Nunhead Junction Improvement
London has a rail capacity problem, for both freight and passenger trains.
This report from Network Rail is entitled The London Rail Freight Strategy (LRFS).
One of the secondary recommendations of the report is to improve Nunhead junction.
The report explains it like this.
Rail freight stakeholders have consistently highlighted Nunhead as a priority location for improving the flow of freight around the London orbital routes. The junction to the immediate east of the station is a flat crossing where two lines of route and multiple passenger and freight services groups converge into the South London Line, creating a pinch point for capacity.
Freight train drivers, when consulted for input into this strategy, flagged the route eastbound from Peckham Rye through Nunhead and towards Lewisham as a challenging section on which to keep heavier trains moving. This is primarily a consequence of the relatively slow permissible speed of 25mph over Nunhead Junction when routed towards Lewisham,
which follows a steadily rising gradient from Peckham Rye.The option proposed by this strategy is for changes to the track alignment in order to increase the speed of the turnout towards Lewisham, as far as can be achieved without affecting the speed of the main route towards Catford. This option would primarily benefit the performance of eastbound freight flowing from the South London Line towards the North Kent lines, one of the key rail freight corridors in the South East, enabling freight trains to run at faster and more consistent speeds towards Lewisham.
This would most likely increase right time presentation at the critical flat junction at Lewisham, as well as assisting the flow of passenger and freight trains to the Catford Loop by ensuring preceding Lewisham-bound traffic can clear Nunhead Junction as quickly as possible.
Addressing the existing constraints to freight traffic through Nunhead, which by their nature most affect the heavier bulk traffic that characterises the North Kent corridor, would also support industry aspirations to maximise the payloads that trains can haul.
This map from cartometro.com shows the route between Nunhead and Lewisham stations.
And this Google Map shows Nunhead station and the junction.
Note.
- Nunhead junction is towards the right of the map.
- The lines going to the East go to Lewisham.
- The lines going to the South East go to Crofton Park and Catford.
- I have counted the freight trains through Nunhead junction on real time trains and there can be as main as six trains per hour (tph), through the junction at times, using both Lewisham and Crofton Park routes.
But there would also appear to be plenty of space around the junction to realign the tracks.
As many trains need to go East from Lewisham and there are two flat junctions on the route; Nunhead and Lewisham, anything that improves keeping to schedule is to be welcomed.
The Use Of Electric Haulage
All routes through Nunhead junction have 750 VDC third-rail electrification, but I suspect all freight trains through the junction are diesel hauled.
Real time trains also shows that many of the trains through Nunhead junction also use the West London Line through Shepherd’s Bush.
In Decarbonisation Of London’s Freight Routes, I proposed a dual-voltage battery-electric locomotive to handle freight trains.
Perhaps more capable battery-electric freight locomotives with their better acceleration, are part of the solution at Nunhead junction.
Conclusion
This appears to be a well-thought out solution to one of the problems for freight trains in London.
I also believe that dual-voltage battery-electric locomotives could be part of the solution at Nunhead junction and would also help in many other places on the UK rail network.
Related Posts
These are related posts about the London Rail Freight Strategy (LRFS).
Decarbonisation Of London’s Freight Routes
East Coast Main Line South Bi-Directional Capability
Gauge Improvements Across London
Headway Reductions On The Gospel Oak To Barking, North London and West London Lines
Heavy Axle Weight Restrictions
Kensal Green Junction Improvement
Longhedge Junction Speed Increases
Moving The West London Line AC/DC Switchover To Kensington Olympia
Moving The West London Line AC/DC Switchover To Shepherd’s Bush
Stratford Regulating Point Extension
Moving The West London Line AC/DC Switchover To Kensington Olympia
London has a rail capacity problem, for both freight and passenger trains.
This report from Network Rail is entitled The London Rail Freight Strategy (LRFS).
One of the secondary recommendations of the report is to move the switchover between AC and DC power on the West London Line to Kensington Olympia station. It says this about the switchover.
Although moving the changeover to Shepherd’s Bush would eliminate the need for passenger trains to slow down or stop at North Pole Junction, electrically hauled freight trains will still need to switch power supply modes whilst moving, wherever the AC/DC interface is located.
Due to the substantial incline facing trains running northward on the WLL, which increases in severity towards the Willesden end of the route, it would be preferable for the changeover to be made as far south as possible. This would enable freight trains to slow down to switch traction before reaching the worst of the gradient, giving them a much better chance of regaining line speed once drawing power from the OLE.
Although Kensington Olympia is less than a mile to the south of Shepherd’s Bush, the intervening route section is almost entirely level, with the incline commencing just before Shepherd’s Bush station and continuing to rise sharply along the rest of the WLL. The capacity and performance benefits of relocating the changeover are therefore likely to be greater if the overhead wires are extended to Kensington Olympia, removing the risk to traffic flow that would remain if freight trains were forced to switch whilst running uphill.
This would prepare the West London Line for the transition to electric freight that will be necessary as part of the decarbonisation of the railway over the next thirty years.
Resolving the current traction changeover issues for freight as well as passenger trains would support this transition by encouraging freight operators to invest in electric locomotives to run on the orbital routes, in the confidence that this constraint has been addressed.
I covered this recommendation in Moving The West London Line AC/DC Switchover To Shepherd’s Bush, as so many arguments are the same about the two stations.
This was my conclusion in the related post.
I believe, as probably do Network Rail, that Kensington Olympia station should be the station, where the switchover occurs.
I did add a caveat, that it is probably all down to money.
Related Posts
These are related posts about the London Rail Freight Strategy (LRFS).
Decarbonisation Of London’s Freight Routes
East Coast Main Line South Bi-Directional Capability
Gauge Improvements Across London
Headway Reductions On The Gospel Oak To Barking, North London and West London Lines
Heavy Axle Weight Restrictions
Kensal Green Junction Improvement
Longhedge Junction Speed Increases
Moving The West London Line AC/DC Switchover To Shepherd’s Bush
Stratford Regulating Point Extension
Moving The West London Line AC/DC Switchover To Shepherd’s Bush
London has a rail capacity problem, for both freight and passenger trains.
