Elizabeth Line Takes Fliers Away From Heathrow Express
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
These three paragraphs add details to the story.
The opening of the Elizabeth Line has eaten into the revenues of Heathrow Express, the country’s most expensive railway service per mile travelled.
Filings reveal that Heathrow Express, which offers a 15-minute service between London Paddington and Heathrow, has failed to recover to pre-pandemic levels despite flight volumes at the airport returning to near-normal. Heathrow said revenues from Heathrow Express in the first three months of the year were £22 million.
While that is 50 per cent more than in the same period last year, when Covid-19 travel restrictions were beginning to be relaxed, it is almost a third down on the £31 million of revenues in the first quarter of 2019.
Considering how air travel is on the upturn, Heathrow Express would not appear to be performing as the airport expects.
Remember, that First Group are paid by Heathrow Airport to run the service, which is owned by the airport.
In So Many Cases On A Train!, I wrote about a trip from West Ealing to Moorgate station. These were my opening sentences.
This afternoon about three, I went to West Ealing station to see what it was like to transfer between the Elizabeth Line Central Tunnel and the Western Branch at Paddington.
Coming back, I took an Elizabeth Line service that had started from Heathrow Airport and it was one of the busiest Lizzies, I’d ever ridden!
To get on the train at West Ealing station, I got in to probably coach 4 of 9, as that was in the dry and the back end of the train I needed for Moorgate station was certainly in the wet.
I then had to walk half the length of the train to get to the back of the train.
It was not easy, as the train was full of scores of passengers with large wheelie cases.
It certainly got me thinking about how passengers were getting to and from Heathrow and I came to this conclusion.
Lizzie will start a revolution in travel to and from Heathrow.
Judging by the title of the article in The Times, the revolution has already started.
Consider these reasons.
- Heathrow Express is overpriced.
- It doesn’t go where many passengers want to go.
- It’s not the best way to get workers to and from the airport.
- The ULEZ will discourage passengers and staff from driving to the airport.
In Effects Of The ULEZ In West London, I said this about journeys to and from the airport.
Heathrow Airport is one of the world’s busiest airports and 76,000 people work at the airport, with many more employed nearby.
The airport handled 61.6 million passengers in 2022, which is a few short of 170,000 per day.
If you consider that those that work at the airport do two trips per day and passengers generally do one, that means there are 322,000 trips per day to or from the airport.
But as it now so easy to get to the Airport using the Elizabeth Line will more people use the new line to meet and greet and say goodbye to loved ones or business associates. Since the Elizabeth Line opened, I’ve met a couple of friends at Heathrow, who were passing through.
I wonder, if that daily journey total of 322,000 could be nearer to 350,000 or even 400,000.
If the ULEZ charge makes some passengers and staff switch from their car to using a bus or train, this probably means that public transport to and from the airport, will need to be boosted by a substantial amount.
I can see airport workers lobbying for free tickets on Heathrow Express, but they probably live closer to the airport than Paddington or perhaps even in the Eastern areas of London served by the Elizabeth Line.
The Elizabeth Line Is Showing Signs Of Running Out Of Capacity
In the last few weeks, I’ve been on some very full Elizabeth Line trains.
Articles, like this one on Rail Advent, which is entitled Transport for London Looks Into Funding For Additional Elizabeth Line Trains, are also starting to appear.
These three paragraphs explain the problem.
Transport for London has announced that they are looking for confirmation from the Government regarding funding so that they can look into the possibility of purchasing additional Elizabeth Line trains.
The news from TfL comes after the recent announcement of delays to HS2 terminating at London Euston.
TfL says that without the extra trains, there is insufficient capacity on the Elizabeth Line (until HS2 is extended to Euston in the 2040s) for passengers looking to use HS2 and the Elizabeth Line to get into Central London.
Alstom also appear to want the space in the factory to build other trains.
So it appears that Transport for London must act soon.
Heathrow Express Needs To Be Repurposed
In Extending The Elizabeth Line – High Speed Trains On The Elizabeth Line, I talked about running faster trains through the Central Tunnel of the Elizabeth Line.
As any train would have to be compatible with the platform-edge doors in the central tunnel of the Elizabeth Line, the trains would have to be dimensionally identical to the current Class 345 trains.
