Electrification « The Anonymous Widower

Reopening The Don Valley Section Of The Former Woodhead Line Between Stocksbridge and Sheffield Victoria To Passenger Services

On October 27th this Beeching Reversal Project was given £50,000 to build a case for reopening.

Stocksbridge is introduced like this in its Wikipedia entry.

Stocksbridge is a town and civil parish, in the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies just to the east of the Peak District. The town is located in the steep-sided valley of the Little Don River, below the Underbank Reservoir. It blends into the areas of Deepcar, Bolsterstone and the eastern end of Ewden valley around Ewden village, which are also within the civil parish. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 13,455.

This Google Map shows the area.

Note there are a large number of steel related industries all connected by an extensive railway system.

This Google Map shows part of the area to a more detailed scale.

I suspect that a station could be built somewhere to the South of the works.

I have followed the Stocksbridge Railway out to the East and it takes a loop to the South to Deepcar Tram and Railway station, as is shown on this Google Map.

Note.

The Eastern end of the Stockbridge site is in the North-West of the map.

Deepcar station is shown by a blue dot in the South-East corner of the map.

This Google Map shows Deepcar station in greater detail.

Note.

The Stocksbridge Railway curving to the West is clearly visible.
The other railway going North is the former Woodhead Line to Manchester.

This map clipped from Wikipedia shows the Lines through Deepcar station.

This shows the route between Stocksbridge and the former Sheffield Victoria station.

I have also found this article on the Sheffield Star, which is entitled Passenger Trains Could Return On Sheffield To Stocksbridge Don Valley Railway Line After major Funding Boost.

This is a paragraph.

The plans also involve reopening Sheffield Victoria station, which could serve a new Barrow Hill line to Chesterfield, stopping at Darnall, the Advanced Manufacturing Park, Woodhouse and other new stations, similar funding for which was granted last year.

This would seem to be a sensible plan.

These are my thoughts.

Sheffield Victoria Station

This Google Map shows the site of the Stocksbridge Line going through the centre of Sheffield.

The line starts in the North-West corner of the map and goes diagonally across.

The site of Sheffield Victoria station is at the Eastern edge of the map and is shown enlarged in this Google Map.

The street and hotel names are a giveaway.

There would appear to be space for a simple station with one or two platforms on the single-track through the area.

My preference would be for a single bi-directional platform, as has been used successfully at Galashiels station.

With well-placed passing loops, stations like these can handle two trains per hour (tph) and they can be step-free for all users.

Onward To Chesterfield

The plans as laid out in the paragraph in the Sheffield Star would appear to be feasible.

Darnall and Woodhouse are existing stations.

It would serve the proposed new station at Waverley, that I wrote about in Sheffield Region Transport Plan 2019 – A New Tram-Train Route To A New Station At Waverley.

Chesterfield station will be rebuilt for High Speed Two, so extra platforms could surely be added.

I wrote about plans for the Barrow Hill Line in Reinstatement Of The Barrow Hill Line Between Sheffield And Chesterfield.

It certainly looks to me, that taken together the Barrow Hill and Stocksbridge schemes could be a valuable new railway for Sheffield.

Rolling Stock

I have ridden all over Karlsruhe in Germany on their tram-trains, which are a German variant of Sheffield’s Class 399 tram-trains and I can see no reason, why the combined route couldn’t be designed and built for these trains.

They are very good on hills.
They can work on both 750 VDC and 25 KVAC overhead wires.
The closely-related Class 398 tram-trains in Cardiff will have batteries.
They are already working successfully in Sheffield.
There must be design advantages for stations.
Travellers in Sheffield are used to the tram-trains.
There is maintenance and operational experience in Sheffield.

It is also my belief, that Class 399 tram-trains would make excellent replacements for Sheffield’s current trams. I wrote about this in Sheffield Region Transport Plan 2019 – Renewal Of Supertram Network.

Electrification

Looking at the Stocksbridge and Barrow Hill Lines together, I believe there is a strong case for electrification of both routes with 25 KVAC overhead wires.

This would enable the following.

Class 399 tram-trains to work the combined route.
East Midlands Railway’s Class 810 trains to access Sheffield station via the Barrow Hill Line on electricity.
Electrified freight trains could use the route.

It could also be an easy route to electrify and be a good start to the electrification of Sheffield, which will happen in the future.

