Musical Trains On TransPennine Express
The moving on of the inadequate Class 185 trains on TransPennine Express (TPE) seems to have started with this article in Rail News entitled Hitachi scoops 95-car TPE train deal. This is said.
- TPE have signed a deal for the delivery of nineteen five-car Class 802 trains for delivery from 2019.
- The trains will normally run at 125 mph, but will have a 140 mph capability, subject to track and signalling.
- The Class 802 trains will have 161 more seats than the Class 185 trains.
- A second fleet of twenty-five trains will be ordered by TPE for delivery in 2018.
It’s also said that TPE will retain about half of the existing Class 185 trains.
In Future Fleet in the TransPennineExpress Wikipedia entry, this is listed as their future fleet.
- Thirteen sets of five-car Intercity carriages for TransPennine routes with a top speed of 125 mph, with deliveries, starting in 2017.
- Twelve sets of five-car EMUs for Scottish routes with a top speed of 125 mph, with deliveries, starting in 2018.
- Nineteen sets of five-car Class 802 trains for TransPennine routes, with deliveries, starting in 2019.
The third fleet of nineteen trains have been ordered and I feel pretty sure, Hitachi will deliver them on time from Newton Aycliffe.
But what types of trains will be delivered for the first and second requirements?
Class 387 Trains
Twenty-nine Class 387 trains have been built and there are another twenty-eight on order.
- A proportion of the trains will be going to Great Western Railway (GWR), which is a sister company to TPE, to run Thames Valley services out of Paddington.
- Because of the late delivery of the Great Western Electrification, some could end up sitting in sidings.
- They are only a four car train, but as some Electrostars come in five car sets, I suspect that they can be lengthened to the required five cars.
- They are only a 110 mph train, but then so are the Class 350 trains, currently working Manchester Airport to Glasgow services for TPE.
Although Class 387 trains don’t quite meet TPE’s speed requirement, they could provide a valuable interim service, whilst awaiting the delivery of the new trains.
Class 387 Trains With An IPEMU Capability
A Class 379 train was used for the prototype IPEMU or Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit, which was successfully demonstrated in public service early in 2015.
This train has a range of upwards of fifty miles using on-board energy storage, charged on the main line from the overhead electrification.
The Class 379 and 387 trains are both Electrostars and are closely related, so it is very likely, that a Class 387 IPEMU can and will be developed.
A Class 387 IPEMU could be able to serve the following routes.
- Liverpool to Newcastle via Manchester and Leeds.
- Manchester Airport to Blackpool, Barrow and Windermere.
- Blackpool and Preston to Leeds via the Calder Valley Line.
- Manchester to Chester.
- Manchester to Sheffield via the Hope Valley Line.
I also think, that as experience of the trains is accumulated, other routes would become possible.
Class 802 Trains
The Class 802 trains are the ones ordered for the major part of services across the Pennines, but they have a major problem. It would be unlikely, that Hitachi could deliver the trains until after the rest of the trains have been delivered starting in 2019.
Aventra Trains
The Aventra is Bombardier’s successor to the Electrostar.
- It is designed as a modular train, that comes in a range of lengths. So far four car Class 710 trains and nine car Class 345 trains have been ordered.
- Modern Railways disclosed in the April 2016 Edition, that a 125 mph version of the new Aventra train is coming.
- It has been designed to be a very efficient train.
- According to Modern Railways, the trains are designed to be able to handle both commuter and longer-distance services.
- All Aventras are wired so that on-board energy storage can be fitted.
- As it will be a more efficient train than the Electrostar, range using on-board energy storage would probably be longer.
So it would appear that a 125 mph five-car Aventra, that can extend routes and bridge electrification gaps will be available.
The two requirements for TPE will now be examined.
The First Requirement
The first requirement for thirteen trains for TransPennine routes could be met by.
- Shortened five-car formations of InterCity 125s released by delivery of Class 800 trains to Great Western Railway (GWR) and Virgin Trains East Coast.
- Five-car Class 221 trains released by Virgin Trains.
- Five-car Class 222 trains released by East Midlands Trains.
- Five-car Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability.
- Five-car Aventras with an IPEMU capability.
- Lengthening the existing Class 185 trains by adding two new cars.
- More Class 802 trains.
Option 1 – Every train operating company will be after these and there is a lot of work to do. But they would do the job.
Options 2 and 3 – What trains could be used to release the Class 221 and Class 222 trains?
Option 4 – Five-car Class 387 trains can be created. But would 110 mph trains be fast enough and would the IPEMU capability allow TPE to run the routes they require?
Option 5 – 125 mph Aventras with on-board energy storage, could probably do the job. But will they be available for delivery in 2017? I doubt it!
Option 6 – I doubt Siemens would like to lengthen Class 185 trains, but as an interim they could run as six car trains. But until the Class 802 trains arrive, they’re needed across the Pennines.
Option 7 – Not probably a possibility for delivery in 2017, unless Hitachi find how to 3D-Print trains at a rate of one a day.
TPE Needs More Capacity Now
The big problem, is that TPE needs extra capacity across the Pennines now! It should also be noted that the Ordsall Chord could open in December 2017, which will create a need for more trains.
TPE could decide to just muddle through until 2017, but I think they would like some extra capacity, otherwise all the euphoria of the new franchise, will be flushed down the toilet
The only trains that could be running across the Pennines, before the end of 2016, are Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability. In fact, they could probably be running in time for the May 2016 timetable change.
I have believed for some time, that they could work the routes across the Pennines between Leeds and Manchester.
