Electrifying Didcot Parkway
I took these pictures as I went through Didcot Parkway station this morning.
They seem to be using T-shaped central masts as they did at West Ham and I wrote about in Central Masts At West Ham.
This Google Map shows the station.
Didcot Parkway Station
If you read the Wikipedia entry for the station, you may come to a similar conclusion to myself – In a decade or so’s time, the pattern of services at the station will be very different.
Wikipedia says this about use of the West Curve that allows trains to go between Oxford and Swindon.
There are at present no scheduled passenger services which use the West Curve to avoid the station on direct services from Oxford to Swindon.
But once the East West Rail Link is built, will we see services from Swindon, Bristol and the West using the West Curve to go to Oxford, Milton Keynes and the East?
Aesthetic Problems With Overhead Wires On The Great Western
The April 2016 Edition of Modern Railways has an article entitled Thames Valley Wires Retrofit Planned. This is said.
A retrofit of overhead electrification on the section of the Great Western main line between Reading and Didcot is on the cards following complaints about the visual impact of the current design.
This are some pictures of the overhead gantries.
In my view, the design of the overhead gantries may well be better from a structural and reliability point of view, but it isn’t going to win plaudits for looking good.
Network Rail will have to do better!
A Trip To Cardiff
Yesterday, I went to Cardiff to see Ipswich lose to Cardiff City.
These are some pictures I took on the way.
I think it is true to say that the electrification is being put up by snails and there seems to be little progress since I wrote Passing Didcot Power Station twelve months ago.
Note the following.
- Very little seems to be happening around Reading station, except the erection of a few masts.
- The cause of a lot of the trouble – the HOPS train at Swindon.
- The depot for the Class 800/801 trains at Filton Triangle.
- The extra platforms at Cardiff Central station.
- The work at Cardiff to create a new Central Square.
A lot of the work, that is this side of Bristol, is a total disaster.
What Will Oxford Think Of This
Over the last couple of years, certain interest groups in Oxford have not been very pleased with the plans of Network Rail, Chiltern Rail and Great Western Railway to give the city an improved rail connection.
I wrote about this opposition in Network Rail’s Problem In Oxford.
So I was surprised to see this article on the BBC web site, which is entitled Oxford station design competition winners revealed. This is said.
Three competition ideas have been picked to help secure funding for a £125m revamp of Oxford railway station.
Six architects submitted designs to a contest launched in December by the city and county councils.
A proposal featuring a rooftop restaurant by firm AHR was chosen by a panel of judges and scored 70% in a public vote.
This is an image from the article of the winning design.
New Oxford Station Design
I agree with the panel and the general public.
But is it too good to be wasted on Oxford?
Electrification Delays On The Great Western Railway Must Be Serious
This article in Rail Magazine is entitled GWR and DfT discuss ‘revised plan’ after electrification delays and it talks about what is to be done to get a decent passenger service running on the Great Western Railway, despite all of the delays to the electrification program.
If you want to know more of the problem this article on the BBC web site from July 2015 is an excellent summary.
- The under-performance of the High Output Plant System, a factory train made up of 23 vehicles, has, according to rail observers, made a big contribution to Network Rail falling at least a year behind schedule.
- The whole electrification project for the Great Western line was really based on the High Output train because of the amount of work it could do so much more quickly,
- Engineering insiders told the BBC that a newly designed wiring system did not match the specification of the holes the Hops train was designed to dig and that a new design of pile-tubes hammered into the ground to house the thousands of electrification masts – went in too deep after ground surveys were missed.
- Even where the Hops train has managed to dig holes, it has damaged existing signalling cables.
- Network Rail is short on experienced engineers and experienced operators – people who know how to run a railway.
- It was decided by the Department for Transport that the new trains will be 26m long per vehicle and our railways are built for 23m long,
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a badly-designed and executed project in my long years on the dark fringes of project management.
So now it is sucking engineers and resources out of every other electrification project in the UK!
For instance, on my local electrification of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line, nothing much seems to have happened for the last few weeks.
I had to have a quiet chuckle, when I read this last paragraph in the Rail Magazine article.
GWR has tested short-formation High Speed Trains, and these could potentially be used on longer-distance services currently operated by multiple units, such as Cardiff-Portsmouth and Exeter-Penzance. They could also be used on some of the longer branch lines in the South West, such as Par-Newquay and Exeter-Barnstaple, although neither GWR nor the DfT would confirm this. A potential additional order for bi-mode AT300 hybrid trains could also be under consideration.
Terry Miller’s wonderful stop-gap design of the 1970s; the High Speed Train, is coming to the rescue again.
But then very serious problems, need the most serious of solutions!
