Hitachi And Eversholt Rail To Develop GWR Intercity Battery Hybrid Train – Offering Fuel Savings Of More Than 20%
The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Hitachi.
The press release starts with these bullet points.
- Batteries replacing an engine to cut fuel usage and reduce carbon emissions
- First time a modern UK intercity train, in passenger service, will use alternative fuel
- Tri-mode train can improve air quality and reduce noise across South West route’s non-electrified stations
They follow these with this introductory paragraph.
In a UK-first, Hitachi Rail and Eversholt Rail have signed an exclusive agreement aimed at bringing battery power – and fuel savings of more than 20% – to the modern Great Western Railway Intercity Express Trains that carry passengers between Penzance and London.
After a couple more paragraphs, the press return returns to the Penzance theme.
GWR’s Intercity Express Train fleet currently calls at 15 non-electrified stations on its journey between Penzance and London, all of which could benefit from trains running on battery-only power.
The press release then sets out their aims.
The projected improvements in battery technology – particularly in power output and charge – create opportunities to replace incrementally more diesel engines on long distance trains. With the ambition to create a fully electric-battery intercity train – that can travel the full journey between London and Penzance – by the late 2040s, in line with the UK’s 2050 net zero emissions target.
Penzance gets another mention, but the late 2040s for a fully electric-battery intercity train between Penzance and London, is not an ambitious target.
Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train
Hitachi have called the train the Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train and the specification is shown in this infographic.
Note that fuel & carbon savings of at least 20 % are claimed.
Penzance To London In A Class 802 Train
It would appear that Penzance and London has been chosen as the trial route.
These figures were obtained from Real Time Trains figures for the 1015 from Penzance on the 14th December 2020.
- Penzance to St. Erth – 5.65 miles – 8 mins – 42.4 mph – 1 mins stop
- St. Erth to Camborne – 7.2 miles – 10 mins – 43.2 mph – 1 mins stop
- Camborne to Redruth – 3.65 miles – 5 mins – 43.8 mph – 2 mins stop
- Redruth to Truro – 9 miles – 10 mins – 54 mph – 2 mins stop
- Truro to St. Austell – 14.7 miles – 15 mins – 58.8 mph – 1 mins stop
- St. Austell to Par – 4.5 miles – 6 mins – 45 mph – 1 mins stop
- Par to Bodmin Parkway – 8 miles – 11 mins – 43.6 mph – 1 mins stop
- Bodmin Parkway to Liskeard – 9.2 miles – 12 mins – 46 mph – 1 mins stop
- Liskeard to Plymouth – 17.8 miles – 25 mins – 42.7 mph – 9 mins stop
- Plymouth to Totnes – 23.1 miles – 25 mins – 55.4 mph – 1 mins stop
- Totnes to Newton Abbot – 8.8 miles – 9 mins – 59.3 mph – 2 mins stop
- Newton Abbot to Exeter St. Davids – 20.2 miles – 18 mins – 71.3 mph – 2 mins stop
- Exeter St. Davids to Tiverton Parkway – 16.5 miles – 14 mins – 70.7 mph – 1 mins stop
- Tiverton Parkway to Taunton – 14.2 miles – 11 mins – 77.4 mph – 2 mins stop
- Taunton to Reading – 106.7 miles – 76 mins – 84.2 mph – 5 mins stop
- Reading to Paddington – 36 miles – 25 mins – 86.4 mph
The route can be broken neatly into four very different sections.
- Penzance and Plymouth – 79.5 miles – 112 mins – 42.5 mph – 75 mph operating speed
- Plymouth and Exeter St. Davids – 52 miles – 57 mins – 54.7 mph – 100 mph operating speed
- Exeter St. Davids and Newbury – 120.4 miles – 95 mins – 76 mph – 100 mph operating speed
- Newbury and Paddington – 53 miles – 36 mins – 88.3 mph – 100-125 mph operating speed
Note.
- The speed builds up gradually as the journey progresses.
- Only between Newbury and Paddington is electrified.
How does Penzance and Paddington stand up as a trial route?
- Penzance and Plymouth has eight intermediate stops about every nine-ten miles.
- The nine minute stop at Plymouth, is long enough to charge the batteries, should that be incorporated in the trial.
- The Cornish Main Line is generally double track, with an operating speed of 75 mph.
- Plymouth and Exeter includes the running by the sea, through Dawlish.
- Exeter could be given an extended stop to charge the batteries.
- Exeter and Newbury is a faster run and the batteries may help with performance.
- The Reading and Taunton Line has an operating speed of 110 mph.
- Remember the trains are designed for 140 mph and they achieve nothing like that on diesel.
- At each of the fifteen stops, the performance, noise and customer reaction can be evaluated. Strange, but my experience of battery trains, says that they are very much quieter than similar electric trains.
The route has a good selection of the types of routes, that Great Western Railway has in its network.
It would appear to be a good route to sort out the good and bad points of the train.
I have a few thoughts.
Possible Destinations For A Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train
Currently, the following routes are run or are planned to be run by Hitachi’s Class 800, 802, 805 and 810 trains, where most of the route is electrified and sections do not have any electrification.
