Class 807 Train « The Anonymous Widower

Is Liverpool Going To Get High Speed One-Point-Five?

Some of the best train journeys, I’ve ever had were not on high speed trains on specially-built tracks.

The Thunder of Three-Thousand Three-Hundred Horses is from the early 1970s and describes a trip back from Darlington behind a Class 55 locomotive or Deltic.

Norwich-In-Ninety Is A Lot More Than Passengers Think! describes a trip from London to Norwich and back, in the early days of the Norwich-in-Ninety timetable behind a Class 90 locomotive.

I could add a journey on an InterCity 125 from London to Plymouth, which was running nearly thirty minutes late at Newbury, but was on time at Exeter.

The connection between these stories, was that all had a superb biological control system in the cab, who with help from the signallers was able to keep to a difficult schedule or make up time.

Last year, I made several journeys between Euston and Liverpool Lime Street. A couple of the journeys were unusual in that we arrived at our destination around six or more minutes early.

I suspect, that Avanti West Coast were experimenting to make sure that they get the new two trains per hour (tph) for the route perfect.

In Avanti West Coast Looks To Recover, I said this about Euston and Liverpool Lime Street services.

A paragraph talks about the second hourly service between London and Liverpool.

Avanti still has ambitions to introduce a second hourly service between Euston and Liverpool, but when this will come in will depend on demand recovery.

Consider.

If would be desirable if some or all trains running on the route could achieve a timing of two hours between London and Liverpool.

It is felt that the second service should stop at Liverpool South Parkway station, where the platforms are too short for eleven-car Class 390 trains.

Avanti have stated they would like more stops in the Trent Valley, especially at Nuneaton, where they would connect to services to the East Midlands.

Nuneaton is almost exactly halfway between London and Liverpool.

Running two tph with Class 807 trains would need nine trains and Avanti have only ordered ten in total.

I believe that a practical timetable like this could work.

Class 390 train – one tph – Non-stop or perhaps a single stop in the Midlands – Under two hours

Class 807 train – one tph – Stopping at Nuneaton, Stafford, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway – Current time or better

An hourly service between London and Liverpool in under two hours would surely be a passenger magnet.

So what is possible?

I found this service on Real Time Trains, which ran on the 16th February 2023.

Scheduled to leave Liverpool Lime Street at 0943, but left at 1012 or 29 minutes late.

Train did a ninety second unadvertised stop at Liverpool South Parkway. Now running 26 minutes late.

There was a two minute stop at Runcorn and a four-minute stop at Crewe. Now running 25 minutes late

There was a one-minute stop at Milton Keynes. Now running 20 minutes late.

The train arrived in London Euston at 1220 or 16 minutes late.

Note.

Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston took 2 hours and 8 minutes.

As Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston is a distance of 193.6, a 128 minute journey is an average speed of 90.7 mph

Liverpool Lime Street and Crewe took 32 minutes with two stops.

Crewe and London Euston took 1 hour and 32 minutes with one stop.

In West Coast Main Line Electro-Diesels On Test, I found that a Glasgow and London train took 1 hour and 28 minutes between Crewe and London Euston.

All services last week had the unadvertised stop at Liverpool South Parkway

What can be deduced from these figures?

If the Crewe stop were to be cut out, two hours and four minutes could certainly be possible between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston with a Class 390 train.

I also suspect that if the train were to be run non-stop, that the other four minutes could be saved.

So will Avanti West Coast run the current service using new Class 807 trains, with the extra stop at Liverpool South Parkway and perhaps other stations and the additional hourly train with a non-stop nine-car Class 390 train?

This way of delivering a two tph service would mean.

Runcorn, Crewe and Milton Keynes would not lose any of their current fast services to and from Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston.

Liverpool South Parkway station is probably a more convenient location for some passengers going to and from the South. It would gain an hourly service to London Euston.

There will be an additional 77% of seats between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston.

Passengers who don’t like tilting trains could use the Class 807 trains.

One tph would be timed for two hours or under and would be a marketing man’s dream.

No train would be slower than the current services.

Improvements To The Non-Stop Class 390 Train Service

I earlier said.

As Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston is a distance of 193.6, a 128 minute journey is an average speed of 90.7 mph.

An average speed of 90.7 mph, doesn’t seem fast for a Class 390 train with an operating speed of 125 mph or 140 mph under full ERTMS digital signalling.

These are some times for a selection of average speeds between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston.

90 mph – 2 hours 9 minutes

100 mph – 1 hour 56 minutes

110 mph – 1 hour 46 minutes

120 mph – 1 hour 37 minutes

125 mph – 1 hour 33 minutes

130 mph – 1 hour 29 minutes

135 mph – 1 hour 26 minutes

140 mph – 1 hour 23 minutes

Note.

Average speeds of upwards of 130 mph are unlikely, but I’ve added them to show that the train speed is less important than the speed of the track.

High Speed Two’s planned time between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston is 1 hour and 32 minutes.

But I do think times of around 1 hour and 35 minutes should be possible for non-stop Class 390 trains between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston with an improved track and full ERTMS digital signalling.

Improvements To The Stopping Class 807 Train Service

As the track of the West Coast Main Line is improved with better track and full ERTMS digital signalling, this will also benefit the times of the stopping service run by the new Class 807 trains.

The Class 807 train with its lighter weight will have better acceleration than the current Class 390 trains. This will mean, that they will not be slowed as much, when they stop.

It may be possible to add extra stops at places like Watford Junction, Nuneaton and Stafford and still time the train for a few minutes over two hours.

Avanti West Coast Looks To Recover, is a post, that I wrote based on an interview in Modern Railways with Phil Whittingham, who is MD of Avanti West Coast.

There is a lot of talk in the article about.

Using Nuneaton to connect the North West and the East Midlands.

The acceleration of the Class 807 trains.

Improving the Customer Service.

I think that Liverpool will find it is connected to more of the country on services with just a single change.

Conclusion

Liverpool is getting greater connectivity to the Midlands and the South-East of England, with times, that could be improved to be comparable with High Speed Two.

February 18, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 390 Train, Class 55 Locomotive, Class 807 Train, Class 90 Locomotive, Darlington Station, Digital Signalling, Euston Station, High Speed Two, InterCity 125, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Liverpool South Parkway Station | 5 Comments

Avanti West Coast Applies For Second Hourly Euston And Liverpool Service

Tucked away beside the Grand Union Sets Out Stirling Ambitions article in the December 2022 Edition of Modern Railways is a report on Avanti West Coast’s application for a second service between Euston and Liverpool.

This is said.

Avanti West Coast has applied for access rights for its second hourly Euston to Liverpool service, starting from December 2023, although a phased introduction of the new service is likely. This would make use of Avanti’s new fleet of 10×7-car Class 807 Hitachi EMUs, which are expected to enter service from Autumn 2023. The ‘807s’ would be deployed on the current hourly Liverpool service, on which a call at Liverpool South Parkway would be added. (provision is made for this in the December 2022 timetable.).

Pendelinos would then operate the second service each hour, calling at Lichfield Trent Valley and Tamworth.

A linespeed project is in progress to raise the permissible speed for non-tilting trains on the West Coast Main Line, and Avanti’s new Hitachi trains will take advantage of this.

In Will Avanti West Coast’s New Trains Be Able To Achieve London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street In Two Hours?, I laid out my reasoning for a two-hour journey between Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.

I’m not sure, if they will reduce the time to two hours, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do.

November 25, 2022 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 807 Train, Euston Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station | 1 Comment

Avanti West Coast Looks To Recover

The title of this post is the same as an article in the March 2022 Edition of Modern Railways.

These are some points from the article.

Passengers Numbers Are Recovering

This is a paragraph.

Mr. Wittingham says the recovery has been strongest on the Anglo-Scottish and Liverpool corridors, while Manchester have begun to bounce back. Slowest to recover is the London to West Midlands market; ‘there’s several operators here and we were the main carrier of business passengers, and that sector has been recovering more slowly than leisure’ says Mr. Whittingham.

Phil Whittingham is MD of Avanti West Coast.

Train Numbers Are Recovering

Avanti are building up train numbers from Euston after the pandemic.

Frequencies are as follows in trains per hour (tph)

Pre-Covid – 9
During the pandemic – 4
From December 2021 – 7
Omicron – 4
From February 2022 – 6
From May 2022 – 6+

Avanti have reacted to demand.

Three Classes Of Travel

This is a paragraph.

Avanti’s business has historically been driven by leisure travel – before Covid this accounted for broadly 60 % of passengers, with most of the rest travelling for business plus a smaller number of commuters. ‘The demand is there, and we think by next year we’ll be on the way to full recovery’ says Mr. Whittingham. ‘Leisure has been strong, especially at weekends, but the missing bit is the corporate market.’

Avanti have been running a marketing campaign and it appears to have been successful.

This paragraph describes Avanti’s new Standard Premium class.

Last year, Avanti West Coast launched a new class of travel – Standard Premium. This was first introduced in May on an upgrade-only basis before going fully live in September with the option to book online in advance. The new class sits between Standard and First, giving passengers larger seats and greater space but without some of the extras that come with First Class Travel such as complimentary refreshments and lounge access.

These are Mr. Whittingham’s comments on the three classes.

