Regulator Approves New Grand Union Train Service From Carmarthen To London Paddington
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the Office of Rail and Road.
This is the sub-heading of the press release.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has opened up the Great Western Main Line to competition and enabled a significant increase in rail services between London and South Wales.
These points are made in the press release.
- The rail regulator has approved the introduction of new train services between London, Cardiff and South West Wales from the end of 2024.
- The services will be operated by a new open access operator, Grand Union Trains, bringing competition to the Great Western route out of Paddington.
- Passengers travelling between London, Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport, Cardiff, Gowerton, Llanelli and Carmarthen will benefit from an extra five daily return services and greater choice of operator.
- The decision opens up the Great Western Main Line to competition for the first time, with potential benefits in terms of lower fares, improved service quality and innovation for all passengers using the route.
- The application, submitted to ORR in June 2022, was disputed by Network Rail due to concerns about capacity on the network. But following careful consideration and analysis, ORR has directed Network Rail to enter into a contract with Grand Union.
- Grand Union has committed to significant investment in new trains.
- As an ‘open access’ train operator, however, it will not get paid subsidies from public funds, unlike current operators along the route.
ORR supports new open access where it delivers competition for the benefit of passengers. In making this decision, the regulator has weighed this up against the impact on Government funds and effect on other users of the railway, both passengers and freight customers.
These are my thoughts.
The Company
Grand Union Trains have certainly persevered to get this approval.
- The company was created by Ian Yeowart, who previously created open access operators; Alliance Rail Holdings and Grand Central before selling both to Arriva.
- After multiple negotiations with the Office of Road and Rail (ORR), Yeowart must know how to get an acceptable deal.
- Grand Union Trains have a similar application for a service between Euston and Stirling with the ORR.
Grand Union Trains also have a web site.
The home page has a mission statement of Railways To Our Core, with this statement underneath.
At Grand Union we are passionate about Britain’s railways. We are committed to the traditional values of providing a high-quality customer service and a comfortable journey experience at a fair price.
I’ll go with that.
The Financial Backing Of The Company
All the UK’s open access operators are well-financed either by Arriva or First Group.
The ORR would not receive any thanks, if they approved an operator, which duly went bust.
So what is the quality of the financing behind Grand Union Trains?
This article on Railway Gazette is entitled RENFE Looks At Entering UK Rail Market Through Open Access Partnership, which starts with this paragraph.
Open access passenger service developer Grand Union Trains is working with Spain’s national operator RENFE and private equity firm Serena Industrial Partners on a proposed service between London and Wales.
That is fairly clear and would surely help in the financing of Grand Union Trains.
The Route
Trains will run between Carmarthen and London Paddington, with stops at Llanelli, Gowerton, Cardiff, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction and Bristol Parkway.
A new station at Felindre will replace Gowerton at some time in the future.
There will be five trains per day (tpd).
I have some thoughts and questions about the route
Felindre Station
Felindre station is named in Wikipedia as the West Wales Parkway station, where it is introduced like this.
West Wales Parkway is a proposed railway station north of Swansea, near to the boundaries of the neighbouring principal area of Carmarthenshire, and the villages of Felindre and Llangyfelach. The station is proposed to be situated at the former Felindre steelworks, near Junction 46 of the M4 and A48, and near Felindre Business Park and Penllergaer Business Park. The project is in the planning stages, as part of a wider Department for Transport proposal to re-open the Swansea District line to passenger traffic.
This Google Map shows where, it appears the Felindre station will be built.
Note.
- The Felindre Business Park in the North-West corner of the map, with a Park-and-Ride.
- The M4 running across the bottom of the map.
- The Swansea District Line runs East-West between the motorway and the Business Park.
It looks that the new station could be located on the South side of the Business Park.
When High Speed Two Opens Will Trains Call At Old Oak Common?
When High Speed Two opens, all GWR trains will stop at Old Oak Common station for these connections.
- Chiltern for for Banbury, Bicester, High Wycombe and the West Midlands
- Elizabeth Line for Central and East London and the Thames Valley
- Heathrow Airport
- High Speed Two for Birmingham and the North
- Overground for Outer London
As Old Oak Common will be such an important interchange, I think they should.
Will The Platforms At Carmarthen Station Need Lengthening?
This Google Map shows Carmarthen station.
Note.
- The station has two platforms.
- There are certainly pictures of the station with an InterCity 125 in the station. There is a picture on the Wikipedia entry for Carmarthen station.
These pictures show the station.
I suspect that the station will be upgraded to accommodate Grand Union Trains.
The Trains
An article in the June 2022 Edition of Modern Railways, which is entitled Grand Union Bids For London To Carmarthen, gives these details of the trains.
- Three classes.
- 2023 start for the service.
- Cycle provision.
- Vanload freight will be carried.
- Electric trains could start between London and Cardiff by 2023.
- In 2025, trains could be nine-car bi-modes.
- South Wales-based operation and maintenance.
- 125 full-time jobs created.
It certainly seems to be a comprehensive and well-thought out plan.
I have a few thoughts on the trains.
What Make Of Trains Will Be Procured?
Consider.
- Lumo’s Class 803 trains were ordered from Hitachi in March 2019 and entered service in October 2021.
