The Anonymous Widower

Saxmundham Station – 14th March 2025

On Friday, I went to Saxmundham to view the presentation of LionLink.

I took these pictures of Saxmundham station.

Note.

  1. The trains are two of Greater Anglia’s excellent Class 755 trains.
  2. The line is double track at Saxmundham station.
  3. The station building suffered a devastating fire 2018 and has since been rebuilt.
  4. Access between train and platform is step-free. See the gap fillers in the first two pictures.
  5. The tracks are crossed by the use of the level-crossing.
  6. There was a new comfortable and warm waiting room.
  7. There is a small car park.
  8. There is an hourly train in both directions to Ipswich and Lowestoft.

The station is in walking distance from the town.

These are my thoughts.

Extra Services

This OpenRailwayMap shows Saxmundham station and the Aldeburgh branch, which also serves the Sizewell power stations.

Note.

  1. The blue arrow indicates Saxmundham station.
  2. The yellow track is the East Suffolk Line.
  3. A disused branch line curves East, to the North of Saxmundham station and then South to the former site of Aldeburgh station.
  4. Sidings for Sizewell C construction trains will be built along this branch line.

Would it not be a good idea to reinstate the railway to Aldeburgh and run a second hourly train between Aldeburgh and Ipswich?

  • There is space for a Platform 0 at Ipswich station.
  • There is only the hourly Ipswich and Lowestoft train in both directions on the East Suffolk Line.
  • Simple one platform stations would be needed at Leiston, Sizewell, Thorpness and Aldeburgh.
  • There is probably enough double track for the extra train.

The current Ipswich and Saxmundham service takes about 34 minutes, so I suspect two trains would be needed for an Ipswich and Aldeburgh shuttle.

In the Wikipedia entry for Aldeburgh station, there is this paragraph.

In 1929 the LNER introduced luxurious Pullman day excursion trips from Liverpool Street to various seaside resorts. The service, known as the Eastern Belle, served Felixstowe on Mondays, Frinton and Walton on Tuesdays, Clacton on Wednesdays and Thorpeness and Aldeburgh on Thursdays and Fridays. The service ended in September 1939 when the Second World War broke out.

Perhaps not a Pullman service, but a kids special in the summer holidays.

Could Bealings Station Be Rebuilt?

Bealings station, which used to be between Westerfield and Woodbridge stations was closed in 1956.

This Google Map shows its location.

The station is now the Mallard House Business Centre.

 

March 16, 2025 Posted by | Energy, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sizewell C – South Park And Ride

This document on the Planning Inspectorate web site, is a description of the Southern Park and Ride for the Sizewell C Project.

This Google Map shows the area of the Park-and-Ride site.

Note.

  1. Wickham Market is in the South-West corner of the map.
  2. The dual-carriageway is the Wickham Markey by-pass, which is part of the A12 between Ipswich and Lowestoft.
  3. Close to Lower Hacheston is the Northern junction of the by-pass which connects the B1116 and B 1078 roads to the A 12.
  4. If my memory serves me correctly, there is a small roundabout to the North of the A12, where the B 1116 and B 1078 cross, which is referred to as Fiveways Roundabout in some of the documentation.
  5. Wickham Market station is in the South-East corner of the map.

I know the area well, as I used to live less than ten miles to the West of Fiveways roundabout.

This shows the area to the North of Fiveways roundabout to a large scale.

The document on the Planning Inspectorate says this about the site.

The site comprises approximately 26.4 hectares (ha) of predominantly
agricultural land and highway land located north-east of Wickham Market.
The part of the site which would contain the parking and buildings, postal
consolidation building and Traffic Incident Management Area (TIMA) is
approximately 18ha in size, and located to the east of the B1078/B1116, to
the north of the A12. The remainder of the site encompasses a section of
the A12, and an associated slip road where highway improvements are
proposed to form the site access, and associated signage and road
markings, see Chapter 1, Figure 1.1 of this volume.

These are my thoughts.

There Is No Rail Connection

I wrote about the Northern Park-and-Ride in Sizewell C – North Park And Ride and there is one big difference.

The Northern Park-and-Ride is an easy walk from Darsham station.

  • Darsham station has an hourly four-car train to Lowestoft and Ipswich.
  • Some or all trains could be doubled in capacity as Greater Anglia has enough stock to do this.
  • If required, trains could be run to and from London and intermediate stations.
  • In the past, Network Rail have developed plans to extend the service as far as Yarmouth.

I believe that a rail connection at the Southern Park-and-Ride could have added flexibility for workers in Ipswich travelling to the Sizewell site.

Bus Routes

The frequency and timing of park and ride buses would depend on the
working patterns adopted during construction of the Sizewell C main
development site, and the number of workers to be moved during the shift
changeover periods. More frequent services would operate during staff
changeover and shift start/end periods. It is anticipated that there would be
three to nine buses from the proposed development per hour during shift
changeover period, and an hourly service outside shift changeover periods.

There would be a maximum of 100 daily bus arrivals and 100 daily bus
departures from the proposed development to the Sizewell C main
development site. These buses would use the A12, two village bypass and
Sizewell link road once operational to travel to and from the Sizewell C main development site.

This Google Map shows the A 12 between the South Park-and-Ride site and Yoxford.

Note.

  1. Yoxford is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. Wickham Market is in the South-West corner of the map.
  3. The A 12 is the cream road linking the two villages.
  4. The Southern Park-and-Ride will be to the North-East of Wickham Market.
  5. The Northern Park-and-Ride is a couple of miles North of Yoxford.
  6. Yoxford and Wickham Market are 11.8 miles apart.

This third Google Map shows the route between Yoxford and Sizewell.

Note.

  1. Yoxford is in the North-West corner of the map.
  2. Sizewell is in the South-East corner of the map.
  3. Leiston Abbey is indicated by the arrow to the North of Leiston.

The B 1122 can be picked out through Middleton Moor and Theberton and then as it skirts Leiston Abbey.

It appears that both Park-and-Ride sites, use the same connection between the A 12 and Sizewell C.

Objections To The Park-and-Ride

This petition on change.org is entitled Stop Sizewell C Park and Ride at Wickham Market.

The petitioner is objecting on the following grounds.

  • The size of the site.
  • Spoiling of views.
  • Disturbance to walkers and horse riders.
  • Terrestrial ecology and ornithology will be affected by the site.
  • Increase in traffic.

This was the petitioner’s conclusion.

In conclusion I oppose the Sizewell C southern park and ride site at Wickham Market and believe it should be sited further south on the A12 away from residential areas and near the A14.

The Ipswich Northern By-Pass

There is another large project scheduled for Ipswich in the next few years; the Ipswich Northern By-Pass.

This map clipped from the Ipswich Borough Council web site shows possible routes.

Note.

  1. Wickham Market is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. One of the aims of the Northern by-pass is to open up land for housing.
  3. The railway between Ipswich and Darsham stations goes via Westerfield, Wiidbridge, Melton andWickham Market.
  4. Perhaps by phasing the developments, an area could be used for a Park-and-Ride, which has a road connection to the A 12.
  5. When the need for Park-and-Ride for Sizewell has decreased, the site could be handed over to housing.

It would certainly help, if the route of the Northern by-pass was settled soon.

