The Anonymous Widower

An Excursion To Retford And Worksop

Today’s excursion was designed to be simple.

  1. Take an LNER train or a Hull Train to Retford station.
  2. Travel to Worksop station, have a look and take a few pictures.
  3. Travel back to Retford and take the first train back to London.
  4. In one if my two visits to Retford, have a look and take a few pictures.
  5. Talk to passengers and railway staff about what they felt about FirstGroup’s Proposed Sheffield Service, that I wrote about in FirstGroup Applies To Run New London To Sheffield Rail Service.

These were my thoughts and observations.

LNER’s Improved Ticketing

These pictures show the tickets that I bought.

Note.

  1. I bought my ticket to Retford from the Ticket Office at King’s Cross station.
  2. The ticket seller gave me a well-designed folder for the tickets.
  3. I was also able to buy my return ticket between Retford and Worksop on the LNER train to Retford. I’ve tried doing that before and it wasn’t allowed.

Making ticketing easier must be a good thing for passengers, staff and LNER.

£24.75 With A Railcard From King’s Cross to Retford

  • The second picture shows my ticket to Retford.
  • It cost me just £24,75 with my Senior Railcard.
  • I also bought it about half-an-hour before the train left.
  • I bought the ticket in the Ticket Office.
  • I got a forward-facing window seat with an unrestricted view.

How much would the 145 mile and nearly three-hour journey have cost in a car?

I Missed My Connection At Retford Station

These pictures show my train to Worksop station in Platform 3 at Retford station, as I approached from the South.

Note.

The Northern Trains’s Class 195 train arriving on Platform 3 on the Sheffield and Lincoln Line.

  1. I arrived in Platform 2 at Retford station at 12:50
  2. There were three lifts or sets of stairs to negotiate between Platform 2 and Platform 3.
  3. It must take at least five minutes between the two platforms.
  4. One of the lifts was out of order and was being serviced by an engineer.
  5. There was no way, I could have caught the connection, which left at 12:51.
  6. At least one other passenger, had to wait the one hour and fifteen minutes I waited for the next train, which arrived at 14:03.

I feel that there needs to be a timetable adjustment here, so that as many passengers as possible avoid the long wait.

Retford Station

At least the long wait allowed me to take a lot of pictures and have a cup of coffee in the Costa Coffee on Platform 1.

Note.

  1. The toilets were immaculate.
  2. The Costa Coffee had friendly and professional staff, but only rudimentary gluten-free options.
  3. The station is fully step-free with four lifts.
  4. Platforms 1 and 2 on the East Coast Main Line can take a pair of five-car Class 802 trains, as Hull Train demonstrated.
  5. The Hull Train in Platform 2 was using the electrification.
  6. The station is in very good condition.
  7. The station is Grade II Listed.

This Google Map shows the station.

Note.

  1. The red arrow in the South-East corner are the low-level Platforms 3 and 4.
  2. The red arrow in the middle marks the low-level Platforms 1 and 2.
  3. Network Rail’s yellow Mobile Maintenance Train is visible in the siding opposite Platform 2.
  4. There is space around the platforms.

The station may have development possibilities. Especially, as there are signs of To Let over some of the buildings.

Ambitious Renewable Energy

Retford and Worksop are only eleven minutes away but there were a large wind farm and solar farms between the two stations.

Note.

  1. I was a bit slow on the uptake and missed the large wind farm.
  2. The strong sun was reflecting on the windows.
  3. They weren’t the best of photographs.

I had intended to take more and better pictures on the way back, but circumstances intervened.

This Google Map shows the wind and solar farms.

Note.

  1. The Sheffield and Lincoln Line going across the map.
  2. There are solar panels North and South of the railway.
  3. This is the Walkers Wood Solar Farm, which has a nameplate capacity of 27 MW.
  4. H M Prison Ranby is at the top of the map.
  5. The scars of the wind turbines are to the West of Babworth and the crematorium.
  6. At the moment, I can’t find any reference to the wind farm.

These wind and solar farms are probably a classic place to position a battery.

Prisons And Recycling

Worksop Station

I took these pictures during the time I spent at Worksop station.

Note.

  1. The station is not step-free, although you can cross the tracks using the level-crossing.
  2. The station has a pub and a cafe.
  3. There are train services to Leeds, Lincoln, Nottingham and Sheffield.
  4. The station is in very good condition.
  5. The station is Grade II Listed.
  6. The platforms are long enough to handle a Class 802 train without any modification.
  7. Hull Trains could run their Sheffield service to Worksop station without any new infrastructure.
  8. Lidl are developing a site on the other side of the level crossing.
  9. There are 100 car parking spaces.

The station may have development possibilities.

Worksop Station Cafe

These pictures show the Worksop station cafe.

Note.

  1. It is run by two ladies; Jo and Lyndsey.
  2. As one is coeliac, there were lots of gluten-free cakes.
  3. It was cosy and warm on a cold day.

This is definitely one of the better station cafes.

A Double Incident

My journey back to the capital was I suspect untypical.

  • I’d arrived at Worksop at 14:14 and finally left at 16:38 on a train for Retford and Lincoln.
  • The delay was because someone had been hit by a train between Barnsley and Sheffield, which resulted in cancelled trains.
  • When I arrived at Retford at 16:49, there was an LNER train in the platform.
  • It was the 15:15 from Leeds and I was told by LNER staff to catch it and get my ticket on the train.
  • The train finally left Retford for London 69 minutes late at 17:07.
  • We arrived in Peterborough at 19:27, where the train was now 170 minutes late.
  • The delay was because someone had been hit by a train at Newark, which results in delays everywhere.
  • LNER decided to give up on the train and all passengers were put on other trains.
  • I got on the 14:30 from Edinburgh, which arrived in King’s Cross at 20:22, which was 96 minutes late.

Worse things happen at sea.

I am adding this a day after my trip to the North.

This article on the BBC is entitled ‘Major Disruption’ After Person Hit By A Train.

These are the first three paragraphs.

Train services on the East Coast Main Line have been seriously disrupted after a person was hit by a train in North Yorkshire.

Network Rail said the incident happened just before 07:00 GMT between York and Thirsk, with emergency services attending the scene shortly afterwards.

The line was blocked, resulting in delays and cancellations.

Three in two days us three too many.

January 9, 2024 Posted by | Design, Food, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

FirstGroup Applies To Run New London To Sheffield Rail Service

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from First Group.

These four paragraphs outline FirstGroup’s initial plans.

FirstGroup plc, the leading private sector transport operator, has today submitted the first phase of an application for a new open access rail service between London and Sheffield to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

FirstGroup plans to expand its open access rail operations as part of its award-winning Hull Trains business, building on their successful existing service which has transformed long-distance connectivity between Hull and London.

FirstGroup’s new proposals comprise two return journeys a day from London King’s Cross, calling at Retford, Worksop, Woodhouse and Sheffield, and the company aims to provide a faster link between London and Sheffield than alternative services. Almost three quarters of trips between London and Sheffield are currently made by car, with a further 9% of trips made by coach, and a competitively priced new rail offering will help stimulate a shift in transport mode of choice from road to rail.

The new proposed route will give Sheffield the first regular service from London King’s Cross since 1968 and will also give Worksop in Nottinghamshire the first regular direct London trains in decades. FirstGroup estimates there are 350,000 people in the Worksop and Woodhouse catchment areas who will have direct rail access to London because of these proposals. A sizeable number of rail users in these areas currently drive to Doncaster station to pick up faster services to London rather than travelling via Sheffield, and a convenient rail offering from local stations will also help to reduce the number of these car journeys.

Note.

  1. The press release says this is only the first phase.
  2. It appears to be an extension of Hull Trains.
  3. Comments on a news story based on the press release in The Times, have been generally positive.

These are my thoughts.

The Two Routes Are Similar

Consider.

  • Beverley is 44.3 miles from the electrified East Coast Main Line at Temple Hirst Junction.
  • Hull is 36.1 miles from the electrified East Coast Main Line at Temple Hirst Junction.
  • Sheffield is 23.5 miles from the electrified East Coast Main Line at Retford station.
  • There is no electrification at Beverley, Hull or Sheffield.

Note.

  1. Trains must be capable of having a range sufficient to go from the East Coast Main Line to the destination and back again.
  2. It is slightly surprising that Sheffield station is closest to the electrification of the East Coast Main Line.
  3. Hull Train’s electro-diesel Class 802 trains regularly handle the 88.6 miles to Beverley and back.

It does look like an appropriate number of Class 802 trains could handle Hull Trains current and future services to Beverley, Hull and Sheffield.

Hull Trains Need Ten-Car Trains

Consider.

  • In Ten-Car Hull Trains, I show some details of Hull Trains using a pair of five-car trains.
  • I’ve since seen ten-car Hull Trains regularly.
  • There were two ten-car services on the 29th December 2023 between London King’s Cross and Hull.

Hull Trains must procure enough trains for all possible scenarios.

Intermediate Stations Of The Two Routes

Intermediate stations are.

  • Going North from London King’s Cross to Hull, trains call at Stevenage (limited), Grantham, Retford, Doncaster, Selby, Howden and Brough.
  • Going North from London King’s Cross to Sheffield, trains call at Retford, Worksop and Woodhouse.

There are only a small number of stops on the Sheffield service. Is this to reduce the journey time as much as possible?

What Will Be The Time Of The London King’s Cross And Sheffield Service?

Consider.

  • Non-stop trains take 82 minutes between London King’s Cross and Retford, which is 138.6 miles, so it’s an average speed of 101.4 mph.
  • Woolmer Green and Retford are 111.7 miles and will in a couple of years, be digitally signalled.
  • Non-stop trains take 66 minutes between Woolmer Green and Retford, which is an average speed of 112 mph.
  • I have found a direct Retford and Sheffield train, that takes 31 minutes for the 23.5 miles with six stops, which is an average speed of 45 mph.
  • The Retford and Sheffield section has a mostly 60 mph maximum speed.

