Morley Station – 17th August 2023
These pictures show Morley station, which is currently being upgraded.
I was rather surprised at the lack of any sign of electrification.
There was no sign of any gantries for overhead electrification, either installed or ready to installed.
In Is There Going To Be Full Electrification Between Leeds And Huddersfield?, I said this.
I have now found this document on the Network Rail web site, which is entitled Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury).
This statement is included under proposals.
Electrification of the railway from Huddersfield to Ravensthorpe – and right through to Leeds.
Because there is a dash in the words, has electrification to Leeds, been a recent addition?
I also showed this map, that I have copied from the Network Rail document
Note the railway lines shown in red. Are these the ones to be electrified? As they go from Huddersfield to Westtown, I think the answer is probably in the affirmative.
Surely, if there were going to be electrification through Morley, they’d have at least put the gantries up by now or installed the bases for them by now?
These are some distances from Real Time Trains.
- Leeds and Morley – 4.6 miles
- Morley and Dewsbury – 5,5 miles
- Dewsbury and Huddersfield 8 miles
Note.
- Leeds and Dewsbury are only 10.1 miles apart, which would be an easy journey for a battery-electric train.
- Trains typically take eighteen minutes between Dewsbury and Huddersfield, which would surely be more than enough time to charge the batteries on a train.
- It also appears that the only trains through Morley station are passenger services run by TransPennine Express or Northern Trains.
It certainly looks to me, that the section of the route between Dewsbury and Leeds though Morley station is to be run using battery-electric trains.
Centrica To Build Largest Battery Storage Project To Date
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Centrica.
These three paragraphs outline the news.
Centrica Business Solutions has secured the development rights to a 65MW two-hour battery storage plant in Perthshire, Scotland, its largest battery storage acquisition to date.
The site in Abernethy is located near a connection for North Sea offshore wind farms and will help manage grid capacity by charging when demand for power is low, and discharging when demand is at its highest.
Once connected to the grid in 2028, the 65MW two-hour battery will be able to store enough electricity to power 130,000 homes for an hour – the equivalent to a town the size of Aberdeen. The discharge could happen up to four times a day.
This map shows the site of the substation at Abernethy.
It seems a site with enough space for a 65 MW/130 MWh battery.
But is that a railway running past the site in the South-East corner of the map?
Yes! It is the single-track unelectrified railway that is used by trains to go between Edinburgh and Perth.
- There are stations at both ends of the single-track section at Ladybank and Perth.
- Abernethy substation looks like it is about halfway between the two end stations.
This page on Scotland’s Railway is entitled Fife Electrification and lists these four phases.
- Haymarket and Dalmeny
- Kinghorn and Thornton North
- Thornton and Lochgelly
- Thorton and Ladybank
The page also says that the electrification will support BEMUs (Battery Electric Multiple Units)
I feel that the electrification to Ladybank and Centrica’s battery could be linked.
- If the electrification was extended a few miles to Abernethy substation, this would surely be a reliable way to power the electrification.
- It would also be ideally placed, if Perth and Ladybank were to be electrified.
- The new battery would surely smooth out any deviations in the power supply.
I certainly don’t expect that Centrica will object to a new customer.
Electrification Between Edinburgh And Ladybank
Consider.
- Edinburgh and Ladybank is 39 miles and takes a couple of minutes over an hour.
- Once, the four phases of the electrification are complete, only the 13.6 miles between Dalmeny and Kinghorn, will be without electrification.
- I doubt that Dalmeny and Kinghorn will ever be electrified, as it includes the Forth Rail Bridge.
- Dalmeny and Kinghorn is 13.6 miles and takes around twenty-four minutes.
It looks like the BEMUs will be under wires for 25.4 miles and nearly forty minutes, which will be more than enough to charge the trains.
Edinburgh And Aberdeen
In Thoughts On Batteries On A Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, I said this about services between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Consider.
-
- The gap in the electrification is 130 miles between Edinburgh Haymarket and Aberdeen.
- There could be an intermediate charging station at Dundee.
- Charging would be needed at Aberdeen.
I think Hitachi could design a train for this route.
The 25.4 miles of new Fife electrification between Haymarket and Ladybank will reduce gap in the electrification to 105 miles and ensure trains leaving Ladybank for Aberdeen had a full battery.
Taunton To Exeter St. Davids – 4th July 2023
I took these pictures as I travelled from Taunton station to Exeter St.Davids station.
This Google Map shows a section of the M5 North of Collumpton.
Note.
- The proximity of the M5 motorway to the railway, in some pictures and the map.
- There is space to plant large numbers of trees between the motorway and the railway.
- There are high voltage overhead electrical cables running along the same corridor.
- Collumpton services are also placed between the motorway and the railway.
I believe that with good landscaping, it would be possible to improve the motorway and railway corridor, between Taunton and South of Collumpton.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the track between Wellington and Collumpton, between Taunton and Exeter.
Note.
- The black line is the railway between Taunton and Exeter.
- The blue arrow in the North-East corner of the map indicates the position of the proposed Wellington station.
- Collumpton is in the South-West corner of the map and has also been put forward for a new Collumpton station.
- I talked about the reopening of these two stations in Reopening Of Wellington and Cullompton Stations.
