The Anonymous Widower

Regulator Approves New Grand Union Train Service From Carmarthen To London Paddington

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the Office of Rail and Road.

This is the sub-heading of the press release.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has opened up the Great Western Main Line to competition and enabled a significant increase in rail services between London and South Wales.

These points are made in the press release.

  • The rail regulator has approved the introduction of new train services between London, Cardiff and South West Wales from the end of 2024.
  • The services will be operated by a new open access operator, Grand Union Trains, bringing competition to the Great Western route out of Paddington.
  • Passengers travelling between London, Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport, Cardiff, Gowerton, Llanelli and Carmarthen will benefit from an extra five daily return services and greater choice of operator.
  • The decision opens up the Great Western Main Line to competition for the first time, with potential benefits in terms of lower fares, improved service quality and innovation for all passengers using the route.
  • The application, submitted to ORR in June 2022, was disputed by Network Rail due to concerns about capacity on the network. But following careful consideration and analysis, ORR has directed Network Rail to enter into a contract with Grand Union.
  • Grand Union has committed to significant investment in new trains.
  • As an ‘open access’ train operator, however, it will not get paid subsidies from public funds, unlike current operators along the route.

ORR supports new open access where it delivers competition for the benefit of passengers. In making this decision, the regulator has weighed this up against the impact on Government funds and effect on other users of the railway, both passengers and freight customers.

These are my thoughts.

The Company

Grand Union Trains have certainly persevered to get this approval.

  • The company was created by Ian Yeowart, who previously created open access operators; Alliance Rail Holdings and Grand Central before selling both to Arriva.
  • After multiple negotiations with the Office of Road and Rail (ORR), Yeowart must know how to get an acceptable deal.
  • Grand Union Trains have a similar application for a service between Euston and Stirling with the ORR.

Grand Union Trains also have a web site.

The home page has a mission statement of Railways To Our Core, with this statement underneath.

At Grand Union we are passionate about Britain’s railways. We are committed to the traditional values of providing a high-quality customer service and a comfortable journey experience at a fair price.

I’ll go with that.

The Financial Backing Of The Company

All the UK’s open access operators are well-financed either by Arriva or First Group.

The ORR would not receive any thanks, if they approved an operator, which duly went bust.

So what is the quality of the financing behind Grand Union Trains?

This article on Railway Gazette is entitled RENFE Looks At Entering UK Rail Market Through Open Access Partnership, which starts with this paragraph.

Open access passenger service developer Grand Union Trains is working with Spain’s national operator RENFE and private equity firm Serena Industrial Partners on a proposed service between London and Wales.

That is fairly clear and would surely help in the financing of Grand Union Trains.

The Route

Trains will run between Carmarthen and London Paddington, with stops at Llanelli, Gowerton, Cardiff, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction and Bristol Parkway.

A new station at Felindre will replace Gowerton at some time in the future.

There will be five trains per day (tpd).

I have some thoughts and questions about the route

Felindre Station

Felindre station is named in Wikipedia as the West Wales Parkway station, where it is introduced like this.

West Wales Parkway is a proposed railway station north of Swansea, near to the boundaries of the neighbouring principal area of Carmarthenshire, and the villages of Felindre and Llangyfelach. The station is proposed to be situated at the former Felindre steelworks, near Junction 46 of the M4 and A48, and near Felindre Business Park and Penllergaer Business Park. The project is in the planning stages, as part of a wider Department for Transport proposal to re-open the Swansea District line to passenger traffic.

This Google Map shows where, it appears the Felindre station will be built.

Note.

  1. The Felindre Business Park in the North-West corner of the map, with a Park-and-Ride.
  2. The M4 running across the bottom of the map.
  3. The Swansea District Line runs East-West between the motorway and the Business Park.

It looks that the new station could be located on the South side of the Business Park.

When High Speed Two Opens Will Trains Call At Old Oak Common?

When High Speed Two opens, all GWR trains will stop at Old Oak Common station for these connections.

  • Chiltern for for Banbury, Bicester, High Wycombe and the West Midlands
  • Elizabeth Line for Central and East London and the Thames Valley
  • Heathrow Airport
  • High Speed Two for Birmingham and the North
  • Overground for Outer London

As Old Oak Common will be such an important interchange, I think they should.

Will The Platforms At Carmarthen Station Need Lengthening?

This Google Map shows Carmarthen station.

Note.

  1. The station has two platforms.
  2. There are certainly pictures of the station with an InterCity 125 in the station. There is a picture on the Wikipedia entry for Carmarthen station.

These pictures show the station.

I suspect that the station will be upgraded to accommodate Grand Union Trains.

The Trains

An article in the June 2022 Edition of Modern Railways, which is entitled Grand Union Bids For London To Carmarthen, gives these details of the trains.

  • Three classes.
  • 2023 start for the service.
  • Cycle provision.
  • Vanload freight will be carried.
  • Electric trains could start between London and Cardiff by 2023.
  • In 2025, trains could be nine-car bi-modes.
  • South Wales-based operation and maintenance.
  • 125 full-time jobs created.

It certainly seems to be a comprehensive and well-thought out plan.

I have a few thoughts on the trains.

What Make Of Trains Will Be Procured?

