UK And Welsh Governments To Explore New Rail Links Between South Wales And England
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the UK Government.
These are the three bullet points.
- UK and Welsh governments today (2 February 2023) announce a new study to improve transport connectivity between south-east Wales and west of England
- the study, backed by £2.7 million of UK government funding, will look at options for new railway stations and rail services on the South Wales Main Line
- this project will focus on relieving congestion on the M4, a vital connector between south Wales and the rest of the UK
The stations are not named, but it is said that they could be between Cardiff and the Severn Tunnel.
The last paragraph changes direction a bit.
Lord Peter Hendy also proposed reviewing the route connecting north Wales to the north-west of England, better connectivity with HS2 and a package of railway improvements to increase connectivity and reduce journey times between Cardiff, Birmingham and beyond.
I find this development very interesting, but typical of the sensible approach one would expect from Lord Peter.
In Could High Speed Two Serve Holyhead?, I looked at the route and came to this conclusion.
London Euston and Holyhead could be a serious proposition.
With some development and a new fast ferry, it could also open up a practical zero-carbon route between Great Britain and Ireland.
Times of four and a half hours between London Euston and Dublin could be possible.
I suspect that time would appeal to green tourists, especially those in First with a good meal.
Cardiff Northwest Corridor Tram-Train Report Published
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Proposals have been published for the development of a tram-train network to serve housing developments on the Northwest Corridor between Cardiff and Llantrisant.
And this paragraph describes the route.
The report looks at a route making use of the existing City Line railway from Cardiff and then following a safeguarded former railway alignment to M4 Junction 33 and Creigiau. Possible extensions could run from Creigiau to Cross Inn and Pontyclun and from Cross Inn to Miskin, Talbot Green, Llantrisant and Beddau.
This map shows the route from the City Line to Creigiau.
Note.
- The City Line to Radyr passing through Waun-Gron Park, Fairwater and Danescourt, which is shown in yellow.
- The South Wales Main Line running across the bottom of the map, which is shown in orange.
- The M4 running Westerly from the North-East corner of the map.
- The A4232 runs North-South and meets the M4 at Junction 33.
- Creigiau is in the North-West corner of the map.
The route of the tram-train would follow the route of the disused railway between the City Line and Creigiau, which is shown as a dotted line, identified with the code LTO.
This second map from OpenRailwayMap shows the area around Junction 33 of the M4.
Note.
- The M4 going across the map.
- The A4232 going South from Junction 33.
- The proposed tram-train line passing to the East of Junction 33.
I suspect that as there is a BP petrol station and a Travel Lodge at the junction, there is a lot of scope to create a comprehensive Park-and-Ride hub for Cardiff, that would be served by the new tram-train.
The third OpenRailwayMap shows the various routes from Creigiau.
Note.
- Creigiau is in the South-East corner of the map.
- Cross Inn is in the middle of the map.
- The South Wales Main Line, which is shown in orange, cuts across the the South-West corner of the map.
The ultimate destinations of Miskin, Pontyclun, Talbot Green, Llantrisant and Beddau all have disused railway tracks leading to Cross Inn.
Serving The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint moved to Llantrisant in the late 1960s and it could be served by the tram-train, as it is to the North of the town, close to a disused railway line.
I must admit, I am very surprised, that a company that employs 10,000 people doesn’t have a nearby railway station.
But then the move of the Royal Mail to Wales was planned by Harold Wilson’s government, which was led by a man, who believed that railways were irrelevant and everybody should have their own cars.
Anglesey Hydrogen Can Bridge UK’s Energy Gap Says Economics Expert
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the University of Bangor web site.
This is the sub title.
Anglesey can become a UK leader in hydrogen energy technology, cleaning up the transport sector and creating high quality jobs across North Wales, according to a leading Welsh economic expert.
The University of Bangor is a respected university, that goes back to the nineteenth century.
But for Liverpool giving me an unconditional offer, as Bangor was one of the universities on my UCCA form, I could have studied in the North-West corner of Wales.
After a resume of where we are with hydrogen in the world, Dr. Edward Jones of Bangor University outlines how North West Wales can be turned into a hydrogen hub, to join similar hubs at Deeside in Flintshire and at Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire.