- The M5 to the North of Collumpton runs closely alongside the railway.
- According to Real Time Trains, it takes just under ten minutes to go the thirteen miles between Wellington and Cullompton.
I believe that by using partial electrification, good engineering and innovative landscaping, that sufficient electrification can be erected between Taunton and South of Collumpton, that would ensure the following.
- Trains would leave Taunton going East with enough charge to travel the 89.6 miles to Newbury.
- Trains would leave Taunton going North with enough charge to travel the 51.7 miles to Patchway via Western-super-Mare and Bristol Temple Meads.
- Trains would leave Cullompton going South with enough charge to travel the 32.9 miles to Okehampton.
- Trains would leave Cullompton going South with enough charge to travel the 36.6 miles to Paignton.
- Trains would leave Cullompton going South with enough charge to travel the 60.4 miles to Plymouth.
Note.
- I’ve added Okehampton, as I feel that if Dawlish had another encounter with Poseidon, Okehampton with its proposed Parkway station on the A30 could be the terminus for coaches to and from Cornwall.
- Charging could be needed at Okehampton and Paignton.
- Charging at Okehampton and Paignton, wouldn’t be needed, if the battery-electric trains had enough range to do the return trip.
Electrification of Plymouth and Penzance stations, as I outlined in Thoughts About Electrification Through Devon And Cornwall, would enable battery-electric trains to bridge the gap of 79.5 miles, between these two stations.
Conclusion
It looks like some miles of sympathetic electrification and landscaping between Taunton and South of Cullompton, is the key to running battery-electric train to Devon and Cornwall.
Freight Trains Through Lincoln Station
I must have spent nearly ninety minutes in total at Lincoln station yesterday and in that time, at least four long freight trains went through.
The reason is that Lincoln station lies on the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line, which is a major freight diversion between Doncaster and Peterborough.
- It appears to me, that more freight trains are now using this route since the opening of the Werrington Dive Under.
- All were hauled by a noisy and polluting diesel Class 66 locomotive.
- Some were hauling as many as forty containers.
Articles like this one on Lincolnshire Live, which is entitled Who Had The Crazy idea to Let Trains Run Right Through Lincoln City Centre?, which contains this paragraph.
Then, you’re left with a decision over whether you take your own life in your hands by scuttling over the crossing as fast as you can before being trapped by the barriers, climbing the stairs of one of the two footbridges, or simply waiting at the barrier for the trains to pass (and God help you if it’s one of those freight trains with a seemingly endless amount of carriages).
New footbridges have been installed over the railway, as I wrote about in The Footbridges Over The Railway At Lincoln. But is that enough?
Diesel locomotives are not the most friendly of neighbours and the sooner we start to replace them with quieter locomotives the better.
Lincoln is not the only place, that is plagued by Class 66 locomotives.
- Near me, the North London and Gospel Oak to Barking Lines are regularly used by freight trains hauled by diesel locomotives, despite being electrified.
- Diesel locomotives regularly use the Castlefield Corridor through Manchester.
There must be other places, which suffer from these beasts.
More Trains To Carmarthen
The last time, I looked at the number of GWR trains to Carmarthen its Wikipedia entry, it was just a couple.
Today, one train per hour (tph) is shown between London Paddington and Swansea, with this supplementary information.
- 7 trains per day continue to Carmarthen, calling at Gowerton (limited), Llanelli, Pembrey & Burry Port, Kidwelly (limited) and Ferryside (limited)
- On Summer Saturdays, 2 trains per day run to Pembroke Dock, calling at all stations between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock
In Regulator Approves New Grand Union Train Service From Carmarthen To London Paddington, I talked about the plans of Grand Union Trains to run five trains per day (tpd) between London Paddington and Carmarthen.
This would appear to give a total of twelve tpd between London Paddington and Carmarthen.
This page on the Crown Estate web site is entitled Celtic Sea Floating Offshore Wind, where this is said.
The Government has set an ambition to deliver up to 5GW of floating wind by 2030, with rapid expansion anticipated thereafter.
At The Crown Estate, we are committed to helping the UK achieve its net zero ambitions. To support this, we are excited to deliver a new leasing opportunity in the Celtic Sea for the first generation of commercial-scale floating offshore windfarms – unlocking up to 4GW of new clean energy capacity by 2035, kick-starting industry in the region, and providing power to almost four million homes.
We will be inviting full commercial scale projects up to 1GW, which may be developed in a phased or ‘stepping stone’ approach. Recognising the need to develop the UK supply chain and supporting infrastructure for this nascent technology, this approach is deliberately intended to provide opportunities for growth and investment. This will also facilitate the co-ordination of the necessary infrastructure, such as ports and grid connections, all of which are key to the sustainable development of the UK floating wind sector over the long term.
This leasing opportunity will provide the foundation for greater capacity in the future and help establish an exciting new industrial sector for the UK, creating opportunities for significant new investment in jobs, skills and infrastructure for the communities onshore.
It appears to me, that Great Western Railway and Grand Union Trains both believe that there will be large increase in demand for rail travel between London Paddington and Carmarthen and also along the South Wales Coast.
Grand Union Trains are also proposing the building of a new parkway station at Parc Felindre North of Swansea.