Consider.

  • Lumo’s Class 803 trains were ordered from Hitachi in March 2019 and entered service in October 2021.
  • So if they ordered their version of the Hitachi trains by the end of 2022, the trains could be in service by July/August 2025.
  • It would probably be easier, if the only fast trains on the Great Western Main Line between London and South Wales were all Hitachi trains with identical performance.

But the Spanish backers of Grand Union Trains may prefer Spanish-designed trains assembled in South Wales. So would a bi-mode version of CAF’s Class 397 trains be suitable?

On the other hand, the Carmarthen and Cardiff section of the route without a reverse at Swansea is only seventy-five miles.

This Hitachi infographic shows the Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.

Consider.

  • Charging could be provided at Carmarthen using a short length of electrification or one of Furrer + Frey standard chargers.
  • Charging would also use the electrification between London Paddington and Cardiff.
  • A nine-car Class 800 or Class 802 train has five engines and a five-car train has three engines.
  • The Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train was announced in December 2022.
  • In the intervening two years how far has the project progressed?
  • For the last twelve months, Lumo have been running trains with an emergency battery-pack for hotel power. How are the batteries doing, whilst being ferried up and down, the East Coast Main Line?

Can Hitachi configure a train with more than one battery-pack and a number of diesel engines, that has a range of seventy-five miles? I suspect they can.

I suspect that CAF also have similar technology.

There is also a benefit to Great Western Railway (GWR).

If GWR were able to fit out their Class 802 trains in the same way, they would be able to run between Cardiff and Swansea on battery power.

  • It is only 45.7 miles.
  • Charging would need to be provided at Swansea.
  • GWR could still run their one tpd service to Carmarthen.

It looks like both train operating companies could be able to do as Lumo does and advertise all electric services.

What Could Be The Maxmum Range Of A Hitachi Train On Batteries?

This Hitachi infographic shows the Hitachi Regional Battery Train.

Consider.

  • It has a battery range of 90 km or 56 miles on the single battery.
  • I would expect that by a regional train, Hitachi mean a five car Class 800 or 802 train, like those that go to Cheltenham, Lincoln or Middlesbrough.
  • A five-car Hitachi Regional Battery Train would have a battery that could contain power equivalent to 280 car-miles.
  • Five-car Class 800 or 802 trains have three engine positions.
  • These Hitachi trains have a very sophisticated control system, which I wrote about in Do Class 800/801/802 Trains Use Batteries For Regenerative Braking?

I believe the engineers at Hyperdrive Innovation have designed the battery-packs that replace the diesel engines as simulations of the diesel engines, so they can be a direct replacement.

This would mean that battery-packs could be additive, so the following could apply to a five-car train.

  • Two battery packs could have a range of 112 miles.
  • Three battery packs could have a range of 168 miles.

GWR generally runs pairs of five-car trains to Swansea, which would be 90 miles without electrification.

If five-car trains with two battery packs, could be given a range of 112 miles, GWR could run an electric service to Swansea.

They could also run to Carmarthen, if Grand Union Trains would share the charger.

What ranges could be possible with nine-car trains, if one battery pack is good for 280 car-miles?

  • One battery-pack, gives a range of 280/9 = 31 miles
  • Two battery-packs, give a range of 2*280/9 = 62 miles
  • Three battery-packs, give a range of 3*280/9 = 93 miles
  • Four battery-packs, give a range of 4*280/9 = 124 miles
  • Five battery-packs, give a range of 5*280/9 = 155 miles
  • Six battery-packs, give a range of 6*280/9 = 187 miles
  • Seven battery-packs, give a range of 7*280/9 = 218 miles

Note.

  1. I have rounded figures to the nearest mile.
  2. There are five cars with diesel engines in a nine-car train, which are in cars 2,3,5, 7 and 8.
  3. Diesel engines are also placed under the driver cars in five-car Class 810 trains.
  4. For the previous two reasons, I feel that the maximum numbers of diesel engines in a nine-car train could be a maximum of seven.
  5. I have therefor assumed a maximum of seven battery packs.

These distances seem sensational, but when you consider that Stradler’s Flirt Akku has demonstrated a battery range of 243 kilometres or 150 miles, I don’t think they are out of order.

But, if they are correct, then the ramifications are enormous.

  • Large numbers of routes could become electric without any infrastructure works.
  • Grand Union Trains would be able to run to Carmarthen and back without a charger at Carmarthen. 
  • GWR would be able to run to Swansea and back without a charger at Swansea.

Prudence may mean strategic chargers are installed.

Rrenewable Energy Developments In South West Wales

In Enter The Dragon, I talked about renewable energy developments in South West Wales.

I used information from this article on the Engineer, which is entitled Unlocking The Renewables Potential Of The Celtic Sea.

The article on the Engineer finishes with this conclusion.

For now, Wales may be lagging slightly behind its Celtic cousin to the north, but if the true potential of the Celtic Sea can be unleashed – FLOW, tidal stream, lagoon and wave – it looks set to play an even more prominent role in the net zero pursuit.

The Red Dragon is entering the battle to replace Vlad the Mad’s tainted energy.

South West Wales could see a massive renewable energy boom.

Grand Union Trains will increase the capacity to bring in more workers to support the developments from South Wales and Bristol.