This is a paragraph of the article.
Dr Jones believes hydrogen could also hold the key to powering transport in future through a Welsh invention from the 19th century (the hydrogen fuel cell was developed in Swansea by William Grove in 1842).
William Grove was an interesting lawyer and scientist.
Dr. Jones would appear to be very much in favour of using hydrogen to take Wales forward to being zero-carbon in 2050.
I have written a few posts about the transformation of Anglesey and North West Wales, as Wales moves towards this goal. I also have some other thoughts of my own.
Holyhead Hydrogen Hub
This is happening and I wrote about it in Holyhead Hydrogen Hub Planned For Wales.
High Speed Two To Holyhead
I believe this could be a way to create a zero-carbon route between London and Dublin in under five hours and I wrote about it in Could High Speed Two Serve Holyhead?.
- London and Holyhead in a battery-equipped High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train should be under three hours.
- A single High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train would run between London and Holyhead, with a passenger capacity of around five hundred. It would probably split and join with another service at Crewe.
- Discontinuous electrification would be provided along the North Wales Coast Line.
- The trains could call at Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange, Chester, Crewe, Llandudno Junction and Bangor.
A High Speed catamaran would speed passengers between Holyhead and Dublin in under two hours.
Hydrogen-Powered Catamarans From Holyhead
The dynamics of a diesel-powered high speed catamaran are well-proven, with some large craft transporting passengers and vehicles on sea crossings all over the world.
Type “hydrogen-powered high speed catamaran” into Google and you get several hits to research and development projects, but no-one appears to have taken a large high speed craft and converted it to hydrogen.
But I do believe that someone somewhere is developing a hydrogen-powered catamaran with something like the following specification.
- 200 passengers
- 100-mile range
- 60 knot operating speed.
The HSC Francisco is a high speed craft that plies between Buenos Aires and Montevideo carrying over a thousand passengers and a hundred cars at 58 knots. It is powered by gas-turbine engines running on liquified natural gas.
I believe I’m not asking for the impossible.
Anglesey Airport As A Zero-Carbon Airport
Anglesey Airport uses part of RAF Valley and has hosted services to Cardiff.
This Google Map shows the runways of RAF Valley.
Note.
- The longest runway 14/32 is over two thousand metres long.
- Rhosneigr station in the South East corner of the map.
- The facilities of Anglesey Airport to the North-East of the runways.
The railway forms the border of the airport, as this second Google map shows.
The railway is straight as it passes the Airport and there would be space for a two-hundred metre bi-directional step-free platform for passengers for the Airport.
Airbus are proposing a hydrogen-powered ZEROe Turbofan.
If you think it looks familiar, I believe that Airbus are proposing to develop the aircraft out of the current Airbus A320neo.
- The capacity will be up to 200 passengers.
- The range will be up to 2000 miles.
- Dublin and Anglesey Airports are just 71.5 miles apart.
- The cruising speed of Mach 0.78 would be irrelevant on this route, as it would probably fly a route to minimise noise.
The plane would probably be able to do several trips between Anglesey and Dublin without refuelling.
As the Port of Holyhead is developing a hydrogen infrastructure, I suspect that to provide hydrogen refuelling at Anglesey Airport would be possible.
I believe that by combining hydrogen-powered aircraft with battery-electric trains, some difficult sea crossings can be made carbon-free.
I believe that Anglesey Airport could be key to a zero-carbon London and Ireland service.
- Airbus are also proposing a 100-seat ZEROe Turboprop.
- Belfast, Cork, Derry and Shannon would also be in range.
Flights could also continue to and from Cardiff.
Reopening The Anglesey Central Railway
This has been proposed as a Beeching Reversal project.
I wrote about it in Reopening The Anglesey Central Railway.
It could be reopened as a zero-carbon railway.
Conclusion
There is a lot of scope to use hydrogen in North West Wales and Anglesey.
800009 – John Charles
On my way to Wales on Tuesday, I travelled in the Class 800 train, that is numbered 800009 and named after the great Welsh footballer; John Charles at one end.
