Hayes Shuttles To Start
This is the headline on an article in the May 2016 Edition of Modern Railways about the May 15th timetable changes. This is said.
Great Western Railway had planned a launch of electric services using Class 387/1 EMUs transferred from Govia Thameslink Railway with the start of the new timetable on 15 May. The operator was to use the ‘387s’ on a series of peak hour shuttles between Paddington and Hayes and Harlington, but delays to the introduction of Class 700s on Thameslink services mean the cascade of ‘387s ‘ has also been delayed.
I have searched the Oracle (National Rail’s Journey Planner) and can find just one extra train from Paddington, which is a new service at 07:15 going to Hayes and Harlington.
The Oracle also shows that the first two services of the day on the Greenford Branch only go as far as West Ealing after May the 15th.
How many people from the Greenford branch will be complaining about the loss of their early morning trains to Paddington?
The Modern Railways article also suggests, that as Bombardier have been making good progress on the building of the eight extra Class 387 trains, that these might be delivered in the summer, to enable GWR to run more services. As some of the Porterbrook trains have been promised to c2c before the end of the year, that means that GWR’s extra trains will be delivered before December 2016, as they are first in the queue.
The article says that a full service can’t be run until infrastructure works at the East of Hayes and Harlington station is completed.
I think we’ll see a gradual improvement of electric services between Paddington and Hates and Harlington over the rest of this year.
These questions will certainly be answered.
- When will the bay platform at West Ealing station for Greenford Branch Line trains be opened?
- Will the bay platform at West Ealing station be electrified?
- Will the eight extra Class 387 trains have an IPEMU-capability, as had been rumoured in Modern Railways?
- How much acrimony is being heaped on Siemens about the non-delivery of the Class 700 trains?
- Are the bosses of Great Western Railway and Govia Thameslink Railway still talking?
- Will Porterbrook add to their order of twenty extra Class 387 trains?
It does seem to me, that the big winners out of this mess, could well be Bombardier and Porterbrook.
I also feel that there will be some surprises between now and the end of the year.
I will keep most of my predictions to myself!
However, it would appear that if there was a plan to create an IPEMU variant of the Class 387 trains, the non-delivery of the Class 700 trains, has effectively made this plan difficult and late.
A Trip To Corby
I’d never been to Corby station before, but had planned it for some time.
I went this morning to both have a look at one of Network Rail’s new stations and see the work going on in the area.
These are pictures I took.
Note.
- I don’t think I saw one tricky bridge to electrify North of Bedford.
- A lot of the second track to Corby is in place.
- It would appear that the works at Corby will create a double track railway through the station to Oakham.
- I was told at Corby station, that there is to be a closure of the station later in the year, to finish the works.
- I saw no sign of any electrification North of Kettering.
- Piles with batty yellow covers, for electrification had started from Bedford.
But one thing that surprised me, was how the line constantly moved changed from four tracks to three and back again and that it was surrounded by lots of space.
Electrifying from Bedford to Kettering wouldn’t be the most difficult of jobs.
Only the stations would be tricky.
But I do have this feeling from what I saw at Horwich Parkway station and wrote about in Are The Electrification Gantries Going In The Middle At Horwich Parkway Station?, that Network rail have some better and non-traditional ways of dealing with the electrification of stations in their tool-box these days.
I also think, that they could phase the work in places, as the lines are often in separate pairs.
The Kettering To Oakham Line
I took this picture, where the Kettering to Oakham Line branches away from the Midland Main Line, a few kilometres north of Kettering station at Glendon Junction.
The Kettering To Oakham Line Leaves The Midland Main Line
I was surprised to see that the junction is only single-track.
Glendon Junction To Corby
This Google Map shows the layout of the lines to the South-East of Rushden.
Rushton And Glendon Junction
Note that there is no chord allowing trains from the North to go towards Corby.
The Station Road, which crosses the Midland Main Line was probably the site of Glendon and Rushden station, which closed in 1960.
The junction is towards the South-East corner of the map, with the Midland Main Line going towards the North-West and the Kettering to Oakham Line to the North-East.
This second Google map, shows the actual junction.
