Battery-Electric Trains On The Henley Branch
As I keep mentioning battery-electric trains on the Henley branch line and I was in the area today, I thought I’d pop in and take a trip to Henley-on-Thames station.
These are my thoughts about the Henley branch line.
The Branch Line Was Busy
The two-car Class 165 train coped with the traffic today, but I suspect that on some days more capacity is needed.
The Branch Line Is Only 4.6 Miles Long
Battery-electric trains of a length of three- or four-cars are typically showing battery ranges of upwards of fifty miles, so I am fairly certain, that several battery-electric trains could handle the route, with charging at Twyford station.
- Conversions of Class 321, Class 379 and Class 387 trains would probably be possibilities.
- The Class 379 and Class 387 have a very handy 110 mph operating speed.
- Alstom, CAF, Hitachi and Siemens could probably offer new trains.
- All are four-car trains.
Because of the length of the branch, I doubt there wouldn’t need to be any infrastructure changes at Henley-on-Thames station.
Charging A Train In Platform 5 At Twyford Station
These pictures show the Class 165 train, that worked the branch in Platform 5 at Twyford station.
Note.
- The two-car Class 165 train in the station is 46.50 metres long.
- I suspect that a three-car or even four-car train, that would be eighty metres long, could be accommodated in the platform.
- The last picture shows a Class 387 train in the adjoining electrified Platform 4 in Twyford station.
It looks to me, that installing a three-car length of overhead electrification in the bay platform would not be the most challenging of projects.
Longer Trains To Henley-on-Thames
The Wikipedia entry for the Henley branch line says this about services.
The current (2022) passenger train service pattern on the line provides trains at about 30 minute intervals off peak. The first train out from Henley is at 06:05 and the last train back at 00:18. The Saturday service is also half-hourly until around 20:15, after which a largely hourly service is operated. This is also the case with the Sunday service, with half-hourly services until 19:15.
Additional services are provided during Henley Regatta at the beginning of July, with longer trains. All services are operated by Great Western Railway (GWR), using Class 165 and 166 Turbo diesel multiple units. Upon completion of electrification, Class 387 trains will be used, while the Turbos will be displaced to other parts of the GWR network.
The map from OpenRailwayMap shows the platform and track layout at Henley-on-Thames station.
Note.
- The Henley branch line is shown in yellow.
- The scale in the bottom-left corner of the map.
- I would estimate that the platform is around 200 metres long, which means it will take an eight-car train.
The second map from OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at Twyford station.
Note.
- Both maps are to the same scale.
- The Henley branch line is shown in yellow.
- The slow lines of the Great Western Main Line are shown in orange.
- The fast lines of the Great Western Main Line are shown in red.
There is a cross-over between the two slow lines to allow trains from London to access the branch line.
It looks to me, that the line will be fully-electrified or battery-electric trains could be used.
Ticketing
I can get to Twyford by using my Freedom Pass on the Elizabeth Line, like probably a large number of those over sixty, who live in London.
I had started my journey at the Moorgate end of Liverpool Street station, where there is no ticket office or machine capable of selling an extension ticket.
In the end, I bought my ticket for the branch in the ticket office, but you can buy tickets on the train.
Transport for London and Great Western Railway can do better.
Reading Green Park Station – 27th May 2023
Reading Green Park station opened today, so I went and took these pictures.
Note.
- It is a high-specification station with two platforms, toilets and full step-free access using a bridge and lifts.
- I was told, that the station can handle six-car trains.
- There is no coffee kiosk in the station, but there is a Tesco Express outside.
- Trains run between Reading and Basingstoke, at a frequency of two trains per hour (tph).
- The Reading and Basingstoke Line is partially-electrified.
- As I’ve seen before, there was a Chinese guy taking pictures of the station.
- At present there are only 54 parking spaces, but Wikipedia indicates this could be increased.
This Google Map shows the station under construction.
The map shows the station has room for expansion, which in a thriving town like Reading could be important.
I have a few thoughts.
Rolling Stock
The route is not unique, but it is unelectrified, but has 1.8 miles of high quality electrification at the Northern end.
This equates to a route, where 11.7 % is electrified.
Trains normally terminate at Reading in the fully-electrified Platform 2, which is shown in this picture.
In a typical round trip, a train can spend up to 26 mins under the wires between passing Southcote junction going North and passing it going South.
This time should be more than enough to fully-charge a battery-electric train.
Consider.