- GWR – Paddington and Bedwyn – 13.3 miles
- GWR – Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads- 24.5 miles
- GWR – Paddington and Cheltenham – 43.3 miles
- GWR – Paddington and Great Malvern – 76 miles
- GWR – Paddington and Oxford – 10.4 miles
- GWR – Paddington and Penzance – 252 miles
- GWR – Paddington and Swansea – 45.7 miles
- Hull Trains – Kings Cross and Hull – 36 miles
- LNER – Kings Cross and Harrogate – 18.5 miles
- LNER – Kings Cross and Huddersfield – 17 miles
- LNER – Kings Cross and Hull – 36 miles
- LNER – Kings Cross and Lincoln – 16.5 miles
- LNER – Kings Cross and Middlesbrough – 21 miles
Note.
- The distance is the length of line on the route without electrification.
- Five of these routes are under twenty miles
- Many of these routes have very few stops on the section without electrification.
I suspect that GWR and LNER have plans for other destinations.
What Is The Kinetic Energy Of A Five-Car Class 802 Train At Various Speeds?
I will do my standard calculation.
- Empty train weight – 243 tonnes (Wikipedia for Class 800 train!)
- Passenger weight – 302 x 90 Kg (Includes baggage, bikes and buggies!)
- Train weight – 270.18 tonnes
Using Omni’s Kinetic Energy Calculator, the kinetic energy at various speeds are.
- 60 mph – 27 kWh
- 75 mph – 42 kWh
- 80 mph – 48 kWh
- 90 mph – 61 kWh
- 100 mph – 75 kWh
- 110 mph – 91 kWh
- 125 mph – 117 kWh – Normal cruise on electrified lines.
- 140 mph – 147 kWh – Maximum cruise on electrified lines.
A battery must be large enough to capture this kinetic energy, which will be generated, when the train stops.
Acceleration And Deceleration Of A Five-Car Class 802 Train
The first Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Trains will be conversions of Class 802 trains.
This page on the Eversholt Rail web site, has a data sheet for a Class 802 train.
The data sheet shows the following for a five-car Class 802 train.
- It can accelerate to 120 kph/75 mph in 100 seconds in electric mode.
- It can accelerate to 160 kph/100 mph in 160 seconds in electric mode.
- It can accelerate to 120 kph/75 mph in 140 seconds in diesel mode.
- It can decelerate from 120 kph/75 mph in 50 seconds in electric mode.
- It can decelerate from 160 kph/100 mph in 90 seconds in electric mode.
Note.
- 75 mph is the operating speed of the Cornish Main Line and possibly the Highland Main Line.
- 100 mph is the operating speed for a lot of routes in the UK.
- It would appear that trains accelerate to 75 mph forty second faster in electric mode, compared to diesel mode.
- In diesel mode acceleration slows markedly once 100 kph is attained.
Can we assume that performance in battery mode, will be the same as in electric mode? I will assume that this is valid.
Battery Use In A Station Stop
Suppose the train is travelling at 75 mph with a full load of passengers and makes a station stop, without the use of the diesel engines.
- If the train is decelerating from 75 mph, there must be space for 42 kWh in the battery.
- Because regenerative braking is not 100 % efficient, only perhaps 80 % would be stored in the battery. This is 33.6 kWh.
- To accelerate the train to 75 mph, the battery must supply 42 kWh, as diesel power will not be used for this purpose.
- The train will take 50 seconds to decelerate, 100 seconds to accelerate and perhaps 60 seconds in the station or 210 seconds in total.
- Let’s say the battery will need to supply 2 kWh per minute per car for hotel power, that will be 35 kWh for the 210 seconds.
Adding and subtracting inputs and outputs to the battery gives this equation 33.6 – 35 – 42 = -43.4 kWh
The energy in the battery has been reduced by 43.4 kWh, at each 75 mph stop.
Repeating the calculation for a 100 mph stop, which takes 310 seconds, gives an equation of 60 -51.7 – 75 = -66.7 kWh.
Note that in this calculation, I have assumed that the efficiency of regenerative braking is 80 %. These are a selection of figures.
- For 60 % efficiency, the stops would cost 51.8 kWh from 75 mph and 81.7 kWh from 100 mph.
- For 80 % efficiency, the stops would cost 43.4 kWh from 75 mph and 66.7 kWh from 100 mph.
- For 90 % efficiency, the stops would cost 39.2 kWh from 75 mph and 59.2 kWh from 100 mph.
So it is important to raise the efficiency of regenerative braking to as near to 100 % as possible.
It should also be noted that with an 80 % efficiency of regenerative braking, hotel power has an effect.
- With 1 kWh per minute per car, the stops would cost 25.9 kWh from 75 mph and 40.8 kWh from 100 mph.
- With 2 kWh per minute per car, the stops would cost 43.4 kWh from 75 mph and 66.7 kWh from 100 mph.
- With 3 kWh per minute per car, the stops would cost 60.9 kWh from 75 mph and 92.6 kWh from 100 mph.
It is important to reduce the hotel power of the train, as low as possible.
With a 90 % regeneration efficiency and hotel power of 1 kWh per car per minute, the figures are 21.7 kWh from 75 mph and 33.3 kWh from 100 mph.
London Paddington And Penzance By Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train
Listing the stops between London Paddington and Penzance and their speeds gives the following.