This report from Network Rail is entitled The London Rail Freight Strategy (LRFS).
One of the recommendations of the report is to move the switchover between AC and DC power on the West London Line to Shepherd’s Bush station. It says this about the switchover.
Extension of the overhead wires further along the WLL, to provide AC electrification as far south as Shepherd’s Bush station.
Two passenger train services run along the West London Line.
- Four tph – London Overground – Clapham Junction and Stratford
- One tph – Southern – Clapham Junction and Milton Keynes
Note.
- tph is trains per hour.
- London Overground would like to increase their service to six tph.
- All trains stop at Shepherd’s Bush station.
The West London Line (WLL) runs between Willesden Junction station in the North and Clapham Junction station in the South.
These are the stations and their electrification status.
- Willesden Junction – 25 KVAC Overhead Electrification
- Shepherd’s Bush – 750 VDC Third-Rail Electrification
- Kensington Olympia – 750 VDC Third-Rail Electrification
- West Brompton – 750 VDC Third-Rail Electrification
- Imperial Wharf – 750 VDC Third-Rail Electrification
The switchover is performed North of Shepherd’s Bush station with the train moving.
These pictures show the electrification to the North of Shepherd’s Bush station.
This double-electrification allows switchover, whilst the trains are moving.
This is said in the Network Rail document about moving the West London Line AC/DC switchover to Shepherd’s Bush station.
Extending the Overhead Line Equipment south to Shepherd’s Bush would enable passenger trains to change traction source whilst making their scheduled station stop.
A slight extension to dwell times at Shepherd’s Bush may be required, but the elimination of the need to slow down or, especially, to stop, as is the case for GTR trains, at North Pole Junction would release a significant amount of capacity.
Recent work carried out on behalf of Transport for London calculated that the relocation of the changeover to the Shepherd’s Bush could provide an indicative net saving of 7 minutes per hour, which is equivalent to an additional path and some additional time for timetable flexibility.
The LRFS capacity analysis concluded that this intervention could potentially release up to two additional timetable paths an hour in each direction.
Moreover, the analysis advised that eliminating the need for GTR services to stop to change traction at North Pole Junction would be of significant performance benefit even today.
This sounds to me like this us a good solution, that will give winners all round.
- I went North yesterday on a GTR (Southern) service and can confirm, the stop to switch voltage at North Pole junction.
- Extra paths are always good news.
- I have a feeling that the overhead electrification on the route isn’t the best, so Network Rail may even have to replace it anyway.
What I like about the proposal, is that if the switchover point is moved to Shepherd’s Bush station and in the very rare occurence of a switchover failure, the passengers can be easily evacuated from the train as it will most likely be in Shepherd’s Bush station, rather than in the industrial wastelands of West London.
These pictures show Shepherd’s Bush station.
Note.
- It looks like the bridges have been built high enough for overhead electrification.
- The platforms appear to be able to handle long trains.
- Putting up overhead gantries doesn’t look to be the most challenging of tasks.
I don’t think, that the engineering needed will be difficult and because of the gains outlined in the report, this project should be performed as soon as possible.
Should The AC/DC Switchover Be At Kensington Olympia Station?
The Network Rail document also muses about performing the AC/DC switchover at Kensington Olympia station.
This is said.
Although moving the changeover to Shepherd’s Bush would eliminate the need for passenger trains to slow down or stop at North Pole Junction, electrically hauled freight trains will still need to switch power supply modes whilst moving, wherever the AC/DC interface is located.
Due to the substantial incline facing trains running northward on the WLL, which increases in severity towards the Willesden end of the route, it would be preferable for the changeover to be made as far south as possible. This would enable freight trains to slow down to switch traction before reaching the worst of the gradient, giving them a much better chance of regaining line speed once drawing power from the OLE.
Although Kensington Olympia is less than a mile to the south of Shepherd’s Bush, the intervening route section is almost entirely level, with the incline commencing just before Shepherd’s Bush station and continuing to rise sharply along the rest of the WLL. The capacity and performance benefits of relocating the changeover are therefore likely to be greater if the overhead wires are extended to Kensington Olympia, removing the risk to traffic flow that would remain if freight trains were forced to switch whilst running uphill.
This would prepare the West London Line for the transition to electric freight that will be necessary as part of the decarbonisation of the railway over the next thirty years.
Resolving the current traction changeover issues for freight as well as passenger trains would support this transition by encouraging freight operators to invest in electric locomotives to run on the orbital routes, in the confidence that this constraint has been addressed.
Network Rail seem to have made a very strong case for switching between AC and DC power at Kensington Olympia station.
These Google Map shows Kensington Olympia station.
And these pictures show the station on a very wet day.
It doesn’t appear that there would be too many problems in electrifying Kensington Olympia station.
The only problem, may be the bridge at Addison Gardens to the North of Kensington Olympia station.
Although, Network Rail have an extensive range of tricks to get the wires through.
Conclusion
I believe, as probably do Network Rail, that Kensington Olympia station should be the station, where the switchover occurs.
But it’s all down to money.
It does seem to me, that the London Rail Freight Strategy is the first serious attempt to work out, the possible freight and passenger uses of the West London Line, which is one of those rail lines that has been designed by Topsy and accidents of history.
How many other rail routes in the UK, would be improved by a similar analysis?
Related Posts
These are related posts about the London Rail Freight Strategy (LRFS).
Decarbonisation Of London’s Freight Routes
East Coast Main Line South Bi-Directional Capability
Gauge Improvements Across London
Headway Reductions On The Gospel Oak To Barking, North London and West London Lines
Heavy Axle Weight Restrictions
Kensal Green Junction Improvement
Longhedge Junction Speed Increases
Moving The West London Line AC/DC Switchover To Kensington Olympia
Stratford Regulating Point Extension
Will Camden Road Station Get A Third Platform?