 

 

 

December 3, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

TransPennine Express’s New Liverpool Lime Street And Glasgow Central Service

Transpennine Express are introducing a new service between Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central stations at the December 2019 timetable change.

So I examined the service for the the 21st January, 2020.

  • There are three Northbound trains at 08:12, 12:12 and 16:12.
  • There are three Southbound trains at 07:45, 11:44 and 16:29
  • Journey times vary between three hours and 17 minutes and three hours and 47 minutes.
  • Trains appear to always stop at Wigan North Western, Preston, Penrith North Lakes and Carlisle.
  • Selective services call at other stations including Lancaster and St. Helens Central.

As passengers can always travel the route with a change at Preston, it is a useful start. It should also be born in mind that there are currently, two trains per hour (tph) between Glasgow Central and Preston stations, so the route with a change at Preston can be quicker than waiting for a direct train.

If you look at the Transpennine service between Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central stations, it appears that there are gaps in the hourly service at 08:00, 12:00 and 16:00.

These gaps have now been filled with Liverpool services.

Current and Future Trains Between Liverpool or Manchester and Glssgow or Edinburgh

The current service is run by nine Class 350 trains, which includes the following.

  • One tph between Between Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central, with three services missing.
  • One train every two hours between Manchester Airport and Edinburgh.

The service from the December 2019 change will at some point be run by twelve Class 397 trains.

It will add three trains per day between Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central, which will give an hourly TranPennine service between Glasgow Central and Preston.

I estimate that the new service will require two more trains, which is incorporated in the larger fleet size.

Timings Between Preston And Glasgow

If you look at the limitings between Preston and Glasgow, you find the following.

  • Virgin’s Class 390 trains take between two hours 21 minutes and two hours 34 minutes.
  • The new Liverpool service is timetabled to take two hours 53 minutes.

As the current Class 350 trains are only 110 mph trains, this is the explanation.

But the new Class 397 trains are 125 mph trains and can probably match the times set by Virgin.

So expect to see some timing reductions on TransPennine’s routes on the West Coast Main Line.

Will Services Between Liverpool And Manchester and Glasgow Split And Join At Preston?

TransPennine Express are meeting their franchise obligations, by providing three trains per day between Liverpool ad Glasgow, but could they do better by splitting and joining services at Preston.

  • Going North, a service from Manchester Airport and one from Liverpool would join at Preston, before proceeding to Glasgow as a ten-car train.
  • Coming South, a pair of trains from Glasgow, would split at Preston, with one train going to Liverpool and the other to Manchester Airport.

Obviously, the trains would need to be able to split and join in a minute or so, but it would open up the possibility of an hourly service from both Liverpool and Manchester to Glasgow.

Liverpool And Manchester To Edinburgh

After the December 2019 timetable change, TransPennine’s Liverpool and Newcastle service will be extend to Edinburgh, giving Liverpool a direct service to \Edinburgh and Manchester, a second service to Edinburgh.

Timings by the various routes will be.

  • Liverpool and Edinburgh via Manchester, Leeds and York – Four hours 28 minutes – Hourly
  • Manchester Piccadilly and Edinburgh via Preston and Carstairs – Three hours 10 minutes – Two hourly
  • Manchester Victoria  and Edinburgh via Leeds and York – Three hours 52 minutes – Hourly

These times compare well with the four hours drive predicted on the Internet.

Conclusion

Connections between Northern England and the Central Belt of Scotland will improve greatly after the December 2019 timetable change.

New trains on these routes will also mean faster services, where they run on the East and |West Coast Main Lines.

More trains will also increase frequency.

 

November 17, 2019 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Chaotic Morning Peak Across The Pennines

I had intended to ride in one of TransPennine Express’s new trains that are formed of a rake of Mark 5A coaches hauled by a Class 68 locomotive.

As they run between Liverpool Lime Street and Scarbough, I thought it best to buy a return ticket between Manchester Victoria and Leeds.

Problem Number 1 – Northern’s Ticket Machine

Northern’s new ticket machines are fine when they work, but for some reason they wouldn’t respond to my fingers.

I find this with some touch screens, which are mainly in Sweden or IKEA in the UK.

So I bought a ticket from the ticket office intending to catch the next Scarborough train.

This had also happened the day before at Leeds.

Problem Number 2 – The Scarborough Train Didn’t Arrive

As the Scarborough train didn’t arrive, I gave up and took the Newcastle train towards Leeds.

Problem Number 3 – Overcrowding At Huddersfield

I took this picture of the crowds at Huddersfield.

My phone was telling me that the Scarborough train was behind my Newcastle train, so I decided to change at Huddersfield.

But I made a mistake and got on a very crowded train, that was going to Hull via Leeds.

I had to stand to Leeds, but at least I got a roomy and safe standing space.

Problem Number 4 – Class 185 Trains

.The Class 185 trains are just three-cars and totally inadequate for the route.

The  trains were ordered in 2003 and were delivered in 2006-2007.

If you read the section entitled Overcrowding And Passenger Feedback, in the Wikipedia entry for the trains., you’ll see from the early days, these trains did not have enough capacity for the route.