 

 

 

April 7, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sizewell C – Where Will The Workers Live?

I have now written about, where the two Park-and-Ride sites are to be built.

  • The Northern Park-and-Ride is proposed for Darsham.
  • The Southern Park-and-Ride is proposed for Wickham Market.

I can now write about where the workers could be billeted.

I suspect there could be a Bibby Stockholm solution, where accommodation barges are used.

This Google Map shows the centre of Ipswich.

Note.

  1. There is a lot of space on the River Orwell.
  2. Ipswich station is in the North-West corner of the map.
  3. There could be a shuttle bus between the barge and the station.
  4. Trains could take workers to Darsham for buses to Sizewell.

There could even be direct buses to Sizewell.

This Google Map shows the centre of Lowestoft.

Note.

  1. The Bibby Stockholm is 100 metres long with a beam of 30 metres.
  2. Lowestoft station is close to the port.

Workers could take the train direct to the Northern Park-and-Ride for Sizewell C.

 

April 7, 2024 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sizewell C – North Park And Ride

This document on the Planning Inspectorate web site, is a description of the Northern Park-and-Ride for the Sizewell C Project.

This Google Map shows the area of the Park-and-Ride site.

Note.

  1. The main road running SW-NE is the A 12 between Ipswich, Felixstowe and Woodbridge in the South and Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth in the North.
  2. The East Suffolk Line runs North-South at the West side of the map.
  3. Darsham station, which is indicated by the red logo on a white background is situated, where road and railway cross.
  4. The Fox Inn is in the village of Darsham and indicated by an orange arrow.
  5. The pink arrow to the North-West of the Fox Inn indicates White House Farm.
  6. The lane going North-West from the A 12 to the North of the farm is Willow Marsh Lane.

The document on the Planning Inspectorate says this about the site.

The site comprises approximately 27.9 hectares (ha) of predominantly
agricultural land but also includes sections of the A12 and Willow Marsh Lane
towards the north of the site. It is located west of the village of Darsham and
west of the A12, to the east of the East Suffolk line, and to the north of
Darsham railway station (see Chapter 1, Figure 1.1 of this volume). Further
detail on the site and the environmental baseline is provided in Chapters 1
and 4 to 12 of this volume of the Environmental Statement.

This second Google Map shows Darsham station.

Note.

  1. Darsham station has long platforms.
  2. Crossing the line is by means of the level crossing.
  3. The Budgens store, which is indicated by the blue arrow also sells fuel.
  4. The station has a bus service.
  5. The Southern end of the Park-and-Ride site lies between the railway and the road at the North of the map.

The document on the Planning Inspectorate says this about walking between the Park-and-Ride site and the station.

There would be a pedestrian route from Darsham railway station along the
footway on the A12 to the south-east of the site. Pedestrians accessing the
site would leave the A12 and enter through a security gate provided in the
security fencing. Further details of access measures (such as key fobs,
CCTV, intercom system) would be agreed at the detailed design stage.

I could probably manage that at 76.

These are further thoughts.

The Current Rail Service

Currently, the rail service is as follows.

  1. One train per hour (tph) in both directions.
  2. |Trains are Class 755 trains, built by Stadler in Switzerland a few years ago.
  3. Each train can carry  up to 229 passengers.
  4. Up to three trains can run together.
  5. Trains going to and from Lowestoft in the North call at Oulton Broad South, Beccles, Brampton and Halesworth.
  6. Trains going to and from Ipswich in the South call at Saxmundham, Wickham Market, Melton and Woodbridge.
  7. Travellers for London Liverpool Street change at Ipswich.
  8. The first train from London Liverpool Street would get you to Darsham at 11:00.
  9. This is not a bad train service but it could be improved.

Direct Trains Between London Liverpool Street And Lowestoft

In 2016, I wrote Making Sense Of The New East Anglia Franchise.

I wrote the following about Greater Anglia’s plans to run four trains per day between London Liverpool Street and Lowestoft.

There are going to be four direct services between London and Lowestoft each day. This probably initially means two trains to London in the morning peak and two trains back in the evening one.

When, I first moved back to Suffolk in the 1970s, I regularly caught a diesel-hauled train from Wickham Market to London for the day.

This is all motherhood and apple pie for those in Lowestoft wanting to go to London, but I suspect it isn’t the easiest service for a train operator to schedule efficiently and make money.

Would a train operator really want to start a full train at Lowestoft at say six in the morning and then have it wait around all day in London before returning in the evening?

The East Suffolk Line from Ipswich to Lowestoft has the following characteristics.

  • It is fifty miles long.
  • It is not electrified.
  • It has a speed limit of 40-55 mph.
  • There are nine intermediate stations. Many are just a single platform, and car parking is fairly limited.
  • It has enough double-track and a passing loop at Beccles station to run a train in both directions at the same time.
  • As it ran long trains in the past, I suspect, that most of the stations have platforms that can handle at least six-carriage trains.
  • Trains would appear to take around ninety minutes for the whole journey

But the most important characteristic, is that every time the line is improved, more passengers come rushing out of the woodwork.

There would certainly be no problem with running bi-mode Flirts on this route, as London-Lowestoft is just the type of route for which they are designed.

  • They would use their on-board diesel engines on the East Suffolk Line.
  • As some would work along the busy lines to London, I suspect their top speed under electric power would be the same as the EMUs.
  • Services to and from London, once on the Great Eastern Main Line, would join the high-speed race to and from the capital.
  • At the start and finish of the day, the trains could use the electrified main line to position between Ipswich and Crown Point depot at around 100 mph.
  • Abellio could use either a single three- or four-car train or perhaps two trains coupled together.

This service would pass through Darsham station, so it could provide a direct link between London and the Park-and-Ride.

It might also stop at stations like Manningtree, Colchester, Chelmsford and Stratford.

I am fairly certain, that a London Liverpool Street and Lowestoft services, that stopped at Darsham station, would improve labour availability and construction efficiency at Sizewell C.

A Connection To Yarmouth

There used to be a direct Yarmouth to Lowestoft Line, but now it is possible to use the Wherry Lines, with a reverse at Reedham station.

So will we be seeing the direct London-Lowestoft trains being extended to Yarmouth?

As Yarmouth hasn’t had a direct connection to London for years and there are lots of fast, capable new trains, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Especially, as Network Rail are talking about reinstating the Reedham Chord to create a more direct route between East Anglia’s largest North-Eastern towns. This is said about the Reedham Chord in Direct Yarmouth Services in the Wikipedia entry for Lowestoft station.

In January 2015, a Network Rail study proposed the reintroduction of direct services between Lowestoft and Yarmouth by reinstating a spur at Reedham. Services could once again travel between two East Coast towns, with an estimated journey time of 33 minutes, via a reconstructed 34-chain (680 m) north-to-south arm of the former triangular junction at Reedham, which had been removed in c. 1880. The plans also involve relocating Reedham station nearer the junction, an idea which attracted criticism.

If we take these current approximate timings.

  • Ipswich to Lowestoft takes 90 minutes.
  • Lowestoft to Reedham takes 27 minutes.
  • Reedham to Yarmouth takes 16 minutes.

That means the service today would take 133 minutes, with a train reverse at Reedham station.

Note.