- St. Erth – 75 mph
- Camborne – 75 mph
- Redruth – 75 mph
- Truro – 75 mph
- St. Austell – 75 mph
- Par – 75 mph
- Bodmin Parkway – 75 mph
- Liskeard – 75 mph
- Plymouth – 75 mph
- Totnes – 100 mph
- Newton Abbot – 100 mph
- Exeter St. Davids – 100 mph
- Tiverton Parkway – 100 mph
- Taunton – 100 mph
- Reading – Electrified
This is nine stops from 75 mph, five from 100 mph and one where the electrification is used.
- Each 75 mph stop needs 43.4 kWh from the battery.
- Each 100 mph stop needs 66.7 kWh from the battery.
To achieve Hitachi’s aim of low noise and pollution-free station stops between London Paddington and Penzance will need 724.1 kWh of power from the battery.
With 80 % regeneration efficiency and hotel power of 2 kWh per minute per car gives a figure of 724.1 kWh.
With 90 % regeneration efficiency and hotel power of 1 kWh per minute per car gives a figure of 361.8 kWh.
The battery must also have sufficient capacity to handle the regenerative braking. I would suspect that provision will be made for a stop from 125 mph, which is 117 kWh.
So will the battery for the route be somewhere between 500 and 1000 kWh?
Note that each of the three MTU 12V 1600 diesel engines, fitted to a Class 800 train, weigh around two tonnes and Tesla claim an energy density of 250 Wh/Kg for their batteries.
This would mean a battery the weight of one of the diesel engines would have a capacity of 500 kWh.
A train with a full 500 kWh battery at Newbury could arrive in Penzance with some juice in the battery, if regenerative braking could be efficient and the demands of the train to run internal systems were at a low level.
Hitachi’s Increasing Efficiency Of Class 80x Trains
The next variant of the Class 80x trains to come into service, should be the Class 803 trains for East Coast Trains.
- These trains will be all-electric like LNER’s Class 801 trains.
- They are designed for a four-hour limited-stop service between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
- They will be one-class and average single fares will be £25,
This sentence from Wikipedia, describes a big difference between Class 803 and Class 801 trains.
Unlike the Class 801, another non-bi-mode AT300 variant which despite being designed only for electrified routes carries a diesel engine per unit for emergency use, the new units will not be fitted with any, and so would not be able to propel themselves in the event of a power failure. They will however be fitted with batteries to enable the train’s on-board services to be maintained, in case the primary electrical supplies would face a failure.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the Class 803 trains have been put on a diet to increase their acceleration to meet the demanding schedule, which has been promised by East Coast Trains.
Hitachi has also given out clues to other efficiency improvements.
- Class 807 trains for Avanti West Coast, will have no diesel engines or batteries.
- Class 810 trains for East Midlands Railway will have a revised nose and different headlights. Is this for better aerodynamics?
- Class 810 trains, also have slots for four diesel engines. I can’t see why they would need all this power on the relatively-flat Midland Main Line. Will two of the slots be used by batteries to reduce fuel consumption and/or increase efficiency?
Hitachi are only doing, what all good engineers would do.
Low-Carbon Between Plymouth and Penzance
In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 mph?, I estimated that an all-electric Class 801 train needs around 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile to maintain 125 mph.
It will need less power to maintain the 75 mph of the Cornish Main Line. I would suspect that as air resistance is based on the square of the speed, that the energy consumption of the Class 802 train could be something under 2 kWh per vehicle. Or even less!
The Cornish Main Line is 79.5 miles between Plymouth and Penzance, but the Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, will not be on diesel all the way.
- At each station stop deceleration and acceleration, the train will not be using diesel. This could take a mile away for each station.
- All braking will be regenerative to the battery.
I suspect that by using the gradients on the route to advantage and by using diesel in selected areas, that a good driver or a well-written driver assistance system giving advice could safely navigate an Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train all the way to Penzance on a minimum amount of diesel.
It’s not as if the train will be stranded, as they would have two onboard diesel engines.
I have a suspicion, that with a top-up at Plymouth, if Hitachi can raise efficiencies to a maximum and power consumption to a minimum, that on one battery, the train might be able to run between Plymouth and Penzance for much of the way, without using diesel.
The question also has to be asked, as to what would be the performance of the train with two diesel engines replaced by batteries?
I suspect this is something else to be determined in the trial.
Will Hitachi’s Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train And Regional Battery Train Have The Same Battery Packs?
The specification of Hitachi’s closely-related Regional Battery Train is described in this Hitachi infographic.
The Regional Battery Train is stated to have a battery range of 90 km/56 miles at 162 kph/100 mph.
Operating speed and battery range have not been disclosed yet for the Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train. I await them with great interest.
I would expect that it is likely, that Hitachi’s two battery trains and others that follow, will use identical battery packs for ease of manufacture, services and operation.
In their press release, which announced the Battery Regional Train, Hitachi said this.
Hitachi has identified its fleets of 275 trains as potential early recipients of the batteries for use in the UK, as well as installing them on new metro and intercity trains that will be needed in the coming years to replace ageing diesel fleets.
Battery trains produce no greenhouse gases, air pollution and are a far quieter, offering passengers cleaner air in stations, less noise disruption and a carbon-free way to travel. Installing batteries on to existing fleets can also extend their range and allow passengers to reach stations on non-electrified branch lines without having to change train.
