Electrification Of The Midland Main Line Along The Derwent Valley
As I went to Sheffield yesterday, I took these pictures as the train ran along the Derwent Valley on the Midland Main Line between Derby and Chesterfield.
The river from Matlock in the North to Derby in the South, is the centre of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
And Network Rail want to electrify this line, so that fast electric trains can run between Sheffield and London via Derby!
This map shows the Midland Main Line from Trent Junction, South of Derby and Nottingham to Chesterfield.
Note the following about the route of the Midland Main Line.
- My train ran via Derby, Belper and Ambergate stations, up the route on the West of the map.
- Trains via Nottingham would go up the East, before joining the Erewash Valley Line directly up the middle to Chesterfield.
- A new Ilkeston station is being built, between Nottingham and Attenborough stations.
- There is pressure to expand the Robin Hood Line by reopening the Ambergate To Pye Bridge Line between the two stations.
- HS2 is supposed to join up with the Nottingham Express Transit in the Toton area.
- How many of the closed stations in the area will be reopened?
It’s certainly all happening around the Midland Main Line between Derby and Nottingham.
This is said in Wikipedia about the future of the Erewash Valley Line.
Network Rail as part of a £250 million investment in the regions railways has proposed improvements to the junctions at each end, resignalling throughout, and a new East Midlands Control Centre.
As well as renewing the signalling, three junctions at Trowell, Ironville and Codnor Park will be redesigned and rebuilt. Since the existing Midland Main Line from Derby through the Derwent Valley has a number of tunnels and cuttings which are listed buildings and it is a World Heritage Area, it seems that the Erewash line is ripe for expansion.
It would seem fairly logical to perhaps make the Erewash Valley Line an electrified one, with a maximum speed, as high as practically possible and just run self powered trains through the Derwent Valley.
There would be two real possibilities for running the services for the London Sheffield services, including those via Nottingham, up the electrified Erewash Valley Line.
- Class 801 electric trains
- Bombardier’s 125 mph Aventra which was reported as possible by Ian Walmsley in the April 2015 Edition of Modern Railways.
Obviously, other manufacturers would offer suitable trains.
For the London to Sheffield route via Derby, the following trains could handle the twenty miles between Derby and Clay Cross, that could be without electrification.
- Class 800 electro-diesel trains
- Bombardier’s 125 mph Aventra which can probably be modified with an IPEMU-capability.
- Voyagers modified as electro-diesel trains, as was proposed in Project Thor, could probably handle the gap.
- A Class 88 locomotive and a rake of coaches with a driving van trailer.
If all else couldn’t handle it, InterCity 125s certainly could.
Surely though, it would help the train operator to have one fleet, so I think we’ll either see mixes of Class 800/801s or Aventras with and without an IPEMU-capability.
The Class 800/801s could certainly do it, but in his article about the Aventra, Ian Walmsley said this about an order for Aventras.
But the interesting one to me is East Midlands Trains electrics. As a 125 mph unit it could cope well with Corby commuters and the ‘Master Cutler’ crowd – It’s all about the interior.
So the same train could do all express routes and also act as the local stopping train.
The maze of lines shown in the map, would be an absolute dream for such a train!
I also think it would be pushing it to run the Hitachi trains through Derby and the Voyagers and the Class 88 solutions aren’t that elegant and would be very much stop-gap solutions. Loved as the InterCity 125s are, after a lifetime of very hard service, they are probably ready for retirement.
As the gap is only about twenty miles, I suspect that Network Rail’s and Bombardier’s engineers have got the engineering envelopes on the table in a local hostelry in Belper to solve the problem of getting 125 mph Aventra IPEMUs to jump the gap, so that services between London and Sheffield, can stop at Derby.
Why are they in Belper? Look at this Google Map of the railway through the town!
Midland Main Line Through Belper
Note the following.
- There must be half a dozen stone bridges north of Belper station, similar to ones shown in the gallery of this post.
- The River Derwent seems to be crossed by the railway, periodically for fun.
- Get that line right, probably without electrification and their uncluttered design will live for centuries.
- Get it wrong and they’ll be lynched by the local Heritage Taliban!
- If Aventra IPEMUs can’t be made to jump the gap, there’s always the reliable Derby-built InterCity 125.
Just as Great Western Railway use iconic photos of Intercity 125s running through Dawlish in their advertising, I think that East Midlands Trains will use video of 125 mph Aventra IPEMUs speeding with little noise and disturbance, through the towns, villages and countryside of the Derwent Valley.
If this could be made to happen, at an affordable cost, everybody concerned will see positive commercial effects.
c2c Signs The First Deal On Porterbrook’s Class 387 Trains
This article on Global Rail News is entitled C2c signs short-term lease for Class 387 EMUs to cope with “unprecedented” demand, which tells how c2c have decided to go for a stop-gap lease of six of the twenty Class 387/1 trains, that were ordered by Porterbrook, when they saw a gap in the market.
c2c’s Future Fleet Plans
At present c2c has a one-class fleet of seventy-four Class 357 trains, which I think are leased from Porterbrook. These trains, like the Class 387 trains, are Electrostars. Wikipedia, also says this about c2c’s future fleet.
As part of its new franchise, c2c has committed to leasing new trains to cope with rising passenger numbers, which were boosted especially by the opening of the DLR station at West Ham in 2011 and the rise of Canary Wharf as a financial centre, 17 new four-car trains will be introduced by 2019, followed by 4 more by 2022 and 4 more by 2024.
This would bring the fleet up to one short of a hundred four-car trains.
One curiosity about the Class 357 trains is that they are 100 mph units, but the maximum line speed of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is only 75 mph. So any new trains will have to be 100 mph units, in case the line speed is increased.
The Global Rail News article says this.
Porterbrook Leasing will supply 24 new Bombardier-built Class 387 carriages on a three-year lease. In November 2015, Porterbrook announced it would be ordering 80 additional Class 387 EMUs to meet the increasing demand for electric rolling stock.
The timing of delivery in the Autumn of this year fits, as Bombardier will have finished building the Class 387/2 trains for Gatwick Express.
The Class 387 trains will certainly do the job in the short term, but running a 110 mph train on a line with a maximum speed of 75 mph in the long term, might not be the best use of resources.
The Crossrail Effect
c2c has a problem in that, when Crossrail opens fully to Shenfield in 2019, this will mean that a lot more places will be easily accessible from South East Essex by changing to Crossrail.
But c2c has no easy connection to the new line.
- At Fenchurch Street, you could walk to Liverpool |Street.
- At West Ham, you could take the Jubilee Line to Stratford or Canary Wharf.
- At Upminster, you could take the Romford and Upminster Line to Romford.
- At Southend Central, you could walk to Southend Victoria and get a train to Shenfield.
To make matters worse, the current time of 65 minutes between Southend Central and Canary Wharf, could possibly be challenged by an improved link from Southend Victoria to Shenfield for Crossrail.
It all depends, where you want to go at the London end.
c2c must be thinking hard about how to improve their services.
I believe they’ll be looking at all or some of these.
- New services to and from new stations.
- Use of London-style contactless ticketing.
- Faster train services, making more use of the 100 mph capability of the trains.
- A viable link to Crossrail.
Whoever, is the operator to Southend Victoria will be doing the same.
It strikes me that the major winners will be passengers going between South East Essex and London.
Electrostar Or Aventra?
I wonder, if the extra train buying for c2c will follow a similar pattern to the London Overground.
The Overground has got a total of 57 Class 378 trains, which like c2c’s are Electrostars, but are ten years younger and five-cars.
I thought, when it was announced that Bombardier had won the order for more trains for the Overground to serve the Lea Valley Lines and Gospel Oak to Barking Line, that it would be more of the same Class 378 trains.
But London Overground added a fleet of Class 710 trains from the new Aventra family.
The Electrostar and the Aventra are both four-card electric multiple units and I suspect once inside, the average passenger won’t notice much difference, but under the skin, the Aventra will be a more efficient train.
Aventra IPEMUs For c2c?
One of the advantages of an Aventra over the Electrostar, is that the trains are wired to be fitted with on-board energy storage. The main reasons for fitting this and making the train an IPEMU include.
- Saving energy by enabling regenerative braking. Not needed as the lines are already enabled.
