The Anonymous Widower

New Bid To Connect Heritage Railway To Mainline

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

The is the sub-heading.

A bid to connect one of the longest heritage railways in Britain with mainline services has taken a step forward.

These are the first two paragraphs.

West Somerset Railway (WSR) and Somerset Council have now submitted a business plan to the government to restore the mainline from Taunton to the final WSR stop at Bishop’s Lydeard.

The proposal suggests Bishop’s Lydeard could become a commuter and tourist hub.

There has been several attempts to connect the branch to Taunton station.

These are my thoughts.

Minehead, Bishop’s Lydeard And Hinckley Point C

This Google Map shows the area.

Note.

1. Minehead is in the North-West corner of the map.
2. Hinckley Point power station is indicated by the red arrow.
3. Bishop’s Lydeard is in the middle of the map.
4. The M5 motorway curves diagonally between the North-East and South-West corners of the map.
5. There are motorway services at Taunton Deane, which is to the South of Taunton and Cullompton, which is a few miles South-West of Wellington.
6. The large town of Taunton is the junction of the London and Exeter and the Bristol and Exeter railway lines.
7. The town of Wellington will be getting a new railway station.

It is a very busy area and it will only get busier, as the availability of power will only attract industry, like the battery factory pencilled in for Bridgewater.

The Major Effect Of Hinckley Point C

Hinckley Point C will generate 3.26 GW of electricity and to operate the power station will need around nine hundred workers.

I can also expect that the Hinckley Point site will get involved in other energy handling and use.

• The site would be an ideal place for a large electrolyser to produce hydrogen.
• Wind turbines in the Bristol Channel could use Hinckley’s grid connection.
• Energy could be stored on the site. It could be an ideal location for one of Highview Power’s 200 MW/3.25 GWh liquid air batteries.
• Hydrogen could be exported using coastal tankers.
• Interconnectors could take electricity to Cornwall, Devon, Wales and Ireland.

All of these activities would create needs for workers at all levels.

• A rail connection to Taunton and Bristol, will probably be needed to bring workers into Hinckley Point.
• A rail connection would be ideal for bringing construction materials, steel and other heavy goods into and out of the Hinckley Point site.
• Hydrogen could also be taken out in rail tankers.
• Nuclear waste could be taken out by train.

I think it is highly likely, that Hinckley Point will need a rail connection for efficient operation.

Sizewell C And Hydrogen

Hydrogen is so important to the philosophy of the design and construction of Sizewell C, that hydrogen has its own section on the Sizewell C web site.

Hydrogen produced by nuclear power stations like Hinckley Point C, is called pink hydrogen, but like green hydrogen it is zero-carbon and pollution-free.

Hinckley Point C And Hydrogen

I can envisage Hinckley Point C will create a lot of hydrogen both for use locally and distribution to remote users.

• Hydrogen could be delivered locally by truck, just as propane is today around the world.
• Coastal tankers could distribute the hydrogen from a jetty.
• Pipelines could connect the two nearby motorway service stations to the power station site.

Just as is happening at Sizewell, a local hydrogen network could be built.

Hydrogen Refuelling On The M5

Consider.

• In MAN Expands Its Zero-Emission Portfolio, I talked about MAN’s new hydrogen-powered hTGX truck, which has been designed with a 600 km. or 373 mile range.
• As Cullompton, which is the Southernmost of the two services on the M5 that are close to Hinckley Point C, is only 124.9 miles from Penzance, it should be possible for a truck, with a range similar to that of the MAN hTGX to do a round trip from the Southern end of the M5 to Penzance, without refuelling.
• As the total length of the M5 is only 163 miles, a hydrogen-powered truck with the range of the MAN hTGX would be able to do a delivery anywhere along the motorway and return to the hydrogen from Hinckley Point C, without refuelling.
• MAN are saying that the hTGX truck can be refuelled in less than fifteen minutes.

It looks to me, that a hydrogen electrolyser at Hinckley Point C would be ideally located to provide pink hydrogen for a zero-carbon hydrogen-powered route to and from the far South-West.

I believe that if there were a best-in-class hydrogen-refuelling facility close to Hinckley Point C, it would encourage those who regularly drove to Devon and Cornwall to look seriously at hydrogen-powered vehicles.

The Nature Of The Hinckley Point C Rail Link

Sizewell C are using a simple practical approach to connect the Sizewell C site to the nearby East Suffolk Line.

• The existing freight sidings are being expanded.
• Two Park-and-Ride sites are being created at stations in the East Suffolk Line.
• A link road will be built between the railway and the Sizewell C site.
• A fleet of hydrogen-powered double-deck buses has been ordered to take workers between the railway and the power station.
• The signalling on the East Suffolk Line is being improved.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the Northern end of the West Somerset Railway and its relationship to Hinckley Point C power station.

Note.

1. Hinckley Point C power station is in the North-East corner of the map.
2. Crowcombe & Heathfield, Stogumber, Sampford Brett, Doniford Halt, Williton, Watchet, Washford and Blue Anchor are existing or former stations on the West Somerset Railway.
3. Existing stations are shown in blue.
4. West of Blue Anchor are the two existing stations of Dunster and Minehead.

This Google Map shows Williton station, which is the nearest station to Hinckley Point C.

Note.

1. The station has a footbridge, which was erected in 2011, so is probably in good condition.
2. There are several Listed buildings on the site.
3. Going East on the A39 should lead to Hinckley Point C.

I suspect a quality bus company could build a small fleet of buses to shuttle workers, visitors and others to Hinckley Point C.

As I’m sure, hydrogen will be in plentiful supply, I’m certain hydrogen-powered buses could be used.