They didn’t exactly say all battery packs will be the same, but they were close to it, by saying that they can already be fitted to 275 trains. I would read those paragraphs to say, that a series of trains would use the same technology for different purposes.
What Will Be The Battery Range Of A Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train?
This page on the Eversholt Rail web site, has a data sheet for a Class 802 train, which says that a five-car Class 802 train has an operating speed of 110 mph on diesel power.
According to Wikipedia and other sources, a Class 802 train has three diesel engines.
If the Regional Battery Train has replaced three diesel engines with battery packs in a five-car train like a Class 802 train to get the 90 km/56 mile range, would this mean?
- Replacing one diesel engine with a battery pack, give a range of thirty kilometres or about nineteen miles.
- Replacing two diesel engines with battery packs double the range to sixty kilometres or thirty-eight miles.
It looks like a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train with one of the same battery-packs should easily reach several of the destinations in my list.
But they would need charging before return or some assistance from the two remaining diesel engines.
I talk about charging the Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train in Charging The Batteries On An Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
Conclusion
It sounds like a worthwhile train to me and I await the results of the trial with interest.
A Few Hours In Okehampton
Today, I took a trip by train to Okehampton and spent a couple of hours in the town.
I took the 10:04 from Paddington and after changing at Exeter St. Davids, I arrived in Okehampton at 13:11
Coming back, I took the 15:24 from Okehampton and arrived in Paddington at 18:24.
So the journeys took about three hours.
These pictures show Okehampton station.
Note.
- The train was two Class 150 trains coupled together.
- I suspect the platform is long enough to take a GWR Castle train
- The bus in the pictures is the 118, of which more later.
- It looked like a buffet was under construction.
- The new train information displays.
I took the bus down to Okehampton, where I took these pictures, as I walked around.
Note, that the first three pictures show the museum and the cycle works cafe, where I had a coffee and a delicious gluten-free flapjack.
I have a few thoughts on my journey, both now and in the future.
The 118 Bus
The 118 bus runs between Tavistock and Okehampton station.
- It serves the villages in between.
- It meets the trains from Exeter and takes them to Okehampton Town Centre.
- It picks people up from Okehampton Town Centre and takes them to the station just before the trains leave for Exeter.
- It accepts contactless payment.
It is a well-designed bus route that links passengers with the trains to and from Exeter.
Many other towns could follow Okehampton’s lead.
Walking Between Station And The Town Centre
I could certainly walk down the hill, but one of the locals said that it rather a stiff walk up the hill that takes about fifteen minutes, if you’re up to it. He also felt a taxi would be about a fiver.
Could A Battery Train Work The Service between Exeter And Okehampton Station?
Consider.
- It is 24.8 miles between Exeter St. David and Okehampton stations.
- It is a rise of under 200 metres.
- The Class 150 trains climbed the hill at around 30 mph, but in places it was lower.
- Hitachi, Stadler and Vivarail are talking about battery-electric trains with a range of fifty miles.
- I was talking to one of the Great Western Railway staff and he said in the days of steam, the trains used to roll down the hill into Exeter.
- There is the 18 MW Den Brook Wind Farm close to Okehampton.
- With regenerative braking rolling down would recharge the batteries.
I suspect, that designing a battery-electric train to climb the hill is possible.
My rough estimate says that a battery of around 500 KWh could be enough.
Are The People Of Devon Going To Use The Train?
I took these pictures as I joined the train back to Exeter.
The people were a mixture of those arriving from Exeter and those returning to Exeter, but most seats were taken on the way back.
I can see Great Western Railway running Castles, like the one in the picture, for services on this route in the Summer, both to attract passengers and to cope with their numbers.
Local Reaction
I talked to several local people and they were all pleased that the service has been reinstated.
The only complaint was that it should have happened sooner.
Is A Day Trip Possible?
Suppose you live in London and your mother or other close relative lives in Okehampton.
Would it be possible to be able to visit them on their birthday for a good lunch?
Consider.
- At the present time, trains from London, connect to the Okehampton service about every two hours.
- The first connecting service leaves Paddington at 08:04.
- Trains take around three hours between Paddington and Okehampton.
- From probably May 2022, there will be hourly connections to Okehampton.
- The last London train leaves Exeter at 20:46.
If you wanted to be a real hero, you could always take the Night Riviera back to London, which leaves Exeter at 0100.
I would say that if they planned it properly, a day trip from London to Okehampton by train, is feasible for a special occasion.
Will Great Western Railway Ever Run Direct Trains Between London Paddington And Okehampton?
I doubt this would be a regular service but I do believe that it is technically feasible.
- Trains would need to reverse at Exeter St. Davids.
- Trains would probably be limited to five car Class 802 trains.
- Okehampton station could probably accommodate a five-car Class 802 train.
- I estimate that the journey time would be a few minutes under three hours.
It should be noted that Paignton gets around three trains per day (tpd) from Paddington.
It might be that if the demand was there, a few trains per day could be run to and from London, by splitting and joining with the Paignton service at Exeter St. Davids.
- If both services were run by five-car trains, there would be a ten-car service to and from London.
- It certainly looks that GWR wouldn’t have to spend a great deal to implement the service.
- The extra capacity of the five-car train might help commuters into Exeter.