Will Clapham Junction Station Get A Platform 0?
The New Platform 8 At Cardiff Central Station
It’s been a long time, since I’ve been to Cardiff station and it now has a new platform on the South sisw, which is numbers 8.
It now looks like Cardiff Central has three platforms 6, 7 and 8 for most of the local services.
This Google Map shows the new South entrance.
Note.
- The actual entrance is the five-sided building at the bottom of the map.
- Platform 8 is in front of this building.
- Platforms 6 and 7 are either side of the island platform..
- The three platforms are connected by a subway.
It doesn’t appear that the platforms are electrified at this time.
Plans For £100m Coventry To Nottingham Rail Link Announced
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the first two paragraphs.
A £100m scheme to reconnect three Midlands cities by rail could be running by 2025, subject to funding, according to a regional transport group.
Midlands Connect said it had completed a strategic business case for a direct link between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham.
The article also says this about the route.
The group said there was a “strong case” for the project and it had narrowed it down to two – one which called at the Warwickshire town of Nuneaton and one which ran direct between the three cities.
In A Potential Leicester To Coventry Rail Link, which I wrote in February 2019, I talked about this link and came to the conclusion it was feasible.
But things have moved on in those two years and these are my updated thoughts.
Via Nuneaton Or Direct
This Google Map shows the rail layout to the South of Nuneaton station.
Note.
- The multi-track electrified railway running North-West and South-East is the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line.
- Branching off to the South-West is the Coventry and Nuneaton Line.
- Branching off to the South-East is the line to Leicester.
Nuneaton station is off the map to the North on the West Coast Main Line.
Unfortunately, services to Coventry and Leamington Spa call in Platform 1 on the Western side of the station and services between Leicester and Birmingham call in platforms 6 and 7 on the Eastern side.
This probably rules out a clever solution, where perhaps an island platform, has Birmingham and Leicester services on one side and Coventry and Leicester services on the other.
This Google Map shows Nuneaton station.
Note.
- Platform 6 and 7 form the island platform on the North-East side of the station.
- Birmingham trains call in Platform 6.
- Leicester trains call in Platform 7.
The track layout for Platforms 6 and 7 appears comprehensive with crossovers allowing both platforms to be used for services to both cities.
This Google Map shows the crowded track layout to the South of the station.
The only possibility would appear to be a single track dive-under that connected Platform 6 and/or 7 to the Coventry and Nuneaton Line on the other side of the West Coast Main Line.
I feel that costs would rule it out.
I suspect that a direct solution cutting out Nuneaton might be possible.
This Google Map shows the three routes diverging to the South of Nuneaton station.
It might be possible to connect the Coventry and Leicester Lines, but the curve might be too tight.
The alternative could be to build a dive-under that would connect Platform 1 to the Leicester Line.
- It would appear that it could be the easiest and most affordable option.
- Trains would reverse in Nuneaton station.
It is certainly a tricky problem, but I do believe there is a simple cost-effective solution in there somewhere.
Nuneaton Parkway Station
This page on Coventry Live gives some information about the proposed Nuneaton Parkway station.
There is also a proposed station, to be called Nuneaton Parkway, situated off the A5 between Hinckley and Nuneaton.
This Google Map shows the area where the A5 crosses the Birmingham-Peterborough Line, that runs between Hinckley and Nuneaton..
This must surely be one of the best sites to build a new Parkway station in the UK.
- The triangular site is a waste transfer station operated by Veolia Environmental Services UK.
- It has a direct connection to the A5, which could be easily improved, with perhaps a roundabout.
- Doing a crude estimate from the Google Map, I calculate that the site is about sixteen hectares, which is surely a good size for a Parkway station.
- There’s even quite a lot of new housing within walking and cycling distance.
It would also appear that the station could be built on this site without major disruption to either road or rail traffic.
The Stations And Timing
This document on the Midlands Connect web site, gives their aims for the service.
- Coventry and Leicester – 38 minutes from 54 minutes with one change.
- Coventry and Loughborough – 50 minutes from 88 minutes with otwo changes.
- Coventry and East Midlands Parkway – 56 minutes from 104 minutes with otwo changes.
- Coventry and Nottingham – 70 minutes from 108 minutes with otwo changes.
The service would have a frequency of two trains per hour (tph).
If the train did the same station stops as the current services between Coventry and Leicester, it could stop at all or a selection of the following intermediate stations.
- South Wigston
- Narborough
- Hinckley
- Nuneaton
- Bermuda Park
- Bedworth
- Coventry Arena
The total time would appear to be around fifty minutes, with 28 minutes for Leicester to Nuneaton and 22 minutes from Nuneaton to Coventry. Although the BBC article says that Coventry and Leicester would drop from the current 54 minutes to 38 minutes.
Currently services between Leicester and Birmingham New Street stations are run by CrossCountry.
- One tph – Birmingham New Street and Cambridge or Stansted Airport
- One tph – Birmingham New Street and Leicester
Note that not all intermediate stations receive a two tph service.
Would a two tph service between Leicester and Coventry enable all the stations on the route to have a two tph service?
The Current Leicester And Nottingham Service
Currently the following services run between Leicester and Nottingham.
- 1 tph – EMR InterCity – Direct
- 1 tph – EMR InterCity – Via Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway and Beeston
- 1 tph – EMR Regional – Via Syston, Sileby, Barrow-upon-Soar, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Attenborough and Beeston
Note.
- Timings vary between 23 and 49 minutes.
- Four tph between Leicester and Nottingham would be a Turn-Up-and-Go service that would attract passengers.
- The BBC article is indicating a Coventry and Nottingham time of 70 minutes, which would indicate a Leicester and Nottingham time of 32 minutes, which would appear to be in-line with the EMR Intercity service that stops at Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway and Beeston.