I blame the Treasury under Gordon Brown, who specified the trains and as with Class 700 trains, which were also specified by the Treasury, there are serious shortcomings.

Considering that among other routes at this time, the London and Norwich route was being run by eight car trains, what in heaven were they thinking about.

But it was only the North of England! And not London or Scotland!

Problem Number 5 – Crowded Leeds Station

Leeds station was crowded as ever, but it wasn’t helped by an escalator being broken down.

I had hoped, that I would have enough time to go to Harrogate, but I felt as it was all so slow, that it was best to go back to Manchester Victoria station, grab something to eat and then go on to Liverpool Lime Street station, which was my intended destination.

Problem Number 6 – Ticket Machine At Leeds Station

I needed a Single from Leeds to Liverpool Lime Street and try as I might, I couldn’t find it on the machine, so I resorted to the Ticket Office again.

Problem Number 7 – Train Failure At Manchester Victoria Station

The train from Leeds to Manchester Victoria was another Class 185 train and I did get a seat.

But where was the new five-car rake of Mark 5A coaches and a Class 68 locomotive?

I did successfully split my journey at Manchester Victoria station, but there seemed to be problems, so I thought I’d go on immediately to Liverpool and arrive in the city with an hour to spare for my meeting.

As if things could be so simple!

A Class 185 train had failed in the platform and it was nearly an hour, before I got away to Liverpool in a train, that arrived in the bay platform 2, which to get to the West, had to come out of the station and reverse. I suspect TransPennine Express were using a driver in both cabs or driving it from the Liverpool-facing cab at all time.

Problem Number 8 – Late Arrival Into Liverpool Lime Street

I arrived in Liverpool about fifteen minutes late for my meeting, with the rain chucking it down, after it being dry in Manchester.

The weather in itself must be unusual!

My Observations

I was having a text conversation with a friend in London and these were my observations to him, with a few other points added by hindsight.

1. Northern’s Ticket Machines

These need reeducation and the dry-finger problem that I suffer with the screens must be fixed.

2. Northern’s Ticket Offices

Northern needs to open more ticket office windows.

3. Where Is The London-Style Contactless Ticketing?

London has proven, that contactless ticketing based on bank cards increases passenger numbers and revenue and has a high level of passenger satisfaction.

\The area of the North between Liverpool and Blackpool in the West and Leeds and Sheffield in the East is in terms of passenger numbers smaller than London’s contactless ticketing area.

I think there are two reasons, why it doesn’t exist now or in the near future.

  • The trains are not big enough to cope with the increased traffic.
  • It will result in a reduction of ticket offices and their staff and those in charge are frightened of the RMT.

So visitors like me have to suffer an inadequate ticketing system because of timid management.

4. Buying Tickets In The North In The Future

In future, when I go to the North, I’ll plan my journey in detail and buy my tickets from the intelligent and extremely customer-friendly ticket machines in Dalston Junction station.

It’s strange that both Northern and the London Overground are run by Arriva. How can one get it so right and the other so wrong?

Perhaps it’s because the London Overground only deals with one organisation; Transport for London and Northern deals with a myriad rabble of councillors, MPs, pressure groups, all fighting their own corners.

5. All Trains Must Be At Least Six Cars

More capacity is needed and as there is a lack of train paths across the Pennines, because of lack of investment in the tracks for decades, starting with that enemy of the train; Harold Wilson.The simplest way to increase to increase capacity is to make all trains at least six cars.

But I would go father than that.

  • Trains running across the Pennines should all be identical.
  • Capable of at least 100 mph.
  • Capable of 125 mph, when the route includes the West or East Coast Main Lines.
  • Fast acceleration away from stops.
  • Identical door configuration with wide double doors on all trains.
  • Level access between train and platform.
  • Short dwell times in stopping stations.

Identical trains improve timekeeping and give a better service to passengers.

If you look at the Paddington and Oxford service it is now run virtually exclusively using Class 800 or 802 trains. I feel as an occasional passenger that it has improved dramatically, in terms of capacity, comfort and reliability for passengers.

6. What Idiot Decided To Buy Three Different Fleets For TransPennine Express?

The sister company of TransPennine Express is Great Western Railway.

Great Western Railway’s main line services are run by two fleets of trains.

As some of the Class 387 trains are being converted for Heathrow Express and Crossrail are taking over London and Reading services, I can see a time, when all fast services that go to and from Paddington through Reading will be run by the Hitachi trains.

Consider.

  • West of Heathrow, the fast lines are reserved for the 125 mph Hitachi trains.
  • The 110 mph Class 387 trains to and from Heathrow, don’t get in the way of the faster Hitachi trains.
  • Applying digital signalling to increase paths on the fast lines is easier with identical trains.
  • Driver training and rostering must be simpler.

It’s not perfect, but it’s an arrangement that can be made to work well.

If a unified fleet is so good, why did TransPennine Express buy three separate fleets?

Class 802 Trains

Nineteen Class 802 trains will be used for these services.

  • Liverpool Lime Street to Edinburgh Waverley via Newcastle (from December 2019)
  • Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle (until December 2019)
  • Manchester Airport to Newcastle

This seems to be a sensible and obvious choice.

