Beeching Reversal – Magor And Undy Walkway Station
This is one of the Beeching Reversal projects that the Government and Network Rail are proposing to reverse some of the Beeching cuts.
I actually covered this proposal before in ‘Walkway’ Rail Station Plan For Magor As M4 Relief Road Scrapped,
I’ll repeat the start of that post.
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the introductory paragraphs.
A village heavily affected by the decision to scrap the planned M4 relief road is bidding for help to build a £7m railway station there.
Residents of Magor in Monmouthshire have the mainline rail service to London running through the village, but no station.
They want to create a “walkway” station – one with no car parking that travellers will walk or cycle to.
The original Magor station was shut in the Beeching cuts in November 1964.
The Villages Of Magor And Undy
This Google Map shows the villages of Magor and Undy and their relationship to the roads and railway in the area.
Note.
- The Northern motorway is the M48, which leads to the original Severn Bridge.
- The Southern motorway is the M4, which leads to the newer Second Severn Crossing.
- Between the two lies the South Wales Main Line, with the two stations; Severn Tunnel Junction and Caldicot.
- At the Western end of the map, the railway runs between the two villages of Magor and Undy.
This second Google Map shows the villages.
Note.
- The M4 running East-West to the North of Magor.
- Magor services is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The South Wales Main Line running through the villages.
There certainly seems to be a lot of housing to provide passengers for the new station.
The Location Of Magor And Undy Station
On this web page on Rail Future, which is entitled Magor, this is said.
The station site is where the B4245 road passes closest to the railway line. The Monmouthshire County Council traffic survey shows that some 11 – 12,000 cars a day pass along this road through the middle of the villages. The shift from car to train use is primarily aimed at capturing those who at present are not prepared to drive the two and half miles to the east just to catch the train at Severn Tunnel Junction to travel the two and a half miles back passing their homes for the seven and a half mile journey into Newport, and hence at present use their car for the whole journey instead. The site also has the advantage of direct integration with the buses as the bus services pass the entrance to the site of the proposed Station and Community centre every half an hour.
This Google Map shows the B4245 road and the railway.
Note.
- The B4245 curving across the map.
- There are already two bus stops, which are marked by blue dots.
- There is a footbridge over the railway, which doesn’t appear to be step-free.
As Rail Future is probably correct, the position of the station is fairly obvious.
Various documents on the Internet talk about the station being built on the Three Field Site, which the local council bought for community purposes some years ago. Could the triangle of land between the B4245 and the railway, be this site?
Thoughts On The Station
Reading the web page on Rail Future, the following seems to be stated.
- The platforms will be on the two outside tracks of the four through the station. These are the Relief Lines.
- The two Fast Lines will be in the centre.
- Existing crossovers will allow trains from the Fast Lines to call in the station.
Unlike at other proposed stations to the West of Newport, the tracks will not need major works to slew them to accommodate the new platforms.
I would also do the following.
Incorporate Wide Platforms
This picture was taken of the new platform at Stevenage station.
If the station gets busy, a wide platform will ease loading and unloading.
As Magor and Undy station, will be one that encourages passengers to cycle to the station, would a wide platform make it easier for passengers, who are travelling with bicycles?
Step-Free Between Train And Platform
Greater Anglia are using similar trains to South Wales and the Stadler Flirts in East Anglia offer step-free access between train and platform, as this picture shows.
South Wales should offer a similar standard of step-free access. as it eases access and cuts train delays.
A Step-Free Footbridge
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at Magor and Undy station?
- The bridge can be sized to fit any gap.
- If the platforms were wide enough, I think it would be possible.
- It can have lifts that can take bicycles.
- A bridge like this would also reduce the cost.
So the station can have a stylish, affordable, fully step-free footbridge.
A Walkway Along The Railway
It strikes me that a walkway on the Southern side of the railway to connect the communities South of the railway to the station could be very useful.
Electrification
The South Wales Main Line is electrified between London and Cardiff and Great Western Railway’s Class 802 trains between London and Swansea, change between electricity and diesel at Cardiff Central station.
All four lines at Severn Tunnel Junction appear to be electrified, so will all four lines at Magor and Undy station be electrified?