Electrification Between Sheffield And Clay Cross North Junction For High Speed Two

This electrification is needed for High Speed Two’s connection to Sheffield. It will also entail a lot of disruption for trains between Derby and Sheffield.

For these reasons, I believe that opening up the Barrow Hill route early between Sheffield and Chesterfield could be an excellent blockade buster.

Conclusion

There’s more to reopening the Stocksbridge Line, than as a local service in Sheffield.

November 3, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Barrow Hill Line, Beeching Reversal, Chesterfield Station, Class 399 Tram-Train, Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Electrification, East Midlands Railway, Electrification, Sheffield, Sheffield Station, Sheffield Supertram, Sheffield Victoria Station, Stocksbridge | 7 Comments

Railfreight Goes Back To Diesel As Electricity Costs Soar

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

This is the first paragraph.

Some rail freight operators have abandoned electric traction, at least for now, because the price of electricity has been rising sharply. The electricity tariffs include a 40 per cent renewable energy tax, and following the latest rises diesel traction is now cheaper. The drivers’ union ASLEF is calling for the government to intervene, but Freightliner has already taken action.

This quote from the article is from ASLEF General Secretary; Mick Whelan.

Moving freight by rail rather than road is, inherently, a carbon-efficient mode of transport and an environmentally-friendly way of doing business. Electric-hauled freight services reduce emissions by 99 per cent; even moving goods by diesel traction reduces emissions by 76 per cent.

It looks to me, that a reputable and trusted environmental economist could come up with a compromise price and possibly a solution to improve the situation.

Possible solutions could include.

Use of Biodiesel or Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil
More energy storage.

Surely, though, the long term solution is hydrogen-powered locomotives. or dual-fuel locomotives, as I wrote about in Freightliner Secures Government Funding For Dual-Fuel Project.

October 20, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Energy, Energy Storage, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | Diesel, Electrification, Freight, Freightliner, Hydrogen-Powered Locomotives, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) | 2 Comments

What Will Happen To The Eighty-Seven Class 350 Trains

At the current time, West Midlands Trains have a fleet of eighty-seven Class 350 trains.

The trains are being replaced by new Class 730 trains.
They are of different specifications.
The interiors vary, but there are a lot of tables.
All are four-car sets.
They are 110 mph trains.
Thirty of the trains are dual-voltage.
Fifty are owned by Angel Trains.
Thirty-seven are owned by Porterbrook, who have looked at converting the trains to battery-electric operation.
They are a bit of a dog’s breakfast, although they are excellent trains.
The future of the trains is rather uncertain and even Porterbrook’s plans have gone rather quiet.

So perhaps a big dog ought to round up all these trains and turn them into something more useful.

Consider.

All the trains were built in this century by Siemens in Germany.
Siemens service the Class 350 trains at Kings Heath Depot in Northampton.
Siemens have recently opened a factory in Goole to make new trains for the London Underground.
Siemens are developing the Mireo Plus B, which is a battery-electric multiple unit in Germany.

Siemens must have the knowledge and experience to turn these trains into a quality fleet of battery-electric trains.

Thirty would be dual-voltage and fifty-seven would be 25 KVAC overhead only.
All would be 110 mph trains.
I doubt there would be many places on the UK rail network, where they couldn’t run.

All appear to be in excellent condition, as these pictures show.

I very much feel, that these fleets could be converted into a quality fleet of very useful battery-electric trains.

Charging The Batteries

Most of the charging would be done from existing electrification, but as all trains have pantographs, they could use specially-erected short lengths of 25 KVAC overhead wires or charging systems like the Furrer + Frey Voltap system.

Possible Routes

I will start with the dual-voltage trains.

Uckfield Branch, where a charger would be needed at Uckfield station.
Marshlink Line
Basingstoke and Exeter, where chargers would be needed at Salisbury and Exeter and possibly Yeovil Junction.

I feel with 25 KVAC overhead applications, we will soon run out of trains.

October 19, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Class 350 Train, Electrification, Furrer + Frey, Marshlink Line, Siemens, Uckfield Branch, Voltap Charger | 5 Comments

Battery Train Fast Charging Station Tested

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

This is the first paragraph.

A prototype Voltap rapid charging station for battery trains has been tested under real-world conditions for the first time.

