Great Yarmouth Terminal Set For Redevelopment Under Port Of East Anglia Name
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The UK’s Peel Ports Group has decided to invest a further GBP 10 million (approximately EUR 11.3 million) into its Great Yarmouth site, which is being rebranded as the Port of East Anglia.
These four paragraphs add details to the story.
The newly announced GBP 10 million brings this year’s total investment to GBP 70 million across the site and will be used to redevelop the port’s Northern Terminal, helping to accommodate the next generation of offshore wind projects across the region, according to Peel Ports.
Earlier this year, a substantial investment into its Southern Terminal was announced by the port, which has earmarked GBP 60 million to transform capacity and improve efficiencies.
This involves ensuring the port can support multiple hydrogen, carbon capture, offshore wind, and nuclear projects for decades to come.
Its existing terminals service a variety of construction customers, including infrastructure projects such as Sizewell C and offshore energy projects based in the southern North Sea.
Note.
- In Yarmouth Harbour To Be ‘Completed’ In £60m Project, I talk about the work to be done on the Southern Terminal.
- The work on the Southern Terminal includes a roll-on roll-off (RORO) lift ramp and a large storage area.
- Start on the work on the Southern Terminal will start in 2026.
With all the construction work mentioned in the last two paragraphs, I suspect that the Port of Great Yarmouth will be busy?
These are some further thoughts.
Why Is The Port Of Great Yarmouth Being Renamed?
The article says this.
The new name, which will come into effect in early 2026, also aligns with the creation of a new combined authority for Suffolk and Norfolk, according to Peel Ports.
Peel Ports name change is fairly sensible, but as I was conceived in Suffolk and I’m an Ipswich Town supporter, I don’t feel that the two counties should be merged.
Does The Mention Of Hydrogen Mean That The Port Of Great Yarmouth Will Be Hosting A Hydrogen Electrolyser, To Fuel Trucks And Ships?
I asked Google AI, “If A Hydrogen Electrolyser is To Be Built In The Port Of Great Yarmouth?”, and received this answer.
While there are no current public plans for an immediate construction of a large-scale hydrogen electrolyser within the Port of Great Yarmouth, significant port expansion and infrastructure upgrades are underway to ensure it can support future hydrogen projects and related clean energy initiatives.
Note.
- If technology to handle hydrogen, is copied from North Sea gas, there is certainly a lot of proven technology that can be used again.
- There may even be depleted gas fields, where captured carbon dioxide, hydrogen or North Sea gas can be stored.
I find the most exciting thing, would be to send hydrogen to Germany.
Why Would Anybody Export Hydrogen To Germany?
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this answer.
Countries would export hydrogen to Germany because Germany has a large, growing demand for hydrogen to power its heavily industrialised economy and achieve its decarbonisation goals, but lacks sufficient domestic renewable energy capacity to produce the required amounts.
Germany also, uses a lot of bloodstained Russian gas and indigenous polluting coal.
How Could Anybody Export Hydrogen To Germany?
- Wilhelmshaven is one of the main import ports for hydrogen in North West Germany.
- Great Yarmouth is probably the closest larger port to Germany.
- Great Yarmouth and Wilhelmshaven are probably about 300 miles apart, by the shortest route.
- Great Yarmouth would need to build infrastructure to export hydrogen.
The easiest way to transport the hydrogen from Great Yarmouth to Wilhelmshaven, is probably to use a gas tanker built especially for the route.
This Google Map shows the route between Great Yarmouth and Wilhelmshaven.
Note.
- The North-East corner of East Anglia with Great Yarmouth to the North of Lowestoft, is in the bottom-left corner of the map.
- Wilhelmshaven is a few miles inland in the top-right corner of the map.
- Could a coastal tanker go along the Dutch and German coasts to Wilhelmshaven?
I have no skills in boats, but would Great Yarmouth to Wilhelmshaven to take hydrogen to Germany?
RWE Are Developing Three Wind Farms To The North-East of Great Yarmouth
RWE are a large German Electricity company and the UK’s largest generator of electricity.
The company is developing three wind farms to the North-East of Great Yarmouth.
- Norfolk Boreas – 1.2 GW – 45 miles offshore
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1.2 GW – 29 miles offshore
- Norfolk Vanguard East – 1.2 GW – 28 miles offshore
Note.
- The electricity for all three wind farms is to be brought ashore at Happisburgh South, which is about 22 miles North of Great Yarmouth.
- The original plan was to take the electricity halfway across Norfolk to the Necton substation to connect to the grid.
- The natives will not be happy about a 4.2 GW overhead line between Happisburgh and Necton.
- RWE have built offshore electrolysers before in German waters.
- Could an electrical cable or a hydrogen pipe be laid in the sea between Happisburgh South and the Port of Great Yarmouth?