If TPE did go down this interim route, then it would be likely that the thirteen new trains ordered for this route would be 125 mph Aventras with an IPEMU capability.
Bombardier would love that if it turned out to be successful, as publicity of using batteries to extend the range of a 125 mph train must open up some very lucrative markets all over the world.
The Second Requirement
The second requirement used on the Scottish routes could be.
- Class 350 trains until new trains are delivered.
- Class 387 trains to add capacity to or replace the existing fleet.
- Class 802 trains
- 125 mph Aventra trains
All except the Class 350 trains could be five car trains and the Class 802 trains and the Aventras are 125 mph trains or faster.
140 mph Running
One complication is that at some time in the 2020s, the East Coast Main Line and West Coast Main Line will be able to accept 140 mph running. So the Scottish services, may end up bein worked by Class 802 trains.
Airport Expresses
An intriguing possibility is to use Class 387/2 trains as used on Gatwick Express on some services.
- TPE services call at Manchester Airport and Liverpool South Parkway for Liverpool Airport.
- The Class 387/2 trains have an interior designed for airport passengers.
- The trains could be delivered as five car trains.
- The trains could have an IPEMU capability.
Manchester and Liverpool Airports are very ambitious and probably would like connections to places such as Chester, Nottingham and North Wales.
Conclusions
There are a large number of possibilities and a massive need for an interim solution, which will probably use some of the available Class 387 trains, with or without an IPEMU capability.
The final solution will come down to a choice between.
- Thirteen Class 802 trains with a bi-mode capability and twelve Class 802 EMUs
- Twenty-five Aventras, of which at least thirteen would have an IPEMU capability.
I might find the Class 185 trains inadequate, but as new trains arrive, inevitably some of the diesel multiple units will be cascaded to other operators.
I think there’ll come a time, when TPE has just Class 802 trains and/or Aventras, with some trains having a bi-mode or IPEMU capability.
When there is electrification between Leeds and Manchester and if Aventra IPEMUs were handling the parts of the network without electrification, then TPE could rightly claim that they were running an all-electric fleet, which must give a green edge to their marketing.
Some bi-mode Class 802 trains could be converted to EMUs and hopefully would be able to cruise to across the Pennines at over 125 mph and to Scotland at 140 mph on the flagship routes.
- Liverpool to Edinburgh via Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.
- Liverpool and Manchester to Glasgow via the West Coast Main Line.
It will be an interesting decision, as to which trains are chosen for the extra twenty-five trains.
The only certainty is that TPE will get a very good price.
The West-Facing Bay Platforms At Reading Station
Reading station has three west-facing bay platforms, numbered 1, 2 and 3.
They are used as follows.
- Platforms 1 and 2 for local services to Basingstoke, Newbury and Bedwyn.
- Platform 3 for Cross Country reversing trains.
Whilst I was at Reading yesterday, a Cross Country train reversed in a higher numbered platform.
These are some pictures of the bay platforms.
The View From Above
The Layout Of Bay Platforms 1, 2 and 3 At Reading Station
Note that the electrification gantries are in place across the three tracks.
The Platforms From Ground Level
Platforms 1, 2 and 3 At Reading Station
Note how good the access is to the platforms. To the right of Platform 3, is platform 7, which is used for Down trains for the Berks and Hants route and for reversing Cross Country services.
So passengers arriving on a Cross Country train from say Manchester to Bournemouth or Newcastle to Southampton train on Platform 7 have these choices if they need to change trains.
- They could walk across from their train to a local service from platforms 1, 2 or 3.
- They could walk to the other end of the platform and get a local train from the east-facing platforms 4, 5 or 6.
- They could use lifts or escalators to cross the massive bridge to get a train on the Great Western Main Line to London or the West.
- They could also walk across to local services or in future, Crossrail to London.
And of course, they could walk out of the nearby station entrance and get a bus, taxi or their own transport.
Is there a station in the UK, where changing trains comes with so less hassle?
Ready For The Electrification
Looking Back At The Buffer End Of The Bay Platforms 1, 2 And 3 At Reading Station
Note that the gantries seem to have been designed into the station and are ready for the wires, with a nice secure steel plate to which to bolt them.
I can’t see the Heritage Taliban arguing about this design of catenery.
The Length Of The Platforms
Platform Length Of The Bay Platforms 1, 2 And 3 At Reading Station
Note the three-car diesel multiple unit in the platform. I haven’t measured the platform, but I think they are long enough for a five car Class 800 train.
Future Use Of The Bay Platforms
At I said earlier the three platforms are used for local services to Basingstoke, Newbury and Bedwyn and reversing Cross Country trains., but there are two major purposes for which the bay platforms might be used.
The Test Track for Class 800 Trains
When the electric track between Didcot and Reading has been energised, it will be used as a test track for the new Class 800 trains. This article from the Witney Gazette gives more details.
The first three trains are due to be shipped to the UK early next year to begin an extensive test programme, which will include high-speed running on the line between Didcot and Reading once the installation of overhead electric power cables is completed later next year.
Roger Ford in the April 2016 Edition of Modern Railways said this.
Energisation for test running is now scheduled for September this year.
So will one of the bay platforms be used to reverse the train?
I’ve no idea! But the showman in me, would certainly do it, just for the publicity it would generate!
On a serious side, tests could also be performed on the train/platform/passenger interfaces.
Charging Platforms for IPEMUs
Great Western Railway would probably want to get their Class 387 trains into revenue service as soon as possible.
In the September 2015 edition of Modern Railways, there is an article entitled Class 387s Could Be Battery Powered. This is said.
