New Homes For Newts: Industry Leading Licence Protects Species From Vital Rail Upgrades
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Network Rail.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The industry leading initiative will see specialists build new, large-scale habitats for great crested newts to move to when crucial railway upgrades disrupt their existing homes. This balance will allow the amphibians to thrive in a safe environment and in turn reduce any delays to engineering work.
Hopefully, this will lead to the end of delays to engineering work caused by newts on the line.
Safety Message Clear As Leven Work Ramps Up
The title of this post, is the same as that if this press release from Network Rail.
The press release has a positive tone and indicates.
- Track is starting to be laid at the Thornton end and this track will be used to help build the Levenmouth Rail Link.
- The connection to the main line at Thornton is complete.
- Safety is emphasised.
- Planning permission for the two stations should be submitted this year.
- The programme is scheduled to complete in Spring 2024.
As it is not much larger than the Okehampton scheme, which Network Rail delivered so well, I would feel that date is feasible.
Rivalry With The Northumberland Line
The Wikipedia entry for the Northumberland Line says this about the line.
The Northumberland Line is a planned passenger rail route connecting the city of Newcastle upon Tyne with Ashington, Blyth and south-east Northumberland. The route of the line uses part of the larger Blyth and Tyne Railway, a network of lines that cover south-east Northumberland. Construction of stations is planned for the summer of 2022, with the opening of the line for passenger services planned for December 2023.
Note, that both projects are planned to be completed within a few months.
Will there be an Anglo-Scottish rivalry, perhaps with pipers on both sides?
A New Garden Bridge Proposed For London
This article on Ian Visits is entitled Plans Open A Disused Railway Bridge To Pedestrians.
This is the introductory paragraph.
A section of the Thames with few bridges could become a lot easier for pedestrians and cyclists to cross if plans to convert a disused railway bridge for pedestrian use go ahead.
The disused railway bridge to be used is the original 1849 Barnes Railway Bridge, which was closed to trains, when a new stronger bridge was built alongside in 1890.
This Google Map shows the two bridges.
Note.
- The railway tracks in the centre on the 1890 three-arch bridge.
- The Thames flows from South-West to North-East under the bridge.
- A walkway on the North-Eastern side of the is still in use.
- The original 1849 bridge is on the South-Western side of the bridge.
The pedestrian garden bridge will be built on the 1849 bridge, which will be refurbished.
This second Google Map shows the bridge and Barnes Bridge station.
Note.
- Barnes Bridge in the North-West corner of the map.
- Barnes Bridge station in the South-East corner of the map.
Part of the plan envisages connecting the South-Western platform to the pedestrian garden bridge.
It looks a plan with a lot of good possibilities.
The Project
It appears that Network Rail, the London Boroughs of Richmond and Hounslow are all supportive and Moxon Architects have been appointed to the project.
The project now appears to be called The View at Barnes Bridge and it has an impressive web site, with lots of information and pictures.
I have a few thoughts.
I Am Not Surprised That Network Rail Are Supportive
Network Rail must be pleased to be getting a Grade II Listed structure off their hands.
Could Barnes Bridge Station Be Made Step-Free?
I suspect that Moxon will produce designs for this and it will probably be a question of money, if they are implemented.
But as the garden bridge will attract more visitors, this will surely increase the need for full step-free access at Barnes Bridge station.
Could A Refurbished Bridge Carry Utilities?
I suspect that this will be looked at, as it could be a nice little earner.
Could This Project Be An Example Of a Levelling-Up Project?
In my travels around the UK and Europe, I’ve seen several disused railway bridges that could be reused as footbridges to provide walking and cycling.
Many are being converted, but this high-profile bridge could inspire architects to create other worthwhile bridges.
Oxted Station – 16th July 2022
To view the Oxted Viaduct, I went to Oxted station, where I took these pictures.
Note.
- Oxted station is well-equipped.
- For a station of its size, I was surprised to see it had a large underground car park.
- There is a large Wetherspoons pub on Western side of the station.
Oxsted shopping centre appears to be split in two by the railway and I was surprised to pass three busy barber shops as I walked to the viaduct.
Kent Railway Viaduct Set For £3.5m Makeover
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
This 3D image from Google Maps, shows Ashurst station.
I think that the viaduct is to the left of the station.
This is a description of the work from Katie Frost, Network Rail’s route director for Sussex.
Our railway has a host of Victorian structures that underpin the millions of journeys passengers take with us every year and we have to take good care of them. Mill Stream Viaduct is made of metal, and we need to give it a thorough refurbishment to keep it strong for the future, blasting the old paint off, repainting and repairing the metal sections, replacing the decking, the track and the timbers that support the track too.