The Junction
It clearly shows the single-track nature of the junction. The line is single-track all the way to Corby station.
This Google Map shows Corby station.
Corby Station
The Kettering to Oakham Line goes virtually North-South through the station.
Note that there appears to be an old railway going away to the South-East.
Future Services Between London and Corby
Wikipedia says this will happen in the future.
It is planned that a half-hourly London St Pancras to Corby service will operate from December 2017 using new Class 387 trains, once the Midland Main Line has been electrified beyond Bedford as part of the Electric Spine project. Network Rail has also announced that it plans re-double the currently singled Glendon Junction to Corby section as part of this scheme.
I don’t think it will happen like that, as I can’t see Bedford to Corby being electrified in time. There’s also the problem of the arguments about who gets the Class 387 trains, that I wrote about in Are The TOCs Arguing Over The Class 387 Trains?
However, this article on the Network Rail web site, which is entitled Work to upgrade railway between Corby and Kettering enters next phase, It talks about the installation of a second track between Glendon Junction and Corby to pave the way for additional passenger and freight services from the end of 2017.
I would assume that improving from Kettering to Corby, will not only allow more trains, but also improve speeds and reduce energy consumption.
Could this mean that Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability could be used on the St. Pancras to Corby route, as they’d only have to go from Bedford to Corby and back to Bedford on a full load of electricity in their on-board storage device?
I estimate the distance is probably about 25-30 miles both ways, so it might just be possible.
As I wrote in The High Speed Train With An IPEMU Capability, it could be easier for an IPEMU running efficiently at high speed on entry to bridge a gap in the electrification.
Remember that 159 miles of the Midland Main Line is cleared for 125 mph running, so a Class 387 IPEMU could be running at its full speed of 110 mph at or through Kettering station. If it was to stop at Kettering station, as much as possible of the train’s kinetic energy could be used to top-up the on-board energy storage, so that the train had as much on-board energy for a short run to Corby and back on a fast efficient line with no stops.
Is this Network Rail’s Plan B to get electric trains to run a half-hourly service to Corby?
But as electrification proceeded North from Bedford, this would make running Class 387 IPEMUs easier, as every mile of electrified line, would take two off the total needed to be run using on-board energy storage.
So could we be seeing creeping electrification along the Midland Main Line, as every mile erected would gradually bring more destinations within range of St. Pancras?
I certainly think, that as spare Class 387 trains will be available from later this year and an IPEMU capability could be added fairly easily as it was to the Class 379 train demonstrator for IPEMU technology, that we could be seeing electric trains running to Corby before the date of 2019, which is quoted as the date, when Corby will be electrified.
Aventras For East Midlands Trains
I have assumed that the only electric train, that will be available for East Midlands Trains would be Class 387 train. These could be given an IPEMU capability and they would probably be able to reach Corby, when track improvements and additional electrification allowed.
But Bombadier’s Aventra is coming.
A 125 mph Aventra was reported as possible by Ian Walmsley in the April 2015 Edition of Modern Railways.
In his article about the Aventra, Ian Walmsley said this about an order for Aventras.
But the interesting one to me is East Midlands Trains electrics. As a 125 mph unit it could cope well with Corby commuters and the ‘Master Cutler’ crowd – It’s all about the interior.
So the same train could do all express routes and also act as the local stopping train.
But as Bombardier have stated that all Aventras will be wired so they can be fitted with on-board energy storage, we have a train, that can thunder up and down the Midland Main Line with its sections of 125 mph running and then take to the branch lines like Corby and Nottingham using the energy storage.
I don’t know where 125 mph running is possible, but as IPEMUs have regenerative braking as standard and charge the batteries when they stop, ready for a quick getaway, there must be an advantage in having a battery high speed train, as energy in a moving body is proportional to the square of the speed. I investigated this more in A High Speed Train With An IPEMU-Capability, where I came to the conclusion that faster IPEMUs may give more advantages than slower ones.
Class 800 Trains For East Midlands Trains
Until Ian Walmsley’s statement about the 125 mph Aventra, I’d always thought that Class 800 trains, in either bi-mode or electric variants were a shoe-in for the Midland Main Line.