They certainly should be, to improve the reliability of electric services between London and South Wales.
Train Services
I suspect that the calling pattern of train will be similar to that at Severn Tunnel Junction, which is the next station to the East. The Wikipedia entry for Severn Tunnel Junction says this about services at that station.
The station is served by two main routes – Transport for Wales’ Cheltenham Spa to Cardiff Central and Maesteg via Chepstow local service and Great Western Railway’s Cardiff to Taunton via Bristol line. Both run hourly on weekdays & Saturdays, albeit with some two-hour gaps on the Chepstow line. In the weekday peaks, certain Cardiff to Portsmouth Harbour also stop here, whilst there is a daily train to Fishguard Harbour. CrossCountry also provides very limited services to/from Manchester Piccadilly via Bristol and to Nottingham via Gloucester and Birmingham New Street.
On Sundays, the Bristol to Cardiff service is once again hourly (and runs to/from Portsmouth) whist the Cheltenham service is two-hourly.
I think that this could result in these train frequencies in trains per hour (tph), from Magor station.
- Caldicot – 2 tph
- Cardiff Central – 4 tph
- Cjeltenham – 1 tph
- Chepstow – 2 tph
- Gloucester – 1 tph
- Newport – 4 tph
- Severn Tunnel Junction – 4 tph
Note.
- I have assumed that the CrossCountry services don’t stop.
- As there seem to be proposals to add extra stations between Newport and Cardiff Central, these new stations could also get a service with a frequency of between two and four tph.
Working on rules that apply in Liverpool and London, and may apply to the South Wales Metro, I think that a Turn-Up-And-Go service of a train every fifteen minutes is needed between Magor and Undy station and the important Newport and Cardiff stations.
Battery Electric Trains Along The South Wales Main Line
The railways are being decarbonised and plans will have to be made to run all secondary services on the South Wales Main Line without diesel.
Hitachi have already played their cards, with the announcement of a Regional Battery Train, which will be created by replacing some of the numerous diesel engines on a Class 802 train with battery packs.
This is Hitachi’s infographic for the train.
The range of ninety kilometres or fifty-six miles is interesting.
- Cardiff Central and Swansea are 46 miles apart, so with a charging facility at Swansea, Great Western Railway could run diesel-free between London Paddington and Swansea.
- I suspect too, that destinations to the West of Swansea could also be served with intelligent placing of a second charging facility at perhaps Carmarthen.
But it’s not just Hitachi, who have made plans for battery electric trains.
- Transport for Wales have ordered twenty-four Stadler Class 756 trains, which are tri-mode and can run on electrification, diesel or battery power.
- Transport for Wales have also ordered eleven Stadler Class 231 trains, which are only bi-mode.
- Both these fleets seem very similar to Greater Anglia’s Class 755 trains, which Stadler have said can be converted to 100 mph tri-mode operation, with perhaps a forty mile range on battery power.
- I have ridden several times in Class 755 trains and without doubt, they are one of the best diesel-powered trains, I have used in the UK.
So I don’t think it is unreasonable to believe that Transport for Wales have the capability to run battery electric services with the fleet they have ordered given a few simple upgrades, that may already be planned for Greater Anglia.
But will the Welsh train builder; CAF, be happy with Hitachi and Stadler running their battery electric trains at high speed past their factory and onward to England and West Wales?
I doubt it and CAF have already made a response.
In Northern’s Battery Plans, I said this about CAF’s plans to create a battery electric Class 331 train for Northern.
It appears that CAF will convert some three-car Class 331 trains into four-car battery-electric trains.
- A three-car Class 331 train has a formation of DMSOL+PTS+DMSO.
- A fourth car with batteries will be inserted into the train.
- Batteries will also be added to the PTS car.
I suspect that CAF would be happy to convert some of Transport for Wales order for diesel Class 197 trains into one for suitable battery electric trains.
I believe some of the services that are planned to be run by these diesel trains into Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, appear to be ideal routes for battery electric trains.
These diesel trains will still be serviceable in 2060, which will be long past the cut-off date for diesel trains in the UK.
So why not replace them before they are built?