- Modern battery-electric trains have a range in excess of sixty miles.
- Network Rail must have known that from before 2015, when they ran the Class 379 IPEMU trial on the Mayflower Line, which I wrote about in Is The Battery Electric Multiple Unit (BEMU) A Big Innovation In Train Design?.
- I was told, by the onboard text engineer, that the Class 379 IPEMU train had a range of sixty miles on the batteries.
- In Is It Architecture,Engineering Or Art? I describe my first visit to the superbly rebuilt Reading Station. This was in 2013 and there is no sign of any electrification.
So was the electrification scheme at Reading designed knowing the results of the trials in Essex, which showed that battery-electric trains did more than work and were a serious proposition?
A sixty mile range would mean a battery-electric train could handle, these routes from Reading.
- Southcote junction and Basingstoke and then back to the electrification at Southcote junction, which would be 27.2 miles.
- Newbury and Westbury, which is 42.5 miles.
- Didcot Parkway and Oxford and then back to the electrification at Didcot Parkway, which would be 21.0 miles.
If four-car Class 321 Renatus, Class 379 or Class 387 trains were to be converted, I doubt there would be many modifications needed to stations and track.
The Bridge
The bridge has everything anybody would want with two lifts, stairs and lots of glass for good views.
But what puzzles me about Network Rail’s bridges is that a few years ago, they held a competition with RIBA to design a bridge.
This stylish, affordable and easy-to-install footbridge was the winner.
I wonder why not one has been built!
Ticketing
I feel there could be a minor problem with the ticketing.
For my trip today, I used my Freedom Pass on the Elizabeth Line as far as Reading, where I bought a return to Basingstoke, as I wanted to photograph something at that station.
In common with many stations, I had to exit from Reading station to buy my ticket from a machine.
As Reading has that superb bridge with lots of space and many changes at Reading will involve crossing the bridge, would it not be possible to put a ticket machine on the bridge?
I have travelled extensively on German trains and they place lots of ticket machines on the platforms, which I have used extensively, as their English is better than my German, which I have to use in a ticket office.
Should Oyster Be Combined With A Freedom Pass?
Consider.
- This morning I wanted an early start, so to get to Moorgate, I left before 0900, which meant I couldn’t use my Freedom Pass on the buses and Underground.
- So I used my Oyster Card, which still had some money on it.
- After breakfast, it was nearly ten, so I swapped my card back to the Freedom Pass.
I believe it would be more convenient, if I had one card that handled both ticketing modes. It would be an Oyster card, but when I used it outside of the morning Peak, the card wouldn’t be charged.
Extending The Elizabeth Line – Improving The Route To Windsor & Eton Central Station
This post is now complete.
I took the Elizabeth Line to Slough station, for onward travel to Windsor & Eton Central station today and took these pictures along the route.
Note.
- I joined the Elizabeth Line at Moorgate station and took a train all the way to Paddington station.
- As a Freedom Pass holder, I use the Elizabeth Line for nothing.
- I changed between the Central and Western sections of the Elizabeth Line at Paddington.
- I also bought my Slough and Windsor & Eton Central ticket at Paddington from a machine, for the princely sum of £2.10. It was with a Senior Railcard.
- There is a lot of building going on along the route.
- The diesel train on the Slough-Windsor & Eton Line was a three-car Class 165 train.
I have some thoughts on how to improve the train service to Windsor.
What Do I Mean By Improving?
I don’t mean direct trains, as that would be impossible for various reasons.
- Platform length at Windsor & Eton Central station would be a problem.
- Flat crossing across the fast lines would slow the expresses.
- To make the running efficient, a flyover would need to be built. The disruption of building it and the cost would be immense.
What is needed, is a system, which means that getting from Central Elizabeth Line stations to Windsor & Eton Central station is as easily as possible.
Windsor Is One Of Our Premier Tourism Destinations
I suspect that on passenger numbers; Bicester Village, Cambridge, Oxford and Windsor are the four most visited tourist sites by rail from London.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to provide some of the services to these destinations, with the exception of Cambridge, with British Rail-era diesel multiple units.
Could A Four-Car Train Be Run On the Slough-Windsor & Eton Line?
I took this picture of the Slough end of the three-car Class 165 train in Windsor & Eton Central station.
It does appear that say a four-car Class 387 train could be fitted into the platform, with perhaps some adjustment to the platform and the track.
Would The Train Be Electric Or Battery-Electric Powered?
Consider.