  • A five-car Class 802 train has eighty percent more seats than a three-car Class 185 train.
  • A five-car Class 802 train is shorter than a pair of Class 185 trains.
  • The trains are 125 mph trains, that can be upgraded to 140 mph with digital in-cab signalling.
  • FirstGroup must have a large amount of experience of running Class 802 trains.
  • Class 802 trains have an automatic split and join facility.
  • East Coast Trains, Hull Trains and LNER will be running similar Hitachi trains on the East Coast Main Line.

In addition the fleet is future-proofed in two important ways.

  • If the TransPennine route is ever electrified, their diesel engines can be removed.
  • Extra cars can be added to Class 802 trains to increase capacity

Using Class 802 trains is an excellent choice.

Class 68 Locomotive And Mark 5A Coaches

Twelve rakes of four Mark 5A coaches between a Class 68 locomotive and a driving van trailer, will run these routes.

  • Liverpool Lime Street to Scarborough via Manchester Victoria.
  • Manchester Airport to Redcar Central (In 2019).

I wonder why these services aren’t going to be run by another twelve Class 802 trains.

Consider.

  • Pollution would be reduced and the air improved in the electrified Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Airport and Manchester Airport stations,  if TransPennine used Class 802 trains on all services from the station.
  • Drivers on the routes across the Pennines would more often be driving the same trains.
  • The Class 802  trains are in service on the East Coast Main Line, which must make timekeeping better.
  • The Class 802 trains can be upgraded to work at 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line.

It’s rather strange!

Class 397 Trains

Twelve Class 397 trains will be replacing ten Class 350 trains.

  • The extra two trains are to provide a Liverpool and Glasgow service.
  • The Class 397 trains have an extra car over the Class 350 trains.
  • The seating capacity of both trains is 296.
  • The Class 397 trains are 125 mph trains, which can mix it with Virgin’s Pendelinos.
  • The Class 350 trains are only 110 mph trains, which must get in the way of the Pendelionos.
  • I suspect that the Class 397 trains can be upgraded to 140 mph in the future.

The Class 350 trains needed to be increased and replaced with a 125 mph train.

But why aren’t they being replaced with more Class 802 trains?

  • The Class 802 train is already in service.
  • The Class 802 train has 326 seats as against the 296 of the Class 397 train.
  • TransPennineExpress are already buying nineteen Class 802 trains.
  • If required, an all-electric version could be ordered.
  • West Coast Rail plan to run Hitachi trains on the West Coast Main Line.

It’s rather a puzzle, why TransPennine Express has ordered Class 397 trains, as everything suggests that Class 802 trains could run West Coast services.

All Three Fleets Use The Castlefield Corridor

Believe it or not, but TransPennine Express plan to run these services through the Castlefield Corridor.

  • Manchester Airport and Glasgow/Edinburgh – Class 397 trains.
  • Manchester Airport and Newcastle – Class 802 trains
  • Manchester Airport to Redcar Central – Mark 5A coaches.

Three routes and three different trains!

Was this timetable chosen to confuse staff and passengers?

Possible Reasons For Three Fleets

The only valid reason is that the Hitachi trains can’t work in Scotland.

But it is more likely to do with production schedules at Hitachi or that the fleets were bought by accountants, with very little brain!

I did notice this statement in the Wikipedia entry for the Class 397 trains.

An option for up to 22 extra units was available to TransPennine Express, but it was not exercised.

As 22 trains is close to the nineteen Class 802 trains that were ordered, were TransPennine Express trying to buy a totally-CAF fleet?

7. Track Speed Should Be Improved

Track speeds are slow compared to say the the Great Eastern Main Line,

Improving the track to allow faster speeds may be one of the best decisions to take.

8. There Should Be Better Platform Access At Manchester Victoria And Leeds Stations

These two stations don’t have the best access to the platforms..

They should be improved with more escalators, so that passengers changing trains don’t miss their connections.

Conclusion

Money needs to be spent to remove some of the chaos and constipation in the North.

 

 

 

 

I

 

November 6, 2019 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Puzzled By New Fleets For TransPennine Express

TransPennine Express (TPE) are replacing all their trains, but their choice of three different new fleets puzzles me.

The new fleets and their routes are as follows.

Nova1

This is a fleet of nineteen five-car bi-mode Class 802 trains.

According to Wikipedia, they will work the following routes, with probably a frequency of one tph

Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Newcastle, which I estimate will take 4:15 hours

Manchester Airport and Newcastle, which takes around 2:45 hours

These two services would probably need nine for the Edinburgh service and six for the Manchester Airport service.

This means that there are four extra trains.

If there is a spare or one in maintenance, that means that two trains are available to boost capacity on busy services if needed, by running a ten-car train.

I doubt that ten-car services to Manchester Airport could be run through the Castlefield Corridor due to the inadequate stations, but Liverpool and Edinburgh might be a route for longer trains.

I have some observations on Nova1.

  • The trains are 125 mph trains, that can be upgraded to 140 mph with in-cab signalling.
  • The trains will share the East Coast Main Line with LNER’s Azumas, which are other members of te same family of Hitachi trains.

The trains have been authorised to start running services.

Nova2

This is a fleet of twelve electric Class 397 trains.