They are the right size, with the right performance, but they do have three problems.
- Corby needs an increased service now.
- Unless some of GWR’s order is diverted to the East Midlands, the trains could not be delivered for some years.
- Political lobbying would press for trains to be used in the East Midlands to be built there.
But they are a possibility.
As an electrical engineer though, I like the concept of Bombardier’s IPEMU, as I think that designed into a new train, it could offer savings in electrification and electricity costs.
Take Leicester station, shown in this Google Map.
Leicester Station
It needs to be upgraded for electrification and because of its prominent position on the Midland Main Line, closing the station to install the overhead wires would be difficult to say the least.
Supposing the overhead wires were not installed in Leicester station, how would a bi-mode Class 800 handle the station? It would put the pantograph down as it was slowing for the station and use its diesel power in the station. On leaving, it would wait until the wires started again and then raise the pantograph.
An IPEMU would use a similar procedure, but would use its on-board energy storage to bridge the electrification gap. But it has one great advantage in that all of the energy dissipated in the braking for the station would be used to top-up the on-board energy storage, which is used to restart the train.
So if the IPEMU route is chosen I see the following advantages.
- Stations like Leicester, Derby and Nottingham don’t need to be electrified with all the problems that entails.
- The route through the World Heritage Site of the Derwent Valley can be left without electrification.
- The electrification doesn’t need to be capable of handling regenerative braking, as the trains look after that method of valuable energy saving.
- East Midlands Trains get an electric train only fleet.
The only problem is running electric freight trains.
Onward From Corby
East Midlands Trains do run services past Corby, with some services going to Oakham and on to Derby.
This is a diagram of the line between Corby and Oakham.
Corby To Oakham
The line is double-tracked, looks to be picturesque and includes five tunnels and the Welland Viaduct shown in this Google Map.
Welland Viaduct
Note the shadows of the eighty-two arches. It was built in 1878 and you can understand why it is Grade II Listed building.
I suspect Network Rail have filed electrification of this line under something like Avoid if Possible.
Under Services in the Wikipedia entry for Oakham station, this is said.
A single daily return service to London St Pancras commenced on 27 April 2009 running via Corby and is notable for being the first regular passenger service to cross the spectacular and historic Welland Viaduct since 1966. The company introduced a further return service from Derby via East Midlands Parkway (for East Midlands Airport) from May 2010. Further services may be introduced in the future. The initial London service had been due to start on 14 December 2008 but because of a delay in reaching agreement with the Department for Transport and the rolling stock operating company (ROSCO) for the four additional trains needed for the service EMT started the service around four months later.
Running electric trains with an IPEMU capability to Corby would probably mean that EMT would look at the possibility of extending the trains to Oakham.
I have a feeling that the Welland Viaduct could cause problems, because of its Listed status, so using IPEMUs to provide the passenger service to Oakham, would neatly sidestep any heritage problems associated with overhead wiring.
Once Derby and Corby are both electrified, the route would be fully open to electric multiple units with an IPEMU capability as there is only a gap of about thirty miles in the wiring.
Oakham Station
There is also the problem of Oakham station, which is best summed up by this Google Map.
Oakham Station And Level Crossing
It is in the centre of the town and hemmed in by a major road. South of the station is a notorious level crossing, that needs to be replaced or avoided.
Network Rail engineers must have sleepless nights about this problem, especially as large numbers of long freight trains hauled by noisy Class 66 locomotives use the line through the station and the crossing to get between Felixstowe and Nuneaton.
Even the opening of the East West Rail Link, which will see some freight trains use the line between Cambridge and Bedford, will only offer a solution, where the freight trains are diverted through Cambridge and its increasingly busy station. What would the City and the University have to say about that?
So it would seem that another simple route for freight trains must be found.
Conclusion
The route between Kettering and Oakham is important and will be developed.
If East Midlands Trains or its successor go for either the rumoured 125 mph Aventra IPEMU or Class 800 bi-mode trains, they could improve the passenger service between London, Luton Airport, Kettering, Corby, Oakham, Melton Mowbray, Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway and Derby, by opening up a second route.