I can now build a table of times between King’s Cross and Retford based on the average speed North of Woolmer Green.

  • 125 mph – 72 minutes
  • 130 mph – 70 minutes
  • 135 mph – 68 minutes
  • 140 mph – 66 minutes

Note.

  1. Getting a high average speed using the power of digital signalling can save several minutes.
  2. I have measured an InterCity 125 averaging 125 mph on that section.

I can now build a table of times between Retford and Sheffield based on the average speed.

  • 45 mph – 31 minutes
  • 50 mph – 28 minutes
  • 60 mph – 24 minutes
  • 70 mph – 20 minutes
  • 80 mph – 18 minutes

Note.

  1. The planned service is expected to stop only twice after Retford, so if we take off two minutes for each of the four stops not taken, this could reduce the time between Retford and Sheffield by 8 minutes.
  2. There will be a couple of minutes to add for the stop at Retford.
  3. I feel a typical journey with 125 mph to Retford, 50 mph to Sheffield, could take 94 minutes
  4. Currently, the fastest London St. Pancras to Sheffield take around 116-118 minutes.

Hull Trains new service  could save 22-24 minutes  on the current service.

I also feel a fast journey could involve 130 mph to Retford, 60 mph to Sheffield, could take 88 minutes.

Hull Trains new service  could save a few minutes over half-an-hour.

Could The Time Of The London King’s Cross And Sheffield Service Be Under 90 Minutes?

I reckon the following is possible.

  • After the digital signalling is completed between King’s Cross and Retford, I suspect that a 135 mph average speed can be maintained between Woolmer Green and Retford. This would mean that a King’s Cross and Retford time of 68 minutes would be possible.
  • If Network Rail improve the track between Retford and Sheffield, I believe that a 70 mph average could be achieved on the Retford and Sheffield section. This would mean that a Retford and Sheffield time of 20 minutes would be possible.
  • I would expect at least six minutes would be saved by missing stops.

This gives a time of 82 minutes between London King’s Cross and Sheffield.

In Anxiety Over HS2 Eastern Leg Future, I said that High Speed Two’s promised London and Sheffield time via a dedicated track would be 87 minutes.

It looks to me that running under full digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line, Hull Trains can beat the HS2 time.

Could Hitachi’s Battery-Electric Trains Handle The Routes?

This page on the Hitachi web site is entitled Intercity Battery Trains.

This is the sub-heading

Accelerate the decarbonisation of intercity rail with batteries.

These paragraphs outline the philosophy of the design of the trains.

A quick and easy application of battery technology is to install it on existing or future Hitachi intercity trains. Hitachi Rail’s modular design means this can be done without the need to re-engineer or rebuild the train and return them to service as quickly as possible for passengers.

Replacing one diesel engine with just one battery reduces emissions by more than 20% and offers cost savings of 20-30%. Our intercity battery powered trains can cover 70km on non-electrified routes, operating at intercity speeds at the same or increased performance.

Wouldn’t it be great, if we could take the diesel engine out of our cars and replace it with an electric power pack?

Paul Daniels would’ve classed it as engineering magic.

But it’s an old engineer’s trick.

As a fifteen year old, I spent time in a rolling mill, building and fitting replacement control systems on large machines. Transistors were used to replace electronic valves and relays.

It’s certainly possible to create a battery pack, that is plug-compatible with an existing diesel generator, that responds to the same control inputs and gives the same outputs.

At the extreme end of this technology, there would be no need to change any of the train’s software.

In The Data Sheet For Hitachi Battery Electric Trains, these were my conclusions for the performance.

  • The battery pack has a capacity of 750 kWh.
  • A five-car train needs three battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
  • A nine-car train needs five battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
  • The maximum range of a five-car train with three batteries is 117 miles.
  • The maximum range of a nine-car train with five batteries is 121 miles.

As the East Coast Main Line to Beverley is a round trip is 88.6 miles, I suspect that Hull Trains’s five-car Class 802 trains will need to be fitted with a full-complement of three batteries.

Will Hull Trains Have An Identical Fleet Of Trains?

An identical fleet must have advantages for train staff, maintenance staff and above all passengers.

I believe FirstGroup have two choices.

  • They buy an appropriately-sized batch of identical Class 802 trains.
  • They convert their current fleet to battery-electric operation and buy an appropriately-sized batch of identical new trains.

Note.

  1. The second option means that they fully-decarbonise Hull Trains.
  2. Neither option would need any new infrastructure.
  3. I feel this means that this order is more likely to go to Hitachi.

It’ll probably all come down to the accountants.

Retford Station

This OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks around Retford station.

Note.

  1. The red tracks are electrified and are the East Coast Main Line.
  2. The black ones aren’t electrified.
  3. Doncaster is to the North.
  4. The black line to the East goes to Lincoln
  5. The black line to the West goes to Sheffield
  6. The red line going South-East goes to Peterborough and London.

The unusual loop allows trains to connect from one direction to another.

This second OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks in more detail.

Note.

  1. As before red lines are electrified and black ones aren’t
  2. Platforms 1 and 2 are on the East Coast Main Line.
  3. Platforms 3 and 4 are on the Sheffield and Lincoln Line.

This third OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms in more detail.

Note.

  1. The yellow tracks are the 125 mph fast lines of the East Coast Main Line.
  2. The light blue tracks are the 40 mph relief lines of the East Coast Main Line.
  3. Northbound tracks are to the left of each pair of lines.
  4. The dark blue track is the 10 mph chord that connects the Northbound relief line of the East Coast Main Line to the Sheffield and Lincoln Line.
  5. Platform 1 is on the Southbound relief line.
  6. Platform 2 is on the Northbound relief line.
  7. Unusually, both platforms are on the same side of the line.
  8. In The Lengths Of Hitachi Class 800/801/802 Trains, I state that the full length of an InterCity 225 train is 245.2 metres.
  9. I suspect that both platforms can accommodate a full length InterCity 225, as the trains have been calling at Retford since the 1980s.

I doubt Retford station has any problem accommodating a pair of Class 802 trains, which it does regularly.

How Do Northbound Trains Go To Sheffield From Retford Station?

This OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks to the South of Retford station in detail.

Note.

  1. The yellow tracks are the 125 mph fast lines of the East Coast Main Line.
  2. The light blue tracks are the 40 mph relief lines of the East Coast Main Line.
  3. Northbound tracks are to the left of each pair of lines.

Trains needing to stop in Retford station will need to cross to the Northbound relief line to enter Platform 2 at Retford station.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the curve that connects Platform 2 at Retford station to the Sheffield and Lincoln Line to Sheffield.

Note.

  1. The green tracks are the 60 mph Sheffield and Lincoln Line.
  2. Sheffield is to the West.
  3. The blue tracks are the curve that connects Platform 2 in Retford station to the Sheffield and Lincoln Line.
  4. There appears to be a grade-separated junction, where the two lines join to the West of Retford station.

A Northbound train to Sheffield will take curve and then join the line to Sheffield.

How Do Southbound Trains Go From Sheffield Through Retford Station?

I suspect trains do the opposite from a train going to Sheffield.

The train takes the curve and then stops in Platform 2 facing South.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks to the South of Retford station in detail.

When the train is cleared by the signals to go South, it will leave Retford station going South on the Northbound relief line.

Note that on the map there are two crossovers, which the train will take to get on the Southbound fast line for Newark and London.

As a Control Engineer, I suspect this is the sort of manoeuvre, that modern digital signalling will make slicker and safer.

How Do Northbound Trains Go To Hull From Retford Station?

On leaving the station, the train will continue along the relief line until it merges with the Northbound fast line for Doncaster.

This is exactly as any Northbound train stopping at Retford does now.

How Do Southbound Trains Go From Hull Through Retford Station?

Currently, trains from Hull stop in Platform 1 on their way to London.

  • Trains needing to stop in Retford station will need to cross to the Southbound relief line to enter Platform 1 at Retford station.
  • When the train is cleared by the signals to go South, it will leave Retford station going South on the Southbound relief line.
  • The Southbound relief line joins the Southbound fast line to the South of the station.

This is exactly as any Southbound train stopping at Retford does now.

Could A Hull And A Sheffield Service Run As A Pair And Split And Join At Retford Station?

Consider.

  • Class 802 trains, as used by Hull Trains are designed to be run as a pair of trains, with easy coupling and uncoupling between the two trains.
  • Hull Trains regularly run services as a pair of Class 802 trains.
  • A pair of trains could leave King’s Cross. They would then split at a convenient station, after which the two trains go to different destinations.
  • There are advantages with respect to infrastructure charges.

I feel that Hull Trains two services to Sheffield and Hull/Beverley could work as a pair.

  • A pair of trains could leave King’s Cross.
  • At Retford station they would split, with one train going to Hull and the other to Sheffield.

Coming South they would join at Retford.

How Would Splitting Of A Hull And Sheffield Service Be Performed At Retford Station?

The procedure would be something like this.

  • As the pair of train is stopping in Retford station, it would use the relief line to enter Platform 2.
  • It would stop in Platform 2.
  • The trains would be uncoupled.
  • The front train would go to its destination.
  • The rear train would go to its destination.

Note.

  1. As the track to Doncaster and Hull is faster, the front train should probably be for Hull.
  2. Platform 2 is electrified, so the Sheffield train could top up its batteries .
  3. The Sheffield train could lower its pantograph.

Uncoupling takes about two minutes.