I actually saw him play for Leeds in a match against Spurs at White Hart Lane. Leeds played in a blue kit in those days and I am fairly sure John Charles played up front.
I suspect, it likely, that it must have been the 1956-57 season as it would be the only season where Leeds were in the First Division, before John Charles left in 1957 to go to Juventus.
I wonder how many people, who saw John Charles play, have actually ridden in the train named after him?
It was good to see that Great Western Railway have also put his Italian nickname; Il Gigante Buono on the train.
My First Ride In A Class 769 Train
I went to Cardiff today and had my first ride in a Class 769 train. These pictures summarise my ride on the train between Cardiff Central and Bargoed stations.
So what was it like?
Noise And Vibration
Going up to Bargoed, I deliberately sat as near over the top of the engine as I could.
There was a bit of a whine, but not as much as in a new Class 195 train.
For those, who commuted on Class 319 trains for years on Thameslink, they probably wouldn’t notice much difference.
Performance
For a 100 mph electric train built for running between the flat lands of Bedfordshire and the South Coast over the hillocks of the Downs, the train climbed to Bengoed, which has an altitude of around a thousand feet with a purpose.
But then I have a Porterbrook brochure for these trains and the power source was sized, such that the train would be able to climb the stiffest routes in the UK.
The Interior
It looked to me like the Thameslink interior with new sea covers and plugs to charge a mobile phone.
They could certainly be upgraded a bit further to the standard of the Class 319 trains on the Abbey Line, that I wrote about in A Very Smart Class 319 Train.
A Job To Do
Trains for Wales has acquired these trains for extra capacity, whilst they refurbish their Class 150, 153 and 160 trains.
It looks to me, that they will do this job more than adequately.
Future Uses
I suspect Porterbrook hope that these trains will find uses around the UK, as they have spent a lot of time, effort and money to bring these trains into service.
But there are around eighty of the Class 319 trains in service or in store, from which the Class 769 trains are converted.
So they could find uses in several niche applications.
Short Term Fleets
This is effectively, the Trains for Wales application, where extra trains are provided, so that a fleet refurbishment can be performed.
- They would surely, have been a better replacement fleet for Greater Anglia, than the three Mark 2 coaches and a pair of diesel locomotives, that they used after a series of level crossing accidents.
- They could also be used to increase capacity for some major events like the Open Golf or a pop festival.
- Uniquely, they can stand in for both a 100 mph electric train or a 90 mph diesel train.
- They can even be fitted with third-rail shoes.
- They are the right size at four cars.
- They fit most UK platforms.
- They can be run in formations of up to twelve cars.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Porterbrook or someone on their behalf, keep a fleet of trains on standby to handle short term needs.
Route Development And Testing
There has been a lot of pressure to open up new routes in recent years and these trains would be ideal to try out routes and test new electrification.
Tri-Mode Services
Great Western Railway have a particular problem with their service between Reading and Gatwick, in that it has some third-rail electrification. As they might like to extend this service to Oxford, an ideal train would be dual-voltage and self-powered.
This extract is from the Great Western Railway section in the Wikipedia entry for the Class 769 train.
Although initially planned for use in London and the Thames Valley whilst twelve Class 387 units are modified for Heathrow Express services, the future plan for these units will be operating on services between Oxford, Reading and Gatwick Airport, which would mean operating on unelectrified, 25 kV AC OHLE and 750 V DC third-rail routes. To enable this, Great Western Railway’s allocation of Class 769 units will retain their dual-voltage capability in addition to being fitted with diesel power units. The units will also receive an internal refurbishment and be fitted with air cooling.
I suspect, that they’ll also be used on the Henley, Marlow and Windsor branches, which have some operational problems.
- The branches are not electrified.
- Some branches run occasional services to Paddington.
- The Windsor branch probably needs more capacity.
The Marlow branch could be difficult, but I suspect that, there’s a solution somewhere.
Luxury Bi-Modes
Greater Anglia felt they needed luxury bi-modes for East Anglia and they bought Class 755 trains, which are probably a lot more expensive, as they are brand-new and from Stadler of Switzerland.