- The CAF Civity train is modular, so I doubt it would make much difference to CAF’s manufacturing process.
- The diesel version of the Civity has a noisy transmission compared to the electric version.
It would surely, be better for CAF’s marketing.
Could the various routes through Magor be operated by battery electric trains?
These are my thoughts on the various routes.
Maesteg And Cheltenham Spa
This service is hourly and run by Transport for Wales.
- Currently, the service seems to be running to Gloucester.
- Maesteg and Cardiff Central is not electrified and 28.5 miles long.
- Trains seem to take over 8-9 minutes to turn back at Maesteg.
- Cardiff Central and Severn Tunnel Junction is electrified.
- Severn Tunnel Junction and Gloucester is not electrified and is 35 miles long.
- Trains seem to take over 25 minutes to turn back at Gloucester.
It certainly looks that with charging facilities at Maesteg and Gloucester, this service could be run by a battery electric train with a range of forty miles on battery power.
Fishguard And Gloucester
This service is occasional and run by Transport for Wales.
The problem with this service will be to the West of Swansea.
But if Great Western Railway and Transport for Wales put their heads and services together, I feel there is a cunning plan to run battery electric trains to Fishguard, with perhaps charging facilities at Fishguard, Carmarthen and Swansea.
Cardiff And Bristol Temple Meads
This service is two tph and run by Great Western Railway.
On the Welsh side of the Severn Tunnel, this could be an electric service.
On the English side, there is only ten miles of line without electrification between the South Wales Main Line and Bristol Temple Meads station.
This service in wales can be considered an electric service, as it is only onwards from Bristol Temple Meads to Taunton and Portsmouth Harbour, that charging facilities will be needed.
Conclusion
I like this scheme and as it looks like the trains will be running on electric power, through Magor and Undy station, it could be a very good one.
ANALYSIS: Managing Our Earthworks – The Task Gets Harder Each Year
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.
The on line article is only an introduction and just a taster, of what will be fully available in the magazine.
But it does look to be a serious account of the problems about keeping the railway safe in all this bad weather.
I shall be interested to read the full article, when the magazine hits my door-mat.
Artificial Leaves Make Green Energy With Just Water, Sunlight And CO2
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
The title says it all and the scientists behind the technology are from the Chemistry Department at Cambridge University.
Solving The Problem With Electric Bus Design
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International.
The article opens with this paragraph.
A number of European cities have committed to securing only zero-emission buses by 2025. However, to achieve this objective, manufacturers must make bold design choices, radically changing bus componentry, systems, and bodywork. Here, it looks at the debate for greater electric bus design standardization.
Standardisation is one thing, but the article doesn’t talk about the major problem with electric bus design – For many countries like the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Germany, where there are lots of double-decker or articulated high-capacity buses, battery electric buses are just not big enough.
Battery-electric buses are also generally not big enough to compete with the latest designs of tram and metro systems.
These pictures show the Chinese double-deck electric double-deck buses, that ran in London.
Half of the downstairs was take up by batteries.
Where are they now?
The Belgian firm; Van Hool have a product called Exquicity. This video shows them working in Pau in France.
But these buses are powered by hydrogen.
Similar buses running in Belfast are diesel-electric.
In both the Pau and Belfast applications, I wonderwhy they didn’t use trolley-bus versions of the WxquiCity or conventional trams.
Conclusion
Until we get more efficient battery storage, electric buses will have difficulty competing economically in the high-capacity bus sector.
New Energy Storage “Water Battery” Breakthrough: Look Ma, No Underground Powerhouse
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on CleenTechnoca.
Pumped hydro storage as used at Dinorwig power station or Electric Mountain in the UK is a good way to store electricity.
But it is expensive to build and one of the major costs is building a large underground powerhouse. This is Wikipedia’s description of the construction of the powerhouse at Dinorwig.
Twelve million tonnes (12,000,000 long tons; 13,000,000 short tons) of rock had to be moved from inside the mountain, creating tunnels wide enough for two lorries to pass comfortably and an enormous cavern 51 metres (167 ft) tall, 180 metres (590 ft) long, and 23 metres (75 ft) wide[10] known as “the concert hall”. The power station comprises 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of tunnels, one million tons of concrete, 200,000 tons of cement and 4,500 tons of steel.
