Class 801 Train « The Anonymous Widower

Could We See Between London And Much Of The North By Train In Under Two Hours?

I shall write about each route in order starting from Euston and working East.

Avanti West Coast And Euston

These are services from Euston, that I feel could be under two hours.

London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street

On Thursday, I went to Liverpool by train.

My train took two hours and thirteen minutes between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street stations.
There were stops at Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn.
The Class 390 train was travelling at 125 mph for a lot of the way.
The distance between the two terminals is 193.6 miles.
The start to stop average including the stops was 87.3 mph.

So could London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street be achieved in the magic two hours?

A few thoughts.

Average Speed

To do the journey in this time would need an average speed of 96.8 mph.

Accelerating And Stopping

Ideally, the train will run as fast as it can only changing speed for the station stops.

The train will accelerate from stop to cruising speed at Euston, Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn or four times.
The train will decelerate from cruising speed to stop at Stafford, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool Lime Street or four times.

Effectively, the train goes through four complete station stops, although one will be split between the two ends of the journey.

These figures are from Wikipedia and the Internet

The acceleration of the Class 390 train is 1.0 mph/sec which means that it takes 125 seconds to get to 125 mph.
The deceleration of a Class 390 train is 2.0 mph/sec, which means that it takes 63 seconds to stop from 125 mph.
The acceleration of a Class 801 train is 1.6 mph/sec which means that it takes 78 seconds to get to 125 mph.
The deceleration of a Class 801 train is 2.2 mph/sec, which means that it takes 57 seconds to stop from 125 mph.

These figures would appear to show, that a Class 801 train can decelerate and accelerate at a stop in nearly a minute faster than a Class 390 train.

So how can we increase the acceleration and deceleration? The two obvious ways are more power and less weight.

Form the Internet, I estimate that the average car in a Class 390 train is around 52 tonnes, as opposed to 41 tonnes for the Hitachi trains.

So does this weight difference explain some of the difference in acceleration and deceleration times?

Consider.

The Class 390 trains have all the extra weight of the tilt mechanism. More weight means slower acceleration.
Avanti West Coast’s new Class 807 trains have no diesel engines or batteries. Have the trains been put on a diet?
They also have a reprofiled nose. Is it more aerodynamic?

So if these trains can save time on the four accelerate/decelerate cycles compared to the Class 390 trains, they must be getting nearer to the magic two hours.

If two minutes a stop can be saved that would save eight minutes on the journey between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.

140 Mph Running

The time to do a mile at various speeds are as follows.

100 mph – 36 seconds
125 mph – 29 seconds
140 mph – 26 seconds

So running at 140 mph, as opposed to the current 125 mph would save three seconds for every mile.

To save five minutes would mean the train would have to run for a hundred miles at 140 mph instead of 125 mph.

As Stafford is 133.5 miles from London, it could be that full digital signalling should be installed on the West Coast Main Line all the way to Stafford or even Crewe, which is 158 miles from London.

This schematic map of the West Coast Main Line was clipped from Wikipedia.

Note.

Trains between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street take the Trent Valley Line through Nuneaton and Lichfield Trent Valley and stop at Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn.
Trains between London Euston and Manchester take a variety of routes and all go via Stockport.
One train per hour (tph) between London Euston and Glasgow Central takes the Trent Valley Line and goes non-stop between London Euston and Warrington Central.
Norton Bridge Junction just to the North of Stafford has recently been remodelled.

I believe there is potential to enable up to at least a hundred miles of 140 mph running to the South of Crewe. Especially as most of the track South of Crewe is quadruple track.

This should enable the shaving of five or more minutes off the time of any train capable of 140 mph running that uses the Trent Valley Line through Nuneaton, Lichfield Trent Valley and Stafford.

Norton Bridge Junction

Norton Bridge junction, which is five miles North used to be a bottleneck, but it has now been remodelled.

I wrote about it in The New Norton Bridge Junction In Action.

The new junction has probably been designed so that it can save a few seconds for trains going between Stafford and Crewe, whether or not they stop at either or both stations.

Non-Stop Between London Euston and Runcorn

If you look at the times of a London Euston and Glasgow Central train via the Trent Valley Line , it travels the 174.7 miles between London Euston and Weaver Junction non-stop in one hour and forty minutes. This is an average speed of 104.8 mph.

By comparison, my train on Thursday took one hour and forty-seven minutes with the two stops at Stafford and Crewe.

So there is at least six minutes to be saved by going non-stop.

Two Trains Per Hour Between London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street

Wikipedia says this about an additional service.

Subject to approval by the Office of Rail and Road, an additional hourly service will be introduced between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street with a stop at Liverpool South Parkway from December 2022.

I have a few thoughts and questions on extra services between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street,

In my view the second service is much needed.
I also think, that a later train back to London is needed.
Does the Wikipedia statement mean that only one train will stop at Liverpool South Parkway?
Does Runcorn need two tph to and from London?
Would the platforms at Liverpool South Parkway be lengthened to accept eleven-car Class 390 trains?

I feel that if a train stopped at both Liverpool South Parkway and Runcorn, this would make a two-hour journey more difficult to achieve.

London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street In Two Hours

The new Class 807 trains will be delivered by 2022. Because of the pandemic, I’ll assume that of the ten trains on order, some, but not all, will be available by the December 2022 timetable change.

The time savings needed for a two-hour journey will come from four improvements.

The increased performance of the Class 807 trains.
Full digital signalling South of Crewe.
The track improvements already completed like Norton Bridge Junction.
Cutting out stop on the second service.

There may also be time savings to be obtained at the intermediate stops, by better working practices.

I doubt that the full digital signalling will have been installed, but all trains will be capable of 125 mph running.

Avanti West Coast probably have a good idea of the time they could achieve without digital signalling and I feel that they could be about five minutes over two hours with the Class 807 trains.

As the eleven-car Class 390 trains are too long for Liverpool South Parkway station, could we see the following service?

1 tph – Class 390 train – London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street via Runcorn, Crewe and Stafford.
1 tph – Class 807 train – London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street via Liverpool South Parkway.

Note.

The Class 390 train would run the existing timetable in two hours and thirteen minutes.
The Class 807 train would be a two-hour express service if possible.
Going from three stops to one could save the express at least seven minutes, as I showed earlier by looking at train timings South of Weaver Junction.
There would be time savings of at least two minutes on the express service due to the better performance of the Class 807 train.

To save the final four minutes, there would need to be at least eighty miles of 140 mph running, as each mile saves three seconds.

I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street can be regularly achieved in two hours.

London Euston And Warrington Bank Quay

The hourly London Euston and Glasgow Central expresses seem to take one hour and forty-five minutes for the non-stop trip of 182.1 miles, which is an average speed of 104 mph.

As this service is non-stop, I believe that this service would get the maximum benefit from digital signalling and this service will only get faster, as more and more of the route allowed 140 mph-running.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see almost ten minutes lopped off this service by signalling and other improvements.

I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Warrington Bank Quay can be regularly achieved in well under two hours, by a Class 390 train.

London Euston And Wigan North Western

The hourly London Euston and Glasgow Central expresses seem to take one hour and fifty-six minutes for the single-stop trip of 193.9 miles, which is an average speed of 100.3 mph.

As this service just a single stop at Warrington Bank Quay, I believe that this service would get the maximum benefit from digital signalling and this service will only get faster, as more and more of the route allowed 140 mph-running.

As with Warrington Bank Quay, I wouldn’t be surprised to see almost ten minutes lopped off this service by signalling and other improvements.

I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Wigan North Western can be regularly achieved in comfortably under two hours, by a Class 390 train.

London Euston And Preston

The hourly London Euston and Glasgow Central expresses seem to take two hours and eleven minutes for the two -stop trip of 209 miles, which is an average speed of 95.7 mph.

As this service just stops at Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western, I believe that this service would get the maximum benefit from digital signalling and this service will only get faster, as more and more of the route allowed 140 mph-running.

As with Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western, I wouldn’t be surprised to see almost ten minutes lopped off this service by signalling and other improvements.

I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Preston can be regularly achieved in just under two hours, by a Class 390 train.

London Euston And Blackpool North

Avanti West Coast have indicated that their new Class 807 trains will run between London Euston and Blackpool North.

Consider.

I am fairly certain that a Class 390 train will be able to run between London Euston and Preston in under two hours, once digital signalling is installed South of Crewe.
Currently, Class 390 trains take twenty minutes between Preston and Blackpool North stations.
The Class 807 trains have better acceleration and deceleration and should be able to execute faster stops than the Class 390 trains.

I wonder if Avanti West Coast, Hitachi, Network Rail and Rock Rail have thought up a cunning plan to run Class 807 trains between London Euston And Blackpool North, in under two hours.

Trains would go via the Trent Valley.

Trains might only stop at perhaps Milton Keynes Central, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston.

Trains would run at up to 140 mph using digital signalling, in as many places as possible.

Is the performance of the Class 807 trains sufficient to achieve London Euston and Blackpool North in under two hours via the Trent Valley?

London Euston And Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow

Consider.

Most trains between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow seem to take around six or seven minutes over two hours.
I believe that if the 158 miles between London Euston and Crewe were to be digitally signalled, then this could save up to eight minutes by allowing trains to run at 140 mph rather than the current 125 mph.

This could be enough to bring the London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow below two hours.

I am not surprised at this, as the trains were built for 140 mph and because there is no digital signalling, they are limited to 125 mph, which slows the trains by six or seven minutes.

London Euston And Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent

Everything I said about trains between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow probably apply, except that the services via Stoke-on-Trent are a few minutes slower.

But I do feel, that this could be enough to bring the London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent below two hours.

East Midlands Railway And St. Pancras

These is only one service from St. Pancras, that is not comfortably under two hours.

London St. Pancras And Sheffield

A typical service between London St. Pancras And Sheffield takes a few minutes over two hours..

There are two tph
There are stops at Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton, Derby or Chesterfield depending on the service.
The Class 222 trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two terminals is 164.7 miles.
The start to stop average including the stops is 81 mph.

I would suspect that East Midlands Railway’s new bi-mode Class 810 trains will be able to easily break the two-hour barrier.

They have four diesel engines so they can cruise at 125 mph on diesel.
They have electric power for South of Market Harborough.
Some diesel engines will be changed for batteries.

As electrification increases on the Midland Main Line, these trains will use less and less diesel.

I also suspect that digital signalling will start to creep into the route, starting from Bedford, where it is used on Thameslink.

LNER And King’s Cross

These are services from King’s Cross, that are or I feel will be under two hours.

London King’s Cross And Doncaster

A typical service between London King’s Cross And Doncaster takes around one hour and thirty-seven minutes.

There are four tph
There are stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark and Retford depending on the service.
The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two stations is 156 miles.
The start to stop average including the stops is 96.5 mph.

Digital signaling is being installed on this section of the East Coast Main Line and I suspect that this will reduce timings between London King’s Cross And Doncaster.

A simple estimate based on the maximum operating speed, indicates a time of one hour and twenty-six minutes should be possible.

But as a Control Engineer, I believe that digital signalling will lead to faster running over the Digswell Viaduct and through the flat crossing at Newark.

The timing will certainly be under one hour and thirty minutes between London King’s Cross And Doncaster.

London King’s Cross And York

A typical service between London King’s Cross And York takes around one hour and forty-eight minutes.

There are two tph
There are stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark, Retford and Doncaster depending on the service.
The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two stations is 188.5 miles.
A non-stop service takes one hour and fifty-two minutes, which is a start to stop average including the stops is 101 mph.

If my crude estimate of time savings because of digital signalling South of Doncaster can be applied, this would imply a reduction in journey time of at least eleven minutes.

London King’s Cross And Leeds

A typical service between London King’s Cross And Leeds takes around two hours and thirteen minutes.

There are three tph
There are stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark, Doncaster and Wakefield Westgate depending on the service.
The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two terminals is 185.9 miles.
This is a start to stop average including the stops is 83.9 mph.