- Simplifying overhead wiring in depots. Only needed if the existing depots need to be extended.
- Running trains on branch lines without electrification. Not needed unless c2c opens new services to places like London Gateway and Tilbury Riverside.
Running services to London Gateway could be the clincher, as to whether Aventras with an IPEMU-capability are ordered.
I have a feeling that a few miles closer to London, that London Overground will be using similar Aventra IPEMUs to enable the new Barking Riverside Extension to be built without electrification. I wrote about this in Defining The GOBlin Extension To Barking Riverside.
Aventra IPEMUs could run the following route.
- The service would start on the current line to London Gateway, which is not electrified, at a new station, serving the important port and logistics area.
- After calling at East Tilbury, it would serve Tilbury Riverside, by reopening the old branch as a line without electrification.
- It would then use the existing line through Tilbury Town and Grays, before going to Upminster via the line through Chafford Hundred Lakeside.
- After stopping at Upminster, it would use the Romford to Upminster Line, to continue to Romford.
I would estimate that London Gateway to Romford via Tilbury Riverside would take under the hour and four trains could be needed to run a two trains per hour service.
Note the following.
- The Aventra IPEMUs would run normally on the electrified parts of the route, charging their on-board energy storage along the way.
- On the branches without electrification, trains would run on their stored energy.
- This service would connect London Gateway to Heathrow Airport via Crossrail and to Felixstowe via the Great Eastern Main Line.
- A service could be run from Shoeburyness and Southend to Romford, which would not need IPEMUs.
- The service to Romford also give c2c’s network a much-needed link to Crossrail.
- Calling at Tilbury Riverside would be for the cruise ships at the London Cruise Terminal and the Gravesend-Tilbury Ferry
- Calling at Chafford Hundred Lakeside would connect the Lakeside Shopping Centre to Crossrail.
- London Overground would lose responsibility for the Romford to Upminster Line.
- There would be some track adjustments at Upminster, but there would be no need to electrify the two new branches.
Given that the route connects several important commercial, leisure and housing areas, I think it could become a route, that exceeded its expectations, by a long way.
The one problem could be in linking the single track from Romford to Upminster to the single track through Chafford Hundred Lakeside.
Trackwork At Upminster
This Google Map shows Upminster station.
Upminster Station
Note.
- The line to Chafford Hundred Lakeside going off to the South East.
- The line to Romford going off to the North West.
- London Underground’s Upminster Depot to the North East of the station.
- The Romford to Upminster Line comes into a platform at the North side of the station.
I suspect that engineers have methods to get trains across the London Underground lines in a flat junction without building an expensive viaduct.
Conclusions
Obviously c2c have a plan for their new trains and extra services, all over South-East Essex. All will be revealed in the next few years!
But I do think that the Romford to Upminster Line is more use to c2c, than as an isolated single-train outpost for the London Overground.
I also think that the local authorities and the people of the area, would all like to see Crossrail, Lakeside Shopping Centre, London Cruise Terminal, London Gateway, Romford, Southend and Upminster connected together by frequent electric trains.
Aventra IPEMUs would enable the two new branches to London Gateway and Tilbury Riverside, to be added without electrification.
Aventras And The Romford To Upminster Line
The Romford to Upminster Line is probably a line that Transport for London sometimes wishes had been chopped with the Beeching Axe.
I suspect though, that given the railway mania in London and the South East, the arrival of Crossrail at Romford in the next few years and the ambitious expansionist tendencies of both TfL and c2c, that this line won’t remain a simple shuttle in perpetuity.
At present the line is worked by a single four-car Class 317 train, which I found in A Clean Train From Romford To Upminster.
But from May 2018, Aventras in the shape new Class 710 trains, will start to arrive on the London Overground.
I just wonder, if one of the first trains will get allocated to this isolated line in East London.
- It surely would be an ideal test track to get to know the trains and familiarise drivers with their new charges.
- The novelty of new trains in this backwater, but linked to Crossrail, might encourage more passengers to use the line.
- Train-spotters and other anoraks will certainly visit.
The line is also only five kilometres long, but fully electrified, so I do wonder, if TfL will investigate the IPEMU capabilities of the Class 710 trains, if they decide to fit on-board energy storage.
- I suspect, there would be no modifications to track, electrification or signalling needed to run the linewith a train running as an IPEMU.
- Five kilometres or ten if both ways, is well within the capabilities of an IPEMU.
- During testing, if the energy storage should fail, the driver would just swear, put the pantograph up and continue.
- Charging of the energy storage, would happen in one or both of the terminal platforms.
According to Wikipedia, the line is not signalled, so the possibility must exist of running this short line on stored energy to reduce track maintenance costs.
The High Speed Metro Train
According to the Wikipedia entry for High-Speed Rail, the European Union Directive 96/48/EC, Annex 1 defines high-speed rail in terms of
- Infrastructure: track built specially for high-speed travel or specially upgraded for high-speed travel
- Minimum Speed Limit: Minimum speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) on lines specially built for high speed and of order 200 km/h (124 mph) on existing lines which have been specially upgraded. This must apply to at least one section of the line. Rolling stock must have a minimum speed of at least 200 km/h (124 mph) to be considered high speed.
- Operating conditions: Rolling stock must be designed alongside its infrastructure for complete compatibility, safety and quality of service.
In the UK, we have several types of High Speed Train, which are capable of 200 kph on upgraded lines like the East Coast Main Line, with perhaps the most famous being the legendary InterCity 125.
An InterCity 125 Passes Through Sydney Gardens
If there were classic trains, like there are classic cars, then Terry Miller‘s development would be a classic.
Not only does it hold world records for being the fastest diesel-powered train, but some features of the design, like the wonderfully smooth-riding Mark 3 coaches have been used to create many other trains, which range from the traditional locomotive-hauled rakes of Chiltern Railways and Abellio Greater Anglia, and the Class 442 trains, which hold the speed record for third-rail electric trains, down to hundreds of multiple units like the Class 455 trains, one of which survived the Oxshott Rail Incident.
So it would appear that one common design of train, can adapt to various different applications.
But then Miller and his team got the basic structure and design right! I once read a story about how a few years ago, structural engineers at Salford University applied modern finite-analysis techniques to a Mark 3 coach designed without computers in the 1970s. They were amazed at how good it was. When you read what happened at Oxshott, the quality of the structure is not surprising.
On 5 November 2010, at approximately 3:30pm, a cement mixer lorry fell off a bridge crossing over the railway line close to Oxshott railway station, and landed on carriages of a passing train. No-one was killed. Witnesses stated that the rear of the lorry crashed through the parapet of the bridge and dragged the whole vehicle over the side of the bridge. The eight-carriage train, operated by South West Trains, was working the 1505 Guildford to London Waterloo. The train was formed of two Class 455 electric multiple units. The lorry, loaded with concrete and weighing 24 tonnes, landed on the sixth carriage, severely crushing the end of the roof. Further damage was sustained to the fifth and sixth, seventh and eighth carriages, with the latter being derailed at its trailing bogie, although the train remained upright. British Transport Police reported that six people on board the train sustained minor injuries whilst the driver of the lorry had sustained more serious injuries. This was later revised to two serious and five minor injuries. The Class 455 electric multiple unit involved has since been fully repaired using a rebuilt carriage from a Class 210 diesel multiple unit and returned to service in July 2013
Will we ever see a train, as good and versatile as a Mark 3, where the same design of vehicle is is as happy at 200 kph from St. Pancras to Sheffield as it is trundling its way from Liverpool Street to Chingford?
I would have thought, it would have been unlikely, that anybody could come up with a one-size-fits-all design, but after reading Ian Walmsley’s article in the April 2015 Edition of Modern Railways, about Bombardier’s new Aventra train for Crossrail, I’m not so sure
Ian writes enthusiastically about Bombardier’s new train, where under Potential he starts with this sentence.
As a platform, the design will be offered in various guises for future contracts up to 125 mph.
He then goes on to say this about a possible future order for Aventras.
But the interesting one to me is East Midlands Trains electrics. As a 125 mph unit it could cope well with Corby commuters and the ‘Master Cutler’ crowd – It’s all about the interior.
Ian is talking about a train, that is equally at home, running at over a hundred miles per hour on InterCity routes, or trundling through suburbs bringing commuters to work.
