Catching The Blue Train
I’m off this morning to try to catch one of East Coast Trains‘ Class 803 trains, as it comes South through Oakleigh Park station around 13:30 today.
I managed to get these pictures.
Note.
- I’m afraid the train caught me a bit by surprise.
- The train is currently under test, prior to starting services in October this year.
It must be nearly 65 years since I first watched the trains at Oakleigh Park station.
All You Want To Know About Highview Power
This article on Power is entitled Market Prospects Heating Up for Cryogenic Energy Storage.
It talks in detail about the technology, financing and market prospects for Highview Power and their CRYOBattery.
- Their batteries store energy by liquifying air and storing it in large tanks.
- To recover the energy, the air is encouraged to go to a gaseous phase and put through an air turbine.
- Their first commercial system is being built at Carrington near Manchester.
- The Carrington system will have an output of 50 MW and be able to store up to 250 MWh.
- Other systems are under development for Vermont and Spain.
- The systems are built like Leho from readily available components from the oil and gas industry.
One of my regrets in life, is that I missed the crowdfunding for this company!
Read the article as you might find one of Highview Power’s CRYOBatteries coming to a site near you.
Power’s article is the best yet on describing the technology.
Thoughts On Batteries On A Hitachi Regional Battery Train
This article is a repeat of Thoughts On Batteries On A Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, but for their other train with batteries; the Hitachi Regional Battery Train.
This Hitachi infographic describes a Hitachi Regional Battery Train.
Hitachi are creating the first of these battery trains, by replacing one of the diesel power-packs in a Class 802 train with a battery-pack from Hyperdrive Innovation of Sunderland.
The Class 802 train has the following characteristics.
- Five cars.
- Three diesel power-packs, each with a power output of 700 kW.
- 125 mph top speed on electricity.
- I believe all intermediate cars are wired for diesel power-packs, so can all intermediate cars have a battery?
In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, I estimated that the trains need the following amounts of energy to keep them at a constant speed.
- Class 801 train – 125 mph 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile
- Class 801 train – 100 mph 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile
The figures are my best estimates.
We also know that according to Hitachi, the battery train has a range of 90 kilometres or 56 miles at a speed of 100 mph.
So applying the formula for energy needed gives that the battery size to cover 56 miles at a constant 100 mph will be.
56 * 2.19 * 5 = 613.2 kWh.
In the calculation for the Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mofr Battery Train, I had assumed that a 600 kWh battery was feasible, as it would lay less than the diesel engine it replaced.
I can also apply the formula for a four-car train.
56 * 2.19 * 4 = 490.6 kWh.
That too, would be very feasible.
Conclusion
I can’t wait to ride in one of Hitachi’s two proposed battery-electric trains.
What Does Novak Djorkovic Tell Us About The Covids?
If you search the Internet for “coeliac disease and Novac Djokovic, you get a lot of posts linking to gluten-free diet and some to coeliac disease.
Some say he is coeliac and others say he is just gluten-free.
There are also reports on the Internet of Novac Djokovic having Covid-19.
So does that tell us anything about gluten-free diets, coeliac disease and Covid-19?
As there are no reports of him spending a long time in hospital, it doesn’t disprove my theory, that coeliacs on a gluten-free diet don’t get serious doses of the Covids!
I’d love to hear more stories of coeliacs on a gluten-free diet, who have caught Covid-19.
Nestlé’s Glass Train Shifts More Cargo From Road To Rail
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on RailFreight.com.
This is the first paragraph.
In France, Nestlé Water is bringing more trains to the rails for the transport of reusable water bottles to and from the production site. The Glass Train project, as it is called, is also getting two more destinations; Arles in Southern France and Merrey in the country’s East. The 25 new trains will help the company remove up to 1,000 trucks off the road and save approximately 500 tons in CO2 emissions.
Nestlé is expanding the project to Vittel and Pellegrino.
Conclusion
We need more projects like this!
Are Kraft Heinz Up To Something?
This article on The Times, is entitled Ketchup On Its Way Back To Britain As Kraft Heinz Invests In UK Site.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Heinz tomato ketchup will be made in Britain again after its owner announced plans for a £140 million upgrade of a site on the outskirts of Wigan.
Europe’s largest food manufacturing facility is set to start making the sauces of Kraft Heinz, which also include mayonnaise and salad cream, in a move designed to meet demand in the UK.
I wrote about Kraft recently in Kraft Heinz And Freight Innovation, where they were experimenting with Network Rail to get goods to their Wigan site faster and with less carbon emissions.
I think the two stories might fit together.
have just looked at my 435 gram bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup. It states on the bottle that every 100 grams of the sauce is made from 174 grams of tomatoes. I suspect leaving in the pips and the skins would make a rather lumpy sauce!
