Just Look How The Port Of Felixstowe Has Grown
This article on Rail Engineer is entitled Felixstowe Branch Line Capacity Enhancement Goes Live.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Funded by the Strategic Freight Network, with a contribution from Hutchinson Ports UK (HP-UK), a £60.4 million investment to create a new 1.4km loop on the Felixstowe branch line in Suffolk was successfully brought into service on 29 May 2019, on time and on budget. It facilitates an increase from 33 to 47 freight train paths a day in each direction on this key artery, carrying the highest freight tonnage in the country and serving the largest container port in the UK.
High Speed Two it is not, but if you read the article, you’ll see that a substantial amount of work has been done, involving track, footbridges, level crossings and signalling.
I can remember the Port of Felixstowe, when it was a just a small basin, with the Little Ships Hotel, a couple of warehouses and the giant seaplane crane. A couple of times, I used the Harwich Ferry to cross the harbour to Harwich on the Brightlingsea.
In some ways Felixstowe has come a long way in those sixty years.
With the increase in capacity on the Felixstowe Branch Line, the rail link can handle the container traffic through the Port better!
Note this about trains between Ipswich and Felixstowe.
- 47 freight trains per day between Ipswich and Felixstowe is roughly two trains per hour (tph) in both directions.
- The current passenger service is one tph.
- In addition, there is an hourly Ipswich and Lowestoft train, which shares track between Ipswich and Westerfield Junction.
- The new Class 755 trains are faster and will have shorter dwell times than the current trains.
Between Ipswich and Westerfield, there are four tph.
- The route is double-track.
- Not all trains stop at Westerfield
- The level-crossing at Westerfield station has been improved and is now is a Manually Controlled Barrier with CCTV
- The signalling has been improved and moved to Colchester Power Signal Box.
Between Westerfield and Felixstowe, there are three tph.
- The route is single track with loops to the East of Derby Road and the West of Trimley stations.
- The level crossings have been improved and three have been converted to Manually Cntrolled Barriers.
- The signalling has been improved and moved to Colchester Power Signal Box..
It looks to my untrained eye, that these service pattern are possible.
So what will happen in the future?
In the next few sections, I talk about the future.
Could More Passenger Trains Be Run To Felixstowe And Lowestoft?
I suspect here, that the limiting factor will be platform capacity at Ipswich station.
Ipswich station will have at least four tph running between Stowmarket and Colchester (3 x London and Norwich and 1 x Peterborough and Colchester), that will use Plstform 2 at Ipswich station. I suspect that this means Lowestoft and Felixstowe trains will have to share the Bay Platform 1.
With good signalling and precision driving, I suspect that the single platform could handle 2 tph to both Felixstowe and Lowestoft.
There would only ever be one train in Platform 1 at Ipswich station, unlike now, where two trains share. The new Class 755 trains will be just too long.
Could Two tph Be Run Between Ipswich And Felixstowe?
The current timetable is as follows.
- Leaves Ipswich at XX:58 and arrives Felixstowe at XX:24
- Leaves Felixstowe at XX:28 and arrives Ipswich at XX::54
Note.
- The clock-face nature of the timetable.
- Both journeys are 26 minutes
- There is four minutes for the driver to change ends and have a break.
This service would need two trains and if there’s one thing that Abellio Greater Anglia aren’t short of, it’s three-car Cl;ass 755 trains.
If the trains had the branch to themselves, there could be a two tph service between Ipswich and Felixstowe.
But they have to share it with freight trains running at two tph.
This would mean the following.
- Five tph between Ipswich and Westerfield
- Four tph between Westerfield and Felixstowe.
As two tph between Ipswich and Felixstowe is likely to be on Greater Anglia’s wish list, I suspect the new track layout was designed with this service in mind.
Currently, there is one or two cars per hour between Ipswich and Felixstowe, but a two tph service would mean a minimum of six cars per hour or a massive increase in capacity.
Could Two tph Be Run Between Ipswich And Lowestoft?
The current timetable between Ipswich and Lowestoft stations is as follows.
- An almost clock-face hourly service in both directions.
- A journey time of just under one-and-a-half hours.
- There are nine stops on the route.
- There are several minutes for the driver to change ends and have a break.
When the new Class 755 trains are working the route, the following will apply.
- The Class 755 trains are faster and have a shorter dwell time in stations.
- There will be four London and Lowestoft services per day.
