Derby Alstom Train Factory Jobs Fear As Orders Dry Up
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Derby City Council is seeking talks with train builder Alstom over reports it could be about to lay off workers.
These two paragraphs introduce the story.
The firm’s Litchurch Lane site is the only UK train factory able to design, build, engineer and test trains for domestic and export markets.
About 2,000 people work at the factory but the firm says its current order book only runs until early 2024.
This could be another serious problem for High Speed Two.
Could LNER Use High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains?
In LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, I discuss how LNER are needing ten more bi-mode trains to expand their services.
Consider.
- One of LNER’s predecessors used to run Eurostar trains between Kings Cross and Leeds
- A High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains are 200 metres long, as against the 233.7 metres of a nine-car Class 801 train.
- High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains will run on the East Coast Main Line, when High Speed Two fully opens.
- London to Doncaster, Edinburgh, Leeds, Newcastle and York are all fully electrified routes.
So if all these fully-electric routes, were to be run using High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains, this would release a number of Class 800 and Class 801 trains, which could be converted to bi-modes or battery-electric variants.
London and Edinburgh In Three-And-A-Half Hours
This is a paragraph from the Wikipedia entry for the InterCity 225 train.
The InterCity 225 was designed to achieve a peak service speed of 140 mph (225 km/h); during a test run in 1989 on Stoke Bank between Peterborough and Grantham, an InterCity 225 was recorded at a speed of 162 mph (260.7 km/h). Its high speed capabilities were again demonstrated via a 3hr 29mins non-stop run between London and Edinburgh on 26 September 1991. British regulations have since required in-cab signalling on any train running at speeds above 125 mph (201 km/h) preventing such speeds from being legally attained in regular service. Thus, except on High Speed 1, which is equipped with cab signalling, British signalling does not allow any train, including the InterCity 225, to exceed 125 mph (201 km/h) in regular service, due to the impracticality of correctly observing lineside signals at high speed.
If in-cab digital signalling were to be installed between London and Edinburgh, I believe that the three-and-a-half hour timing can be regularly achieved by a High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train.
I also believe that at least one train per hour (tph) between London and Edinburgh could achieve the three-and-a-half hour timing.
High Speed Two are promising a 3:48 time between London and Edinburgh.
It could be a Lumo-squasher!
A one tph service would need eight trains, but would release eight nine-car Class 801 trains.
Euston and Glasgow
This might be another route, where High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains could be used.
Conclusion
LNER gets some more trains and Derby gets more work.
But the biggest benefits would be that, the trains would get a thorough testing before High Speed Two opens and passengers would get a view of the shape of things to come.
Signalling Team Trials Hydrogen Power
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
These two paragraphs outline the project.
The use of hydrogen to provide power for staff welfare compounds and to recharge battery tools and electric vehicles has been tested by Colas Rail UK’s signalling team during a project in the Gloucester area.
H-Power Tower fuel cell stacks designed by AFC Energy to replace diesel generators at off-grid construction sites were used to provide power for Eco-Cabins supplied by Sunbelt Rental. The H-Towers were also used to recharge battery-operated equipment and electric-hybrid vehicles.
There has been a large saving in carbon emission during the work.
Whilst living in the Suffolk countryside for nearly forty years, we had three major power outages.
The first was the smallest and Eastern Electricity or whoever it was around 1980, needed to change the transformer that fed the village where we lived. So a diesel generator was plugged in and it fed the village, whilst the new transformer was connected.
Then in the Great Storm of 1987, where we were without power for fourteen days until a load of happy foreigners from the other side of Offa’s Dyke, got the system up and singing again. I think today, that waiting two weeks to be reconnected would be unacceptable. Although the problems in 1987, were more down to the considerable amount of damage in Suffolk.
The last time, the power went just as we were going to bed on a summer evening.
We woke to find that the power had been restored.
The manner of the restoration was a textbook case of how power outages can be solved.
- Our house and the farm buildings around it, were fed from a transformer up a pole in the hedge by the drive.
- A driver who had known what they were doing had backed a full-size articulated lorry into the field alongside the transformer.
- Inside the trailer was a diesel generator and this had been connected to the transformer.
- When I investigated early in the morning, an engineer appeared from inside the trailer and asked if everything was OK.
- I said it was and asked a few technical questions.
- It turned out, that someone had brought the overhead cables down, whilst moving a load of straw near the prison.