Delivery as IPEMUs would allow EMUs to make use of as much wiring as is available (and batteries beyond) while electrification pushes ahead under the delayed scheme, and in the longer term would allow units to run on sections not yet authorised for electrification, such as Newbury to Bedwyn. The use of IPEMUs might also hasten the cascade of Class 16x units to the west of the franchise.
To run IPEMUs from Reading to Bedwyn or Basingstoke, would need them to be charged.
These bay platforms would be ideal for charging the trains and would mean that Basingstoke, Bedwyn and Newbury would get electric shuttles to Reading.
Conclusion
The team that designed Reading station, deserve a few gold stars.
Azuma Has Arrived
This article on Global Rail News is entitled Richard Branson unveils Virgin East Coast’s ‘Azuma’ Class 800/1.
You wouldn’t expect Branson to play second-fiddle to Great Western Railway on new trains.
Azuma means East, so will GWR give them a name that means West in Japanese?
Adonis Promises Milk And Honey In The Future, But The North Needs Unblocking Now!
I don’t have much time for Lord Adonis, as I always think that unelected politicians who change sides are a bit like the Vicar of Bray.
And lets face it, he was part of Tony Blair’s gang of idiots, who felt that licking Dubya’s arse and making war in Afghanistan and Iraq was more important than creating proper transport links across the north.
But they were only following the lead set by Harold Wilson, when he cancelled the Picc-Vic Tunnel. Wikipedia says this about how the need for the tunnel has been and is being fulfilled.
In 1992, the Metrolink system opened and linked both stations via tram, negating the requirement for a direct rail connection to an extent. In 2011, the Ordsall Chord was announced; it is an overground railway scheme designed to directly link Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria in a comparable fashion to Picc-Vic.
Wouldn’t it have been better to dig the tunnel in the first place?
I heard Lord Haskins and Chris Hyomes from Railfuture on Wake Up To Money this morning and they were aggressive in demanding that something happen sooner rather than later.
After my last trip to Huddersfield and writing Welcome To Huddersfield, I can say, that the Class 185 trains are a sick joke inflicted on the North by Tony Blair as Prime Minister and Gordon Brown as Chancellor. The trains are both too short and to few in number.
And then we have Lord Adonis saying on BBC Breakfast, that the line needs to be electrified as soon as possible.
So how long will the misery of the TransPennine routes continue before the line is electrified? 2022 is mentioned!
In my view there are four solutions for acceptable trains across the Pennines.
- Introduce the first bi-mode Class 800 trains on the route.
- Introduce the first bi-mode Class 800 trains on the East Coast to release InterCity 125s for the route.
- Introduce some locomotive-hauled stock.
- Create Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability, so they could use energy storage to bridge the electrification gaps.
One of these must be implemented before the end of this year.
The first two options are impossible, as the Class 800 trains won’t be ready for passenger service until 2017.
I also think that Option 3 would be unacceptable to passengers, but is probably impossible, as there are no modern diesel locomotives available and probably very few coaches in good condition.
So we’re left with the Class 387 IPEMUs.
- They are modern four car electric trains, with everything passengers expect. Only wi-fi is missing.
- The IPEMU technology was successfully demonstrated in early 2015 using a Class 379 train.
- I rode the demonstrator and was impressed for what that is worth!
- Bombardier have won awards for the technology.
- There are well upwards of twenty four-car trains available or being built, that could be modified.
- There are rumours that IPEMUs could be used on the Great Western.
- They can work in eight or twelve car trains, where platforms allow.
- They can travel for over fifty miles on battery power, after charging on electrified track. So Leeds to Manchester is no problem!
- Liverpool to Newcastle and Edinburgh via Leeds could be served by 110 mph electric trains.
Would a Northern Powerhouse built on battery trains be acceptable to politicians?
In my view, it will have to be, as Derby-built Bombardier Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability are all we’ve got.
I shall be listening to George Osborne tomorrow!
A Trip To Cardiff
Yesterday, I went to Cardiff to see Ipswich lose to Cardiff City.
These are some pictures I took on the way.
I think it is true to say that the electrification is being put up by snails and there seems to be little progress since I wrote Passing Didcot Power Station twelve months ago.
Note the following.
- Very little seems to be happening around Reading station, except the erection of a few masts.
- The cause of a lot of the trouble – the HOPS train at Swindon.
- The depot for the Class 800/801 trains at Filton Triangle.
- The extra platforms at Cardiff Central station.
- The work at Cardiff to create a new Central Square.
A lot of the work, that is this side of Bristol, is a total disaster.
Electrification Delays On The Great Western Railway Must Be Serious
This article in Rail Magazine is entitled GWR and DfT discuss ‘revised plan’ after electrification delays and it talks about what is to be done to get a decent passenger service running on the Great Western Railway, despite all of the delays to the electrification program.
If you want to know more of the problem this article on the BBC web site from July 2015 is an excellent summary.
- The under-performance of the High Output Plant System, a factory train made up of 23 vehicles, has, according to rail observers, made a big contribution to Network Rail falling at least a year behind schedule.
- The whole electrification project for the Great Western line was really based on the High Output train because of the amount of work it could do so much more quickly,
- Engineering insiders told the BBC that a newly designed wiring system did not match the specification of the holes the Hops train was designed to dig and that a new design of pile-tubes hammered into the ground to house the thousands of electrification masts – went in too deep after ground surveys were missed.
- Even where the Hops train has managed to dig holes, it has damaged existing signalling cables.
- Network Rail is short on experienced engineers and experienced operators – people who know how to run a railway.
- It was decided by the Department for Transport that the new trains will be 26m long per vehicle and our railways are built for 23m long,
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a badly-designed and executed project in my long years on the dark fringes of project management.