I think it is true to say, that journey times will be reduced.
I suspect that the following could be possible.
- A journey time of perhaps one hour and twenty minutes.
- Trains would leave Lowestoft at XX:07
- Trains would leave Ipswich at XX:37
This or something like it, would be an acceptable clockface timetable.
I strongly believe that an improved service will be possible between Ipswich and Lowestoft.
- I feel that two tph between Ipswich and Lowestoft might be difficult to achieve without extra works on the track.
- Extra capacity can be added by using four-car Class 755 trains on the route.
- Faster services will certainly be introduced, as the train’s faster speed and shorter dwell times will knock several minutes from the journey.
I also think, that it may be possible to introduce a second service on the Southern section of the route, which runs to perhaps Leiston or even Aldeburgh. This would give the busier Southern section of the route two tph.
So Platform 1 at Ipswich station could see the following trains.
- Two tph Ipswich and Felixstowe
- One tph Ipswich and Lowestoft
- One tph Ipswich and Leiston/Aldeburgh
I believe that timetabling of the route would not be a difficult task!
Four Trains Per Day Between Lowestoft and London
The London and Lowestoft service could be arranged as follows.
- Lowestoft station has three platforms., so one could be reserved for the London service.
- If the last service arrived back late or the first service needed to leave early, the dedicated platform could be used for overnight stabling.
- When running between Ipswich and Lowestoft it would take over, one of the Ipswich and Lowestoft paths.
- The trains will stop at all stations between Ipswich and Lowstoft, as there will be jealousy between users.
- It would call in the through platforms 2 and 3 at Ipswich station..
- The trains would make as few calls as possible South of Ipswich, as the Lowestoft train will be a fourth fast London service in the hour.
No new infrastructure would be required.
Could London And Lowestoft Services Be A Dedicated Shuttle Train?
This may have marketing advantages, as the train could have its own livery and perhaps a buffet or a catering trolley.
If you assume that the working day for a train is 0600-2400, then this means the following.
- A round trip must be performed in four and a half hours.
- A London and Lowestoft time of two hours and fifteen minutes,.
- The journey time would include the turnround time at the destination.
As Ipswich and London times of an hour are possible with a 100 mph trains, like the Class 755 train, Ipswich and Lowestoft would have to be run in a time as close to an hour as possible.
Consider.
- The only trains on the East Suffolk Line will be Class 755 trains between Ipswich and Lowestoft.
- Class 755 trains may be able to stop at stations in under a minute.
- Line speed could possibly be increased, as the route appears reasonably straight
- Some level crossings could probably be removed.
- The current average speed on the line is around 35 mph.
I also suspect that Greater Anglia have run tests with the current Class 170 trains, which are 100 mph trains to determine what times are possible.
I wouldn’t be surprised if using a single shuttle train to run the four trains per day between London and Lowestoft, is possible.
- Services could leave Lowestoft at 06:00, 10:30, 15:00 and 19:30
- Services could leave Liverpool Street at 08:15, 12:45, 17:15 and 21:45
The last service would arrive back in Lowestoft at midnight.
Tram-Trains Between Ipswich And Felixstowe
This report on the East-West Rail web site is entitled Eastern Section Prospectus and gives full details of their proposals for the Eastern section of the East-West Rail Link.
This is said in the report.
Introduction of a tram-train service on the Felixstowe branch, with doubling between Derby Road and Felixstowe and street running through
Ipswich.
It is also said, that there will be a frequency of four tph between Ipswich and Felixstowe.
It looks like the plan is to fully-double the branch line to the East of Derby Road station.
To the West of Derby Road, the line is mainly single track until it joins the East Suffolk Line close to Westerfield station.
The problem is that the single-track railway goes over the over the Spring Road Viaduct. Rebuilding the viaduct to add the second track, would be something that everybody would want to totally avoid, as how would the containers from forty-seven freight trains per day in both directions, be moved in and out of the Port of Felixstowe?
If the capacity can’t be increased, the demand will have to be reduced.
A Possible Tram-Train Proposal
The East West Rail report is proposing that the 1-2 tph passenger service between Ipswich and Felixstowe should be replaced by a four tph tram-train service.
- The tram-train service would start at Ipswich station, running as a tram.
- It would probably meander through Ipswich, serving places like Portman Road, the Town Centre< Christchurch Park, the new housing in the North, Ipswich Hospital and the Retail Parks in the East.