- The electrolyser could either be offshore at Happisburgh or onshore in the Port of Great Yarmouth.
As I don’t suspect these three wind farms will be the last connected to the Port of Great Yarmouth, I would expect that RWE will put the electrolyser offshore at Happisburgh and connect it by a hydrogen pipeline to the Port of Great Yarmouth.
Could There Be A Connection To The Bacton Gas Terminal?
Consider.
The Bacton Gas Terminal, which feeds gas into the UK Gas Network, is only 4.2 miles up the coast from Happisburgh South.
Some climate scientists advocate blending hydrogen into the gas supply to reduce carbon emissions.
In Better Than A Kick In The Teeth – As C Would Say!, I disclosed that I now have a new hydrogen-ready boiler, so I’m not bothered, if I get changed to a hydrogen blend.
So could hydrogen from the Norfolk wind farms be fed into the grid to reduce carbon emissions?
Could The Port Of Great Yarmouth Become A Hydrogen Distribution Centre?
Thinking about it, the port could also become a distribution centre for green hydrogen.
Consider.
- Hydrogen-powered ships, tugs and workboats could be refuelled.
- Hydrogen-powered trucks could also be refuelled.
- Tanker-trucks could distribute hydrogen, to truck and bus operators, farms and factories, that need it for their transport and operations.
- I believe, that construction equipment will be increasingly hydrogen-powered.
In my life, I have lived at times in two country houses, that were heated by propane and there are about 200,000 off-grid houses in the UK, that are heated this way.
The two houses, where I lived would have been a nightmare to convert to heat pumps, but it would have been very easy to convert them to a hydrogen boiler and power it from a tank in the garden.
It should be noted, that the new boiler in my house in London is hydrogen-ready.
So the Port of Great Yarmouth could be the major centre for hydrogen distribution in Norfolk.
In the 1960s, I used to work in ICI’s hydrogen plant at Runcorn. If you ride in a hydrogen bus in England, it is likely that the hydrogen came from the same plant. Handled correctly, hydrogen is no less safe and reliable than natural gas or propane.
Gareth Southgate’s Cunning Plan
This article on The Times is entitled Imported Wembley Turf Gave England The Edge In Penalty Shootout.
This is the sub-heading.
Seed from home was used to create full-size pitch at the team’s training ground in Germany.
These three paragraphs give more detail.
A combination of psychological preparation and penalty-kick data analysis has been touted as the secret to England’s recent shootout successes.
After the Three Lions triumphed against Switzerland, however, another factor was hailed for helping them reach the Euro 2024 semi-finals. Gareth Southgate’s squad spent the last few weeks perfecting penalties on Wembley grass shipped to their training camp in Germany.
The Times understands that the pitch in Blankenhain was seeded in April with the turf used in London. Those close to the team believe the Wembley-grade grass helped to propel the players through the knockout stages and Saturday’s shoot-out.
I have had further thoughts.
The Size Of The Replica Pitch
So for England to have built a replica pitch, the same size as Wembley, could be clever idea if you were playing all your matches there.
The pitch at Wembley is 105 x 69 metres.
These are the pitch sizes in the EURO 2024 stadia.
- The Olympic stadium pitch in Berlin is 105 x 68 metres.
- The Borussia Dortmund pitch is 105 x 68 metres.
- The Allianz Arena in Munich is is 105 x 68 metres.
- The Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen is 105 x 68 metres.
- The Hamburg Stadium is 105 x 68 metres.
- The Stuttgart Arena is 105 x 68 metres.
- The Frankfurt Arena is 105 x 68 metres.
- The Dusseldorf Arena is 105 x 68 metres.
- The Cologne Stadium is 105 x 68 metres.
- The Leipzig Stadium is 105 x 68 metres.
The Germans seem to have a one size fits all rule for pitches.
All would fit into England’s replica Wembley pitch, if you drew the touchlines in by a metre.
You might even setup the replica Wembley, so that pitch furniture like dug-outs were in the correct place for the next stadium, England would use.
England would certainly get good value from their replica Wembley.
I wonder how many countries have their own full-size replica pitch in EURO 2024?
It would be a valuable training aid.
An Ipswich Connection?
Consider.
- Portman Road has always been an immaculate playing surface.
- Ipswich groundsmen have had a connection to a major overseas tournament before.
I wonder, if the FA asked Ipswich to help, as they are one of the best at creating pitches.
Use Of Replica Pitches In Domestic Leagues
If replica pitches can work in International football, they must work in domestic football.
But I’ve never heard of anything like it being tried.
Kieran McKenna is an innovative manager with a degree in sports science from Loughborough University.
- Is he using a similar same-size pitch trick at Ipswich?
