Heat From HS2 Trains Will Warm 500 New Homes
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in today’s copy of The Times.
This is the third paragraph.
HS2 Ltd, the company building the £56 billion high-speed line, has produced plans to recycle waste heat from the electric motors and brakes of trains approaching and departing from a £1 billion “super hub” station at Old Oak Common, near Willesden, North West London.
Other points from the article include.
- Five air source heat pumps will be used.
- , Each heat pump costs around £11,400.
- The carbon footprint of each house could be reduced by a fifth.
- Plans are at an early stage, but the technology is proven.
- Similar technology could be applied to tunnels on the Northern routes to Leeds and Manchester.
I can only see one problem with the idea.
The companies bidding to make the trains for HS2, will design trains with the following features.
- Highly-efficient aerodynamics of both trains and tunnels, to reduce energy losses and power required to move the train.
- Regenerative braking to onboard electricity storage.
- Train systems like air-conditioning, lighting and toilets that use smaller amounts of electricity.
HS2 will also draw heavily on proven innovative ideas from similar projects, to reduce the energy used by the trains, whether in the tunnels or the open.
But, I would also suspect that HS2’s proposal is based on a good assessment of the energy dissipated by the trains.
Algorithm Could Cut High Speed Rail Energy Use
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
Researchers at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University’s Suzhou campus have developed an algorithm intended to optimise the storage and reuse of braking energy.
Regenerative braking energy is stored on the trainand reused, rather than returned to the grid.
Ten percent savings are claimed.
I’ve always thought this was possible.
Integration Of High-Speed And Commuter Services Out Of Paddington Station
The following appears to be happening to the Great Western Main Line (GWML)
- All srvices to Oxford and Bedwyn, which have been run by slow diesels for years, will soon be run by 125 mph Class 800 trains, so they can join the herds of high-speed services on the dash using the fast lines between Reading and Paddington stations.
- All slower passenger trains between Paddington and Reading, will use the slow lines. Most will be Crossrail services and freight trains.
- ,Heathrow Express services, which will be four tph and run by upgraded 110 mph Class 387 trains, will use the fast lines between Paddington and Stockley Junction.
Some Class 800 trains achieve the thirty-six miles between Paddinghton and Reading in twenty-five minutes. This is a start-stop average speed of nearly ninety mph.
Frequency Between Reading And Paddington
I wonder what frequency of Class 800 trains can be achieved between Paddington and Reading.,
- Most will run non-stop.
- Up to 125 mph running could be possible between Stockley Junction (for Heathrow) and Reading, as all trains will be 125 mph Class 800 trains.
- Up to 110 mph running xould be possible between Paddington and Stockley Junction, as some trains will be 100 mph Class 387 trains.
- Digital signalling and possible automatic train control, could run the all trains to a precise timetable.
- Class 800 trains that stop at Slough, could do this in a very fast time.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least sixteen tph. Currently, the frequency is under ten tph.
If this frequency is achievable or even bettered, then this would be an impressive high-capacity service.
Class 387 Trains
Currently,, Great Western Railway has forty-five Class 387 trains.
Twelve are being modified, so they can run the Heathrow Express services.
But what happens to the other thirty-three trains?
Currently, some run a stopping service between Paddington and Didcot Parkway station, which stops West of Reading at Tilehurst, Pangbourne, Goring & Streatley and Cholsey stations, to give these stations a two tph service to Paddington.
The service between Reading and Paddington may be replaced by Crossrail in the near future offering four tph in the Peak and two tph in the Off Peak.
It strikes me that the following ways could be
Appleford, Culham and Radley.
Conclusion
It looks like the dropping of electrification to Oxford and Bedwyn, which resulted in Great Western Railway ordering more Class 802 trains to replace the slower Class 387 trains has resulted in a simpler and faster operating philosophy for the trains between Reading and Paddington.
- All GWR services will be Class 800/801/802 trains, using the fast lines.
- All Crossrail services will be Class 345 trains, using the slow lines.
- All freight services will use the slow lines.
- Heathrow Express services will use the fast lines, which they will leave ande join at Stockley Junction.
- All fast line services will be non-stop.
- All passenger trains will be using the electrification on the route.
It appears to be an efficient system, that keeps high-speed and stopping commuter services separate, whilst allowing 125 mph commuter services to be handled as high-speed services.
If I’m right, that there may be extra capacity for more high-speed services into Paddington, it will allow GWR to run extra services.
I like what’s happening.