- If Ipswich gets a new Northern Ring Road, the tram-trains, might run on the original by-pass, that goes past Ipswich Hospital.
- It would then join the double-track section of the Felixstowe Branch Line on the Eastern outskirts of the town.
- Extra stops might be built between Ipswich and Felixstowe.
- At Felixstowe station, the tram-trains could revert to tram mode and might even go as far as the sea-front, using battery-power.
There are a lot of possibilities to give Ipswich and Felixstowe, one of the best local transport links in the world.
There will be some collateral benefits.
- Extra freight trains can probably be squeezed through.
- Ipswich Hospital will get the updated transport links, that it badly needs.
- Road traffic would be reduced.
I also believe that the tram-train could be added to the Felixstowe Branch Line without disrupting trains, freight or passengers.
Electrification
I can remember reports from the 1960s, which said that felt the Felixstowe Branch Line would be electrified.
- With a frequency of four tph, the route would surely be electrified for the tram-trains.
- It would probably be electrified at 25 KVAC, so that freight trains could take advantage.
- When street running in Ipswich and Felizstowe,, 750 VDC electrfication or battery-power could be used.
There would be no extra electrification needed to enable all freight trains going via London to be electric-hauled.
Freight Locomotives
I think it likely, that increasingly, we’ll see Class 93 locomotives and other electro diesel locomotives with a Last Mile capability taking freight trains into and out of the Port of Felixstowe.
These new breed of 110 mph locomotives will be able to take maximum-length freight trains on routes to, from and through London, but a new locomotive will be needed to take trains across East Anglia to Ely and Pryrtborough and then on to the Midlands and the Notth.
Conclusion
The Port of Felixstowe and the railways connecting it to the rest of the UK have come a long way in sixty years and they will expand more in the next decade or two!
An Unnecessary Diesel-Hauled Train
I took these picture at Blackhorse Road station this morning.
This train from Moss End to Dagenham Dock is pathed to be electric-hauled. So why was it hauled by a noisy and polluting Class 66 locomotive?
Toshiba Unveils Tri-Mode Locomotive Demonstrator
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Toshiba Railway Europe unveiled a electric-diesel-battery hybrid traction technology demonstrator locomotive at the Transport Logistic trade show in München on June 4.
The company has a contract to supply 50 diesel-battery centre cab locomotives to DB Cargo from 2021, TRE Managing Director Hinrich Krey told Railway Gazette. The demonstrator is intended to showcase the company’s design work to date as well as highlighting future development options.
It is based on the frame and bogies of a heavy shunting locomotive.
- There are two MAN 471 kW gensets.
- The diesel engines are compatible with EU Stage V emissions regulations.
- There are two SCiB 62 kWh lithium titanate oxide traction batteries.
- Battery life is quoted as up to ten years.
- The design is modular, so that a diesel engine can be replaced with another battery pack.
- A pantograph working with common European voltages can provide electric power.
The locomotive is aimed at heavy shunting and light freight.
Conclusion
The power of the locomotive is probably about 1MW, which is less than half the power of a Class 66 locomotive. But locomotives like the Class 66 are often used for tasks, where a smaller locomotive could do an excellent job.
The low pollution of the Toshiba locomotive probably means it could work in sensitive areas or close to a workforce.
The locomotive appears to be a well-designed locomotive for an important niche market.
If this design and others like the Stadler Class 93 locomotive succeed it will lead nearer to the ultimate goal of a high performance heavy freight zero-carbon locomotive to replace the polluting diesel locomotives, that are so common on the railways of the world.
CoolRail To Cut Carbon Footprint Of Fresh Food
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette International.
These first two paragraphs outline the plan.
Food logistics company Euro Pool System has launched a thrice-weekly CoolRail dedicated temperature-controlled service to transport fresh produce between Valencia in Spain and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
This is intended to be first route of planned network of CoolRail services which would link Spain with Germany, Scandinavia and the UK.
I can see this method of fresh food transportation growing, especially as CoolRail claim it is as fast as by road and cuts CO2 emissions by 70 to 90 %.
It also appears that the UK through the Channel Tunnel is in CoolRail’s plans.
Fish, Lamb And Beef To Europe
The obvious British export, that could use the service the other way to Europe is probably fish, as a large proportion of UK-landed fish goes to Europe at the present time.