- The pitch at Portman Road is 10 x 75 metres.
- Is the training pitch at Ipswich, exactly the same as the match pitch at Portman Road?
If ot os, could this explain, Ipswich’s rise of two divisions in two seasons?
Last season in the Championship, Ipswich won 16 Home games and 13 Away games.
Practice on a replica pitch might explain the better Home success.
Premier League Pitch Sizes
This page on Football Fancast gives all the sizes for 2023/24 and all except these are 105 x 68 metres.
- Everton
- Chelsea
- Liverpool
- Sheffield United
- Crystal Palace
- Luton Town
- Fulham
The differences from the 105 x 68 metres, is generally only a few metres.
Conclusion
It looks to me, that Gareth Southgate, Kieran McKenna and some of the Ipswich groundsmen have stitched together an idea in a country pub, over a couple of pints of real ale.
£20 Electronic Ear-Clips Train The Body To Decrease Blood Pressure
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
These two paragraphs outline how the device is used.
A £20 device that delivers “tingling” electric pulses to the ears and can be worn at home could be almost twice as effective as drugs at reducing blood pressure, a neuroscientist has said.
Early trials suggest that wearing the small electrodes clipped to the ears for half an hour per day over two weeks while relaxing, watching TV or eating can reduce blood pressure by up to 15mm of mercury (mm Hg), compared with 8mm Hg to 10mm Hg for drugs such as Ace inhibitors or beta-blockers.
It appears the device has been developed at University College London.
Would I Use Electronic Ear-Clips To Control My Blood Pressure?
Soon after my wife died in 2007, my cholesterol levels rose.
The Ipswich Town Physiotherapist, who was a drinking partner before matches at Portman Road, recommended that I see his dietician.
She identified the following.
- My diet had changed since my my wife’s death, as I was choosing the food and doing the cooking.
- She suspected, that I wasn’t eating enough soluble fibre.
- I was eating enough fruit and vegetables.
Her solution was two-fold.
- Swap butter and other spreads for Benecol.
- Make sure, I eat, at least one small tin of baked beans every week.
Obviously, as I had been found to be coeliac in 1997, I should stay gluten-free.
I’ve seen other dieticians since and none have criticised, what she said.
No doctor has also ever said, that there is something wrong with my cholesterol.
After my stroke in 2010, I was put on Warfarin to thin my blood.
The only addition to my cocktail of drugs, was that after an unexplained collapse, I was put on blood pressure drugs.
So to return to the question I asked at the top of this section.
I may take six or seven drugs and vitamin tablets every day, but swapping one or two for half-an-hour with an electronic device wouldn’t be too much trouble.
That is, if I could tolerate the device, as I’m not keen on headphones.
But it could be an interesting alternative to taking pharmaceutical drugs.
Beyoncé Funds Metro Service
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
Singer Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour funded an extra hour of operation of the Washington metro at a cost of $100 000, ensuring that fans could get home after bad weather delayed the start of her concert at the FedEx Field stadium.
Reading the whole article, it looks like everyone was a winner and it is to be hoped that it sets a precedent and under similar circumstances, other promoters take similar actions.
I remember a few years ago, Ipswich and Charlton in the League Cup overran badly one evening and we all got back to Ipswich station well after the last train had gone.
But Greater Anglia made sure that everybody got home, even sending a fleet of taxis to Sudbury.
Three Players Pursuing Floating Offshore Wind Opportunities At Barents Sea Oil Field
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Norwegian oil and gas company Vår Energi has entered into a collaboration with a consortium consisting of Odfjell Oceanwind and Source Galileo to explore opportunities for floating offshore wind through a pilot project at a field located in the Barents Sea off Norway.
The article mentions the Goliat oil field, which is located 85 kilometres (53 mi) northwest of Hammerfest.
This Google Map shows the location of Hammerfest.
Note.
- Hammerfest is marked by the red arrow.
- Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
- The furthest North, I’ve been in Europe is to Trondheim, which is in the South-West corner of the map.
- To the East of Hammerfest Norway and Russia have a common border and beyond that is the Russian port of Murmansk.
Many years ago, my first visits to Ipswich Town were courtesy of the Official Receiver for Ipswich; John Richardson, who was my parents’ next door neighbour in Felixstowe.
John was an interesting guy, who during the Second World War had been on the Arctic convoys to Murmansk and Archangel. The Wikipedia entry for Arctic Convoys Of World War Two, gives some details.
His descriptions of the weather in the area were horrendous and it makes me wonder why the Norwegians want to extract oil in those conditions. And now generate wind power.
This is the first sentence of the article.
Vår Energi disclosed the deal on Wednesday, 26 April 2023, explaining that the project, called GoliatVind, was a pilot project to demonstrate new, Norwegian offshore wind technology.