The Voltap system is from Furrer + Frey and this is the data sheet on their web site, which is entitled Voltap Charging Station For Battery Trains.

Looking at the pictures in the article, the system seems to consist of two components.

An overhead conductor rail suspended from pantries on the platform.
A container that contains all the power supplies and control systems.

It certainly looks to be a simple system to install and operate.

Charging would appear to take place through the pantograph, with no cables to handle.
It is claimed to be able to charge a train in an extremely short time.
The system is designed for areas, where the electricity network is perhaps a bit weaker.
It is available in 15 KVAC and 25 KVAC.
The system is future-proofed.

I can see these being suitable for several stations in the UK.

Norfolk And Suffolk

As an example, it looks like all the branch lines in Norfolk and Suffolk could be made suitable for battery-electric trains with Voltap systems at Cromer, Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Sheringham, Sudbury and Yarmouth.

Note.

The Class 755 trains would be converted to battery-electric trains.
Some stations would need more than one platform to have a charger.
There may be other chargers to ensure that services like Norwich and Stansted Airport could be run electrically.

These pictures show Class 755 trains in various East Anglian stations.

Felixstowe and some other stations may need a slightly different installation due to the narrow platforms, but I’m sure Furrer + Frey have installations for all platforms.

I think Great British Railways are going to need a lot of these chargers and the battery-electric trains to go with them.

The Uckfield Branch

The Uckfield Branch probably needs to have some form of charging at Uckfield station.

The picture shows the single long platform at Uckfield station.

Consider.

Trains to work the branch will need to be able to use third-rail electrification between London Bridge station and Hurst Green junction.
Hurst Green junction to Uckfield station and back is probably too far for a battery-electric train, so charging will be needed at Uckfield station.
Third-rail charging could be used, but I suspect that Health and Safety will say no!

But using a dual-voltage train and a Voltap system at Uckfield station would probably be ideal.

Middlesbrough

From December the 13th, LNER will be running a new daily service between Middlesbrough and London, which I described in LNER’s Middlesbrough And London Service Starts On December 13th.

The route is fully electrified except for between Middlesbrough and Longlands Junction, where it joins the electrification of the East Coast Main Line, which is a distance of twenty-two miles.

Hitachi are developing a battery-train, which they call the Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.

Note.

LNER’s current Class 800 trains will probably be able to be converted to this train.
Normally, these trains have three diesel generators.
A range on battery power of upwards of forty miles would be expected.

If the range on battery-power can be stretched to perhaps sixty miles, this train should be capable of serving Middlesbrough without the need for any extra charging at the terminus.

I have just looked at the planned path of the first train on December 13th.

The train comes from Heaton depot in Newcastle via Sunderland and Hartlepool.
It passes through Middlesbrough station.
It then reverses amongst the chemical and steel works to the East, before returning to Middlesbrough station.

Once back at Middlesbrough station, it waits for eight minutes before leaving for London.

It looks to me to be a safe route, to make sure that the train leaves on time. It also only occupies the platform at Middlesbrough station for less than ten minutes.

But it would also be possible to find space amongst the chemical and steel works to find space for a well-designed reversing siding with refuelling for the diesel-electric trains or a Voltap charging system for a battery-electric train.

Lincoln

I have been looking at the pattern of LNER’s London and Lincoln service today.

There have been six trains per day (tpd) in both directions.
Trains going North take up to seven minutes to unload passengers at Lincoln station before moving on to Lincoln Terrace C. H. S., which I would assume is a convenient reversing siding.
Trains going South wait up to thirty-forty minutes at Lincoln station after arriving from Lincoln Terrace C. H. S., before leaving for Kings Cross.

It looks to me, that if London and Lincoln were to be run by a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, that the timings would be ideal for charging the batteries on the train in either the reversing siding or the station.

But surely, the charging system in the station would allow extension of the service to Grimsby and Cleethorpes, which has been stated as being part of LNER’s plans.

This picture shows Lincoln station.

I suspect that Swiss ingenuity could fit a Voltap charging system in the station.

These are a few distances from Lincoln station.

Cleethorpes – 47.2 miles
Doncaster – 35.4 miles
Newark North Gate – 16.6 miles
Peterborough – 56.9 miles

How many of these destinations could be reached by a battery-electric train, that had been fully-charged at Lincoln station.