737 MAX, Airbus And Aventra
I think that there are parallels between these plains and trains.
The 737 MAX is a conventional fifty-year-old design of aircraft, that has been updated with modern technology through the years.
When Airbus designed their fly-by-wire systems about thirty years ago, they were duplicated with two independent systems, programmed by separate teams. I think that the plane could fly on one system, if the other failed. Ittook time to develop, but no-one questions its reliability today.
The design and some of the things it gets up to, like moving fuel around to balance the aircraft help to increase the efficiency of the aircraft.
Efficiency and low pilot workloads help to sell aircraft.
Boeing is now trying desperately to catch up, but doing this in an ageing design appears to be difficult.
One thing I wonder is that is misloading of cargo a problem in the two 737 MAX crashes.
Supposing there was an imbalance of cargo on an Airbus! Would the plane’s computer realise this and move fuel to conpensate? Boeing must rely on a conventional approach using the flying controls.
Boeing are obviously worried as they have installed a special anti-stall conputer system called MCAS.
So what has this got to do with Bombardier’s Aventra train, that is suffering from software problems causing delays.
The Aventra is a radical design, that rewrites the rules, just like Airbus did. It relies heavily on a sophisticated computer system to control everything and bring a higher level of efficiency.
It will take time to get right, but just as Airbus did all those years ago, I believe they will.
The Aventra will change train design by as much as Airbus have changed airliner design.
Finland – Estonia Tunnel Secures €15bn In Funding
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the International Rail Journal.
This is the first paragraph.
FINEST Bay Area Development has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Touchstone Capital Partners, China, to secure €15bn in financing for construction of a 100km railway tunnel under the Gulf of Finland between Helsinki, Finland, and Tallinn, Estonia.
Linked to the planned Rail Baltica, it will mean that passengers and freight will be able to use railways between the UK and Finland.
Boost For Borders In New Report
This report on the Scottish Government web site is entitled Borders Transport Corridors – Pre-Appraisal.
It is a comprehensive report with a helpful pag of recommendations.
Recommendations that apply to rail include.
Develop Forestry Route Network
Improve network of internal forestry tracks as well as its connections to roads and railway, including ‘low-tech’ timber
pickup facilities.
This seems sensible, as some of the forests on both sides of the Scottish order are mature and need to be cut down and replanted.
Increase Park and Ride Provision
Increase capacity of existing Park-and-Ride sites and implement new Park-and-Ride schemes for all modes at strategic locations [e.g. Interchanges and Key Employment Areas]
Every part of the UK seems to need more Park-and-Ride. The Borders is no exception.
Borders Railway Extension – South/West
Extend the Borders Railway to Hawick and/or Carlisle
Will it go all the way to Carlisle?
Consider.
- The West Coast Main Line will need a capacity increase through Carlisle because of High Speed Two. These works could be combined with those on the Southern part of the Borders Railway.
- Plans exist for a large freight interchange at Longtown on the former MoD site.
- Linking the Tourist areas North and South of the Scottish Border by rail must be a good thing.
- Extension to Carlisle would give those in the Scottish Borders access to High Speed Two at Carlisle, without a long trip via Glasgow.
For these reasons, I think that the Borders Railway will go to Carlisle.
Borders Railway Extension – South/East
Extend the Borders Railway towards East Coast Main Line (ECML) via Berwick-upon-Tweed
This surprised me, but it does complete the jigsaw.
Does it offer a freight route for moving the timber out of the area?
It woulde certainly offer a scenic route between Edinburgh and Newcastle.
New Rail Stations
New rail stations on the existing Borders Railway
This is surely building on the success of the current Borders Railway.
Extension of Borders Railway Services
Link Borders Railway and Fife Circle, providing interchange at Edinburgh Gateway; West Edinburgh; and potential future link to Glasgow.
Back-to-back services across a city are always a good idea, as they cut the need for terminal platforms
- The Borders Railway and Fife Circle are both half-hourly services, so could be connected together, once suitable rolling stock is available.
- This service would also connect the Borders to the Edinburgh Airport tram at Edinburgh Gateway.
- With extra services, would the capacity of the Borders Railway will probably need to be increased?
Does the South East extension enable better services for the Borders beyond Edinburgh?
Conclusion
There are a lot of projects needing to be developed, but they will create a lot of economic activity in the Borders.
The two railway extensions to Hawick and/or Carlisle and Berwick-on-Tweed are the two most expensive projects, but both have English implications, so I don’t think Westminster will mind paying some of the cost.
The Anonymous Widower 