Certainly, £3.5 million would seem a lot, if it was just a simple repainting.
What About The Electrification?
Network Rail have been faffing about, deciding how they will get twelve car electric services to Uckfield.
However, in the April 2022 Edition of Modern Railways, there was a short article, which was entitled Uckfield Third Rail is NR Priority, where this was said.
Electrification of the line between Hurst Green and Uckfield in East Sussex and remodelling of East Croydon are the top Network Rail investment priorities south of the river, according to Southern Region Managing Director John Halsall. He told Modern Railways that third rail is now the preferred option for the Uckfield line, as it would allow the route to use the pool of third-rail EMUs in the area. This is in preference to the plan involving overhead electrification and use of dual-voltage units put forward by then-Network Rail Director Chris Gibb in his 2017 report.
NR has put forward options for mitigating the safety risk involved with the third-rail system, including switching off the power in station areas when no trains are present and section isolation systems to protect track workers. ‘The Office of Rail and Road hasn’t yet concerned third rail would be acceptable, but we ark working out ways in which it could be’ Mr Halsall told Modern Railways. He added that bi-mode trains with batteries were not a feasible option on this line, as the 10-car trains in use on the route would not be able to draw sufficient charge between London and Hurst Green to power the train over the 25 miles to Uckfield.
I feel that whatever method is used to get electric trains to Uckfield, there may well be some extra weight on the Millstream Viaduct at Ashurst. So giving the viaduct a makeover, is probably prudent.
I get the impression from the last few Editions of Modern Railways, that there will be a need for battery-electric multiple units in Kent and Sussex.
- Ashford and Ore is 25.4 miles – Electrified at both ends – Maximum trip – 25.4 miles.
- Oxted and Uckfield is 25 miles – Electrified at one end – Maximum trip – 50 miles.
- Hoo and Hoo Juncton is less than 10 miles – Electrified at one end – Maximum trip – 20 miles.
It would appear that the Uckfield trip will need bigger batteries or some form of charging at Uckfield.
Suppose though the following were to be done.
- Create a third-rail battery-electric multiple unit, with a range of thirty miles.
- These would be ideal for Ashford and Ore and the Hoo Branch.
- Install charging stations at Ashurst on both platforms and at Uckfield on the single platform. These would either work through a pantograph or third rail.
Operation of the service during a round trip between London Bridge and Uckfield would be as follows.
- London Bridge and Hurst Green – Uses electrification and charges batteries
- Hurst Green and Ashurst – Uses batteries for 11 miles
- Ashurst station – Tops up the batteries
- Ashurst and Uckfield – Uses batteries for 14 miles
- Uckfield station – Tops up the batteries
- Uckfield and Ashurst – Uses batteries for 14 miles
- Ashurst station – Tops up the batteries
- Ashurst and Hurst Green – Uses batteries for 11 miles
- Hurst Green and London Bridge – Uses electrification and charges batteries
Network Rail may use a different combination of chargers and battery size.
Does Anybody Have Good Contacts At Network Rail?
In the 1980s, I did some business with British Rail, as it then was.
I provided my Daisy software and they used it to analyse signal failures.
It led to a guy called J S Firth, writing a paper called Failure Recording And Analysis On British Rail.
He had the courtesy to send me a copy of the paper, which mentions SigTech, which appears to have been a business unit of the British Railways Board.
All my dealings with Firth and his colleagues were in person at an office block in front of Marylebone station, which is now a posh hotel.
And then, a few months ago, someone contacted me from Network Rail.
Apparently, his father had worked on the signal failure project with me and he was now working in Milton Keynes for Network Rail on a similar project.
He asked if I had a copy of the paper.
At the time, I didn’t, but today I had a small sort out and found a copy.
Unfortunately, I have now lost the piece of paper on which I wrote the guy’s details.
Does anybody have any ideas, how I can find the guy, who contacted me?
Success For The Dartmoor Line
This article on Railnews is entitled Railway Braces For Weekend Changes.
The article flags up that rail timetables will change to the summer timetable and uses the Dartmoor Line where services will go hourly, as an example.
The article says this about the changes to the Dartmoor Line and the success of the restored service to Okehampton station.
One of the many changes includes the doubling of service frequencies on the recently-reopened Dartmoor Line between Exeter and Okehampton, where scheduled passenger trains were restored last November. From Sunday trains will be running every hour, and rail minister Wendy Morton visited Okehampton yesterday to celebrate the improvements.