That is big, but on the other hand, it reportedly paid for itself in two years.
According to the article, a company called Obermeyer Hydro Inc has come up with a new design of pumped storage turbine., which eliminated the need for an underground powerhouse.
- Cost savings of 45 % are claimed.
- Reading the full article, I get the impression, that a radical redesign of the reversible turbine will be a game-changer.
- I suspect, it could be of benefit in small countries like the UK, where pumped storage is expensive and faces strong opposition in certain areas.
It is also significant, that this appears to be successful innovation in an area, where it was thought we had reached the ultimate design.
Eurostar Plans To Start Direct Amsterdam – London Trains In October
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette International.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Cross-Channel high speed operator Eurostar has confirmed its intention to launch direct Amsterdam – London St Pancras services from October 26, complementing the London – Amsterdam trains which have run since April 2018.
The article then goes on to give more details of the service.
- Security checks will be undertaken at Amsterdam CS and Rotterdam Centraal stations.
- Amsterdam to London will be nine minutes over four hours.
- There will initially be two trains per day.
- There was a hint of more next year.
- It will carry Shengen area passengers between Amsterdam and Brussels.
Eurostar says it will offer flexible booking options to help, if the Government changes COVID-19 quarantine regulations.
Conclusion
It looks a sensible offering and as I’ve used it between London and Amsterdam three times, I will be trying to fit in a trip before the end of the year.
Nightjet Depot Investment To Support Sleeper Train Network Expansion
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette International.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Austrian Federal Railways held a groundbreaking ceremony on August 21 to launch the construction of a €40m facility at its Wien Simmering depot for the maintenance of its Nightjet overnight train fleet.
The article then goes on to give more details of Nightjet‘s expansion.
- A service between Vienna and Brussels was introduced earlier this year.
- The Nightjet network currently has nineteen routes.
- A service from Amsterdam to München, Innsbruck and Vienna, will be introduced in December.
- Vienna is the EU city with the most night train services.
- In August 2018, Nightjet ordered thirteen new seven-car trains from Siemens.
- Another twenty seven-car trains were ordered this month.
It does look like Nightjet is linking up with Eurostar to take people far into Europe.
Bletchley Viaduct – 24th August 2020
The Bletchley Viaduct is falling down, as these pictures show.
Considering, that Lord Beeching said that the Varsity Line between Oxford and Cambridge shouldn’t be closed, I wonder how much money has been wasted over the years, by questionable engineering and Government decisions on this viaduct.
A First Visualisation Of Headbolt Lane Station
This visualisation of the proposed Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby has appeared on several web sites.
Wikipedia also says that the station will have one platform and as there is a Class 777 train on the left hand side of what I take to be the station building, I would assume that is the platform.
It looks an interesting station layout with a wide concourse with trains on one side and buses on the other.
I can’t work out from the image, if there is a long shelter alongside the train, as one sees on some tram stops. But if it was felt necessary one could surely be fitted to give passengers some covering in inclement weather.
As the station also features five-hundred parking spaces, these must be arranged around the station on this side of the railway, which is currently just a single track.
The Plans On Rail Future
This page on the Rail Future web site is entitled A Station Back In Skelmersdale and it indicates the following.
- A map shows a spur, which is connected to the Kirkby and Wigan Line, by a large triangular junction between Rainford and Upholland stations, running North to Skelmersdale.
- Services of two tph between Liverpool and Skelmersdale and an hourly service between Manchester and Skelmersdale are proposed.
- Rainford station would appear to exchange a direct link to Manchester for a direct link to Liverpool. But then Rainford is in Merseyside and Upholland and Skelmersdale are in Lancashire.
With these proposals the junction and the spur would only need to be single-track, with Skelmersdale station only needing a single-platform.
Could the following simplifications also be done?
- Upholland and Rainford stations become single platform stations
- The track between the two stations is mothballed or even removed.
- There would only be a single track between both stations and Skelmersdale station.
There’s certainly scope to save money on construction and maintenance.
