Five New Railway Stations Considered For West Midlands
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
This is the first paragraph.
Transport authorities in the West Midlands are considering the case for building five new stations at Balsall Heath, Coventry East (Binley), Foleshill, Castle Bromwich and Tettenhall.
The location of the stations is as follows.
- Balsall Heath station is on the Camp Hill Line and was formerly known as Brighton Road station, which was shut in 1941 as a wartime economy measure.
- Castle Bromwich station, will be between Birmingham and Water Orton.
- Coventry East station will be on the main line between Coventry and Rugby.
- Foleshill station will be on the Coventry-Nuneaton Line, between Coventry and Coventry Arena stations.
- Tettenhall station will be to the west of Wolverhampton on the Wolverhampton Shrewsbury Line.
Note.
- Balsall Heath station would require construction of the Bordesley Chords and extra capacity at Moor Street Station.
- Coventry East station will benefit from the opening of High Speed Two, will will allow more local services.
- Castle Bromwich station would also benefit from the extra capacity from High Speed Two and the Midland Rail Hub.
Railways in Central Birmingham appear to be having a big sort out.
The article also says this about other stations, being planned in the West Midlands.
These planned new stations will add to expansion of the region’s rail network that is already underway, with new stations being built on the Camp Hill line in south Birmingham at Moseley Village, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road, and on the Walsall to Wolverhampton line serving Darlaston and Willenhall. A new station is also planned at Aldridge, with funding allocated subject to business case. The City of Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire District and Staffordshire County councils have also looked at the case for a new station at Brinsford, which will be considered alongside the case for nearby Tettenhall Station.
In the last part of the article, Andy Street talks about the funding secured.
It certainly looks like station builders in the West Midlands will have lots of work to do.
Riding On Hydrogen-Powered Buses And Trains
These posts describe my trips on hydrogen-powered buses
Note.
- The first bus starts from Birmingham City Centre.
- The second bus runs between Paddington station and John Lewis in Oxford Street in London.
This post describes my first ride in a hydrogen-powered train.
My First Ride In An Alstom Coradia iLint
This was through the German countryside between Hamburg and Cuxhaven.
Striking “Bellingham” Bridge Set To Light Up HS2’s Gateway Into Birmingham
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from High Speed Two.
These three paragraphs describe the bridge in detail.
HS2 Ltd has revealed designs for the 150-metre section of viaduct as part of the approach to Birmingham’s new Curzon Street Station, including a 25-metre-high truss which will create a new icon on the city’s skyline.
A unique light installation, designed by British artist Liz West, will introduce a dynamic colour palette to the apertures of the steel truss, framing views of the city. Titled Out of the Blue, the proposed artwork will establish the bridge as a stunning feature of the city’s landscape both during the day and at night, when the artwork will come to life.
The Curzon 2 bridge, which has been nicknamed “The Bellingham Bridge” by the team in honour of England superstar and Stourbridge-born Jude Bellingham’s performances at the World Cup, is the tallest structure in the sequence of viaducts and structures that make up the Curzon Street Approaches. These Approaches take HS2 into Birmingham’s new city centre station. The bridge consists of a gently curved truss in weathering steel which carries HS2 over the Victorian brick rail viaduct below.
There are several more visualisations on the High Speed Two web site.
The Birmingham Bull – 5th August 2022
The non-human star of the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham was a mechanical bull.
This article on the BBC is entitled Commonwealth Games: Scots Creator Reveals Secrets Of Metal Bull.
These three introductory paragraphs give an overview of the design.
The secrets of the mechanical bull that wowed audiences during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games have been revealed by its Scottish creator.
The 10m high scrap metal sculpture was one of the stars of the celebration in Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium.
Michael Dollar, of creative model makers Artem, said it took six people to operate the giant structure.
The BBC also revealed today, that the bull would be parked for a few days in Centenary Square outside the Library of Birmingham.
So as my day had fallen apart, I got on a Chiltern train to Birmingham and took these pictures.
Note.
- The first picture has the The Library Of Birmingham in the background, with its lattice frontage and gold dome.
- The Bull seems to have been built on a loader chassis.
- There were a large crowd in Centenary Square looking at the Bull.
I have never seen a public work of art surrounded by such a crowd, most of whom were taking selfies or traditional pictures.