So now it is sucking engineers and resources out of every other electrification project in the UK!
For instance, on my local electrification of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line, nothing much seems to have happened for the last few weeks.
I had to have a quiet chuckle, when I read this last paragraph in the Rail Magazine article.
GWR has tested short-formation High Speed Trains, and these could potentially be used on longer-distance services currently operated by multiple units, such as Cardiff-Portsmouth and Exeter-Penzance. They could also be used on some of the longer branch lines in the South West, such as Par-Newquay and Exeter-Barnstaple, although neither GWR nor the DfT would confirm this. A potential additional order for bi-mode AT300 hybrid trains could also be under consideration.
Terry Miller’s wonderful stop-gap design of the 1970s; the High Speed Train, is coming to the rescue again.
But then very serious problems, need the most serious of solutions!
I’m not running Network Rail and I’m not the Transport Minister, but in my view, it is now time to think extremely radically.
- Electrify as far as possible from London and run Class 387 trains or dependable-but-ugly Class 319 trains where you can.
- Run services to Bedwyn, Newbury, Oxford and the various branches East of Didcot using IPEMU variants of Class 387 trains.
- Replace as many HSTs on the East Coast Main Line as possible with new Class 800/801 trains and deploy Miller’s Masterpieces to the Great Western.
- Build new Class 800 electro diesel trains, instead of Class 801 electric trains and use them on the routes of TransPennine and Hull Trains.
We have been lucky with our train purchases and development.
- Class 800 and Class 801 are identical except for the diesel engines.
- Class 700 trains are being delivered to release Thameslink’s Class 387 and Class 319 trains.
- There are fifty or so Class 387 trains, that could be converted into IPEMUs, which would have a sixty mile range on batteries.
- Bombardier could probably build a few more Class 387 trains, alongside the Aventras.
I think that many places will get different and probably better and bigger trains, but not everyone will get the expected new electric trains.
New Trains For The North
That is the headline on a two page article in Modern Railways magazine.
It is an article that is strong on promises, in what it says that First TransPennine and Arriva Northern Trains will do.
Under a sub-heading of Bi-Modes for TransPennine, this is said.
FirstGroup is to invest over £400 million in a fleet of 44 new five-car 125 mph trains, which are expected to be based on the Hitachi AT300 design already being procured by sister operator Great Western Railway.
It also states that twelve will be electric only and the rest will be bi-modes.
The timetables state that the first bi-mode will enter service in December 2017.
Under a sub-heading of New and Upgraded Fleet for Northern, this is said.
Arriva is to invest £400 in 98 new air-conditioned 100 mph trains comprising 281 carriages, of which 43 will be three- and four-car EMUs and 55 two- and three-car DMUs. The latter will enable the withdrawal of all Pacers by the end of 2019.
The delivery schedule for the new trains stretches to 2020.
All these promises are all well and good, but I do wonder if they are deliverable with new trains.
AT300
Hitachi have been clever and have bought AnsaldoBreda, so they can build AT300 trains in Italy. This is said in the Wikipedia entry for the AT300, which is based on the Class 800 train, they are building in Newton Aycliffe.
In mid 2015 Eversholt Rail, a rolling stock operating company signed a £361m contract with FGW to purchase 173 new AT300 carriages, consisting of 22 five-car and seven nine-car trains. The AT300 trains are to be built at Hitachi Rail Italy’s Pistoia plant.
The trains are expected to enter service with Great Western Railway from December 2018. and are also expected to reduce journey times from London to Exeter by up to 5min, to Plymouth by up to 6min, and to Penzance by up to 14min.
It puzzles me how First TransPennine will be able to introduce the first bi-mode into service in December 2017, as where will the train be built?
It can’t be built in Italy, as Hitachi won’t have even delivered their first train until December 2017.
The only possibility will be to take trains from Newton Aycliffe and delay deliveries to Great Western Railway and Virgin Trains East Coast. Wikipedia and other sources is rather short on dates for the delivery of the Class 800 and Class 801 trains.
Hitachi in Newton Aycliffe are also involved in the building of AT200 trains for Abellio ScotRail. This is said in Wikipedia.
Abellio ScotRail will introduce a fleet of 46 three car and 24 four car Hitachi AT200 electric trains from December 2017, to operate services on the lines being electrified as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme, if it granted a three-year optional franchise extension, it will order a further 10 three car units
I doubt that we’ll see more than a token AT300 running on First TransPennine before the end of 2017.
Class 185 Trains
The Modern Railways article says this about TransPennine’s Class 185 trains
First is expected to retain 28 of the current 51×3 car fleet of Class 185s; the units to be retained will be refurbished.
This means that twenty-three of the Class 185 trains will be available for cascade.
Modern Railways says the two franchises will be jointly managed from Leeds, so would it be sensible to perhaps keep the current fleet together for refurbishment and maintenance?
So perhaps if the answer is yes, then common sense would dictate that the cascaded twenty-three trains would go to Arriva Northern.
Class 319 Trains
Handsome is as handsome does, goes the old horseman’s phrase and you couldn’t call a Class 319 train beautiful.
But for some of the electric routes in the North, they’re all we’ve got! And like some elderly actresses, they scrub up well.
The Modern Railways article says this about Northern’s use of the Class 319.
It is understood that refurbished Class 319s will be used on these services on an interim basis until new build units arrive.
I suspect that these will soldier on for a few years yet!
At least there are eighty-six of these 100 mph four-car trains.