  1. Modern three-car bi-mode Flirt trains, with better speed, acceleration and braking than the current Class 170 trains.
  2. The short-cut along the Reedham Chord, which could save as much as ten minutes.
  3. A few selective improvements to save a minute here and there.
  4. Lowestoft station is redeveloped forty metres to the West and eighty metres to the South, as detailed in Wikipedia under Relocation Of The Station.
  5. I think it would be possible for an Ipswich-Yarmouth service to do the trip in around two hours.

The service would have the following characteristics.

  • It would be timetabled for under the all-important two hours.
  • Trains would turnround efficiently in a few minutes at either end of the line.
  • It could be hourly with four trains or two-hourly with just two, used to run the service.
  • All stops would be at the same minutes past each hour at each station.
  • Trains would always leave Ipswich and Yarmouth at the same number of minutes past the hour.
  • Lowestoft and Yarmouth get a regular hourly direct train service in just thirty-three minutes.
  • Intriguingly if the trains left Ipswich and Yarmouth at the same time, they would pass each other at Beccles station, which incorporates a passing loop.
  • As Beccles and its passing loop, fits so well into this schedule, I suspect that it was designed with the Reedham Chord and this type of service in mind.
  • There would be no prizes for guessing the beer, that should be served on a train on this route.

I don’t think any better than an hourly service, could be run, without some extra passing loops or double-track.

This extension would make commuting between Sizewell and Yarmouth easier.

Bus Route Between Darsham And Sizewell

The document on the Planning Inspectorate says this about the buses and the route.

There would be a maximum of 100 daily bus arrivals and 100 daily bus
departures from the proposed development to the Sizewell C main
development site.

Bus services between the proposed development and the Sizewell C main
development site would travel south on the A12 and use the new A12/B1122
roundabout (Yoxford Roundabout – see Volume 7 of the ES) to access the
B1122 and the Sizewell link road (once operational – see Volume 6 of the
ES) towards the Sizewell C main development site.

This Google Map shows Darsham station and the Sizewell site, as it exists today.

Note.

  1. The Sizewell site is in the South-East corner of the map.
  2. Darsham station is in the North-West corner of the map.

This second Google Map shows the A 12 between Darsham station and Yoxford.

Note.

  1. Darsham station is at the top of the map on the A 12.
  2. The village of Yoxford is on an S-bend of the A 12.
  3. A B& B is marked by a pink arrow.

The B 1122 connects Yoxford to the South-East corner of the map.

This third Google Map shows the route between Yoxford and Sizewell.

Note.

  1. Yoxford is in the North-West corner of the map.
  2. Sizewell is in the South-East corner of the map.
  3. Leiston Abbey is indicated by the arrow to the North of Leiston.

The B 1122 can be picked out through Middleton Moor and Theberton and then as it skirts Leiston Abbey.

Sizewell C seem to have made a good effort to get the workers to the site.

Why Isn’t A Passenger Train Run Between Ipswich And The Sizewell Site?

In Network Rail Prepares To Send Four Trains A Night Through Suffolk To Sizewell, I came to this conclusion.

I am fairly certain, that it is possible to move four freight trains in and out of the Sizewell site during the night, without doing any major works to the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Saxmundham junction.

  • Adding extra track at Wickham Market would probably cause major disruption.
  • Some level crossings will probably be improved.

But without a full double track between Ipswich and Saxmundham junction, I doubt there could be any increase in passenger services.

But with those track works, it might be possible to run an hourly service between Ipswich and Aldeburgh with calls at Westerfield, Woodbridge, Wickham Market, Saxmundham, Sizewell and Leiston.

This would give a two tph service between Saxmundham and Ipswich.

Objections To The Park-and-Ride

This document from Darsham Parish Council is entitled Consultation Response To Sizewell C.

This is the first paragraph.

Darsham Parish Council (Darsham PC) continues to oppose the proposed location of the Northern Park and Ride (NPR). We believe its location on an already busy single carriageway section of the A12 just north of the level crossing at Darsham Station, coupled with proposed roundabouts at Willow Marsh Lane and the A1120 junction in Yoxford are a recipe for traffic chaos extending northwards up the A12. We have no confidence in the traffic estimates submitted by EDF, which we believe underestimate the amount of local, through, agricultural and tourist traffic. This will be exacerbated by the proposed motel and further proposed development south of the station. We believe that traffic congestion on this main artery into Suffolk will adversely impact tourism throughout the AONB, which generates more than £360 million pa to the local economy (2018 figure). Further, we believe these volumes of traffic will generate excessive noise, vibration and pollution with serious negative impacts on those living alongside or close to the A12. Most significantly, Darsham PC has been advised that location of the NPR on this site could pose a significant flood risk to the railway (see below).

The Parish Council is also worried about flood risk to the railway.

The site of the NPR slopes down from Willow Marsh Lane towards the railway. A consulting engineer has advised us that the heavy clay soil here could pose a drainage and flood risk problem when compacted during the construction period. An appropriate sustainable semi-permeable surface could be utilised for car parking spaces to reduce run-off, with suitable drainage and reservoir capacity at the southern end to protect the railway from flooding. We submitted this evidence to EDF during the consultation period, but it has been ignored.

I suspect as with the opposition to Sizewell B, the opposition is led by second home owners, worried about the value of their investment.

 

April 6, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Low Carbon Construction Of Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station

Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station is going to be built on the Suffolk Coast.

Wikipedia says this about the power station’s construction.

The project is expected to commence before 2024, with construction taking between nine and twelve years, depending on developments at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which is also being developed by EDF Energy and which shares major similarities with the Sizewell plant.

It is a massive project and I believe the construction program will be designed to be as low-carbon as possible.

High Speed Two is following the low-carbon route and as an example, this news item on their web site, which is entitled HS2 Completes Largest Ever UK Pour Of Carbon-Reducing Concrete On Euston Station Site, makes all the right noises.

These three paragraphs explain in detail what has been done on the Euston station site.

The team constructing HS2’s new Euston station has undertaken the largest ever UK pour of Earth Friendly Concrete (EFC) – a material that reduces the amount of carbon embedded into the concrete, saving over 76 tonnes of CO2 overall. John F Hunt, working for HS2’s station Construction Partner, Mace Dragados joint venture, completed the 232 m3 concrete pour in early September.

The EFC product, supplied by Capital Concrete, has been used as a foundation slab that will support polymer silos used for future piling works at the north of the Euston station site. Whilst the foundation is temporary, it will be in use for two years, and historically would have been constructed with a more traditional cement-based concrete.

The use of the product on this scale is an important step forward in how new, innovative environmentally sustainable products can be used in construction. It also helps support HS2’s objective of net-zero construction by 2035, and achieve its goal of halving the amount of carbon in the construction of Britain’s new high speed rail line.

Note.

  1. Ten of these slabs would fill an Olympic swimming pool.
  2. I first wrote about Earth Friendly Concrete (EFC) in this post called Earth Friendly Concrete.
  3. EFC is an Australian invention and is based on a geopolymer binder that is made from the chemical activation of two recycled industrial wastes; flyash and slag.
  4. HS2’s objective of net-zero construction by 2035 is laudable.
  5. It does appear that this is a trial, but as the slab will be removed in two years, they will be able to examine in detail how it performed.

I hope the Sizewell C project team are following High Speed Two’s lead.