This article on the BBC is entitled Birmingham Commonwealth Games: Ceremony Bull To Stay.
The BBC article says this about the future of the bull.
A giant mechanical bull that became the star of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games opening ceremony it set to stay in the city.
The 10m sculpture is on display in Centenary Square after its debut last week, although its future has been less clear.
Largely made of foam, it was due to be dismantled at the end of the Games, sparking public outcry.
But Birmingham City Council has confirmed the bull has won a reprieve.
It will stay in the square until the end of September before being moved indoors.
This wonderful work of engineering art, is far too good and is now too well-loved to be scrapped.
As it needs to go inside, why not bring it inside High Speed Two’s new Curzon Street station, to greet passengers visiting Birmingham?
On My Way To Birmingham
I made the mistake of not going on Chiltern to avoid a walk in Brum. No seats at all, so I’m doing a Corbyn and sitting on the floor. Pendolinos aren’t as comfortable as Mark 3’s.
West Midlands To Run ‘Largest Hydrogen Bus Fleet’ Due To New Funding
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are a few points from the article.
- The region is set to get 124 new hydrogen vehicles.
- The West Midlands is set to run the UK’s largest hydrogen bus fleet after securing new funding.
- The region will get 124 new buses after it won £30m from the Department for Transport to fund a switchover.
- Twenty four of the new vehicles will be articulated tram-style buses set to run on a new bus priority route between Walsall, Birmingham and Solihull.
Does the last statement mean, that they will buying a hundred double-decker hydrogen buses?
A few thoughts.
Riding Birmingham’s New Hydrogen-Powered Buses
These are a few pictures from Riding Birmingham’s New Hydrogen-Powered Buses.
They were excellent buses from Wrightbus.
The Tram Style Buses
The Belgian firm; Van Hool have a product called Exquicity. This video shows them working in Pau in France.
These tram buses run on rubber types and are powered by hydrogen.
Similar buses running in Belfast are diesel-electric.
Could these be what the article refers to as tram-style buses?
It should be noted, that the West Midlands and Pau have bought their hydrogen filling stations from ITM Power in Sheffield.
So has there has been a spot of the Entente Cordiale between Pau and the West Midlands?
Will The West Midlands Buy The Other Hundred Buses From Wrightbus?
There doesn’t seem to be any problems on the web about the initial fleet, so I suspect they will.
It should also be noted that Wrightbus make the following types of zero-emission buses.
- StreetDeck – Hydroliner FCEV – Double-deck hydrogen bus
- StreetDeck – Electroliner BEV – Double-deck battery bus
- GB Kite – Hydroliner FCEV – Single-deck hydrogen bus
- GB Kite – Electroliner BEV – Single-deck battery bus
These would surely enable the West Midlands to mic-and-match according to their needs.
Riding Birmingham’s New Hydrogen-Powered Buses
I went to Birmingham today and took one of their new hydrogen buses on route 51 to Perry Barr and another one back.
Note.
- As the pictures show Perry Barr is a bit of traffic bottleneck because of the reconstruction of Perry Barr station an other developments in the area, because of the Commonwealth Games, which are going to e held in Birmingham in 2022.
- The route goes past the High Speed Two site.
- Birmingham is a city of highways, flyovers, underpasses and roundabouts.
- The buses have wi-fi and charging points for phones.
I very much feel that the buses are the best hydrogen-powered vehicles, that I’ve travelled in, as they are smooth, comfortable, quiet and seem to have excellent performance.
Birmingham Buses Have Their Own Hydrogen Electrolyser
London bring their hydrogen in by truck from Runcorn, where it is created by electrolysis, for their hydrogen-powered buses.
On the other hand, Birmingham Buses have their own electrolyser at the Tyseley Energy Park.
This Google Map shows Tyseley Energy Park.
Note.
- The Birmingham Bus Refueler hadn’t opened, when this map was last updated.
- Tyseley Energy Park is only a few miles from the City Centre and route 51.
- I estimate that the Tyseley Energy Park occupies around four hectares.
This page on the Tyseley Energy Park web site described the refuelling options that are available.
- Fuels available include hydrogen, biomethane, compressed natural gas, diesel, gas oil and AdBlue.
- There are a range of charging options for electric vehicles.