The current split of passengers is 84% Standard, 12 % First and 4 % Standard Premium, but given the latter has been in place for less than a year there is clearly scope for growth. ‘Our research shows people have been upgrading to Standard Premium rather than downgrading from First’.

I have yet to try Standard Premium, but I will next time I use Avanti.

Refreshments

Avanti have decided to serve different refreshments in Standard Premium and First classes.

In Standard Premium, they are now offering At Seat Orders.
In First, they have updated the menu.

Both seem to have been well-received.

I like this statement from Mr. Whittingham.

We’ve tried to make it a more personalised service with a less rigid structure, so we give customers what they want, when they want it, rather than when we want to give it to them.

A Consistent Offer

This is a paragraph.

Mr. Whittingham says Avanti has not yet confirmed whether t will offer three classes of travel on the new Hitachi trains it has ordered, but says the aim is to provide a more consistent offer. Assisting this will be changes in the ongoing Pendolino refurbishment, where 11-car sets are having Coach G converted from First to Standard accommodation, meaning all Pendolinos, whether nine-car or 11-car, will have three coaches for First and Standard Premium passengers.

My instinct says that the four trains will be something like.

Class 390 train – Pendolino – Nine-car – three First/Standard Premium cars – six Standard cars
Class 390 train – Pendolino – Eleven-car – three First/Standard Premium cars – eight Standard cars
Class 805 train – Hitachi – Five-car – one First/Standard Premium car – four Standard cars
Class 807 train – Hitachi – Seven-car – two First/Standard Premium car – five Standard cars

Note.

The Class 805 and Class 807 Hitachi trains are very much plug-and-play and can be lengthened or shortened as required.
A regular passenger between London and Liverpool, who regularly upgrades from Standard to Standard Premium in a Class 390 train could be a bit miffed if he couldn’t, because the service was being run by a Class 807 train.
Hitachi would probably be very happy to add extra cars to the Class 805 and Class 807 trains.

As the Class 390 Pendolino trains are being refurbished, I do wonder if they will be receiving some fittings from the Hitachi trains to make sure the trains are consistent to both on-board staff and passengers.

Pendolino Investment

The Pendolino refurbishment is comprehensive.

It is one of the largest such programmes ever undertaken in the UK.
Leasing company; Angel Trains are funding the work.
Alstom are doing the work at Widnes.
There appears to be a smooth plan to refurbish all trains.
Coach G will be converted from First to Standard accommodation in eleven-car trains.
Mr. Whittingham says that all trains will come out looking like a new train.

The eleven-car trains are being converted first, as the conversion of Coach G gives a capacity benefit of around thirty seats.

The awful seats in Standard Class will be replaced with Lumo-style seats and laptop-friendly fold-down tables.

These seats will be a big improvement!

New Trains Coming

This paragraph introduces the new trains.

The second major fleet investment from Avanti is the £350 million for new trains from Hitachi, financed by Rock Rail. These comprise 13×5-car Class 805 bi-modes, ordered for destinations off the electrified route including North Wales and Shrewsbury and 10×7-car Class 807 electrics. Deployment plans for the latter are still being worked through but are likely to include services to Birmingham and Liverpool, and potentially to Blackpool.

What is not said in this paragraph, is that all trains have a redesigned front end, which I suspect is more aerodynamic.

The all-electric Class 807 trains have no diesel engines or batteries, so have they been put on a diet, to improve the acceleration?

In Will Avanti West Coast’s New Trains Be Able To Achieve London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street In Two Hours?, I came to these conclusions.

A two hour service between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street will be possible with Avanti West Coast’s new Class 807 trains.
The current Class 390 trains could go a bit faster and if they cut out a couple of stops could probably break two hours.

I also calculated that a two tph service between London and Liverpool in two hours would need nine trains.

Timetable Changes

This paragraph introduces the article’s section on timetable changes.

The project in turn feeds into a major timetable change planned by Avanti and other West Coast main line operators. This will be the first significant change to West Coast main line schedules since 2008; ‘the world has changed, and we need to think about how we best serve our markets’ says Mr Whittingham.

This paragraph sums up the major changes.

Of note are the planned changes to the pattern of London to West Midlands services; the pre-Covid 20-minute interval would be amended to offer faster journey times and greater connectivity. Also featuring in the new timetable aspirations would be additional Trent Valley calls in some Liverpool and Manchester services; Mr Whittingham cites as one benefit of this the potential for improved journey times between the North West and the East Midlands via a change of train at Nuneaton. The Hitachi trains, with their better acceleration, will be particularly useful on services with more frequent stops.

The next three sections will look at some timetable changes in a bit more detail.

London And West Midlands Services

Replacement of twenty diesel Class 221 trains with thirteen bi-mode Class 805 trains will mean a major reorganisation of services to the West Midlands.

Some current diesel services will now be electric.
All services between Birmingham New Street and Euston will now be electric.
No services will run on diesel under live electrification.
Avanti have promised to serve Walsall.
There will be extra services to Shrewsbury and other places.

The electric services will also speed up some services to the West Midlands.

North West And East Midlands Services

I will look at train times for services between the North West (Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly) and the East Midlands (Leicester, Nottingham and Lincoln), where passengers change at Nuneaton.

These are the current fastest possible times according to the National Rail journey planner.

Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester -2:24 with changes at Crewe and Nuneaton,
Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 2:11 with change at Sheffield
Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:42 with no changes
Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 1:51 with no changes
Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 3:42 with changes at Sheffield and Doncaster
Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 2:38 with change at Sheffield

Note that times are in hours:minutes.

These are all current times for the various legs if the route is via Nuneaton.

Avanti West Coast – Liverpool Lime Street and Nuneaton – 1:18
Avanti West Coast – Manchester Piccadilly and Nuneaton – 1:13
CrossCountry – Nuneaton and Leicester – 0:27
East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Nottingham – 0:48 – Time from Leicester and Lincoln service.
East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Nottingham – 0:20 – Time from St. Pancras and Nottingham service.
East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Lincoln -1:42 – Time from Leicester and Lincoln service.
East Midlands Railway – Nottingham and Lincoln -0:52 – Time from Leicester and Lincoln service.

Note that the two Avanti West Coast times have been estimated by taking the time from Real Time Trains and adding three minutes for the acceleration or deceleration at Nuneaton.

These would be possible times between the North West and the East Midlands via Nuneaton.

Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester – 1:47
Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 1:42
Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:37
Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 2:32
Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 3:31
Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 3:26

Note that I am assuming changes at Nuneaton and Leicester are cross-platform or same platform changes that take two minutes.

But there is another level of improvement possible.

Suppose that East Midlands Railway’s Lincoln and Leicester service were to be extended to Nuneaton and run by a train with this specification.

125 mph operating speed.
Battery-electric power.
100 mph operating speed on battery power.
Range of 56 miles on battery
Ability to use the Midland Main Line electrification, when it is erected.

Charging stations would be needed at Nuneaton and Lincoln.

These would be possible times between the North West and the East Midlands via Nuneaton with the one change at Nuneaton.

Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester – 1:45
Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 1:40
Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:05
Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 2:00
Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 2:57
Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 2:52

Note.

I am assuming that the timings for the Nuneaton and Leicester and the Nottingham and Lincoln legs are as for the current trains.

I am assuming the change at Nuneaton is a cross-platform or same platform change that takes two minutes.

Trains run on battery where tracks are not electrified.

I can build a table of current times, times via Nuneaton and savings.

Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester -2:24 – 1:45 – 0:39
Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 2:11 – 1:40 – 0.31
Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:42 – 2:05 – 0:37
Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 1:51 – 2:00 – 0.09 slower
Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 3:42 – 2:57 – 0.45
Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 2:38 – 2:52 – 0:14 slower

It does appear that by using the 125 mph speed of the West Coast Main Line has a positive effect on some times from the North West to the East Midlands.

But times could be reduced further.

Installing full digital signalling, that would enable 140 mph running between Crewe and Nuneaton, could save ten minutes.
Improving the Nuneaton and Leicester and the Nottingham and Lincoln legs could allow faster running.

The more I look at changing at Nuneaton, I feel it is a good idea.

It improves the connections between East Midlands Parkway and Loughborough and the North West.
It improves the connections between Cambridge, Peterborough and Stansted Airport and the North West, if the change at Nuneaton is to CrossCountry’s Stansted Airport and Birmingham New Street service.
It improves the connections between Coventry and Leamington Spa and the North West.

Avanti have come up with a cunning plan, worthy of Baldrick at his best.

A Second Hourly Service Between London And Liverpool

A paragraph talks about the second hourly service between London and Liverpool.

Avanti still has ambitions to introduce a second hourly service between Euston and Liverpool, but when this will come in will depend on demand recovery.

Consider.

If would be desirable if some or all trains running on the route could achieve a timing of two hours between London and Liverpool.
It is felt that the second service should stop at Liverpool South Parkway station, where the platforms are too short for eleven-car Class 390 trains.
Avanti have stated they would like more stops in the Trent Valley, especially at Nuneaton, where they would connect to services to the East Midlands.
Nuneaton is almost exactly halfway between London and Liverpool.
Running two tph with Class 807 trains would need nine trains and Avanti have only ordered ten in total.

I believe that a practical timetable like this could work.