If my crude estimate of time savings because of digital signalling South of Doncaster can be applied, this would imply a reduction in journey time of at least eleven minutes, which would put a time between London King’s Cross and Leeds of around two hours.

London King’s Cross And Bradford Forster Square

LNER run some services on this route

The services take thirty minutes between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square stations.
The services do not reverse at Leeds.

Given that two hours should be possible between London Kings Cross and Leeds, it would appear that two hours and thirty minutes should be possible between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square stations.

London King’s Cross And Bradford Interchange

Grand Central run some services on this route

The services call at Doncaster, Wakefield Kirkgate, Mirfield, Brighouse and Low Moor
The services take two hours and fifty-four minutes between London King’s Cross and Bradford Interchange stations.

The services take one hour and seventeen minutes between Doncaster and Bradford Interchange stations.

The services are run by Class 180 diesel trains, which will have to be replaced to decarbonise the route.

I suspect that Hitachi will have a train for this route, that could use diesel or batteries to the North of Doncaster.

My estimate for the best time between King’s Cross and Doncaster is one hour and twenty-six minutes.
The current time between Doncaster and Bradford Interchange stations is one hour and seventeen minutes.

This gives a best time of perhaps two hours and forty-three minutes between Doncaster and Bradford Interchange stations.

The route to Bradford via Leeds is perhaps fifteen minutes faster, but it serves different stations.

London King’s Cross And Harrogate

LNER has been running to Harrogate for some time.

There is one train per two hours (tp2h)
The service calls at Stevenage, Grantham, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate and Leeds.
some services reverse at Leeds.
The service takes two hours and fifty-five minutes between London King’s Cross and Harrogate stations.
The service takes thirty minutes between Leeds and Harrogate stations.

Given that two hours should be possible between London Kings Cross and Leeds, it would appear that two hours and thirty minutes could be possible between London King’s Cross and Harrogate stations.

London King’s Cross And Huddersfield

In LNER Expands To Huddersfield, I described LNER’s new service to Huddersfield.

There will be one train per day (tpd)
The service will call at Peterborough, Newark North Gate, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds and Dewsbury.
The service will split and join with the London King’s Cross and Skipton service at Leeds.
The service will reverse at Leeds.
The service take two hours and fifty-five minutes between London King’s Cross and Huddersfield stations.
The service will take twenty-five minutes between Leeds and Huddersfield stations.
Improvements are planned, which include electrification, between Dewsbury and Huddersfield

Given that two hours should be possible between London Kings Cross and Leeds, it would appear that two hours and thirty minutes could be possible between London King’s Cross and Huddersfield stations.

London King’s Cross And Hull

The fastest Hull Trains service between London King’s Cross And Hull takes around two hours and thirty minutes.

There are seven tpd
There are stops at Stevenage, Grantham, Retford, Doncaster, Selby, Howden and Brough depending on the service.
The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two terminals is 205.3 miles.
This is a start to stop average including the stops is 82.1 mph.

London King’s Cross And Middlesbrough

LNER have announced a Middlesbrough service, which I wrote about in LNER’s Middlesbrough And London Service. Starts On December 13th.

There will be one tpd in both directions
Intermediate stops will be at Thornaby and York.
The Middlesbrough and London service will leave Middlesbrough from Platform 1 at 07:08 and arrive in King’s Cross at 10:22.
The London and Middlesbrough service will leave King’s Cross at 15:25 and arrive in Middlesbrough in Platform 2 at 18:18.

There appear to be some curiosities in the timetabling of these trains, which I may explore later.

I would assume that is because LNER want a competitive time of three hours between King’s Cross and Middlesbrough.

These are Southbound times between Eaglescliffe and King’s Cross in the morning.

Grand Central – Two hours and thirty-nine minutes
LNER – Three hours and two minutes

Is this because the Class 180 train is a genuine 125 mph train on diesel and the Class 800 train is not?

Conclusion

Of the cities and towns in the North, that I have discussed only Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull and Middlesbrough, are ones that will be difficult to be provided with a two-hour journey time to and from London. But all should be possible in close to or under two hours and thirty minutes.

October 17, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 222 Train, Class 390 Train, Class 801 Train, Class 807 Train, Class 810 Train, Doncaster Station, East Coast Main Line, East Midlands Railway, Euston Station, Hull Station, Hull Trains, Kings Cross Station, Leeds Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Liverpool South Parkway Station, LNER, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Norton Bridge Junction, St. Pancras Station, West Coast Main Line, York Station | 7 Comments

The London And Edinburgh Travel Market

This paragraph comes from of this article on Railway Gazette.

Lumo is aiming to carry more than 1 million passengers per year. It is particularly targeting people who currently fly between Edinburgh and London; in June it says there were 74 764 air journeys on the route, compared to 82 002 by rail.

Lumo’s million passengers per year, will equate to around 83,300 passengers per month.

What these figures don’t show is the number of rail journeys made to intermediate stations like Newcastle, York, Doncaster and Peterborough.

These are a few thoughts.

Rail Capacity Between London And Edinburgh

Consider.

LNER is currently the only rail carrier offering a daytime service between London and Edinburgh.
LNER run approximately 26 trains per day (tpd) in both directions between London and Edinburgh.
A nine-car Class 801 train can carry 510 Standard Class passengers and 101 First Class passengers.

That means that LNER had a capacity of just over 950,000 seats in June.

It might seem poor to have only sold 82,002 seats in June between London and Edinburgh, which is just 8.6 % of the available seats.

On the other hand, LNER’s two trains per hour (tph) are a lot more than London and Edinburgh trains, as they connect towns and cities all the way up the East Coast Main Line between London and Aberdeen.

Lumo’s capacity of a million seats per year, works out at 83,300 seats per month, which is another 8.7 % of capacity.

Lumo will sell seats on price initially and I suspect they’ll end up running about 85-95 % full.
It has been stated that they need to run 80% full to break even.
I also think, that they would like to have a few seats for late bookers.

But even so, they will surely affect LNER’s bookings.

What Will LNER Do?

Several of the things, that Lumo are doing can be easily copied by LNER.

Early booking.
Improve onboard service.
Better seating.

They could even reduce prices.

I think it is very likely we could end up with a price and service war between LNER and Lumo.

Would The Airlines Be The Losers?

This could be an outcome of competition between LNER and Lumo.

We are now talking about times of around four hours and twenty-five minutes between London and Edinburgh, but there are improvements underway on the East Coast Main Line.

The remodelling of the approach to Kings Cross station has not been reflected in the timetables.
The Werrington Dive Under has not been completed yet.
Digital signalling is being installed South of Doncaster.
The power supply is being upgraded North of Newcastle.

When these and other improvements are complete, I can see journey times reduced below four hours.

But would that only be for starters?great b

If a 1970s-technology Intercity 225 train, admittedly running as a shortened train formation, could achieve a time of just under three-and-a-half hours for the 393.2 miles between Kings Cross and Edinburgh stations in September 1991, what could a modern Hitachi train do, if all of the improvements had been completed and perhaps half of the route could be run at 140 mph under the watchful eyes of full digital signalling and an experienced driver.

Consider.

London and York is nearly two hundred miles of fairly straight railway, that is ideal for high speed.
Current trains run the 393.2 miles in four hours 25 minutes, which is an average speed of 89 mph.
A train running at 89 mph would take two hours and fifteen minutes to cover 200 miles.
A train running at 125 mph would take one hour and thirty-six minutes to cover 200 miles.
A train running at 140 mph would take one hour and twenty-six minutes to cover 200 miles.

When Network Rail, Great British Railways or the Prime Minister renames the East Coast Main Line as High Speed East Coast, I think we can be sure that trains between London and Edinburgh will be able to achieve three-and-a-half hours between the two capitals.

High Speed Two is only promising three hours and forty-eight minutes.

What About LNER’s New Trains?

LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, was written to explore the possibilities suggested by a short article in the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways.

There has been no sign of any order being placed, but Hitachi have moved on.

They are building the prototype of the Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery for testing on the Great Western Railway.
They have completed some of the Class 803 trains for East Coast Trains, which has now been renamed Lumo. These trains have a battery for hotel power in case of catenary failure, but no diesel engines.
They are building the Class 807 trains for Avanti West Coast, which appear to be designed for high speed and have no batteries or diesel engines.
The latest versions of the trains will have a reshaped nose. Is it more aerodynamic at high speeds?

It does seem that there is an emphasis on speed, better acceleration and efficiency.

Could the lessons learned be used to improve the performance of the existing trains?
Could a small high performance sub-fleet be created to run LNER’s Scottish services?

There are certainly possibilities, that would cut journey times between London and Edinburgh.

Conclusion

I can see the airlines flying between London and Edinburgh suffering a lot of collateral damage, as the two train companies slug it out.

September 10, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Aviation, Class 801 Train, East Coast Trains - Lumo, East London, Edinburgh, Great British Railways, High Speed Two, Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, Kings Cross Remodelling, LNER, Low-Cost Airline, Network Rail, Trains | 4 Comments

Approaching Kings Cross – 5th July 2021

I took these pictures approaching Kings Cross.

Reports say most of the work of the remodelling is now complete. Although, it did look to me that in places more tracks could be laid.

The Length Of The Long Platforms At Kings Cross

This repeat of the last picture in the gallery shows the length of the nine long platforms.

Note.

The train is in Platform 3.
The train is an eight-car Class 700 train.
Eight-car units are 162 metres long.
Twelve-car units are 242.6 metres long.

Platform 3 is obviously long enough to take the following trains.

Twelve-car Class 700 train – 242.6 metres
Two Class 800 trains working as a pair – 260 metres
A nine-car Class 800 train – 234 metres
An InterCity 225 train – 245.2 metres
A twelve-car Class 319 train or Class 321 train – 240 metres.

This Google Map shows the ends of the platforms at Kings Cross.

Note.

The long platforms at the right are 2 and 3.
Platform 2 and 3 are wide.
Two LNER Azumas are in Platforms 5 and 6.

It looks to me that whilst all platforms can probably handle the standard British Rail length of 240 metres, those on the right may be able to handle longer trains. But what trains? These are my thoughts.

Longer LNER Azumas

This document on the Hitachi Rail web site is entitled Development of Class 800/801 High-speed Rolling Stock for UK Intercity Express Programme.

The document says that Class 80x trains have a sophisticated Train Control and Management System (TCMS).

The document says that this is one of the functions of the TCMS.

To simplify the rearrangement and management of train configurations, functions are provided for
identifying the train (Class 800/801), for automatically determining the cars in the trainset and its total length,
and for coupling and uncoupling up to 12 cars in normal and 24 cars in rescue or emergency mode.

I would assume that with the purchase of extra cars, that it might be possible to lengthen trains to up to twelve cars.

Lengths would be as follows.

Ten-car Class 80x train – 260 metres.
Eleven-car Class 80x train – 276 metres.
Twelve-car Class 80x train – 312 metres.

To add extra capacity on the routes to Leeds and Edinburgh services, there must be a balance between these factors.

The cost of extra cars.
The cost of platform lengthening.

There must of course be space for any platform lengthening.

It would seem to me, that common sense should allow twelve-car trains to be handled at King’s Cross, as this must be one of the best ways of adding capacity to East Coast Main Line services.

Caledonian Sleeper

The Caledonian Sleeper doesn’t normally run into King’s Cross, but during the rebuilding Euston for High Speed Two, it may be necessary to provide an alternative platform.

Unfortunately, the sixteen-car Caledonian sleeper trains are 352 metres long. So it would appear that Kings Cross would not be a temporary alternative.

But given the amount of money being invested in sleeper trains in Europe by the likes of Midnight Trains and NightJet, I can see that the Caledonian Sleeper might have another problem – success and the need for more capacity.

So I wouldn’t rule out an East Coast Main Line sleeper train between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh.

It might call at Stevenage, Newcastle and Berwick to widen its passenger base, just as the current sleeper calls at Watford, Carlisle and Carstairs.

The train could be extended to Aberdeen, to simplify services in Scotland.