Surprisingly, the Class 319 trains have a higher passenger capacity.
But both trains could do a similar task, where the route is partially electrified.
As I said earlier about the GWR units.
The units will also receive an internal refurbishment and be fitted with air cooling.
Porterbrook’s brochure for the Class 769 train talks about using them between Manchester and Buxton.
Surely, this route could do with a Northern version of a GWR interior.
I also think a service should link Hellifield and Buxton. as I wrote about in Why Not Buxton To Hellifield?
That would show what Class 769 trains could do!
It would also connect the Peak District to the hills North of Lancashire.
I might also be, that the standby-fleet should also be the luxury variant of the train. Surely, supporters going to the Open at some of the inaccessible venues could afford pay to pay extra for a comfy train.
Express Freight And Parcels Services
Rail Operations Group would appear to have placed the second-largest order for Class 769 trains, which they will use to launch a high-speed parcels service called Orion.
This extract is from the Rail Operations Group section in the Wikipedia entry for the Class 769 train.
Orion is aiming to launch its first trial service conveying parcels and light freight in April 2021, with the Midlands to Mossend now likely to be the debut flow. The company is to use converted Class 319s for the service and is now planning for a fleet of 19 four-car units – nine Class 319s and 10 Class 769s. Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh is modifying the interiors of the units to accommodate roller cages for parcels, with the aim of operating primarily under electric power but with the 769s using their diesel engines to act as tractor units for the 319s on non-electrified stretches. The first 769 bi-mode, No 769501, has undergone its Flex conversion at Brush in Loughborough and is due to be outshopped from Arlington at Eastleigh in March following its interior modification.
In Did These Strawberries Have Road- Or Rail-Miles?, I talked about strawberries going between Scotland and London.
Surely, the movement of high-quality food could be one of the cargoes for Orion.
It wouldn’t be the first such traffic, as Class 43 power cars of the InterCity 125s used to carry flowers and fish up to London from Cornwall.
There’s a lot of space in the back of a Class 43 power car.
I certainly feel there are possibilities for using Class 769 trains as high speed parcels transport.
It should be noted that Class 325 trains already run high speed parcel services up and down the country on behalf of Royal Mail. These trains may look like later British Rail trains, but they are in fact based on Class 319 trains.
So I doubt, there’ll be any worries that the trains can’t handle the required services after conversion.
Conclusion
It looks to me that Porterbrooks plan to convert numbers of their Class 319 trains into Class 769 trains will find several ready markets.
It could be argued that more carbon savings could be achieved by perhaps a new battery-electric or hydrogen-electric train. But these will take years to develop!
These trains are a good short-term solution, that will help define their zero-carbon successors.
ORR Rejects Grand Union’s London Paddington To Cardiff Train Service Bid
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
I wrote about this service in Grand Union Seeks ’91s’ To Cardiff and this was my conclusion.
I like this proposal.
-
- The important Paddington and Cardiff route gets a fifty percent increase in train frequency.
- There could be genuine competition on the route.
- Grand Union would be using five of the thirty InterCity225 sets, which are in good condition, judging by my recent journeys.
- Could we see a customer service and catering war between the two operators?
If Grand Union Railway runs to Cardiff, I’ll give it a go.
I can see a revised proposal being successful.
Discontinuous Electrification For Valley Lines?
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the May 2018 Edition of Modern Railways.
The Valley Lines in question are the Cardiff Valley Lines, that fan out from Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street stations in various directions.
- Some of the lines into the valleys are quite steep.
- The lines in the Cardiff area seem to be typical coastal lines and fairly flat.
- The lines are a mixture of single and double track.
- There are various plans to extend some of the branches.
According to the article, it would appear that the current diesel system would be replaced with a system, with these characteristics.
- Light rail vehicles
- Discontinuous electrification
- Use of stored energy.
- Street running is expected to be in the specification for the vehicles to be used, to allow extension in the Cardiff Bay area and perhaps other places.
The proposal would save costs against full electrification and heavy rail.
My observations follow.
Batteries
Batteries will be an integral part of the design of the new rail vehicles.