It is likely that this service wouldn’t run until Okehampton Parkway station is opened, which would attract travellers from the West, who would arrive at the station along the A 30 dual-carriageway
I can certainly see a service leaving Okehampton at around seven in the morning and getting into London about ten, paired with a late afternoon/evening train home.
It should be noted, that First Group with their Lumo service between London and Edinburgh, seem to negotiate for paths that create revenue.
But I do wonder, if one of the reasons , that Great Western Railway, Network Rail, Devon County Council, the Department of Transport and the Government were all very much in favour of reopening this route, is that it creates a valid alternative route between London and Plymouth and all places to the West, should the main route via Dawlish be breached again by the sea.
Okehampton station and the future Okehampton Parkway station are both close to the A30 which would allow express coaches to Plymouth and all over West Devon and Cornwall to bypass the trouble.
Hopefully, because the alterative route has been enabled the worst won’t happen.
Conclusion
Exeter and Okehampton is a well-thought out reopening, that will be welcomed in the South West of England.
Alstom Hydrogen Aventras And Teesside
In Alstom And Eversholt Rail Sign An Agreement For The UK’s First Ever Brand-New Hydrogen Train Fleet, I give my thoughts on Alstom’s new hydrogen train, which I have called the Alstom Hydrogen Aventra.
Would this train be suitable for the local railways around Teesside?
Fuelling The Change On Teesside Rails is a post based on an interview with Tees Valley Mayor; Ben Houchen in Rail Magazine.
Teesside is getting ready for hydrogen.
- They have identified a site for a specialist depot for hydrogen-powered trains.
- There is plenty of hydrogen available from chemical works in the area.
All they need is some trains and I think the Alston Hydrogen Aventras would fill the need admirably.
I also believe that with its history of heavy industry, steel and chemicals, the residents of Teesside and the Tees Valley would take to hydrogen trains.
I wrote Fuelling The Change On Teesside Rails in January 2020 and since then the Department of Transport has funded a study to examine the extension of the Tees Valley Line past Bishop Auckland, which I wrote about in Reopening The Darlington – Weardale Line To Passenger Services.
On the subject of rolling stock for the Weardale Line, I said this in the Weardale Line post.
There is no point in extending the line in these days of global warming without providing zero-carbon trains.
The Tees Valley Combined Authority is keen on hydrogen and there are good reasons.
-
- There is hydrogen available from chemical plants on Teesside.
- Hydrogen will give the trains a long range.
- The trains would probably only need refuelling once a day.
- In addition, Alstom are looking for an order for their Class 600 train, which is a conversion of a Class 321 train.
But I have my doubts about Alstom’s trains and Hitachi have doubts about hydrogen.
Consider.
-
- Do you really want to run hydrogen trains on a line where steam trains run?
- Darlington station is fully-electrified and it is also to be remodelled for more capacity and High Speed Two.
- Bishop Auckland and Darlington is just twelve miles.
- Darlington and Saltburn is just thirty miles.
With charging systems at Bishop Auckland, Saltburn and Stanhope, I am fairly sure Hitachi could develop an electric train for Teesside’s railways.
When I wrote the Weardale Line post, I was veering towards the Hitachi battery-electric trains, but the launch of the Alstom Hydrogen Aventra may have changed that.
Conclusion
The new trains for Teesside could become a fight between Hitachi with their battery-electric trains and Alstom with their Hydrogen Aventras.
If there is a fight of the technologies, who wins on Teesside could be important in deciding the future of world-wide rail transport.
Is it slightly ironic, that this battle could be happening close to the birthplace of railways?
Reopening the Stoke – Leek Line
On October 27th this Beeching Reversal Project was given £50,000 to build a case for reopening.
These are my thoughts.
The State Of The Line Today
This sentence describes the Stoke Leek Line in Wikipedia.
The Stoke to Leek line is a mothballed railway route, which up until 1988 was used by BR freight trains to reach the quarries at both Cauldon Lowe and Oakamoor.
This map was also clipped from Wikipedia.
Note.
- Leek is at the top of the map.
- Leek is a town of 21,000 people.
- The distance between Stoke-on-Trent and Leek is about eleven miles by road.
- The Waterhouses branch Line leads to the quarries.
- The Churnet Valley Line is a heritage line.
I have flown by virtual helicopter along the line and you can see a single-track railway amongst the weeds.
Leek
This Google Map shows Leek.
The original station was demolished to make way for the Morrisons supermarket.
I suspect that there is sufficient space close to the supermarket to fit in a simple single-platform station for the single-track from Stoke-on-Trent.
Rolling Stock
I suspect this line would best be served by battery-electric trains.
- It’s no more than a dozen miles.
- There is electrification at Stoke-on-Trent station.
- Leek has the lower altitude by 220 ft.
I suspect a charging system would be needed at Leek.
Vivarail’s Class 230 trains could be ideal for this line.
Freight
Reading about the line, it appears that there are plans that propose reopening the line for traffic from the quarries.
It would need to be decided, if freight were to be allowed on the line.
Conclusion
This could be a useful passenger line, with a freight capability, if that were needed.
Reopening The Oswestry – Gobowen Line
On October 27th this Beeching Reversal Project was given £50,000 to build a case for reopening.
These are my thoughts.
Gobowen Station
Gobowen station appears to be a fine station.
- It is Grade II Listed.
- It has two platforms.