I’m not running Network Rail and I’m not the Transport Minister, but in my view, it is now time to think extremely radically.
- Electrify as far as possible from London and run Class 387 trains or dependable-but-ugly Class 319 trains where you can.
- Run services to Bedwyn, Newbury, Oxford and the various branches East of Didcot using IPEMU variants of Class 387 trains.
- Replace as many HSTs on the East Coast Main Line as possible with new Class 800/801 trains and deploy Miller’s Masterpieces to the Great Western.
- Build new Class 800 electro diesel trains, instead of Class 801 electric trains and use them on the routes of TransPennine and Hull Trains.
We have been lucky with our train purchases and development.
- Class 800 and Class 801 are identical except for the diesel engines.
- Class 700 trains are being delivered to release Thameslink’s Class 387 and Class 319 trains.
- There are fifty or so Class 387 trains, that could be converted into IPEMUs, which would have a sixty mile range on batteries.
- Bombardier could probably build a few more Class 387 trains, alongside the Aventras.
I think that many places will get different and probably better and bigger trains, but not everyone will get the expected new electric trains.
Towards A Thames Valley Metro!
After my visit yesterday to Twyford Station and the Henley Branch and today to The Marlow Branch, I think something bigger could be emerging.
On the Great Western Main Line, between Paddington and Didcot, there are several branch lines and other more major routes that run local services into Reading and/or Paddington.
Taken in order from Paddington, they are.
- Acton to Northolt Line – 11 miles – Rather a leftover line that gets used for all sorts of traffic, including freight, diversions and driver training.
- Greenford Branch from West Ealing – 2.7 miles – Another leftover line, that is being rerouted to a bay platform at West Ealing – Could be transferred to the London Overground.
- Brentford Branch Line – 4 miles – Freight only
- Staines and West Drayton Line – 5.5 miles – Freight only.
- Windsor and Eton Branch from Slough – 2.5 miles
- Marlow Branch from Maidenhead – 7.15 miles – I wrote about it in The Marlow Branch.
- Henley Branch from Twyford – 4.5 miles – I wrote about it in Twyford Station and the Henley Branch
- Waterloo to Reading Line – Electrified, but links to the North Downs Line for Gatwick Airport, which isn’t!
- Reading to Basingstoke Line – To be electrified, with possibly some extra stations.
- Cherwell Valley Line from Didcot Parkway – To be electrified.
What follows are my observations.
Class 387 IPEMU Trains
Great Western Railway is to receive twenty-nine Class 387 trains from Thameslink and eight new ones from the factory.
These could easily be upgraded to IPEMU variants by the addition of batteries.
Once the power is switched on as far as Didcot Parkway station, I suspect that all these mainly short branches could be run using IPEMU trains, if passenger services were required or required to be run by electric trains.
Some like Greenford, Windsor and Eton, Marlow and Henley, would be as now, one train per branch. But elderly two car diesels would be replaced by new four car electric trains with a superior performance.
In Rumours of Battery Powered Trains, I reported on an article in Modern Railways magazine, which speculated that the extra Class 387 trains were to be IPEMUs and that they could be used on routes like Bedwyn and Oxford.
So it’s not my speculation!
Electrification Of The Branches
Some of the branches like Marlow Branch with its unusual layout and the Bourne End bridge and Windsor and Eton Branch with the historic nature of where it goes, will not be straightforward, as I suspect the heritage lobby will have a field day. As I wrote in Why We Should Use Independently Powered Electric Trains, the opposition to electrification in sensitive areas is stirring.
Electrification of the Greenford Branch might be more straightforward, but with five stations and a terminus in a bay platform at Greenford, I would suspect that a dedicated Class 387 IPEMU would cost less and only require the bay platform at West Ealing station to be electrified.
North Downs Line
In some ways, the North Downs Line is the most interesting, as I think that a dual-voltage IPEMU could easily supply a high quality service between Reading and Gatwick.
At present the direct service is hourly and takes around eighty minutes, using a two car Class 156 train.
Reading to Gatwick by Crossrail and Thameslink could on current figures and predictions for Crossrail times, take a few minutes over a hundred.
So the current direct route is quicker now with Class 165 diesel trains!
What difference would a faster four-car electric train make?
Crossrail’s Effect On The Great Western Main Line
The biggest effect will be when Crossrail arrives at all stations on the Great Western Main Line from Paddington to Reading.
Stations like Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford, where branches connect, will see a positive effect, as I suspect that more connections to and from the branches will be easier and involve less waiting.
Improving Services On The Branches
I think we could see some reorganisation of the services on the branch lines to give increased frequencies?