But this means that for every tonne of sauce, there is a need for 1.74 tonnes of tomatoes.
Could this be a reason why Kraft Heinz ran an experiment a couple of months ago with bringing in goods to the site at Wigan by rail?
There could be TomatoLiner trains all the way from Spain or Italy.
Or perhaps, they could link Wigan to Lincolnshire or South Yorkshire, where tomatoes could be grown in large automated greenhouses, heated by the waste heat from all the power stations. Carbon dioxide from gas-fired power stations could also be used to make the tomatoes grow big and strong.
Why shouldn’t we eat the carbon dioxide we produce?
The more I look at Google Maps of Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire, the more I think that cost-competitive UK-produced tomatoes could be one of the reasons for this move.
I have found companies like Yorkshire Grown Produce, who grow the speciality varieties of tomatoes for supermarkets. and CambridgeHOK, who design and build the automated greenhouses.
But the problem, all growers of fruit and vegetables face, is the lack of people to do the harvesting, at an affordable price.
- As a Control Engineer, who has worked on automation, it is my view that robot or automatic harvesting is needed.
- After all robots don’t get drunk at the weekend and not turn up on Mondays.
I haven’t found a robot that would pick tomatoes yet, but I suspect there’s a company out there working on it.
Yorkshire Grown Produce are in Brough, a few files to the South-West of Hull. and say they can provide quality tomatoes from March to November.
So could a company provide affordable tomatoes to Kraft Heinz’s specification for 9-10 months of the year?
- Looking at bottles of Ketchup, it appears they have a shelf life of at least a year, so the month’s without tomatoes could be bridged by a warehouse.
- I also suspect that automated greenhouses could turn out guaranteed Organic tomatoes.
- The tomatoes would arrive in Wigan the day they are picked.
- It probably wouldn’t be a large train every day and the line at Wigan is not electrified, so it wouldn’t necessarily be a zero-carbon trip across the Pennines.
I can see an efficient system for the production of tomato ketchup, which could be labelled organic and 100 % British.
How many tonnes of carbon emissions would be saved? Probably not many! But it’s the thought that counts.
If this isn’t technology-aided marketing, I don’t know what is?
Conclusion
How many other production and delivery processes can be simplified by the use of rail?
Ealing Broadway Station – 31st May 2021
This article on Rail Technology Magazine, which is entitled Transport for London Completes Step-Free Access At Ealing Broadway, alerted me that the station might be worth a look.
I took these pictures this morning.
This map from cartometro.com shows the station layout.
Note.
- The black lines in Platforms 1 and 2 are the Great Western Railway main line platforms.
- The black/blue lines in Platforms 3 and 4 are the Great Western Railway slow line platforms, which are also used by Crossrail.
- The red tracks in Platforms 5 and 6 are the Central Line platforms.
- The green tracks in Platforms 7, 8 and 9 are the District Line platforms.
These are my thoughts.
Step-Free Access
Consider.
- Access between platforms 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 is on the level, as it has been for years.
- There are a pair of lifts to access these six platforms from street level.
- There are also two other lifts to Platform 1 and Platform 2/3.
- There are three typical Network Rail stairs to the platforms, with double-handrails, which at 73, I can still manage.
I’ve certainly seen much worse stations with supposedly step-free access.
I also wonder if another lift will be added to directly serve the District Line platforms.
It could be one of those additions, that has been catered for, so it can be added if necessary.
Crossrail And Routes Into And Out Of London
Crossrail will change commuting and leisure routes, into and out of London.
- Crossrail serves the West End, the North of the City and Canary Wharf directly.
- Crossrail has good connections to the Central, Circle, District and Jubilee Lines.
- Crossrail has a direct connection to Thameslink.
- All Crossrail interchanges will be step-free.
After it has been opened for a few months, I can see that direct connections and ducking and diving will have seriously changed London’s well-established commuting and travel patterns.
Using Ealing Broadway Station As An Interchange
It will certainly be easier with all the new step-free access, but I suspect some passengers, who previously changed at Ealing Broadway station, will go straight through on Crossrail.
In Will Crossrail Open To Reading in 2019?, I said that Ealing Broadway station will get the following total number of Crossrail trains.
- 12 tph in the Peak
- 10 tph in the Off-Peak
Note.
- tph is trains per hour.
- Six tph would go between London Paddington and Heathrow.
- Two tph would go between London Paddington and Reading.
It will be interesting to see what Crossrail timetable is delivered.
The Overall Design
It is a fairly conservative design, that follows the principles of good step-free access.
Interchange is level and good between Crossrail and the tube lines.
There are still a few details to be finished and I suspect it will be a well-thought of station.
A Few Questions
These are a few questions.
Will The Station Be A Gateway To Heathrow?