It looks to me that a fourth semi-fast service between Leicester and Nottingham would not be a bad idea.
But Midlands Connect are proposing two extra tph between Coventry and Nottingham.
A Coventry And Nottingham Service
Consider.
- An two tph service would fit in well and give a Turn-Up-and-Go service between Leicester and Nottingham.
- The Coventry and Nottingham time of 70 minutes indicates that the train would need to be to EMR InterCity standard.
- If there is an allowance of twenty minutes at either end of the route, this would indicate a round trip of three hours.
This standard of service would need an operational fleet of six five-car Class 810 trains or similar for a frequency of two tph.
I very much feel that there should be electrification of the Midland Main Line between Leicester and either East Midlands Parkway or Derby.
This would mean that the Coventry and Nottingham route would break down as follows.
- Coventry and Nuneaton – 19,2 miles – No electrification
- Nuneaton and Leicester – 18.8 miles – No electrification
- Leicester and East Midlands Parkway – 19.1 miles – Possible electrification
- East Midlands Parkway and Nottingham – 8.4 miles – No electrification
Note that electrification is already available at Coventry and Nuneaton.
The Coventry and Nottingham route would appear to be possible with battery-electric trains, after the route between Leicester and East Midlands Parkway is electrified.
An Improved Birmingham And Cambridge Service
If Nottingham and Coventry needs a fast two tph service stopping at the major towns and cities in between, surely Birmingham and Cambridge need a similar service.
- It could call at Nuneaton, Leicester, Melton Mowbray, Oakham, Stamford, Peterborough, Ely and Cambridge North.
- Some services could be extended to Stansted Airport.
- It would have a frequency of two tph.
The Birmingham and Cambridge route would break down as follows.
- Birmingham and Nuneaton – 21 miles – No electrification
- Nuneaton and Leicester – 18.8 miles – No electrification
- Leicester and Peterborough – 40 miles – No electrification
- Peterborough and Ely – 30.5 miles – No electrification
- Ely and Cambridge – 14.7 miles – Electrified.
Note that electrification is already available at Birmingham, Nuneaton and Peterborough.
The Birmingham and Cambridge route would appear to be possible with battery-electric trains, if Leicester station were to be electrified.
Midland Connect’s Proposed Leeds and Bedford Service
I wrote about this service in Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station.
It would run between Leeds and Bedford stations.
It would use the Midland Main Line between Bedford and East Midlands Hub stations.
It would use High Speed Two between East Midlands Hub and Leeds stations.
It would stop at Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough and East Midlands Hub stations.
- The service frequency could be hourly, but two trains per hour (tph) would be better.
- Leicester and Leeds would take 46 minutes.
Obviously, it wouldn’t run until the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two opens, but it could open up the possibility of Coventry and Leeds in under ninety minutes.
Driving takes over two hours via the M1.
Conclusion
This looks to be a very feasible and fast service.
It also illustrates how extending the electrification on the Midland Main Line can enable battery-electric trains to provide connecting services.
Enough electrification at Leicester and a few miles North of the station to fully charge passing trains would probably be all that is needed.
DfT To Have Final Say On Huddersfield Rebuild Of Rail Station And Bridges
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the first paragraph.
As part of the £1.4bn Transpennine Route Upgrade. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is to rule on planned changes to Huddersfield’s 19th century rail station and not the Kirklees council, in what is to be a huge revamp of the line between Manchester and York.
According to the article eight bridges are to be replaced or seriously modified.
As Huddersfield station (shown) is Grade I listed and three other Grade II listed buildings and structures are involved, I can see this project ending up with a substantial bill for lawyers.
But then, to have a world-class railway across the Pennines, a few eggs will need to be broken.
Electric Trains Across The Pennine
This page on the Network Rail web site describes the Huddersfield To Westtown (Dewsbury) Upgrade.
When the upgrade and the related York To Church Fenton Improvement Scheme is completed, the TransPennine route between Huddersfield and York will be fully-electrified.
As Manchester To Stalybridge will also have been electrified, this will mean that the only section without electrification will be the eighteen miles across the Pennines between Stalybridge and Huddersfield.
Will this final eighteen miles ne electrified?
Eighteen miles with electrification at both ends will be a short jump for a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, the specification of which is shown in this Hitachi infographic.
The Class 802 trains of TransPennine Express are able to be converted into these trains.
The trains could work these routes.
- Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough
- Manchester Airport and Redcar
- Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Newcastle
- Manchester Airport and Newcastle
- Manchester Piccadilly and Hull
- Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes
Note.
- I suspect some more Class 802 trains with batteries will be needed.
- The trains would either use battery or diesel power to reach Hull, Redcar and Scarborough or there could be a few miles of electrification to stretch battery range.
- Will the Class 68 diesel locomotives be replaced with Class 93 tri-mode locomotives to haul the Mark 5A coaches to Scarborough.
- Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes could be a problem and will probably need some electrification around Sheffield and Grimsby.
This would just mean TransPennine’s two short routes to be decarbonised.
- Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield
- Huddersfield and Leeds
As except for the eighteen mile gap between Stalybridge and Huddersfield, these two routes are fully-electrified, I suspect that a battery-electric version of a 110 mph electric train like a Class 387 or Class 350 train could run these routes.
Conclusion
It looks like if these sections of the TransPennine Express network are upgraded and electrified.
- York and Church Fenton
- Huddersfield and Westtown
- Manchester and Staylebridge
Together with a few extra miles of electrification at strategic points, that TransPennine Express will be able to decarbonise.
Dartmoor Rail Service Reopens This Year In Reversal Of Beeching Cuts
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the introductory paragraph.
A largely redundant Victorian railway line will be reopened this year as part of plans to resurrect routes closed in the infamous Beeching cuts.
This line was always likely to be one of the first to reopen, as there is a terminal station at Okehampton, with a bus interchange and other facilities, that has been hosting a service from Exeter on summer Sundays for some years.
The BBC have a reporter there this morning and the station looks in better condition, than some I could name.