But then this area of South Wales and the Celtic Sea, has the four things needed for the development of up to 5 GW of offshore wind; a lot of wind, a large area of empty sea, steel and deep water ports to assemble all the floating wind turbines.
A Zero-Carbon High Speed Railway Between London Paddington And Carmarthen
Consider.
- The Great Western Railway between London Paddington and Carmarthen is 222.5 miles and trains take around three hours and fifty minutes, which is an average speed of 58 mph.
- Between Bristol Parkway and Reading stations, the operating speed is 125 mph.
- In South Wales, the operating speed is generally between 70 and 100 mph.
- Only the 77.4 miles between Cardiff Central and Carmarthen via Swansea is not electrified.
There is probably scope to increase the operating speed using digital signalling and by improving the track.
I would suspect that a time between London Paddington and Carmarthen of under three-and-a-half hours is possible.
The Range Of Battery-Electric Trains
Hitachi have not been specific about the zero-carbon range of their Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.
In Stadler FLIRT Akku Battery Train Demonstrates 185km Range, I talk about Stadler’s record-braking Battery-electric; Akku, which covered 185 km or 115 miles.
I suspect that Hitachi’s engineers and those at their battery suppliers; Turntide Technology will be ultra-competitive, so I wouldn’t be surprised that the zero-carbon range of the Hitachi train is very competitive to the Stadler FLIRT Akku.
A hundred mile range would allow electric services to be run on these routes.
- Cardiff and Carmarthen – 77.4 miles
- Chippenham and Bristol Temple Meads and return – 48.8 miles
- Chippenham and Bristol Western-super-Mare and return – 86.9 miles
- Swindon and Cheltenham Spa and return – 86.5 miles
- East Coast Main Line and Hull and return – 72.2 miles
- Plymouth and Penzance – 79.5 miles
- Taunton and Newbury – 89.6 miles
- York and Scarborough and return – 84.1 miles
I am fairly sure that Hitachi will aim for at least a hundred mile battery range for their Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
- This would be competitive with other train manufacturers like Stadler and Siemens.
- They would handle a lot of important routes.
- With development they could probably handle Edinburgh and Inverness.
I can’t wait to have a ride.
Could Hull Station Be Electrified?
I took these pictures, as I passed through Hull station yesterday.
It appears that Hull station has a similar Victorian roof to Liverpool Lime Street and London Paddington, so I suspect the answer is yes.
These pictures show the platforms and overhead electrification at Liverpool Lime Street station, since the recent remodelling.
The electrification seems to be very traditional, with lots of steel gantries over the tracks.
These pictures show the platforms and overhead electrification at London Paddington station.
Note.
- The roof seems to have extra tie-bars reaching across.
- The wires seem to be hung from the roof.
- At the end of the platform they are fixed to large arch supports.
- Because Liverpool Lime Street’s electrification is newer than Paddington’s, it seems to have much more professional look.
After looking at the electrification in Liverpool Lime Street and Paddington, I believe that Hull station could be successfully electrified.
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the platform layout at Hull station.
Note.
- Yesterday, my trains arrived in and left from Platform 7, which is the Northern-most platform.
- Other pictures in this blog show Hull Trains’s London service in Platform 7.
- Yesterday all Class 802 trains to and from London run by Hull Trains and LNER used Platform 7.
- I have been told by station staff, that Platform 7 can take a nine-car LNER Azuma.
- In Ten-Car Hull Trains, I talk about ten-car Class 802 trains running to and from Hull.
- Platform 7 or another platform at Hull station must be able to handle a ten-car train, which means that Hull station can handle a train, that is 260 metres long.
Looking at the station map, I believe that Hull station’s capacity for long express trains, is on a par with that of Liverpool Lime Street station.
I could see both stations handling two trains per hour (tph) across the Pennines and to and from London, with if necessary trains being formed of a pair of five-car trains.
How Many Services From Hull Station Can Be Run With Battery Trains?
Hull Trains service between London and Beverley travels for 44.5 miles on unelectrified track between Temple Hirst junction and Beverley.
Typically Hull Trains services wait in Hull station for the following times.
- Going between London King’s Cross and Beverley – Between ten and fifteen minutes.
- Returning to London King’s Cross – Upwards of twenty-five minutes.
I believe these waits in Hull station would mean that.
- A train going North to Beverley will have a battery containing enough electricity to get the train to Beverley and back, which is a distance of 16.7 miles.
- A train going South from Hull will have a battery containing enough electricity to get the train to Temple Hirst junction, which is a distance of 36.1 miles.
I believe that Hull Trains are currently working a timetable, that has been designed for operation by trains with a range on batteries of around fifty miles, provided there is electrification in at least one platform at Hull station to charge the trains.
It is also interesting to look at LNER’s two services that serve Hull.
- The 0700 to London, is scheduled to arrive at Hull station at 0635 from stabling at Doncaster and waits up to twenty-five minutes before leaving for London.
- The 2004 from London, is scheduled to arrive at Hull station at 2004 and waits up to twenty-five minutes before going South to overnight stabling in Doncaster.
It looks like LNER’s two trains follow Hull Trains rules.
- They use Platform 7 in Hull station.
- Trains going South have up to twenty-five minutes in the station.