October 18, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Energy, Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Charging Battery Trains, Class 755 Train, Electrification, Furrer + Frey, Great British Railways, Greater Anglia, Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, Uckfield Branch, Voltap Charger | 15 Comments

Freight On The East West Main Line

This page on the East West Main Line Partnership web site, describes their ambitions towards freight.

This is said.

The freight and logistics sector is one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions. Greater use of rail for freight and logistics provides additional resilience for the business community, while also acting on the need to achieve net zero.

Whilst not part of East West Rail, removing the bottlenecks on the Felixstowe to Midlands
corridor remains an immediate strategic priority for three sub-national transport bodies (England’s Economic Heartland, Transport East and Midlands Connect wrote to the Chancellor in this regard in July 2020).

However, the design and operation of the East West Main Line should take into account and contribute to the delivery of the requirements of the national rail freight strategy. In due course Great British Railways will have a statutory duty to consider the needs of rail freight and to take those needs into account in planning the future of the rail network.

It is therefore important that the East West Main Line is designed and delivered with the capability of supporting rail freight services without the need for additional works. In this regard due consideration must be given to ensuring that the impact on local communities of rail freight movements is minimised.

I have my thoughts.

Cutting Carbon Emissions In The Freight Sector

The obvious way to do this, would be to electrify every line in the country and purchase a new fleet of electric freight locomotives.

But the problems with this are the expense, disruption and timescale, it would take to replace all the locomotives and put up electrification on every line that might possibly be used by freight trains and locomotives.

A solution is needed now, not in ten years.

But there are already solutions being demonstrated or developed that will cut carbon emissions from locomotives.

Stadler bi-mode Class 88 locomotives are already hauling freight trains and cutting emissions by using electric power where possible. But there are only ten of these locomotives.
The thirty Stadler tri-mode Class 93 locomotives on order for Rail Operations Group could or well be a game-changer. It is already known, that they will be able to cruise at 100 mph using electrification, so they will be able to mix it with the expresses on the Great Eastern Main Line. I suspect that these locomotives have been designed to be able to haul freight trains out of the Port of Felixstowe, by juggling the power sources.
In Freightliner Secures Government Funding For Dual-Fuel Project, I describe how Clean Air Power are converting a Class 66 locomotive to run on both diesel and hydrogen. This could be a very fruitful route, especially, if the diesel-electric Class 66 locomotives could be fitted with a pantograph to use electrification where it exists.
I have been very impressed with the work Wabtec have done to convert a large American diesel-electric locomotive into a battery electric locomotive. I wrote about it in FLXdrive ‘Electrifies’ Pittsburgh. In Could Class 66 Locomotives Be Converted Into Battery-Electric Locomotives?, I concluded that it might be possible to convert Class 66 locomotives into battery-electric locomotives using Wabtec’s technology.
In Powered By HVO, I talk about DB Cargo’s use of HVO to cut carbon emissions.

I am also sure that there are probably other solutions to decarbonise freight locomotives under development.

I would hope that over the next few years the amount of diesel fuel used in the freight sector will decrease significantly.

Improved Freight Routes

Currently, freight trains to and from Felixstowe take one of these routes.

Via London – Using the Great Eastern Main Line, North London Line or Gospel Oak and Barking Line, and the West Coast Main Line.
Via Nuneaton – Going via Bury St. Edmunds, Ely, Peterborough and Leicester before joining the West Coast Main Line at Nuneaton.
Via Peterborough – Going via Bury St. Edmunds, Ely and Peterborough before taking the East Coast Main Line or the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line via Lincoln.

The first two routes routes have capacity problems, whereas the third route has been improved by the use of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line.

Problems on the first two routes include

The Great Eastern Main Line is only dual-track.
The Great Eastern Main Line and the routes through London are at full capacity.
The route via Nuneaton does not have much electrification.

The East West Main Line will open up a new route directly across the country for some services, that currently go via the London or Nuneaton routes.

Felixstowe and Birmingham
Felixstowe and Glasgow
Felixstowe and Liverpool
Felixstowe and Manchester

These services could use the East West Main Line to connect with the West Coast Main Line at Bletchley, if the track were to be modified.

In addition services between Felixstowe and South Wales and the West Country could use the East West Main Line to Oxford and then join the Great Western Main Line at Didcot.