This Google Map shows a longer section of the West Somerset Line through Williton station.

Note.

1. The West Somerset Line runs North-South down the map.
2. Doniford Halt station is at the top of the map, where the coast road crosses the railway on a bridge.
3. Williton station is in the middle of the map, where the A39 crosses the railway.

Looking at the railway, which runs mainly between fields, I wouldn’t be surprised that if Hinckley Point wanted a freight siding, they could fit one in.

Go-op

Go-op are an open access railway company, that wants to run services in Somerset.

I wrote about their successful application in  Regulator Approves New Go-op Train Service Between Swindon, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare.

This is the first paragraph of their Wikipedia entry.

Go-op Cooperative Ltd.,[ branded as Go-op, is an open access train operating company, proposing to operate a service in south-west England between Taunton and Swindon, via Westbury. It aims to become the first cooperatively owned train operating company in the United Kingdom, to improve access to the public transport infrastructure through open access rail services linking main lines to smaller market towns, and by co-ordinating services with light rail, bus links and car pools.

If you read their Wikipedia entry and their web site, they seem to have ambition and be different.

According to Wikipedia, they have made no less than five different proposals, but it is the fourth that I find interesting.

In 2021, Go-op began discussions with Network Rail for services between Swindon and Bishops Lydeard (just beyond Taunton), which it hoped to begin in mid-2022. At first there could only be three services per day, due to congestion between Swindon and Westbury; a further three could be provided to Frome or Westbury, connecting with existing services to Swindon. These plans would also improve local services on the TransWilts Line, calling at Trowbridge and Melksham.

The plans for Bishops Lydeard would restore the link broken in 1971 between the national network and the preserved West Somerset Railway, which runs leisure services to Minehead.

This sounds very much like an extended and simplified version of the West Somerset Line proposal.

But it does look like two groups have looked at the infrastructure and what is needed and come to similar conclusions.

Perhaps, they have other things in common like train procurement and servicing.

Stadler Presents A World First In Berlin

The title of this section, is the same as that of this press release from Stadler.

These are the first two paragraphs.

With the RS ZERO, the rail vehicle manufacturer is presenting the successor to the successful Regio-Shuttle RS1 model. There is a choice of two modern and environmentally friendly drive technologies: Hydrogen and battery. Both will enable CO2 emission-free operation of secondary lines in the future.

Stadler today unveiled the prototype of the new RS ZERO, the innovative successor to the successful RS1 Regio-Shuttle. The Regio-Shuttle has been one of the most popular vehicles in German regional rail transport for 28 years, with around 500 RS1 vehicles currently in operation in Germany and the Czech Republic. Stadler is building on this proven technology and integrating state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly drive systems. The RS ZERO is optionally available with a hydrogen and/or battery drive and thus not only sets new standards for environmentally friendly rail transport, but also presents a world first.

These pictures from Chemnitz Trams And The Chemnitz Model, show the Regio-Shuttle RS1.

Note.

1. The Regio-Shuttles can run as up to seven car trains.
2. These Regio-Shuttles are electro-diesel.
3. The distinctive diagonal windows.
4. They can carry 170 passengers at 75 mph.
5. They can run as train-trams using the Chemnitz model on compatible tram networks.

The Regio-Shuttle Wikipedia entry gives more details.

This image from the press release shows the prototype RS ZERO.

It looks very similar to my pictures from Chemnitz.

I have a few thoughts.

Comparison To A Class 150 Train

A Class 150 train can carry up to 149 seated passengers at 75 mph, which is similar to the RS ZERO.

As Stadler have built trains for Greater Anglia, Merseyrail and the Glasgow Subway, I believe that Stadler could build an RS ZERO, that would fit the UK loading gauge.

In What Train Is This?, I show the standard of interior, that can be achieved by refurbishing a Class 150 train, but unlike the RS ZERO, the train won’t be zero-carbon.

Does The RS ZERO Have A Toilet?

This is a paragraph from the press release.

The prototype of the RS ZERO presented today in Berlin is a one-car vehicle with hydrogen drive. Stadler is demonstrating the numerous design options with a multi-purpose area equipped for carrying bicycles, pushchairs and bulky luggage, lounge and comfort zones, standard and privacy seats, a wheelchair space, WC and a train office.

The train appears to be able to have what an operator might need.

What Will Be The Range Of An RS ZERO On Hydrogen?

I suspect, Stadler will provide a train, that will handle the route.

Would Stadler Be Able To Produce An RS ZERO That Could Satisfy The West Somerset/Go-op Requirement?

I obviously, can’t answer that.

But.

• The train is zero-carbon.
• It’s the right size.
• I suspect that the hydrogen fuel will be available from Hinckley Point C.
• The design has a proven track record.
• The train is not by any means vapourware!
• Stadler need a launch order.
• An experienced ROSCO would probably finance the trains.

One perk is that those involved in buying the train, could probably wangle a trip to Chemnitz to see several Regio-Shuttle RS1 trains at work.

Note that Chemnitz used to be Karl-Marx Stadt, so some of our Government will feel nostalgic.

But I do believe, this could be a very handy train to decarbonise branch and secondary lines in the UK.

December 2, 2024 Posted by AnonW | Energy, Transport/Travel | Adrian Shooter, Cornwall, Devon, East Suffolk Line, Go-Op, Green Hydrogen, Highview Power, Hinckley Point C Nuclear Power Station, Hydrogen Refuelling, MAN, Minehead Station, Open Access Operators, Pink Hydrogen, Stadler RS ZERO, Taunton Station, West Somerset Railway, Williton Station | 1 Comment