Class 390 train – one tph – Non-stop or perhaps a single stop in the Midlands – Under two hours
Class 807 train – one tph – Stopping at Nuneaton, Stafford, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway – Current time or better

An hourly service between London and Liverpool in under two hours would surely be a passenger magnet.

February 23, 2022 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 805 Train, Class 807 Train, East Coast Trains - Lumo, East Midlands Railway, Euston Station, Leicester Station, Lincoln Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Liverpool South Parkway Station, Midland Main Line, Midland Main Line Electrification, Nottingham Station, Nuneaton Station | 3 Comments

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

Arriving In Liverpool Lime Street Station – 14th October 2021

I took these pictures as I arrived into Liverpool Lime Street station today.

Note.

The train arrived in Platform 9.
I arrived in the last coach and took the pictures walking to the front of the train.
The platform is just long enough for an eleven-car Class 390 train, which is 265.3 metres long. These are the longest trains in Avanti West Coast’s fleet.
The train was numbered 390130 and named City of Edinburgh.

Network Rail’s platform designers seem to have pulled out all the tricks to fit an eleven-car Class 390 train in Platform 9 at Liverpool Lime Street station.

The new seven-car Class 807 trains will only be 182 metres long, so would appear to fit Platform 9 easily.

In Could Avanti West Coast Run A Lumo-Style Service Between London And Liverpool?, I looked at the various options to run a two trains per hour (tph) service between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.

I came to these conclusions.

The shorter Class 807 trains would be needed to run services that stop at Liverpool South Parkway station, which has shorter platforms.
If both hourly services were run by new Class 807 trains, there would be a 54 % increase in hourly capacity.
If one service was run by a Class 390 train and the Liverpool South Parkway service was run by a Class 807 train, this would give a 77 % increase in hourly capacity.
The Liverpool South Parkway service or both services would be very close to two hours.

Whatever is done, it would be a flagship service between London and Liverpool.

October 14, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 390 Train, Class 807 Train, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Liverpool South Parkway Station | 2 Comments

A Mysterious Attack On My Body

Last Friday, I went to Birmingham and looked at the extension of the West Midlands Metro to Fiveways and Perry Barr station before it is updated for the Commonwealth Games.

I also took a detour to Wolverhampton station to see how the new transport interchange is progressing.

I had travelled between Euston and Wolverhampton on my least favourite trains – Alstom’s Class 390 trains.

The seats don’t align well with the windows.
The trains are cramped because of all the tilting mechanism.

These trains must a nightmare for anybody taller than my 1.70 metres or heavier than my sixty-two kilos.

But the biggest problem of these Pendolino trains is that Alstom updated the air-conditioning a few years ago for Virgin a few years ago and I find the air inside too dry.

I am glad to see that Avanti West Coast have ordered new Hitachi Class 807 trains for running to and from Liverpool.

In my few hours in Birmingham, I didn’t have much to eat or drink.

I had a hot chocolate from a stall outside Wolverhampton station.
I also took a box of Leon’s gluten-free chicken and a lemonade onto the train home.

I was fine until I got to about Watford, but about I felt a need for the toilet. I waited until Euston and then it seemed everything in my body went down the toilet in the station.

Saturday

I had slept well on Friday night going to bed after the ten o’clock news as I usually do.

I spent a very quiet Saturday mainly watching sport on the television and not leaving my house.

Sunday

After a good night’s sleep, I noticed things seemed to have gone a bit wrong with my left hand.

I couldn’t get my left arm to co-operate with putting on a shirt.
I had trouble opening a yoghurt pot, by gripping it in my left hand and ripping the top off with my right.
I couldn’t tie my shoe-laces and had to use a pair of slip on shoes.

But

At no time was I having any balance problems and bathed successfully,
I did manage to get to the shops at the Angel to get a few bits and pieces I needed.

In the end I phoned 111 and they decided, I should be looked at professionally in hospital.

Royal London Hospital

Once in A & E at the Royal London things started to get better.

A CT-Scan had shown no problems.
I had a negative Covid test.
They did a few blood tests.
They told me that I had an infection.

But remarkably after an hour or so, my hand had started working normally.

The only reason, I could think, was that the air in the hospital was fully climate-controlled, whereas at home, it was just hot and dry.

They kept me in overnight and after a couple of human-based checks in the morning sent me home in a taxi.

Conclusion

The whole episode does seem so like an incident I described in A Couple of Days in Hospital.

May 12, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Health, Transport/Travel | Class 390 Train, Class 807 Train, Commonwealth Games 2022, COVID-19 Testing, Perry Barr Station, Royal London Hospital, West Midlands Metro, Wolverhampton Station | 5 Comments

Hitachi Targets Next Year For Testing Of Tri-Mode IET

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

This is the first two paragraphs.

Testing of a five-car Hitachi Class 802/0 tri-mode unit will begin in 2022, and the train could be in traffic the following year.

It is expected that the train will save more than 20% of fuel on Great Western Railway’s London Paddington-Penzance route.

This is the Hitachi infographic, which gives the train’s specification.

I have a few thoughts and questions.

Will The Batteries Be Charged At Penzance?

Consider.

It is probably not a good test of customer reaction to the Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, if it doesn’t work on batteries in stations through Cornwall.
Every one of the eight stops in Cornwall will need an amount of battery power.
London trains seem to take at least half-an-hour to turn round at Penzance.
London trains seem to take around 7-13 minutes for the stop at Plymouth.

So I think, that batteries will probably need to be charged at Penzance and possibly Plymouth, to achieve the required battery running,

There is already sufficient time in the timetable.

A charging facility in Penzance station would be a good test of Hitachi’s method to charge the trains.

Will Hyperdrive Innovation’s Battery Pack Be A Simulated Diesel Engine?

At the age of sixteen, for a vacation job, I worked in the Electronics Laboratory at Enfield Rolling Mills.

It was the early sixties and one of their tasks was at the time replacing electronic valve-based automation systems with new transistor-based systems.

The new equipment had to be compatible to that which it replaced, but as some were installed in dozens of places around the works, they had to be able to be plug-compatible, so that they could be quickly changed. Occasionally, the new ones suffered infant-mortality and the old equipment could just be plugged back in, if there wasn’t a spare of the new equipment.

So will Hyperdrive Innovation’s battery-packs have the same characteristics as the diesel engines that they replace?

Same instantaneous and continuous power output.
Both would fit the same mountings under the train.
Same control and electrical power connections.
Compatibility with the trains control computer.

I think they will as it will give several advantages.

The changeover between diesel engine and battery pack could be designed as a simple overnight operation.
Operators can mix-and-match the number of diesel engines and battery-packs to a given route.
As the lithium-ion cells making up the battery pack improve, battery capacity and performance can be increased.
If the computer, is well-programmed, it could reduce diesel usage and carbon-emissions.
Driver conversion from a standard train to one equipped with batteries, would surely be simplified.

As with the diesel engines, all battery packs could be substantially the same across all of Hitachi’s Class 80x trains.

How Many Trains Can Eventually Be Converted?

Great Western Railway have twenty-two Class 802/0 trains.

They are five-cars.
They have three diesel engines in cars 2, 3 and 4.
They have a capacity of 326 passengers.
They have an operating speed of 125 mph on electrification.
They will have an operating speed of 140 mph on electrification with in-cab ERTMS digital signalling.
They have an operating speed of 110 mph on diesel.
They can swap between electric and diesel mode at line speed.

Great Western Railway also have these trains that are similar.

14 – nine-car Class 802/1 trains
36 – five-car Class 800/0 trains
21 – nine-car Class 800/3 trains

Note.

The nine-car trains have five diesel engines in cars 2,3, 5, 7 and 8
All diesel engines are similar, but those in Class 802 trains are more powerful, than those in Class 800 trains.

This is a total of 93 trains with 349 diesel engines.

In addition, there are these similar trains in service or on order with other operators.

LNER – 13 – nine-car Class 800/1 trains
LNER – 10 – five-car Class 800/2 trains
LNER – 12 – five-car Class 801/1 trains
LNER – 30 – nine-car Class 801/2 trains
TransPennine Express – 19 – five-car Class 802/2 trains
Hull Trains – 5 – five-car Class 802/3 trains
East Coast Trains – 5 – five-car Class 803 trains
Avanti West Coast – 13 – five-car Class 805 trains
Avanti West Coast – 10 – seven-car Class 807 trains
East Midland Railway – 33 – five-car Class 810 trains

Note.

Class 801 trains have one diesel engine for emergency power.
Class 803 trains have no diesel engines, but they do have a battery for emergency power.
Class 805 trains have an unspecified number of diesel engines. I will assume three.
Class 807 trains have no batteries or diesel engines.
Class 810 trains have four diesel engines.

This is a total of 150 trains with 395 diesel engines.

The Rail Magazine finishes with this paragraph.

Hitachi believes that projected improvements in battery technology, particularly in power output and charge, could enable diesel engines to be incrementally replaced on long-distance trains.

Could this mean that most diesel engines on these Hitachi trains are replaced by batteries?

Five-Car Class 800 And Class 802 Trains

These trains are mainly regularly used to serve destinations like Bedwyn, Cheltenham, Chester, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Lincoln, Oxford and Shrewsbury, which are perhaps up to fifty miles beyond the main line electrification.