How Would Joining Of A Hull And Sheffield Service Be Performed At Retford Station?

Consider.

  • Joining would have to be performed in Platform 2, as there is no route for a train from Sheffield to access Platform 1.
  • North of Retford station there are two convenient crossovers, to allow a train to cross to the Northbound relief line. There are also a couple of loops, where trains could wait.
  • As this is coal-mining country, perhaps, they were part of a freight route between Sheffield and Doncaster?

But this infrastructure would allow, a train from Hull to access Platform 2 at Retford station.

As the Sheffield train can easily access Platform 2, the two trains could meet in Platform 2 and then be joined together for a run to London.

Is There A Problem With Splitting And Joining  Of the Hull And Sheffield Services?

Earlier, I said these were the stops of the two services.

  • Going North from London King’s Cross to Hull, trains call at Stevenage (limited), Grantham, Retford, Doncaster, Selby, Howden and Brough.
  • Going North from London King’s Cross to Sheffield, trains call at Retford, Worksop and Woodhouse.

Surely, if the trains were travelling as a pair, they would need to stop at the same stations to the South of Retford.

But modern digital signalling will allow trains to run closer together, so perhaps this would be the procedure going North.

  • The two trains start in the same platform at King’s Cross, with the Sheffield train in front of the Hull train.
  • The two trains leave King’s Cross a safe number of minutes apart.
  • At its Stevenage and Grantham stops, the Hull train will tend to increase the distance between the two trains.
  • The Sheffield train would stop in Platform 2 at Retford station, so that space is left for the Hull train.
  • The Hull train will stop behind the Sheffield train in Platform 2 at Retford station.
  • The Sheffield train will leave when ready.
  • The Hull train will leave when ready.

And this would be the procedure going South.

  • The train from Sheffield would line up in Platform 2 at Retford station.
  • The train from Hull would line up in Platform 1 at Retford station.
  • The train from Sheffield would leave when everything is ready and the train is cleared by the signalling system.
  • The train from Hull would leave  a safe number of minutes behind the train from Sheffield.
  • At its Grantham and Stevenage stops, the Hull train will tend to increase the distance between the two trains.
  • The trains could share a platform at King’s Cross.

The digital signalling and the driver’s Mark 1 eyeballs will keep the Hull train, a safe distance behind the faster Sheffield train.

The Capacity Of The Lincoln And Sheffield Line

Looking at the Sheffield and Lincoln Line, it has only an hourly train, that calls at Darnall, Woodhouse, Kiverton Park, Kiverton Bridge, Shireoaks and Worksop between Retford and Sheffield.

  • I would suspect that there is enough spare capacity for Hull Trains to run a one train per two hours (tp2h) service between London King’s Cross and Sheffield.
  • If LNER feel that a 1 tp2h frequency is viable for Harrogate, Lincoln and other places, surely Hull and East Sheffield could support a similar service from King’s Cross.

If the services could be run by battery-electric trains, capable of running at 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line and giving times of ninety minutes to Sheffield, this could be a success.

 

Could Woodhouse Station Become A Transport Hub?

This Google Map shows Woodhouse station.

Note.

  1. It is certainly surrounded by a lot of houses.
  2. Could it be provided with car-parking?

Although, as this picture shows it is not blessed with lots of facilities.

Woodhouse Station

But.

Woodhouse station could be an interchange or it could become something bigger like a hub station.

How Many Sheffield Services Per Day Could Be Run?

If the Hull and Sheffield trains run as a flight under control of the digital signalling, this will mean that every Hull train can be paired with a Sheffield train.

  • There are five trains per day (tpd) to and from Hull and two to and from Beverley.
  • It seems a maximum of one tpd in both directions can be a ten-car train.
  • Two five-car trains could fit in a platform at King’s Cross.

I suspect that the maximum number of trains per day to and from Sheffield is the same as for Hull. i.e. seven tpd.

But there is no reason, if they have enough trains and paths are available, that Hull Trains couldn’t add extra services to both destinations.

Onward From Sheffield

Several of those, who have commented on the new service have suggested that the service could go further than Sheffield, with Manchester and Leeds being given specific mentions.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms at the Northern end of Sheffield station.

Note.

  1. The pink tracks at the East are the Sheffield Supertram.
  2. Trains to and from Barnsley, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Lincoln and Retford access the station from the Northern end.
  3. Trains to and from Chesterfield, Derby, London, Manchester and Stockport access the station from the Southern end.
  4. The tracks in Sheffield station are numbered 1 to 8 from the West.
  5. There are five through platforms. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 8 and two bay platforms at either end.
  6. An extension of the service to Manchester via the Hope Valley Line, could go straight through the station.
  7. An extension of the service to Barnsley, Huddersfield or Leeds, would mean the train reversing at Sheffield.

It looks like an extension to Manchester Piccadilly over the recently upgraded Hope Valley Line would be the easiest extension. But would Avanti West Coast, who have FirstGroup as a shareholder want the competition?

Recently, it has been announced that the Penistone Line to Barnsley and Huddersfield will be upgraded to accept two trains per hour (tph) and allow faster running.

Because Sheffield could be around eighty minutes from London, there could be some smart times to and from  the capital.

  • Meadowhall in 90 minutes
  • Barnsley in 112 minutes.
  • Huddersfield in 140 minutes.

Huddersfield could be almost twenty minutes faster than the route via Leeds.

Comments From The Times

These are some readers comments from The Times.

  • Hope the prices are competitive with LNER. I rarely go to London from Chesterfield with EMR as they’re so expensive. LNER from Newark is much cheaper but a service from Worksop for me would be perfect.
  • Excellent News in so many ways. I hope it really takes off which could help ease the congestion on the M1 and also thin out overcrowding on busy LNER services. It really does deserve to succeed.
  • This is excellent news. The Lumo service has been a game changer for me and those living in the north east.

The public seem in favour.

Conclusion

I really like this proposal from FirstGroup.

  • It has the possibility to provide Sheffield with a fast train link to London.
  • It could run about six trains per day.
  • It will be faster than High Speed Two was proposed.

It could be the first service of High Speed Yorkshire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 7, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

New LNER Fleet To Have Joint Line Capability

The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the January 2024 edition of Modern Railways.

This is the text of the article.

LNER’s new fleet of CAF tri-mode trains, for which an order was confirmed in November, has been specified with the capability  to operate via the Joint Line via Spalding and Lincoln in case of closures on the East Coast Main Line between Peterborough and Doncaster.

CAF will supply 10×10-car trains with overhead electric, battery and diesel capability, financed by Porterbrook. The inclusion of diesel engines as part of the winning bid, rather than a straightforward battery-electric  unit, has surprised some observers, but LNER’s specification was that the fleet should have sufficient self-powered capability to cover the length of the joint line, which is approximately 90 miles. This is currently to be  considered to be beyond the scope of battery-power alone, although as the technology evolves diesel engines could be replaced by batteries. The configuration of diesel engines and batteries within the sets has yet to be decided.

LNER frequently uses the Joint Line as a diversionary route, both during planned engineering work and at times of disruption, but only its bi-mode Azumas are currently able to traverse it under their own power (electric sets have been hauled by a diesel locomotive, but this is now a very rare occurrence). The new CAF fleet will replace the InterCity 225 electric fleet, and the self-power capability will provide valuable resilience to LNER to divert via non-electrified routes.

While the ‘225s’ are currently confined to services between King’s Cross and Leeds/York, if the enhanced December 2024 timetable goes ahead as currently planned (see story above) they will operate north of York once again on some of the hourly services which will terminate at Newcastle. However, LNER is having to limit the use of the sets  before the Class 91 locomotives and Mk 4 coaches come due for major overhauls: the decision to retain 12 locos and eight rakes of coaches was based on the intended timescale for replacing the fleet at the time, but confirming the order for the new CAF tri-modes has taken longer than anticipated, largely due to delays in receiving Government approval to place the order.

This article has got me thinking.

The InterCity225 Trains Need Replacing Urgently

The Modern Railways article states that the need to replace the InterCity 225s is getting urgent, as more than the Azumas will be needed for the December 2024 timetable and the InterCity 225s are getting to the end of their economic life.

As LNER have been doing reasonably well lately, a cock-up caused by lack of trains at Christmas 2024 would be the last thing they need.

Currently, LNER have enough Mark 4 coaches for eight trains, so ordering ten new CAF tri-mode trains will allow for a small amount of extra services.

The CAF tri-mode trains were only ordered in November 2023, so getting them delivered for December 2024 would be tight.

As I write this on the 31st December 2023, trains from King’s Cross to Leeds included.

  • 5 x InterCity225
  • 5 x 10-car Azuma
  • 7 x 9-car Azuma
  • 2 x 5-car Azuma

So there were InterCity 225s running on that day.

A Few Distances Around Lincolnshire

I believe that because of offshore wind, interconnectors and other renewable energy developments, that Lincolnshire will become an energy powerhouse, supporting the East Midlands and also exporting electricity and hydrogen to Europe through pipelines and interconnectors.

Because of this and other developments, I believe that rail passenger traffic to and around the county will increase significantly.

These are a few selected distances.

  • Doncaster and Cleethorpes – 52.1 miles
  • Grantham and Skegness – 58.2 miles
  • Lincoln and Doncaster – 36.8 miles
  • Lincoln and Newark – 16.8 miles
  • Lincoln and Peterborough – 54.8 miles
  • Lincoln and Cleethorpes – 47.2 miles

Note.