- Nine cars
- Possibility of lengthening to ten cars.
- 204.73 metres long.
- 6 sets of doors per carriage
- Ability to run under full digital signalling.
- The trains would be designed for a higher speed of at least 110 or 125 mph, to enable running on the fast lines of the Great Western Main Line.
- The trains would have Heathrow Express branding and interior.
Services could be as follows.
- Heathrow Terminal 4 and Southend Victoria via Bond Street and Liverpool Street for the City and Stratford.
- Heathrow Terminal 5 and Ebbsfleet International via Bond Street and Liverpool Street for the City and Canary Wharf.
Note.
- Both services would be two trains per hour (tph)
- Traffic would determine, which Eastern terminal is paired with which Western terminal.
- Each route would also have two Elizabeth Line tph on the same route.
The Heathrow Express services would run as follows.
- Between Heathrow Airport and Paddington, they would run as now.
- I believe that by using the power of the digital signalling, they could be slotted into the queue of Elizabeth Line trains taking the Central Tunnel.
- They would run through the Central Tunnel, as just another Elizabeth Line train, stopping at all stations.
- Southend Victoria trains would stop at Stratford, take the fast lines to Shenfield, after which they would stop at all stations to Southend Victoria.
- Ebbsfleet International trains would stop at all stations from Abbey Wood to Ebbsfleet International.
Note.
- Trains would stop at Old Oak Common after it opened for High Speed Two and GWR.
- All ticketing would be contactless.
- Passengers using Heathrow Express to the West of Paddington, would pay an extra fee, but nothing like today’s price.
These Heathrow Express routes would have advantages.
- Southend Airport and Southend Victoria would get a direct fast train to Central London and High Speed Two.
- Heathrow would have a direct connection with Continental train services at Ebbsfleet International.
- Capacity could be increased by going to ten-car trains.
- Heathrow Express could release their platforms at Paddington.
- There would be two fast tph between Heathrow and Stratford.
- There would be two fast tph between Heathrow and Canary Wharf.
- There would be four fast tph between Heathrow and Bond Street for the shopping and Liverpool Street for the City of London.
- There would be four fast tph between Heathrow and Farringdon for Thameslink, Gatwick and Luton Airports.
Heathrow Express trains will be fifteen minutes faster to all destinations.
I don’t think there would be any major disadvantages.
World First As HS2 Trials Dual-Fuel Piling Rig On London Site
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item on HS2.
This is the piling rig.
These are the two bullet points.
- Four piles installed using a hydrogen dual-fuel piling rig, cutting the use of traditional fuel by 36%.
- Trial is the first real world use of the technology on a construction site.
These three paragraphs outline the project.
HS2 has taken a further step forward in decarbonising the constructure sector, completing a world first by installing four 30-metre deep piles on a London site using a hydrogen dual-fuel piling rig.
The trial took place as part of work done in partnership by ULEMCo and Cementation Skanska, working with the world-leading Business Research Establishment (BRE), funded through the BEIS Phase 1 Red Diesel Replacement competition.
ULEMCo and Cementation Skanska successfully modified a medium sized CFA piling rig, converting it so that the machine component operated using energy from on-board hydrogen tanks. Using the dual-fuel system, both diesel and biofuels (HVO) can be mixed with hydrogen, displacing the fuel with hydrogen, resulting in a reduction in fuel use and lower CO2 emissions.
Note.
- We’re going to see a lot more large machines converted to dual-fuel and pure hydrogen.
- ULEMCo from Aintree, seem to be one of the leaders in the field of dual-fuel conversions.
You certainly see lots of these machines working around London and other big cities.
Could High Speed Two Have An Underground Station In London?
The Achievement Of The Bank Station Upgrade
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the lines through Bank and Monument stations.
Note.
- All the pink lines are the lines of the London Underground.
- The line running alongside London Bridge is the Northern Line, which is deep under the Thames.
- The mauve lines are those with the slightly higher voltage of the UK National Rail network going into Cannon Street station.
In part of the Bank Station Upgrade, a new Southbound tunnel for the Northern Line was dug, so that the Northern Line platforms at Bank station could be farther apart.
This visualisation shows the station.