Could this single track and platform design be the reason, why Headbolt Lane station only has a single platform?
Consider.
- The current Kirkby station, handles four tph to and from Liverpool City Centre on a single platform.
- The line becomes double-track to the East of Fazakerley station.
- I suspect double-track is needed to allow 4 tph
I suspect Headbolt Lane station could handle four tph to and from Liverpool, but there may need to be some double-track between Kirkby and Headbolt Lane stations.
I also estimate that to travel the return journey on the approximately eight miles between Headbolt Land and Skelmersdale station will take about thirty minutes.
Would this mean that it were possible to create a timetable, which allowed four tph between Liverpool and Headbolt Lane stations and two tph between Headbolt Lane and Skelmersdale stations?
- The single platform would be bi-directional.
- Two tph out of four arriving at Headbolt Lane station would reverse and go back to Liverpool.
- The other two tph would continue to Skelmersdale.
- The two tph returning from Skelmersdale would continue to Liverpool.
It would be one for the Busby Berkeley of train time-tabling.
The alternative of running four tph between Liverpool and Skelmersdale would need the following.
- Full double-tracking between Fazakerley and Skelmersdale stations.
- Two platform stations at Kirkby, Headbolt Lane and Rainford, which would need step-free bridges.
It would be a much more expensive scheme.
How Much New Electrification Would Be Needed?
Given the politics of third-rail electrification, I suspect the scheme will use as little as possible.
If the battery-equipped Class 777 trains can run the return journey between Kirkby and Skelmersdale stations, then all track to the East of Kirkby station could be without electrification.
This would probably also mean that the current power supply wouldn’t need to be upgraded to cope with additional electrification.
Could There Be A Two tph Service Between Skelmersdale And Manchester?
I don’t think a single-track line between Upholland and Skelmersdale would rule this out, but having two two tph services might need a second platform at Skelmersdale station.
On the other hand, the Manchester and Liverpool services could be timed to allow a cross-platform interchange at Skelmersdale.
This would mean that someone wanting to go between say Sandhills and Bolton would go direct with a quick change at Skelmersdale.
Could There Be Through Running Between Manchester And Kirkby?
Four tph between Liverpool and Headbolt Lane station with two tph extending to Skelmersdale, running through the single-platform stations at Kirkby, Headbolt Lane and Rainford, would probably make the current Manchester and Kirkby service difficult, if not impossible.
But as the change at Kirkby will be replaced with one at Skelmersdale, it would be more of an inconvenience than a disaster.
In addition, if two tph were to be run between Manchester and Skelmersdale and the trains were timetabled to meet at Skelmersdale, this would effectively be a pseudo-through service.
A single track could be left between Upholland and Rainford for engineering trains and possibly the occasional freight train.
Strategic Car Parking
Consider.
- The new Headbolt Lane station, is going to be provided with five hundred car-parking spaces.
- The new Skelmersdale station will probably have adequate provision.
- At the present time, Rainford and Upholland stations don’t appear to have any parking.
I would suggest, that a good look is taken at car and bicycle parking at all stations to the East of Headbolt Lane station.
Conclusion
It appears to be a scheme, that has been designed to keep costs to a minimum.
But that probably means, it is more likely to get built!
I also like the concept of a large station concourse alongside a single platform and track, which will probably be without electrification. It should be very safe too!
It is strange, that I’ve not seen that layout before either in the UK or on the many railways, that I’ve used abroad.
New MerseyRail ‘Connected’ Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Engineer.
It is an article that should be read, by anybody with an interest in either Merseyrail’s trains or modern urban rail networks in general. As Stadler, will be providing a fleet of trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro, I suspect a lot of the points made in the article can be expected to have parallels on that network as well.
What About The Signalling?
The article talks about the management of the signalling, but it says little about signalling in the future, although it does say that Merseyrail will be covered by a very high capacity digital network.
London’s Digital Signalling Revolution
In London, there are four tunnelled routes, that in a few years time will be running under full digital signalling.
- Crossrail
- East London Line
- Northern and City Line
- Thameslink
Note.
- Thameslink is already running upwards of twenty trains per hour (tph) using digital ERTMS signalling.