  1. This means that the length of the Joint Line, which between Werrington Junction and where it rejoins the East Coast Main Line to the South of Doncaster is no more than ninety miles. This ninety mile distance was assumed in the Modern Railways article.
  2. Peterborough and Cleethorpes via Lincoln is ninety-two miles.
  3. I estimate that around four miles could be easily electrified at Werrington, which would reduce these two distances by four miles.
  4. Newark and Cleethorpes via Lincoln is sixty-four miles.

It looks like if a battery-electric train had a range of 92 miles and there was charging at Cleethorpes and Skegness, Lincolnshire could have a first class zero-carbon rail service.

CAF Tri-Mode Trains And The Joint Line

This is the first sentence in the Modern Railways article.

LNER’s new fleet of CAF tri-mode trains, for which an order was confirmed in November, has been specified with the capability  to operate via the Joint Line via Spalding and Lincoln in case of closures on the East Coast Main Line between Peterborough and Doncaster.

Note.

  1. The Modern Railways article states the Joint Line is approximately 90 miles.
  2. As I stated earlier with some strategically placed electrification at Werrington and South of Doncaster, this distance without electrification can probably be shortened by a few miles.

It looks like any service run by a CAF tri-mode train will be able to use the Joint Line.

Hitachi Class 801 Trains And The Joint Line

Unless the Joint Line is electrified or the all-electric Class 801 trains are fitted with batteries of a sufficient size the Class 801 trains will not be able to use the Joint Line.

Hitachi Class 800/802 Trains And The Joint Line

If currently, the Class 800/802 trains can handle the Joint Line on their diesel engines, they can continue to do this.

Hitachi Class 803 Trains And The Joint Line

Unless the Joint Line is electrified or Class 803 trains are fitted with batteries of a sufficient size the Class 803 trains will not be able to use the Joint Line.

Hitachi Class 80x Trains With Batteries And The Joint Line

Note that Lumo’s Class 803 trains are already fitted with an emergency battery for hotel power. So Hitachi must have information on how their batteries perform in service.

This press release from Hitachi, which is entitled Hitachi And Eversholt Rail To Develop GWR Intercity Battery Hybrid Train – Offering Fuel Savings Of More Than 20% announced the start of Hitachi’s battery-electric program in December 2020.

This is a paragraph.

The projected improvements in battery technology – particularly in power output and charge – create opportunities to replace incrementally more diesel engines on long distance trains. With the ambition to create a fully electric-battery intercity train – that can travel the full journey between London and Penzance – by the late 2040s, in line with the UK’s 2050 net zero emissions target.

Hitachi have now published this page on their web site, which is entitled Intercity Battery Trains.

The page has this sub-heading.

Accelerate the decarbonisation of intercity rail with batteries

These are the first two paragraphs.

A quick and easy application of battery technology is to install it on existing or future Hitachi intercity trains. Hitachi Rail’s modular design means this can be done without the need to re-engineer or rebuild the train and return them to service as quickly as possible for passengers.

Replacing one diesel engine with just one battery reduces emissions by more than 20% and offers cost savings of 20-30%. Our intercity battery powered trains can cover 70km on non-electrified routes, operating at intercity speeds at the same or increased performance.

It appears to be a masterful application of an old electrical or software engineer’s trick.

In the 1960s, I spent time in two summer holidays building transistorised control systems in a rolling mills to replace obsolete control systems that used thermionic valves and relays.

Are Hitachi just replacing a diesel power pack with a battery pack, that has the same power and control functionality?

In The Data Sheet For Hitachi Battery Electric Trains, I looked at Hitachi’s published data sheet, which has these bullet points.

  • 750kW peak power
  • Weight neutral
  • At least 20% lower CO2 emissions
  • 70km on non-electrified routes
  • 20% reduction in whole life maintenance costs
  • Up to 30% fuel cost savings
  • Zero emissions in and out of stations
  • Charge on the move
  • 10 year life span

Note.

  1. 750 kW peak power, is around the power of the diesel-engine, that will be replaced.
  2. I wouldn’t be surprised that powerwise, the battery pack looks like a diesel engine.
  3. Weight neutral means that acceleration and performance will be unchanged. I suspect this means that current timetables can be achieved.
  4. Batteries are easier to maintain than diesels.
  5. It is stated that a train can be fully-decarbonised.

I have a feeling these trains are no ordinary battery-electric trains.

This paragraph, that I quoted earlier gives details on battery range.

Replacing one diesel engine with just one battery reduces emissions by more than 20% and offers cost savings of 20-30%. Our intercity battery powered trains can cover 70km on non-electrified routes, operating at intercity speeds at the same or increased performance.

If one battery can give seventy kilometres or 43.5 miles, what distances would be possible in the various Hitachi Class 80x trains on the UK rail network?

  • Five-car Class 800 – Three diesel engines
  • Nine-car Class 800 – Five diesel engines
  • Five-car Class 801 – One diesel engine
  • Nine-car Class 801 – One diesel engine
  • Five-car Class 802 – Three diesel engines
  • Nine-car Class 802 – Five diesel engines
  • Five-car Class 803 – One battery
  • Five-car Class 805 – Three diesel engines
  • Seven-car Class 807 – No diesel engine or battery
  • Five-car Class 810 – Four diesel engines

Note.

  1. The Class 801 trains have one diesel engine for emergency use.
  2. The Class 803 trains have one battery for emergency use.
  3. The Class 807 trains appear to be built for top speed and acceleration and have no unnecessary weight.

In The Data Sheet For Hitachi Battery Electric Trains, I came to the conclusion, that if all diesel engine packs are be replaced by batteries, the train has a range of around 117-121 miles.

If my calculation is correct, I believe that Hitachi battery-electric trains will be capable of using the Joint Line, if all diesel engines are replaced by battery packs.

Surely, if a number of Hitachi trains could use the Joint Line in addition to the ten CAF tri-mode trains, this would minimise disruption to passengers and increase revenue on days, when the East Coast Main Line was closed for engineering works or an incident.

Will The Hitachi Class 80x Trains With Batteries Or The CAF Tri-Mode Trains Have The Longer Range Without Electrification?

Consider.

  • Cleethorpes could be the problem, as it is 64 miles from Newark and 92 miles from Peterborough and a round trip without charging at Cleethorpes for a battery-electric might be a trip to far.
  • But a tri-mode train like that from CAF with an on-board diesel, should have the range.
  • More range for a tri-mode train, just needs bigger fuel tanks.
  • I also suspect Cleethorpes has the equipment to refuel a diesel train, as all services to the station are diesel powered.

The article also says this.

The inclusion of diesel engines as part of the winning bid, rather than a straightforward battery-electric  unit, has surprised some observers, but LNER’s specification was that the fleet should have sufficient self-powered capability to cover the length of the joint line, which is approximately 90 miles. This is currently to be  considered to be beyond the scope of battery-power alone, although as the technology evolves diesel engines could be replaced by batteries.

Could it be that some of LNER’s routes like Aberdeen, Cleethorpes and Inverness have longer running without electrification, than Hitachi’s trains with batteries can achieve. Perhaps, this is why they lost the order?

Pairs Of Hitachi Class 80x Trains With Batteries And The Joint Line

I suspect if one five-car train with batteries can handle the Joint Line, then a pair could also handle it, if the train’s control system allowed it.

Will The Joint Line Be Slower Than The East Coast Main Line?

Consider.

  • The Joint Line is not the slowest line in the country and large sections of the route, have a top speed of 60 mph or higher.
  • It is surprisingly straight.
  • There are some slower sections, through Lincoln and Sleaford.
  • The average speed between Peterborough and Lincoln of local trains is about 50 mph.
  • The average speed between Doncaster and Lincoln of local trains is about 48 mph.

I suspect that the expresses, should be able to achieve 60 mph between Peterborough and Doncaster, with a small amount of track improvement.

This would mean the following times between Doncaster and Peterborough.

  • Via the Joint Line – 90 minutes
  • Via East Coast Main Line – 50 minutes

It looks like forty minutes will be added to journey times.

Would There Be Any Point In Running Some Services Via The Joint Line?

Consider.

  • Lincoln has one train per two hours (tp2h) to and from King’s Cross.
  • A King’s Cross and Doncaster service could use the Joint Line and call at Peterborough, Spalding, Sleaford, Lincoln Central, Gainsborough Lea Road and Doncaster.
  • If it terminated at Harrogate, Leeds or York, it could ease congestion on the East Coast Main Line between Peterborough and Doncaster.
  • Lincoln is making a name for itself as a University town.
  • Lincolnshire is getting more important with respect to renewable energy and innovative food production.
  • The frequency would be at least one tp2h.
  • If needed, Lincoln Central could be electrified to charge passing trains.
  • The service could also go via Cambridge to provide East Anglia and its technological powerhouse with better connections to and from the North.

It would all depend on where extra rail services are needed.

Could Cleethorpes And Grimsby Town Have A Service From King’s Cross?

In Azuma Test Train Takes To The Tracks As LNER Trials Possible New Route, I discuss how in June 2023, LNER ran a test train to Cleethorpes and Grimsby Town.

  • With all the energy development going on in North-East Lincolnshire, I suspect that a service between King’s Cross and Cleethorpes via Lincoln, Market Rasen, Barnetby and Grimsby Town could be viable.
  • I suspect that the energy developments could find recruitment difficult and say a one tp2h service to Peterborough might ease the problem.
  • Whether it ran to Lincoln via Newark and the East Coast Main Line or via Spalding and Sleaford would be down to predicted traffic.
  • The distance via Newark would be 64 miles or 128 miles return.
  • The distance via Peterborough would be 92 miles or 184 miles return.
  • These distances would probably mean that a battery-electric train would need charging at Cleethorpes.

So would it be better if the Cleethorpes trains were to be run by CAF tri-mode trains.

Could Cleethorpes Services Be Paired With The York Service?

The current King’s Cross and Lincoln service uses the same path as a York service.