The project was an amazing demonstration of what is possible to be achieved in underground construction.
- There is a moving walkway to move passengers between the Central and Northern Lines.
- There are escalators and lifts everywhere.
It was also dug out from London’s helpful soils under scores of important buildings, many of which are listed.
These pictures give a flavour of the underground section of the completed upgrade.
These pictures show the buildings on top of the complex.
Note.
- There is no building of any great height above the station complex.
- There are a lot of quality buildings.
- During all the work underground, I didn’t see any reports of any problems with the buildings on top.
- In How Many Entrances And Exits Does A Station Need?, I counted that the complex now has twenty entries.
It is probably a project that could be repeated elsewhere.
Camden Town, Holborn and Bond Street/Oxford Circus are probably suitable cases for treatment.
Weston Williamson’s Plan For Manchester Piccadilly Station
In The Rival Plans For Piccadilly Station, That Architects Say Will ‘Save Millions’, I wrote about Weston Williamson’s plan for Manchester Piccadilly station.
This was their visualisation.
Note.
- In the visualisation, you are observing the station from the East.
- The existing railway lines into Piccadilly station are shown in red.
- Stockport and Manchester Airport are to the left, which is to the South.
- Note the dreaded Castlefield Corridor in red going off into the distance to Oxford Road and Deansgate stations.
- The new high speed lines are shown in blue.
- To the left they go to Manchester Airport and then on to London, Birmingham and the South, Warrington and Liverpool and Wigan, Preston, Blackpool, Barrow-in-Furness, the North and Scotland.
- To the right, they go to Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds, Hull and the North East, and Sheffield, Doncaster and the East.
- Between it looks like a low-level High Speed station with at least four tracks and six platforms.
- The Manchester Metrolink is shown in yellow.
The potential for over-site development is immense. If the Station Square Tower was residential, the penthouses would be some of the most desirable places to live in the North.
Londoners Are The Tunnel Kings
Bring On The Robots
Could High Speed Two Have An Underground Station In London?
Look at this map from OpenRailwayMap.
Note.
- Euston station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- St. Pancras and King’s Cross stations can just be seen at the top of the map.
- All lines shown in red have 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- All lines shown in pink are the London Overground.
- The double track electrified railway meandering across the map from West to East is the Elizabeth Line.
- The pink line going down the middle of the map is the Piccadilly Line.
- The pink line going down the left of the map is the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line.
There is a large square area to the South of Euston that doesn’t have any railways crossing it.
It is shown in this map from OpenRailwayMap.
Note.
- As before, red lines have 25 KVAC overhead electrification and pink lines are the Underground.
- The Western boundary of the area is the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line, which runs between Euston in the North and Tottenham Court Road in the South.
- The Eastern boundary of the area is the Piccadilly Line, which runs between King’s Cross in the North and Holborn in the South.
- The Northern boundary of the area is the sub-surface Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines, which runs between Warren Street in the West and King’s Cross in the East.
- The Northern and Victoria Lines also run East-West to the North of the sub-surface lines.
- The Southern boundary of the area is the Central and Elizabeth Lines, which run between Tottenham Court Road in the West and Holborn in the East.
It is a substantial area.
So could it be hollowed out to create a below-ground London terminal for High Speed Two?
I got a bus from Tottenham Court Road to Euston station and then walked to Holborn, taking these pictures.
Note.
- There are only two buildings in the area with more than about six floors; University College Hospital and Senate House.
- There a lot of green spaces.
- Bloomsbury Square does have a car park beneath it.
I wonder if a terminal station could be build under the area?
- I suspect if you went fifty metres down there could be plenty of space, that could be excavated.
- Tunnels with moving walkway and escalators could link the station to the Central, Circle, Elizabeth, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan, Northern and Piccadilly Lines.
- There would be space to have 400 metre long platforms.
- As all trains would be electric, there would be no fume problems.
- There could be lifts and escalators to the green spaces on the top.
I have a feeling that most of people living or working inside the North and South Circular Roads could get to the station by public transport with at most a single change.
Angus Peter Campbell: I’m In Two Minds About The Renewable Energy Revolution
The title of the post, is the same as that of this article in the Aberdeen Press and Journal.