This page on the Seafish web site, gives details about fish imports and exports.
Quality meat, like Welsh lamb and Scottish beef could also be sent to Europe, after being slaughtered in the UK.
What About Quality Food And Drink?
This page on the Scotch Whisky Association web site is entitled Scotch Whisky Exports On The Up in 2018.
This is two paragraphs from the page.
In 2018, the export value of Scotch Whisky grew +7.8% by value, to a record £4.70bn. The number of 70cl bottles exported also reached record levels growing to the equivalent of 1.28bn, up +3.6%.
The United States became the first billion pound export market for Scotch Whisky, growing to £1.04bn last year. The EU remains the largest region for exports, accounting for 30% of global value and 36% of global volume.
That means that Scotland exported to the EU, the equivalent of 461 million bottles of whisky, that is worth around £1.41billion.
A twenty-foot shipping container has a volume of 33.2 cubic metres., so with allowance for packaging, one could probably hold 33,200 bottles worth about £100,000.
To accommodate all Scotch Whisky exports to Europe on the 2018 figures, would need 14,000 containers per year or a very civilised thirty-eight containers a day.
Conclusion
There’s certainly a large market for food transport by rail across Europe and to the UK, some of which will be in containers with refrigeration and some without!
£14m Peak District Rail Freight Extension Unveiled
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
I discussed this project in full in Peak District Freight Sidings Get £18m Network Rail Boost, where I showed this Google Map of the sidings at Buxton, where the stone trains must reverse.
This latest Google Map, which is to a more detailed scale and 3D, clearly shows the lengthened sidings alongside the Manchester-Buxton Line.
Note the footbridge across the lines appears in both maps.
Conclusion
It looks to me that Network Rail have managed to implement this freight project to bring more stone out of the Peak District by train.
As the cost of the completed project is quoted as less than the figure quoted before the project started., the project could even have been completed within the budget.
This has been a project when £18million has been spent for these benefits.
- Each train will transport 2,500 tonnes of materials.
- Each train will take 76 lorry loads from the roads.
- Less trains will be needed to transport the same tonnage.
How many other small projects like this could be undertaken?
Startup Nikola Bets Hydrogen Will Finally Break Through With Big Rigs
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Forbes.
Read the article, as it is an interesting concept.
- Nikola Motor will not only build the trucks, but the hydrogen filling station network across North America.
- They believe big trucks are ideal for hydrogen power.
- They will also make their hydrogen filling station network available to car makes.
- The founder of the company; Trevor Milton, claims it’s easier to package hydrogen tanks in big vehicles than small ones.
- He also claims that hydrogen-powered trucks are much lighter than battery ones.
- Hydrogen will be produced from renewable sources, where it is needed.
- They are raising $1.2billion dollars to fund it.
First trucks will be delivered in 2022,, if all goes well with the funding.
I have no idea, whether it will work successfully, but surely a network of hydrogen filling stations, generating their own hydrogen across a Continent could be the kick, that hydrogen power for vehicles needs.
The UK is a small island and comparing it to North America, probably means the concept wouldn’t work in the UK, but if it works in North America, it will work in Europe.
But, if Trevor Milton’s mathematics work for big trucks in North America, they may well work with trains in the UK. A few hydrogen filling stations for trains and locomotives at strategic depots might power a whole new generation of rail vehicles. The rail filling stations could be co-located with filling stations for hydrogen road vehicles.
Trucks In Cities And Large Urban Areas
As I walk around London I see lots of large trucks, that can be put into a few categories.
- Articulated delivery trucks, often for the big supermarkets.
- Eight-wheel rigid trucks moving loads of building materials or soil and rubble dug out of construction sites.
- Refuse trucks.
- Skip trucks
- Cement mixer trucks
With the exception of the first, many of these vehicles don’t do a large number of miles in a working day.
Will we see companies like Nikola Motor and others developing hydrogen or battery-powered trucks for these niches?
If they do, I can see some interesting working and fuelling strategies developing.
Would Hydrogen Trucks Be Ideal For Cross-Channel Traffic?
Imagine a journey between Stuttgart and the Toyota plant in Derby.
- Using the European hydrogen network, the truck arrives at Calais with a low hydrogen level.
- On arrival in Dover it goes to a convenient hydrogen station and fills up with enough hydrogen to make the five hundred mile return journey to Derby.
