Are Greater Anglia’s Flirts Faster Than 100 mph?
Over the last fifty years or so, a lot of fast trains have been introduced onto the UK’s railways.
- InterCity 125 trains were designed to provide 125 mph services and held the world record for diesel trains at 143 mph
- InterCity 225 trains were designed to provide 140 mph services, but have been timed at 161 mph
- Class 442 trains were designed to provide 100 mph services, but have been timed at 108 mph
- Most Electrostars are 100 mph trains, but the Class 387 train can cruise at 110 mph.
It does seem that often the design speed and what is possible differ by up to twenty miles per hour.
It is probably in part good design, as it means that an accidental overspeed can be safely handled.
Greater Anglia has ordered two fleets of Stadler FLIRTs.
- Class 745 electric trains, which have twelve cars.
- Class 755 bi-mode trains, which have three or four cars.
Note
- Both trains share a lot of features and are capable of 100 mph.
- Some Norwegian electric FlLIRTs have a top speed of 120 mph. They have an extra powered axle, but do they have ostensibly the same running gear and electrifical systems?
So would it be reasonable to assume that Stadler have designed FLIRTs, so that faster versions can be created?
If the answer is in the affirmative, there is two interesting possibilities.
London To Norwich Services
The section of line between Norwich and Haughley Junction has the following characteristics.
- Double-track
- 31 miles long.
- 100 mph operating speed
- Electrified
- A few level-crossings
- It is fairly straight
- There is the Trowse swing bridge over the River Wensum
- Passenger services on the route will be run only using Stadler FLIRTs.
Network Rail have been very successful in upgrading routes like this for faster running and as the Trowse swing bridge will be replaced, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this section of line upgraded to perhaps 110 mph. This would save a couple of minutes, if the trains could take advantage.
Other services in East Anglia would also benefit from works to improve line speed.
Midland Main Line Services
The Midland Main Line will receive brand-new 125 mph bi-mode trains in 2022.
If Class 755 bi-mode trains could be configured to run at 125 mph, like their electric cousins, they must be a possibility.
Conclusion
Only Stadler know if their Class 745 and 755 trains can be upgraded to higher speeds.
But if they can be upgraded, they could be a very useful train for UK railways.
Why Are Abellio Starting Norwich-in-Ninety With Class 755 Trains?
At the May timetable change Abellio Greater Anglia will be running four trains per day between London and Norwich in ninety minutes.
I have read that this is possible with the current Class 90 locomotive /Mark 3 coach train sets and that is a fall-back position.
I was also told by a former employee of Greater Anglia, that one night, he was a passenger between Norwich station and Illford depot in an empty Class 321 train, that achieved an incredible time.
So why take the risk with untried Class 755 trains on the first day of the new timetable?
- Abellio must be very sure that the trains will perform, as they say in the brochure.
- They also know all the publicity that running new trains will bring.
But could Abellio just want to check the public’s reaction to these trains with effectively a locomotive in the middle, before they decide on the 125 mph bi-mode trains for the Midland Main Line?
I don’t believe that building a 125 mph version of Class 755 train would be beyond the bounds of possibility.
The Weight Of A Class 755 Train
I haven’t been able to do my energy calculation for a Class 755 train, as I can’t find the weight of a Class 755 train on the Internet.
However, I can estimate the weight of a four-car Class 755/4 train from the Stadler data sheet for the train.
This gives the following.
- Mean Acceleration Electric (0-40 mph) – 1.1 metres/second squared
- Maximum traction – 200 kN
- 202 seats and 27 tip-up seats
I think it is reasonable to assume that the acceleration rate is for a train with a typical load of passengers.
Using Omni’s Acceleration Calculator, this gives a time of 16.256 seconds to accelerate from 0-40 mph.
Then putting this time into Omni’s Newton’s Second Law Calculator, gives a train mass of 181.8 tonnes.
As passengers can weigh around twenty tonnes, if they weigh 90 Kg each, with baggage, bikes and buggies, I would estimate that an empty Class 755/4 train weighs around 160-170 tonnes.
By comparison.
- An empty four-car electric Class 350 train weighs 175.5 tonnes
- An empty three-car diesel Class 170 train weights 135.3 tonnes.