Obviously, traffic and finance would decide, but I wouldn’t rule out the Caledonian Sleeper running to and from King’s Cross for a few years yet.

A Night Light Freight Terminal

In Is This The Shape Of Freight To Come?, I wrote about the new generation of fast electric freight trains, based on redundant electric multiple units.

If you look at Real Time Trains, you will find that few trains use King’s Cross station between two and five in the morning.
Platforms can take a twelve-car version of these electric freight trains.
The new platforms are wide and level.
Local delivery could use electric vehicles and bikes.

I think King’s Cross has possibilities for handling goods like food, parcels and shop supplies.

The Short Platforms At Kings Cross

When I was a child, King’s Cross had four short suburban platforms, where N2 steam tank engines hauled suburban services in and out of the station.

The suburban platforms have now been reduced to two platforms, that fit in with the current uses of the station.

The two platforms are numbered 9 and 10.
They can handle an eight-car Class 700 train, which is 162 metres long.
They can handle a five-car Class 800 train, which is 130 metres long.
Some five-car services run by the new Hitachi trains use these platforms.

These pictures show the platforms.

Note.

The platforms are wide.
The picture of the Azuma in Platform 9 was taken before the centre track was removed recently.
Today, one LNER Azuma departed from Platform 9 to go to Lincoln, but both platforms were busy with Great Northern services to Cambridge, Ely and Kings Lynn.

I do wonder if the platforms could be used for light freight, during the night.

Conclusion

King’s Cross is not just one of the UK’s finest railway stations, which is recognised by its Grade I Listed status, but it is now moving towards an efficient, high-capacity station that works around the clock!

July 6, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Design, Transport/Travel | Architecture, Azuma Train, Caledonian Sleeper, Class 800 Train, Class 801 Train, Freight, Kings Cross Remodelling, Kings Cross Station | Leave a comment

Thoughts On Batteries On A Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train

This Hitachi infographic describes a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.

Hitachi are creating the first of these battery trains, by replacing one of the diesel power-packs in a Class 802 train with a battery-pack from Hyperdrive Innovation of Sunderland.

This press release from Hitachi is entitled Hitachi And Eversholt Rail To Develop GWR Intercity Battery Hybrid Train – Offering Fuel Savings Of More Than 20%, gives a few more details.

The Class 802 train has the following characteristics.

Five cars.
Three diesel power-packs, each with a power output of 700 kW.
125 mph top speed on electricity.
I believe all intermediate cars are wired for diesel power-packs, so can all intermediate cars have a battery?

In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, I estimated that the trains need the following amounts of energy to keep them at a constant speed.

Class 801 train – 125 mph 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile
Class 801 train – 100 mph 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile

The figures are my best estimates.

The Wikipedia entry for the Class 800 train, also gives the weight of the diesel power-pack and all its related gubbins.

The axle load of the train is given as 15 tonnes, but for a car without a diesel engine it is given as 13 tonnes.

As there are four axles to a car, I can deduce that the diesel power-pack and the gubbins, weigh around eight tonnes.

How much power would a one tonne battery hold?

This page on the Clean Energy institute at the University of Washington is entitled Lithium-Ion Battery.

This is a sentence from the page.

Compared to the other high-quality rechargeable battery technologies (nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal-hydride), Li-ion batteries have a number of advantages. They have one of the highest energy densities of any battery technology today (100-265 Wh/kg or 250-670 Wh/L).

Using these figures, a one-tonne battery would be between 100 and 265 kWh in capacity, depending on the energy density.

As it is likely that if the diesel power-pack replacement would probably leave things like fuel tanks and radiators behind, so that the diesel engines could be reinstalled, I would expect that a battery of around four tonnes would be fitted.

On the basis of the University of Washington’s figures a 400 kWh battery pack would certainly be feasible.

Using. the energy use at 100 mph of 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile, I can get the following ranges for different battery sizes.

400 kWh battery – 36.53 miles
500 kWh battery – 45.67 miles
600 kWh battery – 54.80 miles
800 kWh battery – 73.06 miles

As Lincoln and Newark are just 16.6 miles apart, it looks to me that a 500 or 600 kWh battery could be a good choice for that route, as it would leave enough hotel power for the turnround.

It should also handle shorter routes like these.

Newbury and Bedwyn – 13.3 miles.
Didcot and Oxford – 10.3 miles
Newark and Lincoln – 16.6 miles
Leeds and Harrogate – 18.3 miles
Northallerton and Middlesbrough – 20 miles
Hull and Temple Hirst Junction and Hull – 36.1 miles

Some routes like Temple Hirst Junction and Hull would need charging at the destination.

The Range Of A Five Car Train With Three Batteries

Suppose a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train had three battery-packs and no diesel engines.

It would be based on Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train technology.
It would have two driver cars without batteries.
It would have three intermediate cars with 600 kWh batteries.
It would have 1800 kWh in the batteries.
The train would be optimised for 100 mph running.
My estimate says it would need 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile to cruise at 100 mph.

It could have a range of up to 164 miles.

If the batteries were only 500 kWh, the range would be 137 miles.

The Ultimate Battery Train

I think it would be possible to put together a nine car battery-electric train with a long range.

It would be based based on Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train technology, which would be applied to a Class 800 or Class 802 train.
It would have two driver cars without batteries.
It would have seven intermediate cars with 600 kWh batteries.
It would have a total battery capacity of 4200 kWh.
The train would be optimised for 100 mph running.
My estimate in How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, said it would need 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile to cruise at 100 mph.

That would give a range of over 200 miles.

If the batteries were only 500 kWh, the range would be 178 miles.

Aberdeen, Inverness, Penzance and Swansea here we come.

Can Hitachi Increase The Range Further?

There are various ways that the range can be improved.

More electrically-efficient on-board systems like air-conditioning.
A more aerodynamic nose.
Regenerative braking to the batteries.
Batteries with a higher energy density.
Better driver assistance software.

Note.

Hitachi have already announced that the Class 810 trains for East Midlands Railway will have a new nose profile.
Batteries are improving all the time.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a ten percent improvement in range by 2030.

Conclusion

I was surprised at some of the results of my estimates.

But I do feel that Hitachi trains with 500-600 kWh batteries could bring a revolution to train travel in the UK.

Edinburgh And Aberdeen

Consider.

The gap in the electrification is 130 miles between Edinburgh Haymarket and Aberdeen.
There could be an intermediate charging station at Dundee.
Charging would be needed at Aberdeen.

I think Hitachi could design a train for this route.

Edinburgh And Inverness

Consider.

The gap in the electrification is 146 miles between Stirling and Inverness.
This could be shortened by 33 miles, if there were electrification between Stirling and Perth.
Charging would be needed at Inverness.

I think Hitachi could design a train for this route.

May 31, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Aberdeen, Battery-Electric Trains, Class 801 Train, Class 810 Train, Hitachi, Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, Hyperdrive Innovation, Inverness | 21 Comments

What Is Possible On The East Coast Main Line?

In the Wikipedia entry for the Class 91 locomotive, there is an amazing story.

This picture shows one of these locomotives at Kings Cross.

Note.

They have a design speed of 140 mph.
They have a power output of 4.8 MW.
They were built around 1990 by British Rail at Crewe.

They were designed to run services between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh as fast as possible, as the motive power of the InterCity 225 trains.

This section in the Wikipedia entry for the Class 91 locomotive is entitled Speed Record. This is the first paragraph.

A Class 91, 91010 (now 91110), holds the British locomotive speed record at 161.7 mph (260.2 km/h), set on 17 September 1989, just south of Little Bytham on a test run down Stoke Bank with the DVT leading. Although Class 370s, Class 373s and Class 374s have run faster, all are EMUs which means that the Electra is officially the fastest locomotive in Britain. Another loco (91031, now 91131), hauling five Mk4s and a DVT on a test run, ran between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley in 3 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds on 26 September 1991. This is still the current record. The set covered the route in an average speed of 112.5 mph (181.1 km/h) and reached the full 140 mph (225 km/h) several times during the run.

Note.

For the British locomotive speed record, locomotive was actually pushing the train and going backwards, as the driving van trailer (DVT) was leading.
How many speed records of any sort, where the direction isn’t part of the record, have been set going backwards?
I feel that this record could stand for many years, as it is not very likely anybody will build another 140 mph locomotive in the foreseeable future. Unless a maverick idea for a high speed freight locomotive is proposed.

I have a few general thoughts on the record run between Kings Cross and Edinburgh in three-and-a-half hours.

I would assume that as in normal operation of these trains, the Class 91 locomotive was leading on the run to the North.
For various reasons, they would surely have had at least two of British Rail’s most experienced drivers in the cab.
At that time, 125 mph InterCity 125 trains had been the workhorse of East Coast Main Line for well over ten years, so British Rail wouldn’t have been short of experienced high speed drivers.
It was a Thursday, so they must have been running amongst normal traffic.
On Monday, a typical run between Kings Cross and Edinburgh is timetabled to take four hours and twenty minutes.
High Speed Two are predicting a time of three hours and forty-eight minutes between Euston and Edinburgh via High Speed Two and the West Coast Main Line.

The more you look at it, a sub-three-and-and-a-half hour time, by 1980s-technology on a less-than-perfect railway was truly remarkable.

So how did they do it?

Superb Timetabling

In Norwich-In-Ninety Is A Lot More Than Passengers Think!, I talk about how Network Rail and Greater Anglia created a fast service between Liverpool Street and Norwich.

I suspect that British Rail put their best timetablers on the project, so that the test train could speed through unhindered.

Just as they did for Norwich-in-Ninety and probably will be doing to the East Coast Main Line to increase services and decrease journey times.

A Good As ERTMS Signalling

Obviously in 1991, there was no modern digital in-cab signalling and I don’t know the standard of communication between the drivers and the signallers.

On the tricky sections like Digswell Viaduct, through Hitchin and the Newark Crossing were other trains stopped well clear of any difficult area, as modern digital signalling can anticipate and take action?

I would expect the test train got a signalling service as good as any modern train, even if parts of it like driver to signaller communication may have been a bit experimental.

There may even have been a back-up driver in the cab with the latest mobile phone.

It must have been about 1991, when I did a pre-arranged airways join in my Cessna 340 on the ground at Ipswich Airport before take-off on a direct flight to Rome. Air Traffic Control had suggested it to avoid an intermediate stop at say Southend.

The technology was arriving and did it help the drivers on that memorable run North ensure a safe and fast passage of the train?

It would be interesting to know, what other equipment was being tested by this test train.

A Possible Plan

I suspect that the plan in 1991 was to use a plan not unlike one that would be used by Lewis Hamilton, or in those days Stirling Moss to win a race.

Drive a steady race not taking any chances and where the track allows speed up.

So did British Rail drive a steady 125 mph sticking to the standard timetable between Kings Cross and Edinburgh?

Then as the Wikipedia extract indicated, at several times during the journey did they increase the speed of the train to 140 mph.

And the rest as they say was an historic time of 3 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds. Call it three-and-a-half-hours.

This represented a start-to-stop average speed of 112.5 mph over the 393 miles of the East Coast Main Line.

Can The Current Trains Achieve Three-And-A-Half-Hours Be Possible Today?

Consider.

The best four hours and twenty minutes timings of the Class 801 trains, represents an average speed of 90.7 mph.
The Class 801 trains and the InterCity 225 trains have similar performance.
There have been improvements to the route like the Hitchin Flyover.
Full ERTMS in-cab signalling is being installed South of Doncaster.
I believe ERTMS and ETC could solve the Newark Crossing problem! See Could ERTMS And ETCS Solve The Newark Crossing Problem?
I am a trained Control Engineer and I believe if ERTMS and ETC can solve the Newark Crossing problem, I suspect they can solve the Digswell Viaduct problem.
The Werrington Dive Under is being built.
The approaches to Kings Cross are being remodelled.

I can’t quite say easy-peasy. but I’m fairly certain the Kings Cross and Edinburgh record is under serious threat.