- The return journey to Stuttgart, would use a hydrogen filling station at Calais to speed the truck on it’s way.
Because of the distances involved, I’m sure hydrogen would work for regular high-value truck journeys across the Channel, even if different tractors were used on either side of the Channel, as they often are now!
You could also argue, that this journey would be better done by rail. But if that is the case, why is it so much cross-Channel freight moved by trucks?
Conclusion
Hydrogen will continue to attract innovation and it is not time to write it off yet.
Can You Fit These Cases In A Class 800 Train?
I took this picture at Edinburgh station, after arriving there on an Aberdeen to London train.
Could these cases be fitted into a new Class 800 train?
I’ve seen surfboards and heavily-loaded bikes being swallowed by a Class 43 locomotive in an InterCity 125.
Perhaps, passengers with loads like this, will fly to Edinburgh and then use ScotRail’s Inter7City trains around Scotland.
By Overground To High Speed Two
The North London Line will be my route to High Speed Two when it opens in 2026.
This map from Wikipedia, shows how the lines connect.
I will actually have two Overground stations, that I will be able to use.
- Old Oak Common Lane station on the North London Line between Stratford and Richmond stations.
- Hythe Road station on the West London Line between Stratford and Clapham Junction stations.
Note.
- Wikipedia says that both stations should open in 2026, which is the same date as High Speed Two.
- Hythe Road station is 700 metres from the High Speed Two station.
- Old Oak Common Lane station is 350 metres from the High Speed Two station.
Currently, both lines have a four trains per hour (tph) service.
- The Class 378 trains are five cars, which can get very busy in the Peak.
- It would need an additional five trains to increase the frequency to five tph on both routes.
- Six new five-car Class 710 trains are on order for North and West London Line services.
- I feel the higher frequency could be in operation by the opening of High Speed Two.
- Most stations between Stratford and Willesden Junction would appear to be able to accept six-car trains, if selective door opening were to be used.
I think by 2026, there will be a more than adequate service between Stratford and High Speed Two.
- There will be at least ten tph to Stratford, with services split equally between Hythe Road and Old Oak Common Lane stations.
- Richmond and Clapham Junction stations will get at least five tph.
- Step-free access is not currently available at Brondesbury Park, Brondesbury, Finchley Road & Frognal, Kentish Town West and Dalston Kingsland stations.
But what other developments will or might happen?
Highbury & Islington Station
Highbury & Islington station is the thirteenth busiest station in the UK and it is in need of a major upgrade to bring the deep level platforms and their access up to the standard of the four London Overground platforms, which all have lifts.
I also think that the track layout at the station could be modified to allow trains on the East London Line to continue further to the West. This was mentioned, when the Oveground was created, but is seldom talked about these days.
Step-Free Access On The North And West London Lines
These two lines which form a Y-shaped railway that splits at Willesden Junction, will provide these services from High Speed Two to major interchange stations.
The only thing that is needed is to complete step free access at all stations on the North and West London Lines.
The Maximum Frequency Across North London
Five tph on both the North and West London Line would give the following turnback frequencies at the four terminals.
- Clapham Junction – 5 tph
- Richmond – 5 tph
- Stratford – 10 tph
This chart from TfL shows planned improvements on the London Overground
Note that it clearly shows that it is possible to run a six tph service between two single platform stations.
I think it likely that it would be possible to run six tph on both routes, provided that the route and the signalling could handle the increased frequency.
Twelve tph between Stratford and Willesden Junction stations would probably be the maximum frequency.
But would the number of freight trains allow this frequency?
A Reduction In Freight Services
Currently, the North London Line carries a lot of freight trains, going between Barking, Felixstowe and London Gateway in the East to virtually everywhere West of London.
- Noises from the East West Rail Consortium are hinting that services to and to and from Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, South Wales, Southampton and the West Midlands might use their new route between Oxford and Cambridge.
- Could more freight use ports like Liverpool and Teesport in the North of England, which would reduce the traffic through the ports in the South?
Whatever happens, the current succession of diesel-hauled freight trains across London is not environmentally-friendly and it will raise increasing numbers of protests.
I think it is inevitable that the number of freight services will reduce, thus allowing more paths for passenger trains.
Digital Signalling
To handle the increasing traffic on the North and West London Lines, I can see digital signalling being installed. There could even be a degree of Automic Train Control.