This is a genuine bi-mode train.
- InterCity – Up to 200 kph on fast lines.
- Metro – Appropriate speed with great efficiency on commuter or metro routes.
Consider the various features and benefits.
An Identical Fleet
The advantages of an identical fleet that can work all lines and services for an operator must be immense!
Ryanair, Easyjet and all those budget airlines with homogeneous fleets can’t be wrong!
A Universal High-Class Interior
Bombardier’s Class 387/1 trains are almost there, with most seats having a table. Just like Chiltern’s Mark 3s or the original InterCity 125s.
You might not get the passenger density, but you get punters rolling up.
Features on what I call the High Speed Metro would include.
- 2+2 seating.
- Most seats with tables.
- Seats aligned to windows.
- Wi-fi
- Electronic Seat Reservations
- Full step-free access and compliance with all disabled regulations.
- No ghastly pink interiors!
All except electronic seat reservations, would be in both InterCity and Metro configurations.
Ability To Have An IPEMU Capability
I believe that if you have one train, that can act in both InterCity and Metro configurations, that you need the extra features that an IPEMU or on-board energy storage capability would bring on some or all of the fleet.
On-board energy storage would be similar to buying a car with a higher performance, but with a more more efficient and less polluting engine.
- IPEMUs would help break the need of having to design a train for a specific route.
- IPEMUs would have the ability to add branches to a company’s InterCity network. Think Liverpool Street to Lowestoft!
- Regenerative braking becomes available for all electrified routes and improves efficiency. Think Merseyrail and other intensive Metros!
- Discontinuous electrification would be possible. Think Ipswich to Cambridge!
- New branches without electrification would be possible. Think Barking Riverside!
- No electrification, where it gets habitually nicked.
- Heritage, difficult or areas with stroppy natives could be left without electrification. Think Bath, Dawlish or Severn Tunnel!
- Less wiring in depots.
- Unwired level crossings and stations. Think health and safety!
- Trains would use less electricity.
- Trains have a get-to-the-next-station capability and essential power for charging passengers’ phones and devices, when electrification fails.
Obviously, the amount of on-board energy storage on the trains would be provided appropriately.
Automated Pantograph Up And Down on IPEMUs
If IPEMUs were working routes, where the electrification was discontinuous, the trains would need an automated system to raise and lower the pantograph accordingly.
This would also be done at line speed.
As we landed men on the moon in the 1960s, surely we can land a pantograph on an overhead wire in the 2010s.
Dual Voltage Capability
As required by the routes, this will sometimes be fitted.
An Interesting Statistic
In this article in Rail Magazine about the Great Eastern Main Line, it says that better signalling, faster trains and track improvements would increase the number of train between Liverpool Street and Chelmsford from the current twenty-four trains per hour to thirty-two!
Compare that with the frequency of nine trains per hour through High Wycombe on the Chiltern Main Line.
Both are double track main lines, but the Great Eastern Main Line is electrified.
How much of the capacity difference, is down to the faster stopping and starting of electric trains?
Note that the work-horses of both lines are 160 kph trains.
Pick-Up-and-Dash And Dash-And-Drop-Off Services
Because the High Speed Metro is equally at home running a local service as on a high speed line, it could work in ways impossible for a normal train.
Suppose the first service from Lowestoft to Ipswich in the morning was run by an IPEMU working in Metro mode, using the on-board energy storage, to run the route as efficiently as possible. Once at Ipswich on the Great Eastern Main Line, with all the passengers on the branch for the capital, it would dash for London in InterCity mode. Going back in the evening, the process would reverse and passengers would be dropped off on the branch.
The train could even overnight in Lowestoft, whilst plugged into a charging system.
This may not be a practical idea for other reasons, but a train with a unique schizophrenic character will get used in innovative ways.
East Midlands Trains
We can assume that East Midlands Trains could be one of the first customers, as Ian Walmsley mentioned them specifically.
- They have both 200 kph InterCity and slower commuter routes.
- They have heritage issues in the Derwent Valley.
- The Midland Main Line is being electrified.
- I believe that electrification could be discontinuous to both save money and accelerate installation.
- I have a feeling that an IPEMU could serve Corby from where the wires run out at Bedford, with just a few extra miles of wires.
- IPEMUs could work branches without electrification to Luton and East Midland Airports.
- Some branch line services in the East of the franchise could be run by IPEMUs.
- There is scope for extending services past Corby, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield using IPEMUs.
- Long-distance cross-country services like Norwich-Liverpool might be within the range of an IPEMU in a few years.
It will be interesting to see what decision the company makes.
Abellio Greater Anglia
Abellio Greater Anglia were involved in the IPEMU trials, so it is likely, that they will have plans for trains with an IPEMUs.
- They have some long routes, where a proportion is not electrified. Think Liverpool Street to Lowestoft!
- The ageing London-Ipswich-Norwich trains must be replaced. IPEMUs could reach Yarmouth going via Cambridge.
- They have some routes with discontinuous electrification. Think Ipswich to Cambridge!
- They have several branch lines, that could be served by IPEMUs. Think Marks Tey to Sudbury!
- Speed is always important and the track is being upgraded. Think Norwich in Ninety!
It will make a change if East Anglia gets some new trains, rather than somebody else’s scrapyard specials!
A new Aventra IPEMU running to Felixstowe would probably be the first new train on the branch since the 1950s.
Virgin Trains, Grand Central, Hull Trains Etc.
I’m putting these operators together, as all could use Aventras on services to the North.
- Nearly all services would be run at high speeds of up to 200 kph.
- Some or all would have an IPEMU-capability to serve places away from the electrified network. Think Blackpool, Huddersfield and Lincoln!
- Pick-up-and-dash and other innovative services would be possible. Think Sunderland to London!
One of the great advantages of these trains, would be that as the electrification network in the North expanded, more and more places could be reached from London and the South by electric trains without a change.
Chiltern Trains
In Could A Chiltern Metro Be Created? and A Trip To Aylesbury Vale Parkway, I showed how the High Speed Metro train could provide electric train services on all or most of Chiltern‘s services.
Electrification could be discontinuous.
- Marylebone to Neasden. Or perhaps West Ruislip and Harrow-on-the-Hill!
- A section in the middle perhaps between Banbury and Leamington Spa.
- The Snow Hill Lines into Birmingham.
- Shared sections with the East West Rail Link.
The gaps would be bridged by using the trains on-board energy storage.
High Speed Metro trains would give Chiltern other advantages.
- High Speed Metro trains and especially the IPEMUs are expansionist and high class. They suit Chiltern’s character.
- Chiltern could end up as almost a one electric train class railway.
- Chiltern would meet their objective of London to Birmingham in ninety minutes.
- The train’s performance would enable innovative timetabling to make maximum use of the limited platforms and paths on the Chiltern Main Line.
I would be very surprised if Chiltern didn’t go the High Speed Metro route.
Conclusion
I think Bombardier are going to sell quite a few Aventras.
Would a train operator like to see another company using new 200 kph metro trains, say from London to Norwich or Leicester, whilst they run 140 kph trains with a dated interior to say Bournemouth, Warwick or Hastings?
Bombardier have created the train equivalent of a high-performance saloon car, beloved of those that commute long distances by car.
Could A Chiltern Metro Be Created?
In the Wikipedia entry for Chiltern Railways, there is a section under plans labelled Active.
Three of the entries in this section refer to the stations between London Marylebone and West Ruislip or a Chiltern Metro.
- Lengthening of platforms at South Ruislip, West Ruislip, Sudbury Hill Harrow, Sudbury and Harrow Road and Northolt Park to accommodate eight vehicles, thereby obviating the need for vehicles to be locked out of use on departure from London Marylebone.
- The restoration of the quadruple track between South Ruislip (Northolt Junction) and West Ruislip, allowing trains to call at both stations without blocking the line. Triple track currently exists at West Ruislip, with the up platform loop still in situ, and at South Ruislip, with the Down Main through line also in situ. This would involve the reconstruction of the new down platform at West Ruislip, and the reconstruction of the up platform at South Ruislip. This ‘Chiltern Metro’ service was not programmed into the last round of franchising agreements.