  • Both services leave King’s Cross at six minutes past the hour.
  • York trains leave at odd hours.
  • Lincoln trains leave at even hours.

If the York service used the Joint Line and the Lincoln service were to be extended to Cleethorpes, Lincoln would receive an hourly service.

  • One service could go via Newark and the other via Peterborough, Spalding and Sleaford.
  • A path on the East Coast Main Line would be saved.
  • The service to York could go via Leeds.
  • The York service could be extended to Middlesbrough, Scarborough or Sunderland.
  • I suspect that timings to Cleethorpes and York could be a similar six-hour round trip.
  • CAF tri-mode trains would be needed for the Cleethorpes services.
  • Either train type could work the York services.

There are various possibilities to improve the train service been London and Lincolnshire.

What Will Be The Maximum Range Of The CAF Tri-Mode Trains?

When determining this, LNER would probably have taken into account all current and every possible service, that they might run in the future, which was not fully electrified.

These would include.

  • London King’s Cross and Aberdeen – 91.4 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Bradford Interchange via Shaftholme junction – 47.8 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Cleethorpes via Newark and Lincoln – 64 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Cleethorpes via Peterborough, Spalding and Lincoln – 92 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Harrogate via Leeds – 18.3 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Inverness– 151.1 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Hull via Temple Hirst junction – 36.1 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Lincoln – 16.8 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Middlesbrough via Northallerton – 20.3 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Scarborough via York – 42.1 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Sunderland via Northallerton – 47.4 miles

They would also have taken in possible diversion routes.

  • London King’s Cross and Carlisle via Leeds – 86.8 miles
  • London and Edinburgh – 400 miles
  • London King’s Cross and Newcastle via Northallerton and Durham Coast Line – 59.6 miles

Note.

  1. The distance is the length without electrification.
  2. London King’s Cross and Carlisle is a possible diversion route, if between Leeds and Edinburgh is blocked.
  3. A London King’s Cross and Edinburgh capability might be needed, if there was something like a serious weather problem, bringing down the overhead wires.
  4. London King’s Cross and Newcastle via Northallerton and Durham Coast Line is a possible diversion route, if between Northallerton and Newcastle is blocked.

LNER’s longest route without electrification is to Inverness and it is 151.1 miles between Stirling and Inverness.

London King’s Cross and Cleethorpes via Peterborough, Spalding and Lincoln could be longer, if it were to be run as a return trip of 184 miles.

LNER will probably have specified the range they need on the longest route they run or might run in the future, as there is no point in buying a fleet of trains and then finding that they can’t handle all your routes. They would also include all possible emergency routes, just as they’ve already included the Joint Line.

Out of curiosity I asked Professor Google how far a diesel train could run on a full tank of diesel and got this answer.

According to the traction manual for 158/159 stock each coach has a 400 gallon tank or 1818 Ltr. £2500 at the filling station.

The manual also says that that is enough fuel to travel Waterloo to Exeter and back twice over. Which is 688 miles exactly. Guess there is spare in there for shunting and idling at terminus. Still an mpg of 1.7.

It looks to me, that if a humble Class 158/159 train has a range of nearly 700 miles, then LNER can probably have virtually any distance they want for their new trains.

These journeys will probably all be possible.

  • Between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh – 400 miles
  • A round trip between Stirling and Inverness – 302.2 miles
  • A round trip between Peterborough and Cleethorpes – 184 miles

Professor Google also gives the diesel range of a Class 800 train as 650 miles.

Conclusion

It looks to me, that LNER, Lumo and FirstGroup have a serious plan to decarbonise their network.

All services, that can be decarbonised by replacing diesel generator units, with electrical battery packs.

LNER’s longer routes will use the new CAF trains.

These will be fully decarbonised at a later date.

 

 

 

 

January 1, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do Rolls-Royce mtu Have A Plan To Decarbonise Their Diesel Engines For Rail Applications?

Data Sheets For Rolls-Royce mtu Diesel Engines For Trains

These are data sheets for various Rolls-Royce mtu diesel engines that can be used in rail applications.

Rolls-Royce Releases mtu Rail Engines For Sustainable Fuels

The title of this section, is the same as that of this press release from Rolls-Royce.

These four bullet points, act as sub-headings.

  • mtu Series 1300, 1500 and 1800 engines already released; Series 1600 and 4000 to follow shortly
  • Up to 90% CO2 savings by operating existing engines with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO/renewable diesel)
  • Locally emission-free operation possible in combination with mtu Hybrid PowerPack
  • Field tests with DB Cargo and RDC Autozug Sylt

This is the first paragraph.

Rolls-Royce is taking a significant step towards even more climate-friendly rail transport with the release of mtu rail engines for use with sustainable fuels. With synthetic diesel fuels of the EN15940 standard, CO2 emissions can be reduced by up to 100 percent compared to fossil diesel. Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO or renewable diesel), which is already commercially available today, reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90 percent. If the fuels are produced with the help of renewable energy and green hydrogen – through what is termed a Power-to-X process – existing rail vehicles can be operated in a completely CO2-neutral manner. The mtu Series 1800 engines which are used in mtu PowerPacks, as well as Series 1300 and 1500 for locomotives and multi-purpose vehicles, are already approved for use with synthetic fuels such as HVO. Series 1600 and versions of Series 4000 engines will follow in the near future. The release of engines for climate-friendly fuels requires a series of tests and trials and Rolls-Royce has found strong partners for this activity. DB Cargo and RDC Autozug Sylt have already tested or are currently testing mtu Series 4000 engines with HVO in their locomotives.

How Does That Fit With The UK’s Population Of Rolls-Royce mtu Diesel Engines?

These classes of train have Rolls-Royce mtu engines.

Note.

  1. Class 168 and 170 trains seem to be powered by older model Rolls Royce mtu engines.
  2. Class 180, 220,221 and 222 trains are powered by Cummins engines.
  3. I can’t find what engines power Class 805 and 810 trains, but it is reasonable to assume they have the same engines as the other Hitachi trains.
  4. As CAF are building LNER’s new tri-mode trains, I suspect these trains will also have Rolls Royce mtu engines.

It would appear that all the Rolls-Royce mtu rolling stock in the UK, with the possible exception of the Class 168 and 170 trains will be able to run on sustainable fuels.

Rolls Royce mtu And Hydrogen

This press release from Rolls-Royce is entitled Rolls-Royce Successfully Tests mtu Engines With Pure Hydrogen.

This is the first paragraph.

Rolls-Royce today announces that it has conducted successful tests of a 12-cylinder gas variant of the mtu Series 4000 L64 engine running on 100% hydrogen fuel. The tests, carried out by the Power Systems business unit, showed very good characteristics in terms of efficiency, performance, emissions and combustion. These tests mark another important step towards the commercial introduction of hydrogen solutions to meet the demand of customers for more sustainable energy.

Engines of mtu’s 4000 family are used in Class 43 power cars, so surely these developments could lead to hydrogen-powered freight locomotives.

The picture shows a Class 43 power car at Glasgow Queen Street station.

Could Rolls-Royce mtu hydrogen power keep these iconic trains running for a few more years?

In ‘Spirit of Innovation’ Stakes Claim To Be The World’s Fastest All-Electric Vehicle, I look at Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Innovation, which set the record for an electric vehicle at 555.9 km/hour.

As the InterCity125 already holds the record for the fastest diesel train, perhaps Rolls-Royce will attempt to set a record for the fastest hydrogen-powered train?

Decarbarbonising The CAF Class 195, 196 And 197 Trains

If Rolls-Royce mtu develop a hydrogen version of the 1800 diesel engine, then this could be used to fully decarbonise the CAF trains.

The operators may consider it’s not worth it and continue with using sustainable fuels.

But the possibility is surely there.

There must also be the possibility of developing a fuel cell replacement for the 1800 diesel, that can be slotted into the train.

Decarbarbonising The Hitachi Class 80x Trains

Hitachi are developing battery packs and the data sheet can be downloaded from this page on the Hitachi web site.

Decarbarbonising The CAF Tri-Mode Trains

I feel that as CAF usually use Rolls-Royce mtu engines, I suspect these trains will be designed, so they can be converted to hydrogen.

Conclusion

Rolls-Royce mtu appear to be on a path to decarbonise all their diesel engines.

 

November 18, 2023 Posted by | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Extra Luggage Racks For Lumo

The title of this post, is the same as a small article in the November 2023 Edition of Modern Railways.

Thiese are the first two paragraphs.

Lumo is to remove eight seats from each of its five Class 803 EMUs to make way for additional luggage racks.

Two seats will be removed from four of the five vehicles in each unit to make space for the luggage racks. The move has required a variation of Lumo’s track access agreement, with the Office of Road and Rail, which as originally approved specified that each train must have 400 seats.

The article also states that Lumo has stopped carrying bikes and the bike areas are now used for luggage.

Batteries For Lumo?

The article finishes with this paragraph.

Lumo celebrated its second birthday in late October and was also set to mark the carriage of its two-millionth passenger. It is understood Lumo is interested in augmenting its fleet, such has been the success of the service; while many operators favour bi-mode units, Lumo is proud of its all-electric credentials so straight EMUs are still preferred, although the possibilities of including batteries which could power the trains may be pursued (the ‘803s’ have on-board batteries, but only to provide power to on-board systems if the electricity supply fails).

I find this development very interesting.

As an electrical engineer, I’ve always believed that the emergency batteries in the Class 803 trains are very similar to the traction batteries that Hitachi are developing for the Class 802 trains.