Rail Support For Sizewell C

The Sizewell site has a rail connection and it appears that this will be used to bring in construction materials for the project.

In the January 2023 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article, which is entitled Rail Set To Support Sizewell C Construction.

It details how sidings will be built to support the construction, with up to four trains per day (tpd), but electrification is not mentioned.

This is surprising to me, as increasingly, big construction projects are being managed to emit as small an amount of carbon as possible.  Sizewell C may be an isolated site, but in Sizewell B, it’s got one of the UK’s biggest independent carbon-free electricity generators a couple of hundred metres away.

The writer of the Modern Railways article, thinks an opportunity is being missed.

I feel the following should be done.

  • Improve and electrify the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Saxmundham Junction.
  • Electrify the Aldeburgh Branch Line and the sidings to support the construction or agree to use battery-electric or hydrogen zero-carbon locomotives.

Sizewell C could be a superb demonstration project for low-carbon construction!

Sizewell C Deliveries

Sizewell C will be a massive project and and will require a large number of deliveries, many of which will be heavy.

The roads in the area are congested, so I suspect rail is the preferred method for deliveries.

We already know from the Modern Railways article, that four tpd will shuttle material to a number of sidings close to the site. This is a good start.

Since Sizewell A opened, trains have regularly served the Sizewell site to bring in and take out nuclear material. These occasional trains go via Ipswich and in the last couple of years have generally been hauled by Class 88 electro-diesel locomotives.

It would be reasonable to assume that the Sizewell C sidings will be served in the same manner.

But the route between Westerfield Junction and Ipswich station is becoming increasingly busy with the following services.

  • Greater Anglia’s London and Norwich services
  • Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Cambridge services
  • Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Felixstowe services
  • Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Lowestoft services
  • Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Peterborough services
  • Freight services serving the Port of Felixstowe, which are expected to increase significantly in forthcoming years.

But the Modern Railways article says this about Saxmundham junction.

Saxmundham junction, where the branch meets the main line, will be relaid on a slightly revised alignment, retaining the existing layout but with full signalling giving three routes from the junction protecting signal on the Down East Suffolk line and two in the Down direction on the bidirectional Up East Suffolk line. Trap points will be installed on the branch to protect the main line, with the exit signal having routes to both running lines.

Does the comprehensive signalling mean that a freight train can enter or leave the Sizewell sidings to or from either the busy Ipswich or the quieter Lowestoft direction in a very safe manner?

I’m no expert on signalling, but I think it does.

  • A train coming from the Lowestoft direction needing to enter the sidings would go past Saxmundham junction  on the Up line. Once clear of the junction, it would stop and reverse into the branch.
  • A train coming from the Ipswich direction needing to enter the sidings would approach in the wrong direction on the Up line and go straight into the branch.
  • A train leaving the sidings in the Lowestoft direction would exit from the branch and take the Up line until it became single track. The train would then stop and reverse on to the Down line and take this all the way to Lowestoft.
  • A train leaving the sidings in the Ipswich direction would exit from the branch and take the Up line  all the way to Ipswich.

There would need to be ability to move the locomotive from one end to the other inside the Sizewell site or perhaps these trains could be run with a locomotive on both ends.

The advantage of being able to run freight trains between Sizewell and Lowestoft becomes obvious, when you look at this Google Map, which shows the Port of Lowestoft.

Note.

  1. The Inner Harbour of the Port of Lowestoft.
  2. The East Suffolk Line running East-West to the North of the Inner Harbour.
  3. Lowestoft station at the East side of the map.

I doubt it would be the most difficult or expensive of projects to build a small freight terminal on the North side of the Inner Harbour.

I suspect that the easiest way to bring the material needed to build the power station to Sizewell would be to do the following.

  • Deliver it to the Port of Lowestoft by ship.
  • Tranship to a suitable shuttle train for the journey to the Sizewell sidings.
  • I estimate that the distance is only about 25 miles and a battery or hydrogen locomotive will surely be available in the UK in the next few years, that will be able to provide the motive power for the return journey.

In The TruckTrain, I wrote about a revolutionary freight concept, that could be ideal for the Sizewell freight shuttle.

In addition, there is no reason, why shuttle trains couldn’t come in from anywhere connected to the East Suffolk Line.

Zero-Carbon Construction

Sizewell C could be the first major construction site in the UK to use electricity rather than diesel simply because of its neighbour.

Conclusion

I shall be following the construction methods at Sizewell C, as I’m fairly sure they will break new ground in the decarbonisation of the Construction industry.

December 28, 2022 Posted by | Energy, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Could Greater Anglia Run A Comprehensive Service For East Anglia?

Consider.

  • In the last fifty years, there have been direct trains between London Liverpool Street and Lowestoft stations.
  • In the last forty years, there have been direct trains between London Liverpool Street and Peterborough stations.
  • Greater Anglia currently run an hourly train between London Liverpool Street and Ipswich stations, with stops at Stratford, Shenfield, Chelmsford, Hatfield Peverel, Witham, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, Colchester and Manningtree
  • Frequencies on both routes were not high and less than four trains per day (tpd), but they must have been a demand for these services.
  • Greater Anglia promised to run a Lowestoft service, when they successfully reapplied for the franchise.
  • Greater Anglia have 38 Class 755 trains, of which 14 are three-cars and 24 are four-cars.
  • Class 755 trains can run in twoses and possibly threeses. (Suffolk dialect for twins and triplets!)

Could these elements be assembled to provide a comprehensive East Anglia service?

  • A pair of Class 755 trains would leave Liverpool Street for Ipswich.
  • They would takeover some of the paths of the hourly Liverpool Street and Ipswich service and run possibly about four or five tpd, according to demand.
  • Between Liverpool Street and Ipswich the trains could stop at Stratford, Shenfield, Chelmsford, Hatfield Peverel, Witham, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, Colchester and Manningtree
  • The services would splitgoing North and join going South at Ipswich
  • One train would go to Peterborough with stops at Needham Market, Stowmarket, Elmswell, Thurston, Bury St. Edmunds, Soham, Ely, Manea, March and Whittlesea.
  • The other would go to Lowestoft with stops at Woodbridge, Melton, Wickham Market, Saxmundham, Darsham, Halesworth, Brampton, Beccles and Oulton Broad South.

Note.

  1. The Class 755 trains would use electricity, where electrification exists.
  2. They would use diesel on lines without electrification.
  3. They would be able to hold 100 mph, so wouldn’t delay other trains.
  4. Seventeen towns would get new direct services to and from London.
  5. A Class 745 train is 236.6 metres long, whereas a pair of four-car Class 755 trains is only 161.4 metres.
  6. A three-train formation of Class 755 trains is only 5.5 metres longer than a single Class 745 train.

I am fairly sure no new substantial infrastructure would be required.

I have some further thoughts.

Example Timings

These timings to and from London are based on current timings of the Class 745 and 755 trains.

  • Ipswich – 60 mins
  • Stowmarket -70 mins
  • Bury St. Edmunds – 88 mins
  • Soham – 108 mins
  • Ely – 117 mins
  • March – 136 mins
  • Peterborough – 158 mins
  • Woodbridge – 75 mins
  • Melton – 80 mins
  • Wickham Market – 86 mins
  • Saxmundham – 97 mins
  • Darsham – 104 mins
  • Halesworth – 113 mins
  • Brampton – 119 mins
  • Beccles – 128 mins
  • Oulton Broad South – 138 mins
  • Lowestoft – 146 mins

Notes.