This paragraph from The Times describes works to be done.
Network Rail said engineers would start a range of works including improvements to drainage, fencing by the trackside, rebuilding embankments and upgrading Okehampton station. Some 11 miles of track will also be replaced. It is envisaged that test trains will run later this year before it fully reopens to passengers.
Some of the BBC footage, showed a great pile of new track by the station, so it looks like Network Rail are starting to relay the track.
It is hoped to run a one train per two hour service by the end of the year, which could go hourly next year.
In Okehampton Railway Return ‘Clear Reality’ After £40m Commitment In Budget, I said more about this reopening project and I speculated that both Okehampton and Barnstaple services will terminate at Exmouth Junction, as the Barnstaple services do now.
Barnstaple has roughly an hourly service from Exeter and to run two hourly services between Exeter and Coleford Junction, where the two routes divide, may need extra work to be done, so that trains can pass each other at convenient points.
This extra work probably explains, why the service won’t be hourly until next year.
I do wonder, if this reopening also enables other improvement and possibilities.
Meldon Quarry
Meldon Quarry used to be an important source of track ballast for British Rail and it is situated a few miles past Okehampton.
This Google Map shows Meldon Quarry and Okehampton.
Note.
- Meldon Quarry is in the South-West corner of the map marked by a red marker.
- To its West is Meldon Viaduct, which is part of the old railway line between Okehampton and Plymouth, which is now a walking and cycling route.
- The town of Okehampton is in the North-East of the map.
- Okehampton station is in the South-East of the town close to the A 30.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find, that Network Rail are upgrading the line to Okehampton, so that if they need to obtain quality track ballast from Meldon Quarry, it would not require upgrades to the track East of Okehampton.
Okehampton Camp
Note Okehampton Camp to the South of Okehampton.
Many Army bases like this one need heavy vehicles to be transported to and from the base.
Have Network Rail future-proofed the design of the route to Okehampton, so that heavy vehicles can be transported to the area?
A Railhead For North Devon And North Cornwall
There are two main roads between Exeter and Cornwall.
- The A30 goes to the North of Dartmoor and via Launceston
- The A38 goes to the South of Dartmoor and then via Plymouth
In the past, I’ve always driven to and from Cornwall via the Northern route and I describe one journey in Dancing with Hippopotami.
This Google Map shows the A30, as it passes Okehampton.
Note that although the station and the A30 are physically close, there would be a few minutes to drive between the two.
But I do feel there is scope to create an appropriate transport interchange between.
- Trains to and from Exeter.
- Buses and coaches to North Cornwall and North Devon.
- Cars on the A30.
It could effectively become a parkway station.
An Alternative Route In Case Of Trouble Or Engineering Works At Dawlish
Bodmin Parkway and Okehampton stations are about 43 miles apart and I suspect a coach could do the journey in around fifty minutes.
Would this be a sensible alternative route in times of disruption?
- It is dual-carriageway all the way.
- Okehampton station can certainly handle a five-car Class 802 train and could probably be improved to handle a nine- or even ten-car train.
- Trains from London could get to Okehampton with a reverse at Exeter St. Davids.
I don’t know the area well, but it must be a possibility.
Could Okehampton Have A London Service?
As I said in the previous section, it looks like Okehampton station can handle five-, nine- and possibly ten-car Class 802 trains and there are many pictures of Great Western Railway’s InterCity 125s or HSTs at Okehampton station in years gone by.
I think it would be feasible to run a small number of services between Okehampton and London.
- The service would have to reverse at Exeter St. Davids station.
- As one service every two hours runs between London Paddington and Exeter St. Davids stations, a service to Okehampton could be run as an extension to the current Exeter service.
- It could also stop at Crediton station.
There must also be the possibility of running a pair of five car trains from Paddington, that split at Exeter St. Davids, with one service going to Okehampton and the second one to Paignton.
- Exeter St. Davids and Paignton are 26.3 miles apart and a fast train takes 34 minutes
- Exeter St. Davids and Okehampton are probably a slightly shorter distance.
I suspect that a sensible timetable could be devised.
The specification of the Hitachi InterCity Tri-Mode Train is given in this Hitachi infographic.
Note.
- It is intended to run these trains to Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance.
- The range of the train on batteries is not given.
These trains could use a mixture of diesel and battery power to travel to and from Okehampton and Paignton.
But I also believe that as Hitachi develop this train and batteries have an increased capacity, that it will be possible for the trin to do a round trip from Exeter to Okehampton or Paignton without using diesel, provided the train can leave Exeter with a full battery.
According to Hitachi’s infographic, the train will take 10-15 minutes to fully charge at a station like Exeter. But that would add up to fifteen minutes to the timetable.
I feel if the roughly thirty-five miles of track between Exeter St Davids station and Cogload Junction, which is to the North of Taunton, were to be electrified, then this would mean.
- Trains would be fully charged for their excursions round Devon.
- Trains would be fully charged for onward travel to Plymouth and Penzance.
- Trains going to London would leave Taunton with full batteries to help them on their way on the ninety mile stretch without electrification to Newbury.
- Trains going between Exeter and Bristol could take advantage of the electrification.
Eventually, this section of electrification might even help to enable trains to run between London and Exeter without using diesel.
As the railway runs alongside the M5 Motorway, this might ease planning for the electrification.
The gap in the electrification between Cogload Junction and Newbury could be difficult to bridge without using diesel.
- Cogload Junction and Newbury are 85 miles apart.
- I’ve never seen so many bridges over a railway.
- I actually counted twenty-one bridges on the twenty miles between Westbury and Pewsey stations.
- I suspect some will object, if some of the bridges are replaced with modern ones.
- There would be a lot of disruption and expense, if a large proportion of these bridges were to be replaced.
- Currently, Great Western Railway run expresses to Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance via Taunton and Newbury.
I think, there needs to be some very radical thinking and low cunning to solve the problem.