  • One design of battery must surely save time and costs in design and testing.
  • The difference between the two batteries might be only software and the total capacity of the lithium-ion cells.
  • In service testing under real operating conditions can be carried out in Lumo’s Class 803 trains.
  • Traction and emergency batteries would be interchangeable, so some operators, who didn’t always need traction but wanted emergency on-board power could be setup as required for the route.

If traction batteries gave the train a range of perhaps 15-20 miles, this might well be enough range, for the train to get through or to the next station, if there was to be an incident like catenary failure or a derailed freight train blocking the line. Obviously, Lumo will have records of all external failures that have affected them.

Consider.

  • I have calculated that Peterborough and Doncaster via Lincoln is 88.5 miles.
  • I also believe it is likely that in the future, there may be some electrification at Lincoln to charge battery-electric trains.
  • Lincolnshire is flat.

Would it be possible for Lumo trains to use a single traction battery to take the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line to get round engineering works on the East Coast Main Line?

What Length Of Trains Could Lumo Run?

In Ten-Car Hull Trains, I talked about Hull Trains running ten-car trains to Hull.

I would expect that all Lumo’s stops are possible with ten-car trains.

As the trains are all Plug-and-Play, Lumo could either run pairs of trains or perhaps lengthen all trains to any size between six and nine cars.

Could Lumo Piggy-Back An Aberdeen Service On An Edinburgh Train?

The line between Edinburgh and Ladybank is being electrified and Ladybank is just 91.4 miles South of Aberdeen.

  • A pair of Class 803 trains could leave King’s Cross running as a ten-car formation.
  • The leading train would be a Class 803 train equipped with a traction battery.
  • The trailing train would be a Class 803 train equipped with the normal emergency battery.
  • Aberdeen passengers would get in the leading train.
  • The train would run as normal to Edinburgh.
  • At Edinburgh the two trains would split with the leading train going on to Aberdeen and the trailing train getting ready to return to London.

The train going to Aberdeen would need sufficient battery range to cover the 91.4 miles to Aberdeen, where it would recharge to make the journey back to Ladybank, Edinburgh and the South.

What About Inverness?

Dunblane is the nearest electrified station to Inverness, but it is 146.2 miles away over a route with lots of steep climbs.

I doubt that a battery-electric train could handle that route.

Conclusions

Luggage seems to be getting more of a problem on trains and buses.

It does appear that a very innovative battery philosophy from Hitachi is emerging.

October 25, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Cardiff – Edinburgh Open Access Train Service Proposal Under Development

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.

This is the first paragraph.

Grand Union has begun industry consultation over a proposal to operate five open access services a day between Cardiff and Edinburgh, and separately is looking at rolling stock options for its planned London – Carmarthen and London – Stirling services.

These are my thoughts.

Current Train Services Between Cardiff and Edinburgh

I have chosen Monday, the 4th of December and find, that the basic fare is £120.40 with changes at Birmingham New Street and Preston, for a journey of six hours and 52 minutes.

There would appear to be three other sensible trains on that day and the others take around seven hours and cost over £230.

Cardiff and Edinburgh, is one of those routes, where the one-third saving of a railcard will pay for the card on the first trip.

Current Flights Between Cardiff and Edinburgh

I have again chosen Monday, the 4th of December and there is one direct flight that takes one hour and 15 minutes and costs £130.

There are flights under forty pounds, via Dublin or Belfast City airports, which take 4½ and 9 hours.

What About The Sleeper?

If you live in Cardiff and want to get to Edinburgh, early on the 4th, it’s probably better to take an evening train to London on the day before and then get the Caledonian Sleeper to Scotland.

An ideal train could be a sleeper between Plymouth and Edinburgh, that could be picked up at Bristol Parkway, that I wrote about in Would A North-East And South West Sleeper Service Be A Good Idea?.

But that train is only a proposal.

Although, there could be a luxury coach or conveniently-timed direct train to link Swansea, Cardiff Central and Cardiff Bay to Bristol Parkway for the sleeper.

I Feel That A Cardiff and Edinburgh Service May Have Possibilities

Grand Union are proposing to operate five open access services a day between Cardiff and Edinburgh, which seems about right.

I estimate that the service would take around seven hours. But that time is based on the fastest journeys to Birmingham New Street from both ends of the route.

Breaking it down further into three legs via Birmingham New Street and Doncaster, following times could be possible.

  • Cardiff and Birmingham New Street – two hours and five minutes
  • Birmingham New Street and Doncaster – two hours and five minutes
  • Doncaster and Edinburgh – three hours and ten minutes

Note.

  1. These times are based on average of the better times of the day.
  2. They could probably be improved by more electrification and a bi-mode train like a Class 802 or Class 755 train.

They total up to seven hours and twenty minutes.

Intermediate Stops

These are listed as Cardiff, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction, Gloucester, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Sheffield, Doncaster, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

Times and distances for the various legs are as follows.

  • Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction – 21.6 miles – Electrified – 26 mins
  • Severn Tunnel Junction and Bromsgrove – 72.5 miles – Not Electrified – One hour and thirteen mins
  • Bromsgrove and Birmingham New Street – 14.3 miles – Electrified – 21 mins
  • Birmingham New Street and Derby – 41.2 miles – Not Electrified – 33 mins
  • Derby and Sheffield – 36.4 miles – Being Electrified – 30 mins
  • Sheffield and Doncaster – 16.8 miles – Not Electrified – 24 mins
  • Doncaster and Edinburgh – 237.1 miles – Electrified – two hours and 54 mins

These add up to six hours and 21 minutes.

Is Cardiff and Edinburgh An Ideal Route For A Battery-Electric Train?

The route has three unelectrified sections

  • Severn Tunnel Junction and Bromsgrove – 72.5 miles
  • Birmingham New Street and Derby – 41.2 miles
  • Sheffield and Doncaster – 16.8 miles

Note.

  1. I am assuming Derby and Sheffield is electrified, under the Midland Main Line Electrification.
  2. The longest unelectrified section is the 72.5 miles between Severn Tunnel Junction and Bromsgrove.
  3. All three unelectrified sections are sandwiched between two electrified sections, that are long enough to charge the trains.

A battery-electric train with a range of 80-90 miles should be able to handle the route.

As Cardiff and Swansea is only 45.7 miles, with a range of 100 miles, the service could be extended to Swansea.

Competition

This article on Rail Advent is entitled New Cardiff – Scotland Train Service Announced As Part Of New CrossCountry Contract.

This is the relevant paragraph.

Building on the changes made to the timetables in May this year, further enhancements will include a new direct service daily between Cardiff and Edinburgh to strengthen connections across Great Britain.

Will this bang a hole in Grand Union’s plans or is there room in the market for two operators?

On the other hand LNER and Hull Trains run a 1/5 split on the King’s Cross and Hull route.

Tourism

In the past ten years, I’ve travelled regularly between London and Edinburgh by train.

  • On those trips, I’ve met a large number of tourists from countries like Canada, Germany, Italy and the United States.
  • Many were also visiting Paris using the Eurostar.
  • Cardiff, Edinburgh and King’s Cross all have excellent hotels nearby.
  • There are other historic and/or large cities on the route, who might like to get in on the act, like Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Durham, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield and York.
  • Cities, hotels, museums and the train companies could form a marketing group.

Cardiff and Edinburgh would complete a very useful triangular route for anoraks, business travellers and tourists.

Conclusion

Cardiff and Edinburgh could be a new route that would work well!

 

 

 

October 24, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

TransPennine Express Releases Blueprint For Improving Service And Fleet Upgrade

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

This is the sub-heading.

TransPennine Express (TPE), which transferred to the government’s owning group (DOHL) earlier this year, has set out its plans to address many of the issues which have caused problems and disruption for rail customers.

These three paragraphs summarize their plans.

Making Journeys Better: A Prospectus gives clear detail of the issues TPE has faced during the past two years as well as outlining how TPE, under DOHL, will work to make things better, having completed an in-depth review of the business.

Part of the plans involve the operators plans for its new fleet. Its New Trains Programme outlines its long term view for decarbonisation. The report states that TPE will look towards new technology on its fleet to overcome the lack of clarity on the full electrification of the line.

This, it states will help with the cascading and removal of diesel trains faster across its network.

It always looked to me, that TPE under First Group, brought rather a dog’s breakfast of trains, when a unified fleet of Class 802 trains, as per Hull Trains, might have been easier to operate.

  • They are already retiring the Class 68 locomotives and their Mark 5 coaches, so surely to decarbonise their services, a number of battery electric high speed trains would be an idea.
  • They are already testing Class 802 battery-electric trains for Hitachi and Eversholt Rail.
  • I also feel that CAF could offer a suitable battery-electric train, based on the Class 397 train.

TPE say in the example, that they expect a decision later in the month.

TransPennine Express Services And Battery Electric Trains

These are their services and how they would be effected by battery-electric trains.

  • Liverpool Lime Street And Newcastle – Fully-electrified after TransPennine Upgrade.
  • Liverpool Lime Street And Hull – Fully-electrified after TransPennine Upgrade.. – 42 miles unelectrified – Service could be run by a battery-electric train that charged between Leeds and Micklefield.
  • Manchester Airport and Saltburn – Fully-electrified between Manchester Airport and Northallerton after TransPennine Upgrade. – 33.6 miles unelectrified – Service could be run by a battery-electric train that charged between Leeds and Northallerton. Would eliminate overnight noise problems at Redcar.
  • Manchester Piccadilly and Newcastle – Fully-electrified after TransPennine Upgrade.
  • Manchester Piccadilly and Scarborough – Fully-electrified between Manchester Piccadilly and York after TransPennine Upgrade. – 42.1 miles unelectrified – Service could be run by a battery-electric train that charged between Leeds and York.
  • York and Scarborough – Electrified at York – 42.1 miles unelectrified – Service could be run by a battery-electric shuttle train that charged at York.
  • Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield – Electrified at Manchester Piccadilly – 25.5 miles unelectrified – Service could be run by a battery-electric shuttle train that charged at Manchester Piccadilly.
  • Leeds and Huddersfield – Electrified at Leeds – 17.2 miles unelectrified – Service could be run by a battery-electric shuttle train that charged at Leeds.
  • Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes – 125,6 miles unelectrified – In Electrification Of The Hope Valley Line, I show how this route can be run by battery-electric trains that charged on existing electrification a short new section of electrification at Cleethorpes.