- It is on the Shrewsbury-Chester Line.
- Transport for Wales run trains to Birmingham New Street, Cardiff Central, Chester, Holyhead and Shrewsbury.
- Avanti West Coast will start running services to and from London Euston via Wrexham in December 2022.
Wikipedia says this about the future of the station.
Gobowen station may become the northern terminus of the proposed Cambrian Heritage Railways line to Llynclys, Pant and Blodwel via Oswestry. Shropshire Council was to acquire the coal yard at Gobowen for railway-related uses, including car parking for the station. If the plans are fully realised, the station would have three platforms, one of which would be for the Heritage Railway.
It does look as if, Shropshire Council have got the money for a full study.
This Google Map shows Gobowen station.
Note.
- The two tracks of the Chester-Shrewsbury Line each have a platform.
- Step-free access is by the level crossing, which is at the North end of the station.
- It looks like it would be space to convert the Northbound platform into an island platform, where the Western platform face would be for the heritage trains.
This second Google Map shows the tracks at the South end of Gobowen station.
Note.
There is a set of points to allow trains to access a third platform at Gobowen station.
The single-track line to Oswestry branches off to the West at the bottom of the map.
It would appear that a bay platform at Gobowen station can be created to handle trains to Oswestry.
Oswestry Station
Oswestry station appears to be another fine station.
- It is also Grade II Listed.
- It has just a single platform.
- It appears to be owned by the local authority.
This Google Map shows the station.
Note.
- The station is the large building with the chimneys in the South-East corner of the map.
- The single platform is behind it.
- The platform is long enough to take a 1200 metre long train.
This station would make an ideal terminus.
The Track Between Oswestry And Gobowen
The track is single-track with a couple of foot crossings, so I don’t think it will need much to bring it up to a modern standard.
A Shuttle Service Between Oswestry And Gobowen
I suspect a two-car shuttle train between the two stations would suffice for most of the day.
Transport for Wales have some Class 230 trains and these would be ideal. They could even be battery-electric trains if a battery charging system were to be installed at one station.
Could Avanti West Coast Run A Service To London?
It looks like Avanti West Coast’s Class 805 trains could run along the line between Gobowen and Oswestry.
So could Avanti’s planned service to Gobowen terminate at Oswestry instead?
It would all depend on the passenger forecasts and actual numbers
Could Avanti West Coast Run A Battery-Electric Service To London?
Consider.
- Oswestry is a town of 17,500 people, so probably has a reasonable electricity supply, especially if it were to be backed up by a battery.
- The amount of renewable electricity produced over the border in Wales is only going to grow.
- There is plenty of space at Oswestry to put in a charging system to replace the batteries.
Distances are as follows.
- Crewe and Chester – 21.1 miles
- Chester and Gobowen – 24.6 miles
- Gobowen and Oswestry – 3.3 miles
This is a total distance of 49 miles.
Avanti West Coast have ordered thirteen bi-mode Class 805 trains, which will replace the diesel Class 221 trains currently working between London Euston and Chester. Holyhead and Shrewsbury.
- They will run at 125 mph between Euston and Crewe using electric power.
- If full in-cab digital signalling were to be installed on the electrified portion of the route, they may be able to run at 140 mph in places under the wires.
- They will use diesel power on the North Wales Coast Line to reach places like Chester, Holyhead and Wrexham.
- According to an article in Modern Railways, the Class 805 trains could be fitted with batteries.
I wouldn’t be surprised that when they are delivered, they are a version of the Hitachi’s Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, the specification of which is shown in this Hitachi infographic.
Note.
- I suspect that the batteries will be used to handle regenerative braking on lines without electrification, which will save diesel fuel and carbon emissions.
- The trains accelerate faster, than those they replace.
- The claimed fuel and carbon saving is twenty percent.
- It is intended that these trains will be introduced next year.
But Hitachi have not given any predictions of the range of these trains on battery power alone.
However, they do claim a battery range of 56 miles for the Hitachi Regional Battery Train, which is based on similar technology.
I believe it would be possible to run a zero-carbon London Euston and Oswestry service.
- The trains would be Class 805 trains fitted with batteries.
- Trains could stop at Milton Keynes Central, Lichfield Trent Valley, Stafford, Crewe, Chester, Wrexham General and Gobowen.
- Trains would use electrification between London Euston and Crewe.
- Trains would recharge their batteries South of Crewe and at Oswestry.
I doubt that a battery-electric zero-carbon train serving Cheshire, Shropshire and North-East Wales would have a negative effect on the area.
Just as Hull and Lincoln seem to be moving towards a frequency of one train per two hours from London, I wonder if this service could ever attain the same frequency.
Onward From Oswestry
Cambrian Heritage Railways are planning to run services past Oswestry on their heritage railway.
Will this be a good idea?
Where Now For First Group?
First Group are a shareholder in Avanti West Coast.
They also own Lumo, who last week launched their open-access service between London and Edinburgh. Their marketing is all about being green and sustainable.
I just wonder if a battery-electric service to Gobowen is successful, they will apply this model all over the group.
Hull Trains service between London and Hull is an obvious possibility for a battery-electric zero-carbon service.
Conclusion
It looks to me, that reopening of the Oswestry – Gobowen Line opens up other possibilities.