In the meantime, it looks like Network Rail’s Plan B of a faster dopuble-track line to Corby could deliver better services using an IPEMU-variant of the Class 387 train.
Piles, Masts And Rubbish
I took these pictures whilst travelling between Upper Holloway and Gospel Oak stations on the Gospel Oak To Barking Line.
There’s quite a bit to do.
- But it does appear thata good proportion of the piles are in the ground to the West of Blackhorse Road station, with masts already erected in some.
- The platforms, like those at Upper Holloway, need extending back to their original length.
- The large number of piles dumped by the track, to the West of Upper Holloway station is probably because they will be needed to electrify the route to Carlton Road Junction.
- There is quite a bit of rubbish to clear up.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines in the area.
Lines Around Gospel Oak And Kentish Town Stations
Trains will certainly be able travel to and from the East on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line to and from the North on the Midland Main Line, but will any of the other chords in the junction be reinstated?
|And will Junction Road station be rebuilt and connected to Tufnell Park tube station?
Electrification Of The Midland Main Line Along The Derwent Valley
As I went to Sheffield yesterday, I took these pictures as the train ran along the Derwent Valley on the Midland Main Line between Derby and Chesterfield.
The river from Matlock in the North to Derby in the South, is the centre of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
And Network Rail want to electrify this line, so that fast electric trains can run between Sheffield and London via Derby!
This map shows the Midland Main Line from Trent Junction, South of Derby and Nottingham to Chesterfield.
Note the following about the route of the Midland Main Line.
- My train ran via Derby, Belper and Ambergate stations, up the route on the West of the map.
- Trains via Nottingham would go up the East, before joining the Erewash Valley Line directly up the middle to Chesterfield.
- A new Ilkeston station is being built, between Nottingham and Attenborough stations.
- There is pressure to expand the Robin Hood Line by reopening the Ambergate To Pye Bridge Line between the two stations.
- HS2 is supposed to join up with the Nottingham Express Transit in the Toton area.
- How many of the closed stations in the area will be reopened?
It’s certainly all happening around the Midland Main Line between Derby and Nottingham.
This is said in Wikipedia about the future of the Erewash Valley Line.
Network Rail as part of a £250 million investment in the regions railways has proposed improvements to the junctions at each end, resignalling throughout, and a new East Midlands Control Centre.
As well as renewing the signalling, three junctions at Trowell, Ironville and Codnor Park will be redesigned and rebuilt. Since the existing Midland Main Line from Derby through the Derwent Valley has a number of tunnels and cuttings which are listed buildings and it is a World Heritage Area, it seems that the Erewash line is ripe for expansion.
It would seem fairly logical to perhaps make the Erewash Valley Line an electrified one, with a maximum speed, as high as practically possible and just run self powered trains through the Derwent Valley.
There would be two real possibilities for running the services for the London Sheffield services, including those via Nottingham, up the electrified Erewash Valley Line.
- Class 801 electric trains
- Bombardier’s 125 mph Aventra which was reported as possible by Ian Walmsley in the April 2015 Edition of Modern Railways.
Obviously, other manufacturers would offer suitable trains.
For the London to Sheffield route via Derby, the following trains could handle the twenty miles between Derby and Clay Cross, that could be without electrification.
- Class 800 electro-diesel trains
- Bombardier’s 125 mph Aventra which can probably be modified with an IPEMU-capability.
- Voyagers modified as electro-diesel trains, as was proposed in Project Thor, could probably handle the gap.
- A Class 88 locomotive and a rake of coaches with a driving van trailer.
If all else couldn’t handle it, InterCity 125s certainly could.
Surely though, it would help the train operator to have one fleet, so I think we’ll either see mixes of Class 800/801s or Aventras with and without an IPEMU-capability.
The Class 800/801s could certainly do it, but in his article about the Aventra, Ian Walmsley said this about an order for Aventras.
But the interesting one to me is East Midlands Trains electrics. As a 125 mph unit it could cope well with Corby commuters and the ‘Master Cutler’ crowd – It’s all about the interior.
So the same train could do all express routes and also act as the local stopping train.
The maze of lines shown in the map, would be an absolute dream for such a train!