I don’t think a figure of 160-170 tonnes is out of line, with a figure of 180 tonnes for a typical loaded train.
Remember too, that these trains are Stadler FLIRTs, where FLIRT is Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train.
Applying Omni’s Kinetic Energy Calculator, gives these figures for the kinetic energy of a train.
- 90 mph – 40 kWh
- 100 mph – 50 kWh
- 125 mph – 78 kWh
As some electric FLIRTs can nun at 125 mph, I believe that a bi-mode FLIRT, based on the Class 755 train could be designed with these characteristics.
- 125 mph on electric power
- 125 mph on diesel power
Acceleration on diesel to 125 mph would probably be the biggest problem and it is likely that more power than for a Class 755 train will be needed.
Do Abellio Greater Anglia’s initial Norwich-in-Ninety trains give a clue in that they will be two four-car Class 755 trains working as an eight-car train?
- It will be eight passenger cars and two power cars at the 25% and 75% positions in the formation.
- Stadler have built the similar Stadler GTW with two power cars in a single train.
So I suspect that Stadler know the dynamics of these trains very well.
I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me, that Stadler had offered a bi-mode Stadler FLIRT with two power cars, for the Midland Main Line.
- The power car concept has been sold to operators with diesel, electric and battery power options.
- Stadler are proposing to use battery power in the Class 93 locomotive to boost performance.
- Many would believe, as I do, that hydrogen power could be added to a Stadler power car.
So are these runs at 100 mph with two four-car Class 755 trains, a final trial of the technology to prove that similar higher-powered trains could run at 125 mph on the Midland Main Line, before Abellio sign a contract?
Stowmarket Station To Go Step-Free
This document on the Government web site is entitled Access for All: 73 Stations Set To Benefit From Additional Funding.
Stowmarket station is on the list.
In Roaming Around East Anglia – Stowmarket Station, I said this.
The station is Grade II Listed, has the capability to handle the long London-Norwich expresses and probably only needs a step-free footbridge to be ready for the East-West Rail Link.
This picture shows the bridge.
Step-free access would create an easy interchange between stations.
- On the Great East Main Line between Stowmarket and Norwich.
- On the East-West Rail Link between Stowmarket and Cambridge/Peterborough and further West.
Journeys like between Diss and Bury St. Edmunds, Newmarket, Cambridge and Peterborough will be so much easier.
Greater Anglia is already planning to increase services on both routes, so the step-free bridge will be well used.
Installing Step-Free Access
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at Stowmarket station?
- I think this could be possible, if the existing bridge were to be removed.
- At least there is a level crossing by the station, which could be used as an emergency means of crossing the railway.
I very much favour this approach. which surely could be installed on a weekend possession.
Integration Of High-Speed And Commuter Services Out Of Paddington Station
The following appears to be happening to the Great Western Main Line (GWML)
- All srvices to Oxford and Bedwyn, which have been run by slow diesels for years, will soon be run by 125 mph Class 800 trains, so they can join the herds of high-speed services on the dash using the fast lines between Reading and Paddington stations.
- All slower passenger trains between Paddington and Reading, will use the slow lines. Most will be Crossrail services and freight trains.
- ,Heathrow Express services, which will be four tph and run by upgraded 110 mph Class 387 trains, will use the fast lines between Paddington and Stockley Junction.
Some Class 800 trains achieve the thirty-six miles between Paddinghton and Reading in twenty-five minutes. This is a start-stop average speed of nearly ninety mph.
Frequency Between Reading And Paddington
I wonder what frequency of Class 800 trains can be achieved between Paddington and Reading.,
- Most will run non-stop.
- Up to 125 mph running could be possible between Stockley Junction (for Heathrow) and Reading, as all trains will be 125 mph Class 800 trains.
- Up to 110 mph running xould be possible between Paddington and Stockley Junction, as some trains will be 100 mph Class 387 trains.
- Digital signalling and possible automatic train control, could run the all trains to a precise timetable.
- Class 800 trains that stop at Slough, could do this in a very fast time.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least sixteen tph. Currently, the frequency is under ten tph.
If this frequency is achievable or even bettered, then this would be an impressive high-capacity service.
Class 387 Trains
Currently,, Great Western Railway has forty-five Class 387 trains.