So is it all about new technology?
Extending The Elizabeth Line – Serving South-East London
The Inadequacies Of Abbey Wood Station
Abbey Wood station is the Elizabeth Line’s main terminus in South-East London.
The architecture is impressive, as the pictures taken before the station was finished show.
But other things are less than impressive.
- There is no station parking.
- Central London rail terminals served by Elizabeth Line services are only Liverpool Street/Moorgate and Paddington.
- Central London rail terminals served by National Rail services are Cannon Street, London Bridge, King’s Cross and St. Pancras.
In my view, Abbey Wood is a lost cause, as a commuter station, unless substantial parking is built at the station.
Parking At Stations In West Kent
This list shows the number of car parking spaces at stations in West Kent and South East London.
- Barnehurst – 162 *
- Belvedere – None *
- Bexleyheath – 83 *
- Chatham – 276 *
- Dartford – 186 *
- Ebbsfleet International – 4945 #
- Erith – None *
- Eynsford – 15
- Farningham Road – None
- Gillingham – 152 *
- Gravesend – 94 *
- Greenhithe – 8 *
- Longfield – 88
- Meopham – 167
- Northfleet – None *
- Plumstead – None *
- Rochester – None *
- St. Mary Cray – 31
- Slade Green – 25
- Sole Street – 61
- Stone Crossing – None *
- Strood – 112 *
- Swanley – 106
- Swanscombe – None *
- Welling – 117
Note.
- An asterisk (*) indicates direct trains to and from Abbey Wood station for the Elizabeth Line.
- An hash(#) indicates direct trains to and from Stratford International for the Elizabeth Line.
These figures are according to the National Rail web site.
It looks like unless you can walk to your nearest station and that has an easy connection to Abbey Wood, you’re probably better off going to Ebbsfleet and parking there.
Travelling Between Ebbsfleet International And The Elizabeth Line At Stratford International
Consider.
- Southeastern’s Highspeed service between Ebbsfleet International and Stratford International has a frequency of three trains per hour (tph)
- It takes less than twelve minutes between the two stations.
- It takes ten minutes to walk between Stratford International and Stratford Station for the Elizabeth Line and Greater Anglia services.
- There are eight Elizabeth Line tph to Paddington, calling at all stations. For Heathrow change at Whitechapel station.
Note.
- From these points, it should be possible to estimate the time you should park at Ebbsfleet to get to an event in London or East Anglia, if you live in Kent and are parking at Ebbsfleet International.
- I think four tph between Ebbsfleet International and Stratford International would make the route more attractive.
- If you’re going to Norwich or Ipswich be careful, as only one of the two tph stop at Stratford.
I catch the 12:30 from Liverpool Street for matches at Ipswich on Saturdays. This is the 12:38 from Stratford, so I suspect if you parked at parked at Ebbsfleet before 12:00, you’d make it.
Who’d have thought, that when they built the massive car parks at Ebbsfleet international, that they would be a Park-and-Ride for football at Ipswich. And Norwich too!
Changing Trains At Stratford
This map from Cartometro shows the two Stratford stations.
Note.
- The Elizabeth Line is shown in purple.
- The Central Line is shown in red.
- The Jubilee Line is shown in silver.
- The Overground is shown in orange.
- Lifts and escalators take passengers to and from the surface from between platforms 2 and 3 at Stratford International station.
Two pedestrian tunnels connect all the platforms in Stratford station.
- Elizabeth Line trains use platforms 5 and 8.
- Central Line trains use platforms 3, 3a and 6.
- Great Eastern Main Line trains use platforms 9, 9a and 10.
- Overground trains use platforms 1 and 2.
All platforms have lifts.
I suspect, that when you get to know the Stratford complex well, it’s easier than it looks.
But it does need better signage.
Full Step-Free Route Between Ebbsfleet And Heathrow Central
I have just used Transport for London’s Journey Planner, as if I was in a wheelchair and need full step-free access to go from Ebbsfleet to Heathrow Central.
This was the route.
- Southeastern to Stratford International station – 10 mins
- Walk to Stratford station – 21 mins
- Jubilee Line to Bond Street – 24 mins
- Bond Street to Heathrow Central – 32 mins
Note.
- The times are slower than say myself.
- I think it is possible to pick up the Elizabeth Line at Stratford.
But the route is certainly possible in a wheel-chair.
The Penge Interchange
This map from Cartometro shows where the East London Line of the London Overground and the Chatham Main Line between Victoria and Chatham cross in Penge.
Note.
- The East London Line runs North-South through Sydenham and Penge West stations.
- The Chatham Main Line runs through Penge East station.