I suspect it could be, as the station is well-connected by bus and tube to large numbers of places.
Conclusion
Ealing Broadway will be a busy interchange and I’m sure, it’s been designed to handle a lot of passengers.
Thoughts On Batteries On A Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train
This Hitachi infographic describes a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
Hitachi are creating the first of these battery trains, by replacing one of the diesel power-packs in a Class 802 train with a battery-pack from Hyperdrive Innovation of Sunderland.
This press release from Hitachi is entitled Hitachi And Eversholt Rail To Develop GWR Intercity Battery Hybrid Train – Offering Fuel Savings Of More Than 20%, gives a few more details.
The Class 802 train has the following characteristics.
- Five cars.
- Three diesel power-packs, each with a power output of 700 kW.
- 125 mph top speed on electricity.
- I believe all intermediate cars are wired for diesel power-packs, so can all intermediate cars have a battery?
In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, I estimated that the trains need the following amounts of energy to keep them at a constant speed.
- Class 801 train – 125 mph 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile
- Class 801 train – 100 mph 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile
The figures are my best estimates.
The Wikipedia entry for the Class 800 train, also gives the weight of the diesel power-pack and all its related gubbins.
The axle load of the train is given as 15 tonnes, but for a car without a diesel engine it is given as 13 tonnes.
As there are four axles to a car, I can deduce that the diesel power-pack and the gubbins, weigh around eight tonnes.
How much power would a one tonne battery hold?
This page on the Clean Energy institute at the University of Washington is entitled Lithium-Ion Battery.
This is a sentence from the page.
Compared to the other high-quality rechargeable battery technologies (nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal-hydride), Li-ion batteries have a number of advantages. They have one of the highest energy densities of any battery technology today (100-265 Wh/kg or 250-670 Wh/L).
Using these figures, a one-tonne battery would be between 100 and 265 kWh in capacity, depending on the energy density.
As it is likely that if the diesel power-pack replacement would probably leave things like fuel tanks and radiators behind, so that the diesel engines could be reinstalled, I would expect that a battery of around four tonnes would be fitted.
On the basis of the University of Washington’s figures a 400 kWh battery pack would certainly be feasible.
Using. the energy use at 100 mph of 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile, I can get the following ranges for different battery sizes.
- 400 kWh battery – 36.53 miles
- 500 kWh battery – 45.67 miles
- 600 kWh battery – 54.80 miles
- 800 kWh battery – 73.06 miles
As Lincoln and Newark are just 16.6 miles apart, it looks to me that a 500 or 600 kWh battery could be a good choice for that route, as it would leave enough hotel power for the turnround.
It should also handle shorter routes like these.
- Newbury and Bedwyn – 13.3 miles.
- Didcot and Oxford – 10.3 miles
- Newark and Lincoln – 16.6 miles
- Leeds and Harrogate – 18.3 miles
- Northallerton and Middlesbrough – 20 miles
- Hull and Temple Hirst Junction and Hull – 36.1 miles
Some routes like Temple Hirst Junction and Hull would need charging at the destination.
The Range Of A Five Car Train With Three Batteries
Suppose a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train had three battery-packs and no diesel engines.
- It would be based on Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train technology.
- It would have two driver cars without batteries.
- It would have three intermediate cars with 600 kWh batteries.
- It would have 1800 kWh in the batteries.
- The train would be optimised for 100 mph running.
- My estimate says it would need 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile to cruise at 100 mph.
It could have a range of up to 164 miles.
If the batteries were only 500 kWh, the range would be 137 miles.
The Ultimate Battery Train
I think it would be possible to put together a nine car battery-electric train with a long range.
- It would be based based on Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train technology, which would be applied to a Class 800 or Class 802 train.
- It would have two driver cars without batteries.
- It would have seven intermediate cars with 600 kWh batteries.
- It would have a total battery capacity of 4200 kWh.
- The train would be optimised for 100 mph running.
- My estimate in How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, said it would need 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile to cruise at 100 mph.
That would give a range of over 200 miles.
If the batteries were only 500 kWh, the range would be 178 miles.
Aberdeen, Inverness, Penzance and Swansea here we come.
Can Hitachi Increase The Range Further?
There are various ways that the range can be improved.
- More electrically-efficient on-board systems like air-conditioning.
- A more aerodynamic nose.
- Regenerative braking to the batteries.
- Batteries with a higher energy density.
- Better driver assistance software.
Note.
- Hitachi have already announced that the Class 810 trains for East Midlands Railway will have a new nose profile.
- Batteries are improving all the time.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a ten percent improvement in range by 2030.
Conclusion
I was surprised at some of the results of my estimates.
But I do feel that Hitachi trains with 500-600 kWh batteries could bring a revolution to train travel in the UK.