Twelve are being modified, so they can run the Heathrow Express services.
But what happens to the other thirty-three trains?
Currently, some run a stopping service between Paddington and Didcot Parkway station, which stops West of Reading at Tilehurst, Pangbourne, Goring & Streatley and Cholsey stations, to give these stations a two tph service to Paddington.
The service between Reading and Paddington may be replaced by Crossrail in the near future offering four tph in the Peak and two tph in the Off Peak.
It strikes me that the following ways could be
Appleford, Culham and Radley.
Conclusion
It looks like the dropping of electrification to Oxford and Bedwyn, which resulted in Great Western Railway ordering more Class 802 trains to replace the slower Class 387 trains has resulted in a simpler and faster operating philosophy for the trains between Reading and Paddington.
- All GWR services will be Class 800/801/802 trains, using the fast lines.
- All Crossrail services will be Class 345 trains, using the slow lines.
- All freight services will use the slow lines.
- Heathrow Express services will use the fast lines, which they will leave ande join at Stockley Junction.
- All fast line services will be non-stop.
- All passenger trains will be using the electrification on the route.
It appears to be an efficient system, that keeps high-speed and stopping commuter services separate, whilst allowing 125 mph commuter services to be handled as high-speed services.
If I’m right, that there may be extra capacity for more high-speed services into Paddington, it will allow GWR to run extra services.
I like what’s happening.
DfT Keen To Encourage Rail Travel For Football Fans
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in Issue 873 of Rail Magazine.
I was moved to send this letter to the magazine.
Was this title on page 17 of Issue 873 serious or an ironic joke?
I am a seventy-one-year-old Ipswich fan and Season Ticket holder, who lives in London, within walking distance of Liverpool Street station on a fine day.
Over the last six or seven years, I have been unable to see Home matches as often, as I would like, as on perhaps half of weekend match days, there have been no trains running on the Great Eastern Main Line, due to the constant maintenance. Or is it a complete rebuilding for 140 mph trains?
To be fair, I have occasionally used the replacement buses, but the problem is that they make the journey well over an hour longer. So on a match day, there is no time left for anything else!
I had to watch the two Ipswich-Norwich matches on television, as on both these Sundays to get to the match by mid-day was impossible and probably needed an overnight stay!
I accumulated my very adequate pension pot, by writing software to schedule resources on complicated projects. Surely, Network Rail, Greater Anglia, the Premier League and the EFL can agree a plan that is better than the current shambles.
Greater Anglia surely have the means to improve the situation arriving in their depots.
Pairs of four-car Class 755 trains could run reduced services via Cambridge.
- If the line is blockaded between Ipswich and London, then a direct service could be run between Norwich and London via Ipswich and Cambridge.
- If the line is blockaded between Ipswich and Norwich, then a direct service could be run between Norwich and London via Cambridge.
Although, this has nothing to do with football, pairs of Class 755 trains would also be useful for running a service between Peterborough and London, when the Southern section of the East Coast Main Line is closed.
I shall add a few extra notes to this on-line version of the letter.
Class 755 Trains
Points about Class 755 trains.
- They are 100 mph trains on both electric and diesel, and probably have similar performance to the current Class 90 locomotive/Mark 3 coaches that run between Liverpool Street and Norwich.,
- Capacity of a pair of Class 755 trains is 458 seats, as against the 514 seats of the current stock.
- The interior will be suitable for services between London and Norwich.
- The trains and their crews will probably be certified for all of Greater Anglia’s Network.
- A single train is eighty metres long and a pair would be 160 metres.
- The trains should fit all important main-line stations on the Greater Anglia Network.
I also suspect that these trains could run into Kings Cross station, either using the East Coast Main Line or the Hertford Loop Line.
They are blockade-busters par excellence.
New Tracks. New Platforms At Ipswich Station. And Faster Trains. Will East Anglia’s Rail Bosses Be Able To Deliver?
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the East Anglian Daily Times.
This is the first paragraph.
Rail bosses have outlined a bold new vision for the East Anglian network over the next 25 years at a major transport conference in Ipswich.
A number of possible projects were outlined.
New Tracks For The Main Line
Possibilities include.
- Two new tracks between Shenfield and Chelmsford,
- A third track between Witham and Chelmsford.