It appears to me, that both Hull Trains and LNER are running a timetable, that would allow their services to be run using trains with a battery that had a range of around fifty miles, that could be fully-charged at Hull station before going South.
TransPennine Express run an hourly service to Liverpool Lime Street via Leeds and Manchester Victoria.
According to OpenRailwayMap’s map of electrification, when the TransPennine Upgrade is complete, the only section of the route without electrification will be the 42.1 miles between Hull and Micklefield.
As TransPennineExpress have some of the same Class 802 trains as Hull Trains, if there were at least two electrified platforms in Hull station, then Hull and Liverpool services could be run by battery-electric trains, with a similar specification to those of Hull Trains.
Northern Trains run an hourly service to Halifax via Leeds.
According to OpenRailwayMap’s map of electrification, , the only sections of the route without electrification will be the 42.1 miles between Hull and Micklefield and the 17.5 miles between Leeds and Halifax.
As Leeds and Micklefield is timetabled for seventeen minutes, I suspect this would be enough time to fully charge a battery-electric version of CAF’s Class 331 train and with charging in Hull station, then this route could be electrified.
Northern Trains also run other services, but because the Goole swing bridge is closed, I can’t get all the distances without electrification from Hull.
Ones I can find are.
- Beverley – 16.7 miles for return trip.
- Bridlington – 31.1 miles
- Doncaster – 40.8 miles
- Micklefield – 42.1 miles
- Scarborough – 53.8 miles
- Sheffield – 59.4 miles
- Temple Hirst – 36.1 miles
- York – 41.1 miles – Hull and Church Fenton
Note.
- York and Doncaster are electrified.
- Bridlington and Scarborough have suitable platforms where 25 KVAC overhead electrification could be installed to charge trains.
- Sheffield and Doncaster is only 18.6 miles and this may be the way to electrify between Sheffield and Hull.
- In The Data Sheet For Hitachi Battery Electric Trains, I state that Hitachi’s battery-electric trains have a range of 43.5 miles
It looks if enough platforms are electrified at Hull, all current services from the city could be run by battery-electric trains.
Conclusion
I believe that by electrifying Hull station, that Hull could have a station consistent with the HumberZero philosophy, with battery-electric trains running hither and thither, handling all rail traffic to and from the City.
East-West Rail: Electrification
The first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the East West Railway, says this about electrification.
As of March 2020, electrification of the line is not planned, but the 2019 decision (to rule it out) is under review.
But I don’t think it’s a simple decision of electrify or not!
These observations are guiding my thoughts.
Milton Keynes Central Station
This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and whether they are electrified in Milton Keynes Central station.
Note.
- Lines shown in red are electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
- The short platform is Platform 2A, which can take a five-car train and was built recently to terminate the Marston Vale Line service.
- Could Platform 2A be ideal for handling and charging, battery-electric trains, that terminate in Milton Keynes station?
The Wikipedia entry for Milton KeynesCentral station, has a section called Platforms and Layout, which gives full details.
Bletchley Station
This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and whether they are electrified in Bletchley station.
Note.
- Lines shown in red are electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
- The wide swath of red going North is the West Coast Main Line.
- The smaller patch of red to the East of the West Coast Main Line are electrified sidings.
- All low-level platforms at Bletchley station are electrified.
- The viaduct platforms, are shown in black as they are not electrified.
- A non-electrified line leads North-West from the viaduct towards Milton Keynes Central.
- The Milton Keynes end of the line between Milton Keynes Central station and the viaduct is electrified.
- A non-electrified line leads North-East from the viaduct towards Fenny Stratford and Bedford.
The Google Map shows a 3D visualisation of Bletchley station.
I can’t see much sign of any electrification.
Bedford Station
This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and the electrification around Bedford station.
Note.
- All platforms at Bedford station are electrified.
- The lines to the West of the station are the electrified Midland Main Line.
- The Marston Vale Line services terminate in the short Platform 1A, which is the South-East corner of the station.
- The track into Platform 1A is electrified for about two hundred metres, through the sidings South of the station.
This picture shows the electrified track as it crosses over the river.
Could Platform 1A be ideal for handling and charging, battery-electric trains, that terminate in Bedford station?
It’s odd that there is the same platform layout at both ends of the Marston Vale Line.
Is it just a coincidence or does Engineer Baldrick have a cunning Plan?
Oxford Station
This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and the electrification around Oxford station.
Note.
- The dotted red and black tracks, indicate electrification is planned.
- The planned electrification will connect Oxford station to Didcot Junction station.
- The two bay platforms at the North of the station are not electrified and Platform 2 is now used by Chiltern’s London services.
- Platform 1 could be used by trains on the East West Railway that terminate at Oxford.
When Oxford station is electrified, it wouldn’t be the largest project to add 25 KVAC overhead electrification to the two bay platforms.
Aylesbury Station
This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and the lack of electrification around Aylesbury station.
Note.
- No tracks are electrified.
- Platforms are numbered 3, 2, 1 from the top, so 2 and 3 are paired in the middle.
- All freight trains go through Platform 2 and most seem to go via Princes Risborough and High Wycombe.
- Chiltern services use Platforms 1 and 3.
Putting a charging system in Aylesbury station could be tricky.