- New Chiltern Metro Service that would operate 4+tph for Wembley Stadium, Sudbury & Harrow Road, Sudbury Hill Harrow, Northolt Park, South Ruislip and West Ruislip. This would require a reversing facility at West Ruislip, passing loops at Sudbury Hill Harrow, and a passing loop at Wembley Stadium (part of the old down fast line is in use as a central reversing siding, for stock movements and additionally for 8-car football shuttles to convey passengers to the stadium for events)
So could a Chiltern Metro be created between Marylebone to at least as far as West Ruislip.
In A Modern Electrified Metro Network Using IPEMU Technology, I postulated what a local metro would be like.
- Services are run by modern four-car electric trains, that meet all current and envisioned access and customer requirements.
- Services are run by a standard train, so if the network expands, more trains can be easily built!
- The ability to lengthen the trains, say for an important sporting or cultural event.
- Enough trains to run four trains per hour services on important lines and perhaps one per hour on lines that get much lesser use.
- Most services run out and back from the central station.
- As little disruption as possible, whilst creating the metro.
So does Chiltern’s broad plan of a metro between Marylebone and West Ruislip fit those rules?
- Modern four- car trains like Class 710 trains could run the service.
- Bombardier’s Aventra, which is the basis of the Class 710 will be around for some time, so extras will probably be available.
- Three-train formations of twelve-cars can probably be created, but eight-car would probably be an initial maximum need.
- Not a problem on a short metro line, which would probably need four sets for a four train per hour service.
- All services go to and from Marylebone.
- I’m sure, if IPEMU technology were to be used, electrifying between Marylebone and at least West Ruislip, could be done without major blockades of the line.
It would appear that the objectives can be easily met and using standard Aventra trains with an IPEMU capability would help.
The Current Service Pattern
Wikipedia lists the current services, outside the peak from Marylebone as the following.
- 2 trains per hour (tph) to/from Birmingham (one fast, first stop Bicester North, and one semi-fast, first stop High Wycombe).
- 1tph to/from Banbury (semi-fast, first stop High Wycombe). Some extend to Stratford-upon-Avon.
- 1tph to/from Bicester North (semi-fast, first stop Gerrards Cross)
- 1tph to/from Princes Risborough (semi-fast, first stop Gerrards Cross)
- 1tph to/from High Wycombe (stopping service)
- 1tph to/from Gerrards Cross (stopping service)
- 2tph to/from Aylesbury (via Amersham). One of these services in each hour continues on to serve Aylesbury Vale Parkway
- 2tph to/from Oxford Parkway (fast)
So that is nine trains an hour through West Ruislip, two up the Aylesbury Line and eleven between Marylebone and Neasden.
What Would A Chiltern Metro Look Like?
Wikipedia is fairly precise, that the inner section between Marylebone and West Ruislip would stop at the following stations.
- Wembley Stadium
- Sudbury & Harrow Road
- Sudbury Hill Harrow
- Northolt Park
- South Ruislip.
Although other documents on the web suggest a first stop at a new station of West Hampstead Interchange.
My journey today on the line took twenty minutes.
Some questions occur to me.
- Will extra stations be added?
- Will some trains go on to places like Gerrards Cross, High Wycombe and Princes Risborough?
- With modern signalling and extra tracks in places, what is the capacity of the various sections of the line.
- How many extra services to what destinations, do Chiltern want to run?
Chiltern’s answers will be better than my speculation.
What Trains Should Work The Metro?
Ian Walmsley in the April 2015 Edition of Modern Railways writes enthusiastically about Bombardier’s new Aventra train, where under Potential he starts with this sentence.
As a platform, the design will be offered in various guises for future contracts up to 125 mph.
He then goes on to say this about a possible future order for Aventras.
But the interesting one to me is East Midlands Trains electrics. As a 125 mph unit it could cope well with Corby commuters and the and the ‘Master Cutler’ crowd – It’s all about the interior.
Could Chiltern use a similar train, that was equally at home, running at over hundred miles per hour to and from Birmingham or trundling through North West London on the Metro?
Consider.
- The advantages of an identical fleet that can work all lines and services must be immense!
- I believe a universal high-class interior is possible, as Class 387 trains are almost there. Remember, Chiltern don’t do low class!
- All trains would have an IPEMU capability to reduce electrification and running costs.
- In a few years time, all IPEMUs will have automated pantograph up and down, to use electrification where available.
- Some could be dual-voltage to work on London Underground lines through Amersham.
Chiltern passengers certainly live in interesting times.
The Chiltern Metro And the Chiltern Main Line
In the following sections, I shall now look at the various parts of the route of the proposed proposed Chiltern Metro and its shared route with the Chiltern Main Line as far as West Ruislip.
Marylebone Station To Neasden
Marylebone station has a simple track layout, that is unlike most of the other London termini.
This Google map shows the station.
Marylebone Station
Complicated it is not, as it appears just two lines lead into and out of the station, and there are no major junctions until Neasden South Junction.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines at Neasden.
Lines Through Neasden
Note how the Chiltern Lines, which are shown in black, divide opposite Neasden Depot.
- The Chiltern Main Line goes off to the west through Wembley Stadium station.
- The London to Aylesbury Line goes off to the North West through Wembley Park station.
It certainly isn’t a complicated layout.
If you are going to use IPEMUs on Chiltern, I believe that it would be relatively easy to electrify the five miles of the lines from Marylebone to Neasden and what was felt necessary of the tracks in the platforms, to ensure that the trains reached Neasden South Junction on the way to West Ruislip with the on-board energy storage nearly full.
If this could be achieved, then some or all of the line and its stations between Neasden and West Ruislip could be left without electrification.
West Hampstead Interchange
If any station sums up the complicated nature of the UK’s railways it is the proposed West Hampstead Interchange.
This map from carto.metre.free.fr, shows the various lines go through the area.
West Hampstead Lines
From North to South the stations and lines are.
- West Hampstead Thameslink station is electrified to 25 KVAC and Midland Main Line services, Thameslink services and freight services between the Gospel Oak to Barking Line and the Dudding Hill Line go through.
- West Hampstead station is electrified to 25 KVAC and North London Line services go through.
- West Hampstead tube station is electrified to 630 VDC and Jubilee Line services go through.
- The Metropolitan Line passes to the south of the tube station. There are no platforms.
- The Chiltern Lines are the Southernmost lines and are not electrified. There are no platforms.
The layout of the Chiltern Lines from Marylebone to Neasden may be uncomplicated, but West Hampstead is a lot of railway to sort.
It might be easy to add platforms for the Metropolitan Lines and Chiltern, but given the narrow pavements and large amount of traffic in the area, creating a new West Hampstead Interchange won’t be easy.
The Wrong Kind Of Electrification?
If the Chiltern Line is to be electrified, it is very much entwined with the London Underground.
- From Marylebone to Neasden the Chiltern Lines follow London Underground’s Jubilee and Metropolitan Lines, which have London’s 630 VDC fourth-rail electrification.
- After Neasden, Chiltern trains on the Aylesbury Line actually run on electrified London Underground tracks between Harrow-on-the Hill and Amersham..
- Between South Ruislip and West Ruislip stations the Chiltern Lines run alongside the Central Line.
- According to Wikipedia, London Underground are updating their fourth-rail electrification to deliver the standard 750 VDC commonly used by third-rail electrification in the UK.
Given that a major cost of electrification is getting power to the electrification, I just wonder if any electrification of the Chiltern Lines would piggy-back off the London ~Underground in London and off the 25 KVAC systems around Birmingham and the East-West Rail Link.
The sections that would not be electrified, would be handled by IPEMUs working from their on-line energy storage.
As Digby said to Dan Dare, “It’s not very pretty! But it works!”
I can’t believe that engineers working on the development of Chiltern Railways are not looking at the possibility of using some of the infrastructure, London Underground has already installed.
Bombardier are already building some dual-voltage Class 710 trains for the London Overground, so rolling stock won’t be a problem.
Wembley Stadium Station To Sudbury Hill Harrow Station
This Google Map shows the line Chiltern Main Line between Wembley Stadium to Sudbury Hill Harrow stations.
Wembley Stadium Station To Sudbury Hill Harrow Station
The only station in the middle is Sudbury & Harrow Road.
The line in this section is very reminiscent of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line and it shows as a green scar on the map.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the same area.
Chiltern Main Line Through Wembley And Harrow
These are some pictures I took of the line.