The reopening is part of the government’s promise to ‘Restore your railways’, and the Okehampton line is the first practical example of this in action. The line was upgraded for £10 million less than the £40.5 million budgeted, and Network Rail said the route has proved ‘hugely popular’, because passenger numbers have been more than double than predicted, reaching an average of over 2,500 a week during the first 20 weeks. The number of passengers at nearby Crediton, where the Dartmoor Line joins services on the Tarka Line from Barnstaple, is also 39 per cent higher than it was before the pandemic.
I have some thoughts.
Reopening Of The Line
Network Rail can build projects on time and on budget, if they get the project management right.
Passenger Numbers Between Exeter And Okehampton
If 2,500 passengers per week can use the line in the winter, when there is only one train per two hours (tp2h), how many passengers will use the train, when there is an hourly service?
2,500 passengers per week, throughout the year would be 125,000 passengers per year and as surely the summer will be busier, I don’t think it will be an unreasonable figure.
Okehampton station car park appears to have around 300 spaces, so at 2,500 passengers per week, there might be a not too distant day, when it fills up.
Passenger Numbers At Crediton
I am not surprised that traffic at Crediton is up by 39 percent.
Consider.
- Pre-pandemic, Crediton station had one train per hour (tph) to and from Exeter.
- Post-pandemic, Crediton has three trains per two hours to and from Exeter.
It looks like the train frequency has been increased by 50 % and the number of passengers has increased by 39 %.
That surely is not surprising and passenger numbers might increase further when one tph are running between Exeter and both Barnstaple and Okehampton, if there are more possible passengers to attract.
Car parking at Crediton station may also be a problem, as there appears to be less than a hundred spaces.
Okehampton Parkway Station
Okehampton Parkway Station is likely to be built to the East of Okehampton. Wikipedia says this about the station.
Okehampton Parkway is a proposed railway station in Okehampton on the Dartmoor Line. The station would be part of the Devon Metro and has been described as a priority station. The station is to be sited at the A30 junction at Stockley Hamlet and would be sited at the Business Park at Okehampton as well as serving a further 900 homes close to the site.
Wikipedia, also says that Devon County Council has bought the site.
This must be one of the best sites to build a parkway station in the UK.
- It’s on the dual-carriageway A 30, between London and Cornwall.
- The good people of Devon seem to like to use trains given the passenger numbers at Okehampton and Crediton stations.
- Housing is being built nearby.
This Google Map shows Devon and Cornwall to the West of Okehampton and Barnstaple.
Note.
- Okehampton with two stations is in the South-East corner of the map.
- Barnstaple, which has a station, is in the North-East corner of the map.
- There are well-visited holiday resorts all along the cost including Ilfracombe, Westward Ho! and Bude.
It strikes me that if Devon put together a network of zero-carbon buses, it would be well-used and they could sell the area for zero-carbon holidays.
Rolling Stock
Currently, the Okehampton and Barnstaple services are operated by Class 150 trains.
These are definitely not good enough, due to their age and diesel power.
The distances of the two services are as follows.
- Exeter and Barnstable – 39.5 miles
- Exeter and Okehampton – 25.5 miles
I feel that these routes could be handled by a battery-electric train like the Hitachi Regional Battery Train, which is shown in this Hitachi infographic.
Note.
- For these routes, the trains would probably be based on four-car Class 385 trains, with a top speed of 90 mph.
- Charging would be in Exeter.
- Charging may not be needed at Barnstaple and Okehampton as the routes are downhill.
If battery-electric trains can’t handle the routes, I’m sure hydrogen-powered trains could.
Are The Office Of Rail And Road (Or Their Lawyers) Too Risk Averse?
An article in the April 2022 Edition of Modern Railways is entitled Uckfield Third Rail Is NR Priority.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Electrification of the line between Hurst Green and Uckfield in East Sussex and the remodelling of East Croydon are the top Network Rail investment priorities south of the river, according to Southern Region Managing Director John Halsall. He told Modern Railways that third rail is now the preferred option for the Uckfield Line, as it would allow the route to use the pool of third-rail EMUs in the area. This is in preference to the plan involving overhead electrification and use of dual-voltage units put forward by then-Network Rail director Chris Gibb in his 2017 report (p66, September 2017 issue).
NR has put forward options for mitigating the safety risk involved with the third-rail system, including switching off the power in station areas when no trains are present and section isolation systems to protect track workers. ‘The Office of Rail and Road hasn’t yet confirmed third rail would be acceptable, but we are working out ways in which it could be’ Mr Halsall told Modern Railways. He added that bi-mode trains with batteries were not a feasible option on this line, as the 10-car trains in use on the route would not be able to draw sufficient charge between London and Hurst Green to power the train over the 25 miles on to Uckfield.