This is the sub-heading.
The debate (argument) between development and environmentalism is as old as the hills.
In the article, Campbell puts all sides of the arguments over the Coire Glas pumped storage hydro-electric scheme, and the article is very much a must read.
I feel that this 1500 MW/30 GWh scheme should be built, as like Hinckley Point C and Sizewell C, it takes a large bite out of the new energy storage capacity that is needed.
But if we do build this large project, we should think very hard about how we do it.
These are a few thoughts.
Low Carbon, Disturbance And Noise During Construction
High Speed Two are doing this and I wrote about it in HS2 Smashes Carbon Target.
I do subject though, that increasingly large construction projects can go this way.
Electric Trucks, Cranes And Other Equipment
High Speed Two and big mining companies are increasingly using electric mining trucks, cranes and other equipment.
As this sort of equipment, also provides a better environment for workers, I suspect we’ll see more electric equipment.
Hydrogen Trucks And Construction Equipment
Hydrogen could play a big part and rightly so.
It is ideal for heavier equipment and one of its biggest advocates and developers is JCB.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a decision about an onsite electrolyser being made soon.
Low Carbon Concrete
There are various methods of making low- and zero-carbon concrete, some of which incorporate carbon dioxide into the material.
Use Of Loch Lochy And The Caledonian Canal
I wouldn’t be surprised if just as the Thames in London was used in the construction of Crossrail and the Northern Line extension, Loch Lochy and The Caledonian Canal will be used to take out construction spoil.
There’s certainly a lot of ways to be innovative in the movement of men and materials.
Conclusion
The construction of Coire Glas will make an epic documentary.
TfL Needs More Elizabeth Line Trains Because Of HS2 Delays At Euston
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
This is the first paragraph.
Transport for London (TfL) is warning that delays to the HS2 railway may require it to buy more Elizabeth line trains to cope with the thousands of people dropped off at Old Oak Common needing to get into central London.
Given, the way they got the project management and the cost and schedule so wrong, I wonder if we can rely on this assertion.
I certainly find fault with this statement.
In an ideal world, TfL would be able to send some empty Elizabeth line trains stabled in a depot to the west of Old Oak Common station, but the location of the main depot rules that out.
The Wikipedia entry for the Elizabeth Line says this about the future service.
In May 2023, it is planned to allow trains to run from both eastern branches to west of Paddington. This will allow both more flexible, and higher frequency, services: 24 tph peak, 20 tph off-peak, and direct services between Shenfield and Heathrow. In the longer term, when Old Oak Common opens, all trains will serve Old Oak Common, with those not serving the Reading or Heathrow branches reversing there.
The service changes for 21 May 2023 were confirmed in February 2023. The peak timetable will increase to 24 trains per hour. Off-peak service level will remain at 16 trains per hour, with two Shenfield–Paddington trains extended to Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and two Abbey Wood–Terminal 5 trains switching to Terminal 4.
Consider.
At present 8 trains per hour (tph), pass through the site of Old Oak Common station.
By reversing the trains at Old Oak Common, rather than Paddington, this will surely mean that after the 21st of May 2023, 24 tph in the Peak and 20 tph in the Off Peak will pass through Old Oak Common.
If eight tph, still go on to Heathrow, Maidenhead and Reading, 16 tph will be turned in the Prak and 8 tph in the Off Peak.
This would give more capacity, as more trains would be running between Old Oak Common and Whitechapel.
If TfL have collected the right statistics, I’m sure they can predict the number of trains needed.
It seems to me, that the most important thing that TfL can do is make sure they can turn all the trains they need to at Old Oak Common station.
How Are Trains Going To Be Reversed At Old Oak Common?
The Victoria Line can handle 33 tph between Brixton and Walthamstow Central and the Elizabeth Line could use a similar method to handle the 16 tph, it needs to turn at Old Oak Common.
A process called stepping-up is used on the Victoria Line.
- On arrival in the terminal platform, the driver shuts the train down and leaves the cab.
- A second driver gets in the cab at the other end of the train and readies the train for departure.
- When instructed by the signalling, the new driver initiates the process by which the train leaves the station.
The original driver of the train, walks to the other end of the platform, to get themselves ready to be called to step-up to another train, at an appropriate time in the future.