Powering The Trains
The article states that battery power will be used to power the trains on sections that are difficult to electrify, like the mile-long Caerphilly Tunnel.
Battery power could also be used on level and downhill sections of track up to a few miles, but I suspect on steep uphill sections, electrification will be needed.
Handling Regenerative Braking
I believe that regenerative braking will be employed on the rail vehicles and the energy generated will be stored in the batteries.
The main advantage of this is that it simplifies the power supply to the electrification, as it only has to handle power going to the train.
This less complex electrical system, saves construction costs.
Recovering The Train’s Potential Energy
A train travelling from Cardiff to one of the terminal stations at the heads of the valleys, will need to acquire an amount of potential energy, based on the train’s mass and the height involved. This will be provided by the train’s traction system powered by the electrification and the energy in the batteries.
Coming down the hill, the regenerative braking will control the speed of the train and store any energy generated in the batteries.
This will save on the cost of energy to operate the system.
Charging The Batteries
The batteries will be charged from both the overhead electrification and the regenerative braking.
Extensive simulations of the route on computers would be able to calculate the following, for a wide range of scenarios.
- The size of the batteries.
- The power of the traction motors.
- Where the electrification needs to be installed.
- The maximum power output of the electrification system.
These calculations could also lead to an energy-saving operating philosophy, that could be programmed into the train’s computer system.
I suspect the worst case scenario, would be a train full of the heaviest Welshmen after an important rugby match at the Millennium Stadium.
Electrification
My thoughts on how various sections of track would be electrified follow.
Tracks With A Significant Uphill Gradient
These would need to be electrified, as I doubt battery power on the steepest gradients, would be enough to take a fully-loaded train to the top of the hill.
Electrification would be lighter-weight 750 VDC overhead wires.
The picture shows some of the overhead wires in Birmingham, that are used by the Midland Metro’s Urbos 3 trams.
Tracks With A Downhill Gradient
These would not need to be electrified, as Newton’s friend gravity would do most of the work.
However, as batteries will be fitted, these can have three important functions on downhill stretches of track.
- Give the tram a nudge if needed.
- Restart the train after a stop at a station.
- Store any energy created by regenerative braking.
Note that we could have the unusual situation on a double-track section of line, where the uphill track was electrified and the downhill track was left without electrification.
Level Tracks
These would not need to be electrified, as battery power would be used to propel the train.
Selected Stations
Some stations could need to be electrified to ensure that the service was reliable. These might include terminal stations or those with tricky gradients on either side.
Tracks With 25 KVAC Electrification
Some of the tracks used by the trains on the Cardiff Valley Lines should be electrified with 25 KVAC, by the end of December 2018.
Class 399 tram-trains, that are used in Sheffield can use either 750 VDC and 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
it would probably be a good idea, if the new vehicles on the Cardiff Valley Lines could also use both voltages.
Automatic Pantographs
The pantographs on the vehicles would be raised and lowered automatically to access the electrification. This could even be GPS-controlled and able to be carried out at line speed.
Tram-Trains?
I very much feel, that tram-trains could be used to advantage.
- Some of the Valley Lines are also used by freight trains, so couldn’t be converted to trams-only.
- Tram-trains like the Class 399 tram-train, under test in Sheffield can work on both 750 VDC and 25 KVAC overhead wires.
- Tram-trains can use conventional railway signalling.
- Tram-trains could work on the South Wales Main Line to Newport.
- Modern tram-trains like the Class 399 tram-train have performance, that is about the same as a Class 142 train, which is a Pacer, that works the Cardiff Valley Lines, in large numbers.
- Tram-trains could run on the streets as trams, as they do in Sheffield.
Several manufacturers make tram-trains, which I believe could be suitablefor the Cardiff Valley Lines.
Stadler’s Class 399 Tram-Trains
Nothing is said about the vehicles, that would be used, but I think they need the following characteristics.
- Ability to climb the steepest section of the routes using 750 VDC overhead electrification.
- Ability to store energy.
- Regenerative braking to charge the batteries coming down the hills into Cardiff.
- A similar capacity to a Class 150 train, which is around 150 seats.