As an Electrical Engineer, who’s first real job in industry at fifteen was installing safety guards on guillotines nearly sixty years ago, I don’t believe that an acceptable solution can’t be devised.
But as at Kirkby on Merseyside, the Office Of Rail And Road, do seem to be stubbornly against any further third-rail installations in the UK.
I wonder what, the Office Of Rail And Road would say, if Transport for London wanted to extend an Underground Line for a few miles to serve a new housing development? On previous experience, I suspect Nanny would say no!
But is it more than just third-rail, where the Office Of Rail And Road is refusing to allow some technologies on the railway?
Battery-Electric Trains
I first rode in a viable battery-electric train in February 2015, but we still haven’t seen any other battery-electric trains in service on UK railways running under battery power.
Does the Office Of Rail And Road, believe that battery-electric trains are unsafe, with the lithium-ion batteries likely to catch fire at any time?
Hydrogen-Powered Trains
The hydrogen-powered Alstom Coradia iLint has been in service in Germany since September 2018.
But progress towards a viable hydrogen train has been very slow in the UK, with the only exception being demonstrations at COP26.
Are The Office Of Rail And Road still frightened of the Hindenburg?
Although hydrogen-powered buses have been allowed.
A Tale From Lockheed
When Metier Management Systems were sold to Lockheed, I worked for the American company for a couple of years.
I met some of their directors and they told some good American lawyer jokes, such was their disgust for the more money-grabbing of the American legal profession.
At the time, Flight International published details of an innovative landing aid for aircraft, that had been developed by Lockheed. It was a suitcase-sized landing light, that could be quickly setup up on a rough landing strip, so that aircraft, like a Hercules, with an outstanding rough field performance could land safely.
I read somewhere that a Flying Doctor service or similar had acquired some of these landing aids, so they could provide a better service to their clients.
But Lockheed’s lawyers were horrified, that they would get sued, if someone was seriously injured or even died, whilst the aid was being used.
Apparently, in the end, the aids were marked Not For Use In The USA.
Conclusion
I do wonder, if third-rail electrification, battery-electric trains and hydrogen-powered trains have come up against a wall created by over-cautious lawyers.
Effort To Contain Costs For Hoo Reopening
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the April 2022 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the first paragraph.
Medway Council is working with Network Rail and other industry players in an effort to make restoration of a passenger service to Hoo on the Isle of Grain branch feasible. The Council was awarded £170 million from the Housing Infrastructure Fund in 2020 to support schemes to facilitate building of 12,000 new houses in the area, with £63 million of the HIF money for reinstatement of services on the Hoo Branch.
The article mentions, this new infrastructure.
- A new station South of the former Sharnal Street station.
- Works to level crossings, of which there are six between Gravesend station and proposed site of the new Hoo station.
- A passing place at Hoo Junction, where the branch joins the North Kent Line.
- A passing place at Cooling Street.
Note.
- The single-platform Bow Street station cost £8 million.
- The single-platform Soham station cost nearly £22 million, but it has a bridge.
- Reopening the Okehampton branch and refurbishing Okehampton station cost £40 million.
I think costs will be very tight.
Possible Train Services
This is said in the article about the train service on the branch.
While third rail electrification was originally proposed, this idea has been discarded in favour of self-powered trains on the branch, such as battery-operated trains. Possible destinations include Gravesend, Northfleet or Ebbsfleet for interchange with trains going to London, or extension of London to Dartford or Gravesend services over the branch, using hybrid third-rail/battery trains.
Consider.
- Merseyrail will be using battery-electric trains to provide services to the new Headbolt Lane station, as permission was not available for extending the existing third-rail track.
- Electrification would probably cost more than providing a charging system at Hoo station.
- Turning the trains at Gravesend, Northfleet or Ebbsfleet could be difficult and a new bay platform would probably break the budget.
- Both Dartford and Gravesend have two trains per hour (tph), that could be extended to the new Hoo station.
- Hoo junction to Hoo station is no more than five or six miles.
- There are also half-a-dozen level crossings on the route, which I doubt the anti-thord rail brigade would not want to be electrified.
- The Dartford services have a possible advantage in that they stop at Abbey Wood station for Crossrail.
- It may be easier to run services through Gravesend station, if the terminating service from Charing Cross were to be extended to Hoo station.
- A two tph service between London Charing Cross and Hoo stations, with intermediate stops at at least London Bridge, Lewisham, Abbey Wood and Dartford would probably be desirable.
I feel that the most affordable way to run trains to Hoo station will probably be to use battery-electric trains, which are extended from Gravesend.