There must be a lot of laughter at reunions of engineers from BREL York, when they see how far their Bedpan Special has gone. after being built especially for the Bedford-Brighton route through the tunnels under London via St. Pancras in the 1980s.
He who laughs last, laughs longest!
Class 442 Trains
This is said in the Modern Railways article about Class 442 trains.
First says it did evaluate the use of Class 442 EMUs displaced from Gatwick Express workings hauled by diesel locomotives.
But they found it was too challenging and have discounted them.
So it looks like the Class 442s won’t be going anywhere in the North and probably have no worthwhile future.
Class 390 Trains And The West Coast Main Line
Virgin Trains have aspirations to run their Class 390 trains that work the West Coast Main Line, at their design speed of 140 mph in as many places on the route as possible. This section in Wikipedia gives more details.
At present because of signalling and regulations, trains are limited to 125 mph, but it is likely that once ERTMS is fully implemented, that pressure will increase to allow 140 mph in places on the West Coast Main Line.
TransPennine’s Scottish Services
TransPennine are increasing their Scottish services and this timetable is given.
- December 2018 – Liverpool-Glasgow service launched
- December 2019 – 12 new electric trains introduced on Anglo-Scottish services.
- December 2019 – Liverpool-Newcastle services extended to Edinburgh
This is said about the Class 350 trains currently running their Scottish services.
The 10 four-car Class 350/4 EMUs currently used on Manchester-Scotland services are expected to be phased out over the first three years and offered to other franchises. First say these trains are too small to run on many diagrams as single units.
So it looks like trains with this specification will be needed.
- Electric power only
- 140 mph top speed, as parts of the West Coast Main Line, will probably get upgraded to this speed, within the service lifetime of the trains.
- Five cars or longer.
- The ability to work in pairs. As all Glasgow trains will probably call at Preston, it might be sensible to join and split Liverpool and Manchester trains there to save train paths on the West Coast Main Line.
- Full on-board customer service.
The specification fits the Hitachi AT300 well, as these trains are available in five car sets and can be upgraded with minor modification for 140 mph running.
But will the timetable of 2019 for twelve new trains, fit the production capabilities?
As delivery into service by December 2019, to give TransPennine their promised service might be exceedingly challenging, could we be seeing something from another manufacturer?
After all, there are several around the world, who could create five-car 140 mph electric express trains?
- Some open-access operators like Alliance Rail are talking about using Pendolinos on Scottish routes, so Class 390 trains or an updated design of Italian-built Pendolino train must be a very real possibility.
- Siemens must also have a suitable train perhaps based on a German ICE design.
- The Chinese, Koreans, Spanish and Swiss shouldn’t be discounted.
If Hitachi can’t deliver, I’d put my money on a five-car Pendolino. After all, it is proven on the West Coast Main Line.
EMUs For Northern
Arriva have said, they will be buying forty-three 100 mph air-conditioned electric multiple units (EMUs), in a mixture of three- and four-car units.
These are probably the easiest trains to source and they might even already have been ordered or even built, in the shape of Class 387 trains. These have the following specification.
- Modern air-conditioned four car electric train.
- 110 mph capability
- Proven performance and certification.
- Bombardier can probably build them alongside all their Aventras at Derby.
But there are few electrified routes in the North, where they can be run.
However on the other hand!
I’ve believed ever since I rode the Class 379 BEMU or IPEMU demonstrator, that battery-powered trains based on this technology, are ideal for some of Northern’s routes.
Partially electrified routes or ones that run between electrified hub stations at Carlisle, Doncaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and York, could have virtually brand-new four-car electric trains, as soon as Bombardier can add IPEMU systems to Class 387 trains, currently in service or on order and staff can be trained.
A few months ago, I wrote Rumours Of Battery Powered Trains, where I said there were rumours of some of Great Western Railway’s order for Class 387 trains would be delivered as IPEMUs to help solve the shambles of the Great Western Main Line electrification.
Using an IPEMU is an attractive approach for several reasons.
- IPEMUs have a range of around sixty miles on the battery, if it is fully charged.
- IPEMUs have regenerative braking at all times, whether there is an electric supply or not! This improves efficiency and increased on-battery range!
- Bombardier feel that all trains should have energy storage for myriad operational reasons and the upcoming Aventra will be designed to accept an energy storage device as standard.
- Passengers will have the same experience on overhead line or battery power.
- On many routes, IPEMUs need no modifications to be able to run, except perhaps lengthening platforms for four-cars.
- On a scenic line or one in the middle of nowhere, the problems of electrification and its maintenance can be avoided, if services can be run by IPEMUs.
- Electrified hubs can be upgraded or created to charge the trains. In the North, Carlisle is being upgraded and Hull and Middlesbrough could be electrified.
- Some lines are currently run by some of the better diesel multiple units (DMUs) like Class 158 trains. Releasing these would probably eliminate a few of the dreaded Pacers on other lines.
All stakeholders will like these trains.
- Operators know that new four-car trains will attract more fare-paying customers.
- Network Rail will save money on electrification and can skip difficult bits.
- On many routes, opening up bridges and tunnels for the overhead wires is difficult, very disruptive and a time- and money-consuming process.
- Passengers and staff like new trains.
- More places can be served by electric trains.
- New four-car trains replacing ageing diesels will improve the prosperity of an area.
Routes that could be easily converted include.
- Barrow to Manchester Airport
- Chester to Manchester Victoria
- Windermere to Manchester Airport
- Blackpool North to Manchester Airport
- Liverpool to Manchester Airport via Warrington
Add in some electrified hubs and short lengths of tactical electrification to charge the trains and other lines like the scenic Tyne Valley Line between Newcastle and Carlisle could be run using new four-car electric trains.
