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.
Battery Rather Than Hydrogen Trains Suggested In Sachsen Study
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
The use of battery rather than hydrogen traction is recommended in a study into options for replacing diesel multiple-units on regional routes around Dresden where electrification is unlikely in the short to medium term.
They give the reason that battery power is a better short term option, where electrification is envisaged in the long-term.
I also think, that in the case of the German hydrogen trains, which are hydrogen-power only, this means that the trains will have to be replaced, as the electrification is installed. Whereas, with battery-electric trains, they just get more efficient as the wires go up and don’t need to be replaced. Although, their batteries might be removed to improve acceleration.
Dresden, Leipzig and that area of Germany also has a lot of electrification already, so charging will not be a problem.
But battery power would also get around the problem at Zwickau, where diesel multiple units run through the streets as trams to a station in the town centre.
The picture shows a diesel multiple unit playing trams in Zwickau Zentrum station.
- Note the orange lights that flash on the train.
- Trams call at the other side of the platform.
- I wonder, if the Germans felt that battery-electric trains will be safer in Zwickau than hydrogen-powered trains.
It puzzles me, why this simple solution is not used more often to extend railways into town and city centres.
With battery-electric trains, there would be no need for any electrification.
Conclusion
The Germans seem to be going battery-electric train mad!
Perhaps, we should follow their example?
What Will Happen To The Eighty-Seven Class 350 Trains
At the current time, West Midlands Trains have a fleet of eighty-seven Class 350 trains.
- The trains are being replaced by new Class 730 trains.
- They are of different specifications.
- The interiors vary, but there are a lot of tables.
- All are four-car sets.
- They are 110 mph trains.
- Thirty of the trains are dual-voltage.
- Fifty are owned by Angel Trains.
- Thirty-seven are owned by Porterbrook, who have looked at converting the trains to battery-electric operation.
- They are a bit of a dog’s breakfast, although they are excellent trains.
- The future of the trains is rather uncertain and even Porterbrook’s plans have gone rather quiet.
So perhaps a big dog ought to round up all these trains and turn them into something more useful.
Consider.
- All the trains were built in this century by Siemens in Germany.
- Siemens service the Class 350 trains at Kings Heath Depot in Northampton.
- Siemens have recently opened a factory in Goole to make new trains for the London Underground.
- Siemens are developing the Mireo Plus B, which is a battery-electric multiple unit in Germany.
Siemens must have the knowledge and experience to turn these trains into a quality fleet of battery-electric trains.
- Thirty would be dual-voltage and fifty-seven would be 25 KVAC overhead only.
- All would be 110 mph trains.
- I doubt there would be many places on the UK rail network, where they couldn’t run.
All appear to be in excellent condition, as these pictures show.
I very much feel, that these fleets could be converted into a quality fleet of very useful battery-electric trains.
Charging The Batteries
Most of the charging would be done from existing electrification, but as all trains have pantographs, they could use specially-erected short lengths of 25 KVAC overhead wires or charging systems like the Furrer + Frey Voltap system.
Possible Routes
I will start with the dual-voltage trains.
- Uckfield Branch, where a charger would be needed at Uckfield station.
- Marshlink Line
- Basingstoke and Exeter, where chargers would be needed at Salisbury and Exeter and possibly Yeovil Junction.
I feel with 25 KVAC overhead applications, we will soon run out of trains.
Battery Trains Ordered For Hermann-Hesse-Bahn
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Railway Gazette.
This article is yet another endorsement of battery-electric trains.
There is more about the history of the Hermann-Hesse-Bahn in Wikipedia entry for the Black Forest Railway.
Could the Germans be using a battery-electric railway to bring in the tourists?
Battery Train Fast Charging Station Tested
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
A prototype Voltap rapid charging station for battery trains has been tested under real-world conditions for the first time.
The Voltap system is from Furrer + Frey and this is the data sheet on their web site, which is entitled Voltap Charging Station For Battery Trains.
Looking at the pictures in the article, the system seems to consist of two components.
- An overhead conductor rail suspended from pantries on the platform.
- A container that contains all the power supplies and control systems.
It certainly looks to be a simple system to install and operate.
- Charging would appear to take place through the pantograph, with no cables to handle.
- It is claimed to be able to charge a train in an extremely short time.
- The system is designed for areas, where the electricity network is perhaps a bit weaker.
- It is available in 15 KVAC and 25 KVAC.