- It would be a bonus if they could use 25 KVAC overhead electrification, which will be available on part of some of the routes.
- Ability to raise and lower the pantograph quickly and automatically.
- Ability to run on the National Rail network.
- Ability to run on the street.
This specification is virtually the same as a Class 399 tram-train with the following additions.
- More seats and possibly an extra car.
- Batteries.
Class 399 tram-trains are a UK version of the Stadler Citylink tram-train. The German version is used in Karlsruhe to climb into the hills surrounding the city, on routes that are as challenging as the Cardiff Valley Lines.
So I have no worries about a version of the Class 399 train handling the Cardiff Valley Lines.
I certainly believe after my experience in Karlsruhe, and looking at other Citylink variants, that Stadler can come up with a tram-train for Cardiff based on the Class 399 tram-train.
And Then There’s CAF!
CAF have provided the Urbos 3 trams for Edinburgh Trams and the Midland Metro.
These are modern trams, that will be doing the following in a few years in the Midlands.
- Running on stored energy in the centre of Birmingham and to Wolverhampton station.
- Sharing the South Staffordshire Line with heavy freight on a new route to Merry Hill Shopping Centre.
This sounds like a tram-train with stored energy.
Wikipedia also lists a version of the Urbos family, called an Urbos TT, which is described like this.
The Urbos TT series is built with tram-train technology, connecting existing heavy rail infrastructure directly to urban tramway systems.
This document on the CAF web site, gives more details of Urbos variants, including the Urbos TT.
Looking at the modular nature of the design, you could have a custom-built tram-train tailored to the rail network.
But surely, the major factor with CAF, is that they have recently opened a factory at Newport.
If CAF get the order for the Cardiff Valley Lines, they could do a substantial part of the train building in a factory connected directly to the lines.
Converting The Valley Lines
I think that there are advantages and cost savings to be had, by good design in this area.
Could The Rail Vehicles Be Designed To Fit The Existing Platforms?
The first thing to do would be to design, build and fully test the rail vehicles.
Could the tram-trains be built, so that they fitted all the existing platforms?
- Class 150 trains are 2.82 metres wide.
- Urbos 3 trams on the Midland Metro are 2.65 wide.
If the tram-trains could run without platform modifications, this would be a big cost saving and still allow diesel units to use the lines, at the same time.
Testing The Trains
If the tram-trains were being given a 25 KVAC capability, they could even be tested on the quadruple-track the South Wales Main Line after the line is electrified through Newport.
Electrifying The Lines
It could be that the only sections of the valley lines that will need electrification, are the steep lines into the hills, as all other sections could use stored power or the 25 KVAC, where it exists.
- It would probably be possible to put up the simpler 750 VDC overhead lines during weekend and perhaps longer possessions.
- The electrification could be designed so that it doesn’t interfere with existing services.
- The lines would be converted one at a time.
- ,Note that tram-trains could share track and platform with the current diesel trains working the lines.
If CAF were to get the order surely the Ebbw Valley Line, which could be connected easily to the factory would be the first to be converted.
Conclusion
Obviously, the devil will be in the detail, but it does look like a viable plan will emerge.
I think that if CAF get the order, that they could be big winners.
The Cardiff Valley Lines could demonstrate the following.
- Running on main lines with 25 KVAC electrification.
- Running on 750 VDC electrification.
- Running on batteries.
- Running on lines with steep hills.
- Street running.
- Sharing tracks with freight trains and other passenger services.
- The tram-trains could also connect to Cardiff Airport.
It is a world-class demonstration and test track for innovative tram-trains, designed to cope with challenging rail networks.
With a factory close by at Newport, the selling of the tram-trains to other operators would be a salesman’s dream.
I think there’s more to CAF coming to Newport, than was apparent, when the deal for the factory was signed.
Thoughts On Trains Between Cardiff And Swansea
I decided to write this post, when, I read this article on Rail Magazine, which is entitled Cardiff-Swansea wires ‘not sensible’.
This is the first paragraph.
Electrifying the railway between Cardiff and Swansea was not a sensible thing to do, according to Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling.
Some would argue that Chris Grayling holds a controversial view!