Reopening Corsham Station
On October 27th this Beeching Reversal Project was given £50,000 to build a case for reopening.
Corsham is a town in Wiltshire.
- It has a population of 13,000
- It is very much a military town, with numerous defence establishments, some of which are deep underground in former bath stone quarries.
- Corsham station closed in 1965.
As this Google Map shows the Great Western Railway passing through the town.
The dark scar of the railway across the map towards the bottom is clearly visible.
This second Google Map shows the site of the former station.
Note.
- Station Road is a bit of a giveaway.
- There is a footbridge over the double-track railway. Note the shadow.
- The railway is not electrified, but could be in the future.
- Chippenham station is to the East and Bath Spa station is to the West.
- The station was in a deep cutting on the approach to Box Tunnel, which is to the West.
I doubt that designing and building a new Corsham station will be a challenging project.
These are my thoughts on other issues.
Military Issues
The Wikipedia entry for Corsham has a section called Defence, which lists well over half-a-dozen defence sites.
Could these be a reason for the new station?
- Just like many other businesses and families, does the Ministry of Defence feel it should decarbonise?
- Are large numbers of employees and visitors driving in from Swindon and Bristol?
How many new stations would cut the country’s carbon footprint?
Services
Currently, it appears the only services going through Corsham are the Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads service
- There are two trains per hour (tph)
- The trains call at Reading, Didcot Parkway, Swindon, Chippenham and Bath Spa.
- Between Chippenham and Paddington is fully-electrified
- Trains run between Bristol Temple Meads and Chippenham, which is a distance of 24.4 miles on diesel.
These trains could stop, but would that slow the services?
Perhaps alternate services would stop at only one of Corsham and Chippenham. But that would mean the train couldn’t be used between those two stations.
An alternative philosophy would be to electrify between Chippenham and Bath Spa, so that the stops would be faster , as acceleration would be under electric power.
- Box Tunnel has been prepared for electrification.
- This would be thirteen miles of new electrification.
- Trains would run between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa, which is a distance of 11.5 miles on diesel.
But the good citizens of Bath, might object to electrification through Sydney Gardens and the City Centre.
If they do object, an alternative would be to electrify between Bathampton junction and Chippenham.
- As before Box Tunnel would be electrified.
- This would be eleven miles of new electrification.
- Trains would run between Bristol Temple Meads and Bathampton junction, which is a distance of 13.7 miles on diesel.
Bath would not be despoiled by electrification.
Battery-Electric Trains
I touched on electrification in the previous section and I believe it would be reasonably easy to electrify between Chippenham station and Bathampton junction.
This would mean that there would be just 13.7 miles for the train to power itself between Bristol Temple Meads and Bathampton junction.
As it is 27.4 miles in total with perhaps a twenty minute wait in Bristol Temple Meads station, I believe this would be within the battery range of a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.
Note.
- Hitachi haven’t disclosed the range of the train on battery power alone.
- Twenty minutes in Temple Meads station is enough to fully charge the battery.
If the train could be recharged at Temple Meads station, the battery range needed would be just fifteen miles.
Conclusion
All stakeholders would appear to benefit from this new station.
Reopening The Darlington – Weardale Line To Passenger Services
On October 27th this Beeching Reversal Project was given £50,000 to build a case for reopening.
The current Weardale Railway is a heritage line, that extends the current National Rail service between Darlington and Bishop Auckland stations further up Weardale.
- It is a single track railway.
- The current operational length is 18 miles between Bishop Auckland West and Stanhope stations.
- The line could be extended a few miles to the site of the former Wearhead station.
- Thre is a station at the village of Stanhope which i has a castle, a community hospital and a population of 1,600.
- There is a station at the village of Frosterley which has a population of 700.
- There is a station at the village of Witton-le-Wear which has a population of 700.
- There seem to be lots of caravan parks along the river.
- From my virtual helicopter, the track looks in reasonable condition.
- There appear to be a couple of passing loops.
- There don’t appear to be any tunnels.
- The Weardale Railway has several bridges over the River Wear.
- I suspect the scenery is not bad.
To my untrained eye, this section of railway would appear to have possibilities for reopening, without any serious engineering problems.
These are a few of my thoughts.
The Connection To National Rail
This Google Map shows Bishop Auckland station, where the Weardale Railway connects to the National Rail network.
Note.
- The station appears to be well-placed in the town.
- There is plenty of space for tracks connecting the two systems.
I suspect that building a combined through and terminal station that would satisfy the needs of all stakeholders would not be the most challenging of tasks.
Could The Extended Line Have A Japanese Fairy Godmother?
Consider.
- Hitachi’s train factory at Newton Aycliffe is five miles to the South of Bishop Auckland.
- Hitachi have stated that they are developing battery-electric trains for lines without electrification.
- Developers of modern trains with complicated computer systems seem to go through many software versions.
I have to ask the question, if Hitachi would like to have a twenty-mile test track on their doorstep?
If they were testing trains that were agnostic about their power supply, the Weardale Railway would not need to be electrified, although there could be a couple of charging systems.
Would Access To The Quarries At Wearhead Be Needed?
The original Weardale Railway was built to access the quarries at Wearhead, but they switched to road transport some years ago.
This Google Map shows the Wearhead area.
Note.
- Wearhead is in the North-West corner of the map.
- There is a quarry and there used to be a fluorspar mine.