I wonder if the simplest system for East West Railway would be to electrify between Aylesbury and Aylesbury Vale Parkway stations.
Chiltern Railway’s time between the two stations is as much as seven minutes.
Some trains to Aylesbury take over twenty minutes to do the short journey to Aylesbury Vale Parkway and return, which is more than enough to fully-charge a battery-electric train.
You can even have Chiltern’s hourly Aylesbury Parkway service, sharing the same stretch of electrification with East West Railway’s Aylesbury service, as there is a loop, which creates double-track for some of the way.
It should be noted that between Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway stations is only 41.1 miles, so some battery-electric trains could do that with a full charge at one end.
East West Railway Distances
In Trains Needed For The East West Railway, I calculated some of these distances.
- Oxford and Bedford – 46.8 miles
- Oxford and Milton Keynes – 33.4 miles
- Aylesbury and Milton Keynes – 25.9 miles
With charging at both ends, all of these routes are possible using modern battery-electric trains, where even a Class 777 IPEMU, designed for extending Merseyrail’s suburban network has done 84 miles on one charge.
On To Cambridge
In this document on the East-West Rail Consortium web site, these services are suggested, for when the East West Railway is complete.
- An hourly train via Norwich terminating at Great Yarmouth.
- An hourly train via Ipswich terminating at Manningtree.
These are distances on these routes that are not electrified, that are to the East of Cambridge.
- Ely and Norwich – 53.7 miles
- Norwich and Great Yarmouth – 18.3 miles
- Cambridge and Haughley Junction – 40.3 miles
Note.
- The Manningtree service would be able to charge its batteries after passing Haughley junction going East and it would be nearly an hour before it needed to use the battery for traction.
- If the Yarmouth service could handle the full route on batteries, then it could return to Cambridge with an efficient charger at Great Yarmouth, which for 25 KVAC overhead electrification trains is an off the shelf item.
- But it does look to me that the trains must leave Cambridge with full batteries, so they can reach electrification at Bedford, Haughley or Norwich.
This map shows the route of the East West Railway between Bedford and Cambridge.
Note.
- Bedford is on the electrified Midland Main Line to London.
- Tempsford is on the electrified East Coast Main Line to London.
- Cambridge has two electrified main lines to London.
- These connections should ensure a good power supply to the East of Bedford for electrification.
I suspect the easiest option will be to add some more electrification at one or more of these places.
- At the Eastern end of the Bedford and Cambridge section.
- To the West of Haughley junction, when it is rebuilt.
- To the North of Ely, when the railways in that area are improved.
Although, as it will be a new route, it might be best to build Bedford and Cambridge as an electrified railway.
Thoughts On The East Midlands Railway Timetable After Class 810 Trains Enter Service
East Midlands Railway will soon be replacing their diesel Class 222 trains with new bi-mode Class 810 trains.
- 32 trains will be replaced by 33 trains.
- 167 cars will be replaced by 165 cars.
- The current trains come in four, five and seven cars.
- The new trains come in five-cars only.
- The platforms at St. Pancras station can accept a pair of the new trains.
- Both Class 222 and Class 810 trains are genuine 125 mph trains.
- St. Pancras and Corby takes one hour and fifteen minutes
- St. Pancras and Nottingham takes hour and forty-five minutes
- St. Pancras and Sheffield takes two hours
The current services are as follows.
- St. Pancras and Corby via Luton Airport Parkway, Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough and Kettering
- St. Pancras and Nottingham via Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough (1 tph), East Midlands Parkway (1 tph) and Beeston (1 tph).
- St. Pancras and Sheffield via Leicester, Loughborough (1 tph), East Midlands Parkway (1 tph), Long Eaton (1 tph), Derby and Chesterfield.
Note.
All services are two trains per hour (tph)
If all services were run by single trains, the following number of trains would be needed for each service.
- St. Pancras and Corby – 6 trains
- St. Pancras and Nottingham – 8 trains
- St. Pancras and Sheffield – 9 trains
Note.
- This means a total of twenty-three trains.
- I am assuming, that trains can turn round in fifteen minutes at each end of the journey.
- If pairs of trains run, then the numbers can be doubled to forty-six trains.
These are my thoughts.
Do The Luton Airport Express Services Need Pairs Of Trains?
The Corby service is now branded as the Luton Airport Express.
This picture shows a packed Luton Airport Express at Luton Airport Parkway station.
After seeing this, I believe that a pair of trains must run to Corby to pick up passengers, who want a fast service to and from Luton Airport.
Will The Class 810 Trains Replace The Class 360 Trains To Corby?
If all services are run by single Class 810 trains, the following would apply.
- The current service pattern would need 23 trains.
- All stations would get the same number of trains to and from St. Pancras.
- All East Midlands Railway out of St. Pancras would use the same 125 mph electric trains and services could probably be speeded up.
- The Class 810 train has 2.94 MW on diesel and the Class 360 train has 1.55 MW on electric, so I suspect that the Class 810 train has the faster acceleration.
- Bedford, Kettering, Luton, Luton Airport Parkway, Market Harborough and Wellingborough would have 125 mph electric commuter services to and from London.
- Corby and Luton Airport Parkway services would have marginally more seats, if Corby services were pairs of trains.
