called hybrid energy storage systems. In short, the advantages of lithium-ion batteries (high energy density) are to be combined with the advantages of ultracapacitors (high performance, long service life) in such hybrid storage systems
But I suggest you read the article as it indicates how supercapacitors could be used on battery-trams and trains.
If CAF use supercapacitors on their trains it will not be their first application on heavy rail in the UK. In Brush Traction Signs Contract With Skeleton Technologies For Modules For Class 769 Trains, I describe how supercapacitors are used to start the engines.
Thoughts On CAF’s Battery-Electric Class 331 Trains
I first wrote about CAF’s battery-electric trains in Northern’s Battery Plans, where I describe how CAF and Northern are planning to convert a number of three-car Class 331 trains into four-car battery-electric trains.
- The fourth car would contain batteries.
- Batteries would also be added to the PTS (pantograph) car.
I suspect that the battery range could be arranged so that all Northern’s routes suitable for battery-electric operation could be handled.
These are my thoughts.
How Much Would The Conversion Cost?
I will first make rough estimate of what the extra car would cost.
Northern placed a £500 million order for the following trains.
- 31 x three-car Class 331 trains
- 12 x four-car Class 331 trains
- 25 x two-car Class 195 trains
- 33 x three-car Class 195 trains
This is a total of 290 trains.
So on a rough estimate, each car will cost around £1.72 million.
As batteries would also be added to the pantograph car, the cost of updating a three-car train to a four-car battery-electric train would probably be around two million.
Why Are CAF Proposing A Four-Car Train With Two Battery Cars?
When I first read about CAF’s and Northern’s plans, I wondered, why CAF were also putting batteries in the pantograph car, as surely, with their extensive experience with battery-powered trains, CAF could fit enough batteries into one battery-car for a reasonable range, as Bombardier did seven years ago.
Having done all the calculations around Wigan and Bolton in Bolton-Wigan £78m Rail Electrification Project Announced, I suspect that CAF and Northern want a trans-Pennine range, so they can compete with TransPennine Express.
Two cars with batteries is probably needed for that.
Could The Three-Car Trains Be Converted To Three-Car Battery-Electric Trains?
But there is a collateral benefit of putting batteries in the pantograph car.
I suspect that in a four-car Class 331 trains have a trans-Pennine range, which between Manchester Victoria and Leeds stations is 50.2 miles and between Carlisle and Newcastle stations is 61.5 miles. So let’s say that the four-car Class 331 train with two battery packs has a range of 70 miles.
So what would be the range of a three-car train with one battery pack.
One battery pack would only take a four-car train 35 miles, so a single battery pack would contain 140 car-miles of electricity.
If a single-battery were to be fitted to the pantograph car of a three-car train, 140 car-miles would give a range of 46.7 miles.
My conclusion about the Bolton and Wigan electrification in Bolton-Wigan £78m Rail Electrification Project Announced, was as follows.
This electrification of just 6.5 miles of double-track between Lostock junction and Wigan Wallgate station seems to be one of the smaller electrification projects.
But on closer examination, when linked to a fleet of battery-electric trains with a range of perhaps forty miles, the electrification enables battery-electric trains to run these services.
- Southport And Alderley Edge
- Southport And Stalybridge
- Kirkby And Manchester Victoria
With a charging station in Blackburn station, then the Wigan Wallgate And Blackburn service can be added.
All these four services could be run by three-car battery-electric Class 331 trains. And if the services are to be run by six-car trains, a pair can be coupled up.
What Would Be The Range Of A Four-Car Battery-Electric Train With Only One Battery?
If I’m right that a four-car battery-electric Class with two batteries has a range of seventy miles across the Pennines, then a train with one battery should be able to manage 35 miles.
Conclusion
It sounds like the Spanish might have come up with a cunning plan, that might be able to convert both three- and four-car Class 331 trains to battery-electric operation.
By adding a battery to the pantograph car, this enables a four-car battery-electric train with a trans-Pennine range.