They have three diesel engines, which are used when there is no electrification.
I can see many other destinations, being added to those reached by the Hitachi trains, that will need similar trains.

I suspect a lot of these destinations can be served by five-car Class 800 and Class 802 trains, where a number of the diesel engines are replaced by batteries.

Each operator would add a number of batteries suitable for their routes.

There are around 150 five-car bi-mode Hitachi trains in various fleets in the UK.

LNER’s Nine-Car Class 800 Trains

These are mainly used on routes between London and the North of Scotland.

In LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, I suggested that to run a zero-carbon service to Inverness and Aberdeen, LNER might acquire rakes of carriages hauled by zero-carbon hydrogen electric locomotives.

Hydrogen power would only be used North of the current electrification.
Scotland is looking to have plenty of hydrogen in a couple of years.
No electrification would be needed to be erected in the Highlands.
InterCity 225 trains have shown for forty years, that locomotive-hauled trains can handle Scottish services.
I also felt that the trains could be based on a classic-compatible design for High Speed Two.

This order could be ideal for Talgo to build in their new factory at Longannet in Fife.

LNER’s nine-car Class 800 trains could be converted to all-electric Class 801 trains and/or moved to another operator.

There is also the possibility to fit these trains with a number of battery packs to replace some of their five engines.

If the planned twenty percent fuel savings can be obtained, that would be a major improvement on these long routes.

LNER’s Class 801 Trains

These trains are are all-electric, but they do have a diesel engine for emergencies.

Will this be replaced by a battery pack to do the same job?

Battery packs are probably cheaper to service.
Battery packs don’t need diesel fuel.
Battery packs can handle regenerative braking and may save electricity.

The installation surely wouldn’t need too much test running, as a lot of testing will have been done in Class 800 and Class 802 trains.

East Coast Trains’ Class 803 Trains

These trains have a slightly different powertrain to the Class 801 trains. Wikipedia says this about the powertrain.

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.

The trains are in the process of being built, so I suspect batteries can be easily fitted.

Could it be, that all five-car trains are identical body-shells, already wired to be able to fit any possible form of power? Hitachi have been talking about fitting batteries to their trains since at least April 2019, when I wrote, Hitachi Plans To Run ScotRail Class 385 EMUs Beyond The Wires.

I suspect that Hitachi will use a similar Hyperdrive Innovation design of battery in these trains, as they are proposing for the Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
If all trains fitted with diesel engines, use similar MTU units, would it not be sensible to only use one design of battery pack?
I suspect, that as the battery on a Class 803 train, will be mainly for emergency use, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that these trains could be the first to run in the UK, with a battery.
The trains would also be simpler, as they are only battery-electric and not tri-mode. This would make the software easier to develop and test.

If all trains used the same battery pack design, then all features of the pack, would be available to all trains to which it was fitted.

Avanti West Coast’s Class 805 Trains

In Hitachi Trains For Avanti, which was based on an article with the same time in the January 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, I gave this quote from the magazine article.

Hitachi told Modern Railways it was unable to confirm the rating of the diesel engines on the bi-modes, but said these would be replaceable by batteries in future if specified.

Note.

Hitachi use diesel engines with different ratings in Class 800 and Class 802 trains, so can probably choose something suitable.
The Class 805 trains are scheduled to be in service by 2022.
As they are five-cars like some Class 800 and Class 802 trains will they have the same basic structure and a powertrain with three diesel engines in cars 2, 3 and 4?

I think shares a basic structure and powertrain will be very likely, as there isn’t enough time to develop a new train.

I can see that as Hitachi and Great Western Railway learn more about the performance of the battery-equipped Class 802 trains on the London and Penzance route, that batteries could be added to Avanti West Coast’s Class 805 trains. After all London Euston and North Wales and London Paddington and Cornwall are routes with similar characteristics.

Both routes have a high speed electrified section out of London.
They have a long section without electrification.
Operating speeds on diesel are both less than 100 mph, with sections where they could be as low as 75 mph.
The Cornish route has fifteen stops and the Welsh route has seven, so using batteries in stations will be a welcome innovation for passengers and those living near the railway.

As the order for the Avanti West Coast trains was placed, whilst Hitachi were probably designing their battery electric upgrade to the Class 800 and Class 802 trains, I can see batteries in the Class 805 trains becoming an early reality.

In Hitachi Trains For Avanti, I also said this.

Does the improvement in powertrain efficiency with smaller engines running the train at slower speeds help to explain this statement from the Modern Railways article?

Significant emissions reduction are promised from the elimination of diesel operation on electrified sections as currently seen with the Voyagers, with an expected reduction in CO2 emissions across the franchise of around two-thirds.

That is a large reduction, which is why I feel, that efficiency and batteries must play a part.

Note.

The extract says that they are expected savings not an objective for some years in the future.
I have not done any calculations on how it might be achieved, as I have no data on things like engine size and expected battery capacity.
Hitachi are aiming for 20 % fuel and carbon savings on London Paddington and Cornwall services.
Avanti West Coast will probably only be running Class 805 trains to Chester, Shrewsbury and North Wales.
The maximum speed on any of the routes without electrification is only 90 mph. Will less powerful engines be used to cut carbon emissions?

As Chester is 21 miles, Gobowen is 46 miles, Shrewsbury is 29.6 miles and Wrexham General is 33 miles from electrification, could these trains have been designed with two diesel engines and a battery pack, so that they can reach their destinations using a lot less diesel.

I may be wrong, but it looks to me, that to achieve the expected reduction in CO2 emissions, the trains will need some radical improvements over those currently in service.

Avanti West Coast’s Class 807 Trains

In the January 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, is an article, which is entitled Hitachi Trains For Avanti.

This is said about the ten all-electric Class 807 trains for Birmingham, Blackpool and Liverpool services.

The electric trains will be fully reliant on the overhead wire, with no diesel auxiliary engines or batteries.

It may go against Hitachi’s original design philosophy, but not carrying excess weight around, must improve train performance, because of better acceleration.

I believe that these trains have been designed to be able to go between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street stations in under two hours.

I show how in Will Avanti West Coast’s New Trains Be Able To Achieve London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street In Two Hours?

Consider.

Current London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street timings are two hours and thirteen or fourteen minutes.
I believe that the Class 807 trains could perhaps be five minutes under two hours, with a frequency of two trains per hour (tph)
I have calculated in the linked post, that only nine trains would be needed.
The service could have dedicated platforms at London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.
For comparison, High Speed Two is promising one hour and thirty-four minutes.

This service would be a Marketing Manager’s dream.

I can certainly see why they won’t need any diesel engines or battery packs.

East Midland Railway’s Class 810 Trains

The Class 810 trains are described like this in their Wikipedia entry.

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.

In addition, the following information has been published about the trains.

The trains are expected to be capable of 125 mph on diesel.
Is this speed, the reason for the fourth engine?
It is planned that the trains will enter service in 2023.

I also suspect, that like the Class 800, Class 802 and Class 805 trains, that diesel engines will be able to be replaced with battery packs.

Significant Dates And A Possible Updating Route For Hitachi Class 80x Trains

I can put together a timeline of when trains are operational.

2021 – Class 803 trains enter service.
2022 – Testing of prototype Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train
2022 – Class 805 trains enter service.
2022 – Class 807 trains enter service.
2023 – First production Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train enters service.
2023 – Class 810 trains enter service.

Note.

It would appear to me, that Hitachi are just turning out trains in a well-ordered stream from Newton Aycliffe.
As testing of the prototype Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train proceeds, Hitachi and the operators will learn how, if batteries can replace some or even all of the diesel engines, the trains will have an improved performance.
From about 2023, Hitachi will be able to design tri-mode trains to fit a customer’s requirements.
Could the powertrain specification of the Class 810 trains change, in view of what is shown by the testing of the prototype Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train?
In parallel, Hyperdrive Innovation will be building the battery packs needed for the conversion.

Batteries could be fitted to the trains in three ways,

They could be incorporated into new trains on the production line.
Batteries could be fitted in the depots, during a major service.
Trains could be returned to Newton Aycliffe for battery fitment.

Over a period of years as many trains as needed could be fitted with batteries.

Conclusion

I believe there is a plan in there somewhere, which will convert many of Hitachi’s fleets of trains into tri-mode trains with increased performance, greater efficiency and less pollution and carbon emissions.

January 8, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 800 Train, Class 802 Train, Class 805 Train, Class 807 Train, Class 810 Train, Diesel/Electric/Battery Hybrid Trains, Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, Hyperdrive Innovation | 3 Comments

High Speed Two And Scotland

In this post, I will only look at services and capacity.

I will leave the economics to others with the appropriate data.

Current Anglo-Scottish Services

Currently, these services run between England and Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central stations.

1 train per hour (tph) – Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Glasgow Central via Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle.
1 train per two hours (tp2h) – Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Glasgow Central via Milton Keynes Central, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Sandwell and Dudley, Wolverhampton, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle.
1 tp2h – CrossCountry – South-West England and Edinburgh Waverley via Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds, York and Newcastle.
1 tp2h – CrossCountry – South-West England and Glasgow Central via Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley.
1 tph – LNER – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley via York, Darlington, Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed
1 tph – LNER – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley via Peterborough, Newark North Gate, Doncaster, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle
1 tph – TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Newton-le-Willows, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Morpeth
1 tp2h – TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Waverley via Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Bolton, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle.
3 trains per day (tpd) – TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central via St. Helen’s Central, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle.
1 tp2h – TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central via Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Bolton, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle.