- The white scar at the East of the map was a cement works.
Is there something, that could possibly be mined in this area, that could be taken out by train.
I think it should be born in mind, that mining and quarrying used to be a very dirty and carbon-intensive industry, but big mining companies are now embracing zero-carbon technology.
Could A Holiday Company Like Center Parcs Develop A Site In The Wear Valley?
I noticed a lot of caravans and chalets, as I examined the line.
Could a big operator like Center Parcs develop one of their holiday centres?
It could even be developed with a station.
Is New Housing Needed?
Does the local authority want to develop housing along the line?
What Rolling Stock Will Be Used?
There is no point in extending the line in these days of global warming without providing zero-carbon trains.
The Tees Valley Combined Authority is keen on hydrogen and there are good reasons.
- There is hydrogen available from chemical plants on Teesside.
- Hydrogen will give the trains a long range.
- The trains would probably only need refuelling once a day.
- In addition, Alstom are looking for an order for their Class 600 train, which is a conversion of a Class 321 train.
But I have my doubts about Alstom’s trains and Hitachi have doubts about hydrogen.
Consider.
- Do you really want to run hydrogen trains on a line where steam trains run?
- Darlington station is fully-electrified and it is also to be remodelled for more capacity and High Speed Two.
- Bishop Auckland and Darlington is just twelve miles.
- Darlington and Saltburn is just thirty miles.
With charging systems at Bishop Auckland, Saltburn and Stanhope, I am fairly sure Hitachi could develop an electric train for Teesside’s railways.
Conclusion
Hitachi could be key to the design of the reopening of the Darlington and Weardale Line.
Hull Trains Is Back And Stronger Than Ever
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Hull Trains.
This is the first paragraph.
Timetables at Hull Trains will be back to pre-pandemic levels from December as public confidence in rail travel continues to grow.
These are other points from the press release.
- The number of returning passengers is steadily increasing.
- From December 12th, Hull Trains will be running 94 trains per week in total, which is two higher than the pre-pandemic record.
- An additional service will be run on Sunday to match the six trains per day (tpd) on Saturday.
- There will be seven tpd on weekdays. That’s not far off one train per teo hours (tp2h) all day.
Passenger numbers must be coming out from the pandemic well.
This sentence from the press release gives a clue to how Hull Trains will cope with increasing passenger numbers.
Ten-car operations will commence on Fridays and Saturdays to provide additional capacity just in time for Christmas travel and the general growing demand as we prepare to enter 2022.
I suspect by rescheduling maintenance and running all five trains in services, they can run some trains on Fridays and Saturdays as pairs.
- As Hull trains only stop at Stevenage, Grantham, Retford, Doncaster, Selby, Howden, Brough, Hull and Beverley, there aren’t many stations, that need to be able to take ten-car trains.
- I suspect a couple of platforms might need lengthening, as a ten-car train is 260 metres long. Or they could instruct passengers to only use the front train for the stations with short platforms. Or only use five-car trains to the stations with short platforms.
- But the longer trains won’t need any extra paths.
- I was also told last year, that Hull station can take nine-car trains, so perhaps it can take a ten.
So to increase capacity on the route, Hull Trains just need to add another train to their fleet.
As all costs are probably well-known, with a bit of simple modelling, Hull Trains can probably predict, when they need to add a new train.
Whilst I was looking at the Lumo train yesterday, I got talking to a driver from Hull Trains, who had come over to take a professional look at Lumo’s Class 803 train.
I asked him what he liked about Hull Trains’s Class 802 trains as a driver. He said the brakes, which is probably most important to a driver, as they’re at the sharp end, if anything happens. So that’s comforting.
He also said that some of the Hitachi trains had shown they were stable at 140 mph. So that’s good too.
On talking about the batteries on the Lumo train, I got the impression that batteries will appear on other Hitachi Trains.
Conclusion
It appears to be all trains go between London and Hull.
In Could We See Between London And Much Of The North By Train In Under Two Hours?, I looked at the effect of improvements on the East Coast Main Line and concluded that timings between London Kings Cross and Hull could be around two hours and twenty minutes. This would surely be a spur to increasing traffic on the route.
Surely, when Hull Trains use battery-electric Hitachi trains between London and Hull, this will be the icing on the marketing cake, as we seem to be coming to a point, where zero-carbon sells.
As an aside, will Lumo, who are another First Group company, use a similar mix of five- and ten-car trains on the London and Edinburgh route to increase capacity?
I suspect that what is good for Hull Trains will be good for Lumo.
Chancellor To Fund £710m Merseyrail Expansion
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Liverpool Business News.
This is the first sentence.
In his Budget on October 27 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will hand Liverpool city region £710m to extend the Merseyrail network using battery-operated trains.
I wrote about Merseyrail’s plans in Liverpool’s Vision For Rail.
This is a map of how the network might look.
Battery trains might serve Preston, Skelmersdale, Warrington, Widnes, Wigan and Wrexham.
There is also this tailpiece to the Liverpool Business News article.
In August LBN also revealed Mr Rotheram was in talks with senior Government officials about taking full control of the Merseyrail network, including the physical infrastructure, Full devolution of the network would give the CA direct control over significant areas of land, opening up the opportunity for new development.
That seems very sensible.
The Anonymous Widower 