I believe that these trains have enough energy storage to actually bridge the notorious forty mile gap in the electrification between Manchester Victoria and Leeds, thus creating an electric train service from Liverpool to Edinburgh via Manchester, Leeds, York and Newcastle
Note that news on development of IPEMU trains has been very quiet for several months and the only report is this article in the Derby Telegraph, which is entitled Battery-powered trains win award for Bombardier.
So someone other than I do, think the technology works and deserves its place on the railways of the UK.
Class 323 Trains
Before leaving Northern’s EMUs something must be said about the seventeen three-car Class 323 trains, that run services out of Manchester.
As they are being transferred to London Midland, they will need to be replaced.
Also, according to Wikipedia at times, some of the Class 323s are currently replaced by a pair of Pacers. So perhaps they need a bigger fleet anyway!
So until new units are ordered, will we see Class 319s working these routes? Or could they be a home for some of Porterbrook’s Class 387s?
It’ll all come out in time and in the contracts?
DMUs For Northern
Arriva have said, they will buy fifty-five two- and three-car DMUs.
Two factors could decrease this number.
- If Arriva go down the Class 387 IPEMU route, more routes will be running electric trains.
- The twenty-three Class 185 trains cascaded from TransPennine should they end up with Arriva.
- It seems likely that other companies including Great Western Railway could use the IPEMU route, thus making some high-quality DMUs available.
I won’t speculate on how many new DMUs will be actually ordered and built. If any!
Northern Connect
Northern Connect will be a sub-brand comprising a dozen long distance routes across the North.
Modern Railways publishes a table of the routes and indicates eight routes will be run by new DMUs, two by refurbished trains and two by new EMUs.
Obviously, Northern have a plan to create five of these routes by the end of 2018 and the rest by the end of 2019.
Where will the various classes of train fit?
- Some routes could be run by EMUs, with Class 319s providing an interim service until the new build arrive.
- Some routes could be run by Class 387 IPEMUs, once they are delivered.
- Some of the longer routes around Sheffield and Hull would be ideal for Class 185s.
If the long-rumoured Class 387 IPEMUs do appear, Barrow and Windermere to Manchester Airport, would be ideal routes on which to trial and showcase the technology.
Northern’s Train Philosophy
The Modern Railways article also says this.
Arriva says that it is still in negotiations with the supply chain but expects to sign a contract by April. It also says that the new fleet ‘has the capacity to grow’ with the trains ‘ordered as a family that are expandable’. The first 92 carriages will enter service by the end of 2018, with a further 163 by the end of 2019 to ensure all Pacers are replaced and the final 26 in 2020.
That is a very sound train procurement philosophy, which has a fairly relaxed delivery schedule, given the shortage of train building capacity in the UK and Europe. I suspect the Chinese could build them, but would that be politically acceptable?
I would not be surprised if Arriva went for a purchase of Class 387 trains, of which a proportion were IPEMU variants and some tactical electrification to produce electrified hubs in places like Huddersfield, Hull, Scarborough and Sheffield. It would be an afordable way of getting the benefits of new electric trains at an affordable price.
They would still need a few diesel multiple units, over and above the good ones they replaced with electric trains. But London Overground and hopefully Great Western Railway should be releasing some that are suitable.
Only as a last resort, would any new ones be ordered.
Class 387 Trains
I believe that the Class 387 Trains will play a large part in Northern’s plans.
They are a 110 mph four-car modern unit and currently there are twenty-nine units in service and another twenty-eight on order, if you ignore the separate order of twenty-seven trains for the Gatwick Express.
Thirty seven units are destined for the Great Western Railway and in Rumours Of Battery Powered Trains, I wrote about unconfirmed reports that some of these trains for the GWR would be IPEMU variants. I suspect that this will be confirmed, as it will enable electric services to be started on the shambles that is the Great Western.
The Gatwick Express variant of the Class 387 is going to be a train, worth looking at, as it will be the first Airport train we’ve ordered since the Heathrow Express.
There are to be twenty-seven four car trains replacing twenty-four five-car Class 442 trains.
There may be a few less carriages, but they are designed for the route.
They are also built as dual-voltage trains. Is that just so they can be tested on the West Coast Main Line, as was reported in this article in Rail Magazine, or because they think the type will have other Airport applications, like possibly Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow, Luton, East Midlands and Stansted.
I can’t wait to ride one in the near future, as I think it might offer, a whole new experience of getting to an airport by train.
A lot of the services in the North West go via Manchester Airport. So would a follow-on order of this variant be ideal to get passengers to the fast growing airport?
Some questions have to be asked.
- As some of these services go all the way to Scotland, could the train be certified to the 125 mph of the West Coast Main Line?
- Could an IPEMU variant be created to bridge the gap between Manchester and Leeds?
- Could an IPEMU variant link Manchester Airport to Barrow, Blackpool North, Liverpool and Windermere?
- Can Class 387 trains be built in five-car formations?
If the answer to all or some of these questions is in the affirmative, Manchester Airport and the Nortrh might receive some interesting trains from Derby to create a 125 mph network of five-car Airport trains all across the North.
I suspect that Bombardier are working hard to see if they can fulfil that dream, as if they can, the rewards to the company, Arriva Northern, First TransPennine, Network Rail and the North in general, could be substantial!
There would be no waiting until 2018 for true bi-mode trains.
Could the silence on the IPEMUs be just because all parties don’t want to show their hands until all of the tiniest details are totally settled?