If it were to be decided to electrify this part of the line, I suspect it would no more difficult than the Gospel Oak to Barking Line.
Electrification Or Passing Loops?
Some stations like Sudbury Hill Harrow and Wembley Stadium are down to have passing loops to allow faster trains to overtake stopping ones.
But as the line is likely to be run by electric trains, does their superior braking and acceleration mean that at some stations, the need for passing loops is avoided.
Obviously, Chiltern and Network Rail have done extensive calculations and optimised the number of passing loops against the trains that will be run on the line.
Trains with an IPEMU capability, which includes regenerative braking, may also reduce the need for passing loops.
Wembley Stadium Station
Wembley Stadium station is planned to be the first station on the Chiltern Metro, although others think that the first station should be West Hampstead.
This Google Map shows the station.
Wembley Stadium Station
Note.
- There is a large space between the two platforms and lines in the station.
- There is certainly enough to create one or two passing loops, so that fast trains can pass trains calling at the station.
- The station has probably been designed for twelve-car trains.
- There would be no need to electrify through the station.
I took these pictures as my train went through today.
It certainly is a wide space in the middle.
Sudbury And Harrow Road Station
Sudbury And Harrow Road Station is not a very busy station and my train didn’t stop. I also didn’t get any pictures.
This Google Map shows the rather cramped layout of the station, squeezed between the two lines.
Sudbury And Harrow Road Station
Note.
- The station in an island layout.
- The platforms could be lengthened for the Metro.
- A passing loop could be squeezed through if possible.
- Electrification would probably be possible if required.
Hopefully the changes would attract more passengers to this station.
I visited this station once before and wrote about it in The Station With The Least Passengers In London.
Sudbury Hill Harrow Station
Sudbury Hill Harrow Station is a basic station.
This Google Map shows the layout of the station and the area around it.
Sudbury Hill Harrow Station
I took these pictures as I passed through today.
This station is down for platform lengthening and the addition of passing loops, so I suspect this will mean a complete rebuild.
This could be tricky, as the line is a main line with nine trains an hour in both directions.
But there would appear to be space to the East of the road bridge and if the station was to be rebuilt provision could be made for electrification.
Northolt Park Station
Northolt Park Station is another basic station.
This Google Map shows the station.
Northolt Park Station
I took these pictures today.
This station is another one, that is down for lengthened platforms. But it will be tight and there is no place for passing loops.
Northolt Junction
Northolt Junction is where the Chiltern Main Line meets the Acton-Northolt Line to form the Great Western and Great Central Joint Line, that goes on to High Wycombe and eentually Birmingham.
This Google Map shows the junction.
Northolt Junction
Note the waste recycling plant in the middle of the junction.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines in the area.
Northolt Junction
Note the large Ruislip Depot for the Central Line.
These are pictures, I took from the Chiltern train.
It’s certainly all rather cramped in the middle of the junction.
South Ruislip Station
South Ruislip Station is an interchange with the Central Line, located to the West of Northolt Junction.
I only managed one quick picture as my train rushed past.
South Ruislip Station
This Google Map shows the station and the surrounding area.
South Ruislip Station
Note.
- Going East the lines divide here, with the Northern tracks going to Marylebone and the Southern ones going to Paddington, alongside the Central Line.
- The platforms at South Ruislip station will be lengthened for the Chiltern Metro.
- The heavy rail lines through here will be four-tracked and there is certainly space for that.
Given that the Acton-Northolt Line leads from here to an electrified Paddington and Old Oak Common, there could be pressure to fully electrify through South Ruislip. If that were to be decided, I can’t see that being a difficult task compared to some in the UK.
West Ruislip Station
West Ruislip Station has been proposed as the outer terminus of the Chiltern Metro.
This Google Map shows the station and the surrounding area.
West Ruislip Station
These are pictures I took of the station.
Note.
- A turnback facility is needed and this would probably be a siding on the West side of the station. It should be no problem to install.
- Platforms need to be lengthened for eight-car trains.
- There is plenty of space for two fast tracks through the centre of the station.
- Electrification if required wouldn’t be a problem.
I changed trains from the Chiltern service to a Central Line train.
Sorting Out Lines At West Ruislip
Before I went to West Ruislip station, I hadn’t realised how many lines pass through the area.
This Google Map shows a wider view of West Ruislip station.
Lines Through West Ruislip
These lines are shown on the map, or connect to these lines within a few stations.
- The Chiltern Main Line opened in 1906 as the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway.
- The Great Western and Great Central Railway used to run passenger trains to Paddington along the Acton-Northolt Line.
- The Central Line opened in 1948 to Central London.
- The Piccadilly Line crosses to the East of West Ruislip station opened in 1933.
- The Metropolitan Line shares tracks with the Piccadilly Line opened in 1910.
- The Greenford Branch of the Great Western Main Line opened in 1903, joins the Central Line, four stations from West Ruislip station.
It shows how the various private companies went their own way. I’m sure if Borken had been in charge of London all of those years ago, we’d have a better pattern of rail lines in the area.
But some dreamers have plans. I discuss them in the next three sections.
Central Line To Uxbridge
In the Wikipedia entry for West Ruislip station, this is said.
The London Borough of Hillingdon announced in June 2011 that it would be lobbying Transport for London to have the Central line extended from West Ruislip to Uxbridge tube station. Such a project would require a business case approved by TfL and the completion of signal upgrade work on the Metropolitan line.
It is probably a valid aspiration, but could similar connectivity be created by perhaps adding platforms on the Metropolitan/Piccadilly Line, where it passes under the Chiltern Main Line and Central Line to the East of West Ruislip station and connecting everything together with a moving walkway?
If this were to be combined with the desired lengthening of the Chiltern platforms, this could be a worthwhile project, if the numbers add up.
Denham To Uxbridge
In the Wikipedia entry for Chiltern Railways under Active Plans, this is said.
Re-opening the former Great Western Railway branch line to Uxbridge High Street, continuing the route to Heathrow Airport. This would give Birmingham a direct rail link with Britain’s largest airport.
Uxbridge High Street station closed completely in 1964.
I would assume, that this would use the route of the Uxbridge (Vine Street) Branch to get to the Great Western Main Line at West Drayton station, from where it could use either of these routes to get to the Airport.
- Crossrail
- An extension of the Staines and West Drayton Railway
This could be the sort of ambitious plan that appeals to Chiltern.
This is a Google Map of Uxbridge Town Centre.
Uxbridge Town Centre
Note Uxbridge Underground station, High Street and Vine Street are all close together.
In Germany, they wouldn’t mess about, but would use a tram-train on the route.
- West Ruislip to Uxbridge as a train on a rebuilt rail line.
- Through Uxbridge Town Centre as a tram.
- Uxbridge to West Drayton and Heathrow as a train on a rebuilt rail line.
Obviously, the route could be adjusted to serve property, leisure and employment hotspots.
Greenford Branch Line
The Greenford Branch Line is like an elderly aunt, who gets forgotten to be asked to family parties, but when she does come, is extremely useful and entertaining, because she can do things, that others can’t.
The Wikipedia entry under Future says this.
In 2017 Crossrail is due to begin using two of the four tracks of the Great Western Main Line and the Greenford service will terminate at West Ealing, rather than continue to Paddington, to obviate interference with Crossrail, and to create track capacity for increased services to Heathrow. In compensation the branch line service will increase from two to four trains per hour. Ealing Council desires to have the line connected to the south west to Clapham Junction via the West London Line, and to the north west to West Ruislip.
I think Ealing Council’s plan is a non-starter, if it envisages trains travelling along the Great Western Main Line.
But look at this map of the rail lines from carto.metro.free.fr.
Lines In West London
Note that it would appear that the track layout at Greenford could allow trains to go from the Greenford Branch towards West Ruislip and South Ruislip in the West or North Acton and Old Oak Common in the East.
These are pictures I took of the lines and the junction at Greenford station.
The current Greenford Branch platform would probably be augmented or replaced by platforms on the Acton-Northolt Line.
This Google Map shows the area around Greenford station.
Greenford Station And The Junction To The East
It would appear that parts of the junction have been built on, but it looks like it could easily be made possible for trains to pass in all directions, between the Acton-Northolt Line and the Greenford Branch.