I think if Great Western Railway take the IPEMU route instead of electrifying the branches, there is scope for providing improved services from Slough to Reading and on the branches in the area. Diagrams could be arranged that after trundling down a few branches, the IPEMU did a section on the electrified lines to charge the batteries.
On thing I noticed on my trip to Marlow, was that Network Rail seem to be installing a lot of bay platforms at Crossrail stations. Some are London-facing for flexibility in the Crossrail schedules, but some are facing the other way. Could Network Rail be thinking out of the box and making sure, they don’t compromise any possible future services?
Reading As An Important Hub
As the routes develop, it would almost be like a Thames Valley Metro centred on the extremely well-connected Reading.
- Great Western Railway to Wales, the West Country and London
- Crossrail to London and beyond.
- Cross-Country Trains to the South, Midlands and North
- In a few years time the East West Rail Link could join Reading to Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and the East.
The Class 387 IPEMU trains could serve the following stations from Reading, with very little extra electrification and perhaps the odd curve or two.
- Basingstoke
- Bedwyn
- Gatwick Airport
- Heathrow Airport
- Henley-on-Thames
- London Paddington
- Marlow
- Newbury
- Oxford
- Windsor and Eton Central
- Wokingham
If the Marlow Branch were to be extended, the trains could even reach High Wycombe.
Reading is going to have a very interesting time!
The Marlow Branch
After my exploration yesterday of Twyford Station And The Henley Branch, I felt I had to explore one of the other branches today.
So I took the Great Western Railway to Maidenhead station and went up and down the Marlow Branch Line.
Unlike at Twyford, where you have several minutes to make the connection, at Maidenhead, I only had a couple, so pictures of Maidenhead station are a bit sparse in the gallery. However, I did take some others in Before Crossrail Maidenhead Station.
Much of what was said about the Henley Branch applies to the Maidenhead Branch.
- It is a short branch of just over seven miles with a change of direction in the middle at Bourne End station.
- An IPEMU would appear to be more than capable of providing a service on the line.
- At a quick look, it would appear that the platforms at Bourne End, Cookham, Furze Platt and Marlow stations could easily be made long enough for a four car train.
- The line has several level crossings and a couple of low bridges, that could cause problems with traditional electrification.
- Bourne End Railway Bridge is an historic bridge and I doubt that the heritage lobby would allow it to be electrified using overhead wires.
Operation
One almost unique quirk of the line is that the reversal of direction at Bourne End, where the driver has to walk to the other end of the train.
The Class 165 train is over twenty years old and was built before trains had modern control and wi-fi systems. Surely, a modern train could be driven from the rear, using CCTV for forward vision between Bourne End and Marlow.
Extending From Bourne End To High Wycombe
I think that it is true to say, that a lot of people would be very pleased if the branch line still continued past Bourne End and on to High Wycombe station.
This Google Map shows Bourne End station.
Bourne End Station
Note how the line from Maidenhead comes in from the South West and the line continues to Marlow along the river after the change of direction. The former line to High Wycombe is visible as a green scar going off to the North East.
I certainly think that the ambitious natures of Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway and Crossrail/Transport for London will mean that this extension to effectively make High Wycombe one change away from Crossrail will be seriously looked at by the train companies.
Twyford Station And The Henley Branch
I went for lunch in Henley-on-Thames today taking the Great Western Railway to Twyford station for the Henley Branch Line to Henley-on-Thames station.
These pictures document the journey between my two train changes at Twyford station.
The branch is a typical single-track rural branch line that trundles its way through the countryside, over the River Thames to a single platform, that can take eight car trains.
It is currently served by a single two car Class 165 train, that goes up and down every fifty minutes or so all day, which is augmented by a couple of direct trains in the peak.
I feel that the Henley Branch Line could easily by worked by an IPEMU train. This could be either one of Class 387 trains ordered by Great Western Railway and converted to the technology or a new Aventra train.
Consider the following about the Henley Branch.
- It is only four and a half miles long.
- The speed limit of the line is fifty miles per hour.
- The bridge over the Thames has a lower speed limit and would probably be challenging to electrify.
- The two intermediate stations of Shiplake and Wargrave are built for eight car trains.
- There is at least one level crossing on the branch.
- The bay platform at Twyford station looks like it could take a five car train.
The Class 379 IPEMU test train with its sixty mile range could probably do six up-and-downs without a recharge. When an IPEMU train needed a recharge it would just pull into Platform 4 at Twyford station instead of the normal bay Platform 5, raise the pantograph and charge the batteries. Alternatively, Plstform 5 could have a short length of overhead wiring for recharging the battery.
This Google Map shows Twyford station.
Twyford Station
Note the two car train in Platform 5 and the Henley Branch Line leading away to the north from the Great Western Main Line..