So as our house was on one end of the cable that connected a few villages and farms to the grid, by temporarily connecting their mobile generator to the transformer everybody could be reconnected until the damage done near the prison could be repaired.
How long will it be before emergencies like these are handled by generators powered by hydrogen rather than diesel?
In HS2 Smashes Carbon Target, I describe how High Speed Two are making use of hydrogen electricity generators.
In UK Consortium To Develop Mobile Hydrogen Refuelling For Construction Sites, I talked about a UK government project to develop the hydrogen refuelling technology for construction sites. This would also work for the refuelling of emergency generators.
I can envisage the development of a series of zero-carbon hydrogen-powered trucks with onboard hydrogen generators of different sizes.
Conclusion
Hydrogen will bring a revolution in how we provide power on construction sites, in emergencies and in remote areas.
Lord Bamford: We’re Too Mesmerised By Musk — Here’s Why I’m Building A Hydrogen JCB
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in the Sunday Times.
This is the sub-heading.
JCB’s Lord Bamford has spent £100m on a hydrogen engine. Tesla’s tech won’t suit everyone, he tells Jim Armitage
These are my thoughts.
The Need For Zero-Carbon Construction Equipment
Construction sites can be dangerous places and in addition to the obvious dangers, there are hidden pollutants in the atmosphere on sites.
Health and Safety will surely demand an improvement in air quality on construction sites for the protection of the workforce and nearby residents.
If JCB can produce zero-carbon construction equipment, then whether it is electric or hydrogen, this will be to their advantage.
High Speed Two And Low-Carbon Construction
High Speed Two is the UK’s biggest construction project and these posts on this blog, talk about low-carbon construction.
- HS2 Reveals Dramatic Carbon Saving With Ambitious Modular Design For Thame Valley Viaduct
- HS2 Smashes Carbon Target
- HS2 To Trial New Building Method Which Could Provide Carbon-Free Energy
- New HS2 Pilot Project Swaps Steel For Retired Wind Turbine Blades To Reinforce Concrete
- World First As HS2 Trials Dual-Fuel Piling Rig On London Site
If High Speed Two are thinking this way, how many other projects will be built in a similar way?
Decarbonising Cargo Handling
It should be noted that JCB are involved in Freeport East at Felixstowe/Harwich.
Ports will be the sort of workplaces, where all vehicles should be zero-carbon, to protect the workforce. Some of the container handling machines are large and would be ideal for hydrogen.
Decarbonising Agriculture
JCB also make tractors, like the Fastrac and other equipment for agriculture. As they often work around people, hydrogen could be much better.
New Markets
Zero-carbon engines will result in new products for new markets.
Lord Bamford is on track to create valuable new markets for his diggers and other equipment.
Hydrogen-Powered Land Speed Record
JCB already hold the land speed record with the JCB Dieselmax, at over 350 mph.
This paragraph from Wikipedia describes the powerplant.
The car is powered by two specially-tuned versions of the production JCB444 powerplant, developing up to 750 brake horsepower (560 kW) each (over five times the power output of the production version with 90 psi (6 bar) of boost) and featuring four cylinders and 5 litres of displacement, accompanied by two stage turbochargers, intercooler and aftercooler.
I believe that getting that amount of power out of a production diesel engine, shows that JCB’s combustion engineers could do the same for a hydrogen-powered vehicle.
Are The Elizabeth Line Trains Ready To Be Lengthened?
When Transport for London updated the North and East London Lines of the London Overground in the early years of this century, they felt that four-car Class 378 trains would have enough capacity for the lines. But the lines proved more popular than, they had expected and the trains were very overcrowded. So it was decided to lengthen the trains to the five cars they are today.
This wasn’t as easy as it seems, as platforms at several stations had to be lengthened, which was disruptive and expensive.
One day last week, I was in Farringdon station and took these pictures of the platform edge doors at the back end of a Class 345 train.
Note how, that when a train is in the station, it doesn’t reach to the end.
But this is not always the case, as this picture from Paddington station shows.
Does this mean that some underground Elizabeth Line platforms are longer than others?
In Bombardier’s Plug-and-Play Train, I discuss the plug-and-play design of Aventras.
- This plug-and-play design allows trains to be lengthened or shortened by adding or removing carriages.
- Class 345 trains are actually two half-trains, with a trailer car in between them.