There would be ten spare trains, if the Class 360 trains were replaced or four spare trains, if pairs of trains ran to Corby.
Would Class 810 Trains Running On Electric Execute Stops Faster?
This document on Rail Engineer gives these figures for total power on electric of Class 802 trains.
- Five-car – 2712 kW
- Nine-car – 4520 kW
Note.
- These figures are based on a Hitachi figure of 226 kW for the power of a traction motor.
- The five-car train has twelve motors and the nine-car has twenty.
- As a five-car train has three powered cars and a nine-car train has five, it looks like each powered car has four traction motors.
- The document also says that the power to weight ratio on electric is thirty percent more than on diesel.
This document on the Hitachi web site provides this schematic of the traction system.
Note that four traction motors are confirmed.
Consider the power of the various trains, that run or will run on the Midland Main Line.
- Four-car Class 180 train has one 559 kW diesel engine per car.
- Four, five and seven-car Class 222 train has one 559 kW diesel engine per car.
- Four-car Class 360 train has 1.55 MW on electric – 387 kW per car.
- Five-car Class 810 train has 2.94 MW on diesel – 588 kW per car.
- Five-car Class 810 train has 2.94 MW on electric – 588 kW per car.
Note.
- The Class 810 train will out-accelerate the Class 360 train as it has at least 40 percent more power on electric.
- The Class 810 train has pantographs on both driving cars.
- The Class 810 train has two powered cars; numbers 2 and 4.
- I have assumed that if the Class 810 train can handle 2.94 MW on both diesel and electric.
- With eight traction motors, they would need to be 367.5 kW.
- The Class 810 train should out-accelerate the Class 180 train and Class 222 train as it has at five percent more power on both diesel and electric.
I think it is also relevant that the order for the Class 810 trains was placed in August 2019 and Hitachi announced their collaboration with Eversholt Rail Group to develop the battery-electric versions of the Class 802 trains only sixteen months later. As the Class 810 appears to be an revolution of the Class 802 train, I suspect that Hitachi were working hard on battery design, as this train’s design evolved.
These are the five cars of the Class 810 train.
- 1 – DPTS – Driver-Pantograph-Trailer-Standard with Generator Unit
- 2 – MS – Motored-Standard with Generator Unit
- 3 – TS – Trailer-Standard with Transformer
- 4 – MC – Motored-Composite with Generator Unit
- 5 – DPTF – Driver-Pantograph-Trailer-First with Generator Unit
Note.
- Generator Unit is a diesel generator.
- Motored means the car has four traction motors.
- Composite means a car with both First and Standard accommodation.
- Cars 1-2, and 4-5, form two power units with two generator units, four traction motors and a pantograph, at each end of the train. Cables would connect them to the transformer in car 3.
It looks a neat solution, which probably has high reliability.
I can envisage the two generator units under cars 2 and 4 could be replaced by battery packs.
- The battery packs would mimic the function of the generator units.
- Noise in cars 2 and 4 would be reduced.
- Carbon emissions would be reduced.
- The battery packs would be charged, when running under the wires or possibly from chargers or short length of overhead wires at terminal stations.
- The battery packs would handle regenerative braking.
- Adding battery packs would allow the trains to jump gaps left in the electrification.
At some point in the future, the other two generator units could be removed or replaced with battery packs, depending on whether full electrification happens on the Midland Main Line.
These meanderings convince me that the Class 810 trains will be able to save time in the stops on the Midland Main Line.
Because of these savings, I can see East Midlands Railway, reorganising stops on the electrified section of the route, as although the stop will add a minute or two, this lost time will be picked up on savings at existing stops and by more 125 mph running.
Could The Nottingham And Sheffield Services Be Combined?
These are the current services to Nottingham and Sheffield.
- St. Pancras and Nottingham via Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough (1 tph), East Midlands Parkway (1 tph) and Beeston (1 tph).
- St. Pancras and Sheffield via Leicester, Loughborough (1 tph), East Midlands Parkway (1 tph), Long Eaton (1 tph), Derby and Chesterfield.
Note.
- Both services call at Leicester , Loughborough and East Midlands Parkway.
- Some trains call at Luton Airport Parkway, Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering and Market Harborough on the section of the Midland Main Line, which is currently being electrified between Kettering and Wigston.
- A lot of money has been spent on the Luton DART and it only has two fast trains from St. Pancras. Four tph would be ideal.
Suppose the Sheffield and Nottingham trains operated like this.
- A pair of Class 810 trains would leave St. Pancras.
- South of Leicester, they would call at one or two stations, as defined in the timetable.
- They would then call at Leicester , Loughborough and East Midlands Parkway.
- At East Midlands Parkway, the two trains would split.
- One train would go to Sheffield and the other would go to Nottingham, stopping as defined in the timetable.
Note.
- Because of the trains superior performance, they would be doing quicker calls at stations, which should allow the existing timetable to be maintained or even improved.
- Hitachi trains can split and join in around two minutes.
- These trains would call at Luton Airport Parkway, to give that station four tph from St. Pancras, Luton and Bedford.
I calculated earlier that a 2 tph Sheffield service would need nine trains. So if it served both Nottingham and Sheffield it would need another nine trains. This would give a total of eighteen trains.