I suspect to use stepping-up at Old Oak Common for the Elizabeth Line will need four platforms; two through platforms for services beyond Old Oak Common and two adjacent bay-platforms for services to be turned.
In Crossrail Trains Cleared To Use The Heathrow Tunnel, I gave this detailed description from Ian of the Class 345 trains‘ Auto-Reverse feature.
Around half of westbound trains will terminate at Paddington, but to head back eastwards, once all the passengers are off, they carry on westwards to Westbourne Park, then return back to Paddington on the eastbound line.
Normally that means the train driver would drive to Westbourne Park, stop, walk through the train to the other end, then drive back. But with “auto-reverse”, as soon as the train leaves Paddington, the driver switches to automatic and starts walking through the train to the other end. By the time the train arrives at Westbourne Park sidings, the driver will be sitting in the drivers cab at the other end of the train ready to head back into Central London.
I suspect that the Elizabeth Line will use Auto-Reverse or some other nifty piece of automation at Old Oak Common.
High Speed Two – Old Oak Common – 28th March 2023
I took these pictures from an Elizabeth Line train, as it passed High Speed Two’s massive Old Oak Common site.
Note, the large conveyor in the first seven pictures is used to remove soil from the site.
Adding Wigan And Manchester Victoria To The Bee Network
This article on the Railway Gazette has a list of the lines, that will be transferred between Northern Rail and the Bee Network.
Included in the list is this line.
Wigan and Manchester Victoria via the West Coast Main Line and a proposed station at Golborne, which could open from 2025.
I think this route could be the following.
- The Eastern terminal would be Manchester Victoria
- The Northern terminal would be Wigan North Western, as it is on the West Coast Main Line.
- Intermediate stations would be Golborne, Patricoff, Eccles and Salford Central.
- The route is fully electrified with 25 KVAC overhead.
- Most of the route has a 90 mph operating speed.
There is no comparable route in the current timetable.
These are a few thoughts.
Golborne Station
In Beeching Reversal – Reopening Golborne Railway Station, I discussed the reopening of Golborne station.
I didn’t think it would be likely, as it was a cramped site in the middle of a village, as this Google Map shows.
But I didn’t notice the four tracks through the site.
As the line through here, will have to be rebuilt for High Speed Two to raise the operating speed from the current 90 mph to as high as 140 mph. perhaps a high class architect could find a way to build a station at the site on the slow lines?
Improvements To Wigan North Western Station
In Wigan North Western Station Set For Platform Extension Work, I talked about work to make Wigan North Western station ready for High Speed Two.
I concluded, by saying this.
It certainly looks like Wigan North Western station is being updated to have a comprehensive network of local electric services to give a large number of stations, good access to current West Coast Main Line and future High Speed Two services.
I also added this picture of Wigan North Western station.
Wigan North Western station can’t be far off being able to accept pairs of High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains, that will be 400 metres long.
The Wigan North Western and Manchester Victoria service will add Golborne, Patricoff, Eccles, Salford Central and Manchester Victoria to the list.
Connecting To Scottish Services
The Internet gives these times from Wigan North Western.
- London Euston – 1 hour and 55 minutes – Current
- London Euston – 1 hour and 34 minutes – High Speed Two
- Glasgow Central – 2 hours and 35 minutes – Current
- Glasgow Central – 2 hours and 06 minutes – High Speed Two
It looks to me, that there is an awful lot of trackwork to be done to the West Coast Main Line between Wigan North Western and Glasgow Central.
But on the other hand, changing at Wigan North Western will be a reasonably fast alternative, if whilst building High Speed Two to Manchester, the current route is closed.
HS2 Tackles Materials Shortfall By Opening A New On-Site Rebar Components Facility
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from High Speed Two.
These are the three bullet points.
- A new facility on HS2’s Copthall tunnel site addresses materials shortages by making rebar products on site
- A team of 14 will make 92,000 rebar couplers needed for the Copthall tunnel in Hillingdon
- The innovative solution has created jobs, saves time and money, reduces waste and cuts lorry movements
These three paragraphs outline what was done.