The East West Main Line could reduce the number of freight trains on these routes.

Great Eastern Main Line
North London Line
Gospel Oak and Barking Line
Peterborough and Leicester Line

The first three lines are certainly at capacity.

The Newmarket Problem

In Roaming Around East Anglia – Coldhams Common, I talked about previous plans of the East West Rail Consortium, who were the predecessor of the East West Main Line Partnership for the rail line between Chippenham Junction and Cambridge through Newmarket.

In this document on their web site, this is said.

Note that doubling of Warren Hill Tunnel at Newmarket and
redoubling between Coldham Lane Junction and Chippenham Junction is included
in the infrastructure requirements. It is assumed that most freight would operate
via Newmarket, with a new north chord at Coldham Lane Junction, rather than
pursuing further doubling of the route via Soham.

I have a feeling that if this plan were to be pursued, the Racing Industry in Newmarket wouldn’t be too keen on all the freight trains passing through the town.

Knowing the town and the racing industry and horses, as I do, I suspect that there will need to be serious noise mitigation measures through the town.

One would probably be a noise limit on the trains passing through, which might be very difficult for long freight trains, even if hauled by a much quieter battery-electric or hydrogen-powered locomotive.

Were the East West Main Line Partnership thinking of Newmarket, when they wrote the last sentence of the web page for freight.

In this regard due consideration must be given to ensuring that the impact on local communities of rail freight movements is minimised.

Newmarket is a unique town with a strong character and you shouldn’t take the town on lightly.

Related Posts

Birth Of The East West Main Line

Freight On The East West Main Line

Route Map Of The East West Main Line

October 8, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Hydrogen, Sport, Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Locomotives, Class 66 Locomotive, Class 88 Locomotive, Class 93 Locomotive, Clean Air Power, Decarbonisation, East Coast Main Line, East West Main Line, Electrification, FLXdrive Battery, Freighliner, Freight, Gospel Oak And Barking Line, Great Eastern Main Line, Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE), Horse Racing, Hydrogen-Powered Locomotives, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), Newmarket, North London Line, Port of Felixstowe, Rail Operations (UK) Limited, Wabtec, West Coast Main Line | 2 Comments

Iron Ore Miner Orders Heavy-Haul Battery Locomotive

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

This is the first two paragraphs.

Mining company Roy Hill has ordered a Wabtec FLXdrive battery-electric heavy-haul freight locomotive. This will replace one the four ES44ACi diesel-electric locos used to haul its 2 700 m long iron ore trains, and is expected to reduce fuel costs and emissions by ‘double digit’ percentages while also cutting maintenance costs.

The locomotive is scheduled to be delivered in 2023. It will have a capacity of 7 MWh, an upgrade from the 2·4 MWh prototype which Wabtec and BNSF tested in revenue service in California earlier this year.

Note.

It will have a 7 MWh battery.
2700 metres is 1.6 miles.

It looks to me, that the three diesel locomotives and one battery locomotive are arranged as a massive hybrid locomotive and I suspect that with sophisticated control systems, those double digit cuts in fuel costs and emissions would be possible.

A couple of years ago, I took this picture near Shenfield.

This double-headed train has a Class 90 electric locomotive and a Class 66 diesel locomotive at the front of a long freight train.

The Class 90 locomotive has an TDM system for multiple working.
The Class 66 locomotive has an AAR system for multiple working.

So does this mean that the two locomotives can’t work together, which if it does begs the question of what is happening.

Had the Class 66 locomotive failed and Class 90 was acting as a Thunderbird?
Was the Class 66 locomotive being moved from one depot to another for maintenance or repair?
Was it an experiment to see if the two locomotives could work together?

I sometimes think that I didn’t see this unusual formation, but then the camera doesn’t lie.

But could we learn from what Wabtec are doing for Roy Hill in Australia?

The Class 93 Locomotive

Rail Operations Group have already ordered thirty Class 93 tri-mode locomotives from Stadler, which have following power ratings.

Electric – 4000 kW
Diesel – 900 kW
Hybrid – 1300 kW

If this locomotive is capable of hauling the heaviest intermodal freight trains out of Felixstowe, Southampton and other ports and freight terminals, it could contribute to substantial reductions in the diesel fuel used and emissions.