I also think it would be pushing it to run the Hitachi trains through Derby and the Voyagers and the Class 88 solutions aren’t that elegant and would be very much stop-gap solutions. Loved as the InterCity 125s are, after a lifetime of very hard service, they are probably ready for retirement.
As the gap is only about twenty miles, I suspect that Network Rail’s and Bombardier’s engineers have got the engineering envelopes on the table in a local hostelry in Belper to solve the problem of getting 125 mph Aventra IPEMUs to jump the gap, so that services between London and Sheffield, can stop at Derby.
Why are they in Belper? Look at this Google Map of the railway through the town!
Midland Main Line Through Belper
Note the following.
- There must be half a dozen stone bridges north of Belper station, similar to ones shown in the gallery of this post.
- The River Derwent seems to be crossed by the railway, periodically for fun.
- Get that line right, probably without electrification and their uncluttered design will live for centuries.
- Get it wrong and they’ll be lynched by the local Heritage Taliban!
- If Aventra IPEMUs can’t be made to jump the gap, there’s always the reliable Derby-built InterCity 125.
Just as Great Western Railway use iconic photos of Intercity 125s running through Dawlish in their advertising, I think that East Midlands Trains will use video of 125 mph Aventra IPEMUs speeding with little noise and disturbance, through the towns, villages and countryside of the Derwent Valley.
If this could be made to happen, at an affordable cost, everybody concerned will see positive commercial effects.
Masts Are Sprouting On The Goblin
I took these pictures of the new electrification masts going up on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line (GOBlin)
The piles seem to be very strong, but the masts are a touch more dainty, than those on the Great Western Main Line.
A Modern Electrified Metro Network Using IPEMU Technology
An IPEMU is an Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit, which is a standard electrical multiple unit, which incorporates on-board energy storage, which can be charged on electrified lines and then used to power the train, where no electrification exists.
- At present a range on the on-board energy storage is typically fifty to sixty miles with adequate performance.
- The storage can be used to capture braking energy, which is then used to restart the train at a station.
- Every feature of a modern electric train can be provided.
The first IPEMUs to be delivered could be the Class 710 trains for the London Overground.
If you look at cities like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Leeds and Newcastle with comprehensive local metro networks of trains, they are mostly fully electrified, with perhaps the occasional line run by diesel trains.
Electric trains are preferable to diesel ones for several reasons.
- They have a better performance.
- They are quieter and don’t emit noxious fumes.
- They are easier to purchase.
But above all passengers like them better and they attract passengers and generate revenue and profits.
On the other hand.
- It is expensive to put up overhead wires and get power to the wires.
- Bridges need to be raised or track lowered to make space for the wires.
- Installation of electrification is disruptive.
- There are often heritage and/or environmental issues with the overhead wires or installing them.
But consider the cities or towns like Bristol, Cardiff, Norwich and Peterborough.
All have or will soon have the following.
- An electrified main line running through.
- A fully electrified central station.
- Branches and local lines fanning out from the central station, run by diesel multiple units.
- Most local services are less than eighty miles in total for an out and back journey from the central station.
- Other services go to another electrified central station, within the range of an IPEMU.
I think it goes without saying, that the current system in the town or city works after a fashion, even if the services are infrequent, too small and are worked using scrapyard specials.
Suppose the objectives for your new metro are as follows.
- Services are run by modern four-car electric trains, that meet all current and envisioned access and customer requirements.
- Services are run by a standard train, so if the network expands, more trains can be easily built!
- The ability to lengthen the trains, say for an important sporting or cultural event.
- Enough trains to run four trains per hour services on important lines and perhaps one per hour on lines that get much lesser use.
- Most services run out and back from the central station.
- As little disruption as possible, whilst creating the metro.
I believe that IPEMUs can be used to create such a metro, in the following manner.
- Get electricity to the central station.
- Check that all bridges, tunnels and stations on the lines can allow an IPEMU to pass.
- Upgrade and test the signalling for the new trains.
- Lengthen platforms on the lines to take the IPEMUs.
- Wire up the platforms in the central station and for possibly a few miles around the station.
- Test each line and convert them to IPEMU operation, as works are completed and IPEMUs become available.