Summing up the various options gives the following ranges.
- Three-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 46.7 miles
- Four-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 35 miles
- Four-car battery-electric train with two battery packs – 70 miles
I’m impressed.
New Rail Service From Newcastle To Edinburgh To Stop At These Northumberland Stations
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Chronicle Live.
Details of the service are as follows.
- It will be run by TransPennine Express.
- It starts in December 2021.
- It will run five times per day (tpd)
- It will call at Cramlington, Morpeth, Widdrington, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Reston and Dunbar.
It is planned to run at least until May 2023.
These are my thoughts.
What Trains Will TransPennine Express Use?
The service will probably need a single train, if it was run by a dedicated fleet of trains, that just shuttled between Edinburgh and Newcastle. TransPennine could use either an electric Class 802 train or a diesel Class 185 train.
The diesel train might not be a good idea for operational reasons as TransPennine’s current services to Newcastle and Edinburgh use Class 802 trains.
But this service wouldn’t need a Class 802 train, as the route is fully electrified, so TransPennine might use a Class 800 train, if one were available from another company in the First Group.
TransPennine could also extend selected Manchester Airport and Newcastle services to Edinburgh, which might be the most efficient ways of using both trains and platforms in Newcastle.
This would give those using the intermediate stations between Edinburgh and Newcastle a service to and from Manchester Airport and the intervening stations, with a change at Newcastle, which would involve staying on the same train.
I’d organise the service as five tpd between Manchester Airport and Edinburgh with calls at Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Leeds, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Chester-le-Street, Newcastle, Cramlington, Morpeth, Widdrington, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Reston and Dunbar.
The big advantage of this, is that TransPennine could use the existing Class 802 trains, although they may need one more.
Reston Station
It looks like it will be a much needed service, that will get the new Reston station up and running.
I suspect that, passenger numbers at Reston station will determine the calling pattern after May 2023.
Will Other Services Continue?
TransPennine Express only has one service that stops between Newcastle and Edinburgh and that is the hourly service between Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh stations and that only stops at Morpeth.
I doubt this service will be changed, although after May 2023, it may make some extra stops depending on passenger numbers on the new service.
It should be noted that CrossCountry and LNER call irregularly at Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar.
As LNER are in rather a mess over their new timetable, I suspect that after May 2023, there could be a bit of a sort out of services.
How Will The New Service Fit With The Reopened Northumberland Line?
Initially the Northumberland Line will run as far as Ashington and won’t open until 2023 at the earliest.
But plans exist to extend the Northumberland Line to Morpeth.
The new service would fit well with an extended Northumberland Line service.
How Will The New Service Fit With East Coast Trains New London And Edinburgh Service?
East Coast Trains will be running a new Open Access service between London and Edinburgh from this autumn.
- It will have a frequency of 5 tpd.
- It will stop at Newcastle, Morpeth and Stevenage.
- It will offer one way fares of £25.
East Coast Trains are another First Group company.
As both services are five tpd in both directions, will the two services co-ordinate stops, so that passengers between say London and Reston can take advantage?
Going North, the stopping train could follow the East Coast Trains express and going South the stopping train would be a few minutes in front of the express.
This would also help with maximising capacity between Edinburgh and Newcastle on the busy East Coast Main Line.
Conclusion
This new stopping service between Edinburgh and Newcastle looks to be a simple solution to improve passenger services for intermediate stations between the two important cities.
Through Barking To Barking Riverside
The excellent maps from carto metro now show full details of the route of the Barking Riverside Extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line.
This map shows the tracks going through Barking station.
Note.
- The District Line is shown in green.
- The Hammersmith & City Line is shown in mauve.
- The London Overground is shown in orange.
- Where lines are shared, they are shown dotted in both colours.
- The two tracks going North West are the Gospel Oak to Barking Line to the West.
- There is a flyover linking these two tracks to Platforms 7 and 8 on the South side of the station.
All Overground trains currently terminate in Platform 1, which is the Northernmost of the seven platforms.