A massive power supply upgrade to the North of Doncaster is continuing. See this page on the Network Rail web site.
ERTMS and ETC probably needs to be installed all the way between Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
There may be a need to minimise the number of slower passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line.
The Northumberland Line and the Leamside Line may be needed to take some trains from the East Coast Main Line.

Recent Developments Concerning the Hitachi Trains

There have been several developments since the Hitachi Class 800 and Class 801 trains were ordered.

Serious engineers and commentators like Roger Ford of Modern Railways have criticised the lugging of heavy diesel engines around the country.
Network Rail have upgraded the power supply South of Doncaster and have recently started to upgrade it between Doncaster and Edinburgh. Will this extensive upgrade cut the need to use the diesel power-packs?
Hitachi and their operators must have collected extensive in-service statistics about the detailed performance of the trains and the use of the diesel power-packs.
Hitachi have signed an agreement with Hyperdrive Innovation of Sunderland to produce battery-packs for the trains and two new versions of the trains have been announced; a Regional Battery Train and an Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
East Coast Trains have ordered five five-car Class 803 trains, each of which will have a small battery for emergency use and no diesel power-packs.
Avanti West Coast have ordered ten seven-car Class 807 trains, each of which have no battery or diesel power-packs.

And these are just the ones we know about.

The Class 807 Trains And Liverpool

I find Avanti West Coast’s Class 807 trains the most interesting development.

They have been partly financed by Rock Rail, who seem to organise train finance, so that the train operator, the train manufacturer all get the best value, by finding good technical solutions.
I believe that these trains have been designed so they can run between Euston and Liverpool Lime Street stations in under two hours.
Does the absence of battery or diesel power-packs save weight and improve performance?
Euston and Liverpool Lime Street in two hours would be an average of only 96.8 mph.
If the Class 807 trains could achieve the same start-stop average of 112.5 mph achieved by the InterCity 225 test run between Kings Cross and Edinburgh, that would mean a Euston and Liverpool Lime Street time of one hour and forty-three minutes.
Does Thunderbird provision on the West Coast Main Line for the Class 390 trains mean that the Class 807 trains don’t need emergency power?
Have diesel power-packs been rarely used in emergency by the Hitachi trains?

I believe the mathematics show that excellent sub-two hour times between Euston and Liverpool Lime Street are possible by Avanti West Coast’s new Class 807 trains.

The Class 803 Trains And Edinburgh

East Coast Trains ordered their Class 803 trains in March 2019, nine months before Avanti West Coast ordered their Class 807 trains.

In Trains Ordered For 2021 Launch Of ‘High-Quality, Low Fare’ London – Edinburgh Service, I outlined brief details of the trains and the proposed service.

FirstGroup is targeting the two-thirds of passengers, who fly between London and Edinburgh.
They are also targeting business passengers, as the first train arrives in Edinburgh at 10:00.
The trains are five-cars.
The trains are one class with onboard catering, air-conditioning, power sockets and free wi-fi.
Stops will be five trains per day with stops at Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth.
The trains will take around four hours.
The service will start in Autumn 2021.

I also thought it would be a successful service

As I know Edinburgh, Liverpool and London well, I believe there are similarities between the Euston-Liverpool Lime Street and Kings Cross-Edinburgh routes.

Both routes are between two cities known all over the world.
Both routes are fully-electrified.
Both routes have the potential to attract passengers from other transport modes.

The two services could even be run at similar speeds.

Euston-Liverpool Lime Street in two hours will be at 96.8 mph
Kings Cross-Edinburgh in four hours will be at 98.3 mph.

Does this explain the similar lightweight trains?

Could Lightweight Trains Help LNER?

There is one important factor, I haven’t talked about in detail in this post. Batteries and diesel power-packs on the Hitachi trains.

I have only mentioned them in the following circumstances.

When trains are not fitted with battery and/or diesel power-packs.
When battery developments are being undertaken.

Let’s consider the LNER fleet.

LNER has thirteen nine-car Class 800 trains, each of which has five diesel power-packs
LNER has ten five-car Class 800 trains, each of which has three diesel power-packs
LNER has thirty nine-car Class 801 trains, each of which has one diesel power-pack
LNER has twelve five-car Class 801 trains, each of which has one diesel power-pack

There are sixty-five trains, 497 coaches and 137 diesel power-packs.

And look at their destinations.

Aberdeen – No Electrification from Edinburgh
Alnmouth – Fully Electrified
Berwick-upon-Tweed – Fully Electrified
Bradford Forster Square – Fully Electrified
Darlington – Fully Electrified
Doncaster – Fully Electrified
Durham – Fully Electrified
Edinburgh – Fully Electrified
Glasgow – Fully Electrified
Grantham – Fully Electrified
Harrogate – No Electrification from Leeds – Possible Battery Destination
Huddersfield – No Electrification from Leeds – Possible Battery Destination – Probable Electrification
Hull – No Electrification from Temple Hirst Junction – Possible Battery Destination
Inverness – No Electrification from Stirling
Leeds – Fully Electrified
Lincoln – No Electrification from Newark North Gate – Possible Battery Destination
Middlesbrough – No Electrification from Northallerton – Possible Battery Destination
Newcastle – Fully Electrified
Newark North Gate – Fully Electrified
Northallerton – Fully Electrified
Peterborough – Fully Electrified
Skipton – Fully Electrified
Retford – Fully Electrified
Stevenage – Fully Electrified
Stirling – Fully Electrified
Sunderland – No Electrification from Northallerton – Possible Battery Destination
Wakefield Westgate – Fully Electrified
York – Fully Electrified

The destinations can be summarised as followed.

Not Electrified – 2
Possible Battery Destination – 6
Fully Electrified – 20

This gives a total of 28.

Could the trains be matched better to the destinations?

Some routes like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Stirling could possibly be beneficially handled by lightweight trains without any diesel or battery power-packs.
Only Aberdeen and Inverness can’t be reached by all-electric or battery-electric trains.
In LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, I proposed a hydrogen-electric flagship train, that would use hydrogen North of the existing electrification.

There certainly appear to be possibilities.

Example Journey Times To Edinburgh

This table shows the various time for particular start-stop average speeds between Kings Cross and Edinburgh.

80 mph – 4:54
85 mph – 4:37
90 mph – 4:12
98.2 mph – 4:00
100 mph – 3:56
110 mph – 3:34
120 mph – 3:16
125 mph – 3:08

Note.

Times are given in h:mm.
A few mph increase in average speed reduces journey time by a considerable amount.

The figures certainly show the value of high speed trains and of removing bottlenecks, as average speed is so important.

Decarbonisation Of LNER

LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes was based on an article in the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, with the same title. These are the first two paragraphs of the article.

LNER has launched the procurement of at least 10 new trains to supplement its Azuma fleet on East Coast main line services.

In a Prior Information Notice published on 27 October, the operator states it is seeking trains capable of operating under 25kW overhead power with ‘significant self-power capability’ for operation away from overhead wires. ‘On-board Energy Storage for traction will be specified as a mandatory requirement to reduce, and wherever practical eliminate, diesel usage where it would otherwise be necessary, although LNER anticipates some degree of diesel traction may be required to meet some self-power requirements. Suppliers tendering are asked to detail their experience of designing and manufacturing a fleet of multi-mode trains with a range of traction options including battery-electric, diesel-electric, hydrogen-electric, battery-diesel, dual fuel and tri-mode.

From this, LNER would appear to be serious about decarbonisation and from the destination list I published earlier, most services South of the Scottish Central Belt can be decarbonised by replacing diesel-power packs with battery power-packs.

That last bit, sounds like a call for innovation to provide a solution to the difficult routes to Aberdeen and Inverness. It also looks as if it has been carefully worded not to rule anybody out.

This press release from Hitachi is entitled Hitachi And Eversholt Rail To Develop GWR Intercity Battery Hybrid Train – Offering Fuel Savings Of More Than 20%.

It announces the Hitachi Intercity Tri-mode Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.

As the Hitachi press release is dated the 15th of December 2020, which is after the publication of the magazine, it strikes me that LNER and Hitachi had been talking.

At no point have Hitachi stated what the range of the train is on battery power.

To serve the North of Scotland these gaps must be bridged.

Aberdeen and Edinburgh Haymarket – 130 miles
Inverness and Stirling – 146 miles

It should also be noted that distances in Scotland are such, that if these gaps could be bridged by battery technology, then probably all of the North of Scotland’s railways could be decarbonised. As Hitachi are the major supplier of Scotland’s local and regional electric trains, was the original Prior Information Notice, written to make sure Hitachi responded?

LNER run nine-car Class 800 trains on the two long routes to Aberdeen and Inverness.

These trains have five diesel power-packs under coaches 2,3, 5, 7 and 8.
As five-car Class 800 trains have diesel power-packs under coaches 2, 3 and 4, does this mean that Hitachi can fit diesel power-packs under all cars except for the driver cars?
As the diesel and battery power-packs appear to be interchangeable, does this mean that Hitachi could theoretically build some very unusual trains?
Hitachi’s trains can be up to twelve-cars in normal mode and twenty-four cars in rescue mode.
LNER would probably prefer an all Azuma fleet, even if a few trains were a bit longer.

Imagine a ten-car train with two driver and eight intermediate cars, with all of the intermediate cars having maximum-size battery-packs.

Supposing, one or two of the battery power-packs were to be replaced with a diesel power-pack.

There are a lot of possibilities and I suspect LNER, Hitachi and Hyperdrive Innovation are working on a train capable of running to and from the North of Scotland.

Conclusion

I started by asking what is possible on The East Coast Main Line?

As the time of three-and-a-half hours was achieved by a short-formation InterCity 225 train in 1991 before Covids, Hitchin, Kings Cross Remodelling, Power Upgrades, Werrington and lots of other work, I believe that some journeys between Kings Cross and Edinburgh could be around this time within perhaps five years.

To some, that might seem an extraordinary claim, but when you consider that the InterCity 225 train in 1991 did it with only a few sections of 140 mph running, I very much think it is a certainly at some point.

As to the ultimate time, earlier I showed that an average of 120 mph between King’s Cross and Edinburgh gives a time of 3:16 minutes.

Surely, an increase of fourteen minutes in thirty years is possible?

May 15, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Aviation, British Rail, Class 800 Train, Class 801 Train, Class 91 Locomotive, Digital Signalling, Digswell Viaduct, Driving Van Trailer, East Coast Main Line, Edinburgh Station, ERTMS, Euston Station, Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, Hitachi Regional Battery Train, Hyperdrive Innovation, InterCity 125, InterCity 225, Kings Cross Remodelling, Kings Cross Station, Leamside Line, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Network Rail, Newark Crossing, Northumberland Line (Newcastle And Ashington/Blyth), Norwich In Ninety, Rock Rail, Werrington Dive Under | 3 Comments

Northern Powerhouse Rail – Significant Upgrades Of The East Coast Main Line From Leeds To Newcastle (Via York And Darlington) And Restoration Of The Leamside Line

In this article on Transport for the North, which is entitled Northern Powerhouse Rail Progress As Recommendations Made To Government, one of the recommendations proposed for Northern Powerhouse Rail is significant upgrades to the East Coast Main Line and reopening of the Leamside Line.

Northern Powerhouse Rail’s Objective For The Leeds and Newcastle Route

Wikipedia, other sources and my calculations say this about the trains between Leeds and Newcastle.

The distance between the two stations is 106 miles
The current service takes around 85 minutes and has a frequency of three trains per hour (tph)
This gives an average speed of 75 mph for the fastest journey.
The proposed service with Northern Powerhouse Rail will take 58 minutes and have a frequency of four tph.
This gives an average speed of 110 mph for the journey.

This last figure of 110 mph, indicates to me that a faster route will be needed.

These are example average speeds on the East Coast Main Line.