One great advantage is that a lot of the testing can be done using a dummy IPEMU.
- It would be the same type of train as an IPEMU, but powered by a diesel engine.
- It would have the same cab as an IPEMU, so that all driver sight-lines and operations could be checked.
- It would have full signalling and other displays and instrumentation of an IPEMU.
- It would probably have a pantograph and a battery, so it could check all the overhead wires could charge the batteries of the IPEMU.
Real passengers could even be used for tests and asked for their opinions.
So where couldn’t this type of approach be used?
A Trip To Aylesbury Vale Parkway Station
Aylesbury Vale Parkway station is one of Chiltern Railway’s termini in Buckinghamshire.
It is on the London to Aylesbury Line with services to Marylebone via Amersham, with a journey time of five minutes over the hour.
Plans also exist for the station to be calling point on the proposed service between Marylebone and Milton Keynes. The plans for the station in Wikipedia say this.
East West Rail plans to extend passenger services northwards to Bletchley and Milton Keynes by 2019 using parts of the former Varsity Line. The platform has been built to accommodate a second track if ever implemented, which would create an island platform. At present trains (currently run only as specials onBank Holidays) between Aylesbury and Quainton Road cannot serve Aylesbury Vale as there is no platform on the through route.
The track between Aylesbury and the new station was upgraded to continuous welded rail with a maximum line speed for DMU passenger trains of 60 mph (97 km/h). It is proposed that when services are extended to the north, trains will run via High Wycombe and not Amersham. Trains currently serving the station will thereafter terminate at Aylesbury.
These are some pictures I took of the station.
It is just a simple affair with a bus stand, car parks and the usual facilities, that appears will be soon surrounded by houses.
Chiltern Railways And Electrification
Before discussing how services will link up and down the London to Aylesbury Line, I will look at Chiltern Railways and electrification.
Under Developments and Announcements in the Wikipedia Entry for the East West Rail Link, this is said.
On 10 January 2013 Network Rail announced its intention to construct the western section between Bedford and Oxford, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, as part of their five-year strategic business plan (2014–2019). The target date for train services to be operational on this section is December 2017. Electrification of the line between Oxford and Bedford was also included in the budget and target completion date was March 2017.
So electrification of the East West Rail Link is included in the project, even if the dates in the announcement are very much out of date now.
Given the following facts about the Chiltern Main Line, I believe it is likely that at some point, everybody will look seriously at providing electric trains from Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill station.
- The line has a close relationship with the East West Rail Link and other electrified or soon-to-be electrified lines.
- Chiltern finds it difficult to acquire more diesel-powered trains to fulfil their ambitions.
- Chiltern would like to run faster, larger, more efficient and greener electric multiple units.
Under Electrification in the Wikipedia entry for Chiltern Railways, this is said.
No section of the line is electrified, but in 2010 the chairman of Chiltern Railways, Adrian Shooter, indicated that electrification is being considered, though not in the immediate future. He added: “We could do some very interesting things with high-acceleration EMUs and possibly some further infrastructure work.
At some time in the next ten years, we’ll probably see electric trains between Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill.
But there will not necessarily be full electrification, as I believe IPEMU technology will change the way electrification is carried out.
Consider as well that the Chiltern Main Line is just one hundred and eighty kilometres long and the current maximum range of an IPEMU is being quoted as about sixty miles or just under a hundred kilometres, so with the following electrification.
- Marylebone and for perhaps twenty miles or so to handle local metro services.
- Birmingham Snow Hill, Birmingham Moor Street and the Snow Hill Lines, where there are local metro services.
- Banbury to Leamington Spa and other places, so that freight trains powered by bi-mode Class 88 locomotives, could use the line efficiently.
The Local lines from Marylebone and the Snow Hill Lines would be electrified using the techniques in A Modern Electrified Metro Network Using IPEMU Technology
IPEMUs would be able to run the full length of the line without the need for full electrification in an environmentally-sensitive area, inhabited by touchy people.