According to Wikipedia, they will work the following routes,

  • Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central, which takes around 3:30 hours.
  • Manchester Airport and Edinburgh, which takes around 3:15 hours.
  • New route – Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central, which could take around 3:30 hours.

Currently, the two existing routes run at a frequency of one train per two hours, which would probably need at least seven trains.

This probably means that there will be four trains left for the service between Liverpool and Glasgow, if it assumed there is one train spare or in maintenance.

As a round trip between the two cities, would probably take eight hours, it looks like the frequency will be one train per two hours.

This would give the following services, all with a frequency of one train per two hours.

  • Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central via Manchester Piccadilly
  • Manchester Airport and Edinburgh via Manchester Piccadilly
  • Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central

Passengers wanting to go between Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh should keep reading.

I have some observations on Nova2.

  • They are 125 mph trains that are replacing the 110 mph Class 350 trains.
  • In the next few years, these 125 mph trains will be sharing the West Coast Main Line with faster trains like Class 390 trains and the trains of High Speed Two, both of which should be capable of 140 mph, when running using in-cab signalling.
  • I would assume that the trains can be similarly upgraded, otherwise they will have to be replaced.
  • There was an option for more trains, but I suspect the success of Class 802 trains on the Great Western Railway led to it not being taken up.,

The trains should come into service later this year.

Nova3

This is a fleet of five-car rakes of Mark 5A coaches, hauled by a Class 68 diesel locomotive.

There are fourteen locomotives and driving van trailers, with enough coaches for thirteen rakes.

I would suspect that TPE are aiming to have twelve trains available for service.

According to Wikipedia, they will work the following routes, which both have a frequency of one train per hour (tph)

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough via Manchester Victoria, which takes around 2:45 hours.
  • Manchester Airport and Middlesbrough, which takes around 2:45 hours.

So with turnround at both ends, I suspect that a six hour round trip is possible. So to provide the two hourly services across the Pennines, TPE will need six trains for each route.

This explains a fleet size of twelve operational trains.

I have two observations on Nova3.

  • They are diesel-powered and will be running at times on electrified lines. But I suspect the diesel Class 68 locomotive could be replaced in the future with an electro-diesel Class 88 locomotive.
  • Questions have been raised about the speed of exit and entry from the coaches through single end doors of the coaches.
  • They have an operating speed of only 100 mph, but opportunities for higher speeds on the routes are limited to perhaps thirty to forty miles on the East Coast Main Line.

At least they should be in service within a couple of months.

Why Didn’t TPE Order A Unified Fleet?

To summarise TPE have ordered the following trains.

  • Nova1 – Nineteen Class 802 trains
  • Nova2 – Twelve Class 397 trains.
  • Nova3 – Thirteen trains consisting of four coaches topped and tailed by a a Class 68 locomotive and driving van trailer.

All forty-four trains are five cars.

Surely, it would have been easier for TPE to have a fleet, where all the trains were the same.

I suspect that all routes can be run using Class 802 trains, so it as not as if there are any special requirements for the trains.

So why didn’t TPE order a fleet of Class 802 trains?

I can only think of these reasons.

  • Hitachi couldn’t supply the required number of trains in the appropriate time-scale.
  • ,CAF made an offer that TPE couldn’t refuse.

It should also be born in mind that Great Western Railway and Hull Trains, which like TPE are  First Group companies, went down the Class 802 route.

The Future

There are various issues, that will arise in the future.

Nova2 And West Coast Main Line Operating Speed

The new Nova trains are running on TPE’s Northern and Scottish routes and as I indicated earlier, the Nova2 trains might not be fast enough in a few years time for the West Coast Main Line, which will have Class 390 trains running at 140 mph using in-cab signalling.

High Speed Two will surely make this incompatibility worse, unless CAF can upgrade the Nova2 trains for 140 mph running.

Replacing the Nova2 trains with Class 802 trains, which are being built for 140 mph running, would solve the problem.

Nova3 And Class 68 Locomotives

There are powerful reasons to replace diesel locomotives on the UK’s railways, with noise, pollution and carbon emissions at the top of the list.

As Northern Powerhouse Rail is created, there will be more electrification between Manchester and York, adding to the pressure to change the traction.

  • There could be a change of locomotives to Class 88 or Class 93 locomotives, which would run using the overhead electrification, where it exists.
  • The trains could be changed to Class 802 trains.

The Class 68 locomotive is increasingly looking like an interim solution. At least, it’s a less polluting locomotive, than the dreaded and ubiquitous Class 66 locomotive.

Class 185 Replacement

TPE will still have a fleet of diesel three-car Class 185 trains.

  • They are running on routes between Manchester and Hull and Cleethorpes via Huddersfield, Leeds and Sheffield.
  • These are best described as just-about-adequate trains and are one of The Treasury’s boob-buys.
  • As Northern Powerhouse Rail is created, they will be increasingly running under wires.
  • Could it be likely that more capacity will be needed on routes run by these trains?
  • The capacity of a Class 185 train is 169 seats, as opposed to the 342 seats of a five-car Class 802 train.

I think it could be very likely that instead of running pairs of Class 185 trains, TPE will replace them with five-car Class 802 trains.

Conclusion

I very much feel, that over the next few years, TPE’s fleet will change further in the direction of a one-unified fleet!