There is a plan by Transport for London to create a Penge Interchange station on railway land, where the two lines cross.
- The station could replace Penge West and Penge East stations.
- It would be fully step-free.
- Interchange would be allowed between the East London Line and the Chatham Main Line.
This would increase connectivity for those travelling to and from South-East London and West Kent.
I brlieve that this one interchange could help level-up a large area of South-East London.
Suffolk Doesn’t Do Easy!
Many parts of the UK consider Suffolk to be rather sleepy.
I was conceived in the county and have spent at least half my life there.
I have a strong affection from my adopted county, which always seem to punch above its apparent weight.
- All thoroughbred horses have bloodlines that can be traced back to Newmarket, which is a town of 17,000 people in West Suffolk.
- The Battle of Landguard Fort is recorded as the last opposed attack on England, where on the 2nd of July 1667, a much larger Dutch force was repelled by Nathaniel Darrell and his marines.
- The exploits of Ipswich Town over the years are on a par with those of many prominent clubs in much bigger towns and cities.
- Since the 1950’s, the Port of Felixstowe has grown to be the United Kingdom’s busiest container port.
This morning I received a marketing e-mail from Adnams; the Suffolk brewer and this is an extract.
Ghost Ship 0.5% is brewed just like our other beers, so you can count on 150 years of brewing heritage. It was crafted to taste like our best-selling brew, so you can also count on its flavour.
It is always our aim to make great-tasting products, but when creating Ghost Ship 0.5%, the brewing team didn’t simply have to make something delicious, it had to taste like a well-loved and well-known beer. They were dealing with great expectations.
Adnams invested in a de-alcoholiser specifically to make this beer. We could brew in the normal way; adding the lovely fruity flavours you get from a full fermentation, before removing the alcohol. This alters the balance and the mouthfeel of a beer, so it still took months of trials and tinkering to get to where we wanted.
We used all our expertise the finest East Anglian malt and bold American hops to create a low-alcohol beer that tastes frighteningly good. It’s now our second most popular brew, and at 0.5% abv, can be enjoyed whenever and wherever the moment takes you. So, you can get out there, travel that little bit further, and taste just a little bit more.
Note in the last paragraph, that it is now their second most popular brew.
- It tastes just like the halves of bitter, I used to drink around 1960, whilst playing snooker with my father in his club in Felixstowe.
- Adnams has been my preferred beer since then.
- Like all zero-alcohol beers, my coeliac gut doesn’t react to it.
As a regular drinker of this beer, it looks like Suffolk has another success on its hands.
I’ll drink to that!
New £157m Chelmsford Railway Station Makes Progress
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The submission of an environmental impact assessment application to Chelmsford City Council for the proposed £157m Beaulieu railway station marks the next step in the ambitious project.
It may not be a large step, but it moves things forward to creation of this new Beaulieu station, North of the City of Chelmsford, which should be open around 2025.
Beaulieu Station Will Have Three Platforms
Intriguingly, Wikipedia says that the station will have three platforms.
The stations on the Great Eastern Main Line between Shenfield and Colchester will have the following numbers of platforms.
- Ingatestone – 2
- Chelmsford – 2
- Beaulieu – 3
- Hatfield Peverel – 2
- Witham – 4
- Kelvedon – 2
- Marks Tey – 3
As Witham and Marks Tey have branch lines, Beaulieu will be very much the outsider.
I suspect the extra platform is very much for reasons, similar to those that result in Cambridge North station being built as a three-platform station with two through and one bay platform.
I don’t think we’ll see Crossrail extended to Beaulieu.
- The route between Shenfield and Beaulieu is only double-track.
- All passenger trains currently on the route are 100 mph electric trains.
- Crossrail’s Class 345 trains are only 90 mph trains.
The speed mismatch would slow services to and from stations to the North.
But will we see a new service between London Liverpool Street and Beaulieu, which stops at perhaps, Stratford, Romford, Shenfield, Ingatestone and Chelmsford?
I suspect we will certainly see a new service terminating at Beaulieu, even if it is only in the Peak.
How Will Current Services Call At Beaulieu?
Currently, one fast and four stopping services stop in Chelmsford station every hour.
There are actually two trains per hour (tph) between London Liverpool Street and Norwich, but only one stops at Chelmsford.
So will the second hourly fast service stop at Beaulieu?
I would certainly be logical.
The four stopping services, that stop at Chelmsford every hour are.
- London Liverpool Street and Braintree
- London Liverpool Street and Clacton-on-Sea
- London Liverpool Street and Colchester Town
- London Liverpool Street and Ipswich
As all services stop at most stations, I would expect they would stop at Beaulieu.
- This would give Beaulieu a four tph Turn-Up-And-Go service to and from Chelmsford station, which uniquely for East Anglia is in the centre of the City.