- New tracks South of Colchester,
- New tracks between Ipswich and Haughley Junction.
these are my observations South of Colchester.
- Two extra tracks should be possible between Shenfield and Chelmsford, but there would be some bridge reconstruction and the problem of Ingatestone station.
- The third track between Witham and Chelmsford should be possible with only one major bridge South of Witham station.
- There would appear to be space to fit in two extra tracks between Marks Tey and Colchester.
Although much of the line is only double-track, it does run through mainly farming country and there appears to be fairly wide green spaces on either side for much of the route.
These are my observations between Ipswich and Haughley Junction.
- The line goes through the towns of Needham Market and Stowmarket and it would appear putting in extra tracks would be difficult in places.
- There are also several bridges and a couple of level crossings.
But it does look like much of the route between Stowmarket Haughley Junction could have extra tracks added.
Removing Bottle-Necks
Two bottle-necks were specifically mentioned.
- Haughley Junction
- The Trowse swing bridge just South of Norwich.
The later would allow more services into Norwich.
Expanding Ipswich Station
The article says this.
New longer trains could force Greater Anglia and Network Rail to lengthen platforms at Ipswich Station – and Greater Anglia is looking at the possibility of building new platforms on what is currently the freight depot next to Platform Four.
Expansion of the station would allow more service to Cambridge, Lowestoft and Peterborough.
Boosting Smaller Stations
The article says this.
The growth in passenger numbers at the largest stations on the GEML in Essex – Chelmsford and Colchester – has slowed while more passengers are using smaller stations with improved parking facilities. Marks Tey, Manningtree, Kelvedon, Ingatestone, and Hatfield Peveral have become more popular with commuters driving to stations because they don’t have to drive into the heart of large towns or cities to find an expensive parking space.
I used to live near to Dullingham station, which is a commuter station for Cambridge. When I last used the station, it could do with more facilities.
Will this policy be complemented by the reopening of sclosed stations?
The article also talks about faster services and the improving of regional services.
Conclusion
East Anglia is going to get much better rail services.
Network Rail Are Treating Norwich And Ipswich Fans With Contempt
Over the last few years, I have gone to perhaps half-a-dozen Ipswich-Norwich Derbies.
Last season, I didn’t get to either match, as Network Rail, thought that these days were ideal to do engineering work on the Great Eastern Main Line.
As if, there hasn’t been enough in the time since I’ve moved to London in 2010.
Normally, I would have bought a ticket for the match on February 10th in Norwich at 12:00 in the morning.
But I have just looked up the train times to get there for a match start at that time on a Sunday.
The only service leaves Liverpool Street at 07:08 and arrives in Norwich at 10:12! It also involves an hour on a bus. I would probably arrive back home at around seven in the evening.
I have other things to do, like getting something to eat and as a coeliac, I can’t just pop into the average take-away, unless I wanted to spend another three hours sitting on the toilet.
Why is there no liaison between Network Rail and the two football clubs, so that essential work is done on less important days?
To make things worse, on Saturday the 2nd, they’re getting the buses out again. So that’s another match I’ll miss!
This season it has been easier to watch Away matches than Home ones.
When are Network Rail going to stop treating regular travellers with such downright contempt?
Rail Operations Group Gets Serious About Thunderbirds Etc.
The February 2019 Edition of Modern Railways has an article entitled Class 93 Tri-Oomph!, which has been written by Ian Walmsley.
This is the first paragraph.
Rail Operations Group has become known for the efficient haulage of EMUs around the country using very clever tranlation devices built into Europhenix converted Class 37 kicos. As I described in the March 2016 issue (“Lost in translation”) it looked at tens of millions of pounds worth of EMUs being dragged around unbraked, thought ‘this can’t be right’, and proceeded to make 50-year-old locomotives operate with state-of-the-art computer kit.
Rail Operations Group (ROG) had employed classicdisruptive innovation to create a new market, that was to everybody’s benefit.
As Ian reports, the company has grown a lot in the last few years and now does a lot more than just move new trains around.
- Old trains are also moved.
- Old trains are also stored safely.
- Operations are all planned as a consultancy.
The company is already planning their next operational niche.
A Move Into Logistics
ROG is moving into logistics.