Note.

I’ve not included service extensions to Aberdeen and Inverness.
I’ve cut out a few smaller stations
Some services call at both Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Because of signalling and track improvements it is likely that London Kings Cross and Edinburgh timings will come down to four hours.

The services can be roughly summarised as follows.

Birmingham and Edinburgh – 0.5 tph
Birmingham and Glasgow – 1 tph
London and Edinburgh – 2 tph
London and Glasgow – 1.5 tph
Leeds and Edinburgh – 1.5 tph
Leeds and Glasgow – 0.5 tph
Liverpool and Edinburgh – 1 tph
Liverpool and Glasgow – 3 tpd
Manchester and Edinburgh – 1.5 tph
Manchester and Glasgow – 0.5 tph
Manchester Airport and Edinburgh – 0.5 tph
Manchester Airport and Glasgow – 0.5 tph

Note.

I have ignored the five tpd London Kings Cross and Edinburgh service, that starts next year, which will be run by East Coast Trains.
0.5 tph is equivalent to one tp2h.

It looks a fairly well-balanced and comprehensive service.

High Speed Two Anglo-Scottish Services

According to a table in the June 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, these High Speed Two services will run between England and Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.

1 tph – London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley via Old Oak Common, Preston, Carlisle and Edinburgh Haymarket
1 tph – London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley via Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange, Preston, Carlisle and Edinburgh Haymarket
1 tph – London Euston and Glasgow Central via Old Oak Common, Preston and Carlisle
1 tph – London Euston and Glasgow Central via Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange, Preston and Carlisle
1 tp2h – Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme or Penrith, Carlisle and Edinburgh Haymarket.
1 tp2h – Birmingham Curzon Street and Glasgow Central via Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme or Penrith, Carlisle, Lockerbie and Motherwell.

Note.

All trains will be High Speed Two’s 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains.
The four one tph services will run as two pairs of trains and split and join at Carlisle.

The services can be roughly summarised as follows.

Birmingham and Edinburgh – 1.5 tph
Birmingham and Glasgow – 1.5 tph
London and Edinburgh – 2 tph
London and Glasgow – 2 tph

Note.

Passengers between Liverpool or Manchester and Scotland will have to change at Preston.
There is no connection between the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two and Edinburgh.
London and Edinburgh Waverley will take three hours and forty minutes, which saves twenty minutes on the likely four hours on the East Coast Main Line.
London and Glasgow Central will take three hours and forty minutes, which saves fifty minutes on the current time.

High Speed Two certainly provides good services between London, Birmingham and Scotland, but it leaves out travelling between the cities of the North and North of the Border.

High Speed Two Classic-Conventional Trains

In Thoughts On Class 807 Trains And High Speed Two’s Classic-Compatible Trains, I discussed a design of Classic-Compatible High Speed Two train based on the recently-ordered Class 807 trains for Avanti West Coast.

Except for the required speeds, the specifications of the trains are similar and this was my conclusion.

I wouldn’t be surprised that Hitachi’s offering for more trains on the West Coast Main Line and the Classic-Compatible trains for High Speed Two are very similar to the Class 807 trains.

- The Classic-Compatible trains for High Speed Two could be eight-car trains with twenty-five metre cars.
- The replacements for the eleven-car Class 390 trains could be nine-car trains with twenty-six metre cars.

Both would be based on the Class 807 train.

A common design would surely ease operation of the combined West Coast Partnership.

TransPennine Express Between Liverpool Lime Street And Edinburgh

Will this TransPennine Express service still be the primary connection between the North of England and Edinburgh?

It has a frequency of one tph.
It takes about four hours and fifty minutes.
It connects Liverpool, Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle to the Scottish capital.
According to Real Time Trains, it runs as far as York on diesel and then using the electrification.

Current plans envisage Northern Powerhouse Rail will create an electrified route across the Pennines.

This report on the Transport for the North web site, is entitled At A Glance – Northern Powerhouse Rail.

It gives these times and frequencies for the various legs of the route.

Liverpool and Manchester via Manchester Airport – 26 minutes – 6 tph
Manchester and Leeds – 25 minutes – 6 tph
Leeds and Newcastle – 58 minutes – 4 tph
Newcastle and Edinburgh – 90 minutes

This totals to three hours and nineteen minutes.

Note.

The Newcastle and Edinburgh time is that currently achievable today by Class 801 trains.
Liverpool and Manchester city centres have a six tph high speed service via Manchester Airport.
Manchester and Edinburgh will be under three hours.
Leeds and Edinburgh will be under two-and-a-half hours.
The Manchester and Manchester Airport leg could be shared with High Speed Two.

Most of this will be achievable with the current TransPennine Express Class 802 trains, which are capable of 140 mph.

In addition, I think that it is likely that the East Coast Main Line will be upgraded between York and Newcastle for High Speed Two.

Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh will unlikely be to High Speed Two standards, but it could match the standards of the East Coast Main Line.

Improvements To The East Coast Main Line Between Newcastle and Edinburgh

Consider

There have been reports that the power supply on the route is not very robust and Class 800 and Class 802 trains have to use diesel power.
The route is fairly straight and could probably be partially-upgraded for 140 mph running with appropriate signalling.
The route carries about five tph in both directions. Modern digital signalling could probably double this frequency.
The Scottish Government has suggested adding new stations at East Linton and Reston.
Edinburgh and Newcastle are 124.5 miles apart and trains typically take ninety minutes.

In addition, High Speed Two might like to extend some or all of their three Newcastle services to Edinburgh.

1 tph – Birmingham Curzon Street and Newcastle via East Midlands Hub, York, Darlington and Durham
1 tph – London Euston and Newcastle via Old Oak Common and York
1 tph – London Euston and Newcastle via Old Oak Common, York and Darlington.

High Speed Two will run between London Euston and Newcastle in two hours and seventeen minutes.

I think it could be possible, that an upgraded Newcastle and Edinburgh route could be covered in seventy minutes by either one of High Speed Two’s Classic Compatible trains or a Class 80x train.

This could mean these timings.

Under four hours for classic services between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
Around three hours for classic services between Liverpool and Edinburgh.
Under three-and-a-half hours for High Speed Two services between London Euston and Edinburgh.

This shows the importance of improving the East Coast Main Line to the North of Newcastle.

Improvements To The West Coast Main Line Between Carlisle and Glasgow/Edinburgh

If the frequency and speed of trains on the East Coast Main Line can be increased, what can be done on the West Coast Main Line?

Consider.

High Speed Two are showing Carlisle and Glasgow Central as a one hour and nineteen minute journey. Avanti West Coast do the journey in one hour and eleven minutes.
High Speed Two are showing Carlisle and Edinburgh as a one hour and eleven minute journey. Avanti West Coast do the journey in one hour and fifteen minutes.
Could the route be fully upgraded for 140 mph running with appropriate signalling?
In a typical hour, there are two Avanti West Coast trains and one TransPennine Express passing along all or part of the West Coast Main Line North of Carlisle.
The route carries a total of about four tph in both directions. Modern digital signalling could probably increase this frequency.
Hitachi and Avanti West Coast seem to be saying that their new Class 807 trains have similar performance to the Class 390 trains, but without using tilting technology.

There doesn’t appear to be the scope for such dramatic improvement in the West, as in the East, but I can still see a succession of 140 mph trains running between Carlisle and Glasgow or Edinburgh in no more than an hour and eleven minutes.

These passenger services could be running North of Carlisle, when High Speed Two is fully open.

2 tph – High Speed Two – London Euston and Edinburgh – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
2 tph – High Speed Two – London Euston and Glasgow Central – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
0.5 tph – High Speed Two – Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
0.5 tph – High Speed Two – Birmingham Curzon Street and Glasgow Central – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
0.5 tph – TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Edinburgh – Class 397 train
0.5 tph – TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central – Class 397 train
3 tpd – TransPennine Express – Liverpool and Glasgow Central – Class 397 train

Note.

I am assuming that Avanti West Coast’s services will be replaced by the High Speed Two services.
As the TransPennine Express services share a path, it would appear that six tph will be running between Carlisle and Edinburgh or Glasgow.

There would appear to be space for more trains on the West Coast Main Line, to the North of Carlisle.

A Few Random Thoughts

These are a few random thoughts and ideas.

Avanti West Coast And High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains

Avanti West Coast will have these fleets of high-speed trains.

11-car Class 390 electric trains, which are 265.3 metres long
9-car Class 390 electric trains, which are 217.5 metres long.
7-car Class 807 electric trains, which will be 182 metres long
5-car Class 805 bi-mode trains, which will be 130 metres long
High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains, which will be 200 metres long
Full-size High Speed Two trains, which will be 400 metres long.

It would appear that there could be some fleet simplification.

All Passenger Trains Between Newcastle Or Carlisle and Glasgow Central Or Edinburgh Should Be Capable Of Operating At 140 mph

Both the East and West Coast Main Lines between Carlisle and Newcastle in England and Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland are not far off being capable of running trains at 140 mph. Modern digital in-cab signalling and some track works will be needed.