  1. Times to and from Ipswich are based on typical services at the current time.
  2. I have assumed that there are no stops South of Ipswich.
  3. Saxmundham is the closest station to Sizewell and could be important in bringing in construction workers for Sizewell C.

I think some of the times like those to and from Bury St. Edmunds, Ipswich, Lowestoft, Saxmundham and Woodbridge could create popular routes.

Battery-Electric Trains

Consider.

These sections of lines are not electrified on the routes I have talked about.

  • Haughley Junction and Ely – 38 miles
  • Ely and Peterborough – 30.5 miles
  • Westerfield and Lowestoft – 38 miles

As there is electrification at Ely, Haughley, Peterborough and Westerfield and South to London, I am fairly certain the route could be run by battery-electric trains.

Electrification To Sizewell C

In the January 2023 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article, which is entitled Rail Set To Support Sizewell C Construction.

It details how sidings will be built to support the construction, with up to four trains per day (tpd), but the electrification word is not mentioned.

This is surprising to me, as increasingly, big construction projects are being managed to emit as small an amount of carbon as possible. High Speed Two is being built this way and I suspect Rolls-Royce’s SMR design will minimise carbon emissions during manufacture and construction. It will be very surprising if Sizewell C doesn’t follow High Speed Two’s example. After all, it may be an isolated site, but in Sizewell B, it’s got one of the UK’s biggest carbon-free electricity generators a couple of hundred metres away.

The writer of the Modern Railways article, thinks an opportunity is being missed.

I feel the following should be done.

  • Improve and electrify the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Saxmundham Junction.
  • Electrify the Aldeburgh Branch Line and the sidings to support the construction or agree to use battery-electric or hydrogen zero-carbon locomotives.

One of the collateral benefits of electrifying from Ipswich to Saxmundham Junction, is that it will make it easier for battery-electric Class 755 trains to work Ipswich and Lowestoft services.

  • If the trains were to leave Saxmundham Junction going North with a full battery, they should be able to travel to Lowestoft and return.
  • Battery-electric Class 755 trains could bring in workers from Ipswich or Lowestoft and further afield.
  • It could even leave behind a zero-carbon branch line to Sizewell, Leiston and Aldeburgh, with two tph to Ipswich.

Sizewell C could be a superb demonstration project for low-carbon construction!

The Lowestoft-Great Yarmouth Conurbation

The Wikipedia entry for Lowestoft says this about the town.

The estimated population in the built-up area exceeds 70,000. Its development grew with the fishing industry and as a seaside resort with wide sandy beaches. As fishing declined, oil and gas exploitation in the North Sea in the 1960s took over. While these too have declined, Lowestoft is becoming a regional centre of the renewable energy industry.

Whilst the Wikipedia entry for Great Yarmouth says this about the town.

Great Yarmouth, often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located 20 miles (30 km) east of Norwich. A population of 38,693 in the 2011 Census made it Norfolk’s third most populous. Its fishing industry, mainly for herring, shrank after the mid-20th century and has all but ended.[3] North Sea oil from the 1960s supplied an oil-rig industry that services offshore natural gas rigs; more recently, offshore wind power and other renewable energy industries have ensued.

Wikipedia also said this about the population of the wider Great Yarmouth.

The wider Great Yarmouth borough had a population of around 92,500, which increased to 97,277 at the 2011 census.

Taken together they are one of the largest conurbations in East Anglia.

The main means of transport between the two towns is by road.

Surely, two towns of over 70,000 people, who are only a few miles apart need a rail connection.

Onward From Lowestoft To Great Yarmouth

If the comprehensive East Anglia service, I’m discussing is to be truly comprehensive, it must serve the Norfolk Broads and Great Yarmouth.

This would also improve the connectivity between two of the largest coastal towns in East Anglia, that I indicated in the last section.

This OpenRailwayMap shows a cunning plan proposed by Network Rail to connect Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.

Note.

  1. Great Yarmouth is in the North East corner of the map.
  2. Two lines lead West from Great Yarmouth station, with the more Northerly route going direct to Norwich and the more Southerly one going to Norwich via Berney Arms and Reedham.
  3. Lowestoft is in the South East corner of the map.
  4. Two lines lead West from Lowestoft station, with the Northern route going to Norwich via Reedham and the Southern one going to Ipswich via Oulton Broad South.
  5. The route of a coastal railway connecting the two towns is also shown.

Network Rail’s cunning plan is indicated on this second  nap from OpenRailwayMap.

Note.

  1. Reedham station is in the North-West corner of the map on the line to Norwich.
  2. To the East of the station is a triangular junction.
  3. The track from the North-East corner of the junction is the line to Great Yarmouth.
  4. The track from the Southern corner of the junction is the line to Lowestoft.
  5. Unfortunately, the South-Eastern leg of the junction was removed in 1880.

In Norfolk Rail Line To Remain Closed As £68m Upgrade Project Overruns, I said this.

Network Rail are talking about reinstating the Reedham Chord to create a more direct route between East Anglia’s largest North-Eastern towns. This is said about the Reedham Chord in Direct Yarmouth Services in the Wikipedia entry for Lowestoft station.

In January 2015, a Network Rail study proposed the reintroduction of direct services between Lowestoft and Yarmouth by reinstating a spur at Reedham. Services could once again travel between two East Coast towns, with an estimated journey time of 33 minutes, via a reconstructed 34-chain (680 m) north-to-south arm of the former triangular junction at Reedham, which had been removed in c. 1880. The plans also involve relocating Reedham station nearer the junction, an idea which attracted criticism.

This sounds a good plan to me.

  • It would allow direct services between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.
  • It would allow direct services between Ipswich and Great Yarmouth with a reverse at Lowestoft in about two hours.
  • With possible charging at Lowestoft and/or Great Yarmouth, a scenic route could be created between Ipswich and Norwich for battery-electric Class 755 trains. If that doesn’t get people out of their cars then nothing will!
  • Various leisure, tourism and work-related opportunities  would be created.

Never in the field of railway engineering would such a small chord have given so much.

Sizewell C Issues

Sizewell C will be a massive project and I also suspect that like High Speed Two, it will be built in a manner that will be zero-carbon where possible.

We already know from the Modern Railways article, that four tpd will shuttle material to a number of sidings close to the site. This is a good start.

Since Sizewell A opened, trains have regularly served the Sizewell site to bring in and take out nuclear material. These occasional trains go via Ipswich and in the last couple of years have generally been hauled by Class 88 electro-diesel locomotives.

It would be reasonable to assume that the Sizewell C sidings will be served in the same manner.

But the route between Westerfield Junction and Ipswich station is becoming increasingly busy with the following services.

  • Greater Anglia’s London and Norwich services
  • Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Cambridge services
  • Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Felixstowe services
  • Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Lowestoft services
  • Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Peterborough services
  • Freight services serving the Port of Felixstowe, which are expected to increase significantly in forthcoming years.

But the Modern Railways article says this about Saxmundham junction.