As an example, I will use a freight train between Felixstowe North Terminal and Trafford Park Euro Terminal.

It is a route of 280 miles.
I will ignore that it goes along the North London Line through North London and along the Castlefield Corridor through Manchester Piccadilly station.
There is fifteen miles without electrification at the Felixstowe end.
There is under three miles without electrification at the Manchester end.

On this service , it could be as much as 94 % of diesel and emissions are saved, if the Class 93 locomotive can haul a heavy freight train out of Felixstowe. A few miles of strategically-placed electrification at the Ipswich end would help, if required.

It must also be born in mind, that the Class 93 locomotive is a 110 mph locomotive on electric power and could probably do the following.

Run at 100 mph on the busy Great Eastern Main Line.
Run at faster speeds on the West Coast Main Line.
Fit in well with the 100 mph passenger trains, that run on both routes.

So not only does it save diesel and carbon emissions, but it will save time and make the freight train easier to timetable on a route with lots of 100 mph passenger trains.

The Class 93 locomotive looks like it could be a game-changer for long-distance intermodal freight, especially, if there were short sections of strategically-placed electrification, added to the electrified network.

Emissions could also be reduced further by using some for of sustainable fuel.

The picture shows a Class 66 locomotive, which is powered by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil or HVO.

I can see that all diesel-powered trains and locomotives will be powered by sustainable fuels by the end of this decade.

A Wabtec Battery-Electric Locomotive

Wabtec is building a battery-electric locomotive for Roy Hill in Australia.

This article on Railway Age talks about Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery locomotives and describes some features of the locomotive for Roy Hill in Australia.

It mentions pantographs and overhead wires to charge the batteries.

Wabtec’s prototype battery locomotive has a power output of 3.24 MW and a battery size of 2.4 MWh
The Roy Hill battery locomotive has a power output of 3.24 MW and a battery size of 7 MWh

I could envisage Wabtec designing a UK-sized battery-electric locomotive with these characteristics.

2.5 MW power output, which is similar to a Class 66 locomotive.
A battery size of perhaps 1.8 MWh based on Wabtec’s FLXdrive technology.
A pantograph to charge the batteries and also power the locomotive where electrification exists.
75 mph operating speed.
Ability to work in tandem with a Class 66 locomotive.

All technology is under Wabtec’s control.

This locomotive could have a range of at least fifty miles on battery power.

I think this locomotive could handle these routes.

Peterborough and Doncaster via the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line via Lincoln, with some form of charging at halfway.
Felixstowe and Nuneaton, with some extra electrification at some point between Peterborough and Leicester.
Oxford and Birmingham, with possibly some extra electrification in the middle.

One option for charging electrification, would surely be to electrify passing loops.

I think a battery-electric locomtive based on Wabtec’s FLXdrive technology could be a very useful locomotive.

Could Wabtec’s Battery-Electric Locomotive Pair-Up With A Class 66 Locomotive?

Roy Hill will use their locomotive to form a consist of three diesel locomotives and one battery locomotive to obtain double-digit savings of fuel and emissions, when hauling iron-ore trains that are 1.6 miles long on a route of 214 miles.

We don’t have massive iron-ore trains like this, but we do move huge quantities of segregates and stone around the country in trains generally hauled by Class 66 locomotives.

So could a Class 66 or another suitable locomotive be paired-up with a battery-electric locomotive to make savings of fuel and emissions?

I would suggest that if it works in Australia, the technology will probably work in the UK.

The biggest problem for Wabtec is that the heavy end of the market may well be a good one for hydrogen-powered locomotives. But Wabtec are going down that route too!

Conclusion

I am convinced that the two decarbonisation routes I have outlined here are viable for the UK.

But I also feel that locomotive manufacturers will produce hydrogen-powered locomotives.

Other companies like Alstom, Siemens and Talgo will also offer innovative solutions.

September 16, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Australia, Australian Electric Mining Freight, Battery-Electric Locomotives, Class 66 Locomotive, Class 90 Locomotive, Class 93 Locomotive, Discontinuous Electrification, Electrification, Freight, Great Eastern Main Line, Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE), Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), Port of Felixstowe, Rail Operations (UK) Limited, Roy Hill, Thunderbird Locomotive, Wabtec, West Coast Main Line | 5 Comments

Werrington Dive-Under – 8th September 2021

I had gone to Peterborough to take pictures of the Werrington Dive Under, from a train between Peterborough and Spalding.