- If the St.Pancras and Corby service were to be run by pairs of Class 810 trains, this would require twelve trains.
- Adding the two services together would require thirty trains. Would three trains be enough for backup and in maintenance?
I suspect splitting and joining at East Midlands Parkway could be beneficial.
Could Four tph Be Run To Nottingham And Sheffield?
Consider.
- Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Southampton and York all get two tph from London.
- Some closer stations like Birmingham, Cambridge, Ipswich, Leicester, Oxford and Reading get more.
- Most of these routes are electrified and run modern trains.
I wouldn’t say never, but adding two tph to both Nottingham and Sheffield services would require.
- Two more hourly train paths on both between St. Pancras and Nottingham, and St. Pancras and Sheffield.
- Eighteen extra trains.
But as a sub-two hour service would be running on both routes, it would probably be possible to accurately predict, when more trains were needed.
Electrification Through Leicester
As more electrification is added, this should result in faster journeys, that reduce carbon emissions.
OpenRailwayMap is now showing the electrification as dotted lines on the Midland Main Line.
This map shows the electrification scheme through Leicester.
Note.
- Only the two main lines in the centre of the station seem to be going to be electrified.
- These lines are used by East Midlands Railway’s through trains and surprisingly some freight trains.
- Terminating services from places like Birmingham, Grimsby and Lincoln seem to stop in the outer platforms.
This picture shows the platforms from the Northern footbridge.
This picture shows the platforms from the Northern footbridge.
At the Southern end of the station, the tracks go under the London Road bridge. This map shows the tracks there.
Note.
- The two main tracks of the Midland Main Line appear that they will be electrified.
- But the lines at each side are not electrified.
Some years ago I came back to London from Leicester with a group of drivers. At one point, the conversation turned to electrification and they said that they had met a Network Rail engineer, who had told them, that the bridge was rather low for electrification and the track couldn’t be lowered because Leicester’s main sewer was underneath the railway.
It looks like Network Rail have found a way to squeeze two electrified tracks through the middle of the bridge and then use diesel, battery or other self-powered trains on lines without electrification on either side.
125 mph Upgrade For MML OLE South Of Bedford
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the June 2023 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the sub-heading.
Targeted Investment Benefits From Project SPEED Approach
The main objective was to upgrade the 1980s electrification between Bedford and St. Pancras, so that it could support 125 mph running by East Midlands Railway’s new Class 810 trains.
Originally, a total replacement was envisaged, but in the end a more selective approach will be carried out.
This paragraph indicates the benefits of the approach.
The proposal for wholesale replacement of the OLE South of Bedford would have cost several hundreds of millions of pounds, whereas the approved scheme comes in at just £84 million, around one-third of the previous cost – testament to the application of SPEED principles.
I have a couple of thoughts.
Network Rail’s Project Management
If I go back to the 1970s and 1980s, when we were developing and selling the project management system; Artemis to the world, we sold very few systems to the UK Government and none to British Rail or the NHS. Later Artemis was used on the Channel Tunnel and the Rail Link to London, the Jubilee Line Extension, sections of the Docklands Light Railway and railways in Australia and Hong Kong.
So it is good to see, Network Rail getting to grips with managing the electrification upgrade of the Midland Main Line with some good project management.
An Encounter With A Group Of Drivers
It might have been five years ago, when I travelled with a group of drivers from East Midlands Trains positioning to St. Pancras.
- One of the observations they had was that the Class 700 trains coming into service were not fast enough as they were only 100 mph trains, whereas their Class 222 trains were capable of 125 mph.
- Since then the Class 360 trains have been introduced on Corby services. These trains have been uprated from 100 to 110 mph.
- We now have the situation, where Class 810 trains capable of running at 125 mph will replace the Class 222 train.
If you look at the traffic at West Hampstead Thameslink station, you can see that Both Thameslink and East Midlands Railway are using the fast lines, through platforms 3 and 4.
The fast lines have a maximum speed of 125 mph North of Luton and generally 100-110 mph between Luton and West Hampstead Thameslink station.
Would it help the timetabling of services on the Midland Main Line, if the Thameslink services were capable of running faster, when they were using the fast lines?
I feel the drivers may have a point.
Will Hollywood Celebrity Involvement Be The Catalyst To Spark Development Of the Borderlands Line?
In Wrexham General Station – 4th May 2023, I showed this map, of Wrexham General station and the Racecourse Ground.
Consider.
- Wrexham A. F. C. are certainly a club, whose fans won’t need much encouragement to go to matches by train.
- I also feel that given the celebrity ownership, it will be one of those grounds where away supporters will want go.
- Its ground and Wrexham General station is well-served by direct trains from Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool and London.
- Interesting matches next year could be against Crewe, Newport and Tranmere.
I’m sure that because of the location of the ground and the celebrity owners, there will be pressure to improve the Borderlands Line to Liverpool.
The Wikipedia entry for the Borderlands Line has a section called Development, where this is said.
The doubling of the journey frequency on the line is one of the aims of the Growth Track 360 group, a consortium of business, politicians and public sector leaders. The group aims to improve transport and create jobs in the North Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire area over the next 20 years. During the 2017 Autumn budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond stated that part of the additional £1.2 billion funding Wales was receiving would be used to look into proposals to improve journey times on the line and developing a business case.