- The Slough-Windsor & Eton Line is only 2.5 miles long.
- It is single-track.
- Trains take six minutes to do the trip.
- Modern electric trains with better acceleration could probably do the trip in four minutes.
- A battery-electric train will need charging.
This OpenRailMap map shows the electrification at Slough station.
Note.
- 25 KVAC overhead electrification is shown in red.
- The Slough-Windsor & Eton Line leaves the map in the South-West corner of the map and runs into the electrified Bay Platform 1.
- The electrification in Platform 1 could be used to charge a battery-electric train.
- The Slough-Windsor & Eton Line appears to be partially electrified at the Slough end.
I wonder, if the simplest, most-affordable, least risky approach is to electrify the 2.5 miles with 25 KVAC overhead electrification, as it would allow a standard Class 387 train to work the route.
Operation Of The Shuttle
Currently, the Class 165 trains take six minutes between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central stations, which means that with turning the train at each end of the route, where the driver must walk seventy metres or so to change ends only a three trains per hour (tph) schedule is possible.
If I look at some of the station-to-station stops on the Elizabeth Line, I suspect that a well driven electric train could go between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central stations in perhaps four minutes. With a well-marshalled stop at either end of the route in perhaps two minutes, it could be possible to do a round trip in twelve minutes, which would allow a four tph service.
Capacity would go up from nine cars per hour to sixteen. or an over seventy percent increase in capacity.
There are several ways that, this shuttle could operate.
- As now, where the drivers have to be fit to change ends in the time.
- Two drivers are used with one in each cab.
- Drivers walk back on arrival at the terminal and then step-up into the next train. This is standard London Underground practice at stations like Brixton and Walthamstow Central.
- The train is fully-automated and the driver sits in either cab with an override, that allows him to take control, if say protestors or criminals get on the track.
As a Control Engineer, I certainly feel the fourth option is possible.
Intriguingly, I suspect the concept could be proved with two drivers in an existing three-car Class 165 train, to see if four tph are possible.
Ticketing
Ticketing is less of a problem now, than it was before March 28th 2022, as from that date Windsor & Eton Central station is now in the contactless area, so you could touch in with your bank card at any station in the London contactless area and touch out at that station.
It’s all explained on this page on the Great Western Railway web site.
I am a Freedom Pass holder, which gives me the ability to get free travel to and from anywhere on the Elizabeth line for free, so getting to and from Slough for nothing, is no problem, if I use the Elizabeth Line.
But I would need a ticket for the section between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central stations.
Before I got on the Elizabeth Line at Moorgate, I tried to buy an extension ticket between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central stations, from the ticket machines at Moorgate, but it was not possible, so in the end, I made a detour to the ticket office at Paddington and bought the ticket there. But when the Elizabeth Line is fully connected, there will have to be a rethink, as Freedom Pass holders from say Ilford would want a day out in Windsor.
Perhaps the Slough-Windsor & Eton Central line should become a fixed-fare line, where a bank card would be charged say a pound for each journey.
Note that I only paid £2.10 for a return ticket at Paddington with my Senior Railcard.
A Better Interchange At Slough
Currently, the Off Peak frequency of trains at Slough is as follows.
- Slough and Windsor & Eton Central – 3 tph
- Slough and Paddington – Elizabeth Line – 2 tph
- Slough and Paddington – Great Western Railway – 2 tph – Non-stop
- Slough and Paddington – Great Western Railway – 2 tph – Stopping
In TfL Confirms Details Of Reading Services, I wrote that the Elizabeth Line will have 4 tph to London in the Off Peak, with two extra services in the Peak.
This indicates to me, that the Slough and Windsor & Eton Central service needs four tph.
A Trip To Northfleet
Yesterday, I went to Northfleet station.
Partly, it was to have a drink with my old friend; Ian, but mainly it was to take some pictures to add to Elizabeth Line To Ebbsfleet Extension Could Cost £3.2 Billion.
Normally, when I go to see Ian I take the HighSpeed service out of St. Pancras.
But this service is expensive and as I was leaving from Moorgate, I decided to take the Elizabeth Line to Abbey Wood and get a train to Northfleet station instead.
I have a few thoughts on my journey.
Cost
I used my Freedom Pass to Abbey Wood and then bought an Off Peak Day Return between Abbey Wood and Northfleet for just £4.95 with a Senior Railcard.
Convenience
As you have to use one of the bridges at Abbey Wood to change to and from the Elizabeth Line, I used the one at the station end and popped through the barrier to buy my onward ticket from a machine.