 

 

 

June 15, 2019 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

From Glasgow To Carlisle In A Class 350 Train

TransPennine Express are replacing their Class 350 trains with new Class 397 trains.

So coming down from Glasgow to Carlisle, I took one of the Class 350 trains to see why they are being replaced.

The train that I rode, had been spruced up with the new livery.

The new Class 397 train has the following advantages over the Class 350 train.

  • It will be a 125 mph train rather than a 110 mph train.
  • It will have power sockets, wi-fi and possibly 4G connectivity
  • It will be five-cars instead of four-cars.

Will there be any other passenger features like a buffet?

 

September 12, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment

Why Do UK Train Operating Companies Dislike Siemens Trains?

This post was suggested by this article on Global Rail News, which is entitled TransPennine Express Class 397 Fleet Taking Shape.

The following sections describe how the various train companies are replacing their trains built by Siemens.

TransPennine Express

TransPennine Express (TPE) currently have two fleets of Siemens trains; Class 350 and Class 185 trains.

Class 350 trains

TPE currently has a fleet of ten four-car Class 350 trains, which were built by Siemens and are used on electrified services between Manchester Airport and Scotland. They are being replaced by twelve five-car Class 397 trains.

The comparison between the two trains gives clues as to why the fleet is being replaced.

  • The Class 397 trains are 125 mph capable, which means they can mix it with the Virgin’s Class 390 Pendelinos of a similar performance.
  • The Class 350 trains are only capable of 110 mph.
  • The fleet needed to be increased in number to handle services between Liverpool and Scotland.
  • The five-car Class 397 trains fit the capacity needed for the Scottish routes better than the four-car Class 350 trains.
  • The Class 350 trains don’t have wi-fi/4G and power-points to the current standard on some of the latest trains, like the Aventra.

I’ve not ridden in these trains, so I can’t comment on their quality.

I suspect it’s that the Class 397 trains have the 125 mph capability and adding another 110 mph train from Liverpool to Scotland would be too much for the West Coast Main Line to handle.

If you look at the current scheduled times of Virgin and TPE between Wigan North Western and Glasgow and Scotland, you get the following.

  • Virgin – Wigan North Western to Glasgow – 2 hours 31 minutes
  • TPE – Wigan North Western to Glasgow – 2 hours 46 minutes
  • Virgin – Wigan North Western to Edinburgh – 2 hours 39 minutes
  • TPE – Wigan North Western to Edinburgh – 2 hours 53 minutes

So it looks like the new 125 mph trains could save around fifteen minutes on a journey between North West England and Scotland. In addition to the quicker journey time for passengers, it might mean that TPE can use their trains more efficiently.

Nothing has been said, but I suspect that the new Class 397 trains can couple and uncouple automatically, as the Class 395 trains do regularly.

This would allow TPE to run a service like this.

  • Two five-car trains start independently from Liverpool and Manchester Airport.
  • The trains would couple together at Wigan North Western or Preston.
  • They would then run to Carstairs at 125 mph.
  • The trains would then split.
  • One train would go to Glasgow and the other would go to Edinburgh.

The Southbound service would reverse the process.

In the 1960s, I travelled from Glasgow to Manchester on a service like this. T remember, that I was very late into Manchester, as we were delayed at Carstairs by the late arrival of the train from Edinburgh.

It looks to me, that TPE have decided to replace their Class 350 trains, with a faster and more flexible fleet, that can be run according to passenger demand.

Class 185 Trains

TPE also have a fleet of fifty-one three-car Class 185 trains, that were built by Siemens in 2005-2006.

These trains were in some ways very badly-specified for the route and have some deficiencies.

  • There are not enough of them and they suffer badly from overcrowding.
  • They are 100 mph trains, which means they are inadequate on the West Coast and East Coast Main Lines.
  • They lack wi-fi and power sockets.
  • They are diesel trains, that sometimes work on electrified lines, like Liverpool to Manchester and Leeds to Newxastle.

It is no surprise that TPE have decided to replace twenty-two of the Class 185 trains with Class 68 locomotive-hauled Mark 5 coaches and Class 802 trains.

  • This gives a twenty-seven percent increase in the number of carriages.
  • The Class 802 trains are 125 mph capable, so will be very handy for Liverpool to Newcastle and in a few years time to Edinburgh.
  • The coaches are also built to be capable of 125 mph, but they would need faster locomotives to run at that speed.
  • The new fleet will have the wi-fi and power sockets that passengers require.

This new fleet will certainly be better suited to TPE’s needs.

Greater Anglia

Greater Anglia are replacing all their trains, including their fleet of twenty-one four-car Class 360 trains, that were built by Siemens in 2002-2003.

However, in the August 30th Edition of Rail Magazine, there is an article entitled Trio Of Class 360 Desiros Reach Norwich For GA Timing Test.

It appears that, as the fastest trains in Greater Anglia’s fleet, they are being tested in case the new Class 745 trains are not ready before January 1st, 2020, when the Mark 3 coaches have to be retired.

South Western Railway

South Western Railway have a mixed fleet, which includes a lot of trains built by Siemens.

Class 707 Trains

South Western Railway (SWR) are still taking deliveries from Siemens of a fleet of thirty five-car Class 707 trains, that they inherited from South West Trains.