- Battery technology and the best efforts of engineers from Hitachi and Hyperdrive Innovation may stretch the battery range sufficiently.
- It might be possible to extend the electrification at the Newbury end to perhaps Bedwyn, as there are only a few bridges. This would shorten the distance by up to thirteen miles.
- It may also be possible to extend the electrification at the Taunton end.
- I would expect some bridges could be dealt with using discontinuous electrification techniques.
But I believe that full electrification between Newbury and Cogload junction might be an extremely challenging project.
There must also be the possibility of using lightweight overhead line structures, where challenges are made about inappropriate overhead gantries.
There is also a video.
Note.
- Electrification doesn’t have to be ugly and out-of-character with the surroundings.
- The main overhead structure of this gantry is laminated wood.
These gantries would surely be very suitable for the following.
- Electrifying secondary routes and especially scenic ones.
- Electrifying single lines and sidings.
- Electrifying a bay platform, so that battery electric trains could be charged.
Innovative design could be one of the keys to more electrification.
Cardiff Bridge Avoids £40m Demolition Thanks To Electric Resistant Paint
When I first saw this headline on this press release on the Network Rail web site, I felt it sounded too good to be true.
This is the introductory paragraph.
In a world first, electric resistant paint combined with voltage-controlled clearance (VCC) has helped make a Victorian railway bridge usable by new electric trains, avoiding weeks of passenger disruption and train delays in the process.
I think this is the bridge.
Note.
- The South Wales Main Line runs East-West, with Cardiff Central station to the West.
- The track between Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay stations runs North-South, with Cardiff Queen Street station to the North.
- The two rail lines cross over a canal.
- The site is surrounded by new high-rise buildings.
- The clearance been the bridge and the main line underneath appeared to be too tight for electrification to be fitted.
But by using the combination of technologies, as stated in the introductory paragraph, Network Rail were able to squeeze the wires through, which didn’t need the bridge to be demolished and rebuilt on a tricky site.
I can see that railways and other places, where high-voltage cables are close to metal structures, will be able to find lots of uses for Southampton University’s “Magic Paint”
Riding Sunbeams To Finance Railway Connected 3.75MW Community Solar Farm With £2.5m Grant
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The 3.75MW Cuckmere Community Solar Farm is to directly power the Eastbourne-London mainline railway in a world-first project.
This is certainly good news for Riding Sunbeams, who have been promoting the concept of powering railway electrification using solar power.
This Google Map shows the location.
Note.
- The 3.5 MW Berwick Solar Farm is to the North of Arlington reservoir.
- Berwick station and the mainline between London and Eastbourne is in the South East corner of the map.
- There is also Wilbees Solar Park to the South East of the reservoir.
If you look on Real Time Trains, there is usually around five or six trains per hour in both directions. As each train needs about a MW of power, the Berwick Solar Farm probably has a useful market for its power.
The Cuckmere Community Solar Company has developed the farm and has some interesting information on their web site.
Conclusion
I can’t really make up my mind about Riding Sunbeams.
Their heart is definitely in the right place, but there hasn’t been much take-up of the idea, as of now!
In this project, they would appear to have been more of an enabling company, who connected a solar farm to Network Rail’s infrastructure to the benefit of both parties.
As an electrical and control engineer, I can’t help feeling that there should be substantial energy storage in there somewhere.
Northern Powerhouse Rail – Connecting Sheffield To HS2 And On To Leeds
In this article on Transport for the North, which is entitled Northern Powerhouse Rail Progress As Recommendations Made To Government, one of the recommendations proposed for Northern Powerhouse Rail is connecting Sheffield to High Speed Two and on to Leeds.
Northern Powerhouse Rail’s Objective For The Sheffield and Leeds Route
Wikipedia, other sources and my calculations say this about the trains between Leeds and Sheffield.
- The distance between the two stations is 39 miles
- The current service takes around 40 minutes and has a frequency of one train per hour (tph)
- This gives an average speed of 58.5 mph for the fastest journey.
- The proposed service with Northern Powerhouse Rail will take 28 minutes and have a frequency of four tph.
- This gives an average speed of 84 mph for the journey.
This last figure of 84 mph, indicates to me that a fast route will be needed.
But given experience of 100 mph lines in other parts of the UK, 100 mph trains and infrastructure could make this demanding objective of twenty-eight minutes between Sheffield and Leeds a reality
Connecting Sheffield To High Speed Two
Sheffield is to be accessed from a branch off the Main High Speed Two route to Leeds.
This map clipped from High Speed Two’s interactive map, shows the route of the Sheffield Branch, from where it branches North West from the main Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
Note.
- Orange indicates new High Speed Two track.
- Blue indicates track that High Speed Two will share with other services.
- The orange route goes North to Leeds, along the M1
- The blue route goes North to Chesterfield and Sheffield, after skirting to the East of Clay Cross.
- The orange route goes South to East Midlands Hub station.
This second map, shows where the Erewash Valley Line joins the Sheffield Branch near the village of Stonebroom.
Note.
- Red is an embankment.
- Yellow is a cutting.
- The Sheffield Branch goes North-West to Clay Cross, Chesterfield and Sheffield
- The Sheffield Branch goes South-East to East Midlands Hub station.
- The Sheffield Branch goes through Doe Hill Country Park.
- The Sheffield Branch runs alongside the existing Erewash Valley Line, which goes South to Langley Mill, Ilkeston and the Derby-Nottingham area.
The Sheffield Branch and the Erewash Valley Line appear to share a route, which continues round Clay Cross and is shown in this third map.
Note
- Doe Hill Country Park is in the South-East corner of the map.
- The dark line running North-South is the A61.
- Running to the West of the A61 is the Midland Main Line, which currently joins the Erewash Valley Line at Clay Cross North junction.
High Speed Two and the Midland Main Line will share a route and/or tracks from Clay Cross North junction to Sheffield.
This fourth map, shows where the combined route joins the Hope Valley Line to Manchester to the South West of Sheffield.