The Current Route
Before, proposing anything, I’ll list what we have today.
The Tracks
I have flown my virtual helicopter along the route and nearly all the route is double track, with sections of triple and quadruple track in places.
This Google Map shows a typical section of the line.
Note.
- There are two well-spaced tracks.
- The tracks are not straight, but gently curve.
- There appears to be a lot of green space on either side.
The line appears to be similar to this most of the way.
I may be wrong, but I don’t think much of the line would be that difficult to electrify, from an engineering point of view.
The signalling and operating speed are described under Infrastructure in the Wikipedia entry for the South Wales Main Line.
The signalling is modern and this is said about operating speed between Cardiff and Swansea.
90 mph (145 km/h) from Newport to east of Bridgend; 75 mph (120 km/h) from east of Bridgend to Swansea Loop North junction (with a small section of 100 mph (160 km/h) track through Pyle station); and 40 mph (65 km/h) from Swansea Loop North Junction to Swansea.
It is not a high speed line, although I suspect that things could be improved.
The Stations
These are the stations between Cardiff and Swansea.
- Pontyclun – Two platforms – 300,000 passengers – Reopened in 1992
- Llanharan – Two platforms – 200,000 passengers – Reopened in 2007
- Pencoed – Two platforms – 200,000 passengers – Reopened in 1992
- Bridgend – Two platforms – 1,500.00 passengers – Opened in 1850
- Pyle – Two platforms – 100,000 passengers – Opened in 1850
- Port Talbot Parkway – Two platforms – 500,000 passengers – Opened in 1850
- Baglan – Two platforms – 24,000 passengers – Opened in 1996
- Briton Ferry – Two platforms – 40,000 passengers – Reopened in 1994
- Neath – Two platforms – 800,000 passengers – Opened in 1850
- Skewen – Two platforms – 40,000 passengers – Reopened in 1994
- Llansamlet – Two platforms – 40,000 passengers – Opened in 1994
Note that the passenger figure is the number of passengers given for the past year, rounded to a sensible value.
It should also be noted, that not one of the stations has a layout that allows a fast train to bypass a slow one stopped in the station.
The Trains
Current trains on the route include.
- Class 150 train – 75 mph diesel multiple unit
- Class 158 train – 90 mph diesel multiple unit
- Class 175 train – 100 mph diesel multiple unit
- Class 800 train – 100 mph plus on diesel
Some parts of the route are also used by freight trains.
As much of the route has a operating speed of less than 100 mph, the operating speed of the two 100 mph trains is determined by the track, not the train.
The Services
There appears to be a fast service between Cardiff and Swansea.
- It runs with a frequency of three trains per hour (tph)
- Trains stop at Bridgend, Port Talbot Parkway and Neath.
- Two services are run by Great Western Railway and one by Arriva Trains Wales
- Timings are not clock-face by any means.
In an ideal world the frequency of this fast service would be four or more tph.
There is also a slow train, which appears to be once every two hours at the other stations.
It surely should be at least one tph.
Why are the services so limited?
Improving The Route
A new franchise for Wales will be announced and I wouldn’t be surprised to see improvements promised for the route between Cardiff and Swansea.
How could the capacity of the line be increased?
Raising The Operating Speed
I quoted this extract from Wikipedia, about operating speed between Cardiff and Swansea, earlier
90 mph (145 km/h) from Newport to east of Bridgend; 75 mph (120 km/h) from east of Bridgend to Swansea Loop North junction (with a small section of 100 mph (160 km/h) track through Pyle station); and 40 mph (65 km/h) from Swansea Loop North Junction to Swansea.
So except for around Pyle station, the operating speed is below and sometimes well below 100 mph.
Improving the operating speed to as high as possible will reduce the timings between Cardiff and Swansea.
Elimination Of Slower Trains
There is no point in raising the operating speed, if trains that cannot cruise at the improved speed are still running on the line.
Modern Trains With A Fast Dwell Time
Modern trains like Class 800 trains, Desiros and Aventras are designed to be able to stop from line speed, load and unload passengers and regain line speed as fast as possible.
Off the current trains working on the line, only Class 800 trains are in this category.