Political And Commercial Considerations
I mentioned in the section on the Class 387 trains, how important to get any trains, that can improve services in the North is to the companies involved and Bombardier in particular.
Bombardier have been going through a rough patch and were bailed out by the Quebecois. They seem to be sorted with large orders, but creating some more Class 387 trains, must be good cash-flow and profitable.
Network Rail are in a deep mess over electrification everywhere and desperately need some help in creating lines for electric trains. Peter Hendy is trying to sort out the shambles and there is a report in Modern Railways this month with a headline of Hendy Finds £2.5 Billion To Save Enhancements. The article says assets will be sold and there will be more money from the Government.
Arriva and FirstGroup have spent a lot of time and effort to create plans to give the North a modern world-class railway system. It is unlikely, that the train manufacturers will fail to deliver to agreed contracts, as all trains proposed for the North or either in service or at the certification and trial stage. The problem is the tracks. They will not be pleased if Network Rail fail to deliver, the electrification they have promised on time, as pictures of new trains stored in sidings are not good publicity.
Read a lot of the stories about new trains to run on newly electrified lines and dates have a vague air about them.
I suspect all will become a lot clearer, when Peter Hendry fills out his plan for Network Rail in the Spring. All we are getting at the moment are worthwhile aspirations.
And then there is the small matter of the local elections in May!
If the shambles is still persisting before the election, Corbyn and the Labour Party will have a field day, when they say they will nationalise the railways.
This would be a disaster for Arriva, FirstGroup and probably Peter Hendy. The companies would probably lose millions and Peter Hendy would have totally failed.
With my engineering hard-hat on, I’m getting more and more convinced that those clever engineers in Derby will pull the IPEMU rabbit out of the hat.
They have form for this, as in the 1970s, they created the peerless InterCity 125, after the wreckage of the APT.
Conclusion
Wait for April and hopefully before then a lot more will be revealed!
Why We Should Use Independently-Powered Electric Trains
I was looking for something else and found this article in the Henley Standard entitled Goring rail line work ‘will ruin countryside’. This is said.
THE electrification of the railway line through Goring will ruin the surrounding countryside, say residents.
Network Rail is installing overhead power cables as part of the scheme, which covers the route between Reading and Oxford and is expected to be finished next year.
Last week contractors began felling trees and putting up steel lattice gantries which will span the track at regular intervals to hold the wires in place.
You can argue that on a major line like the Great Western Main Line, we need robust overhead wire systems, as many of us have suffered serious delays on lines like the East Coast Main Line and the Great Eastern Main Line because of the flimsy overhead wire design.
But still the residents have a point and I think there must be a better design that mitigates the visual intrusion. Would Jasper Maskelyne and others skilled in the art of camouflage have ideas to assist Network Rail?
Network Rail can get it right, as is shown at the Grade 1 Listed Wharncliffe Viaduct, where the overhead wires are arranged to reduce the visual impact.
Are they usually as measured about where they place a gantry, as they have been on the viaduct?
Away from main lines, there will be lines like the Settle and Carlisle and the Hope Valley Line, where visual intrusion will be very important and activists will attempt to stop the installation.
It is for places like this where we must have independently-powered trains to service the route. There are two available technologies.
Electro-Diesel Trains
At the present time, there is only one electro-diesel train planned in this country and that is the Hitachi Class 800 train, which soon be seen on the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line.
They are a solution to the problem and can switch between propulsion modes at line speed, but they require diesel engines to be lugged around the country for where they are needed, so they may not be as efficient as a purely electric train.
There seems to be a few ideas for electro-diesel trains, but none appear to be comng to fruition.
Electric Trains With On-Board Energy Storage (IPEMU)
I rode the Class 379 train, that had been converted to act as a demonstrator for this technology.
It was impressive, as we trundled through the Essex countryside powered by energy stored in batteries, that had been charged from the overhead wires.
The fact that the technology works is all down to the physics of steel wheels on steel rails, which make train travel efficient in the first place.
As an electrical engineer, I know that this is technology, that can only get better.
- Electricity storage, whether based on batteries, flywheels, capacitors or some other method, will only get better.
- Trains will roll better through improvements in design.
- Energy harvesting from sources like regenerative braking will be more comprehensive.
- Secondary electrical systems on trains like air-conditioning, toilets and the provision of wi-fi will use less electricity.
- Automatic control systems will control the train tightly according to schedule, terrain and signals to minimise electricity use.
- Pantograph deployment will be automatic, when overhead wires are available.
But using the on-board storage to power the train on its route, is only one of the reasons it will be installed.
- If a train has on-board storage and regenerative braking, it will be more efficient.
- When the overhead line gets damaged or the power supply is cut, an electric train with on-board storage might still get through.
- Depots can have simplified electrification, which is safer for staff.
Bombardier must be impressed with the concept, as all Aventra trains will be wired so that on-board energy storage can be fitted.
Conclusion
Both technologies for independently powered trains are proven, but you wouldn’t want to use on-board energy storage over more than a limited distance, beyond which the diesel would be ideal.
By using independently powered trains, you can balance electrification cost, installation disruption and visual intrusion against the extra cost of a train with on-board storage or diesel engines.
Provided of course, the independently powered train can handle the route to the satisfaction of passengers and rail companies!
On the Great Western Main Line because of the distances involved and the reliability required, electric trains using overhead power on robust supports are probably the best method we have at present.
Although, Great Western Railway have been reported as saying they might use Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability to destinations a few miles off the Great Western Main Line, like possibly Bedwyn and Oxford.
Is TransPennine Going For A One-Class Fleet?
This report on Rail News announces the awards of the two rail franchises in the North.