Saxmundham junction, where the branch meets the main line, will be relaid on a slightly revised alignment, retaining the existing layout but with full signalling giving three routes from the junction protecting signal on the Down East Suffolk line and two in the Down direction on the bidirectional Up East Suffolk line. Trap points will be installed on the branch to protect the main line, with the exit signal having routes to both running lines.

Does the comprehensive signalling mean that a freight train can enter or leave the Sizewell sidings to or from either the busy Ipswich or the quieter Lowestoft direction in a very safe manner?

I’m no expert on signalling, but I think it does.

  • A train coming from the Lowestoft direction needing to enter the sidings would go past Saxmundham junction  on the Up line. Once clear of the junction, it would stop and reverse into the branch.
  • A train coming from the Ipswich direction needing to enter the sidings would approach in the wrong direction on the Up line and go straight into the branch.
  • A train leaving the sidings in the Lowestoft direction would exit from the branch and take the Up line until it became single track. The train would then stop and reverse on to the Down line and take this all the way to Lowestoft.
  • A train leaving the sidings in the Ipswich direction would exit from the branch and take the Up line  all the way to Ipswich.

There would need to be ability to move the locomotive from one end to the other inside the Sizewell site or perhaps these trains could be run with a locomotive on both ends.

The advantage of being able to run freight trains between Sizewell and Lowestoft becomes obvious, when you look at this Google Map, which shows the Port of Lowestoft.

Note.

  1. The Inner Harbour of the Port of Lowestoft.
  2. The East Suffolk Line running East-West to the North of the Inner Harbour.
  3. Lowestoft station at the East side of the map.

I doubt it would be the most difficult or expensive of projects to build a small freight terminal on the North side of the Inner Harbour.

I suspect that the easiest way to bring the material needed to build the power station to Sizewell would be to do the following.

  • Deliver it to the Port of Lowestoft by ship.
  • Tranship to a suitable shuttle train for the journey to the Sizewell sidings.
  • I estimate that the distance is only about 25 miles and a battery or hydrogen locomotive will surely be available in the UK in the next few years, that will be able to provide the motive power for the return journey.

In The TruckTrain, I wrote about a revolutionary freight concept, that could be ideal for the Sizewell freight shuttle.

Great Yarmouth Racecourse

Great Yarmouth Racecourse is one of my favourite racecourses and I believe it is one of the attractions in Great Yarmouth, that would benefit from an improved rail service between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, as it would almost double those with efficient public transport access to the racecourse.

The walking distance between Great Yarmouth station and the racecourse is walkable for many and I remember doing it since C died.

With the train connection to Lowestoft and perhaps a courtesy bus from the station, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that a Lowestoft-Yarmouth rail connection being very good for the racecourse. Especially as road traffic between the two towns can be not the best.

Finishing At Norwich

There are operational reasons to carry on to Norwich, where Crown Point, is the home base for the Class 755 trains.

But it would also link a lot of places that are dependant on tourism and are also heavily involved in East Anglia’s energy industry.

Onward From Peterborough To Lincoln

If the Lowestoft service can extend to Great Yarmouth, an extension of the Peterborough service to Lincoln via Spalding and Sleaford might be possible.

But with LNER also serving Lincoln from Kings Cross, I doubt the route would carry many passengers to and from London.

Conclusion

A service from London, that splits into two trains at Ipswich for Lowestoft and Peterborough has possibilities.

 

 

 

December 27, 2022 Posted by | Sport, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

A Trip On The East Suffolk Line In A New Stadler Class 755 Train

Today, I took a round trip between Ipswich and Lowestoft stations, along the East Suffolk Line, in one of Greater Anglia’s new Class 755 trains.

These are my observations and comments.

Stations

The stations vary between the very good and the very basic.

  • I don’t think that any station has a step-free bridge to cross the line.
  • Many stations are just a single platform.
  • Crossing the line often involves a nearby level crossing.
  • Westerfield, Woodbridge, Saxmundham, Darsham, Halesworth and Beccles have two platforms.
  • Lowestoft and Ipswich are both step-free from the street to the platforms.
  • There also appears to be step-free access between the new trains and the platforms.

Overall, from what I could see from the train, each stop was fairly efficient, although I do think that when the drivers and train staff, fully get to grips with the trains, that there is time to be saved on each of the ten stops.

Consider.

  • These trains have much better acceleration and deceleration, than the trains for which the timetable was written.
  • The trains have level access between train and platform. At Lowestoft, I saw an electric wheelchair roll out of the train at a smart speed.
  • These trains set the Gold Standard for step-free access.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least a minute and possibly two minutes saved at each station.

That would reduce the current journey time of one hour and thirty minutes between Lowestoft and Ipswich by perhaps ten minutes.

Level Crossings

Consider.

  • Over the years, Greater Anglia and its predecessors right back teyond British Rail have been plagued by accidents at level crossings.
  • Network Rail would like to close them all,
  • But there are always a lot of local objections especially in rural counties like Suffolk.
  • Removal is often expensive, as a new toad of several miles needs to be constructed.

I noticed perhaps ten crossings on my trip.

A big problem is that at many stations on the East Suffolk Line, there is a level crossing and it is often the only way to cross the line.

This Google Map shows Saxmundham station.

This is typical of the line. But here at Saxmundham, there is probably enough space to squeeze in a step-free bridge like this one, that won the Network Rail/RIBA Footbridge Design Competition.

There are lots of rural stations like Saxmundham in the country, so why should suburban stations get all the investment?

How long will it be before one of the new Class 755 trains hits a vehicle on an East Anglian level crossing?

Other Traffic

The only other trains that I saw on the route were Greater Anglia trains going the other way, which we passed in stations like Beccles and Saxmundham.

Checking on realtrimetrains.co.uk, there appears to have been no trains other than the Lowestoft and Ipswich service all day.

It appears that although parts of the route are only single track, that a well-designed timetable operated by well-trained and well-performing staff can provide a reliable hourly service.

Line Speed

I brought my personal dynamometer car with me and the train trundled along at a very easy and leisurely 55-60 mph, which is around the operating speed of the line of 55 mph.

Consider.

  • The train gave me the impression, that all those 2,920 kW in the diesel engines could go a bit faster.
  • The timetable was probably designed around a Class 156 train, which has just 425 kW per car, as opposed to the 730 kW per car of the Stadler train.
  • I estimate that the Stadler train is about sixty percent heavier per car, but it does have a lot of electrical gubbins to carry around.
  • The weight of the Stadler train does appear to be lighter per car than a Class 170 train.

I would expect that a well-driven Class 755 train has the power and speed to skip from station to station along the East Suffolk Line at several minutes faster than the timetable.

The line is 49 miles long and trains typically take 90 minutes between Lowestoft and Ipswich. That is an average speed of just under 33 mph.

The leg between Saxmundham and Darsham is just over four miles long and it takes nine minutes. This is an average speed of 27 mph.

Consider

  • The acceleration of a Class 755 train is 0.9 m/s², which means to get up to a line speed of 60 mph takes thirty seconds.
  • Four miles at 60 mph takes four minutes.
  • Driver assistance software can tell the driver exactly where to start slowing for the next station.

It might be possible to do the Saxmundham and Darsham leg in perhaps three or four minutes less than the current timetable.

How much time could be saved on the whole route between Lowestoft and Ipswich?

Trains Needed

Look at a typical Off Peak pattern.