Ian talks about the inefficiency and polluting distribution system using trucks, that add to traffic congestion.
He talks about rail being a better way and then says this.
The difference with ROG is that the company is going to invest in two Class 769 (bi-mode 319s’) converted for parcel use, and while these are not my favourite trains, parcels are a lot less fussy than me about how long they take to get to top speed.
Using 769s’ means that your hubs can be almost anywhere; not necessarily on a 25 KVAC electrified siding, just close to a road system interchange area.
So what happens, if they don’t get a customer? The Class 769 trains will be delivered with seats, so they could be sub-leased for passenger use.
I wrote The Go-Anywhere Express Parcel And Pallet Carrier (HSPT) in May 2017, where I discussed the uses for this type of parcel carrier. This was my conclusion.
There is definitely a market for a HSPT.
If it does come about, it will be yet another tribute to the magnificent Mark 3 design!
As to the secondary use of these trains as passenger trains, there is nothing wrong with that. After all, we’ve all had our fill of the dreaded Rail Replacement Buses.
In Gospel Oak-Barking Fleet Plan Remains Unclear, I talked about the problems caused by late delivery of the new Class 710 trains.
The problem would have been eased, if two Class 769 trains in good condition could have been called up at a couple of days notice.
Surely, there are other applications.
- I suspect that given the number of level-crossing accidents in the UK, they will find a lot of use.
- I don’t think Porterbrook will mind, if ROG effectively offered a try-before-buy service to train operators.
- There must also be a market for pop-up rail services to large sporting and cultural events.
Again, it appears ROG have found a niche and have invested in it.
Before leaving the subject of Class 769 trains, I must mention Brexit.
Could the trains find a use in a no-deal Brexit-world moving high-value freight from ports and airports to inland distribution centres?
Thoughts On The Class 93 Locomotive
These are some thoughts from the article.
Available Power
Ian starts by saying this about the operation of the Class 93 locomotive.
Apart from the obvious electric (4,000kW) and diesel (900kW), the third mode is a Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) battery (400kW), which can be used in conjunction with the diesel to give a power boost up to 1,300kW or 1,743hp in old money.
The extra oomph from the battery takes you from a Class 33 to a Class 37 in old locos but with minimal losses, and you don’t need full power for very long on most non-electrified routes.
I suspect there’s a clever control system, that optimises the use of the battery.
The Ultimate Thunderbird
The locomotive appears to have a unique feature of a variable height coupler, which enables it to haul rolling stock with all the five standard heights of coupler, that exist on UK railways.
How did this madness occur?
But as the locomotive can deal with them all, Ian argues that the Class 93 locomotive could be the ultimate Thunderbird or rescue locomotive.
Moving Trains In The Future
Ian argues that ROC’s collection of locomotives used for moving new and replaced trains is getting older and will soon be difficult to service.
The Class 93 locomotives would be ideal for this role.
But Ian sees this very much as a fallback position, if the locomotives do not find innovative new uses.
Ian finishes with this paragraph.
When we first saw Dr. Beeching’s new Freightliners(now ‘intermodal’) in the 1960s, they did 75 mph. They still do, but there are some really smart looking 100 mph flats available. Remember the path-ology. There are plenty of cross-country runs where a Class 37 equivalent is fine for the diesel bits, then pan up and 4,000kW is yours. Come on. Not excited by this? You must be in the wrong job.
As an example some freight trains go between Felixstowe and Birmingham, Liverpool or Manchester using the North London Line.
They are hauled all the way by a Class 66 diesel.
Put the containers on the smart looking 100 mph flats with a Class 93 locomotive on the front and the following happens.
- The locomotive uses diesel between Felixstowe and Ipswich, with possibly some battery boost.
- The locomotive uses electric power for most of the journey.
- The locomotive might use diesel power at the destination for a short distance.
- On the double-track 100 mph Great Eastern Main Line, the operating speed will not be far off the new Class 745 and Class 720 trains.
- On the North London Line, the train will pass through some of the smartest parts of North London with lower levels of noise, vibration and pollution.
- On the West Coast Main Line, the train will be able to mix it with the new Class 730 trains on the slow lines.
Greater Anglia have the trains to run more services between London and Ipswich.
How many more could they squeeze in, if all freight trains had a similar performance to their express services?