The Greenford Branch is under three miles long and appears to be mainly double-track, but it does have a level crossing close to the Southern end.
I also took some pictures of the bay platform at West Ealing station, that is currently under construction.
I can’t be sure yet, but it does appear that the platform will be electrified.
So what does this say about how the rumoured four trains per hour that work the branch will be powered?
I think there are two possibilities.
- Diesel power as now.
- IPEMUs charged in the bay platform.
Given that one of London Overground’s Class 710 trains with an IPEMU capability and one of Great Western Railway’s Class 165 trains, that currently work the line, could use the same infrastructure, the choice of train would be up to the operator.
One problem that would have to be addressed is the short platforms at Drayton Green, Castle Bar Park and South Greenford.
At least if the branch was not electrified, there would be no wires to get in the way.
Look at this Google Map.
Park Royal To Old Oak Common And Wormwood Scrubs
Note.
- The red arrow points at Park Royal, which at 500 hectares, is the largest business park in London.
- The green area in the East is Wormwood Scrubs, which is one of the largest areas of common land in London.
- North of Wormwood Scrubs is Old Oak Common, which is mainly old railway land, that is being regenerated.
- Old Oak Common station, with connections to HS2, the West Coast Main Line, the Great Western Main Line, North London Line, West London Line, Crossrail and other lines is being created to serve the developments in the area.
Across the South of Park Royal and connecting to Old Oak Common station, runs the Acton-Northolt Line.
If transport planners and railway designers, can’t make a feast of these tasty ingredients, I’d be very surprised.
I said that the choice of rolling stock would be down to the operator.
As Ealing Council would like to see the Greenford Branch go to Clapham Junction, the obvious route is to go via the Acton-Northolt and West London Lines, stopping at appropriate stations en route, like Old Oak Common and possible new ones; South of Park Royal.
This would be a good fit with London Overground services and their four-car Class 710 trains would be ideal for the route.
With the full development of Old Oak Common station, this would not only give access to West Coast Main Line and HS2 services, but also direct access to the North London Line from West Ealing and West Ruislip.
The latter connection would make so many of those journeys across the North of the capital, so much easier and avoid going by the centre.
I think Chiltern too, will make a bid to get into running services on the Greenford Branch and the Acton-Northolt Line, as it would give them a very useful destination in London of Old Oak Common.
These services would also be a good fit with Chiltern’s services and trains.
Conclusion
The Chiltern Metro is certainly possible from an infrastructure point of view.
I also believe that with selective and appropriate electrification, that a 100 mph version of Bombardier’s new Aventra train with an on-board energy storage or IPEMU capability could handle all their services.
My project management and engineering knowledge (Note! Not experience!), also leads me to believe that most of the upgrade to electric trains could be done without too many blockades and disturbance, as much of the line is already to a very high standard with sufficient loading gauge to accept Aventras, when running on the on-board power source.
Just because you want to swap your diesel Mercedes for an electric Tesla of vaguely the same size, it doesn’t mean you have to move house or even build a new garage, as both cars run on the same roads. You just make sure the battery gets charged, rather than fill it up with fossil fuel.
It’s the same if you replace your diesel train with an Aventra IPEMU. Except that in places, you can charge your train as you’re running on any traditionally-electrified line.
The only problem, is to make sure, your trains get enough chances to charge their on-board energy storage devices. But railways have had the organisation of trains to various places down to a fine art for well over a hundred years.
It’s called timetabling!
A Modern Electrified Metro Network Using IPEMU Technology
An IPEMU is an Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit, which is a standard electrical multiple unit, which incorporates on-board energy storage, which can be charged on electrified lines and then used to power the train, where no electrification exists.
- At present a range on the on-board energy storage is typically fifty to sixty miles with adequate performance.
- The storage can be used to capture braking energy, which is then used to restart the train at a station.
- Every feature of a modern electric train can be provided.
The first IPEMUs to be delivered could be the Class 710 trains for the London Overground.
If you look at cities like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Leeds and Newcastle with comprehensive local metro networks of trains, they are mostly fully electrified, with perhaps the occasional line run by diesel trains.
Electric trains are preferable to diesel ones for several reasons.
- They have a better performance.
- They are quieter and don’t emit noxious fumes.
- They are easier to purchase.
But above all passengers like them better and they attract passengers and generate revenue and profits.
On the other hand.
- It is expensive to put up overhead wires and get power to the wires.
- Bridges need to be raised or track lowered to make space for the wires.
- Installation of electrification is disruptive.
- There are often heritage and/or environmental issues with the overhead wires or installing them.
But consider the cities or towns like Bristol, Cardiff, Norwich and Peterborough.
All have or will soon have the following.
- An electrified main line running through.
- A fully electrified central station.
- Branches and local lines fanning out from the central station, run by diesel multiple units.
- Most local services are less than eighty miles in total for an out and back journey from the central station.
- Other services go to another electrified central station, within the range of an IPEMU.
I think it goes without saying, that the current system in the town or city works after a fashion, even if the services are infrequent, too small and are worked using scrapyard specials.
Suppose the objectives for your new metro are as follows.
- Services are run by modern four-car electric trains, that meet all current and envisioned access and customer requirements.
- Services are run by a standard train, so if the network expands, more trains can be easily built!
- The ability to lengthen the trains, say for an important sporting or cultural event.
- Enough trains to run four trains per hour services on important lines and perhaps one per hour on lines that get much lesser use.
- Most services run out and back from the central station.
- As little disruption as possible, whilst creating the metro.
I believe that IPEMUs can be used to create such a metro, in the following manner.
- Get electricity to the central station.
- Check that all bridges, tunnels and stations on the lines can allow an IPEMU to pass.
- Upgrade and test the signalling for the new trains.
- Lengthen platforms on the lines to take the IPEMUs.
- Wire up the platforms in the central station and for possibly a few miles around the station.
- Test each line and convert them to IPEMU operation, as works are completed and IPEMUs become available.
One great advantage is that a lot of the testing can be done using a dummy IPEMU.
- It would be the same type of train as an IPEMU, but powered by a diesel engine.
- It would have the same cab as an IPEMU, so that all driver sight-lines and operations could be checked.
- It would have full signalling and other displays and instrumentation of an IPEMU.
- It would probably have a pantograph and a battery, so it could check all the overhead wires could charge the batteries of the IPEMU.
Real passengers could even be used for tests and asked for their opinions.
So where couldn’t this type of approach be used?
A Trip To Aylesbury Vale Parkway Station
Aylesbury Vale Parkway station is one of Chiltern Railway’s termini in Buckinghamshire.
It is on the London to Aylesbury Line with services to Marylebone via Amersham, with a journey time of five minutes over the hour.
Plans also exist for the station to be calling point on the proposed service between Marylebone and Milton Keynes. The plans for the station in Wikipedia say this.
East West Rail plans to extend passenger services northwards to Bletchley and Milton Keynes by 2019 using parts of the former Varsity Line. The platform has been built to accommodate a second track if ever implemented, which would create an island platform. At present trains (currently run only as specials onBank Holidays) between Aylesbury and Quainton Road cannot serve Aylesbury Vale as there is no platform on the through route.
The track between Aylesbury and the new station was upgraded to continuous welded rail with a maximum line speed for DMU passenger trains of 60 mph (97 km/h). It is proposed that when services are extended to the north, trains will run via High Wycombe and not Amersham. Trains currently serving the station will thereafter terminate at Aylesbury.
These are some pictures I took of the station.
It is just a simple affair with a bus stand, car parks and the usual facilities, that appears will be soon surrounded by houses.
Chiltern Railways And Electrification
Before discussing how services will link up and down the London to Aylesbury Line, I will look at Chiltern Railways and electrification.
Under Developments and Announcements in the Wikipedia Entry for the East West Rail Link, this is said.
On 10 January 2013 Network Rail announced its intention to construct the western section between Bedford and Oxford, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, as part of their five-year strategic business plan (2014–2019). The target date for train services to be operational on this section is December 2017. Electrification of the line between Oxford and Bedford was also included in the budget and target completion date was March 2017.
So electrification of the East West Rail Link is included in the project, even if the dates in the announcement are very much out of date now.
Given the following facts about the Chiltern Main Line, I believe it is likely that at some point, everybody will look seriously at providing electric trains from Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill station.