So is this why Class 345 trains have run services as both seven-car and nine-car trains?
The former have three-car half-trains and the latter have four-car half-trains, with an extra MS car.
Talk Of Eleven-Car Trains
If you search the Internet, you’ll find forums and web pages speculating about. whether the trains will be lengthened to ten-cars or even eleven-cars.
Consider.
- The current trains are 204.73 metres long.
- Extra intermediate cars are all 22.5 metres long.
- The trains also are probably fitted with selective door opening or can be as most modern trains have it.
This would mean, that a ten-car train would be 227.23 metres long and an eleven-car train will be 249.73 metres.
The eleven-car figure is just 27 centimetres short of 250 metres.
I wouldn’t me surprised if the maximum train length was given to Bombardier as 250 metres.
I certainly feel, that if it should be decided to lengthen the trains by adding another carriage or two, that this will not be a problem.
The Elizabeth Line’s Two Problems
These posts talk about the two problems.
In TfL Needs More Elizabeth Line Trains Because Of HS2 Delays At Euston, I talked about what happens, if High Speed Two doesn’t link initially to Euston.
In Elizabeth Line: Commuters Say Service ‘Not What Was Promised’, I talked about problems of overcrowding at the Western end of the line.
The solutions to both problems are either more trains or adding more carriages to existing trains.
In this article on Ian Visits, which has the same title as the first post, Ian says this about ordering more trains.
Although HS2 isn’t expected to open until some point between 2029-33, TfL is warning that it will need to place the orders for the new trains soon, as the cost of doing so later will be significantly more expensive. That’s because the factory lines to build Elizabeth line trains at Alstom’s factory in Derbyshire are still in place, but will be demobilised soon. If the trains aren’t ordered before that happens, then the cost of reactivating the factory lines has to be included in the bill.
I suspect, it probably applies to an order for extra carriages as well.
Problems For Alstom
But will a substantial order for more Class 345 trains or carriages cause problems for Alstom at Derby?
This extract from the Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two rolling stock, describes how the Hitachi-Alstom joint venture will build the Classic-Compatible trains for High Speed Two.
Vehicle body assembly and initial fitting out of the trains will take place at the Hitachi Newton Aycliffe factory, the bogies will be manufactured at the Alstom factory in Crewe, and final assembly and fit-out, including the interiors, electronics and bogies, will take place at Alstom’s factory in Derby.
If more Class 345 trains are to be built at Derby, does it mean a rethink by the joint venture?
In Battery EMUs Envisaged In Southeastern Fleet Procurement, I talked about how Southeastern were looking for new trains. Given that Aventras from Alstom could be in the frame for these new trrains for Southeastern, does that give Alstom more complications?
A Walk Around High Speed Two Works In Birmingham – 19th July 2023
The plan was simple.
I intended to go to Birmingham Moor Street station and see what I could see of the High Speed Two works in a circular walk from the station.
I took these pictures.
Note.
- At the beginning and end of this gallery, there are some pictures taken from the train, that was entering or leaving Birmingham Moor Street station.
- The boxy building is the Grade I Listed Birmingham Curzon Street station, that will be incorporated into the High Speed Two station.
- I didn’t expect to see a memorial to the Katyn massacre.
I can see a very large amount of development happening in this area.
High Speed Two Works From A Chiltern Train – 19th July 2023
I took these pictures returning from Birmingham on a Chiltern train.
O don’t think I’ve seen so many tunnel segments on a site.
Thoughts On Rail Capacity Between London And The North
This is just a rough calculation to see how many trains can be run between London and the North.
I shall do the calculation by station.
Euston
Trains are.
- Avanti – Birmingham – 1 tph (trains per hour)
- Avanti – Blackpool North – 1 tpd (trains per day)
- Avanti – Blackpool North via Birmingham – 2 tpd
- Avanti – Edinburgh via Birmingham – 1 tp2h – (trains per two hours)
- Avanti – Glasgow – 1 tph
- Avanti – Glasgow via Birmingham – 5 tpd
- Avanti – Holyhead – 8 tpd
- Avanti – Liverpool – 1 tph
- Avanti – Manchester – 3 tph
- WMT – Birmingham – 2 tph
- WMT – Crewe – 1 tph
This gives totals of 9 tph, 1 tp2h and 16 tpd
King’s Cross
Trains are.