Consider now, freight trains taking the cross-country route from Felixstowe to the North and Midlands via Peterborough.
- With track improvements at Haughley and doubling of the line between Kennett and Ely, I suspect that timings on the flat lands of East Anglia using hybrid power would be approaching those of Class 66 locomotive-hauled stock.
- With a faster cruise on the East Coast Main Line, would the trains take the direct route on the slow lines, rather than the diversion through Lincoln?
The Class 93 locomotive could be the ultimate Felixstowe Flyer.
Could it also be the freight locomotive that passenger train operators want reight operators to use, as it keeps freight trains out of the way of passenger ones?
Are Greater Anglia Buying So Many Class 755 Trains, So They Can Run A Better Service During Constant Works On The Great Eastern?
Yet again, they were rebuilding the Great Eastern Main Line, so I didn’t get to football at Ipswich yesterday.
It’s not that I mind the buses, but it means two things.
- I have to leave so early, that I can’t do my weekly shop before I go.
- I also get back so late that I will miss Strictly on the television.
There is also the problem, that Ipswich is one of the worst places to find a gluten-free meal, unless you go to Pizza Express.
I often have my lunch before I travel or take it on the train from Leon or M & S.
For some time now, I’ve suspected that Greater Anglia have ordered a lot more Class 755 trains, than they need, based on a train-for-train replacement basis
It now becomes obvious why!
At weekends, they will link four-car trains together and run four trains per hour on the following routes.
- Norwich to Cambridge
- Ipswich to Cambridge
One train in four will continue to and from London after Cambridge.
On the other hand, it could be a plot by Norwich fans in Greater Anglia’s headquarters in Norwich to annoy Ipswich fans!
Stadler Flirt DEMUs
Over a thousand Stadler Flirts have been sold to operators around the world. Most have been or will be built in Switzerland.
Greater Anglia
The first fleet in the UK, comprise fourteen three-car and twenty-four four-car Class 755 trains for Greater Anglia.
This visualisation shows a Class 755 train in Greater Anglia livery, running through the typical flat lands of East Anglia.
These trains will enter service next year.
- They are 100 mph trains.
- They can run on 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- They have a diesel power-pack, which can have up to four Deutz diesel engines, for running on lines without electrification.
- The three-car trains have two diesel engines and the four-car trains have four engines.
- They can change power source at line speed.
- Length is easily changed, by adding or removing cars.
- Three-car Flirts have 166 seats and four-car Flirts have 224 seats.
- They are designed to handle two-hour plus journeys, like Lowestoft to London for Greater Anglia.
I suspect they are fairly powerful trains and I wrote about this in Greater Anglia’s Class 755 Trains Seem To Have Bags Of Grunt.
Comparing the trains with a Class 170 train, I said this.
But the four-car Class 755/4 trains have fifty percent more power per car, than the Class 170 train, so these will be no sedate rural trundlers.
I’m certain, that their performance, will allow them to mix it on the Great Eastern Main Line with the London-Ipswich-Norwich expresses.
KeolisAmey Wales
From the pictures, the trains, that will be delivered to KeolisAmey Wales, look very much like the trains, that have been ordered by Greater Anglia.
The trains will operate services between Cardiff and Ebbw Vale, Maesteg and extending to Severn Tunnel Junction and beyond.
I would assume that the trains will use diesel, where there is no electrification. One current service goes between Maesteg and Cheltenham Spa stations. On the South Wales Main Line between Cardiff and Seven Tunnel Junction, the trains would use the 25 KVAC overhead wires, but at both ends of the route, they would use diesel.
One great advantage of bi-mode trains like these Flirts, is that as more electrification is added, they can take advantage.
I’m certain, that their performance, will allow them to mix it on the South Wales Main Line with the London-Newport-Cardiff-Swansea expresses.
Aosta Valley
A European version of the train will start to operate soon in the Aosta Valley in Italy, so when the trains for Wales are delivered, there will be lots of operational experience. Especially with climbing steep hills!
Norway
This article on the Railway Gazette is entitled Bi-Modes In Norway’s Next Flirt Order.
The bi-modes will be used around Trondheim, on routes without elewctrification.
What does Norway have a lot of? Mountains!