London Kings Cross and Doncaster – 156 miles – 98 minutes – 95.5 mph
London Kings Cross and Leeds – 186 miles – 133 minutes – 84 mph
London Kings Cross and York – 188.5 miles – 140 minutes – 81 mph
London Kings Cross and Hull – 205.3 miles – 176 minutes – 70 mph
York and Newcastle – 80 miles – 66 minutes – 73 mph

I also predicted in Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, that with full digital in-cab ERTMS signalling and other improvements, that both London Kings Cross and Leeds and York would be two-hour services, with Hull a two-and-a-half service.

London Kings Cross and Leeds in two hours would be an average speed of 93 mph.
London Kings Cross and York in two hours would be an average speed of 94.2 mph.
London Kings Cross and Hull in two-and-a-half hours would be an average speed of 94.2 mph.

I am fairly certain, that to achieve the required 110 mph average between Leeds and Newcastle to meet Northern Powerhouse Rail’s objective of four tph in under an hour will need, at least the following.

Full digital in-cab ERTMS signalling
Completion of the electrification between Leeds and York.
Ability to run at up to 140 mph in places.
Significant track upgrades.

It could also eliminate diesel traction on passenger services on the route.

High Speed Two’s Objective For The York and Newcastle Route

At the present time, High Speed Two is not planning to run any direct trains between Leeds and Newcastle, so I’ll look at its proposed service between York and Newcastle instead.

Current Service – 80 miles – 66 minutes – 73 mph
High Speed Two – 80 miles – 52 minutes – 92 mph

Note.

High Speed Two will be running three tph between York and Newcastle.
Northern Powerhouse Rail have an objective of 58 minutes for Leeds and Newcastle.

High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail do not not have incompatible ambitions.

Current Direct Leeds And Newcastle Services

These are the current direct Leeds and Newcastle services.

TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh
TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Manchester Airport and Newcastle.
CrossCountry – 1 tph – Plymouth and Edinburgh

Timings appear to be between 81 and 91 minutes.

What Would A Leeds And Newcastle In Under An Hour Do For London Kings Cross And Edinburgh Timings?

This question has to be asked, as a 58 minute time between Leeds and Newcastle will mean that timings between York and Newcastle must reduce.

York And Newcastle at various average speeds give the following times.

73 mph (current average) – 66 minutes
80 mph – 60 minutes
90 mph – 53 minutes
92 mph – 52 minutes (High Speed Two promise)
100 mph – 48 minutes
110 mph – 44 minutes

If any speed over 90 mph can be averaged between York and Newcastle, this means that with a London and York time of under two hours the following times are possible.

London Kings Cross and Newcastle in under three hours. – High Speed Two are promising two hours and seventeen minutes.
London Kings Cross and Edinburgh in under four hours. – High Speed Two are promising three hours and forty minutes.

Consider.

An InterCity 225 achieved a time of under three-and-a-half hours between London and Edinburgh. in 1991.
That record journey was at an average speed of 112 mph.
There must be opportunities for speed improvements North of Newcastle.
Train and signalling technology is improving.
High Speed Two is promising three hours and forty minutes between London and Edinburgh.

I can see a fascinating rivalry between trains on High Speed Two and the East Coast Main Line, developing, about who can be faster between London and Edinburgh.

Current Projects Between Leeds And Newcastle

These projects are in planning or under way on the section of the East Coast Main Line between Leeds and Newcastle.

Phase 2 Of The East Coast Main Line Power Supply Upgrade

Phase 1 between London and Doncaster should have been completed, if the covids allowed and now work can be concentrated on Phase 2 to the North of Doncaster.

This page on the Network Rail web site describes the project. These paragraphs are the introduction to Phase 2.

Phase 2 of the project will involve the installation of feeder and substations along the route, capacity upgrades, new 132kv connection at Hambleton junction and upgrades to existing power supply connections.

The second phase of the project is currently in design stages and dates for carrying out the work are still being finalised.

Phase 2 will be delivering upgraded power to the East Coast Mainline railway between Bawtry and Edinburgh.

This project may not improve speeds on the railway, but it will certainly improve reliability and reduce the use of diesel power.

I do wonder, that as the reliability of the East Coast Main Line increases, this will reduce the need for the electric Class 801 trains, to have diesel engines for when the power supply fails.

It is known, that the Class 803 trains, that are under construction for East Coast Trains, will have only a small battery for emergency use.

A sensible weight saving would surely improve the acceleration and deceleration of the trains.

York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme

This page of the Network Rail web site, describes the project. These paragraphs introduce the project.

Our work between York and Church Fenton is in preparation for the Transpennine Upgrade, which will provide more capacity and faster journeys between Manchester Victoria and York, via Leeds and Huddersfield.

The five mile stretch between Church Fenton and Colton Junction – the major junction where trains from Leeds join the East Coast Main Line towards York – sees over 100 trains each day, with up to one freight or passenger train passing through every five minutes. This is one of the busiest stretches of railway in the North.

The work will include.

Modernising the signalling.
Replacing about five miles of track between Holgate (York) and Colton Junction.
Completing the eleven miles of electrification between York and Church Fenton stations.

I estimate that when the project is completed, there will be only around thirteen miles of track without electrification between Church Fenton station and Neville Hill TMD in Leeds.

The route between Church Fenton and Garforth stations, is shown in this map clipped from High Speed Two.

Note.

York is just off the North-East corner of the map.
Garforth is in the South-West corner of the map.
Shown in orange is the new route of High Speed Two from East of Leeds towards York.
Shown in blue is existing tracks, that will be used to take High Speed Two Trains to York and further North.
The rail line running North-South on the edge of the map is the Selby Diversion, which opened in 1983 and was built to avoid possible subsidence from the Selby coalfield.
The pre-Selby Diversion route of the East Coast Main Line goes South from the join of the blue and orange sections of High Speed Two.
At Church Fenton station, this route splits, with one route going West through Micklefield, East Garforth and Garforth stations to Neville Hill TMD and Leeds.
The main road going North-South is the A1 (M).

It seems to me, that High Speed Two’s and Northern Powerhouse Rail’s plans in this area, are still being developed.

There has been no decision on the electrification between Church Fenton and Neville Hill TMD.
How do Northern Powerhouse Rail trains go between Leeds and Hull?
How do Northern Powerhouse Rail trains go between Leeds and York?
How do High Speed Two trains go between Leeds and York?

I suspect, when the full plans are published, it will answer a lot of questions.

Darlington Station Remodelling

A remodelling of Darlington station is under consideration.

I outlined this in £100m Station Revamp Could Double Local Train Services.

This was my conclusion in the related article.

I think that this will happen.

- The Tees Valley Line trains will be greatly improved by this project.
- Trains will generally run at up to 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line, under full digital control, like a slower High Speed Two.
- There will be two high speed platforms to the East of the current station, where most if not all of the High Speed Two, LNER and other fast services will stop.
- There could be up to 15 tph on the high speed lines.

With full step-free access between the high speed and the local platforms in the current station, this will be a great improvement.

It will create a major interchange, where high speed trains from High Speed Two, LNER and Northern Powerhouse Rail will do the following.

Approach at 140 mph or more.
Perform a controlled stop in the station.
Drop and pick-up passengers.
Accelerate back up to linespeed.

The station stop will be highly-automated and monitored by the driver.

One of the objectives would be to save time for all fast trains.

Capacity And Other Problems Between Leeds And Newcastle Listed In Wikipedia

These problems are listed in a section called Capacity Problems in the Wikipedia entry for the East Coast Main Line.

The North Throat Of York Station Including Skelton Bridge Junction

I describe this problem and my solution in Improving The North Throat Of York Station Including Skelton Bridge Junction.

Use Of The Leamside Line

Wikipedia says this about capacity to the South of Newcastle.

South of Newcastle to Northallerton (which is also predominately double track), leading to proposals to reopen the Leamside line to passenger and freight traffic.

I could have included it in the previous section, but as it such a important topic, it probably deserves its own section.

Looking at maps, reopening is more than a a possibility. Especially, as reopening is proposed by Northern Powerhouse Rail and mentioned in the title of this post.

I discussed the Leamside Line in detail in Boris Johnson Backs Station Opening Which Could See Metro Link To County Durham, which I wrote in June this year.

These are some extra thoughts, that update the original post.

Ferryhill Station

I was prompted to write the related post, by something Boris Johnson said at PMQs and it was mainly about Ferryhill station.

In the latest copy of this document on the Government web site, which is entitled Restoring Your Railway: Successful Bids, a new station at Ferryhill has been successful. Another bid in the same area to restore rail services between Consett and Newcastle has also been successful.

This map shows the East Coast Main Line as it goes North South between Durham and Darlington.

Note.

Ferryhill is in the South-West of the map opposite the sand-pits in the South-East
The East Coast Main Line runs North-South between the village an d the sand-pits.
Follow the railway North and you come to Tursdale, where there is a junction between the East Coast Main Line and the Leamside Line.
The East Coast Main Line goes North-Westerly towards Durham and Newcastle.
The Leamside Line goes North to Washington and Newcastle.
There is also the Stillington Freight Line going South-Easterly to Sedgefield and Stockton from Ferryhill.

Could Ferryhill be a useful interchange to local services connecting to Newcastle, Sunderland and Washington in the North and Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Stockton in the South?

The Leamside Line As An East Coast Main Line Diversion

I didn’t discuss using the line as a diversion for the East Coast Main Line in my original post, but if the infrastructure is to the required standard, I don’t see why it can’t take diverted traffic, even if it is also used for the Tyne and Wear Metro.

It should be remembered, that to create extra capacity on the East Coast Main Line between Peterborough and Doncaster, the route of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, was upgraded. I first wrote about this line six years ago in Project Managers Having Fun In The East and the route seems to be working well. It is now being augmented by the addition of the £200 million Werrington Dive Under. See Werrington Dive-Under – 8th November 2018, for more details of this project, which will speed up all trains on the East Coast Main Line.

After the undoubted success of the upgrade of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, surely the team responsible for it, should be given the task of devising a similar plan for the Leamside Line, to take pressure off the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Northallerton.

Sharing The Leamside Line

The Tyne and Wear Metro also has its eyes on the Leamside Line for an extension.

It should be noted that the Extension To Wearside, uses the Karlsruhe Model to allow the Metro trains to share with freight and other passenger trains.

The new Stadler trains will probably make this even easier, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a reopened Leamside Line handling a varied assortment of trains of all types.

The Sunderland Example

Sunderland station is a station, which has both Metro and mainline services from the same platforms.

Could a station at Washington be built to similar principles, so that some long distance services to Newcastle used this station?

A Terminal Station On The Leamside Line

Newcastle station may be a Grade One Listed station, but it is built on a curve and would be a nightmare to expand with more platforms.

Sunderland station is already used as a terminal for London trains, so would it be sensible to provide a terminal at somewhere like Washington?

My Final Thought On The Leamside Line

Reopen it!

A Few Random Final Thoughts

This post has got me thinking.

Newcastle Station Capacity

I have seen reports over the years that Newcastle station, is lacking in capacity.

There could be extra services, as High Speed Two is proposing two tph from London Euston stations and one tph from Birmingham Curzon Street station.
There may be extra services because of Northern Powerhouse Rail, which has an objective of four tph from Leeds station.
There may be extra services because of new services to Ashington and Blyth.
There may be extra services because of new services to Consett.

Note.

The first two services could use two hundred metre long trains.
Some platforms can accept 234 metre long Class 800 trains.
The last two services might use the Metro platforms.

As the station has twelve platforms, I feel with careful operation, that the station will have enough capacity.

This Google Map shows the station.

And this second Google Map shows the station, its position with relation to the Tyne and the lines rail routes to and from the station.

Note.

Trains from the South arrive over the King Edward VII Bridge and enter Newcastle station from the West.
Trains from England to Scotland go through the station from West to East and then go straight on and turn North for Berwick and Scotland.
Next to the King Edward VII Bridge is the blue-coloured Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which takes the Tyne and Wear Metro across the Tyne, where it uses two platforms underneath Newcastle station.
The next bridge is the High Level Bridge, which connects the East end of the station to the rail network, South of the Tyne. It connects to the Durham Coast Line to Teeside and the Leamside Line.