Once 140 mph running is achieved, then all trains will need to be capable of making use of the speed, to maximise the capacity of the routes.

Freight Trains Between Newcastle Or Carlisle and Glasgow Central Or Edinburgh Should Be Capable Of Operating As Fast As Possible

Freight trains will need to be hauled by electric locomotives, at as high a speed as possible, to avoid slowing the express passenger trains.

More well-positioned freight loops may be needed.

Will TransPennine’s Manchester And Scotland Service Transfer To High Speed Two?

I think, that this is highly likely.

The service would be run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
Depending on track layout, the Liverpool and Scotland service on the West Coast Main Line could be upgraded to the High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains or discontinued.

This would mean, that all passenger trains on the West Coast Main Line North of Lancaster would be High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.

2 tph – High Speed Two – London Euston and Edinburgh – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
2 tph – High Speed Two – London Euston and Glasgow Central – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
0.5 tph – High Speed Two – Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
0.5 tph – High Speed Two – Birmingham Curzon Street and Glasgow Central – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
0.5 tph – High Speed Two – Manchester Airport and Edinburgh – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
0.5 tph – High Speed Two – Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train
3 tpd – High Speed Two – Liverpool and Glasgow Central – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train

This must mean that if the operating speed on the West Coast Main Line were to be increased, all passenger services could take advantage, which would surely improve timings.

What About CrossCountry?

CrossCountry run a single hourly service between Plymouth and Edinburgh.

The route goes via Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds, York, Newcastle.
Some services are extended to Glasgow Central and Aberdeen.

Currently, this service is run by a diesel train, which surely will need to be replaced with a zero-carbon train.

Consider.

Scotland is keen to electrify or allow electric trains to run between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
High Speed Two will provide an electrified route between Birmingham and York via East Midlands Hub for Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Leeds.
The likes of Hitachi and Adrian Shooter of Vivarail are very bullish about battery electric trains.
Great Western Railway, Hitachi and Network Rail have probably hired Baldrick for a cunning plan to run battery electric trains between Bristol and Penzance.

Could it be possible for Hitachi or another manufacturer to design a High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train, with a battery capability?

A train with this specification, could be ideal for the Plymouth and Edinburgh service.

It might also be useful for these CrossCountry services.

Southampton and Newcastle
Bournemouth and Manchester Piccadilly
Exeter St. Davids/Bristol and Manchester Piccadilly
Cardiff Central and Nottingham
Birmingham and Nottingham
Birmingham and Stansted Airport

Note.

All could run on High Speed Two fpr part of the route.
Birmingham and Nottingham has already been proposed for running using High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train, by Midlands Engine Rail, as I wrote about in Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station.
I proposed a Birmingham and Cambridge service using High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains in A Trip To Grantham Station – 4th November 2020.

High Speed Two could have a big positive effect on CrossCountry services.

Future Anglo-Scottish Services After High Speed Two Opens Fully

It is possible, that when High Speed Two fully opens, these services will run between England and Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central stations.

1 tp2h – CrossCountry – South-West England and Edinburgh Waverley via Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds, York and Newcastle.
1 tp2h – CrossCountry – South-West England and Glasgow Central via Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley.
1 tph – LNER – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley via York, Darlington, Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed
1 tph – LNER – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley via Peterborough, Newark North Gate, Doncaster, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle
1 tph – High Speed Two – London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley via Old Oak Common, Preston, Carlisle and Edinburgh Haymarket
1 tph – High Speed Two – London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley via Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange, Preston, Carlisle and Edinburgh Haymarket
1 tph – High Speed Two – London Euston and Glasgow Central via Old Oak Common, Preston and Carlisle
1 tph – High Speed Two – London Euston and Glasgow Central via Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange, Preston and Carlisle
1 tp2h – High Speed Two – Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme or Penrith, Carlisle and Edinburgh Haymarket.
1 tp2h – High Speed Two – Birmingham Curzon Street and Glasgow Central via Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme or Penrith, Carlisle, Lockerbie and Motherwell.
1 tph – TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Newton-le-Willows, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Morpeth
1 tp2h – High Speed Two – Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Waverley via Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Bolton, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle.
3 trains per day (tpd) – High Speed Two – Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central via St. Helen’s Central, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle.
1 tp2h – High Speed Two – Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central via Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Bolton, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle.

Note.

I have assumed that the Liverpool/Manchester services to Scotland via the West Coast Main Line have transferred to High Speed Two.
All trains would be run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.

The services can be roughly summarised as follows.

Birmingham and Edinburgh – 1.5 tph (0.5 tph)
Birmingham and Glasgow – 1.5 tph (1 tph)
London and Edinburgh – 4 tph (2 tph)
London and Glasgow – 2 tph (1.5 tph)
Leeds and Edinburgh – 1.5 tph (1.5 tph)
Leeds and Glasgow – 0.5 tph (0.5 tph)
Liverpool and Edinburgh – 1 tph (1 tph)
Liverpool and Glasgow – 3 tpd (3 tpd)
Manchester and Edinburgh – 1.5 tph (1.5 tph)
Manchester and Glasgow – 0.5 tph (0.5 tph)
Manchester Airport and Edinburgh – 0.5 tph (0.5 tph)
Manchester Airport and Glasgow – 0.5 tph (0.5 tph)

Note.

My estimates for the number of trains in the future, are probably best described as minimum figures.
The figures in brackets are the current frequencies.
Currently, there are eleven express trains between England and Scotland and after High Speed Two is fully open there could be at least fifteen express trains.

I have a few final thoughts.

Capacity Between England And Scotland

Capacity of the current and future Anglo-Scottish trains is as follows.

High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train – 500-600
Eleven-car Class 390 train – 589
Nine-car Class 800 train – 611

It appears that the all the longer trains have roughly the same capacity.

As there are now eleven Anglo-Scottish long trains and these will be increased to fifteen, that indicates an minimum 36 % increase in capacity.

Will High Speed Two And Northern Powerhouse Rail Share A Route Across The Pennines?

Northern Powerhouse Rail have talked about extending High Speed Two services from Manchester to Huddersfield, Leeds, Hull, York and Newcastle.

I wrote about this in Changes Signalled For HS2 Route In North.

I like this plan for the following reasons.

It gives more places like Huddersfield and Hull access to High Speed Two.

It increases frequencies across the North.

But most importantly, as infrastructure is shared, it saves a lot of money.

It also opens up possibilities for services.

The Liverpool and Edinburgh service could be run on the High Speed Two route across the Pennines and up the East Coast Main Line.
London and Manchester services could be extends to Leeds, York, Newcastle and Scotland.

If Northern Powerhouse Rail were to be cleared for High Speed Two’s Full-Size trains, it opens up the possibility of running them further North.

Conclusion

High Speed Two will increase Anglo-Scottish capacity by more than a third.

November 13, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Adrian Shooter, Avanti West Coast, Class 390 Train, Class 802 Train, Class 805 Train, Class 807 Train, CrossCountry Trains, East Coast Main Line, East Coast Trains - Lumo, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, LNER, Midlands Engine Rail, TransPennine Express, West Coast Main Line | Leave a comment

Thoughts On The Design Of Hitachi’s Battery Electric Trains

If you look at a Class 800 or Class 802 train, they have underfloor diesel engines. Their powertrain is described like this in its own section in Wikipedia.

Despite being underfloor, the generator units (GU) have diesel engines of V12 formation. The Class 801 has one GU for a five to nine-car set. These provide emergency power for limited traction and auxiliaries if the power supply from the overhead line fails. The Class 800 and Class 802 bi-mode has three GU per five-car set and five GU per nine-car set. A five-car set has a GU situated under vehicles 2/3/4 and a nine-car set has a GU situated under vehicles 2/3/5/7/8.

There have been rumours of overheating.

Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train

Hitachi have teamed up with Hyperdrive Innovation to create a Regional Battery Train. There is this Press Release on the Hyperdrive Information web site, which is entitled Hitachi Rail And Hyperdrive Agreement P[ens Way For Battery Trains Across Britain.

This Hitachi infographic gives the specification.

Note, that this is a 100 mph train, with a range of 56 miles.

Typical routes would include a route like Norwich and Stansted Airport via Cambridge.

It is 93 miles.
There are thirty-nine miles of electrification at the Stansted Airport end.
Norwich station is fully-electrified.
There is just 53 miles between the Trowse swing-bridge and Ely station, that is not electrified.

Trains would charge the batteries at both ends of the route and use battery power, where no electrification exists.

There are many similar routes like this in the UK.

Hitachi have also produced this video.

My thoughts lead me to a few questions.

Are The Battery Modules Simulated Diesel Engines?

At the age of sixteen, for a vacation job, I worked in the Electronics Laboratory at Enfield Rolling Mills.

It was the early sixties and one of their tasks was at the time replacing electronic valve-based automation systems with new transistor-based systems.

Stadler have three very similar trains, that are destined for the UK.

Class 755 trains for Greater Anglia are already in service.
Class 231 trains for Transport for Wales are on order.
Class 756 trains for Transport for Wales are on order.

All share the same PowerPack-in-the-Middle design, which is shown in this picture.

There are four slots in the PowerPack, with two on either side and they can all hold, either a diesel engine or a battery. Only, the Class 756 trains, are planned to have batteries at present, to make the trains tri-mode and capable of being powered by overhead electric, on-board batteries or a diesel generator.