- The line has a close relationship with the East West Rail Link and other electrified or soon-to-be electrified lines.
- Chiltern finds it difficult to acquire more diesel-powered trains to fulfil their ambitions.
- Chiltern would like to run faster, larger, more efficient and greener electric multiple units.
Under Electrification in the Wikipedia entry for Chiltern Railways, this is said.
No section of the line is electrified, but in 2010 the chairman of Chiltern Railways, Adrian Shooter, indicated that electrification is being considered, though not in the immediate future. He added: “We could do some very interesting things with high-acceleration EMUs and possibly some further infrastructure work.
At some time in the next ten years, we’ll probably see electric trains between Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill.
But there will not necessarily be full electrification, as I believe IPEMU technology will change the way electrification is carried out.
Consider as well that the Chiltern Main Line is just one hundred and eighty kilometres long and the current maximum range of an IPEMU is being quoted as about sixty miles or just under a hundred kilometres, so with the following electrification.
- Marylebone and for perhaps twenty miles or so to handle local metro services.
- Birmingham Snow Hill, Birmingham Moor Street and the Snow Hill Lines, where there are local metro services.
- Banbury to Leamington Spa and other places, so that freight trains powered by bi-mode Class 88 locomotives, could use the line efficiently.
The Local lines from Marylebone and the Snow Hill Lines would be electrified using the techniques in A Modern Electrified Metro Network Using IPEMU Technology
IPEMUs would be able to run the full length of the line without the need for full electrification in an environmentally-sensitive area, inhabited by touchy people.
Northward To The East West Rail Link And Milton Keynes
Northward from Aylesbury Vale Parkway station, the Wikipedia entry for East West Rail Link, says that the line will be single track and allow 90 mph working. But as my pictures and a quick gander on Google Maps show, there is quite a bit of space available around the current single track. So as the East West Rail Link seems to be being designed as a double-track 100 mph railway, with full electrification, I think there are three possible options between the East West Rail Link and Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Aylesbury stations.
- Double-track 100 mph with electrification.
- Single-track 90 mph with electrification.
- Single-track 90 mph without electrification.
I think the line will be built with some form of electrification, so that electric trains can run from Aylesbury to Milton Keynes.
The line is also used by some freight trains, so double-track might be a good idea.
Aylesbury To London Via Amersham
Returning from Aylesbury today, I was surprised to see that the train ran from Amersham to Harrow-on-the-Hill on the same tracks as the Metropolitan Line. In fact for sixteen of the thirty-nine miles of the line from Marylebone to Aylesbury Vale Parkway, the line has full London Underground electrification.
Amersham to Aylesbury is about fifteen miles, with the distance between the two Aylesbury station being four miles, which means that Harrow-on-the-Hill to Marylebone is just a few miles.
So if an IPEMU could use the London Underground’s rail-based electrification, starting at Milton Keynes the train would easily arrive at Harrow-on-the-Hill with a full battery, that would take the train to Marylebone and back.
I don’t believe that the technical problems of an IPEMU starting at any station between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes and going to Marylebone and back are insurmountable.
Aylesbury To London Via High Wycombe
This uses the single-track Aylesbury to Princes Risborough Line, which is about a dozen miles long, before running to Marylebone along the Chiltern Main Line, which is another forty miles or so.
So some electrification will be needed.
According to Wikipedia, Chiltern have various plans to improve their network.
- The restoration of the quadruple track between South Ruislip (Northolt Junction) and West Ruislip, allowing trains to call at both stations without blocking the line. Triple track currently exists at West Ruislip, with the up platform loop still in situ, and at South Ruislip, with the Down Main through line also in situ. This would involve the reconstruction of the new down platform at West Ruislip, and the reconstruction of the up platform at South Ruislip. This ‘Chiltern Metro’ service was not programmed into the last round of franchising agreements.
- Restoration of fast through lines at Beaconsfield as part of a longer-term aspiration for a 90-minute journey time between London and Birmingham
- Double-track the line from Princes Risborough to Aylesbury.
- New Chiltern Metro Service that would operate 4+tph for Wembley Stadium, Sudbury & Harrow Road, Sudbury Hill Harrow, Northolt Park, South Ruislip and West Ruislip. This would require a reversing facility at West Ruislip, passing loops at Sudbury Hill Harrow, and a passing loop at Wembley Stadium (part of the old down fast line is in use as a central reversing siding, for stock movements and additionally for 8-car football shuttles to convey passengers to the stadium for events)
Some would also fit well with adding electrification, so I think that enough electrification can be added to allow an IPEMU to go from Aylesbury to Marylebone.
Oxford To London
Given that there will be electrification between Oxford and Bicester Village stations courtesy of the East West Rail Link, IPEMUs could start at Oxford and reach Princes Risborough, from where they used the same methods as Aylesbury and Birmingham services to get to London.
This article on the BBC, which is entitled Cowley line passenger train service planned for Oxford, says this.
Chiltern Railways has revealed plans for a passenger service to run on the Cowley branch in Oxfordshire.
The line, currently only used for freight, would see two new stations on the route at Oxford Science Park and Oxford Business Park.
So if this service goes to London, it would certainly be another job for an IPEMU.
Watford Junction To Amersham And Aylesbury
The Croxley Rail Link has been designed so it can have a link to Amersham. Wikipedia says this about the link.
A further proposal is to use the existing but seldom-used Metropolitan line chord which allows trains to run from Watford towards Amersham via Rickmansworth. In conjunction with the Croxley Rail Link, this route would allow direct services between Watford Junction and Amersham, thus improving local public transport in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
These are pictures I took, as the train passed the junction of the branch line to Watford.
It would certainly be a new use for a substantial piece of infrastructure, but would it do much more than link Amersham to Watford Junction.
Chiltern Trains could run an IPEMU from Watford Junction to Aylesbury Vale Parkway calling at all stations, but as passengers could also get to Aylesbury from Milton Keynes, I wonder if it would be well used.
Will Southern Fit On-board Energy Storage To Class 377 Trains?
When I wrote Will London Overground Fit On-board Energy Storage To Class 378 Trains? in March, I didn’t look very hard at Southern’s collection of over two hundred Class 377 trains, of which forty-six are dual-voltage units.
I then read this article on the Railway Technical web site, which is entitled Southern’s 377/6 takes shape in Litchurch Lane. This is said in the article.
Regenerative braking capability was provided on the trains from the beginning but it was not used.
Things have improved in the last few years and some parts of the network can accept returned power, but the article adds this caveat.
If the train detects that the line is unable to take the extra voltage, the regenerated power is dumped into an on-board resistor grid.
So it would appear that the Class 377 trains could benefit from the addition of on-board energy storage.
How much of the electricity bill it would save, is I suspect known to the accountants and it should be a fairly simple analysis to see if on-board energy storage were to be fitted all or some of Class 377 trains.
But converting a small number of trains, would give Southern a train capable of replacing the Class 171 trains on London Bridge to Uckfield and the Marshlink Line.
Class 377 trains with an IPEMU capability on these routes might give operational benefits.
- London to East Grinstead is already run by Class 377 trains. So the same trains could be used on both branches, which must be a benefit for the operator, in terms of driver and staff training.
- Class 377 trains already run to the end of the electrification at Ore from Brighton, Eastbourne and Cannon Street, so it might be advantageous for both operator and passengers to continue some or all of these services to Ashford.
- Rye and the other stations on the Marshlink Line would get a direct electric service to London.
The only problem is that Hastings wouldn’t get a high-speed service to St. Pancras.
A Ride From Nuneaton To Coventry In A London Midland Class 306 Train
I went to Nuneaton station and then took the Coventry to Nuneaton Line to see the new stations at Bermuda Park and Coventry Arena before changing at Coventry for Birmingham. I took these pictures from the train.
Both new stations have two similar platforms, so I only photographed one at each station.
All platforms seem to be able to take at least a three car train, but the Coventry-facing platform at Coventry Arena station can take six card to handle events. I also suspect that selective door opening on modern trains like Electrostars can allow longer trains to call.
The train was actually two Class 153 trains, which explains the Class 306 train.
The line may be electrified in future, as it is used by freight trains, but if Network Rail get their act together, I can see the passenger service on this line using IPEMUs. Especially, when Kenilworth station is reopened on the Coventry to Leamington Line.