Northward To The East West Rail Link And Milton Keynes
Northward from Aylesbury Vale Parkway station, the Wikipedia entry for East West Rail Link, says that the line will be single track and allow 90 mph working. But as my pictures and a quick gander on Google Maps show, there is quite a bit of space available around the current single track. So as the East West Rail Link seems to be being designed as a double-track 100 mph railway, with full electrification, I think there are three possible options between the East West Rail Link and Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Aylesbury stations.
- Double-track 100 mph with electrification.
- Single-track 90 mph with electrification.
- Single-track 90 mph without electrification.
I think the line will be built with some form of electrification, so that electric trains can run from Aylesbury to Milton Keynes.
The line is also used by some freight trains, so double-track might be a good idea.
Aylesbury To London Via Amersham
Returning from Aylesbury today, I was surprised to see that the train ran from Amersham to Harrow-on-the-Hill on the same tracks as the Metropolitan Line. In fact for sixteen of the thirty-nine miles of the line from Marylebone to Aylesbury Vale Parkway, the line has full London Underground electrification.
Amersham to Aylesbury is about fifteen miles, with the distance between the two Aylesbury station being four miles, which means that Harrow-on-the-Hill to Marylebone is just a few miles.
So if an IPEMU could use the London Underground’s rail-based electrification, starting at Milton Keynes the train would easily arrive at Harrow-on-the-Hill with a full battery, that would take the train to Marylebone and back.
I don’t believe that the technical problems of an IPEMU starting at any station between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes and going to Marylebone and back are insurmountable.
Aylesbury To London Via High Wycombe
This uses the single-track Aylesbury to Princes Risborough Line, which is about a dozen miles long, before running to Marylebone along the Chiltern Main Line, which is another forty miles or so.
So some electrification will be needed.
According to Wikipedia, Chiltern have various plans to improve their network.
- The restoration of the quadruple track between South Ruislip (Northolt Junction) and West Ruislip, allowing trains to call at both stations without blocking the line. Triple track currently exists at West Ruislip, with the up platform loop still in situ, and at South Ruislip, with the Down Main through line also in situ. This would involve the reconstruction of the new down platform at West Ruislip, and the reconstruction of the up platform at South Ruislip. This ‘Chiltern Metro’ service was not programmed into the last round of franchising agreements.
- Restoration of fast through lines at Beaconsfield as part of a longer-term aspiration for a 90-minute journey time between London and Birmingham
- Double-track the line from Princes Risborough to Aylesbury.
- New Chiltern Metro Service that would operate 4+tph for Wembley Stadium, Sudbury & Harrow Road, Sudbury Hill Harrow, Northolt Park, South Ruislip and West Ruislip. This would require a reversing facility at West Ruislip, passing loops at Sudbury Hill Harrow, and a passing loop at Wembley Stadium (part of the old down fast line is in use as a central reversing siding, for stock movements and additionally for 8-car football shuttles to convey passengers to the stadium for events)
Some would also fit well with adding electrification, so I think that enough electrification can be added to allow an IPEMU to go from Aylesbury to Marylebone.
Oxford To London
Given that there will be electrification between Oxford and Bicester Village stations courtesy of the East West Rail Link, IPEMUs could start at Oxford and reach Princes Risborough, from where they used the same methods as Aylesbury and Birmingham services to get to London.
This article on the BBC, which is entitled Cowley line passenger train service planned for Oxford, says this.
Chiltern Railways has revealed plans for a passenger service to run on the Cowley branch in Oxfordshire.
The line, currently only used for freight, would see two new stations on the route at Oxford Science Park and Oxford Business Park.
So if this service goes to London, it would certainly be another job for an IPEMU.
Watford Junction To Amersham And Aylesbury
The Croxley Rail Link has been designed so it can have a link to Amersham. Wikipedia says this about the link.
A further proposal is to use the existing but seldom-used Metropolitan line chord which allows trains to run from Watford towards Amersham via Rickmansworth. In conjunction with the Croxley Rail Link, this route would allow direct services between Watford Junction and Amersham, thus improving local public transport in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
These are pictures I took, as the train passed the junction of the branch line to Watford.
It would certainly be a new use for a substantial piece of infrastructure, but would it do much more than link Amersham to Watford Junction.