If I was designing the battery modules to slot into the PowerPack, I and many other engineers would make the battery module deliver similar characteristics and plug compatibility to the diesel module.

The train’s control computer, would be simpler to program and debug and would use modules appropriately to drive the train according to the driver’s instructions.

This interchangeability would also give the operator lots of flexibility, in how they configured and used the trains.

So will Hyperdrive Innovation use an approach for Hitachi, where the battery module has similar characteristics and plug compatibility to the current diesel module?

I wouldn’t be surprised if they did, as it allows modules to be quickly swapped as operational needs change and the train’s computer sorts out the train’s formation and acts accordingly.

On An Hitachi Regional Battery Train Will All Diesel Engines Be Replaced With Battery Modules?

If the computer is well-programmed, it should handle any combination of diesel engines and battery modules.

Perhaps for various routes different combinations might apply.

For maximum battery range, all modules would be batteries.
For maximum power, all modules would be diesel engines.
To handle some out and back routes, there might be three battery modules and a diesel engine to charge the batteries before return.
Could perhaps one or two battery modules be fitted to avoid using the diesel engines in stations and in sensitive areas?

On some routes all diesel engines will be replaced with batteries on Battery Regional Trains, but on others there could be a mixture of both battery and diesel engines.

It should be noted that Stadler achieve the same flexibility with their PowerPack-in-the-Middle design.

Operators will like this flexibility.

What Is The Capacity Of A Battery Module?

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

I can do a simple estimate based on this figure.

When running on batteries the train will need less energy due to less air resistance, because it is going at 100 mph, rather than 125 mph.

If the energy use is proportional to the speed, then at 100 mph, the energy use will be 2.73 kWh per vehicle mile.
But if the energy use is proportional to the square of the speed, the energy use will be 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile.

I will compromise and use 2.5 kWh per vehicle mile.

Total energy needed to move a five-car train 56 miles would be 5 x 56 x 2.5 or 700 kWh, which could be three batteries of 233 kWh.

These are not outrageous sizes and the batteries could probably be of a comparable weight to the current diesel engines. So replacement wouldn’t affect the handling of the train.

In addition, the batteries would need to be large enough to hold all the regenerated by braking during a stop.

The weight of a Class 800 train is 243 tonnes.
It can carry 326 passengers, who probably weigh 80 Kg with baggage, bikes and buggies.
This gives a total train weight of 269 tonnes.
Using Omni’s Kinetic Energy Calculator, the kinetic energy at 100 mph is just 75 kWh.
For completeness, at 125 mph, the kinetic energy is 117 kWh and at 140 mph, the kinetic energy is 146 kWh.

All these figures are small compared to the battery size needed for traction.

Will East Coast Train’s Class 803 trains Use The Same Technology?

On East Coast Trains‘s Class 803 trains, batteries will be fitted to maintain onboard services, in case of a power failure.

Have these batteries been designed by Hyperdrive Innovation, with perhaps less capacity?

As East Coast Trains’s route between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh is fully electrified, the trains probably won’t need any auxiliary traction power.

But would increasing the battery size make this possible?

Where Do Avanti West Coast Class 807 Trains Fit In?

Avanti West Coast‘s Class 807 trains are also members of the same Hitachi A-Train family.

In the January 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article, which is entitled Hitachi Trains For Avanti.

This is said about the ten all-electric AT-300 trains for Birmingham, Blackpool and Liverpool services, which have now been numbered as Class 807 trains.

The electric trains will be fully reliant on the overhead wire, with no diesel auxiliary engines or batteries.

It may go against Hitachi’s original design philosophy, but not carrying excess weight around, must improve train performance, because of better acceleration.

It may also have the wiring for a diesel engine or a battery module, should operational experience indicate one is needed.

Will All Cars Be Wired Ready For A Diesel Or Battery Module?

A five-car Class 802 train currently has a diesel engine in cars 2, 3 and 4.

The Hitachi infographic says that a Regional Battery Train has a range of 56 miles on batteries.

Let’s assume that this range applies to a Class 802 train, that has been fitted with three battery modules.

If we take Hull Trains as an example, their Class 802 trains do the following sections using their diesel engines

Temple Hirst Junction and Beverley – 44.34 miles or 87 miles round trip
Temple Hirst Junction and Hull – 36 miles or 72 miles round trip

These distances mean that with a 56 mile range, there needs to be some form of changing at Hull and/or Beverley.

But supposing all cars are wired to accept batteries or diesel engines. This could mean the following.

A train with three batteries and a range of 56 miles, could fit a standard diesel engine as a range extender, which could also be used to charge the batteries at Hull or Beverley.
A train with four batteries, could have a range of 75 miles, which with regenerative braking and precise energy-saving driving could be able to go between Temple Hirst Junction and Hull and back on battery power.
A train with four batteries and a diesel engine,, could have a range of 75 miles on battery power. The diesel energy could be used as a range extender or to charge the batteries at Hull and/or Beverley.
Could a train with five batteries, which could have a range of 90 miles, be able to reach Beverley and return to Temple Hirst Junction?

Note.

I have assumed that battery range is proportional to the number of batteries.
There must also be scope for running slower to cut the amount of energy used.

In addition, all Hull Trains schedules seem to spend fifteen minutes or more in Hull station. This would be enough time to recharge the batteries.

I’m fairly certain, that if all cars were wired for batteries or diesel engines, it would give the operators a lot of flexibility.

Running With Batteries And A Range Extender Diesel Engine

The LEVC TX taxi is described as a plug-in hybrid range extender electric vehicle, where a small petrol engine, can also be used to generate electricity to power the vehicle.

Suppose a Class 802 train was fitted with two battery modules and a diesel engine. Could the diesel act as a range extender, in the same way as the petrol engine does on the LEVC TX?

The diesel engines fitted to a Class 802 train are 700 kW, so if I’m right about the train having total battery capacity of 700 kWh, one engine would take an hour to charge the batteries.

Returning to my Hull Trains example, drivers could probably ensure that the train didn’t get stranded by judicial use of the a single diesel engine to charge the batteries, whilst running in rural areas along the route.

As there would only be one diesel engine rather than three, the noise would be much lower.

I suspect too, that a simple charger in Hull station could charge a train, as it passes through, to make sure it doesn’t get stranded in the countryside.

I suspect that a mix of batteries and diesel engines could be part of an elegant solution on some routes.

Edinburgh and Aberdeen
Edinburgh and Inverness
London Kings Cross and Hull
London Paddington and Swansea
London St. Pancras and Sheffield.
London St. Pancras and Nottingham

It might also be a useful configuration on some TransPennine routes.

Charging Battery Trains

Having a charger in a terminal station would open up a lot of routes to Hitachi’s battery electric trains.

At stations like Hull and Scarborough, this charger could be as simple as perhaps forty metres of 25 KVAC overhead electrification.

The train would stop in the station at the appropriate place.
The driver would raise the pantograph.
Charging would start.
When the battery is fully-charged, the driver would lower the pantograph.

This procedure could be easily automated and the overhead wire could be made electrically dead, if no train is connected.

It should be noted that Hitachi have recently acquired ABB’s power grid business, as announced in this Hitachi press release which is entitled Hitachi Completes Acquisition of ABB’s Power Grids Business; Hitachi ABB Power Grids Begins Operation.

Rail is not mentioned, but mobility is. So will this move by Hitachi, strengthen their offering to customers, by also providing the systems in stations and sidings to charge the trains.

This Google Map shows Hull station, with its large roof.

Could an integrated solution involving solar panels over the station be used to power electrification to charge the trains and dome electric buses next door?

Integrated solutions powered by renewable energy would appeal to a lot of municipalities seeking to improve their carbon profile.

Conclusion

These trains will transform a lot of rail services in the UK and abroad.

October 9, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Charging Battery Trains, Class 800 Train, Class 802 Train, Class 803 Trains, Class 807 Train, Class 810 Train, Global Warming/Zero-Carbon, Hitachi, Hitachi Regional Battery Train, Regenerative Braking | 3 Comments

GWR Buys Vehicles Outright In HST Fleet Expansion

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

This is the introductory paragraph.

Despite concerns over future passenger numbers, the Department for Transport has given permission for Great Western Railway to procure three more shortened HST diesel trainsets, branded as the Castle Class by the franchisee.

These pictures show some of the Castle Class trains.

They must be profitable and/or popular with passengers.

If I have a problem with these trains, it is with the Class 43 diesel power cars.

Each train has two power cars.
It would appear that there are about 150 of the Class 43 power cars in regular service.
Each is powered by a modern MTU 16V4000 R41R diesel engine, that is rated at 1678 kW.
The engines are generally less than a dozen years old.
They will be emitting a lot of carbon dioxide.

As the trains are now only half as long as they used to be, I would suspect, that the engines won’t be working as hard, as they can.

Hopefully, this will mean less emissions.

The article says this about use of the fleet.

With its fleet now increasing to 14, GWR expects to use 12 each day on services across the west of England. Currently the fleet is deployed on the Cardiff – Bristol – Penzance corridor, but the company is still evaluating how the additional sets will be used.

It also says, that they are acquiring rolling stock from other sources. Some of which will be cannibalised for spares.