However, they have decided to replace the trains and their Class 455 trains with new Aventras.

I think that the main reason for having a fleet of 100 mph suburban trains, is that they get lots of advantages when it comes to creating passenger-friendly timetables.

 

But there are other reasons.

  • SWR have said that all their trains will have toilets. The Class 707 trains don’t.
  • The new fleet contains a lot of ten-car trains, whereas the Class 707 trains are all five cars.
  • If all the trains are identical, this must give advantages with respect to management of trains and staff.

It looks to me, that South West Trains choice of fleet wasn’t in tune with SWR’s philosophy.

The Return Of The Class 442 Trains

Surprisingly, SWR are bringing back thirty-year-old Class 442 trains for the London to Portsmouth routes.

SWR probably need more trains to augment their forty-five Class 444 trains and a hundred plus Class 450 trains, which were all built by Siemens around the turn of the millennium.

Refurbishing the Class 442 trains is probably more affordable than ordering more trains from Siemens.

They can also be fitted with wi-fi, which the Class 444 and Class 450 trains lack.

West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains will takeover from London Midland in December 2017.

Currently, London Midland operate seventy-seven four-car Class 350 trains, built by Siemens in 2004-2014.

West Midlands Trains have promised to introduce 225 new carriages on Euston services.

As these trains work on the West Coast Main Line will they be 125 mph units like the Class 397 trains, so they can mix it with the Pendelinos?

Whatever happens, it does seem that the 100-110 mph Class 350 trains without wi-fi, may be living on borrowed time.

Thameslink

Thameslink is now a rail line run exclusively by Class 700 trains, built by Siemens in the last few years.

The trains were ordered without wi-fi and passengers are often critical of the trains.

In my opinion, the trains are inferior to Crossrail’s Class 345 trains, which have both wi-fi and 4G connectivity.

Conclusions

When I travel in a train that Siemens have built for the UK network, I often feel disappointed and think that they could have done better.

Perhaps the exceptions are South Western Railway’s Class 444 and Class 450 trains, but they lack wi-fi. These trains were built some years ago before it had been invented.

Wi-Fi

The Department for Transport now insists that passengers get free wi-fi and Crossrail is throwing in 4G connectivity as well.

I’m not sure, if there’s a Siemens train in the UK with wi-fi.

But then most trains in Germany have very poor wi-fi in my experience.

Could the design of Siemens trains make fitting of wi-fi and UK-sized power sockets difficult?

Contracts

Most trains these days are leased on long-term contracts, which includes maintenance. Could this cause problems with updating trains?

With the old BR-era trains, there are several depots and factories where trains can be updated and Bombardier seem to update their old tranis regularly at Derby. So is Siemens unprepared to update its older trains on the UK network?

The Aventras Are Coming

The first Class 345 trains are appearing with a quiet and smooth ride, excellent performance and wi-fi and 4G connectivity.

Siemens will have to raise their game to compete.

 

September 6, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Slow Trains In The North

I was asked a few hours ago, as to why would TransPennine Express want to get rid of their Class 350/4 trains.

These ten 110 mph trains were only delivered in 2013 -2014, so why should TransPennine Express replace them?

They work Manchester Airport to Glasgow and Edinburgh services, but they have two major problems.

No Wi-Fi

It looks like none of the Class 350 trains have wi-fi, so possibly passing them on now3, will give that problem to the new owner.

They Are Only 110 mph Trains

The trains are being replaced with Class 397 trains from Spanish manufacturer; CAF.

I suspect the Class 397 trains have a few advantages over the Class 350 trains.

  • The new trains are probably built with wi-fi.
  • The interiors are custom-designed for the Scottish and Manchester Airport markets.
  • The trains are five-cars as opposed to four.
  • The capavity of the new trains is 286 seats as opposed to 229.

But the major difference is that the Class 397 trains are 125 mph trains, like the Class 390 trains used by Virgin.

Looking at times between Glasgow and Preston on the West Coast Main Line, it would appear that the Class 390 trains are up to twelve minutes faster than the current Class 350 trains, so when both companies are running 125 mph trains will we see an improvement in both?

Similar improvements will probably happen on the East Coast Main Line, where the Class 397 trains will be mixing it with Class 800 trains.

Could The Class 397 Trains Handle 140 mph?

This question has to be asked, as at some point in the next few years, when the signalling allows, there may be possibilities for 140 mph. running on both the West and East Coast Main Lines.

I would hope that the Class 397 trains can be uprated to allow 140 mph running.

Will The Class 397 Trains Get In The Way Of HS2 Trains?

HS2 could reach Crewe as early as 2027 and the trains will take to the West Coast Main Line to go North.

I hope that the Class 397 trains are future-proofed to share a line with these new trains.

Other Trains On The West And East |Coast Main Lines

There are other trains that will use the West and East Coast Main Lines, which will not be able to operate at speeds in excess of 125 mph.

I suspect these trains will have to be kept away from the two main lines to Scotland.

Conclusion

The Class 397 trains will have to be capable of being uprated to 140 mph.

I also suspect that any train not capable of holding 140 mph may not be allowed on the West and East Coast Main Lines.

 

July 5, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 2 Comments