  • An Off Peak train is the 1007 from Lowestoft, which arrives at Ipswich at 1136.
  • This train returns from Ipswich at 1217, which arrives in Lowestoft at 1343.
  • It then leaves Lowestoft for Ipswich at 1407.

The train takes four hours to do a round trip on the route, with forty-one minutes wait at Ipswich and twenty-four minutes wait at Lowestoft.

As trains are scheduled from Lowestoft at 1107, 1207 and 1307, four trains will be needed to provide the service.

This is very inefficient.

I feel that it is totally possible for the new trains to run between Lowestoft and Ipswich in around an hour and fifteen minutes, which would mean a saving of between one-two minutes on each leg of the journey.

Suppose though the trains could achieve this time, with an allowance of fifteen minutes to turn the trains at the two end stations.

This would mean that the round trip is now three hours and only three trains will be needed to provide the service.

The Possibility Of A Half-Hourly Service

The current timetable waits for awkward times in each of the end stations.

But my proposed hour and fifteen minute journey with a fifteen minute turnround could offer the possibility of a half-hourly service.

  • Suppose two trains left Ipswich and Lowestoft at identical times on the hour.
  • They would arrive at their destination an hour and fifteen minutes later at a quarter past the hour.
  • By the half-hour, they would be ready to return to the other station.
  • They would arrive back at the start at a quarter to the hour and fifteen minutes they would be ready to repeat the cycle.

The only problem would be to make sure all trains met each other at a place, where they could pass.

The half-hourly service would need six trains. or two more than the current service.

I don’t think that any major engineering works will be needed, although , there might be a need to adjust a passing loop or the signalling.

This is probably only one of many possibilities to provide a half-hourly services.

A Service Between Ipswich And Leiston And Aldeburgh

As I passed this branch the orange army was clearing the track of years of tree and other plant growth.

I’ve always thought that this would be a good idea and I wrote about it in A Station For Leiston.

  • A half-hourly service would need two trains.
  • It would add extra capacity between Ipswich and Saxmundham.
  • It would certainly be needed if Sizewell C is built.
  • Much of the route is double-track between Saxmundham and Ipswich.

It should also be noted that Sizewell has a high-capacity electricity grid connection and with the growtyh of offshore wind, Sizewell might be the ideal place for a large energy storage facility,

Cambridge And Lowestoft?

I took a train recently between Cambridge and Norwich and I noticed it went on to Cromer and Sheringham.

This was just Greater Anglia’s way of scheduling the trains for their convenience.

But could the same joining be done between these two services.

  • Lowestoft and Ipswich
  • Ipswich and Cambridge

It would do the following.

  • Make better use of Platform 1 at Ipswich.
  • Improve train utilisation.
  • It might encourage day trippers to the coast to use the trains.
  • It would improve the link from East Suffolk to Stabsted Airport.
  • Create a comprehensive service, that connects all the major towns in Suffolk.
  • It would connect these Suffolk towns; Lowestoft, Beccles, Saxmundham, Woodbridge, Ipswich, Needham Market, Stowmarket, Bury St. Edmund’s and Newnarket.
  • It would serve the proposed A14 Parkway station.
  • It would be an excellent feeder sewrvice for the East-West Rail Link.

It would be a true TransSuffolk railway.

Could There Be A Lowestoft And Great Yarmouth Service?

There has been talk of a new service between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth stations.

There are two options to provide a service.

  • Reinstatement of the Reedham Curve that was closed in 1880.
  • By reversing the train in Reedham station.

I describe these options in Norfolk Rail Line To Remain Closed As £68m Upgrade Project Overruns.

As the second option does not need any extra infrastructure, I think it is more likely.

This was my conclusion about the route with a reverse.

Typical timings appear to be.

  • Between Reedham and Yarmouth – 14-16 minutes
  • Between Reedham and Lowestoft – 24-26 minutes

Given that the Class 755 trains have the following characteristics.

  • They are 100 mph trains.
  • They are optimised for fast stops.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a sub-forty minute time between Lowestoft and Yarmouth.

It would appear that one train could run an hourly shuttle between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.

A Scenic Route Between Norwich And Ipswich

Using the current times between Ipswich and Lowestoft and Norwich and Yarmouth, it also looks like a sub-three hour scenic route is possible between Ipswich and Norwich.

It could be East Anglia’s version of the Cumbrian Coast Line.

Onboard Catering

The East Suffolk Line service currently takes ninety minutes.

I feel that this service is one that could benefit from a coffee service from a trolley.

The service could be provided by Greater Anglia or as on the Settle & Carlisle Line, by the local Community Rail Partnership.

Conclusion

The arrival of Class 755 trains on the East Suffolk Line could be the start of something special!

 

December 4, 2019 Posted by | Food, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sunday Train Services To Improve Across Region – But Not On All Routes

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the East Anglian Daily Times.

This is the first paragraph.

An hourly service is being introduced on three Suffolk rail routes seven days a week from December.

The improved routes are.

  • Ipswich and Cambridge
  • Ipswich and Lowestoft
  • Lowestoft and Norwich.

There will also be an extra Sunday train between Ipswich and Felixstowe.

It is also reported that Greater Anglia can’t start their planned hourly service between Ipswich and Peterborough, as Network Rail haven’t done the work yet!

This service is one of Greater Anglia’s new flagship services and will be very important.

  • It connects Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds to Ely and Peterborough on an hourly basis.
  • With other services it creates a two trains per hour (tph) service between Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds.

Network Rail need to get this one sorted.

September 26, 2019 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Roaming Around East Anglia – Reedham Station

If you have to travel between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth stations by train, you have to change at Reedham station. Or you should be able to!

These pictures show the station.

You can’t do the direct journey between East Anglia’s two largest Eastern towns at present, as Network Rail have got their special Project Management knickers on. You know the ones with a twist!

So passengers between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth have three options.

  • Take an hour and a half jurney via Norwich.
  • Take a bus, which probably visits half of the villages in the local area.
  • Drive.

Hopefully, the Reedham to Great Yarmouth service will be restored sometime in the near (?) future.

This will allow two ways to travel by rail between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.

Changing Trains At Reedham Station

Theoretically, this should work, especially, if trains were timetabled so that passengers waited perhaps a couple of minutes on what I suspect in winter can be a very pleasant station.

Look at the footbridge. Do Greater Anglia really expect elderly travellers or those with bikes, buggies and baggage to use the Victorian footbridge?

I suspect Greater Anglia don’t see this as a feasible way of attracting more passengers out of their cars and from the buses.

But Network Rail haven’t got the millions of pounds needed to bring the station into the Twentieth Century!

A Shuttle Train Reversing At Reedham

It would be possible for a train to shuttle between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, which could reverse in Reedham station.

In Norfolk Rail Line To Remain Closed As £68m Upgrade Project Overruns, I asked if the new Class 755 trains had a fast reverse procedure, as Greater Anglia’s services are full of stations, where a train must arrive and leave a few minutes later.

I wrote the following.

A simple system could be as follows.

  • On arrival in a station, the driver would put the train into a standby mode, when it was safely stopped.
  • The driver would then walk through the train to the second cab.
  • Whilst the driver is changing ends, the conductor is opening and closing the train doors and supervising the loading and unloading of passengers.
  • On arrival in the second cab, the driver would wake up the train and check everything.
  • After the doors are closed and having received the all clear from the conductor and a green light from the signals, the driver would proceed.