- If the third platform were to be used for a fifth service to London Liverpool Street, this would be a train every twelve minutes between Chelmsford and Beaulieu stations.
- I can see that for some journeys, the fastest and most convenient route may include a change of train at Beaulieu.
I also seem to remember, that Greater Anglia had plans to extend the Ipswich service to Norwich and this will surely be useful to travellers from Beaulieu, who would then have a fast and a stopping service to Norwich.
A Park-And-Ride For Football And Events At Ipswich And Norwich Football Grounds
Both football grounds at Ipswich and Norwich are close to the stations and I can see many attendees driving to Beaulieu to catch a train, as parking in both Ipswich and Norwich can be difficult.
If in the future, there are two tph between Beaulieu and both destinations, it could be the quickest way to the grounds.
£100m Station Revamp Could Double Local Train Services
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Northern Echo.
This is the opening paragraph.
Officials behind plans for a £100m-plus transformation of Darlington’s Bank Top Station have confirmed it will remain the only one on the East Coast Mainline without a platform specifically for the London to Scotland service.
Darlington station has made various appearances in my life, all of which have been pleasurable ones.
I went several times to ICI’s Wilton site on Teesside in the 1970s, when the route to London was worked by the iconic Class 55 locomotives or Deltics.
I wrote about one memorable trip home from Darlington in The Thunder of Three-Thousand Three-Hundred Horses.
Over the years, I also seem to have had several clients for my computing skills in the area, including the use of my data analysis software; Daisy at Cummins Engines in the town.
And lately, it’s been for football at Middlesbrough to see Ipswich play, where I’ve changed trains. Sometimes, Town even won.
The improvements planned for the station are two-fold.
Improvement Of Local Services
This paragraph from Wikipedia, sums up the local train services on the Tees Valley Line between Saltburn and Bishop Auckland via Darlington, Middlesbrough and Redcar.
Northern run their Tees Valley line trains twice hourly to Middlesbrough, Redcar and Saltburn (hourly on Sundays), whilst the Bishop Auckland branch has a service every hour (including Sundays). The company also operates two Sundays-only direct trains to/from Stockton and Hartlepool.
If ever a route needed improvement it is this one.
This paragraph from the Northern Echo article, outlines the plans for Darlington station.
The meeting was also told the overhaul, which will see new platforms, a new station building, parking and an interchange for passengers, alongside other improvements, would also double capacity on Tees Valley and Bishop Auckland lines, meaning four trains an hour on the former and two trains an hour on the latter.
I also believe that the route is a shoe-in for zero-carbon services; hydrogen or battery electric.
Hydrogen Trains On Teesside
In Fuelling The Change On Teesside Rails, I discuss using hydrogen powered trains for the lines in the area and they could certainly provide services on more than just the Tees Valley Line.
- Teesside certainly has big plans for hydrogen to fuel its chemical industry.
- Hydrogen powered transport in the area has been backed by the Government, as I wrote about in Tees Valley Wins £1.3million Project To Bring Hydrogen Vehicles To The Region.
- Plans are advancing for a depot for hydrogen-powered trains at Lackenby.
The hydrogen powered trains would probably be this Alstom Breeze.
They would appear to be in pole position to change the image of Teesside’s trains.
Battery Electric Trains On Teesside
But I suspect. that an Anglo-Japanese partnership, based in the North-East could have other ideas.
- Hitachi have a train factory at Newton Aycliffe on the Tees Valley Line.
- Hyperdrive Innovation design and produce battery packs for transport and mobile applications in Sunderland.
The two companies have launched the Regional Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.
Note than 90 kilometres is 56 miles, so the train has a very useful range.
Hitachi have talked about fitting batteries to their express trains to serve places like Middlesbrough, Redcar and Sunderland with zero-carbon electric services.
But their technology can also be fitted to their Class 385 trains and I’m sure that Scotland will order some battery-equipped Class 385 trains to expand their vigorous electric train network.
Both Scotland and Teesside will need to charge their battery trains.
Example distances on Teesside include.
- Darlington and Saltburn – 28 miles
- Darlington and Whitby – 47 miles
- Darlington and Bishop Auckland – 12 miles
The last route would be possible on a full battery, but the first two would need a quick battery top-up before return.
So there will need to be strategically-placed battery chargers around the North-East of England. These could include.
- Hexham
- Nunthorpe
- Redcar or Saltburn – This would also be used by TransPennine Express’s Class 802 trains, if they were to be fitted with batteries.
- Whitby
If Grand Central did the right thing and ran battery electric between London and Sunderland, there would probably be a need for a battery charger at Sunderland.
It appears that Adrian Shooter of Vivarail has just announced a One-Size-Fits-All Fast Charge system, that has been given interim approval by Network Rail.