- The system is future-proofed.
I can see these being suitable for several stations in the UK.
Norfolk And Suffolk
As an example, it looks like all the branch lines in Norfolk and Suffolk could be made suitable for battery-electric trains with Voltap systems at Cromer, Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Sheringham, Sudbury and Yarmouth.
Note.
- The Class 755 trains would be converted to battery-electric trains.
- Some stations would need more than one platform to have a charger.
- There may be other chargers to ensure that services like Norwich and Stansted Airport could be run electrically.
These pictures show Class 755 trains in various East Anglian stations.
Felixstowe and some other stations may need a slightly different installation due to the narrow platforms, but I’m sure Furrer + Frey have installations for all platforms.
I think Great British Railways are going to need a lot of these chargers and the battery-electric trains to go with them.
The Uckfield Branch
The Uckfield Branch probably needs to have some form of charging at Uckfield station.
The picture shows the single long platform at Uckfield station.
Consider.
- Trains to work the branch will need to be able to use third-rail electrification between London Bridge station and Hurst Green junction.
- Hurst Green junction to Uckfield station and back is probably too far for a battery-electric train, so charging will be needed at Uckfield station.
- Third-rail charging could be used, but I suspect that Health and Safety will say no!
But using a dual-voltage train and a Voltap system at Uckfield station would probably be ideal.
Middlesbrough
From December the 13th, LNER will be running a new daily service between Middlesbrough and London, which I described in LNER’s Middlesbrough And London Service Starts On December 13th.
The route is fully electrified except for between Middlesbrough and Longlands Junction, where it joins the electrification of the East Coast Main Line, which is a distance of twenty-two miles.
Hitachi are developing a battery-train, which they call the Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.
Note.
- LNER’s current Class 800 trains will probably be able to be converted to this train.
- Normally, these trains have three diesel generators.
- A range on battery power of upwards of forty miles would be expected.
If the range on battery-power can be stretched to perhaps sixty miles, this train should be capable of serving Middlesbrough without the need for any extra charging at the terminus.
I have just looked at the planned path of the first train on December 13th.
- The train comes from Heaton depot in Newcastle via Sunderland and Hartlepool.
- It passes through Middlesbrough station.
- It then reverses amongst the chemical and steel works to the East, before returning to Middlesbrough station.
Once back at Middlesbrough station, it waits for eight minutes before leaving for London.
It looks to me to be a safe route, to make sure that the train leaves on time. It also only occupies the platform at Middlesbrough station for less than ten minutes.
But it would also be possible to find space amongst the chemical and steel works to find space for a well-designed reversing siding with refuelling for the diesel-electric trains or a Voltap charging system for a battery-electric train.
Lincoln
I have been looking at the pattern of LNER’s London and Lincoln service today.
- There have been six trains per day (tpd) in both directions.
- Trains going North take up to seven minutes to unload passengers at Lincoln station before moving on to Lincoln Terrace C. H. S., which I would assume is a convenient reversing siding.
- Trains going South wait up to thirty-forty minutes at Lincoln station after arriving from Lincoln Terrace C. H. S., before leaving for Kings Cross.
It looks to me, that if London and Lincoln were to be run by a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, that the timings would be ideal for charging the batteries on the train in either the reversing siding or the station.
But surely, the charging system in the station would allow extension of the service to Grimsby and Cleethorpes, which has been stated as being part of LNER’s plans.
This picture shows Lincoln station.
I suspect that Swiss ingenuity could fit a Voltap charging system in the station.
These are a few distances from Lincoln station.
- Cleethorpes – 47.2 miles
- Doncaster – 35.4 miles
- Newark North Gate – 16.6 miles
- Peterborough – 56.9 miles
How many of these destinations could be reached by a battery-electric train, that had been fully-charged at Lincoln station.
Vivarail To Unveil 80mph Super-Class 230 At COP26
The title of this post, is the same as that as of this article on Rail Magazine.
This is the first paragraph.
Vivarail intends to show off a new design of battery-powered zero-emission Class 230 unit at next month’s COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.
Features of the train include.
- 80 mph operating speed, as opposed to 60 mph of the mph of the current Class 230 train and 45 mph of the original London Underground D78 Stock.
- Two driver cars and a trailer car in between.
- Ten minutes to fully charge the batteries.
- The two driver cars have three battery packs.
I doubt the designers of the train at Metro-Cammell, envisaged this future development.
The Anonymous Widower 