Six-Car Trains
Only a few stations can handle six-car trains without selective door opening and even the rebuilt West Hampstead station still has platforms for five-cars.
Selective door opening would allow six-car trains to use the five-car platforms and passengers have in London have shown they can cope with moving forward to get out at certain stations. Especially, as the walk-through design of the train, makes this a lot easier.
A Round-The-Corner Service
I can remember reading in Modern Railways, that one of the reasons for the East and North London Lines running parallel through Canonbury to Highbury & Islington was to possibly enable extension of the East London Line to perhaps Willesden Junction, where there is a handy bay platform.
This has not happened and I doubt we’ll ever see something like a New Cross to Willesden Junction service, as Crossrail will effectively provide a faster frequent service between Whitechapel and Old Oak Common stations.
West London Orbital Railway
The proposed West London Orbital Railway will have two routes.
- West Hampstead Thameslink and Hounslow
- Brent Cross Thameslink and Kew Bridge
Both routes will have four tph and have a connection to Crossrail, High Speed Two and the North London Line at Old Oak Common station.
The only possible problem would be the eight extra tph through Acton Central station and level crossing and South Acton station.
But it would become an important feeder route to Crossrail, Heathrow Airport and High Speed Two.
Conclusion
The North and West London Line route between Stratford and Willesden has the ability to handle a lot more traffic than it currently does.
Dgital signalling and six-car trains could add over another fifty per cent capacity to the route.
I very much feel that digital signalling will be absolutely necessary.
Freight Diesel Traction Realities
The title of this post is the same as that of a comprehensive article by Roger Ford in an article in the April 2019 Edition of Modern Railways.
In the article Roger talks about the problems of decarbonising the freight sector on the UK’s railways.
Future Traction
This section in the article begins with this paragraph
Since the laws of physics and chemistry rule out pure battery or hydrogen fuel cell 3 MegaWatt (4,000 hp) freight locomotives from around 2035 we are going to need to start replacing the diesel locomotives for routes yet to be electrified.
The following actions are suggested.
- More electrification, through a rolling program.
- Research into and production of low-CO2 locomotives.
- 4000 hp locomotives to run faster, longer and heavier freight trains.
These actions will apply to many countries in Europe and the wider world.
Hybrid
This section in the article begins with these two paragraphs.
Extension of electrification will reduce the length of the last miles beyond the end of the wires, making increased use of electric traction viable. Here the challenge will be to provide sufficient diesel traction power and range. Stadler’s Class 93 ‘tri-mode’ locotive provides an interesting preview.
It builds on the Class 88, which adds a 700kW diesel engine to a 4MW Bo-Bo electric locomotive.
The Class 93 locomotive has a larger 900 kW diesel engine and a lithium titanate oxide battery.
I estimated the battery size at 126 kWH in Stadler’s New Tri-Mode Class 93 Locomotive.
Roger reckons that the battery gives 6-7 ,minutes of power to boost output to 1,740 hp or 1300 kW.
- The boost from the battery would appear to be 400 kW
- For 6.5 minutes this would need 43.3 kWH
Either Roger’s 6-7 minutes or my deduced battery size of 126 kWH is wrong. So I will assume both figures are wrong.
Suppose though, you wanted to boost the power of a Class 93 locomotive to the 2,500 kW of a Class 66 locomotive for an hour, which would get a freight train into or out of the Port of Felixstowe.
- 1600 kW will be needed to boost the diesel engine.
- 1600 kWH will need to be stored in the battery.
- I will assume 75 Wh/Kg for the LTO batteries.
- I have made no allowance for the use of regenerative braking.
This gives a weight of 21.3 tonnes for the batteries.
Roger says this in the article.
If you need to fit diesel engines and batteries into an electric locomotive for freight the a Co-Co configuration gives you another 20 tonnes on a 17.5 tonne axle load.
This leads me to believe that a hybrid locomotive with the power of a Class 66 locomotive and a range of one hour is possible.
Finland – Estonia Tunnel Secures €15bn In Funding
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the International Rail Journal.
This is the first paragraph.
FINEST Bay Area Development has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Touchstone Capital Partners, China, to secure €15bn in financing for construction of a 100km railway tunnel under the Gulf of Finland between Helsinki, Finland, and Tallinn, Estonia.
Linked to the planned Rail Baltica, it will mean that passengers and freight will be able to use railways between the UK and Finland.
The Anonymous Widower 