HS2 has set up a rebar threading facility to address materials shortages at its Copthall tunnel construction site in Hillingdon – creating jobs, cutting waste and reducing lorry movements. The new facility will make 92,000 rebar couplers, needed to construct the Copthall tunnel.
The Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture (SCS JV) team constructing the tunnel were faced with delays due to a shortfall of available prefabricated fatigue rated rebar couplers, after suppliers had exited the market. To address this, the team has constructed a threading facility on site to produce the required quantities of the materials themselves.
As well as addressing supply shortfall, the threading facility has resulted in a significant financial saving on the project by reducing waste, costs and lorry movements, and overall creating a more efficient way of working.
This looks like the sort of solution that could be applied more often.
There’s also an excellent video.
I have definitely been impressed with the project management of High Speed Two.
Platform Canopies To Be Renovated For Passengers At Lancaster Station
The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Network Rail.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Station platform canopies are being renovated at Lancaster to improve passenger journeys on the West Coast Main Line.
Network Rail is investing £9.5m to restore and upgrade the station building for the future.
This picture from Network Rail shows an aerial view of the station.
Note that the camera is looking South.
This picture shows the current canopies.
Network Rail can surely do better on a Grade II Listed Building.
The press release lists that this work will be done.
- Replacing all glazing in the platform canopies
- Repairing and strengthening the structure of the canopy structures
- Repainting across the station
The press release says the work won’t affect train services, but will be done when trains aren’t running.
These are my thoughts.
Lancaster Station and High Speed Two
Lancaster station will be a terminus on the High Speed Two Network.
Note.
- Train 4 , which is a pair of 200 metre High Speed Classic Compatible trains, leaves London Euston and splits at Crewe, with one train going to Liverpool Lime Street and the other to Lancaster.
- Train 12, which runs between Birmingham Curzon Street and Scotland, also calls at Lancaster.
Both trains will be single 200 metre High Speed Classic Compatible trains at Lancaster station and platforms 3, 4 and 5 can handle them.
But how will the Lancaster train terminate?
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the lines through Lancaster station.
Note.
- The red lines are electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
- In the North-West corner of the station are the bay platforms 1 and 2, which handle Morecambe services.
- West Coast Main Line services between London Euston and Scotland, go through platforms 3 and 4 in the middle of the station.
- On the East side of the station is platform 5 which is on a loop off the West Coast Main Line.
I would expect that the London Euston and Lancaster service will generally terminate in platform 5.
Wikipedia says this about platform 5 and the signalling.
Platform 5, which can be used by both northbound and southbound trains or by terminating services.
All platforms are signalled for arrivals and departures in either direction.
That all sounds very convenient.
There may be some minor changes for the longer High Speed Two trains, but I doubt it would be too challenging.
Onward To Morecambe
The Eden Project North at Morecambe could attract a lot of traffic.
- Lancaster will be just two hours and three minutes from London by High Speed Two.
- There are numerous rail connections from Lancaster to all over the North of England and Scotland.
- Would you drive for two hours to the Eden Project North, if there was a convenient and quicker train?
- Train companies may offer combined tickets for the attraction with rail tickets.
Wikipedia says this about the development and opening of the attraction.
Having been granted planning permission in January 2022 and with £50 million of levelling-up funding granted in January 2023, it is due to open in 2024 and predicted to benefit the North West economy by £200 million per year.
I’ve always wanted to go to the Eden Project in Cornwall, but it’s difficult if you don’t drive.
However, I might manage to get to Eden Project North.
Trains between Morecambe and Lancaster are at least hourly.
- I think they can use any platform at Lancaster.
- Morecambe station has two platforms.
- Morecambe and Lancaster stations are four miles apart, with probably half electrified.
- A battery-electric train could work between Morecambe and Lancaster.
I can envisage two main ways to arrange the connection between Morecambe and Lancaster.
- Trains arrive in Lancaster and passengers for Morecambe catch the next Morecambe train for two stops, that take ten minutes.
- When High Speed Two serves Lancaster from Euston, the shuttle train can wait in the Northern end of Platform 5 and when the High Speed Two train arrives passengers can just walk up the platform to the shuttle.
But if the Eden Project North is as successful as the Cornish original, there is going to be a need for more trains between Morecambe and Lancaster.