If Class 387 trains modified with IPEMU technology were to be used, Henley could receive four car electric trains as soon as the power was switched on as far as Twyford, with no major works on the Branch.
Two Class 387 trains could be coupled together to make an eight car train, that could also be run to and from Paddington during the peak and the Henley Regatta.
Why We Should Use Independently-Powered Electric Trains
I was looking for something else and found this article in the Henley Standard entitled Goring rail line work ‘will ruin countryside’. This is said.
THE electrification of the railway line through Goring will ruin the surrounding countryside, say residents.
Network Rail is installing overhead power cables as part of the scheme, which covers the route between Reading and Oxford and is expected to be finished next year.
Last week contractors began felling trees and putting up steel lattice gantries which will span the track at regular intervals to hold the wires in place.
You can argue that on a major line like the Great Western Main Line, we need robust overhead wire systems, as many of us have suffered serious delays on lines like the East Coast Main Line and the Great Eastern Main Line because of the flimsy overhead wire design.
But still the residents have a point and I think there must be a better design that mitigates the visual intrusion. Would Jasper Maskelyne and others skilled in the art of camouflage have ideas to assist Network Rail?
Network Rail can get it right, as is shown at the Grade 1 Listed Wharncliffe Viaduct, where the overhead wires are arranged to reduce the visual impact.
Are they usually as measured about where they place a gantry, as they have been on the viaduct?
Away from main lines, there will be lines like the Settle and Carlisle and the Hope Valley Line, where visual intrusion will be very important and activists will attempt to stop the installation.
It is for places like this where we must have independently-powered trains to service the route. There are two available technologies.
Electro-Diesel Trains
At the present time, there is only one electro-diesel train planned in this country and that is the Hitachi Class 800 train, which soon be seen on the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line.
They are a solution to the problem and can switch between propulsion modes at line speed, but they require diesel engines to be lugged around the country for where they are needed, so they may not be as efficient as a purely electric train.
There seems to be a few ideas for electro-diesel trains, but none appear to be comng to fruition.
Electric Trains With On-Board Energy Storage (IPEMU)
I rode the Class 379 train, that had been converted to act as a demonstrator for this technology.
It was impressive, as we trundled through the Essex countryside powered by energy stored in batteries, that had been charged from the overhead wires.
The fact that the technology works is all down to the physics of steel wheels on steel rails, which make train travel efficient in the first place.
As an electrical engineer, I know that this is technology, that can only get better.
- Electricity storage, whether based on batteries, flywheels, capacitors or some other method, will only get better.
- Trains will roll better through improvements in design.
- Energy harvesting from sources like regenerative braking will be more comprehensive.
- Secondary electrical systems on trains like air-conditioning, toilets and the provision of wi-fi will use less electricity.
- Automatic control systems will control the train tightly according to schedule, terrain and signals to minimise electricity use.
- Pantograph deployment will be automatic, when overhead wires are available.
But using the on-board storage to power the train on its route, is only one of the reasons it will be installed.
- If a train has on-board storage and regenerative braking, it will be more efficient.
- When the overhead line gets damaged or the power supply is cut, an electric train with on-board storage might still get through.
- Depots can have simplified electrification, which is safer for staff.
Bombardier must be impressed with the concept, as all Aventra trains will be wired so that on-board energy storage can be fitted.
Conclusion
Both technologies for independently powered trains are proven, but you wouldn’t want to use on-board energy storage over more than a limited distance, beyond which the diesel would be ideal.
By using independently powered trains, you can balance electrification cost, installation disruption and visual intrusion against the extra cost of a train with on-board storage or diesel engines.
Provided of course, the independently powered train can handle the route to the satisfaction of passengers and rail companies!
On the Great Western Main Line because of the distances involved and the reliability required, electric trains using overhead power on robust supports are probably the best method we have at present.
Although, Great Western Railway have been reported as saying they might use Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability to destinations a few miles off the Great Western Main Line, like possibly Bedwyn and Oxford.
Great Western Railway Launches Lobster Class
Great Western Railway serves the best food on a British scheduled train, but this article on Rail News entitled Lobsters ‘take the train’ to London is not a piece of fun. This is an extract.
Live lobsters are now being transported by rail from Cornwall to top London restaurants.
Sending produce by rail will be faster than road, ensuring the lobsters are fresher when they arrive. It will also help to lower carbon emissions by reducing road freight.
Great Western Railways and InterCity RailFreight Ltd will be delivering the lobsters daily on the 1739 Penzance to London Paddington service. WEGO Carbon Neutral Couriers will then take them to their final destination.
It’s good to see innovative uses of resources.
The Anonymous Widower 