Unless the two lines are electrified, freight would still be diesel-hauled. A Class 88 locomotive could be used, so that where there is electrification.freight trains could be electric-hauled. But they seem to be taking a long time to arrive!
Musical Trains On TransPennine Express
The moving on of the inadequate Class 185 trains on TransPennine Express (TPE) seems to have started with this article in Rail News entitled Hitachi scoops 95-car TPE train deal. This is said.
- TPE have signed a deal for the delivery of nineteen five-car Class 802 trains for delivery from 2019.
- The trains will normally run at 125 mph, but will have a 140 mph capability, subject to track and signalling.
- The Class 802 trains will have 161 more seats than the Class 185 trains.
- A second fleet of twenty-five trains will be ordered by TPE for delivery in 2018.
It’s also said that TPE will retain about half of the existing Class 185 trains.
In Future Fleet in the TransPennineExpress Wikipedia entry, this is listed as their future fleet.
- Thirteen sets of five-car Intercity carriages for TransPennine routes with a top speed of 125 mph, with deliveries, starting in 2017.
- Twelve sets of five-car EMUs for Scottish routes with a top speed of 125 mph, with deliveries, starting in 2018.
- Nineteen sets of five-car Class 802 trains for TransPennine routes, with deliveries, starting in 2019.
The third fleet of nineteen trains have been ordered and I feel pretty sure, Hitachi will deliver them on time from Newton Aycliffe.
But what types of trains will be delivered for the first and second requirements?
Class 387 Trains
Twenty-nine Class 387 trains have been built and there are another twenty-eight on order.
- A proportion of the trains will be going to Great Western Railway (GWR), which is a sister company to TPE, to run Thames Valley services out of Paddington.
- Because of the late delivery of the Great Western Electrification, some could end up sitting in sidings.
- They are only a four car train, but as some Electrostars come in five car sets, I suspect that they can be lengthened to the required five cars.
- They are only a 110 mph train, but then so are the Class 350 trains, currently working Manchester Airport to Glasgow services for TPE.
Although Class 387 trains don’t quite meet TPE’s speed requirement, they could provide a valuable interim service, whilst awaiting the delivery of the new trains.
Class 387 Trains With An IPEMU Capability
A Class 379 train was used for the prototype IPEMU or Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit, which was successfully demonstrated in public service early in 2015.
This train has a range of upwards of fifty miles using on-board energy storage, charged on the main line from the overhead electrification.
The Class 379 and 387 trains are both Electrostars and are closely related, so it is very likely, that a Class 387 IPEMU can and will be developed.
A Class 387 IPEMU could be able to serve the following routes.
- Liverpool to Newcastle via Manchester and Leeds.
- Manchester Airport to Blackpool, Barrow and Windermere.
- Blackpool and Preston to Leeds via the Calder Valley Line.
- Manchester to Chester.
- Manchester to Sheffield via the Hope Valley Line.
I also think, that as experience of the trains is accumulated, other routes would become possible.
Class 802 Trains
The Class 802 trains are the ones ordered for the major part of services across the Pennines, but they have a major problem. It would be unlikely, that Hitachi could deliver the trains until after the rest of the trains have been delivered starting in 2019.
Aventra Trains
The Aventra is Bombardier’s successor to the Electrostar.
- It is designed as a modular train, that comes in a range of lengths. So far four car Class 710 trains and nine car Class 345 trains have been ordered.
- Modern Railways disclosed in the April 2016 Edition, that a 125 mph version of the new Aventra train is coming.
- It has been designed to be a very efficient train.
- According to Modern Railways, the trains are designed to be able to handle both commuter and longer-distance services.
- All Aventras are wired so that on-board energy storage can be fitted.
- As it will be a more efficient train than the Electrostar, range using on-board energy storage would probably be longer.
So it would appear that a 125 mph five-car Aventra, that can extend routes and bridge electrification gaps will be available.
The two requirements for TPE will now be examined.
The First Requirement
The first requirement for thirteen trains for TransPennine routes could be met by.
- Shortened five-car formations of InterCity 125s released by delivery of Class 800 trains to Great Western Railway (GWR) and Virgin Trains East Coast.
- Five-car Class 221 trains released by Virgin Trains.
- Five-car Class 222 trains released by East Midlands Trains.
- Five-car Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability.
- Five-car Aventras with an IPEMU capability.
- Lengthening the existing Class 185 trains by adding two new cars.
- More Class 802 trains.
Option 1 – Every train operating company will be after these and there is a lot of work to do. But they would do the job.
Options 2 and 3 – What trains could be used to release the Class 221 and Class 222 trains?
Option 4 – Five-car Class 387 trains can be created. But would 110 mph trains be fast enough and would the IPEMU capability allow TPE to run the routes they require?
Option 5 – 125 mph Aventras with on-board energy storage, could probably do the job. But will they be available for delivery in 2017? I doubt it!
Option 6 – I doubt Siemens would like to lengthen Class 185 trains, but as an interim they could run as six car trains. But until the Class 802 trains arrive, they’re needed across the Pennines.
Option 7 – Not probably a possibility for delivery in 2017, unless Hitachi find how to 3D-Print trains at a rate of one a day.
TPE Needs More Capacity Now
The big problem, is that TPE needs extra capacity across the Pennines now! It should also be noted that the Ordsall Chord could open in December 2017, which will create a need for more trains.
TPE could decide to just muddle through until 2017, but I think they would like some extra capacity, otherwise all the euphoria of the new franchise, will be flushed down the toilet
The only trains that could be running across the Pennines, before the end of 2016, are Class 387 trains with an IPEMU capability. In fact, they could probably be running in time for the May 2016 timetable change.
I have believed for some time, that they could work the routes across the Pennines between Leeds and Manchester.
If TPE did go down this interim route, then it would be likely that the thirteen new trains ordered for this route would be 125 mph Aventras with an IPEMU capability.
Bombardier would love that if it turned out to be successful, as publicity of using batteries to extend the range of a 125 mph train must open up some very lucrative markets all over the world.
The Second Requirement
The second requirement used on the Scottish routes could be.
- Class 350 trains until new trains are delivered.
- Class 387 trains to add capacity to or replace the existing fleet.
- Class 802 trains
- 125 mph Aventra trains
All except the Class 350 trains could be five car trains and the Class 802 trains and the Aventras are 125 mph trains or faster.
140 mph Running
One complication is that at some time in the 2020s, the East Coast Main Line and West Coast Main Line will be able to accept 140 mph running. So the Scottish services, may end up bein worked by Class 802 trains.
Airport Expresses
An intriguing possibility is to use Class 387/2 trains as used on Gatwick Express on some services.
- TPE services call at Manchester Airport and Liverpool South Parkway for Liverpool Airport.
- The Class 387/2 trains have an interior designed for airport passengers.
- The trains could be delivered as five car trains.
- The trains could have an IPEMU capability.
Manchester and Liverpool Airports are very ambitious and probably would like connections to places such as Chester, Nottingham and North Wales.
Conclusions
There are a large number of possibilities and a massive need for an interim solution, which will probably use some of the available Class 387 trains, with or without an IPEMU capability.
The final solution will come down to a choice between.
- Thirteen Class 802 trains with a bi-mode capability and twelve Class 802 EMUs
- Twenty-five Aventras, of which at least thirteen would have an IPEMU capability.
I might find the Class 185 trains inadequate, but as new trains arrive, inevitably some of the diesel multiple units will be cascaded to other operators.
I think there’ll come a time, when TPE has just Class 802 trains and/or Aventras, with some trains having a bi-mode or IPEMU capability.
When there is electrification between Leeds and Manchester and if Aventra IPEMUs were handling the parts of the network without electrification, then TPE could rightly claim that they were running an all-electric fleet, which must give a green edge to their marketing.
Some bi-mode Class 802 trains could be converted to EMUs and hopefully would be able to cruise to across the Pennines at over 125 mph and to Scotland at 140 mph on the flagship routes.
- Liverpool to Edinburgh via Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.
- Liverpool and Manchester to Glasgow via the West Coast Main Line.
It will be an interesting decision, as to which trains are chosen for the extra twenty-five trains.
The only certainty is that TPE will get a very good price.
The Anonymous Widower 