I took these pictures going Peterborough and Spalding.

My train between Peterborough and Spalding stations took the following route.

The Class 158 train was a great improvement on the Class 153 train, I took in From Peterborough To Lincoln in 2015.
It started in Platform 1b at Peterborough station.
It then crossed over to the Down Fast line to go North.
Finally, it slowed to cross the Up Fast and Up Slow lines to go towards Spalding.
It is surely not an efficient and the safest way to run a railway.

Think about turning right on a busy dual carriageway, by going through a gap in the central reservation.

This diagram shows the new track layout of Werrington Junction.

Note.

My train was going North on Line 5, so it had to use the two crossovers to get to the lines to Spalding.
The Up Stamford (Line 4) can be seen in the pictures after the two lines have disappeared into the dive-under.

It’s a pity the first of my pictures aren’t better, but the sun was in the wrong direction.

I took these pictures going Spalding and Peterborough.

Note.

The train used the Up Slow (line 7) to go between Werrington Junction and Peterborough station.
The last two pictures show the Class 158 train in Platform 1b at Peterborough station.

At least this time, the train didn’t cross the Fast lines.

Will Passenger Trains Use The Werrington Dive-Under?

I’m very sure they will!

On the Western side of Peterborough station, there are four platforms 4 to 7 and an avoiding line for freight trains going North.
It appears that all of these lines can access the Down Stamford (Line 1) and Up Stamford (Line 4) to go to Werrington Junction.
At Werrington Junction, trains either take the route to Stamford or use the dive-under for Spalding.

It looks to me, that if the trains to and from Spalding terminated in one of the Western platforms, then they could use the Stamford Lines to access the dive-under and they wouldn’t cross the Fast Lines of the East Coast Main Line on the flat.

Greengauge 21’s Suggestion, That Thameslink Be Extended To Spalding

In the study by Greengauge 21, which is entitled Connecting East Lincolnshire, this is said.

As noted the Spalding-Peterborough line should be a strong candidate for electrification because of its freight potential, and if so it could also accommodate an extension of Thameslink services from London and the South East to Spalding where interchange would be made with a Spalding–Boston–Louth–Grimsby express bus using the A16.

This proposal may be possible, if instead of using the dive-under, the Thameslink trains were able to use the Up Slow (line 7) to go both ways between Werrington Junction and Peterborough station.

As in the near future, full digital signalling will apply through Peterborough, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Electrification Of The Werrington Dive-Under?

Consider.

There is a gap of around ninety miles in the freight route between the comprehensive electrification at Peterborough and Doncaster stations on the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE).
There are dozens of level crossings.
The route goes through the centre of Lincoln, where there are two level crossings.

There are two ways of decarbonising the route.

Full electrification
Using hydrogen-powered freight locomotives.

Both solutions have their proposers and opponents.

I favour hydrogen-electric hybrid locomotives, that can use electrification where it exists, as it reduces the infrastructure cost on overbridges and in freight depots.

Hydrogen-powered locomotives have a go-anywhere capability.
There are also a lot of routes in the UK, where freight trains currently run and it would take a long time to electrify all of them.
As rail freight companies would have to purchase a lot of new locomotives, I can see them opting for hydrogen-electric hybrid locomotives.

But there are others, who think the only way is full electrification.

London And Lincolnshire By Electric Train

Passenger trains are not a problem, as Alstom, CAF, Hitachi, Stadler and others have demonstrated battery ranges of over fifty miles.

LNER are currently serving Lincoln from London using Hitachi bi-mode Class 800 trains, which use diesel for the 16.5 miles between Newark and Lincoln.

Hitachi’s proposed Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, is described in this Hitachi infographic.

I believe it would be possible to handle London and Lincoln via Newark without using diesel.

It also looks like it will be possible to convert the LNER’s current Class 800 trains into Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Trains.

But I doubt their range would sufficient to go between London and Lincoln via Peterborough, Spalding and Sleaford, unless there were to be a charging system at Lincoln.

But surely though, the ideal train for Lincolnshire would be a train that ran between London and Cleethorpes via Peterborough, Spalding, Sleaford, Lincoln, Market Rasen and Grimsby Town.