History has delivered Newcastle a comprehensive track layout through and around Newcastle station.

Services from the East can be run back-to-back with services from the West.
The Metro and its two underground platforms removes a lot of traffic from the main station.
There are seven through platforms, of which at least three are over two hundred metres long.
There are four West-facing bay platforms and one facing East.

But most intriguingly, it looks like it will be possible for trains to loop through the station from the South, by perhaps arriving over the King Edward VII bridge and leaving over the High Level bridge. Or they could go the other way.

Could this be why reoopening the Leamside Line is important?

LNER’s Extra Paths

The sentence, from an article entitled LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, in the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways indicates that more capacity will be available to LNER.

Infrastructure upgrades are due to prompt a timetable recast in May 2022 (delayed from December 2021) from which point LNER will operate 6.5 trains per hour, out of Kings Cross, compared to five today.

I suspect that LNER could use the half path to run a one train per two hour (tp2h) service to Hull.

Currently, London Kings Cross and Hull takes a few minutes under three hours.
Currently, Doncaster and Hull takes around 55 minutes.
I have estimated that once full digital in-cab signalling is operational, that London Kings Cross and Hull could take a few minutes under two-and-a-half hours.

The full path to Hull could be shared with Hull Trains to provide an hourly service between London Kings Cross and Hull.

LNER could do something special with the full extra path.

Consider.

Some train operating companies have said, that they’ll be looking to attract customers from the budget airlines.
There could be a need for more capacity between London Kings Cross and all of Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle.
Faster services would be attractive to passengers.
York and Leeds will be fully electrified or trains could be fitted with batteries to bridge the thirteen mile gap in the electrification.

A limited-stop service between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via Leeds could be an interesting addition.

The train would only stop at Leeds and possibly Newcastle.
One objective would be a time under three-and-a-half hours between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
What time could be achieved between London Kings Cross and Leeds?

It would certainly give High Speed Two a run for its money!

A New Elizabethan

I can remember The Elizabethan, which was a steam-hauled non-stop express between London and Edinburgh between 1953 and 1961.

I have laid out my ideas for a modern express train of the same name in A New Elizabethan.

It could be an interesting concept, to increase capacity between London and Edinburgh.

As I indicated in the previous section, LNER certainly have a path, that could be used to their advantage.

High Speed Two

The East Coast Main Line and High Speed Two have a lot in common.

The two routes will share tracks between a junction near Ulleskelf station and Newcastle station.
High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains could be based on Hitachi AT-300 train technology.
High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains would probably be able to run on the East Coast Main Line between London Kings Cross And Edinburgh.
Trains from both routes will share platforms at York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle stations.
I would hope that the signalling systems on both routes are compatible.

From a project management point of view, this commonality means that in an ideal world the new route of both High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail, and the upgrades to the East Coast Main Line should be planned together.

I believe there are still details on the design of the joint route, that have not been disclosed, or perhaps not even decided.

Will between Church Fenton station and Neville Hill depot be electrified?
How will Northern Powerhouse Rail connect Leeds and Hull stations?
How will Northern Powerhouse Rail connect Leeds and York stations?
Will High Speed Two connect Leeds and York stations?
What will be the operating speed of the joint section of the East Coast Main Line?
What will be the capacity in trains per hour of the joint section of the East Coast Main Line?
Will Newcastle station need an extra platform to handle three High Speed Two tph from London Euston

Two projects have been discussed in this post.

The unlocking of the bottleneck at Skelton Bridge.
The reopening of the Leamside Line.

I feel that these projects are important and will probably be needed for efficient operation of High Speed Two.

Other early projects could include.

Upgrading and electrification of the chosen route between Leeds and Hull,
Installation of the chosen system of in-cab ERTMS digital signalling on the route.
Electrification between Church Fenton station and Neville Hill depot.

I would deliver these and other joint projects early, so that travellers see a positive benefit from High Speed Two before the main work has even started.

High Speed East Coast

I wonder what is the maximum speed of the Class 80x trains, that are the backbone of services on the East Coast Main Line.

Consider.

It is known, that with in-cab digital ERTMS signalling, these trains will be capable of 140 mph, but could they go even faster.
High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains will be capable of 225 mph.
Will Hitachi’s offering for these trains, be based on the Class 80x trains?

I would think, that it is fairly likely, that the existing Class 80x trains could be updated to an operating speed in the range of 150-160 mph.

In Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, I said this.

The combined affect of both track and signalling improvements is illustrated by this simple calculation.

- As Dalton-on-Tees is North of Doncaster, the route between Woolmer Green and Doncaster should be possible to be run at 140 mph
- Woolmer Green and Doncaster stations are 132.1 miles apart.
- Non-stop York and London Kings Cross trains are currently timed at 70 minutes between Doncaster and Woolmer Green stations.
- This is an average speed of 113.2 mph.

If 140 mph could be maintained between Doncaster and Woolmer Green, the section of the journey would take 56.6 minutes, which is a saving of 13.4 minutes.

I can do this calculation for higher speeds.

150 mph would take 52.8 minutes
160 mph would take 49.5 minutes
170 mph would take 46.6 minutes
180 mph would take 44 minutes
200 mph would take 39.6 minutes

Note.

Eurostar’s latest Class 374 trains are capable of operating at 200 mph.
A Class 395 train, which is closely related to the Class 80x trains, has attained a record speed of 157 mph.

There may be worthwhile time savings to be made, on some of the straighter sections of the East Coast Main Line.

Other improvements will also be needed.

A solution to the Newark crossing problem, which could be solved by the use of in-cab ERTMS digital signalling. See Could ERTMS And ETCS Solve The Newark Crossing Problem?
Some extra four-tracking of the route.
Upgrading of Cambridge and Kings Lynn services for faster running. See Call For ETCS On King’s Lynn Route.

Note, that I am assuming, that the Digswell Viaduct section would not be updated, as it would cause too much disruption.

I also believe that by using selective joining and splitting at Edinburgh, Leeds and perhaps Doncaster, Grantham, Newark or York, that a very comprehensive network of direct trains to and from London can be built from Grantham Northwards.

Beverley, Bradford, Cleethorpes, Glasgow, Grimsby, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Lincoln, Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Perth, Redcar, Sheffield, Skipton, Sunderland and Washington could all be served at an appropriate frequency.

Some like Bradford, Glasgow, Harrogate, Hull, Lincoln and Middlesbrough would have several trains per day.
Others might have a much more limited service.

What sort of timings will be possible.

London Kings Cross and Doncaster could be around an hour.
London Kings Cross and Leeds could be around one hour and thirty minutes, using the current Doncaster and Leeds time, as against the one hour and twenty-one minutes for High Speed Two.
London Kings Cross and York could be around one hour and twenty-three minutes, using the current Doncaster and York time, as against the one hour and twenty-four minutes for High Speed Two.
Timings between York and Newcastle would be the same fifty-two minutes as High Speed Two, as the track will be the limitation for both services.
High Speed Two’s timing for York and Newcastle is given as fifty-two minutes, with York and Darlington as twenty-five minutes.
London Kings Cross and Darlington could be around one hour and forty-nine minutes
London Kings Cross and Newcastle could be around two hours and sixteen minutes.
London Kings Cross and Edinburgh would be under three-and-a-half hours, as against the proposed three hours and forty-eight minutes for High Speed Two.

High Speed East Coast would be a serious and viable alternative to High Speed Two for the Eastern side of England and Scotland.

Conclusion

This is an important joint project for Northern Powerhouse Rail, High Speed Two and the East Coast Main Line.

Project Management Recommendations

This project divides neatly into several smaller projects..

Upgrade the power supply on the East Coast Main Line.
Finish the York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme
Remodel Darlington station.
Install of in-cab ERTMS digital signalling.
Complete the electrification between Neville Hill TMD and York.
Solve the problem of Skelton Bridge and its complicated track layout.
Reopen the Leamside Line.

Most of these projects are independent of each other and all would give early benefits to the East Coast Main Line.

When complete, we’ll see the following timing improvements.

Leeds and Newcastle will drop from 85 minutes to 56 minutes, with an increase in frequency from three to four tph.
York and Newcastle will drop from 57-66 minutes to 52 minutes.
There could be ten minutes savings on Edinburgh services.

Passengers and operators would welcome this group of projects being started early.

November 30, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 801 Train, Class 803 Trains, Class AT-300 Train, Consett Station, Control Engineering, COVID-19, Darlington Station, East Coast Main Line, East Coast Trains - Lumo, ERTMS, High Speed East Coast, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, HS3/Northern Powerhouse Rail, Leamside Line, Leeds Station, LNER, Newcastle Station, Northallerton Station, Northern Powerhouse Rail Recommendations - November 2020, Skelton Bridge Junction, Stillington Line, The Elizabethan, Trains, Tyne And Wear Metro, York Station | 5 Comments

!40 mph Electric Trains At Kings Cross Station

This picture shows LNER’s old and new 140 mph electric trains at Kings Cross station.

On the left is a nine-car Class 801 train.

Introduced into service in 2019
234 metres long
Capacity – 510 Standard and 101 First
One diesel engine for emergency power.

On the right is an InterCity 225.

Introduced into service in 1988-1991.
Nine Mark 4 coaches
245 metres long
Capacity 406 Standard and 129 First
No emergency power
As I wrote in Overhauls for LNER’s Remaining Class 91s And Mk 4s, the InterCity 225s are being updated to offer electric services between London Kings Cross and Bradford, Leeds, Skipton and York.

Both trains are designed for 140 mph and will be able to attain this speed, when in-cab digital signalling is available.

It looks like LNER will have the following full-size electric fleet.

Thirty Class 801 trains
Seven InterCity 225 trains and spare coaches, driving van trailers and locomotives.

Both trains will be able to work any route with full electrification.

Changes In The Future To LNER Services

I predict that the following will happen.

140 mph Running Between Woolmer Green And Doncaster

This will happen and the following trains will take advantage.

LNER’s Class 800 and Class 801 trains
Hull Train’s Class 802 trains
East Coast Trains’s Class 803 trains

The odd ones out will be Grand Central’s Class 180 trains, which are diesel and only capable of 125 mph.

How long will the other train operating companies accept slow trains on the 140 mph railway?

Digital In-Cab Signalling And 140 mph Running Will Speed Up Services

In Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, I said that following train times would be possible., in addition to a London Kings Cross and Leeds time of two hours.

London Kings Cross and Bradford Forster Square – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Harrogate – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Huddersfield – two hours and twenty minutes
London Kings Cross and Hull – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Middlesbrough – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Scarborough – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Skipton – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and York – two hours

Note.

All timings would be possible with Hitachi Class 80x trains.
Timings on Fully-electrified routes would be possible with InterCity 225 trains.

It appears that Grand Central will be stuck in the slow lane.

Grand Central Will Acquire Hitachi Trains Or Give Up

Grand Central‘s destinations of Bradford Interchange and Sunderland can’t be reached by all-electric trains, so will either have to follow Hull Trains and purchase Hitachi bi-mode trains or give up their routes.

The Diesel Engines In The Class 801 Trains Will Be Replaced By Batteries

East Coast Trains’ Class 803 trains have a slightly different powertrain to LNER’s Class 801 trains, which is explained like this in Wikipedia.

Unlike the Class 801, another non-bi-mode AT300 variant which despite being designed only for electrified routes carries a diesel engine per unit for emergency use, the new units will not be fitted with any, and so would not be able to propel themselves in the event of a power failure. They will however be fitted with batteries to enable the train’s on-board services to be maintained, in case the primary electrical supplies would face a failure.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar battery system fitted to the Class 801 trains.

The Diesel Engines In Hull Trains Class 802 Trains Will Be Replaced By Batteries

In Hull Issues New Plea For Electrification, I showed how Hitachi’s Class 802 trains with batteries instead of diesel engines could work long-distance services to and from Hull.

This will happen, as electric trains to London, would be a dream for a marketing man or woman.