At all times, the driver and conductor, would have emergency remote controls to immobilise the train, if something is not what it should be.

Modern automation is certainly able to design a very safe system, that would save time at every reverse.

The stop ar Reedham station would become an almost normal stop and I would expect that a train could reverse  in about two or three minutes.

Use Only One Platform At Reedham

Could this be the most affordable solution?

  • The track layout at Reedham station would be modified, so that all trains would use the Norwich-bound Platform 1.
  • Platform 1 is improved with a quality waiting room and a coffee kiosk, to make a short wait between trains more pleasant.

If there were two trains per hour on both the Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth routes, I’m sure that with the new signalling and good driving, a single-platform at Reedham station would work.

Trains from Norwich could call at XX00, XX15, XX30 and XX45, with trains to Norwich calling at XX07, XX22, XX37 and XX52.

If trains stopped in the right order, then there would be a maximum wait of eight minutes in a comfortable waiting room at Reedham station.

Even with only one train per hour between Norwich and Yarmouth via Reedham, I’m certain an acceptable timetable could be devised.

Greater Anglia’s Class 755 trains

Greater Anglia have ordered thirty-eight Class 755 trains, which have a total of 138 cars.

These will replace twenty-six assorted trains, which have a total of 55 cars.

This is a increase of 46% in the number of trains and  150% in the number of cars.

Greater Anglia didn’t increase the fleet so that could sit in sidings, so I think we can expect some new services and higher frequencies.

Conclusion

I’m certain that a sensible hourly service between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth stations can be devised.

 

 

March 8, 2019 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Norfolk Rail Line To Remain Closed As £68m Upgrade Project Overruns

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

This is the first three paragraphs.

A major railway upgrade project has been delayed, meaning a Norfolk branch line will go longer without a service.

Network Rail is spending £68m to replace Victorian signalling equipment with a computer-based system between Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft .

The project was due to be complete by 31 March, but the deadline will now be pushed back to allow for more testing.

As only Berney Arms station will be without a service, this probably isn’t a major disaster for the thousand passengers, who use the station in a year, but the story does have a very familiar ring.

Network Rail + Signalling = Overrun

Either they’ve found a very serious problem or the planning wasn’t the best!

The Possible Reinstatement Of The Reedham Chord

There used to be a direct Yarmouth to Lowestoft Line, but now it is possible to use the Wherry Lines, with a reverse at Reedham station.

Network Rail are talking about reinstating the Reedham Chord to create a more direct route between East Anglia’s largest North-Eastern towns. This is said about the Reedham Chord in Direct Yarmouth Services in the Wikipedia entry for Lowestoft station.

In January 2015, a Network Rail study proposed the reintroduction of direct services between Lowestoft and Yarmouth by reinstating a spur at Reedham. Services could once again travel between two East Coast towns, with an estimated journey time of 33 minutes, via a reconstructed 34-chain (680 m) north-to-south arm of the former triangular junction at Reedham, which had been removed in c. 1880. The plans also involve relocating Reedham station nearer the junction, an idea which attracted criticism.

This is a Google Map of the Reedham area.

Note.

  1. Reedham station is in the North-West corner of the map.
  2. The single-track line to Yarmouth and the double-track line to Lowestoft, run together to form a triple-track railway to the East of Reedham station.
  3. There are a large number of cross-overs in the triple-track section to the East of Reedham station, so that trains can easily go between either platform at Reedham and Yarmouth or Lowestoft.
  4. The line to Yarmouth goes straight away to the East.
  5. The line to Lowestoft curves South to cross the River Yare.
  6. The Reedham to Lowestoft tracks appear to have been relaid, as far as the bridge.

Will the new track layout and signalling, allow trains between Lowestoft and Yarmouth to perform a fast reverse in either platform at Reedham station?

This approach has advantages over the reinstallation of the Reedham Chord.

  • Reedham station won’t need to be relocated.
  • All trains between Lowestoft and Yarmouth will stop at Reedham station.
  • There would be no need to build the Reedham Chord.

I also suspect, that not building the Reedham Chord is the more affordable option.

Do Class 755 Trains Have a Fast Reverse Procedure?

Greater Anglia have a number of routes, that will be run by new Class 755 trains, where the trains will need to be reversed at either end.

  • Cambridge and Ipswich
  • Colchester and Peterborough
  • Colchester Town and Sudbury
  • Ipswich and Felixstowe
  • Ipswich and Lowestoft
  • Norwich and Lowestoft
  • Norwich and Sheringham
  • Norwich and Stansted Airport
  • Norwich and Yarmoiuth

When Stadler designed the Class 755 trains for Greater Anglia, did they propose simple automation, so that trains could be reversed in the minimum time at these numerous terminals?

A simple system could be as follows.

  • On arrival in a station, the driver would put the train into a standby mode, when it was safely stopped.
  • The driver would then walk through the train to the second cab.
  • Whilst the driver is changing ends, the conductor is opening and closing the train doors and supervising the loading and unloading of passengers.
  • On arrival in the second cab, the driver would wake up the train and check everything.
  • After the doors are closed and having received the all clear from the conductor and a green light from the signals, the driver would proceed.

At all times, the driver and conductor, would have emergency remote controls to immobilise the train, if something is not what it should be.

Modern automation is certainly able to design a very safe system, that would save time at every reverse.

What I have described here, is much less ambitious than the system I described in Crossrail Trains Will Have Auto-Reverse.

This auto-reverse system will be used at Paddington on Crossrail, by the Class 345 trains, to allow the driver to change ends on a two-hundred metre long train, whilst it is reversing to return to the East.

Testing The Signalling With The New Class 755 Trains

Obviously, adequate testing must be done with all trains that will use the  new signalling on the Wherry Lines between Norwich, Lowestoft and Yarmouth.

This article on the BBC is entitled ScotRail Class 385 Fishbowl Windscreen Safety Concern.

This is the first three paragraphs.

Aslef has warned that modifications must be made to ScotRail’s new Class 385 electric trains – or its drivers will refuse to work them.

The train drivers’ union is concerned that the curved windscreen is causing reflections of other signals at night.

Drivers identified the problem on a recent evening test run between Glasgow Central and Paisley Gilmour Street.

Testing of the ~Norfolk signalling will cover a myriad of possible problems, against the whole route and all possible trains.

But there is one problem, that is probably delaying the project.

The Class 755 trains have not been certified yet! So starting of the testing can’t be started.

Conclusion

This delay is more complicated, than initial reports suggest.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if Network Rail have produced a track and signalling solution, that will allow a direct service between Lowestoft and Yarmouth, with a reverse at Reedham.

Typical timings appear to be.

  • Between Reedham and Yarmouth – 14-16 minutes
  • Between Reedham and Lowestoft – 24-26 minutes

Given that the Class 755 trains have the following characteristics.

  • They are 100 mph trains.
  • They are optimised for fast stops.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a sub-forty minute time between Lowestoft and Yarmouth.

Using the current times between Ipswich and Lowestoft and Norwich and Yarmouth, it also looks like a sub-three hour scenic route is possible between Ipswich and Norwich.

 

January 11, 2019 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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