I discuss this charger in Vivarail’s Plans For Zero-Emission Trains, which is based on a video on the Modern Railways web site.
There is more about Vivarail’s plans in the November 2020 Print Edition of the magazine, where this is said on page 69.
‘Network Rail has granted interim approval for the fast charge system and wants it to be the UK’s standard battery charging system’ says Mr. Shooter. ‘We believe it could have worldwide implications.’
I believe that Hitachi and Hyperdrive Innovation, with a little bit of help from friends in Seaham, can build a battery-electric train network in the North-East.
The Choice Between Hydrogen And Battery Electric
Consider.
- The hydrogen trains would need a refuelling system.
- The battery electric trains would need a charging structure, which could also be used by other battery electric services to and from the North-East.
- No new electrification or other infrastructure would be needed.
- If a depot is needed for the battery electric trains, they could probably use the site at Lackenby, that has been identified as a base for the hydrogen trains.
Which train would I choose?
I think the decision will come down to politics, money and to a certain extent design, capacity and fuel.
- The Japanese have just signed a post-Brexit trade deal and France or rather the EU hasn’t.
- The best leasing deal might count for a lot.
- Vivarail have stated that batteries for a battery electric train, could be leased on a per mile basis.
- The Hitachi train will be a new one and the Alstom train will be a conversion of a thirty year old British Rail train.
- The Hitachi train may well have a higher passenger capacity, as there is no need for the large hydrogen tank.
- Some people will worry about sharing the train with a large hydrogen tank.
- The green credentials of both trains is not a deal-breaker, but will provoke discussion.
I feel that as this is a passenger train, that I’m leaning towards a battery electric train built on the route.
An Avoiding Line Through Darlington
The Northern Echo also says this about track changes at the station.
A meeting of Darlington Borough Council’s communities and local services scrutiny committee was told a bus lane-style route off the mainline at the station would enable operators to run more high-speed services.
Councillors heard that the proposed track changes would enable very fast approaches to Darlington and allow other trains to pass as East Coast Mainline passengers boarded.
Some councillors seem to be unhappy about some trains passing through the station without stopping.
Are their fears justified?
This Google Map shows Darlington station.
Note.
- The station has two long platforms and two South-facing bay platforms.
- There is plenty of space.
- There already appear to be a pair of electrified avoiding lines on the Eastern side of the station.
Wikipedia also says this about how Darlington station will be changed by High Speed Two.
The new high speed rail project in the UK, High Speed 2, is planned to run through Darlington once Phase 2b is complete and will run on the existing East Coast Main Line from York and Newcastle. Darlington Station will have two new platforms built for the HS2 trains on the Main Line, as the station is built just off the ECML to allow for freight services to pass through.
This would appear to suggest that the two current avoiding lines will be turned into high speed platforms.
Current High Speed Services At Darlington
The current high speed services at Darlington are as follows.
- LNER – two trains per hour (tph) – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh
- Cross Country – one tph – Plymouth and Edinburgh or Glasgow
- Cross Country – one tph – Southampton and Newcastle
- TransPennine Express – one tph – Liverpool and Edinburgh
- TransPennine Express – one tph – Manchester Airport and Newcastle
Northbound, this gives eight tph to Newcastle and four tph to Edinburgh
East Coast Trains
East Coast Trains‘s services are not planned to stop at Darlington.
High Speed Two Trains
Darlington is planned to be served by these High Speed Two trains.
- 1 tph – Birmingham Curzon Street and Newcastle via East Midlands Hub, York and Durham
- 1 tph – London Euston and Newcastle via Old Oak Common and York.
Both will be 200 metre High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains
Northbound, this gives ten tph to Newcastle and four tph to Edinburgh.
As the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two has some spare capacity, I suspect there could be other services through Darlington.
Improvements To The East Coast Main Line
If you look at the East Coast Main Line between Doncaster and Newcastle, the route is a mixture of two and four-track railway.
- Between Doncaster and York, there are two tracks
- Between York and Northallerton, there are four tracks
- Between Northallerton and Darlington, there are two tracks
- North of Darlington, the route is mainly two tracks.
I have flown my virtual helicopter along much of the route and I can say this about it.
- Much of the route is through agricultural land, and where absolutely necessary extra tracks could possibly be added.
- The track is more-or-less straight for large sections of the route.
- Routes through some towns and cities, are tightly hemmed in by houses.
I also believe that the following developments will happen to the whole of the East Coast Main Line before High Speed Two opens.
- Full ERTMS in-cab digital signalling will be used on all trains on the route.
- The trains will be driven automatically, with the driver watching everything. Just like a pilot in an airliner!