It says that First TransPennine will be committed to acquiring forty-four new trains comprising 220 vehicles. The article also says this about increasing services.
The frequency on many routes will be increased, so that there will be six trains an hour between Manchester and Leeds, and 35 a day between Manchester and Scotland — twice as many as now. A new route between Liverpool and Scotland will be introduced in 2019.
The numbers say they are five-car trains, which will certainly sort out some of their capacity problems.
At present First Transpennine has the following fleet.
- Class 156 DMU – 6 of two cars
- Class 170 DMU – 4 of two cars
- Class 185 DMU – 51 x 3 cars
- Class 350 EMU – 10 x 4 cars
All except the Class 350 are diesel-powered.
Add up the current carriages and you get two hundred and three.
So if some of diesel multiple units were retained, there would be a useful increase in fleet size.
But surely from the train maintenance and staff points of view, it would be better if there was one fleet of all the same type of train.
There may also be a slight problem with Scottish services, especially as the number of them is more than doubled.
This will mean that between Preston and Glasgow, they will need extra paths on the overcrowded West Coast Main Line.
I think we’ll see trains between Manchester Airport and Liverpool, and Glasgow, joining and splitting at Preston, as this will mean that Liverpool to Scotland services will not need any extra paths on the West Coast Main Line. Some could also split at Carstairs, with one train going to Glasgow and the other to Edinburgh.
I’ve used the Class 350 trains from Glasgow to Preston and despite being too small, they are also only 110 mph trains, whereas the Class 390 Pendelinos used by Virgin, usually run at 125 mph.
Simple common sense says, that if all trains cruised up the West Coast Main Line at the same speed, this maximises capacity. Also as parts of the TransPennine network in the East are also 125 mph lines, this might be desireable design speed. The government press release about the franchise award also talks about 125 mph trains.
But the biggest problem as is pointed out in the press release is that full electrification is not expected to be complete until 2022.
So trains will need some form of independent power source to bridge the gaps in the electrification.
- Five carriages
- The ability to run in pairs.
- 125 mph cruising speed.
- Some form of independent power.
Logic says that this means they will be Hitachi Class 800 trains, which would use their on-board diesel engines as required.
Currently, the factory at Newton Aycliffe is busy with Class 800/801 trains for Great Western Railway and Virgin Trains East Coast and EMUs for Scotland, so like the extra Class 800s for the South Western routes, they would probably have to be built in Japan.
Would this mean that early introduction into service would be very difficult?
The only alternative would be to stretch the current four car Class 387 trains to five cars and make them IPEMU variants, which would then use their on-board energy storage to bridge gaps in the electrification. If the technology can be proven for a route like Leeds to Manchester, then they could probably start to be delivered next year.
These are some points and questions about Class 387 trains and Bombardier’s IPEMU technology.
- Class 387 trains are built in Derby by Bombardier.
- There are currently a total of fifty seven four-car Class 387 trains either built or on order.
- There must be some standard Class 387 trains sitting in sidings, as they are destined for routes on the Great Western Railway, where there are no overhead wires.
- I doubt it would be difficult to lengthen the trains to five cars, as the closely-related Class 378 trains have received an extra car twice.
- This report in the Derby Telgraph, says that Bombardier have recently received an award for their IPEMU technology.
- This article in Rail Technology Magazine, states that Bombardier are doing extensive testing of the batteries at Mannheim
- IPEMU trains could be more efficient, as regenerative braking is used to recover energy instead of always recharging from external sources.
- As IPEMU technology improves, the range will get longer making it possible for electric trains to serve more destinations in the TransPennine network.
- Bombardier’s next generation train, called the Aventra, will all be wired for the fitting of on-board energy storage,
- The new franchise for First TransPennine has effectively started, as it just a continuation of more of the same. So early train delivery would show they meant business and it wasn’t just jam tomorrow.
- The standard Class 387 trains could be introduced on Scottish services as soon as trains were delivered.
If the IPEMU technology can be proven to be viable on First TransPennine, a lot of companies and groups will benefit.
- Network Rail will be able to avoid a lot of difficult, sensitive or expensive electrification.
- Bombardier could sell a few more trains.
- Passengers will get new electric trains in many places, as fast as they can be built.
- Some politicians and others could get a lot of credit.
It’ll be interesting to see what First TransPennine have decided to do!
Hull Trains Take The Pragmatic Decision
The September edition of Modern Railways has an article entitled Hull Trains Plans Bi-Mode Fleet.
Like First Great Western, First Hull Trains seem to have lost patience with Network Rail and the article said they were thinking about ordering bi-mode or electro-diesel trains.
They have now ordered five Class 800 trains from Hitachi, as is reported here on the BBC. This is the start of the article.
A rail company is investing £68m in a fleet of faster trains to ensure shorter journey times to London.
Hull Trains said it was buying five trains capable of running on either electricity-powered routes or with diesel fuel.
The firm said the trains had been bought because of delays in country-wide electrification of the rail network.
So it looks like the non-electrification of Selby to Hull has caused the company to take this pragmatic decision. In the last few months, they’ve even looked at electrifying that line themselves.
At least they will not be left with a fleet of incompatible trains, as when the electrification finally happens on all their routes to Hull and Beverly, the trains can be converted to all-electric Class 801 trains.
I do wonder if the delayed electrification across the UK, will cause a few more companies to take pragmatic decisions!
I think we might see.
- First TransPennine ordering Class 800 Trains for Liverpool to Hull and Newcastle.
- Virgin ordering Class 800 Trains for London to Chester, North Wales and Holyhead.
To get around the problems of non-electrified lines.