Note.

  1. If Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, is not electrified, battery-electric trains would be able to cross the 25.8 miles of unelectrified track on battery power.
  2. If Leeds and Huddersfield, is not electrified, battery-electric trains would be able to cross the 17.2 miles of unelectrified track on battery power.
  3. I am assuming that the TransPennine Upgrade between Manchester and Leeds will be completed, so that between Liverpool Lime Street and Leeds is fully-electrified.
  4. The only new infrastructure needed would be electrification at Cleethorpes to charge the trains.

All services except for Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes could be run using battery-electric trains with a range on a full battery of at least 100 miles and with no additional electrification.

Electrifying Cleethorpes Station

This Google Map shows Cleethorpes station.

These pictures show the station in June 2023, when it appears to be going through a platform refurbishment.

I don’t think it would be the most difficult station to electrify.

  • There are four platforms.
  • As the station is likely to get more battery-electric services, including one from King’s Cross, I would suspect that at least three out of the four platforms would be electrified.
  • Although, the station is Grade II Listed, there doesn’t appear to be any canopies or important architectural details, that would get in the way of electrification.

Once Cleethorpes station had been successfully electrified, similar installations could be applied at other stations like Saltburn, Scarborough and Skegness.

Conclusion

If TransPennine Express were to buy the right number of battery-electric trains with a hundred mile range, they can decarbonise all their routes in a train factory.

 

October 20, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on TransPennine Express Releases Blueprint For Improving Service And Fleet Upgrade

Improvements To Leeds And Hull Services

This news story from the Department of Transport is entitled Yorkshire And The Humber To Benefit From £19.8 billion Transport Investment.

This is said about Leeds and Hull services.

Hull will also be brought into the Northern Powerhouse Rail network, reducing journey time from Leeds from 58 minutes to just 48. The number of trains between Hull and Sheffield will be doubled, to 2 per hour, with capacity also doubled. Journeys from Hull to Manchester will drop from 115 to 84 minutes, enabling 2 fast trains to Leeds.

I shall look at the 10:15 Northern Trains service between Hull and Leeds on the 13th October 2023.

  • The distance is 51.8 miles.
  • There are seven stops.
  • The service is run by a diesel Class 158 train.
  • Journey time is 69 minutes.

Ten minutes off this time would be worthwhile.

I shall look at the 10:03 TransPennine Express service between Hull and Leeds on the 13th October 2023.

  • There are two stops.
  • The service is run by a diesel Class 185 train.
  • Journey time is 54 minutes.

Ten minutes off this time would be difficult.

Note.

  1. The line between Micklefield and Leeds is being electrified.
  2. The distance between Hull and Micklefield is 42 miles.
  3. The route has a maximum speed of between 75 and 90 mph.

There is also an historic swing bridge at Selby, which would probably be difficult to electrify.

How Many Minutes Could Electric Trains Save Between Leeds and Hull?

Electric trains have better acceleration and deceleration, when compared to diesel trains, so two minutes per stop and for the acceleration and deceleration at Hull and Leeds, would give the following times.

  • Northern Trains – 53 minutes
  • TransPennine Express – 48 minutes

As electrification is not mentioned for between Leeds and Hull, the only electric trains, that could work the route will be battery-electric trains.

Battery-Electric Trains Between Leeds and Hull

Consider.

  • TransPennine Express already have Class 802 trains, from which the battery-electric version is being developed.
  • Northern Trains would need a suitable battery-electric train. There has been talk of a CAF battery-electric Class 331 train, but nothing more. These would surly be ideal.
  • Trains could be charged on new electrification in Hull station and between Micklefield and Leeds.

The trains would need a range of just 42 miles.

A Second Fast Train Between Leeds and Hull

What does this statement in the news story imply?

Journeys from Hull to Manchester will drop from 115 to 84 minutes, enabling 2 fast trains to Leeds.

I feel that this statement must be read in conjunction with the benefits of the TransPennine Route Upgrade.

One benefit is given as Faster Journeys, where this is said.

We’re speeding up journeys so you can travel to your favourite towns and cities more quickly. Our fastest journey times are forecast to be 63-66 minutes between Manchester and York and 41-42 minutes between Manchester and Leeds.

The news story says that the fastest journey times between Leeds and Hull will be 48 minutes, which would give a Hull and Manchester time of 89-90 minutes.

Alternatively, there could be these timings on one train.

  • Hull and Leeds – 48 mins
  • Hull and Manchester Victoria – 84 mins
  • Leeds and Manchester Victoria – 36 mins

Note.

  1. The train would call at Brough, Selby, Leeds, Huddersfield and Stalybridge.
  2. There may be a new station at Leeds Thorpe Park
  3. The distance between Hull and Manchester Victoria is 94.7 miles.
  4. This is an average speed of 67.6 mph.

It almost looks like it’s connectivity East of Leeds and speed between Leeds and Manchester.

Conclusion

Battery-electric trains would provide all the improvements promised between Leeds and Hull.

October 16, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Electrification Of The Hope Valley Line

This news story from the Department of Transport is entitled Yorkshire And The Humber To Benefit From £19.8 billion Transport Investment.

This is said about the Hope Valley Line.

The Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield will also be electrified and upgraded, with the aim of cutting journey times from 51 to 42 minutes and increasing the number of fast trains on the route from 2 to 3 per hour, doubling capacity.

The fast trains are currently TransPennine’s service between Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes.

  • Between Platform 13 at Manchester Piccadilly station and Sheffield station is 42.6 miles.
  • At the Manchester end, there will be electrification between Manchester Piccadilly and Hazel Grove stations, which is 8.7 miles and takes typically 17 minutes.
  • After the electrification of the Midland Main Line to Sheffield, there will be electrification between Dore & Totley and Sheffield stations, which is 4.2 miles and takes typically 8 minutes.

The gap in the electrification between Dore & Totley and Hazel Grove stations will be 29.7 miles.

But it will not be an easy route to electrify.

  • At the Western end, there is the Disley Tunnel, which is 3535 metres long.
  • In the middle, there is the Cowburn Tunnel which is 3385 metres long, that is also the deepest tunnel in England.
  • At the Eastern end, there is the Totley Tunnel, which is 5700 metres long.

Yorkshire doesn’t have an Underground railway, but the combined length of these three tunnels is 7.84 miles, which means that over 26 % of the electrification needed between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield will have to be installed in tunnels.

Could The Route Be Run Using Battery-Electric Trains?

Consider.

  • The gap in the electrification between Dore & Totley and Hazel Grove stations will be 29.7 miles.
  • There is electrified sections at Dore & Totley and Hazel Grove stations, which will be able to charge the trains.
  • Merseyrail’s Class 777 trains have demonstrated a battery range of 84 miles.
  • A Stadler Akku train has demonstrated a battery range of 139 miles.
  • Hitachi are developing a battery-electric version of TransPennine’s Class 802 train.
  • If all trains can run on batteries or be self-powered, there would be no need to electrify the long and possibly difficult tunnels.

I believe that it would be possible to electrify all passenger services between Manchester and Sheffield using appropriate battery-electric trains.

Freight would be a problem and I suspect that hydrogen-hybrid and other self-powered locomotives could handle the route.

Could The Complete TransPennine Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Class 802 trains?

These are the various electrified and unelectrified sections.

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool South Parkway – Electrified – 5.7 miles – 10 minutes
  • Liverpool South Parkway and Trafford Park  – Not Electrified – 25.2 miles – 30 minutes
  • Trafford Park and Hazel Grove  – Electrified – 12.6 miles – 28 minutes
  • Hazel Grove and Dore & Totley  – Not Electrified – 29.7 miles – 35 minutes
  • Dore & Totley and Sheffield  – Electrified – 4.2 miles – 6 minutes
  • Sheffield and Doncaster  – Not Electrified – 18.6 miles – 25 minutes
  • Doncaster and Cleethorpes  – Not Electrified – 52.1 miles – 78 minutes

Note.

  1. This is a total of 125.6 miles without electrification.
  2. The Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield time is 56 minutes.
  3. The distance is 37.8 miles.
  4. That is an average speed on 40.5 mph.
  5. Most of the line between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield has an maximum speed of 70 mph, but there is a short length of track with a 50 mph speed and another longer one with 90 mph.

To achieve 40 minutes between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield would need an average speed of 60.7 mph. Given the improvements being carried out by Network Rail at the current time, I believe that forty minutes between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield should be possible.

I’ll look at a train going East.

  • The train will leave Liverpool Lime Street with a reasonably full battery after charging using the current electrification in the station.
  • The train will leave Liverpool South Parkway with a full battery after charging using the current electrification from Liverpool Lime Street.
  • The train will arrive at Trafford Park with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the current electrification to Hazel Grove.
  • The train will arrive at Dore & Totley with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the Midland Main Line electrification to Sheffield.
  • The train will arrive at Doncaster with a battery perhaps two-thirds full and the train would wait until it had enough charge to reach Cleethorpes.

I’ll look at a train going West.