- All the Hitachi Class 80x trains used by operators on the route, will be able to operate at up to 140 mph, once this signalling and some other improvements have been completed.
- All level crossings will have been removed.
- High Speed Two is being built using slab track, as I stated in HS2 Slab Track Contract Awarded. I suspect some sections of the East Coast Main Line, that are used by High Speed Two services, will be upgraded with slab track to increase performance and reduce lifetime costs.
Much of the East Coast Main Line could become a 140 mph high speed line, as against High Speed Two, which will be a 225 mph high speed line.
This will mean that all high speed trains will approach Darlington and most other stations on the route, at 140 mph.
Trains will take around a minute to decelerate from or accelerate to 140 mph and if the station stop took a minute, the trains will be up to speed again in just three minutes. In this time, the train would have travelled two-and-a-half miles.
Conclusion
I think that this will happen.
- The Tees Valley Line trains will be greatly improved by this project.
- Trains will generally run at up to 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line, under full digital control, like a slower High Speed Two.
- There will be two high speed platforms to the East of the current station, where most if not all of the High Speed Two, LNER and other fast services will stop.
- There could be up to 15 tph on the high speed lines.
With full step-free access between the high speed and the local platforms in the current station, this will be a great improvement.
An Open Letter To Jamie Burles Of Greater Anglia
I will open by saying that this letter is not a complaint about your company, as you, like all your passengers and staff are just suffering collateral damage from the overwhelming incompetence of the real culprit.
I have been supporting Ipswich Town, off and on, since my parents retired to Felixstowe around 1960, when the next door neighbour used to take me to Portman Road.
In 2007, after living together in Suffolk for nearly forty years, my wife died of a squamous cell carcinoma of the heart, followed in 2010, by our son, who died at just thirty-seven of pancreatic cancer. I am coeliac and because of all this grief, I neglected my health, which caused me to have a serious stroke. Luckily, the only lasting problem, I suffered was a partial loss of vision, which meant I was unable to drive.
So I sold up in Suffolk and moved back to London, where I had been born in 1947.
For a couple of years, things went well coming out to Ipswich for matches by train. Typically, on a match day I would have a gluten-free lunch in London and catch the reliable 12:30 Norwich express and just arrive in my seat a few minutes before kick-off.
I should note, that there is only one reliable place for a coeliac like myself, who needs gluten-free food to eat in Ipswich and that is Pizza Express. But you can only eat so much pizza! I can get gluten-free sandwiches in Marks and Spencer, but as with the pizza, it means walking to the centre of town and at seventy-two now, that is not such an easy proposition, as it once was.
Over the last six years, the journey has got worse. The much longer journey time on replacement buses, means I can’t eat properly or do any of the other things , I need to do in life on an average Saturday.
Consider.
- Football may be important to me, but it is not that important.
- I should say, that sometimes, I go via Cambridge, when replacement buses are in operation for a change, as I can have a meal in the city with friends or buy sandwiches in the Marks & Spencer in the station.
- In all these years of disruption, it always seems that if Ipswich are at home on the Saturday, there would be a busification of the service, whereas on other Saturdays a full service operated.
When I first started coming out from London to see matches, there were quite a few supporters on the trains from London, including one guy in a wheel-chair. Over the years many seem to have fallen by the wayside, because of the constant disruption.
I had hoped that this season, Network Rail’s deplorable project management of the Great Eastern Main line, which often results in surprise closures, would have been consigned to history.
But if ever, there have been more closures this season and the latest batch of nine closures starting on Saturday, are the last straw as far as I am concerned.
Saturday’s closure was particularly inconvenient, as Kings Cross was closed and the West Anglia Main Line was running a reduced service, so in the end, I had a late breakfast at St. Pancras and took Southeastern Highspeed to Ebbsfleet where a friend and fellow Ipswich season ticket holder, who lives nearby, gave me a lift to the match. The home-to-home round trip , was actually almost as long, as that on the previous Saturday’s trip to Tranmere.
Looking at the next few Saturday Ipswich home games, I see the following.
- Peterborough – 1st February – Normal service (?)
- Burton Albion – 15th February – Buses
- Oxford United – 22nd February – Buses
- Coventry – 7th March – Buses
- Portsmouth- 21th March – Buses
- Rochdale – 18th April – Buses
I probably speak with more authority, than most, as the company I started in Ipswich; Metier Management Systems, is recognised as one of the companies, that changed project management completely, in the last three decades of the twentieth century. At times, half the major projects in the world were being planned and managed by software I wrote in a Suffolk attic.
I rate, Network Rail’s performance over the last few years in the wider UK, as one of the worst project management disasters I have known, alongside Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport, the legendary hospital built the wrong way round, and the Boeing 737 MAX.
The Anonymous Widower 