Will The InterCity 225 Trains Lose Some First Class Seats?

This may happen, so that the seating layout in both trains is almost identical.

I’m certain, that it could be arranged, that seat numbers in both trains could have a similar position.

This would mean that if an InterCity 225 train replaced a Class 801 train, there wouldn’t need to be a seat reallocation.

Could InterCity 225 Trains Be Fitted With Emergency Batteries?

If LNER thought they were needed, I’m sure that this would be possible and Hyperdrive Innovation would oblige!

Conclusion

British Rail last hurrah, is giving Hitachi’s latest trains, a run for their money!

September 17, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 801 Train, Digital Signalling, Driving Van Trailer, East Coast Main Line, ERTMS, InterCity 225, Kings Cross Station, Leeds Station, LNER | 8 Comments

Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line

I came up to Doncaster yesterday on a new Hull Trains Class 802 train.

According to my pocket dynamometer car, the train seemed to be at or nearly at 125 mph, most of the time I looked from possibly around Stevenage to just South of Doncaster.

I came back today on an LNER Class 801 train and the train’s performance seemed very similar.

I also noted the following.

The two stops at Newark and Peterborough, took seven and nine minutes respectively from the start of slowing for the station until back up to speed.
Between Peterborough and Stevenage the train kept below a maximum of 110 mph.
The train went through the two tunnels before Welwyn North station and the station itself at 75 mph.
I timed the train at 100 mph over the Digswell Viaduct, when it reached the South side after accelerating on the viaduct.
90 mph was maintained between Potters Bar and New Southgate stations.
Speed gradually reduced from New Southgate into Kings Cross.

Note.

125 mph is the maximum allowable speed of the train.
The 110 mph running was probably to be compatible with the Class 387 trains.
I will do the trip again and get some accurate figures.

It appears to me, that the driver was obeying a simple but fast plan.

The Wikipedia entry for the East Coast Main Line, says this about the opiating speed of the line, with the new trains.

Increasing maximum speeds on the fast lines between Woolmer Green and Dalton-on-Tees up to 140 mph (225 km/h) in conjunction with the introduction of the Intercity Express Programme, level crossing closures, ETRMS fitments, OLE rewiring and the OLE PSU – est. to cost £1.3 billion (2014). This project is referred to as “L2E4” or London to Edinburgh (in) 4 Hours. L2E4 examined the operation of the IEP at 140 mph on the ECML and the sections of track which can be upgraded to permit this, together with the engineering and operational costs

It also says this about the implementation of digital signalling.

A new Rail operating centre (ROC), with training facilities, opened in early 2014 at the “Engineer’s Triangle” in York. The ROC will enable signalling and day-to-day operations of the route to be undertaken in a single location. Signalling control/traffic management using ERTMS is scheduled to be introduced from 2020 on the ECML between London King’s Cross and Doncaster – managed from the York ROC.

The signalling could probably work in one of two ways.

The signalling tells the driver the required speed and they drive the train accordingly.
The signalling drives the train and the driver monitors what is happening.

Both methods are used in the UK.

A Possible London Kings Cross and Leeds Service

The combined affect of both track and signalling improvements is illustrated by this simple calculation.

As Dalton-on-Tees is North of Doncaster, the route between Woolmer Green and Doncaster should be possible to be run at 140 mph
Woolmer Green and Doncaster stations are 132.1 miles apart.
Non-stop York and London Kings Cross trains are currently timed at 70 minutes between Doncaster and Woolmer Green stations.
This is an average speed of 113.2 mph.

If 140 mph could be maintained between Doncaster and Woolmer Green, the section of the journey would take 56.6 minutes, which is a saving of 13.4 minutes.

Consider.

The fastest current trains between London Kings Cross and Leeds take between two hours and twelve minutes and two hours and fifteen minutes.
I suspect that the extra tracks into Kings Cross, that are currently being built will save a few minutes.
There must be some savings to be made between Doncaster and Leeds
There must be some savings to be made between London Kings Cross and Woolmer Green.
There could be a rearrangement of stops.

I think it is highly likely that in the future, there will be at least one train per hour (tph) between London Kings Cross and Leeds, that does the trip in two hours.

There is no reason why all London Kings Cross and Leeds trains could not take two hours.
London Kings Cross and Doncaster could be several minutes under an-hour-and-a-half.
High Speed Two is predicting one hour and twenty-one minutes for their future service between London Euston and Leeds, which is a saving of 38 minutes.
London and Leeds in two hours will attract passengers.

There will be serious competition between London and Leeds.

Other Timing Improvements

I also think these times would be possible

London Kings Cross and Bradford Forster Square – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Harrogate – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Huddersfield – two hours and twenty minutes
London Kings Cross and Hull – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Middlesbrough – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Scarborough – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and Sheffield – two hours
London Kings Cross and Skipton – two hours and thirty minutes
London Kings Cross and York – two hours

I would be fairly certain that London Kings Cross and Huddersfield could be slowed by ten minutes, which would give the London Kings Cross and Yorkshire a certain symmetry.

London Kings Cross and Leeds and York would take two hours.
London Kings Cross and all the others would take two hours and thirty minutes.

It would probably make arrangement of a fast timetable easier.

September 15, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 801 Train, Digital Signalling, Doncaster Station, East Coast Main Line, ERTMS, Hull Station, Hull Trains, InterCity 225, Kings Cross Station, Leeds Station, LNER | 5 Comments

Overhauls for LNER’s Remaining Class 91s And Mk 4s

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.

This is the introductory paragraph.

Eversholt Rail, which owns the trains, has confirmed that 12 London North Eastern Railway Class 91s and the remaining Mk 4 coaches will undergo overhauls at Wabtec Rail, Doncaster.

It had been expected, that LNER would purchase more trains, as I wrote about in More New Trains On LNER Wish List.

The article gives more details of the trains to be retained.

Twelve Class 91 locomotives, seven rakes of Mark 4 coaches and two spare coaches will be retained.
They will be confined to routes between London Kings Cross and Bradford, Leeds, Skipton and York.

How many trains will be needed to cover these routes?

Trains take two hours and fifteen minutes between London Kings Cross and Leeds and run at a frequency of two trains per hour (tph)
Trains take two hours and twenty-one minutes between London Kings Cross and York and run hourly.
I suspect that a round trip to Leeds or York can be five hours.

So a crude analysis says, that will mean fifteen trains will be needed,

But some of these trains will be extended past Leeds.

These are, electrification status and the times and distances between Leeds and the final destinations.

Bradford – Electrified – 22 minutes – 13.5 miles
Harrogate – Not Electrified – 40 minutes – 18 miles
Huddersfield – Not Electrified – 33 minutes – 17 miles
Skipton – Electrified – 45 minutes – 26 miles

It appears that the following is true.

Trains serving Harrogate and Huddersfield must be worked by bi-mode Class 800 trains.
Trains serving Bradford and Skipton could be worked by InterCity 225 trains or an all-electric nine-car Class 801 train.

Note.

Some times are those taken by LNER services and some are estimates from TransPennine Express.
I have assumed 8-10 minutes for the Split-and-Join at Leeds and included it in the times.
Class 800 trains seem to take around ten minutes to turnround at Harrogate.
Times between London Kings Cross and Doncaster will decrease by a few minutes, with the addition of digital in-cab signalling on the route, which will allow 140 mph running by InterCity 225s, Class 800 trains and Class 801 trains.

I estimate that it will be possible for an InterCity 225, Class 800 train or Class 801 train to do a round trip between London Kings Cross and Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield or Skipton in six hours.

The round trip between London Kings Cross and York will be the five hours, I estimated earlier.

Wikipedia also says this.

LNER expects to introduce two-hourly services to Bradford and a daily service to Huddersfield in May 2020 when more Azuma trains have been introduced.

So would the pattern of trains to Leeds/York be as follows?

One tph – One pair of five-car Class 800 trains to Leeds, of which some or all split and join at Leeds, with one train going to and from Harrogate and the other going to and from Huddersfield.
One tph per two hours (tp2h) – An InterCity 225 or nine-car Class 801 train to Leeds, of which some or all are extended to Bradford.
One tp2h – An InterCity 225 or nine-car Class 801 train to Leeds, of which some or all are extended to Skipton.
One tph – An InterCity 225 or nine-car Class 801 train to York.

This would need the following trains.

Six pairs of five-car Class 800 trains for the Harrogate and Huddersfield services.
Six full size all electric trains, which could be an InterCity 225, a nine-car Class 801 train or a pair of five Class 801 trains, for Bradford and Skipton services.
Five full size all electric trains, which could be an InterCity 225, a nine-car Class 801 train or a pair of Class 801 trains, for York services.

So why have LNER changed their mind and are retaining the InterCity 225?

Are InterCity 225 Trains Already Certified For 140 mph Running?

I wouldn’t be surprised, if a large part of the certification work for this had been done for 140 mph running and for it to be allowed, it needs digital in-cab signalling to be installed on the East Coast Main Line.

The Wikipedia entry for the InterCity 225 says this about the train’s performance.

The InterCity 225 has a top service speed of 140 mph (225 km/h); during a test run in 1989 on Stoke Bank between Peterborough and Grantham an InterCity 225 reached 162 mph (260.7 km/h). However, except on High Speed 1, which is equipped with cab signalling, British signalling does not allow trains to exceed 125 mph (201 km/h) in regular service, due to the impracticality of correctly observing lineside signals at high speed.

The Wikipedia entry for the East Coast Main Line says this about the future signalling.

A new Rail operating centre (ROC), with training facilities, opened in early 2014 at the “Engineer’s Triangle” in York. The ROC will enable signalling and day-to-day operations of the route to be undertaken in a single location. Signalling control/traffic management using ERTMS is scheduled to be introduced from 2020 on the ECML between London King’s Cross and Doncaster – managed from the York ROC.

A small fleet of InterCity 225 trains could be the ideal test fleet to find all the glitches in the new signalling.

Are InterCity 225 trains Already Certified To Run To Bradford and Skipton?

If they are, then that is another problem already solved.

A Fleet Of Seven Trains Would Cover Bradford And Skipton Services

Six trains are needed to run a one tp2h service to both Bradford and Skipton, so they could fully cover one tp2h to Bradford and occasional trains to Skipton with a spare train and one in maintenance.

Using InterCity 225s To Bradford and Skipton Would Not Require A Split-And-Join At Leeds

The number of trains that would Split-and-Join at Leeds would be only two tph instead of four tph, which would be simpler with less to go wrong.

Not Enough Five-Car Bi-Mode Class 800 Trains

LNER’s full fleet of Azumas will be as follows.

13 – Nine-car bi-mode Class 800 trains.
10 – Five-car bi-mode Class 800 trains.
30 – Nine-car electric Class 801 trains.
12 – Five-car electric Class 801 trains.

This would appear to be a major problem, if Harrogate and Huddersfield were to be served hourly by Class 800 trains, existing services are to be maintained or even increased to Hull and Lincoln and extra services are to be added to Middlesbrough and perhaps Nottingham and other destinations.

The InterCity 225s only help indirectly, if they provided the London Kings Cross and Bradford and Skipton services.

Conversion Of Class 800 and Class 801 Trains To Regional Battery Trains

Hitachi have launched the Regional Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.

For LNER, they will be useful for any Journey under about 90 kilometres or 56 miles.

The trains should be able to serve these routes.

Leeds and Harrogate and back – 36 miles
Leeds and Huddersfield and back – 34 miles
Newark and Lincoln and back – 33 miles
Northallerton and Middlesbrough and back – 42 miles

Whilst Class 800 trains and Class 801 trains are converted, the InterCity 225 trains would act as valuable cover on services like London to Leeds and York.

Conclusion

I think it is a good plan.

September 14, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Azuma Train, Bradford Forster Square Station, Class 800 Train, Class 801 Train, Class 91 Locomotive, Digital Signalling, East Coast Main Line, Harrogate Station, Hitachi Regional Battery Train, Huddersfield Station, InterCity 225, Leeds Station, Mark 4 Coach, Middlesbrough Station | 1 Comment

Could Some of Hitachi’s Existing Trains In The UK Be Converted To Battery-Electric Trains?