Edinburgh And Aberdeen
Consider.
- The gap in the electrification is 130 miles between Edinburgh Haymarket and Aberdeen.
- There could be an intermediate charging station at Dundee.
- Charging would be needed at Aberdeen.
I think Hitachi could design a train for this route.
Edinburgh And Inverness
Consider.
- The gap in the electrification is 146 miles between Stirling and Inverness.
- This could be shortened by 33 miles, if there were electrification between Stirling and Perth.
- Charging would be needed at Inverness.
I think Hitachi could design a train for this route.
The Two Problems With Israeli Politics
I liked the comment on the Radio Five Live from an Israeli political commentator.
There are only two problems with Israeli politics; Benjamin and Netanyahu.
Israeli politics is certainly different.
Should All High Speed Long Distance Services To Newcastle Extend To Edinburgh?
Look at this Google Map of Newcastle station.
Note.
- It is built on a curve.
- It is on a cramped site.
- Platforms are numbered from 1 at the top to 8 at the bottom.
- Platform 2 seems to be used for all express services going North.
- Platforms 3 and 4 seem to be used for all express services going South.
- Not all platforms would appear to be long enough for nine-car Class 80x trains.
I am certain, that any nation with a sophisticated railway system wouldn’t build a station on a curve with no avoiding lines like Newcastle these days.
Network Rail have a plan to sort out Darlington station and I’m sure they’d like to sort out Newcastle as well!
Current Long Distance Trains Through And To Newcastle
These include.
- CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh or Glasgow via Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar.
- CrossCountry – Southampton Central or Reading and Newcastle.
- LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Berwick-upon-Tweed
- LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Alnmouth
- TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Morpeth
- TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Newcastle.
Note.
- All have a frequency of one train per hour (tph)
- All trains call at Newcastle.
- Two tph terminate at Newcastle and four tph terminate at Edinburgh or beyond.
There is also a new and Edinburgh service from East Coast Trains, that will start this year.
- It will run five trains per day (tpd).
- It will call at Newcastle.
- It will stop at Morpeth between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
There will also be High Speed Two services to Newcastle in a few years.
- There will be two tph between Euston and Newcastle
- There will be one tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and Newcastle.
Note.
- All services will be run by 200 metre long High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
- There is no High Speed Two service to Newcastle, that calls at Leeds.
- Only one High Speed Two service to Newcastle calls at East Midlands Hub.
I suspect High Speed Two services need a dedicated platform at Newcastle, especially, if another High Speed Two service were to be added.
Extra Paths For LNER
In the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article, which is entitled LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes.
This is the last paragraph.
Infrastructure upgrades are due to prompt a timetable recast in May 2022 (delayed from December 2021), from which point LNER will operate 6.5 trains per hour out of King’s Cross, compared to five today. As an interim measure LNER is retaining seven rakes of Mk. 4 coaches hauled by 12 Class 91 locomotives to supplement the Azuma fleet and support its timetable ambitions until new trains are delivered.
There would certainly appear to be a path available if LNER wanted to increase the frequency of trains between King’s Cross and Edinburgh from the current two trains per hour (tph) to three.
I laid out how I would use this third path to Edinburgh in A New Elizabethan.
The Possible Long Distance Trains Through And To Newcastle
These trains can be summed up as follows.
- 1 tph – CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh or Glasgow via Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar.
- 1 tph – CrossCountry – Southampton Central or Reading and Newcastle.
- 1 tph – LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Berwick-upon-Tweed
- 1 tph – LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Alnmouth
- 1 tph – TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Morpeth
- 1 tph – TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Newcastle.
- 5 tpd – East Coast Trains – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Morpeth
- 2 tph – High Speed Two – Euston and Newcastle
- 1 tph – High Speed Two – Birmingham Curzon Street and Newcastle
- 1 tph – LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh – Extra service
This is ten tph and the five tpd of East Coast Trains.
Capacity Between Newcastle And Edinburgh
I wonder what capacity and linespeed would be possible on the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
There are a few freight trains and some suburban electrics at the Northern end, but I suspect that the route could handle ten tph with some upgrades.
Edinburgh As A Terminal
Consider.
- Not all trains terminate at Edinburgh, but several tpd go through to places like Aberdeen, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling.
- Edinburgh has several shorter East-facing bay platforms, that can take five-car Class 802 trains.
- Edinburgh has undergone a lot of reconstruction in recent years, so that it can turn more trains.
I very much feel that Edinburgh could handle, at least ten tph from the South.
Conclusion
I think it would be possible to extend all trains to Newcastle to at least Edinburgh.
Would it increase passenger capacity between the two capitals?
It would certainly avoid the difficult and expensive rebuilding at Newcastle station.
The Anonymous Widower 