Surely, Freedom Passes should be linked to a bank account, so if you want to stray outside Zone 6, you are automatically charged.
Elizabeth Line Messages On Southeastern
At Swanscombe station today, whilst waiting for my Thameslink train to take me back to Abbey Wood, I noticed that the displays were telling passengers to change at Abbey Wood for the Elizabeth Line.
You certainly wouldn’t use the dreadful Swanscombe station with heavy cases, but stations like Abbey Wood, Dartford, Gravesend and others would enable granny or grandpa to take a sensible-size wheeled case to Heathrow Airport with reasonable ease, once the Elizabeth Line becomes a fully-connected railway between Abbey Wood and Heathrow.
Onward Trains At Abbey Wood
There are two easy onward Thameslink tph at Abbey Wood, that run at sixteen and forty-six minutes past the hour.
You can also take the first Dartford train and then take the first train from there.
If you get the Thameslink train from Abbey Wood timings are as follows.
- Slade Green – 6 minutes
- Dartford – 11 minutes
- Stone Crossing – 16 minutes
- Greenhithe – 18 minutes
- Swanscombe – 21 minutes
- Northfleet – 23 minutes
- Gravesend – 27 minutes
- Higham – 33 minutes
- Strood – 39 minutes
- Rochester – 42 minutes
- Chatham – 45 minutes
- Gillingham – 50 minutes
- Rainham – 55 minutes
Note.
- There are also two Southeastern tph between Charing Cross and Gravesend, but they don’t serve Abbey Wood.
- The timings appeared sensible in my two trips; yesterday and today.
- Travellers also have a choice in that they can use the more expensive HighSpeed services to selected stations.
After just missing a Thameslink train today by a few seconds, and then had to wait thirty minutes for the next train, I am convinced that there needs to be a four tph service between Abbey Wood and Rainham.
Four tph Between Rainham And Abbey Wood
In Crossrail Ltd Outlines Plan To Complete The Elizabeth Line, I said this about Western branch services.
When Crossrail is fully open, the Western Branch frequencies are planned to be as follows.
- Reading and Abbey Wood – 4 tph in the Peak and 2 tph in the Off Peak
- Maidenhead and Abbey Wood – 2 tph all day
- Heathrow Terminal 4 and Abbey Wood – 4 tph all day.
- Heathrow Terminal 5 and Abbey Wood – 2 tph all day.
This includes 6 tph between Heathrow and Abbey Wood all day.
Crossrail To Ebbsfleet is proposing that the South-Eastern branch will terminate as follows.
- 4 tph – Abbey Wood
- 4 tph – Northfleet
- 4 tph – Gravesend
So will this mean that the six tph to Heathrow will be split equally between Abbey Wood, Northfleet and Gravesend, with two Heathrow tph terminating at each terminal?
The North Kent Metro
My naive mind thinks, why don’t the two Heathrow and Gravesend services terminate at Rainham?
This would give the following.
- The minimum four tph between Abbey Wood and Rainham.
- Rainham should be able to turnback for tph.
- Services would call at Belvedere, Erith, Slade Green, Dartford, Stone Crossing, Greenhithe, Swanscombe, Northfleet, Gravesend, Higham, Strood, Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham.
North Kent would have its own metro running under London Overground rules.
It could even start as soon as Class 345 trains are allowed to run to Rainham.
Airport Connect
Consider
- The Elizabeth Line service between Abbey Wood and Rainham could serve Heathrow at its Western end.
- The Thameslink service would serve Luton Airport Parkway.
- Both services would serve Liverpool Street for the Stansted Express and services to and from Southend Airport.
- Both services would serve Farringdon for services to and from Gatwick Airport.
- An extra station at Silvertown could serve London City Airport.
- In future, there could even be a connection to High Speed Two at Old Oak Common.
One service on the Elizabeth Line would connect all these together.
London Now Has A Large Communal Cool Room For The Elderly And Disabled
I would suspect that most elderly and disabled people, who live in the London boroughs have a Freedom Pass entitling them to free public transport.
London’s new cool room is large and fully air-conditioned, and stretches eight miles right across the city between Paddington and Canary Wharf.
It is officially called the Elizabeth Line, but others call it Crossrail or the Lizzie Line.
Perhaps, the seats in the stations are hard, to discourage overstaying in the well-controlled cool atmosphere.
These seats are used on most stations.