- Grand Central – Bradford – 4 tpd
- Grand Central – Sunderland – 6 tpd
- Hull Trains – Beverley – 2 tpd
- Hull Trains – Hull – 5 tpd
- LNER – Bradford- 2 tpd
- LNER – Edinburgh – 3 tp2h
- LNER – Harrogate – 1 tp2h
- LNER – Hull – 1 tpd
- LNER – Leeds – 3 tp2h
- LNER – Lincoln – 1 tp2h
- LNER – Middlesbrough – 1 tpd
- LNER – Skipton – 1 tpd
- LNER – Sunderland – 1 tpd
- LNER – York- 1 tp2h
- Lumo – Edinburgh – 5 tpd
This gives totals of 9 tp2h and 28 tpd
Marylebone
Trains are.
- Chiltern – Birmingham – 2 tph
This gives totals of 2 tph
St. Pancras
Trains are.
- EMR – Corby – two tph
- EMR – Nottingham – two tph
- EMR – Sheffield- two tph
This gives totals of 6 tph
Grand Totals
Grand totals are 17 tph, 10 tp2h and 44 tpd
I will assume.
- 10 tp2h is equivalent to 5 tph.
- 44 tpd is equivalent to 3 tph if trains start journeys between 0600 and 2100.
This means that currently, there is the equivalent of 25 tph between London and the North.
The Effect Of High Speed Two
The capacity of High Speed Two is 17 tph, so, that appears to be a 68 % increase in paths to the North.
Consider.
- Assume we need 25 tph between London and the North.
- 17 tph will be on High Speed Two.
- 8 tph will be on classic routes like the East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and West Coast Main Line.
- High Speed Two trains are 400 metres long.
- Current trains are about 240 metres long.
I have done a weighted calculation, which shows that passenger capacity between London and the North, will increase by around 45 %.
High Speed Two will surely release paths between London and the North on the classic routes, that could accommodate somewhere around 17 tph.
These could be used for.
- Services not suitable for High Speed Two
- New services
- Freight services
- Open access services
There is a lot of capacity that can be reused.
What Will Happen To Classic Routes Between London And The North?
Consider.
- The East Coast Main Line between London and Doncaster, is being upgraded with full digital signalling to allow running at up to 140 mph and increased train frequencies.
- Similar upgrades will be surely be applied to the other classic routes between London and the North.
- Important destinations, that will not be served by High Speed Two, like Coventry, Derby, Leicester, Luton, Milton Keynes and Peterborough could be given high speed connections, to Birmingham, London and Manchester.
- The East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and West Coast Main Line will all be electrified with some sections of quadruple track in a few years.
- Currently, the East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and West Coast Main Line are mainly 125 mph lines and these could be upgraded to 140 mph with digital signalling.
I could envisage the East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and West Coast Main Line being developed into a secondary 140 mph network based on the existing stations lines and services.
Conclusion
High Speed Two is going to have a lot of collateral benefits in Middle England.
Are Arnos Grove And Northolt Tube Stations Going Step Free?
BBC London local news announced this morning some Underground stations would be made step-free.
- It could have been two or ten stations, that would be made step-free.
- Arnos Grove and Northolt were definitely mentioned.
- A timescale of eighteen months was given.
The news story seems to have vanished without trace.
Arnos Grove Station
This Google Map shows Arnos Grove station.
Note.
- The cylindrical shape of Arnos Grove station.
- The bridge over the tracks, which gives access to the trains to the East of the cylinder.
- Car parks to the East and West of the station.
- In Go-Ahead For West London 460-Home Build To Rent Scheme, I described how houses were to be built in the two car parks.
- According to this article on Ian Visits, which is entitled Plans To Build Flats On Arnos Grove Tube Station Car Park, there will be 162 flats in four blocks.
These pictures show Arnos Grove station.
Note.
- Work on the flats on either side seems to have started.
- There are lots of period features.
- There will be a lot of work needed on the rather steep stairs.
- There will be a need for at least three lifts.
This page on Connected Living London, has a plan of the development.
- Gardens are shown each side of the iconic station.
- The gardens can be accessed from the pavement in front of the station.
- Southbound buses draw up in front of the station.
- A zebra crossing gives access to the Northbound buses on the other side of the road.
I suspect that there will be step-free access to the station bridge over the tracks from both gardens.
Northolt Station
This Google Map shows Northolt station.
Note.