This Google Map shows Morecambe station.
Note that the island platform is probably about 160 metres long.
This would accommodate.
- A five-car Class 802 or Class 805 train.
- A pair of four-car Class 319, Class 321 trains.
- A pair of three-car Class 331 trains.
But why not be bold and lengthen at least one platform to the full two hundred metres, so that it can accommodate a High Speed Classic Compatible train?
This would also accommodate.
- A seven-car Class 807 train.
- A pair of four-car Class 331 trains.
All of these electric trains would need the Morecambe branch line to be electrified to Morecambe station.
But the Eden Project North would get the public transport access it needs.
Electrifying To Morecambe
This map from OpenRailwayMap, shows the Morecambe Branch Line between the West Coast Main Line and Morecambe station.
Note.
- The tracks shown in red on the Eastern side of the map are the West Coast Main Line.
- The black lines are the unelectrified tracks of the Morecambe branch line.
- Morecambe station is marked by the blue arrow.
- Much of the Morecambe branch line is single track, with some sections of double track.
- The distance between the West Coast Main Line and Morecambe station is around 2.1 miles.
I don’t think it would be the most challenging of electrifications.
A Green Route To The Isle Of Man And Ireland
This map from OpenRailwayMap, shows the terminal of the Morecambe Branch Line at Heysham Port.
Note.
- There is a rail connection to the West Coast Main Line via Morecambe, which is shown in yellow.
- The port appears to have three berths for ferries.
- There are only a couple of train services per day.
- South of the port is the Heysham nuclear power station, which has a capacity of 2.5 GW.
At a first glance, it would appear, that a rail-served passenger terminal could be built close to the port.
I suspect most passengers using Heysham are travelling with a vehicle.
The problem is also that the ferry crossing to Belfast takes around eight hours and there are faster and more convenient routes.
The ferries could be decarbonised by using ammonia or hydrogen fuel, but I doubt that they would be any faster.
I suspect that getting more passengers to use Heysham for the Isle of Man or Ireland will be a difficult proposition to sell to passengers.
And it is made even more difficult with such an infrequent train service.
Before High Speed Two
Avanti West Coast might like to run a train between Euston and Morecambe for the Eden Project North.
Are National Rail Promoting Theme Parks?
I found this page on the National Rail web site, which is entitled Theme Parks.
It gives a list of most theme parks and their nearest stations.
Does such a page exist for hospitals, cathedrals and other similar groups.
Could A Battery-Electric High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train Be Developed?
A Battery-Electric High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train, would not be needed for High Speed Two, as it is currently envisaged, as all lines will be electrified.
But Hitachi have already said that they are developing the Hitachi Intercity Battery Hybrid Train, which is described in this infographic.
This page on the Hitachi Rail web site gives this description of the Hybrid Battery Train.
A quick and easy application of battery technology is to install it on existing or future Hitachi intercity trains. A retrofit programme would involve removing diesel engines and replace with batteries.
Hitachi Rail’s modular design means this can be done without the need to re-engineer or rebuild the train, this ensures trains can be returned to service as quickly as possible for passengers. Adding a battery reduces fuel costs up to 30% or increase performance.
These trains will be able to enter, alight and leave non–electrified stations in battery mode reducing diesel emissions and minimising noise – helping to improve air quality and make train stations a cleaner environment for passengers.
Our battery solution complements electrification, connecting gaps and minimising potential infrastructure costs and disruption to service.
It looks to me, that Hitachi are playing an old Electrical/Electronic Engineer’s trick.
As a sixteen-year-old, I spent a Summer in a rolling mills, building replacement transistorised control units for the old electronic valve units. They had been designed, so they were plug-compatible and performed identically.
It appears, that Hitachi’s battery supplier; Hyperdrive Innovation of Sunderland has just designed a battery pack, that appears to the train to be a diesel engine.
In the Technical Outline, this is said.
- Train Configuration: 5 – 12 car
- Nominal Vehicle Length: 26m
- Power Supply: Battery
The AT-300 trains generally have twenty-six metre cars.
In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, I calculated that a Class 801 train uses 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile, at 125 mph.
- This means that a five-car train will use 1710 kWh to do 100 miles at 125 mph.