  • The train will leave Cleethorpes with a full battery after charging using the new electrification in the station.
  • The train will arrive at Doncaster with a battery perhaps two-thirds full and the train would wait until it had enough charge to reach Sheffield.
  • The train will arrive at Sheffield with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the Midland Main Line electrification to Dore & Totley.
  • The train will arrive at Hazel Grove with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the current electrification to Trafford Park.
  • The train will arrive at Liverpool South Parkway with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but the route is electrified to Liverpool Lime Street.

Note.

  1. If the battery range on a full battery was over 90 miles, the two most easterly sections could be run without any charging at Doncaster.
  2. If the battery range was over 125.6 miles, the journey could be done by starting with a full battery.
  3. If every time the train decelerated, regenerative braking would recover energy, which could be reused.
  4. The only new electrification needed will be a short length at Cleethorpes station, that would charge the trains.

I certainly believe that Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes services could be run by battery-electric trains.

Could The Complete TransPennine Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Class 802 trains Without The Midland Main Line Electrification?

In this section, I’m assuming, that there is no electrification at Sheffield.

These would be the various electrified and unelectrified sections.

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool South Parkway – Electrified – 5.7 miles – 10 minutes
  • Liverpool South Parkway and Trafford Park  – Not Electrified – 25.2 miles – 30 minutes
  • Trafford Park and Hazel Grove  – Electrified – 12.6 miles – 28 minutes
  • Hazel Grove and Cleethorpes  – Not Electrified – 104.6 miles – 143 minutes

Note.

  1. This is a total of 129.6 miles without electrification.
  2. The battery range of the train, should probably be around 120 miles to make sure the train could run between Hazel Grove and Cleethorpes.
  3. One diesel power-pack could be installed for emergency use.

I’ll look at a train going East.

  • The train will leave Liverpool Lime Street with a reasonably full battery after charging using the current electrification in the station.
  • The train will leave Liverpool South Parkway with a full battery after charging using the current electrification from Liverpool Lime Street.
  • The train will arrive at Trafford Park with a battery perhaps 80 % full, but it will be fully charged on the current electrification to Hazel Grove.
  • The train would then eek out what power it had left to reach Cleethorpes.

If necessary, the train could stop in the electrified Doncaster station to top up the batteries from the East Coast Main Line electrification for the run to Cleethorpes.

I’ll look at a train going West.

  • The train will leave Cleethorpes with a full battery after charging using new electrification in the station.
  • The train will arrive at Doncaster with a battery perhaps 57 % full and the train would wait if needed, until it had enough charge to reach Hazel Grove.
  • The train will arrive at Hazel Grove with a battery perhaps one-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the current electrification to Trafford Park.
  • The train will arrive at Liverpool South Parkway with a battery perhaps one-thirds full, but the route is electrified to Liverpool Lime Street.

Note.

  1. If the battery range on a full battery was over 105 miles, the Eastern section could be run without any charging at Doncaster.
  2. If the battery range was over 129.6 miles, the journey could be done by starting with a full battery.
  3. If every time the train decelerated, regenerative braking would recover energy, which could be reused.
  4. The only new electrification needed will be a short length at Cleethorpes station, that would charge the trains.

However, it might be prudent to electrify the through platforms at Sheffield, so that they could be used for emergency charging if required.

Northern Train’s Service Between Sheffield And Manchester Piccadilly Via The Hope Valley Line

There is a one train per hour (tph) Northern service between Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly.

  • The Class 195 diesel train takes 78 minutes.
  • The distance is 42 miles.
  • The first mile or so at the Manchester end is electrified.
  • Trains seem to take about sixteen minutes to turn round at Manchester Piccadilly.
  • Trains seem to take about nine minutes to turn round at Sheffield.
  • The service runs via Reddish North, Brinnington, Bredbury, Romiley, Marple, New Mills Central, Chinley, Edale, Hope, Bamford, Hathersage, Grindleford and Dore & Totley.
  • The max speed is generally 60 mph to the West of New Mills Central and 70 mph to the East, with short lower speed sections.

There would appear to be two ways to run this route withy battery-electric trains.

  • As Manchester Piccadilly station is fully-electrified and trains could be connected to the electrification for upwards of twenty minutes, trains will certainly be able to be fully-charged at Manchester. As the round trip is only 84 miles, could trains run the service without a charge at Sheffield.
  • Alternatively, there could be a dedicated electrified platform at Sheffield. But the problem with this, is that currently this service uses a random platform at Sheffield.

It looks like, if the train has the required range, that charging at the Manchester end would be the better solution.

Liverpool And Norwich Via The Hope Valley Line

This service uses a similar route between Liverpool Lime Street and Sheffield, as the Liverpool and Hull service and then it meanders, through the East Midlands.

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool South Parkway – Electrified – 5.7 miles – 11 minutes
  • Liverpool South Parkway and Trafford Park  – Not Electrified – 25.2 miles – 33 minutes
  • Trafford Park and Hazel Grove  – Electrified – 12.6 miles – 26 minutes
  • Hazel Grove and Dore & Totley  – Not Electrified – 29.7 miles – 28 minutes
  • Dore & Totley and Sheffield  – Electrified – 4.2 miles – 6 minutes
  • Sheffield and Nottingham – Being Electrified – 40.6 miles – 52 minutes
  • Nottingham and Grantham – Not Electrified – 22.7 miles – 30 minutes
  • Grantham and Peterborough – Electrified – 29.1 miles – 29 minutes
  • Peterborough And Ely – Not Electrified – 30 miles – 31 minutes
  • Ely and Norwich – Not Electrified – 53.7 miles – 56 minutes

This is a total of 161.3 miles without electrification.

But as Sheffield and Nottingham and Grantham and Peterborough will be fully electrified, this route will be possible using a battery-electric train.

Electrifying Sheffield Station

I said earlier in this post, that electrifying Sheffield station would be an option for electrifying the Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly service.

If this were to be done, it would have collateral benefits for other services that terminate at Sheffield, which could be charged whilst they turned around.

I wrote about Sheffield station as a battery-electric train hub in Could Sheffield Station Become A Battery-Electric Train Hub?

Conclusion

I believe that full electrification of the Hope Valley Line is not needed, if battery-electric trains are used.

I also believe that battery-electric trains and the current improvements being carried out on the Hope Valley Line will enable a forty minute time between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield.

 

 

October 15, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Diesel Power Of The Class 805 Trains

Avanti West Coast’s new Class 805 trains, will probably start running between London Euston and Chester, Shrewsbury and North Wales before the end of the year.

But will they have the 560 kW engines of the Class 800 trains or the the 700 kW engines of the Class 802 trains?

On this page of Eversholt Rail’s web site, there is a detailed specification for a Class 802 train.

It says these trains have a top speed of 110 mph on diesel.

But it also says this about the design of the trains.

They have been designed to meet the operational requirements of the West of England route and are used on services out of London Paddington to Plymouth and Penzance.

The class 802 is almost identical to the class 800, the differences are that class 802s have a higher rated engine output to tackle the gradients through Devon and Cornwall, and a superior diesel range to provide the IET experience to the wider Greater Western Network, they also have a larger brake resistor which reduces brake pad usage and requires less maintenance.

Wikipedia also says that these are the diesel engine sizes in the three main classes of these Hitachi AT 300 trains.

  • Class 800 train – 560 kW – Three engines for five cars
  • Class 801 train – 560 kW – One emergency engine for five cars
  • Class 802 train – 700 kW – Three engines for five cars
  • Class 810 train – 735 kW – Four engines for five cars

All these four trains have similar bodyshells and running gear, so I suspect that to run at similar cruising speeds, similar amounts of power will be needed.

If the Class 802 train has a speed of 110 mph on diesel, then a rough estimate of the cruising speed of a train with the 560 kW engines can be estimated by doing this simple calculation. Note that air resistance is proportional to the square of the speed.

Square root (110*110 *560/700) = 98.4 mph

I have looked on OpenRailwayMap at all the tracks to the West of Wolverhampton, where these trains will run and the highest maximum operating speed I can find is 90 mph.

As the Class 805 trains have a reprofiled nose, which could be more aerodynamic, they may be able to cruise at 90 mph.

I believe that a train with three 560 kW engines will suit Avanti West Coast purposes well.

What Is The Operating Speed Of The Class 810 trains?

I can use a similar calculation to estimate the maximum operating speed of the Class 810 trains, that will operate on the Midland Main Line.

Consider.

  • The Class 802 train has a total power of 2100 kW
  • The Class 810 train has a total power of 2940 kW
  • The Class 810 train with only three working engines has a total power of 2205 kW

I can estimate the cruising speed by doing this simple calculation, which is similar to the one for the Class 805 train.

Square root (110*110 *2940/2100) = 130 mph

I can also do it for a train running on three engines.

Square root (110*110 *2205/2100) = 113 mph

I looks to me, that the following is possible.

  • As Class 810 trains can achieve the maximum speed of 125 mph on both diesel and electric power, the timetable is independent of the progress of the electrification.
  • If the 125 mph sections are ignored, the fastest sections of line have a maximum speed of 110 mph, which could be possible on three engines.
  • North of the electrification, where the maximum speed is only 110 mph, engines could be selectively rested to avoid overheating.

Four engines give a lot of interesting options.

I can’t wait to take a ride.

Could The Class 810 Trains Be Fitted With Batteries?

When, the electrification reaches Market Harborough station, there will be no 125 mph sections on the Midland Main Line, which are not electrified.

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

A Class 810 version of this train would have three diesel engines and one battery pack.

  1. It would have all the features of the infographic.
  2. My calculations give it a top speed of 113 mph on a route, where the maximum speed North of the electrification is 110 mph.
  3. I also suspect, it could bridge any small gaps in the electrification.

It would have the very positive effects of saving fuel and cutting pollution in stations.

September 29, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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