After services to Barking Riverside start, some or all of the services will use the flyover and share Platforms 7 and 8 with c2c’s half-hourly service between Fenchurch Street and Grays.
- Platform 7 will handle c2c services to Grays and Overground services to Barking Riverside.
- Platform 8 will handle c2c services to Fenchurch Street and Overground services to Gospel Oak.
Passengers who need to reverse direction to perhaps go from Barking Riverside to Purfleet would just walk across the island platform shared by Platforms 7 and 8.
This second map shows the tracks to the East of Barking station.
Note.
- The Overground tracks sit between the existing lines.
- If Renwick Road station is added to the extension, will it have an island platform between the tracks?
This third map shows the route to Barking Riverside station.
Note.
- Barking Riverside station is a two-platform station.
- There is a crossover outside the station to allow both platforms to be used to terminate trains.
Strictly speaking to handle the four trains per hour (tph) that are likely to use the station, one platform could be enough, but it looks like the station has been designed for extension across the river to Abbey Wood and Thamesmead.
Heading North For Summer: Report Reveals £21bn Annual Visitor Spend Across The Region
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Transport for the North.
This is the opening paragraph.
Pan-regional figures reveal the full importance of the North of England visitor economy for the first time, with 25% of all England’s tourism spend taking place in the region.
The figures quoted are much larger than I would have expected.
Namibia Is Building A Reputation For The Cheapest Green Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This paragraph explains the deal that Germany and Namibia have done.
Germany, the largest economy in Europe, has just closed a partnership with Namibia, for a supply of the cheapest green hydrogen. The Southern African country is aiming to produce its H2, made with renewable energy, for prices as low as $1.8/kg. The European nation intends to import massive volumes of what it believes will be the most affordable renewable H2 in the world. It has signed a deal with Namibia that steps up the worldwide scramble to secure the best options for H2 supply connected with substantial renewable installations.
Note.
- Namibia has the ability to produce large amounts of solar and wind energy.
- I suspect the hydrogen will be converted to liquid ammonia for shipment to Germany.
The Gremans are building a large hydrogen terminal at Wilhelmshaven, which I wrote about in Uniper To Make Wilhelmshaven German Hub For Green Hydrogen; Green Ammonia Import Terminal.
Although, Namibia has now been an independent country since 1990, from 1884 to 1915 it was the German colony of German South West Africa.
Hopefully, this deal will work out to the benefit of both Germany and Namibia.
Stadler FLIRT Akku Battery Train Demonstrates 185km Range
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway-News.
This is the first paragraph.
Stadler’s offering in the battery-powered rolling stock market, the FLIRT Akku has demonstrated a guaranteed range of 185km, even in energy-intensive conditions, it has been found following a three-year research period.
The range is very good and is over twice what Hitachi are claiming with the Hitachi Regional Battery Train.
I can’t find out many details of the size of a Flirt Akku train, but this article on the International Railway Journal has these details.
- A picture shows a three-car train.
- The trains have a 100 mph operating speed.
- Fifty-five two-car trains are on order for Schleswig-Holstein.
Stadler can also fit batteries into trains like Greater Anglia’s Class 755 trains.
There have been reports of these trains being fitted with batteries in a couple of years to reduce carbon emissions.
CAF Selected For Major Battery Train Order
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette International.
This is the first paragraph.
CAF has been named as preferred bidder for what it says is the largest order to date for battery trains. This covers the supply and maintenance of more than 60 electric multiple-units which will be able to operate on non-electrified sections of the Niederrhein-Münsterland network.
On reading the rest of the article, it sounds like the trains are to a high standard, with all the features one could expect.
As in Bolton-Wigan £78m Rail Electrification Project Announced, I predicted that CAF could sell a number of battery-electric trains to Northern in the UK, it looks like CAF could be building a substantial number of battery-electric trains.
There could even be the possibility of some of the German trains being assembled in the CAF factory in Newport, as the logistics might be easier.
The Anonymous Widower 