- The train has three diesel engines, so three batteries of 570 kWh would be needed.
- Alternatively, if a battery was put in each car, 342 kWh batteries would be needed.
- In the Wikipedia entry for battery-electric multiple unit, there are two examples of trains with 360 kWh batteries.
I believe building 570 kWh batteries for fitting under the train is possible.
What would be the maximum range for this train at 100 mph?
- I will assume that five batteries are fitted.
- As drag is proportional to the square of the speed, I’ll use a figure of 2.07 kWh per vehicle mile, at 100 mph.
This is a table of ranges with different size batteries in all cars.
- 50 kWh – 24.1 miles
- 100 kWh – 48.3 miles
- 200 kWh – 96.6 miles
- 300 kWh – 145 miles
- 400 kWh – 193.2 miles
- 500 kWh – 241.5 miles
They are certainly useful ranges.
LNER Will Be Ordering Ten New Bi-Mode Trains
In LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, I discussed LNER’s need for ten new bi-mode trains, which started like this.
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the opening paragraph.
LNER has launched the procurement of at least 10 new trains to supplement its Azuma fleet on East Coast Main Line services.
Some other points from the article.
- It appears that LNER would like to eliminate diesel traction if possible.
- On-board energy storage is mentioned.
- No form of power appears to be ruled out, including hydrogen.
- LNER have all 65 of their Azumas in service.
I believe that ten trains would be enough to handle LNER’s services on lines without electrification to the North of Scotland.
- London and Aberdeen has 130 miles without wires.
- London and Inverness has 146 miles without wires.
- Electrification plans are progressing North to Perth and to Thornton Junction.
I suspect both routes could be upgraded to under a hundred miles without wires.
I believe, that if Hyperdrive Innovation pull out every trick in the book to save power in their batteries that a five-car Azuma with a 300 kWh battery in each car, will have sufficient range with reserves to go between Edinburgh and Inverness or Aberdeen at 100 mph.
A Battery-Electric High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train
Consider.
- I am a great believer in regenerative breaking to batteries on the train, as my experience says it the most efficient and also gives advantages, when the catenary fails.
- Stadler’s approach with the Class 777 train, where all trains have a small battery for depot movements, is likely to be increasingly copied by other train manufacturers.
- Hitachi have also designed the Class 803 trains for Lumo with emergency batteries for hotel power.
I could envisage provision for batteries being designed into a High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train.
Suppose it was wanted to run High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains between Crewe and Holyhead.
- The train has eight cars.
- The route is 105.5 miles.
- I will assume an average speed of 100 mph.
- A Class 801 train uses 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile, at 125 mph.
- As drag is proportional to the square of the speed, I’ll use a figure of 2.07 kWh per vehicle mile, at 100 mph.
- This means that an eight-car train will use 1747.08 kWh to do 105.5 miles at 100 mph.
- I would put a traction battery in each car, to distribute the weight easily.
Each battery would need to be 218.4 kWh, which is totally feasible.
How far would the train travel on 300 kWh batteries at 100 mph?
- Total battery capacity is 2400 kWh.
- One mile will use 16.56 kWh.
- I am assuming the train is using regenerative braking to the battery at each stop.
The train will travel 145 miles before needing a recharge.
On the Crewe and Holyhead route, there would be a reserve of around 40 miles or nearly 500 kWh.
Conclusion
I am convinced that Hitachi and their highly regarded partner; Hyperdrive Innovation, have developed a battery pack, that gives enough power to match the performance of Class 800/802/805/810 trains on diesel and give a range of upwards of a hundred miles on battery power at 100 mph, if you put a 300 kWh battery pack in all cars.
- But then Stadler have run an Akku for 115 miles and a Class 777 for 84 miles on battery power alone.
- I think the key is to put a battery in each car and harvest all the electricity you can from braking.
- Remember too that Hitachi can raise and lower their pantographs with all the alacrity of a whore’s drawers, so strategic lengths of overhead electrification can also be erected.
Hitachi and Hyperdrive Innovation appear to have invented the High Speed Battery Train.
We’ll know soon, when the order for the LNER bi-modes is announced.
Whatever works on LNER, should work on High Speed Two.
The Anonymous Widower 