- The station entrance in the South-East corner of the map on Mandeville Road.
- The long island platform stretching North-West from the station building.
- An eight-car 1992 Stock train is in the Southern platform going West.
- The land on the Northern side of the railway appears to be low-grade woodland, which is quite similar to that at Arnos Grove station.
This map from cartometro.com shows the lines through Northolt station.
Note.
- The Central Line is shown in red.
- The Central Line is laid out so that there are two ways of turning a train back to London.
- The single-track Acton-Northolt line is shown in black.
- The former second track if the Acton-Northolt line is shown dotted, as are the two former platforms.
These pictures show Northolt station.
Note.
- The station is showing signs of a sympathetic refurbishment.
- The steps down to the platform is a double set of steps separated by a handrail.
- There is a stylish glass shelter.
- There doesn’t seem much space for a lift to the station entrance.
It should also be noted that for eleven in the morning, the station seemed busy.
These are Underground passenger figures for 2021 in million for stations between Hanger Lane and West Ruislip.
- Hanger Lane – 1.47
- Perivale – 1.08
- Greenford – 2.05
- Northolt – 2.47
- South Ruislip – 0.89
- Ruislip Gardens – 0.48
- West Ruislip – 0.71
Note.
- Greenford, South Ruislip and West Ruislip have some extra National Rail passengers.
- Greenford is the only station between Hanger Lane and West Ruislip, with full step-free access.
- Greenford station uses an inclined lift and I wrote about it in The Inclined Lift In An Improved Greenford Station.
As Northolt is the busiest station without step-free access, this is probably sufficient reason for step-free access to be installed.
Could Step-Free Access At Northolt Be Linked To Property Development?
This Google Map shows a close-up of the station building and Mandeville Road.
Note.
- The station building is marked by the London Transport roundel.
- To the North of the station, is Northolt Leisure Centre, which was opened in 2010.
- Mandeville Road runs across the map to the East of the station and the Leisure Centre.
- In the South-East corner of the map, thee looks what could be a High Speed Two site, marked out with red and white barriers.
- Between the station and the Leisure Centre, there appears to be a site used for parking trucks.
Could it be possible to develop step-free access from the site to the North of the station?
This second set of pictures show that site.
Note.
- The site is rather a dump.
- There is even a subway.
This third set of pictures, show the land on the other side of the Acton-Northolt line from the platform at Northolt station.
There are certainly possibilities! Especially if, housing were to be developed alongside the Northern side of the railway.
I suspect, that there could be a bridge across the railway, at this position in the station.
Certainly something would be possible.
Conclusion
Property development at both Arnos Grove and Northolt station would probably need step-free access at both stations.
If the BBC report was right, then to build the step-free access as the first part of the projects, is probably a good idea, as passengers get some early benefits.
I suspect though, that we’ll get a press release that says what is actually happening in a few days.
East-West Rail: Aylesbury Spur
This map from East West Rail shows the complete route of the East West Railway between Oxford and Cambridge.
Note the spur to Aylesbury, which is shown dotted, which the legend says means it is a Potential Future Section of the EWR.
The papers in the area have different views.
- This article on Bucks Herald is entitled Aylesbury Spur Excluded From Government’s Latest East West Rail Route Outline.
- This article on Buckinghamshire Live is entitled East West Rail Aylesbury ‘Spur’ Plans Remain On The Table As Route Announced For £5bn Project.
So what do I feel about the Aylesbury Spur?
Train Services
In the Wikipedia entry for the East West Railway, it is stated that there will be an hourly service between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Central stations, that would call at Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Winslow and Bletchley.
Wikipedia also states that there will be no Marylebone and Milton Keynes or Aylesbury and Manchester Piccadilly services.
I am surprised that a Marylebone and Milton Keynes service is ruled out, for these reasons.
- A Marylebone and Milton Keynes service would give Winslow a direct service to London.
- Aylesbury Vale Parkway has an hourly service from Marylebone, which could be extended to Milton Keynes Central to create the service.
- Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Marylebone have as many as three trains per hour (tph) in the Peak. Does this make timetabling of an hourly Marylebone and Milton Keynes service difficult?
The Wikipedia entry for Aylesbury Vale Parkway, says this about a Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway service.
It was proposed that, if services are extended to the north, trains between Milton Keynes Central and Marylebone would run via High Wycombe and not Amersham.
This dates from 2012.
But.