Note.
- Sheffield is to the North East.
- Chesterfield is to the South East,
- Totley junction is a large triangular junction, that connects to the Hope Valley Line.
These are some timings for various sections of the route.
- Clay Cross North Junction and Chesterfield (current) – 4 minutes
- Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield (current) – 17 minutes
- Chesterfield and Sheffield (current) – 13 minutes
- Chesterfield and Sheffield (High Speed Two) – 13 minutes
- East Midlands Hub and Chesterfield (High Speed Two) – 16 minutes
- East Midlands Hub and Sheffield (High Speed Two) – 27 minutes
As Class Cross North Junction and Sheffield are 15.5 miles, this means the section is run at an average speed of 53 mph.
Can I draw any conclusions from the maps and timings?
- There would appear to be similar current and High Speed Two timings between Chesterfield and Sheffield.
- The various junctions appear to be built for speed.
The Midland Main Line will be electrified from Clay Cross North Junction to Sheffield, so that High Speed Two trains can use the route.
What will be the characteristics of the tracks between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield?
- Will it be just two tracks as it mainly is now or will it be a multi-track railway to separate the freight trains from the high speed trains?
- Will it have a high enough maximum speed, so that East Midland Railway’s new Class 810 trains can go at their maximum speed of 140 mph?
- Will it be capable of handling a frequency of 18 tph, which is the maximum frequency of High Speed Two?
Surely, it will be built to a full High Speed Two standard to future-proof the line.
Before finishing this section, I will answer a few questions.
Would It Be Possible For Class 810 Trains Fitted With Batteries To Run Between London St. Pancras And Sheffield?
East Midlands Railway’s new Class 810 trains could be fitted with batteries to become Regional Battery Trains with the specification, given in this Hitachi infographic.
Note.
- This would give the trains a range of 90 kilometres or 56 miles on batteries, if a number of diesel engines were exchanged for batteries.
- The trains would only be a few mph slower on batteries, than the current Hitachi trains on diesel.
- The Class 810 trains have four diesel engines. Is this to enable 125 mph running on diesel?
By perhaps replacing two diesel engines with batteries and using the remaining two diesel engines as range extenders or some other combination, I feel that Hitachi might be able to obtain a longer self-powered range for the train.
Consider.
- Between Sheffield and Clay Cross North Junction will be fully-electrified and at 15.5 miles, it will be long enough to fully-charge the batteries on the train.
- Between London St. Pancras and Market Harborough will be fully-electrified and at 83 miles, it will be long enough to fully-charge the batteries on the train.
- The section between Market Harborough and Clay Cross North Junction is not electrified and is 66 miles.
I feel that Hitachi and their partner; Hyperdrive Innovation can design a battery electric Class 810 train, that can travel between London St. Pancras and Sheffield, without using a drop of diesel.
A great advantage of this approach, is that, as more electrification is added to the Midland Main Line, as it surely will be, the trains will be able to use the wires to reduce journey times.
I believe there are two sections on the Midland Main Line. where traditional electrification is less likely.
- The bridge at the Southern end of Leicester station is low and would need to be rebuilt causing immense disruption to both road and rail in the city.
- Between Derby and Alfreton is the World Heritage Site of the Derwent Valley Mills. Will electrification be fought by the heritage lobby?
Both sections may eventually be electrified at some far off date in the future.
Why Is There A Spur Of Electrification At Totley Junction?
This map clipped from High Speed Two’s interactive map, shows the Southern Leg of Totley Junction, where the Hope Valley Line joins the Midland Main Line.
Note that a short length of electrification is shown, between the Midland Main Line and a tunnel on the Southern leg.
This Google Map shows the same area.
Note, that the line disappears into a tunnel.
- In Northern Powerhouse Rail -Significant Upgrades And Journey Time Improvements To The Hope Valley Route Between Manchester And Sheffield, I indicated, that running battery electric trains between Manchester and Sheffield would be a possibility and could be a way of meeting Northern Powerhouse Rail’s objectives for the route.
- A short length of electrification might help battery electric trains turn out to go South.
- I don’t think any passenger trains ever go that way now, but I have seen articles and heard complaints from passengers, that want a better service between Derby and/or Nottingham and Manchester.
- It might also help with the decarbonisation of freight trains to and from the quarries.
I also suspect, that if building High Speed Two in Manchester temporarily reduced the capacity of Manchester Piccadilly station, trains could use the Hope Valley Line to get to the city, as they have done previously, with Project Rio.
Accessing The Infrastructure Depot At Staveley
This map clipped from High Speed Two’s interactive map, shows the location of the infrastructure depot at Staveley.
Note.
- Chesterfield is shown by the large blue dot.
- High Speed Two’s Sheffield Branch runs North from Chesterfield station.
- High Speed Two’s Eastern Leg runs down the Eastern side of the map.
- Two spurs from East and West go towards each other and would meet to the North of the town of Staveley.
The infrastructure depot will be located where they meet.
The route from the Sheffield Branch uses the Barrow Hill Line, which might be reopened as another passenger route between Chesterfield and Sheffield.
I wrote about this idea in Reinstatement Of The Barrow Hill Line Between Sheffield And Chesterfield.
If the line is being upgraded and electrified as far as Barrow Hill for the Infrastructure Depot, would it be worthwhile to create a new electrified route into Sheffield?
I also wrote in Could East Midlands Railway’s Liverpool And Norwich Service Avoid A Reverse At Sheffield By Using the Barrow Hill Line?, that the Barrow Hill Line might be an alternative route for the Liverpool and Norwich service.
When the railway routes in the area of the Infrastructure Depot are developed, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some routes changed.
Between Sheffield And Meadowhall Stations
One of the original designs for High Speed Two had it calling at Meadowhall station.
This map clipped from High Speed Two’s interactive map, clearly shows High Speed Two running across Sheffield.
Note.