Are First Rail Holdings Cutting Carbon Emissions?

First Rail Holdings, who are GWR’s parent, have announced in recent months three innovative and lower-carbon fleets from Hitachi, for their subsidiary companies.

The Class 807 trains for Avanti West Coast will not have any diesel engines.
The Class 805 trains for Avanti West Coast will initially have diesel engines, but these may be changedin a few years for battery power packs.
The Class 803 trains for East Coast Trains will not have any diesel engines.

Hitachi have also announced a collaboration with Hyperdrive Innovation to provide battery packs to replace diesel engines, that could be used on Class 800 and Class 802 trains.

First Rail Holdings have these Class 800/802 fleets.

GWR – 36 x five-car Class 800 trains
GWR – 21 x nine-car Class 800 trains
GWR – 22 x five-car Class 802 trains
GWR – 14 x nine-car Class 802 trains
TransPennine Express – 19 x five-car Class 802 trains
Hull Trains – 5 x five-car Class 802 trains

Note.

That is a total of 117 trains.
As five-car trains have three diesel engines and nine-car trains have five diesel engines, that is a total of 357 engines.
In Could Battery-Electric Hitachi Trains Work Hull Trains’s Services?, I showed that Hull Trains could run their services with a Fast Charging system in Hull station.
In Could Battery-Electric Hitachi Trains Work TransPennine Express’s Services?, I concluded that Class 802 trains equipped with batteries could handle all their routes without diesel and some strategically-placed charging stations.

In the Wikipedia entry for the Class 800 train, there is a section called Powertrain, where this is said.

According to Modern Railways magazine, the limited space available for the GUs has made them prone to overheating. It claims that, on one day in summer 2018, “half the diagrammed units were out of action as engines shut down through overheating.

So would replacing some diesel engines with battery packs, also reduce this problem, in addition to cutting carbon emissions?

It does appear to me, that First Rail Holdings could be cutting carbon emissions in their large fleet of Hitachi Class 800 and Class 802 trains.

The Class 43 power cars could become a marketing nightmare for the company?

Could Class 43 Power Cars Be Decarbonised?

Consider.

Class 43 power cars are forty-five years old.
They have been rebuilt with new MTU engines in the last dozen years or so.
I suspect MTU and GWR know everything there is to know about the traction system of a Class 43 power car.
There is bags of space in the rear section of the power car.
MTU are part of Rolls-Royce, who because of the downturn in aviation aren’t performing very well!

But perhaps more importantly, the power cars are iconic, so anybody, who decarbonises these fabulous beasts, gets the right sort of high-class publicity.

I would also feel, if you could decarbonise these power cars, the hundreds of diesel locomotives around the world powered by similar diesel engines could be a useful market.

What methods could be used?

Biodiesel

Running the trains on biodiesel would be a simple solution.

It could be used short-term or long-term.
MTU has probably run the engines on biodiesel to see how they perform.
Biodiesel could also be used in GWR’s smaller diesel multiple units, like Class 150, 158, 165 and 166 trains.

Some environmentalists think biodiesel is cheating as it isn’t zero-carbon.

But it’s my view, that for a lot of applications it is a good interim solution, especially, as companies like Altalto, will be making biodiesel and aviation biofuel from household and industrial waste, which would otherwise be incinerated or go to landfill.

The Addition Of Batteries

This page on the Hitachi Rail Ltd web site shows this image of the V-Train 2.

This is the introduction to the research program, which was based on a High Speed Train, fotmed of two Class 43 power cars and four Mark 3 carriages.

The V-Train 2 was a demonstration train designed in order to demonstrate our skills and expertise while bidding for the Intercity Express Programme project.

The page is claiming, that a 20 % fuel saving could be possible.

This paragraph talks about performance.

The V-Train 2 looked to power the train away from the platform using batteries – which would in turn be topped up by regenerative braking when a train slowed down to stop at a station. Acceleration would be quicker and diesel saved for the cruising part of the journey.

A similar arrangement to that Hitachi produced in 2005 could be ideal.

Technology has moved on significantly in the intervening years.
The performance would be adequate for a train that just trundles around the West Country at 90 mph.
The space in the rear of the power car could hold a lot of batteries.
The power car would be quiet and emission-free in stations.
There would be nothing to stop the diesel engine running on biodiesel.

This might be the sort of project, that Hitachi’s partner in the Regional Battery Train; Hyperdrive Innovation. would probably be capable of undertaking.

MTU Hybrid PowerPack

I wouldn’t be surprised to find, that MTU have a drop-in solution for the current 6V4000 R41R diesel engine, that includes a significant amount of batteries.

This must be a serious possibility.

Rolls-Royce’s 2.5 MW Generator

In Our Sustainability Journey, I talk about rail applications of Rolls-Royce’s 2.5 MW generator, that has been developed to provide power for electric flight.

In the post, I discuss fitting the generator into a Class 43 power car and running it on aviation biofuel.

I conclude the section with this.

It should also be noted, that more-efficient and less-polluting MTU engines were fitted in Class 43s from 2005, so as MTU is now part of Rolls-Royce, I suspect that Rolls-Royce have access to all the drawings and engineers notes, if not the engineers themselves

But it would be more about publicity for future sales around the world, with headlines like.

Iconic UK Diesel Passenger Trains To Receive Green Roll-Royce Jet Power!

COVID-19 has given Rolls-Royce’s aviation business a real hammering, so perhaps they can open up a new revenue stream by replacing the engines of diesel locomotives,

I find this an intriguing possibility. Especially, if it were to be fitted with a battery pack.

Answering My Original Question

In answering my original question, I feel that there could be several ways to reduce the carbon footprint of a Class 43 power car.

It should also be noted that other operators are users of Class 43 power cars.

ScotRail – 56
CrossCountry – 12
East Midlands Railway – 39
Network Rail – 3

Note.

ScotRail’s use of the power cars, is very similar to that of GWR.
CrossCountry’s routes would need a lot of reorganisation to be run by say Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train.
East Midlands Railway are replacing their Inter-City 125s with new Class 810 trains.

The picture shows the power car of Network Rail’s New Measurement Train.

These may well be the most difficult to decarbonise, as I suspect they need to run at 125 mph on some routes, which do not have electrification and there are no 125 mph self-powered locomotives. After the Stonehaven crash, there may be more tests to do and a second train may be needed by Network Rail.

Why Are GWR Increasing Their Castle Class Fleet?

These are possible reasons.

GWR Want To Increase Services

This is the obvious explanation, as more services will need more trains.

GWR Want To Update The Fleet

There may be something that they need to do to all the fleet, so having a few extra trains would enable them to update the trains without cutting services.

GWR Want To Partially Or Fully Decarbonise The Power Cars

As with updating the fleet, extra power cars would help, as they could be modified first and then given a thorough testing before entering passenger service.

GWR Have Been Made An Offer They Can’t Refuse

Suppose Rolls-Royce, MTU or another locomotive power plant manufacturer has a novel idea, they want to test.

Over the years, train operating companies have often tested modified trains and locomotives for manufacturers.

So has a manufacturer, asked GWR to test something in main line service?

Are Other Train Operators Thinking Of Using Introducing More Short-Formed InterCity 125 Trains?

This question has to be asked, as I feel there could be routes, that would be suitable for a net-zero carbon version of a train, like a GWR Castle or a ScotRail Inter7City.

Northern Trains

Northern Trains is now run by the Department for Transport and has surely the most suitable route in the UK for a shorted-formed InterCity 125 train – Leeds and Carlisle via the Settle and Carlisle Line.

Northern Trains may have other routes.

Transport for Wales Rail Services

Transport for Wales Rail Services already run services between Cardiff Central and Holyhead using diesel locomotive hauled services and long distance services between South Wales and Manchester using diesel multiple units.

Would an iconic lower-carbon train be a better way of providing some services and attract more visitors to the Principality?

Conclusion

GWR must have a plan, but there are few clues to what it is.

The fact that the trains have been purchased rather than leased could be significant and suggests to me that because there is no leasing company involved to consult, GWR are going to do major experimental modifications to the trains.

They may be being paid, by someone like an established or new locomotive engine manufacturer.

It could also be part of a large government innovation and decarbonisation project.

My hunch says that as First Rail Holdings appear to be going for a lower-carbon fleet, that it is about decarbonising the Class 43 power cars.

The plan would be something like this.

Update the three new trains to the new specification.
Give them a good testing, before certifying them for service.
Check them out in passenger service.
Update all the trains.

The three extra trains would give flexibility and mean that there would always be enough trains for a full service.

Which Methods Could Be Used To Reduce The Carbon Footprint Of The Class 43 Power Cars?

These must be the front runners.

A Hitachi/Hyperdrive Innovation specialist battery pack.
An MTU Hybrid PowerPack.
A Rolls-Royce MTU solution based on the Rolls-Royce 2.5 MW generator with batteries.

All would appear to be viable solutions.

September 10, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Altalto, Class 43 Power Car, Class 800 Train, Class 802 Train, Class 803 Trains, Class 805 Train, Class 807 Train, Engineering, Great Western Railway, GWR Castles, Hitachi, Hyperdrive Innovation, Inter7City, InterCity 125, Regenerative Braking, Rolls-Royce, Rolls-Royce 2.5 MW Generator | 1 Comment

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