In October 2019, Transport for Wales announced £280,000 have been allocated to revamp stations along the line in north Wales and Merseyside, as part of TfW’s £194 million station improvement programme.
In a section called Proposed New Stations, these improvements have been proposed.
- Build a new station at Deeside Industrial Park.
- Build a new station at Woodchurch.
- Build a new station at Beechwood.
- Incorporate the line into the Merseyrail Wirral line to provide direct connectivity with Liverpool city centre.
- Replace the High and Low levels at Shotton station with a dedicated interchange station, improving connectivity between the North Wales Coast Main Line & the Borderlands line.
- Remove level crossings to improve line speed.
All these proposals seem reasonable.
There is also a section called Proposed Electrification, where this is said.
There have been proposals for the full or partial electrification of the line since 1999 with participation of Merseytravel and the devolved institutions in Wales. Such electrification is usually intertwined with proposals for the full incorporation of the line into the electrified Merseyrail network, allowing for services from either Wrexham Central or partway along the line to travel all the way to Birkenhead and Liverpool Central.
In 2008, a Network Rail study estimated the cost for third-rail electrification of the entire line to be £207 million. To lower costs, Merseytravel suggested overhead-wire electrification as an alternative, bringing estimates down to £66 million. However, this would mean trains running between Wrexham and Liverpool would have to be compatible with both electric systems, therefore incompatible with the third-rail only trains in use at the time.
There is political support to electrify the line from both Welsh and Merseyside authorities, however the responsibility of rail infrastructure lies with the UK Government’s Department for Transport. The Welsh Government aims to increase services between North Wales and Merseyside, in particular Wrexham and Deeside with Liverpool and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Whereas Merseyside authorities would like to increase services to stations on the line on the Wirral Peninsula in particular, as well as the rest of the line.
In 2016, a working group had been set up to examine improving the line, including proposals to increase the frequency of trains on the line. It is hoped that an increase in the number of passengers would improve the case for electrification.
It seems that various solutions have been proposed.
Consider what will be available to Merseyrail and Transport for Wales within a year or so.
- Merseyrail will be running a new fleet of electric Class 777 trains.
- These new trains will be running from Bidston station and under Liverpool City Centre using the Wirral Line.
- Merseytravel has an option for a further 60 units.
- Class 777 trains are designed for running with 25 KVAC overhead electrification, should this be required in the future.
- Merseyrail and Transport for Wales will be working with Stadler on the use of battery-electric trains.
- Bidston and Wrexham Central are only 27.5 miles apart.
- The Borderlands Line is not the most challenging of rail lines to improve, as it is fairly straight and level.
- It is unlikely that Health and Safety would allow any more third rail electrification. But would this ban also apply in Wales?
- West Kirby trains run for 10.4 miles in 34 minutes to perform their loop under from Bidston under Liverpool City Centre.
- If Wrexham trains could turn under Liverpool City Centre, this would improve shopping, business and educational opportunities for those living along the Borderlands Line.
This section of the Wikipedia entry for the Borderlands Line says this about the range of the Class 777 trains on battery power.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority announced that trials of the seven battery electric multiple unit (BEMU) versions of their new Class 777 had shown that they were capable of travelling up to 20 miles (32 km) without a charge. Further trials by Stadler reached a range of 84 miles (135 km). This would allow the line to be served without the full electrification.
In Battery Answer To Schleswig-Holstein’s Diesel Replacement Question, I talked about how Stadler were using battery-electric trains to replace diesels in Schleswig-Holstein.
It seems obvious to me, that Stadler would have experience of a suitable battery-electric train and charging system, that could be applied to the Borderlands Line.
- I would suspect that the 34 minutes that the train would take to go from Bidston to Liverpool and back to Bidston would be more than adequate to fully charge the batteries on a train.
- This would be enough to get a full train to Wrexham, even when Liverpool or Everton were playing an FA Cup match against Wrexham A. F. C.
But how would trains recharge at Wrexham? This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at Wrexham.
Note.
- Wrexham Central station is in the South-East corner of the map.
- Wrexham General station is towards the top of the map marked by blue letters.
- A single track connects Platform 4 at Wrexham General station to the single platform at Wrexham Central station.
It looks like space could be a bit limited at Wrexham Central station, so would it be an idea to electrify between the two stations?
A train takes typically about seven minutes from arrival at Wrexham General station from Bidston until it leaves the station to return to Bidston.
- This should be enough to charge the train fully.
- Theoretically, it would allow Wrexham to have a four trains per hour (tph) service to Liverpool.
- Electrifying between the two stations would be about 0.6 miles of single-track electrification.
- Connection and disconnection to the electrification would be in Wrexham General station.
- The electrification would only be switched on, when there is a train using it. This could be arranged using simple automation or by employing another signaller.
I do wonder if Welsh Health and Safety would allow third-rail electrification? If it’s a UK matter, then give it to the Welsh Government. But it would be the only third-rail electrification in the Principality.
Conclusion
I believe that if the Welsh Government would allow third-rail electrification, the service could start as soon as Merseyrail has enough battery trains.
The Anonymous Widower 