- Sheffield station is the big Blue dot in the South-West corner of the map.
- The M1 runs across the North-East corner of the map.
- The railway between Sheffield and Meadowhall stations already exists.
- Sheffield and Meadowhall stations are 3.5 miles apart and trains take seven minutes.
Is there any reason, why High Speed Two trains shouldn’t serve both Sheffield and Meadowhall stations, by just taking the existing line across the city?
Taking The Wakefield Line Towards Leeds
In extending to Meadowhall, High Speed Two’s route seems to be taking the current Wakefield Line.
This map clipped from High Speed Two’s interactive map, clearly shows High Speed Two passing through Sheffield and Rotherham and then going towards Leeds.
Note.
- Orange indicates new High Speed Two track.
- Blue indicates track that High Speed Two shares with other lines.
- The Wakefield Line is shown in blue and has stations at Meadowhall, Swinton, Bolton-upon-Dearne, Goldthorpe and Thurscoe.
- The main High Speed Two leg to Leeds is shown in orange.
It looks to me, that High Speed Two are aiming to provide a route, so that trains going to Sheffield can extend the journey to Leeds.
As Leeds will have three tph to and from London, why is this service being extended to Leeds?
I will explore a few reasons why in the next few sub-sections.
It’s Convenient For Running Trains
Consider.
- High Speed Two are saying London and Sheffield will be one hour and twenty-seven minutes.
- Northern Powerhouse Rail have an objective of Leeds and Sheffield in twenty-eight minutes.
- One hour and fifty-five minutes could be a convenient time for a London and Leeds service, as it could be a four hour round trip.
But High Speed Two are saying London and Leeds will be one hour and twenty-one minutes.
It looks to me, that it is a convenient way to serve Meadowhall, Rotherham, Bolton-upon-Dearne, Goldthorpe and Thurscoe stations
High Speed Two Through Rotherham
This map clipped from High Speed Two’s interactive map, clearly shows High Speed Two passing through Rotherham to the North of the Parkgate Shopping Park.
Note.
- High Speed Two is the bright blue line running North-East from the Western edge of the map.
- The grey blocks are the stores in the Shopping Park.
- The Rotherham Parkgate tram-train stop is marked.
This Google Map shows a similar area.
To the East of the Parkgate Shopping Park, is a large brownfield site, as this Google Map shows.
Could Rotherham have a station on the line North of this site?
- The rail line running SW-NE across this map is drawn in blue on High Speed Two’s interactive map.
- Rotherham Masborough station used to be in this area.
If High Speed Two is supposed to be a railway for all the people, or at least as many as possible, surely there should be a station in the town.
High Speed Two Through Bolton-upon-Dearne
In July 2019, I wrote a post called Sheffield Region Transport Plan 2019 – A New Station At Barnsley Dearne Valley.
So have High Speed Two taken on this feature of the Sheffield Region Transport Plan 2019, to add another station to their list of destinations?
Approach To Leeds
This map clipped from High Speed Two’s interactive map, clearly shows route High Speed Two will take to approach Leeds from the South East.
Note.
- Leeds station is the blue dot in the North West corner of the map.
- High Speed Two is shown in orange and continues North to York, where it joins the East Coast Main Line.
- Wakefield is in the middle at the bottom of the map and is on the Wakefield Line and the current route for LNER’s expresses from London.
It looks to me, that Leeds and Sheffield will eventually end up with two faster routes between the two cities.
- An upgraded Wakefield Line
- A route based on the Southern section of the Wakefield Line and the Eastern leg of High Speed Two route to Leeds.
If High Speed Two’s trains are to be able to get across Sheffield and call at Sheffield, Meadowhall, Rotherham and Barnsley Dearne Valley stations, then these conditions must be met.
- The trains must be High Speed Two’s Classic-Compatible trains or a train to a similar specification.
- Some platform lengthening might be needed to allow the two hundred metre long trains to call.
- The Wakefield Line must be electrified between Sheffield and just North of Goldthorpe station, where it will be able to join the link to the Eastern leg of High Speed Two.
It would probably be sensible to electrify the Wakefield Line all the way to Fitzwilliam station, from where the line is electrified all the way to Leeds.
This would enable the following.
- Electric trains to run between Sheffield and Leeds via Wakefield Westgate station.
- Would Northern Powerhouse Rail’s objective of a twenty-eight minute journey be achieved?
- East Midlands Railway could run their Class 810 trains between London St. Pancras and Leeds under electric power.
- High Speed Two could serve Leeds before the Northern infrastructure of the Eastern leg of High Speed Two is complete.
- High Speed Two could offer services to Wakefield, Barnsley and Rotherham via Sheffield.
I can see reasons for early upgrading of the Wakefield Line.
Conclusion
It appears that High Speed Two are planning an electrified route through Sheffield between Clay Cross North Junction on the Midland Main Line and Goldthorpe station on the Wakefield Line.
Once complete it would enable the following.
- Rotherham and Barnsley to have direct electric services to and from the capital.
- When East Midlands Railway introduce their new Class 810 trains, the electrification North of Clay Cross North Junction would mean faster services and less running on diesel power.
- I believe these Class 810 trains could run between London and Sheffield, if their four diesel engines are replaced with batteries, which would power the trains between Clay Cross North Junction and Market Harborough.
- The electrification at Sheffield would allow battery electric trains to work between Manchester and Sheffield as I outlined in Northern Powerhouse Rail -Significant Upgrades And Journey Time Improvements To The Hope Valley Route Between Manchester And Sheffield.
I think it is a good plan.
Project Management Recommendations
It is my view that the following projects should be started as soon as possible.
- Electrification between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield station.
- Electrification of the Wakefield Line between Sheffield and Fitzwilliam stations.
- Provision of new stations at Rotherham and Barnsley Dearne Valley on the Wakefield Line.
These projects could deliver worthwhile improvements in services in a couple of years, rather than the tens of years for High Speed Two.
The Anonymous Widower 