The last five fleets of AT-300 trains ordered for the UK have been.

Avanti West Coast – Bi-Mode, 13 x five-car, unknown number of diesel engines, that could be replaced by batteries.
Avanti West Coast – Electric, 10 x seven-car, no diesel engines or batteries
East Midlands Railway – Bi-Mode, 33 x five-car, Class 810 train with four diesel engines and 125 mph on diesel.
East Coast Trains – Electric, 5 x five-car, Class 803 train with battery for emergency hotel power.
Hull Trains – Bi-Mode, 5 x five-car, Standard Class 802 train with three diesel engines.

Each fleet seems to be tailored to the needs of the individual operator, which is surely as it should be.

I can make some observations.

Fast Electric Trains

Both all-electric fleets on the list, will run on routes, where speed will be important.

The Avanti West Coast Class 807 trains on the West Coast Main Line, will have to be able to keep up keep with the Class 390 trains, that have the advantage of tilt for more speed.
The East Coast Trains Class 803 trains on the East Coast Main Line, will have to work hard to maintain a demanding schedule, as I outlined in Thoughts On East Coast Trains.

Any reduction in weight will improve the acceleration.

The seven tonne MTU 12V 1600 R80L diesel engines can be removed to reduce the weight.
As a five-car Class 800 train with three diesel engine weighs 243 tonnes, this could save nearly 9 % of the train’s weight.
East Coast Trains feel they need an appropriately-sized battery for emergency hotel power. Could this be because the catenary is not as good on the East Coast Main Line as on the West?
Perhaps, Avanti West Coast feel a battery is not needed, but they could obviously fit one later. Especially, if there was already a ready-wired position underneath the train.

The extra acceleration given by 100% electric operation, must make all the difference in obtaining the required performance for the two routes.

Why Four Diesel Engines In A Class 810 Train?

The Class 810 trains are an update of the current Class 800/Class 802 trains. Wikipedia described the differences like this.

The Class 810 is an evolution of the Class 802s with a revised nose profile and facelifted end headlight clusters, giving the units a slightly different appearance. Additionally, there will be four diesel engines per five-carriage train (versus three on the 800s and 802s), and the carriages will be 2 metres (6.6 ft) shorter due to platform length constraints at London St Pancras.

Additionally, in this article in the October 2019 Edition of Modern Railways, which is entitled EMR Kicks Off New Era, this is said.

The EMR bi-modes will be able to run at 125 mph in diesel mode, matching Meridian performance in a step-up from the capabilities of the existing Class 80x units in service with other franchises.

The four diesel engines would appear to be for more power, so that these trains will be able to run at 125 mph on diesel.

In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 mph?, I calculated that a Class 801 train, which is all-electric, consumes 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile.

At 125 mph a train will in an hour travel 125 miles.
In that hour the train will need 125 x 5 x 3.42 = 2137.5 kWh
This means that the total power of the four diesel engines must be 2137.5,
Divide 2137.5 by four and each diesel must be rated at 534.4 kW to provide the power needed.

The MTU 12V 1600 R80L diesel engine is described in this datasheet on the MTU web site.

Note on the datasheet, there is a smaller variant of the same engine called a 12V 1600 R70, which has a power output of 565 kW, as compared to the 700 kW of the 12V 1600 R80L.

The mass of the engines are probably at the limits of the range given on the datasheet.

Dry – 4500-6500 Kg
Wet – 4700-6750 Kg

It would appear that the less-powerful 12V 100 R70 is about two tonnes lighter.

So where will four engines be placed in a Class 810 train?

The five-car Class 800 and Class 802 trains have diesel-engines in cars 2, 3 and 4.
The nine-car Class 800 and Class 802 trains have diesel-engines in cars 2,3, 5, 7 and 8.
It appears that diesel-engines aren’t placed under the driver cars.
Five-car AT-300 trains generally have a formation of DPTS+MS+MS+MC+DPTF.
The car length in the Class 810 trains are two metres shorter than those in other trains.

Could it be that the intermediate cars on Class 810 trains will be an MC car, which has both First and Standard Class seating and two identical MS cars both with two smaller diesel engines?

The two smaller diesel engines will be about 2.6 tonnes heavier, than a single larger engine.
Only one fuel tank and other gubbins will be needed.
The shorter car will be lighter in weight.
MTU may have designed a special diesel engine to power the train.

I would suspect that a twin-engined MS car is possible.

Could The Battery And The Diesel Engine Be Plug-Compatible?

I found this document on the Hitachi Rail web site, which is entitled Development of Class 800/801 High-Speed Rolling Stock For UK Intercity Express Programme.

The document may date from 2014, but it gives a deep insight into the design of Hitachi’s trains.

I will take a detailed look at the traction system as described in the document.

This schematic of the traction system is shown.

Note BC is described as battery charger.

This is said in the text, where GU is an abbreviation for generator unit.

The system can select the appropriate power source from either the main transformer or the GUs. Also, the size and weight of the system were minimized by designing the power supply converter to be able to work with both power sources. To ensure that the Class 800 and 801 are able to adapt to future changes in operating practices, they both have the same traction system and the rolling stock can be operated as either class by simply adding or removing GUs. On the Class 800, which is intended to run on both electrified and non-electrified track, each traction system has its own GU. On the other hand, the Class 801 is designed only for electrified lines and has one or two GUs depending on the length of the trainset (one GU for trainsets of five to nine cars, two GUs for trainsets of 10 to 12 cars). These GUs supply emergency traction power and auxiliary power in the event of a power outage on the catenary, and as an auxiliary power supply on non-electrified lines where the Class 801 is in service and pulled by a locomotive. This allows the Class 801 to operate on lines it would otherwise not be able to use and provides a backup in the event of a catenary power outage or other problem on the ground systems as well as non-electrified routes in loco-hauled mode.

This is all very comprehensive.

Note that the extract says, that both the Class 800 trains and Class 801 trains have the same traction control system. A section called Operation in the Wikipedia entry for the Class 802 train, outlines the differences between a Class 802 train and a Class 800 train.

The Class 802s are broadly identical to the Class 800 bi-mode trains used in the Intercity Express Programme, and are used in a similar way; they run as electric trains where possible, and are equipped with the same diesel generator engines as the Class 800. However, they utilise higher engine operating power – 700 kW (940 hp) per engine as opposed to 560 kW (750 hp) – and are fitted with larger fuel tanks to cope with the gradients and extended running in diesel mode expected on the long unelectrified stretches they will operate on.

I would assume that the differences are small enough, so that a Class 802 train, can use the same traction control system, as the other two train classes.

The Hitachi document also describes the Train Management and Control System (TCMS), the function of which is described as.

Assists the work of the train crew; a data communication function that aids maintenance work; and a traction drive system that is powered by the overhead lines (catenaries) and GUs.

Several trains have been described as computers on wheels. That could certainly be said about these trains.

There would appear to be a powerful Automatic Train Identification Function.

To simplify the rearrangement and management of train configurations, functions are provided for identifying the train (Class 800/801), for automatically determining the cars in the trainset and its total length, and for coupling and uncoupling up to 12 cars in normal and 24 cars in rescue or emergency mode.

Now that would be a sight – One nine-car train rescuing another!

I would assume that this Automatic Train Identification Function has already been updated to add the Class 802 trains and it would appear to me, as a very experienced computer programmer, that in future it could be further updated to cater for the following.

New classes of trains like the future Class 803 and Class 810 trains.
The fitting of batteries instead of diesel engines.

Could the Function even be future-proofed for hydrogen power?

There are two main ways for trains to operate when the diesel engine in a car has been replaced by a battery.

A plug-compatible battery module is designed, that in terms of function looks exactly like a diesel engine to the TCMS and through that the train crew.
The car with a battery becomes a new type of car and the TCMS is updated to control it, in an appropriate manner.

Both methods are equally valid.

I would favour the first method, as I have come across numerous instances in computer programming, engineering and automation, where the method has been used successfully.

The method used would be Hitachi’s choice.

What Size Of Battery Could Be Fitted In Place Of The Diesel Engine?

Consider.

The wet mass of an MTU 16V 1600 R80L diesel engine commonly fitted to AT-300 trains of different types is 6750 Kg or nearly seven tonnes.
My engineering knowledge would suggest, that it would be possible to replace the diesel engine with an inert lump of the same mass and not affect the dynamics of the train.

So could it be that a plug-compatible battery module can be fitted, so long as it doesn’t exceed the mass of the diesel engine it replaces?

For an existing Class 800 or Class 802 train, that limit could be seven tonnes.

But for East Coast Train’s Class 803 train, that size would probably be decided by the required train performance.

How much power would a one tonne battery hold?

This page on the Clean Energy institute at the University of Washington is entitled Lithium-Ion Battery.

This is a sentence from the page.

Compared to the other high-quality rechargeable battery technologies (nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal-hydride), Li-ion batteries have a number of advantages. They have one of the highest energy densities of any battery technology today (100-265 Wh/kg or 250-670 Wh/L).

Using these figures, a one-tonne battery would be between 100 and 265 kWh in capacity, depending on the energy density.

This table can be calculated of battery weight, low capacity and high capacity.

1 tonne – 100 kWh – 265 kWh
2 tonne – 200 kWh – 530 kWh
3 tonne – 300 kWh – 895 kWh
4 tonne – 400 kWh – 1060 kWh
5 tonne – 500 kWh – 1325 kWh
6 tonne – 600 kWh – 1590 kWh
7 tonne – 700 kWh – 1855 kWh

As energy densities are only going to improve, the high capacity figures are only going to get larger.

If you look at the design of the Class 803 trains, which could have three positions for diesel engines or batteries, the designers of the train and East Coast Trains can choose the battery size as appropriate for the following.

Maximum performance.
Power needs when halted in stations.
Power needs for emergency power, when the wires come tumbling down.

I suspect, they will fit only one battery, that is as small as possible to minimise mass and increase acceleration, but large enough to provide sufficient power, when needed.

Conversion Of A Five-Car Class 800/Class 802 Train To Battery-Electric Operation

If Hitachi get their design right, this could be as simple as the following.

Any of the three MTU 12V 1600 R80L diesel engines is removed, from the train.
Will the other diesel related gubbins, like the fuel tank be removed? They might be left in place, in case the reverse conversion should be needed.
The new battery-module is put in the diesel engine’s slot.
The train’s computer system is updated.
The train is tested.

It should be no more difficult than attaching a new device to your personal computer. Except that it’s a lot heavier.

As there are three diesel engines, one, two or three could be replaced with batteries.

Trains would probably be able to have a mixture of diesel engines and battery modules.

A Class 802 train with one diesel engine and two five-tonne batteries would have the following power sources.

25 KVAC overhead electrification.
A 700 kW diesel engine.
Two five-tonne batteries of between 500 kWh and 1325 kWh.

With intelligent software controlling the various power sources, this train could have a useful range, away from the electrification.

Conversion Of A Five-Car Class 810 Train To Battery-Electric Operation

The process would be similar to that of a Class 800/Class 802 Train, except there would be more possibilities with four engines.

It would also need to have sufficient range to bridge the gaps in the electrification.

Perhaps each train would have the following power sources.

25 KVAC overhead electrification.
Two 565 kW diesel engines.
Two four-tonne batteries of between 400 kWh and 1060 kWh.
Batteries might also be placed under the third intermediate car.

I estimate that with 400 kWh batteries, a train like this would have a battery range of sixty-five miles.

Conclusion

The permutations and combinations would allow trains to be tailored to the best compromise for a train operating company.

June 8, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 390 Train, Class 800 Train, Class 801 Train, Class 803 Trains, Class 810 Train, Class AT-300 Train, Hitachi, Lithium-Ion Battery | 1 Comment

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Could Some of Hitachi’s Existing Trains In The UK Be Converted To Battery-Electric Trains?

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