- Crossrail will be running 24 tph using digital ERTMS signalling.
- The East London Line currently handles 16 tph and will soon be handling 20 tph.
- The Northern and City Line will be going to digital ERTMS signalling, when it is applied to the Southern end of the East Coast Main Line.
- , In addition to the Circle, District, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern and Victoria Lines of the London Underground have digital signalling.
- Dear old Vicky is actually running 36 tph between two-platform stations at Brixton and Walthamstow Central.
- I wouldn’t bet against Vicky running the magic 40 tph, to become the most frequency line in the world.
All of these London systems, have one great advantage. In the tunnelled sections of the routes, there is generally only one class of fully digitally-equipped train, which must make system design and implementation easier.
Liverpool’s Digital Signalling Revolution
Consider.
- As the article says, Merseyrail now has a world-class high-capacity digital network, that is accessible by all of its trains.
- It has ordered 52 new Class 777 trains and has options for another sixty.
- There are proposals to extend the Merseyrail network to Manchester, Preston, Skelmersdale, Warrington, Wigan and Wrexham.
- The Northern Line runs at a frequency of 12 tph.
- The Wirral Line runs at a frequency of 14 tph.
- The loop Line has recently been relaid, so is probably high-quality track.
Compared to London’s tunnelled routes, the Northern and Wirral Lines are not handling a large number of trains.
But Liverpool now has a digital network to support the signalling and trains that could be upgraded to use it are arriving.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the maximum train frequency on Merseyrail is at least twenty tph or one train every three minutes.
What Would Twenty tph Do For The Wirral Line?
Currently, the following destinations are served by the Wirral Line and the services use the Loop under Liverpool City Centre.
- Chester – Four tph
- Ellesmere Port – Two tph
- New Brighton – Four tph
- West Kirby – Four tph
Note.
- The current frequency around the Loop is 14 tph.
- Merseyrail is proposing to extend the Ellesmere Port service to Helsby, using battery-equipped Class 777 trains
- There is also an hourly service from Bidston to Wrexham Central in the Borderlands Line.
- I can see no technical reason why, the Bidston and Wrexham service could not be run using battery-equipped Class 777 trains and terminating in the Loop.
Surely, the ultimate twenty tph service on the Wirral Line would be as follows.
- Chester – Four tph
- Helsby via Ellesmere Port – Four tph
- New Brighton – Four tph
- West Kirby – Four tph
- Wrexham Central – Four tph
All twenty tph would terminate in the Loop under Liverpool City Centre.
What Would Twenty tph Do For The Northern Line?
Currently, the following Northern destinations are served by the Northern Line.
And these Southern destinations are served.
- Liverpool Central – Eight tph
- Hunts Cross – Four tph
Note.
- The current frequency, through the central section is 12 tph.
- There is a proposal, that I wrote about in Liverpool’s Forgotten Tunnel for the trains terminating at Liverpool Central station to use the Wapping Tunnel to connect to the City Line.
- There is a proposal to extend the Ormskirk service to Preston, using battery-equipped Class 777 trains.
- There is a proposal to extend the Kirkby service to Headbolt Lane and Skelmersdale, using battery-equipped Class 777 trains.
- There must also be a possibility of a service that extends the Kirkby service to Wigan Wallgate, using battery-equipped Class 777 trains.
The service des appear to be biased towards the Northern end, with more possibilities there for extra trains than in the South.
This is why the plan to expand to the East through the Wapping Tunnel has evolved, as it gives the following possible destinations.
- Manchester Oxford Road
- Warrington Bank Quay
- Warrington Central
- Wigan North Western
Note.
- All destinations are currently served from Liverpool Lime Street by Northern.
- There must also be the possibility of a direct service to Liverpool Airport.
- There must also be the possibility of a service on the Canada Dock Branch to Bootle.
I can envisage between 12 and 16 tph through the Wapping Tunnel, which with the four tph to Hunts Cross could mean 16 to 20 tph on the Northern Line.
Conclusion
It would appear that a very frequent system can be developed on Merseyside, if frequencies common in London can be achieved.
The Anonymous Widower 