- There may be troubles with the timings of a Marylebone and Milton Keynes service between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Milton Keynes.
- A separate Aylesbury and Milton Keynes service would give a half-hourly service between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Aylesbury, whereas an extended service only gives the current hourly service.
This Google Map shows Aylesbury Vale Parkway station.
Note.
- The station only has a single bay platform.
- It appears that there is a step-free walk between the car park and the platform.
- There is no bridge or need for one.
- There is a single through line at the station on the opposite side to the car park, which is mainly used by trains going to the landfill at Calvert.
It looks from this map, that if the single platform were widened to an island platform, that both terminating and through trains could call in the station.
Perhaps though the modifications at Aylesbury Vale Parkway are too complicated or expensive?
The ruling out of the Aylesbury and Manchester Piccadilly service is probably easier to understand.
Consider.
- Milton Keynes Central will have a two tph service to Oxford and was planned to have an hourly service from Aylesbury.
- Milton Keynes Central has an hourly Avanti West Coast service to Manchester Piccadilly via Rugby, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport.
- Milton Keynes Central has an hourly Avanti West Coast service to Liverpool Lime Street via Crewe and Runcorn.
- Milton Keynes Central has a two-hourly Avanti West Coast service to Edinburgh Waverley via Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Sandwell and Dudley, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District, Penrith, Carlisle, Haymarket
- Milton Keynes Central has a two-hourly Avanti West Coast service to Preston via Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Sandwell and Dudley, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western. Five trains per day (tpd) are extended to Glasgow and two tpd are extended to Blackpool North.
Note.
- A train running between Aylesbury and Manchester Piccadilly would probably need to be a 125 mph electric train, which would mean electrifying the East West Railway.
- A change at Milton Keynes Central would give access to trains for nearly all North-West England and Southern Scotland.
But because of all the connectivity at Milton Keynes Central, it surely puts pressure on providing an Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Central service.
The Track
It is possible to follow the track North from Aylesbury Vale Parkway until it joins the East West Railway to the West of Winsford station.
This Google Map shows the junction, just North of the hamlet of Calvert..
Note.
- The East West Railway going across the top of the map.
- The single track railway to Aylesbury Vale Parkway coming North and then turning East to join the East West Railway.
- The railway from Aylesbury Vale Parkway is still used by trains taking landfill.
The Wikipedia entry for Calvert, says this about the landfill site.
Another of the clay pits is now a landfill site. Waste is collected from Bristol, Bath and London each day and transported using rail via Aylesbury to Calvert. The site has a power station capable of producing 14 MWe of electricity from landfill gas, coming from the decomposition of organic matter to convert it into renewable electricity MW.
Looking at the map and the traffic on Real Time Trains, it would appear that there would be enough capacity for both the freight and an hourly passenger train between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes.
There is also the slight problem, that High Speed Two will be going through the area, as this map shows.
Note.
- High Speed Two is shown in yellow (cutting) and embankment (red).
- High Speed Two appears to run either on the same route or alongside the route to Aylesbury.
- The East West Railway goes across the top of thye map.
- The chord that connects the Aylesbury Spur to the East West Railway can clearly be seen.
- The Aylesbury Spur will run along the same route as High Speed Two.
- Aylesbury Vale Parkway will be just off the South-East corner of the map.
This page on the High Speed Two web site is entitled Boost for Oxford-Cambridge Connections As HS2 Builds Key East West Rail Bridge, describes the installation of a bridge to take the East West Railway goes over High Speed Two.
This picture is from High Speed Two.
As the landfill at Calvert will still need to be filled, I suspect that High Speed Two will leave the route between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and the East West Railway as a fully-serviceable railway, when they tidy up and leave this section of their route.
It looks to me, that once these tasks are complete.
- High Speed Two relay all the tracks between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and the East West Railway.
- The junction between the Aylesbury Spur and the East West Railway is completed.
- Aylesbury Vale Parkway station is updated.
The Aylesbury Spur as needed by the East West Railway to run passenger services between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Central could be complete.
And all because of High Speed Two and a landfill site.
Conclusion
I am drawn to the conclusion, that the Aylesbury Spur would not be a difficult railway to build and because it links to the important interchange station at Milton Keynes Central, it could be delivered soon after High Speed Two are finished in the area.
It also appears that Avanti West Coast have already aligned their services with the East West Railway.
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.
The Anonymous Widower 