It may even be possible to run trains to Hoo station without the need of a charging system at the station, which would further reduce the cost of infrastructure.
Possible Trains
Consider.
- According to Wikipedia, stopping Gravesend services are now run by Class 376, Class 465, Class 466 and Class 707 trains.
- Real Time Trains indicate that Gravesend services are run by pathed for 90 mph trains.
- Class 376, Class 465 and Class 466 trains are only 75 mph trains.
- Class 707 trains are 100 mph trains and only entered service in 2017.
I wonder, if Siemens designed these trains to be able to run on battery power, as several of their other trains can use batteries, as can their New Tube for London.
In Thoughts On The Power System For The New Tube for London, I said this.
This article on Rail Engineer is entitled London Underground Deep Tube Upgrade.
This is an extract.
More speculatively, there might be a means to independently power a train to the next station, possibly using the auxiliary battery, in the event of traction power loss.
Batteries in the New Tube for London would have other applications.
- Handling regenerative braking.
- Moving trains in sidings and depots with no electrification.
It should be born in mind, that battery capacity for a given weight of battery will increase before the first New Tube for London runs on the Piccadilly line around 2023.
A battery-electric train with a range of fifteen miles and regenerative braking to battery would probably be able to handle a return trip to Hoo station.
An Update In The July 2022 Edition Of Modern Railways
This is said on page 75.
More positive is the outlook for restoration of passenger services on the Hoo branch, where 12,000 new houses are proposed and Medway Council is looking to build a new station halfway down the branch to serve them. As the branch is unelectrified, one idea that has been looked at is a shuttle with a Vivarail battery train or similar, turning round at Gravesend or another station on the main line.
Steve White worries that this could mean spending a lot of money on infrastructure work and ending up with what would be a sub-optimal solution. ‘Do people really want to sit on a train for 10 minutes before having to get out and change onto another train? I don’t think so. Ideally what you want is through trains to London, by extending the Gravesend terminators to Hoo.’
That would require a battery/third rail hybrid unit, but Mr. White thinks that is far from an outlandish proposal; with Networker replacement on the horizon, a small bi-mode sub-fleet could dovetail neatly with a stock renewal programme. Medway Council and rail industry representatives are working on coming up with a solution for Hoo that could do what it does best; facilitating economic regeneration in a local area.
Note that Steve White is Managing Director of Southeastern.
I’ll go along with what he says!
Conclusion
I believe that a well-designed simple station and branch line could be possible within the budget.
A battery-electric upgrade to Class 707 trains could be a solution.
But the trains could be very similar to those needed for Uckfield and to extend electric services in Scotland.
Advance Warning Of Brixton To Beckenham Junction Rail Closure In July
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
These are the first two paragraphs.
In late July, the railway between Brixton and Beckenham Junction will be closed for 9-days as Network Rail carry out a major upgrade of the tracks in the Penge railway tunnel.
Over the 9-day closure Network Rail says that it will be delivering a £4.5 million investment to replace the tracks through the Penge tunnel to help improve train service reliability. During the works, they will be replacing 3,970 metres of track in total, using engineering trains, road-rail vehicles and other heavy machinery to complete the work.
The railway will be closed between Herne Hill and Beckenham Junction stations for the week of Saturday 23rd to Sunday 31st July 2022.
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the tunnel.
Note.
- The North-South railway is the Brighton Main Line, that passes through Sydenham and Penge West stations.
- The NW-SE railway is the Chatham Main Line, with Sydenham Hill station in the North-West and Penge East station in the South-East.
- Penge East Station – 11th March 2022 shows the station and the distance to Penge Tunnel.
- Sydenham Hill Station – 11th March 2022 shows the station and Penge Tunnel.
- Penge Tunnel is between the two stations and is shown in cream.
This second map, shows where the two lines cross.
In Penge Interchange, I described how Transport for London would like to build a new Penge Interchange station to possibly replace both Penge East and Penge West stations.
- It could be fully step-free.
- The station would be built on railway land.
- It would have four tph between Victoria and Bromley South stations.
- It would have four tph between Highbury & Islington and West Croydon stations.
- It would have two tph between London Bridge and Caterham stations
- It might also be possible to have platforms on the Crystal Palace branch, thus adding six tph between Highbury & Islington and Crystal Palace stations.
- The station could have Thameslink platforms.
I feel it would offer the following benefits.
- Better connection between South East and North London, without going through Central London.
- Better connection between South East London and Crossrail, with all its connections.
- Closure of the two older Penge stations.
I hope that whilst the railway is closed for the relaying of track, that Network Rail will do a full survey to at least find out whether a Penge Interchange station is feasible.
The Anonymous Widower 