Step-Free Access Between Platform And Train
All stations between Cardiff and Swansea should be made step-free between platform and train.
This will help the trains keep to the timetable.
Allow Faster Trains To Overtake Slower Ones
Timetabling is probably made difficult, in that there is nowhere where a fast train can overtake a slower one.
Often this is done in a station, where whilst the slow train sits in the station, the fast train goes straight through.
Rebuilding Some Stations
It might be prudent to rebuild some stations, for better step-free access and allow trains to pass.
Are there any plans for new ones?
Electrification
None of these improvements need or affect any future electrification of the route.
But these improvements don’t need it!
In fact, it might be quite the reverse in that some of the improvements like improving the track may need to be done before electrification!
The Next Generation Of Bi-Mode Trains
In Bombardier Bi-Mode Aventra To Feature Battery Power, I discussed Bombardier’s proposed 125 mph bi-mode Aventra.
The information came from this article in Rail Magazine.
A few points from the article.
- Development has already started.
- Battery power could be used for Last-Mile applications.
- The bi-mode would have a maximum speed of 125 mph under both electric and diesel power.
- The trains will be built at Derby.
- Bombardier’s spokesman said that the ambience will be better, than other bi-modes.
If Bombardier are doing this, what are Alstom , CAF, Hitachi, Siemens and Stadler doing.
And I haven’t mentioned hydrogen power!
Conclusion
Put all this together and I’m sure this could be the reasoning behind Chris Grayling’s statement that electrifying between Cardiff and Swansea is not sensible.
I am coming round to the belief that it might be better spending the electrification money on improving the line between Cardiff and Swansea, so that something like the following is possible.
- Four fast tph between Cardiff and Swansea.
- Two slow tph between Cardiff and Port Talbot Parkway stopping at all stations.
- Two slow tph between Port Talbot Parkway and Swansea stopping at all stations.
Or whatever is needed.
Cardiff To Gloucester And Cheltenham In A Class 769 Train
As the time gets nearer for the entry of the Class 769 train into service at the end of the year, speculation is mounting about how the trains will be used.
In the August 2017 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article, which is entitled Class 769s For Wales.
After discussing how the trains will be used to deputise for the current Class 150 trains so that they can be made compliant with the Persons of Reduced Mobility regulations, the article goes on to say this.
None of the electrical equipment will be removed from ‘769s’ destined for Wales. After completion of Great Western Electrification to Cardiff, they could operate electrically from Cardiff to Severn Tunnel Junction, where they would switch to diesel operation for the rest of the route to Gloucester and Cheltenham.
The fastest direct trains take one hour fifteen minutes for the journey, so a round trip could be a few minutes under three hours, so that an hourly service would need three trains.
|Aberthaw Resumes Cement Dispatch
This is the title of another article in the January 2017 Edition of Modern Railways.
I wasn’t sure where Aberthaw was, so I looked it up on the Internet and this Google Map shows Aberthaw Cement Works, Cardiff International Airport and the Vale of Glamorgan Railway, that links Cardiff Central station in the East to Bridgend in the West.
Note.
- The red arrow indicates the cement works.
- The Airport terminal is on the North side of the long runway,.
- Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station is on the other side of the runway and connected to the Airport by a sguttle bus.
- The line was closed by Beeching to passenger traffic in 1964, but was reopened in 2005.
Could Cardiff Airport benefit from the same sort of train-train link, that has been proposed for Glasgow that I wrote about in The Glasgow Airport Rail Link Will Be A Tram-Train?
But the map does illustrate the benefit of rail access to the cement works.
- The works is close the Vale of Glamorgan Line.
- Trains from the cement works can go East to places that need the product, including surprisingly, the South West of England.
- The rail link could cut the number of truck movements by 25%.
This would seem to be an ideal use for rail freight.
Are we doing enough to develop similar links, from other large factories all over the UK?
As the line is supposed to be electrified in a few years, could it be that a proper review of the line should be done first, to see whether any other projects should be done at the same time.
The reason I say this, is that the history of the line is much the same as that of the Grand Old Duke of York and his soldiers.
The Anonymous Widower 