I wonder how many passengers will choose the Elizabeth Line in this heat?
I certainly will!
Quiet Battery-Powered River Ferries To Serve Battersea Power Station Pier
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Nine Elms.
These two paragraphs give the story and explain the operation of the new boats.
Passengers using Battersea Power Station pier will soon be boarding the UK’s first hybrid high speed passenger ferries using battery power.
Uber Boat by Thames Clippers are building two new vessels which will operate solely on battery power when travelling between Tower and Battersea Power Station piers – and recharge while using biofuelled power when sailing further east and west outside their central London route.
They will join the fleet in the Autumn.
There is also this environmental statement from Thames Clipper.
Uber Boat by Thames Clippers is committed to achieving net zero with all new builds by 2025 and for its wider fleet, infrastructure and environmental footprint by 2040.
That sounds very good to me.
Conclusion
I suspect that this policy will lead to increasing use on London’s river transport system.
I’d also like to see Thames Clipper better integrated with the Overground, Underground and the buses. Some of the walking routes could be improved and have better signage.
I also think, that the Thames Clipper would benefit, if the Freedom Pass could be linked to a credit card, so that Freedom Pass holders would only need to use one card to use all of London’s transport systems.
A Thought On Low Vaccination Rates In London
Could London’s bad performance be down to difficult parking provision at vaccination centres?
There was no parking, where I went to the Francis Crick institute for my vaccination.
But I went by bus and train using my Freedom Pass. So it cost me nothing!
According to my contacts at Transport for London, there are still a lot of elderly and eligible Londoners, who don’t have Freedom Passes.
I’d love to see a graphic showing Freedom Passes against vaccination in the over 65’s in London!
There are probably other related questions to answer.
- How many no-shows at vaccination centres are down to parking problems?
- How many of the non-vaccinated couldn’t find a centre close by, that they could drive to?
- How many of the non-vaccinated object to spending money to get to the vaccination centre?
And many more! I hope a university is doing the research!
Greener And Brighter Stations Across Hampshire And Surrey
The title of this post. is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Network Rail hope to save 25% in electricity by rewiring and relighting their Wessex Route stations.
Worcester Park and Andover stations are two of the latest stations to be rewired, forming part of the drive to replace old and inefficient electrical equipment and incandescent lights at 32 stations in Hampshire and Surrey.
As Worcester Park station is Freedom Pass territory, I went to have a look.
Note.
- It appears that all the original light fittings have been updated with some form of LED conversion.
- The LEDs are clearly visible in some of the pictures.
The whole project is called Rewire and Relight and is due to be finished in 2024.
Conclusion
I suspect Network Rail can apply these techniques to a lot more places, than just 32 stations in Hampshire and Surrey.
Coulsdon South Station Has Gone Step-Free
Coulsdon South station went step-free a couple of months ago, so I went to take a look.
These are my thoughts.
The Bridge
Mechanically, the bridge is typical of many in the UK, but someone has taken care over the design, by the use of well-chosen colours and bricks.
The Café
We need more station cafes like Jaconelli’s Espresso Bar.
- Full range of proper coffee and other drinks.
- Cakes and snacks.
- Gluten-free options.
- Wude selection of alternative milks
- Knowledgeable and friendly staff.
I suspect it is also owner-managed, as most cafes of this type would be in Italy.
It’s one of the best cafes of its type, that I’ve found in a long time.
The Old Bridge
According to one of the guys in the café the old bridge needed replacing.
But leaving it intact, gives the young, fit or agile a second route across the tracks.
Local Walks And Attractions
There are walks nearby in the Surrey Hills and on the London Loop.
I was also told, that you can get a bus to the Lavender Fields.
Zone Six Station On Thameslink
The station is in Zone Six, which puts it in Freedom Pass territory.
It also has two Thameslink and two Southern trains per hour, so it is easily reached.
Car Parking And A Taxi Service
This Google Map shows the station.
Note the car parking and a taxi service, which is called District Cars.
Conclusion
Coulsdon South is now a very well-equipped station and it must be an ideal place to meet a friend, family member or work colleague to either have a chat or a serious discussion.
Surely, with more people continuing to work from home, the need for meetings between those in the office and those at home will grow! Zoom etc. can only do so much and the cpncept doesn’t suit everybody!
So perhaps we’ll see more community-managed meeting rooms, like the one I described in The Newly-Decorated White Horse Room In Westbury Is Open For Bookings.
The Anonymous Widower 