The 3 MW electrolyser was built by ITM Power of Sheffield, which I estimate will produce nearly 1.5 tonnes of hydrogen per day.
According to this page on the Wrightbus website, a hydrogen-powered double-deck bus needs 27 Kg of hydrogen to give it a range of 250 miles. The refuelling of each bus takes eight minutes.
So the current fleet of twenty buses will need 540 Kg of hydrogen per day and this will give them a combined range of 5000 miles.
It would appear that the capacity of the electrolyser can more than handle Birmingham’s current fleet of twenty buses and leave plenty of hydrogen for other vehicles.
Could Other Towns And Cities Build Similar Energy Parks?
I don’t see why not and it looks like ITM Power are involved in a proposal to build an electrolyser at Barking.
Some would feel that London ought to follow Birmingham and create its own hydrogen.
.
National Express Deploys Hydrogen Double-Deckers In The West Midlands
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Renewable Energy Magazine.
This is the first paragraph.
National Express has deployed 20 hydrogen double-decker buses purchased by Birmingham City Council, serving West Midlands route 51 to Walsall via Perry Barr from 6th December 2021– the only hydrogen buses operating in England outside London.
The buses are from Wrightbus.
The article also says this about the source of the hydrogen.
The council are also collaborating with ITM, who are producing and dispensing the hydrogen fuel from the new re-fuelling hub at Tyseley Energy Park.
This is surely the way to do it. Hydrogen buses with a local source of freshly-picked hydrogen.
Alstom Hydrogen Aventras And Extension Of The Birmingham Cross-City Line
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.
In that post, decide that the proposed Alstom Hydrogen Aventras are based on the three-car Class 730/0 trains that have been ordered by West Midlands Trains for Birmingham’s electrified Cross-City Line.
I then go on to say.
There are plans to expand the line in the future and I do wonder if the proposed Alstom Hydrogen Aventras could be the ideal trains for extending the network.
Expansion plans are detailed a section called Future, in the Wikipedia entry for the Cross-City Line, where these plans are indicated.
- Reintroduction of local trains on the Camp Hill Line.
- Extension of electrification and services to Burton-on-Trent via a reopened Alrewas station, which would serve the National Memorial Arboretum.
In addition, the Walsall and Wolverhampton Line is being reopened to passenger trains.
These new and possibly other services will need no new tracks, but more electrification and extra new trains.
In 2015, I wrote Electrification May Be In Trouble Elsewhere, But The Brummies Keep Marching On, which looked at electrification progress in the UK and the Birmingham in particular, where the electrification of the Chase Line seemed to be going well. So unlike in some places, where electrification seems to be accident-prone, Birmingham seems to avoid the sort of problems, that happened in the Preston and Blackpool and GOBlin electrifications.
But the Alstom Hydrogen Aventra gives Birmingham and the West Midlands a unique advantage compared to say Leeds or Manchester.
Birmingham can obtain a unified fleet, which to the passengers and the drivers looks the same, but in fact are two separate classes of three-car trains; the Class 730/0 electric train and the Alstom Hydrogen Aventra.
- Where electrification exists, the Class 730/0 trains will be used and where there is no electrification, the Alstom Hydrogen Aventra will work the route on hydrogen.
- All that is needed is to provide good tracks and signalling and the Alstom Hydrogen Aventras will take you where you want to go.
- Through the centre of Birmingham, these trains will use the existing electrification.
- It would be a network, that would be simple to expand.
The only other English city to use a similar technique will be Liverpool, where Merseyrail’s new Class 777 trains will use battery power outside of the electrified core.
Conclusion
If Birmingham uses their disused but still existing railway lines and adds new trains as required, they can create a world-class suburban network, with the Cross-City Line at its centre
Property Buyers Want Train To Take The Strain, Says Rightmove
The title of this post is the same as that of this article in today’s Times.
Aooarently people are buying houses within an hour’s commute to London, with Chelmsford, Crewe and Sittingbourne being especially popular.
Note.
- Chelmsford will soon be served by a new train fleet.
- Sittingbourne is served by Southeastern’s HighSpeed trains.
- Crewe is served by fast services and will be on High Speed Two, earlier than many places.
Liverpool and Birmingham City Centres are also popular according to the article.
The Anonymous Widower 