Chiltern Trains could run an IPEMU from Watford Junction to Aylesbury Vale Parkway calling at all stations, but as passengers could also get to Aylesbury from Milton Keynes, I wonder if it would be well used.
No Progress On Chase Line Electrification
This morning, I went up the Chase Line to Rugeley Trent Valley station and took a few pictures.
I am not publishing any of the pictures, as nothing seems to have changed since I wrote Up And Down The Chase Line in September last year.
I am still puzzled at the lack of progress!
The West-Facing Bay Platforms At Reading Station
Reading station has three west-facing bay platforms, numbered 1, 2 and 3.
They are used as follows.
- Platforms 1 and 2 for local services to Basingstoke, Newbury and Bedwyn.
- Platform 3 for Cross Country reversing trains.
Whilst I was at Reading yesterday, a Cross Country train reversed in a higher numbered platform.
These are some pictures of the bay platforms.
The View From Above
The Layout Of Bay Platforms 1, 2 and 3 At Reading Station
Note that the electrification gantries are in place across the three tracks.
The Platforms From Ground Level
Platforms 1, 2 and 3 At Reading Station
Note how good the access is to the platforms. To the right of Platform 3, is platform 7, which is used for Down trains for the Berks and Hants route and for reversing Cross Country services.
So passengers arriving on a Cross Country train from say Manchester to Bournemouth or Newcastle to Southampton train on Platform 7 have these choices if they need to change trains.
- They could walk across from their train to a local service from platforms 1, 2 or 3.
- They could walk to the other end of the platform and get a local train from the east-facing platforms 4, 5 or 6.
- They could use lifts or escalators to cross the massive bridge to get a train on the Great Western Main Line to London or the West.
- They could also walk across to local services or in future, Crossrail to London.
And of course, they could walk out of the nearby station entrance and get a bus, taxi or their own transport.
Is there a station in the UK, where changing trains comes with so less hassle?
Ready For The Electrification
Looking Back At The Buffer End Of The Bay Platforms 1, 2 And 3 At Reading Station
Note that the gantries seem to have been designed into the station and are ready for the wires, with a nice secure steel plate to which to bolt them.
I can’t see the Heritage Taliban arguing about this design of catenery.
The Length Of The Platforms
Platform Length Of The Bay Platforms 1, 2 And 3 At Reading Station
Note the three-car diesel multiple unit in the platform. I haven’t measured the platform, but I think they are long enough for a five car Class 800 train.
Future Use Of The Bay Platforms
At I said earlier the three platforms are used for local services to Basingstoke, Newbury and Bedwyn and reversing Cross Country trains., but there are two major purposes for which the bay platforms might be used.
The Test Track for Class 800 Trains
When the electric track between Didcot and Reading has been energised, it will be used as a test track for the new Class 800 trains. This article from the Witney Gazette gives more details.
The first three trains are due to be shipped to the UK early next year to begin an extensive test programme, which will include high-speed running on the line between Didcot and Reading once the installation of overhead electric power cables is completed later next year.
Roger Ford in the April 2016 Edition of Modern Railways said this.
Energisation for test running is now scheduled for September this year.
So will one of the bay platforms be used to reverse the train?
I’ve no idea! But the showman in me, would certainly do it, just for the publicity it would generate!
On a serious side, tests could also be performed on the train/platform/passenger interfaces.
Charging Platforms for IPEMUs
Great Western Railway would probably want to get their Class 387 trains into revenue service as soon as possible.
In the September 2015 edition of Modern Railways, there is an article entitled Class 387s Could Be Battery Powered. This is said.
Delivery as IPEMUs would allow EMUs to make use of as much wiring as is available (and batteries beyond) while electrification pushes ahead under the delayed scheme, and in the longer term would allow units to run on sections not yet authorised for electrification, such as Newbury to Bedwyn. The use of IPEMUs might also hasten the cascade of Class 16x units to the west of the franchise.
To run IPEMUs from Reading to Bedwyn or Basingstoke, would need them to be charged.
These bay platforms would be ideal for charging the trains and would mean that Basingstoke, Bedwyn and Newbury would get electric shuttles to Reading.
Conclusion
The team that designed Reading station, deserve a few gold stars.
The Anonymous Widower 