Peterborough and Lincoln is 56.9 miles.
Lincoln and Cleethorpes is 47.2 miles.
The service could be timed for a convenient interchange with the other Lincolnshire train services.
The service could run perhaps a few times per day.

With charging systems at Lincoln and Cleethorpes, similar to the Hitachi ABB Power Grids system that I described in Solving The Electrification Conundrum, this service could be run by an Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.

Peterborough And Lincolnshire By Electric Train

If you could run between Peterborough and major places in Lincolnshire, as part of a London service, I also suspect that a well-designed Peterborough and Lincolnshire service could serve Lincolnshire almost equally well.

It might use Platform 5 to terminate at Peterborough.

This is paired with Platform 4, which is the platform generally used by LNER trains from London, so there would be a cross-platform interchange going North.
Going South, there would be a need to use the footbridge.

How many people would use an hourly cross-TransLincs service?

September 9, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 153 Train, Class 158 Train, Connecting East Lincolnshire, East Coast Main Line, Electrification, Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE), Hitachi ABB Power Grids, Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, Peterborough Station, Werrington Dive Under | 2 Comments

Railway To Hell To Be Electrified

This is the title of a serious article on Railway Gazette.

Hell is a village near to Trondheim in Norway and the railways around Trondheim are being electrified.

September 6, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Electrification, Hell, Norway | 2 Comments

Electrification Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

Long term readers of this blog, will have noticed that I make regular references to this proposed electrification, that is part of High Speed Two’s proposals to connect Sheffield to the new high speed railway.

So I thought I would bring all my thoughts together in this post.

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 between Clay Cross North Junction and 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.

Current Passenger Services Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

These trains use all or part of the route between Cross North Junction And Sheffield stations.

CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh via Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Leeds – 1 tph
East Midlands Railway – London St. Pancras and Sheffield via Derby and Chesterfield – 2 tph
East Midlands Railway – Liverpool Lime Street and Norwich via Stockport, The Hope Valley Line, Sheffield and Chesterfield – 1 tph
Northern Trains – Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield via the Hope Valley Line – 1 tph
Northern Trains – Leeds and Nottingham via Meadowhall, Sheffield and Chesterfield – 1 tph
TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes via Stockport, the Hope Valley Line and Sheffield – 1 tph

Note.

tph is trains per hour.
High Speed Two is currently planning to run two tph to Sheffield, which will run between Cross North junction and Sheffield stations.
The services on the Hope Valley Line run on electrified tracks at the Manchester end.

These services can be aggregated to show the number of trains on each section of track.

Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Totley junction – 3 tph
Totley junction and Sheffield station – 7 tph
Totley junction and Clay Cross North junction via Chesterfield – 4 tph

Adding in the High Speed Two services gives these numbers.

Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Totley junction – 3 tph
Totley junction and Sheffield station – 9 tph
Totley junction and Clay Cross North junction via Chesterfield – 6 tph

This report on the Transport for the North web site, is entitled At A Glance – Northern Powerhouse Rail. It states that Transport for the North’s aspirations for Manchester and Sheffield are four tph with a journey time of forty minutes.

Adding in the extra train gives these numbers.

Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Totley junction – 4 tph
Totley junction and Sheffield station – 10 tph
Totley junction and Clay Cross North junction via Chesterfield – 6 tph

This level of services can be accommodated on a twin-track railway designed to the right high speed standards.

Freight Services Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

The route is used by freight trains, with up to two tph on each of the three routes from Totley junction.

And these are likely to increase.

Tracks Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

I am absolutely certain, that two tracks between Clay Cross North junction And Sheffield station will not be enough, even if they are built to High Speed Two standards to allow at least 140 mph running under digital signalling.

Battery Electric Trains

The only battery-electric train with a partly-revealed specification is Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.

Note.

The train is a 100 mph unit.
Ninety kilometres is fifty-six miles.

I would expect that battery-electric trains from other manufacturers like Alstom, CAF and Siemens would have similar performance on battery power.

In Thoughts On CAF’s Battery-Electric Class 331 Trains, I concluded CAF’s approach could give the following ranges.

Three-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 46.7 miles
Four-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 35 miles
Four-car battery-electric train with two battery packs – 70 miles

I was impressed.

These are my thoughts on battery-electric trains on the routes from an electrified Sheffield.

Adwick

Sheffield and Adwick is 22.7 miles without electrification