- So if they ordered their version of the Hitachi trains by the end of 2022, the trains could be in service by July/August 2025.
- It would probably be easier, if the only fast trains on the Great Western Main Line between London and South Wales were all Hitachi trains with identical performance.
But the Spanish backers of Grand Union Trains may prefer Spanish-designed trains assembled in South Wales. So would a bi-mode version of CAF’s Class 397 trains be suitable?
On the other hand, the Carmarthen and Cardiff section of the route without a reverse at Swansea is only seventy-five miles.
This Hitachi infographic shows the Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
Consider.
- Charging could be provided at Carmarthen using a short length of electrification or one of Furrer + Frey standard chargers.
- Charging would also use the electrification between London Paddington and Cardiff.
- A nine-car Class 800 or Class 802 train has five engines and a five-car train has three engines.
- The Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train was announced in December 2022.
- In the intervening two years how far has the project progressed?
- For the last twelve months, Lumo have been running trains with an emergency battery-pack for hotel power. How are the batteries doing, whilst being ferried up and down, the East Coast Main Line?
Can Hitachi configure a train with more than one battery-pack and a number of diesel engines, that has a range of seventy-five miles? I suspect they can.
I suspect that CAF also have similar technology.
There is also a benefit to Great Western Railway (GWR).
If GWR were able to fit out their Class 802 trains in the same way, they would be able to run between Cardiff and Swansea on battery power.
- It is only 45.7 miles.
- Charging would need to be provided at Swansea.
- GWR could still run their one tpd service to Carmarthen.
It looks like both train operating companies could be able to do as Lumo does and advertise all electric services.
What Could Be The Maxmum Range Of A Hitachi Train On Batteries?
This Hitachi infographic shows the Hitachi Regional Battery Train.
Consider.
- It has a battery range of 90 km or 56 miles on the single battery.
- I would expect that by a regional train, Hitachi mean a five car Class 800 or 802 train, like those that go to Cheltenham, Lincoln or Middlesbrough.
- A five-car Hitachi Regional Battery Train would have a battery that could contain power equivalent to 280 car-miles.
- Five-car Class 800 or 802 trains have three engine positions.
- These Hitachi trains have a very sophisticated control system, which I wrote about in Do Class 800/801/802 Trains Use Batteries For Regenerative Braking?
I believe the engineers at Hyperdrive Innovation have designed the battery-packs that replace the diesel engines as simulations of the diesel engines, so they can be a direct replacement.
This would mean that battery-packs could be additive, so the following could apply to a five-car train.
- Two battery packs could have a range of 112 miles.
- Three battery packs could have a range of 168 miles.
GWR generally runs pairs of five-car trains to Swansea, which would be 90 miles without electrification.
If five-car trains with two battery packs, could be given a range of 112 miles, GWR could run an electric service to Swansea.
They could also run to Carmarthen, if Grand Union Trains would share the charger.
What ranges could be possible with nine-car trains, if one battery pack is good for 280 car-miles?
- One battery-pack, gives a range of 280/9 = 31 miles
- Two battery-packs, give a range of 2*280/9 = 62 miles
- Three battery-packs, give a range of 3*280/9 = 93 miles
- Four battery-packs, give a range of 4*280/9 = 124 miles
- Five battery-packs, give a range of 5*280/9 = 155 miles
- Six battery-packs, give a range of 6*280/9 = 187 miles
- Seven battery-packs, give a range of 7*280/9 = 218 miles
Note.
- I have rounded figures to the nearest mile.
- There are five cars with diesel engines in a nine-car train, which are in cars 2,3,5, 7 and 8.
- Diesel engines are also placed under the driver cars in five-car Class 810 trains.
- For the previous two reasons, I feel that the maximum numbers of diesel engines in a nine-car train could be a maximum of seven.
- I have therefor assumed a maximum of seven battery packs.
These distances seem sensational, but when you consider that Stradler’s Flirt Akku has demonstrated a battery range of 243 kilometres or 150 miles, I don’t think they are out of order.
But, if they are correct, then the ramifications are enormous.
- Large numbers of routes could become electric without any infrastructure works.
- Grand Union Trains would be able to run to Carmarthen and back without a charger at Carmarthen.
- GWR would be able to run to Swansea and back without a charger at Swansea.
Prudence may mean strategic chargers are installed.
Rrenewable Energy Developments In South West Wales
In Enter The Dragon, I talked about renewable energy developments in South West Wales.
I used information from this article on the Engineer, which is entitled Unlocking The Renewables Potential Of The Celtic Sea.
The article on the Engineer finishes with this conclusion.
For now, Wales may be lagging slightly behind its Celtic cousin to the north, but if the true potential of the Celtic Sea can be unleashed – FLOW, tidal stream, lagoon and wave – it looks set to play an even more prominent role in the net zero pursuit.
The Red Dragon is entering the battle to replace Vlad the Mad’s tainted energy.
South West Wales could see a massive renewable energy boom.
Grand Union Trains will increase the capacity to bring in more workers to support the developments from South Wales and Bristol.
Grand Union Sets Out Stirling Ambitions
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the December 2022 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the first paragraph.
Grand Union Trains has updated its plans to operate services between Stirling and London Euston. It is targeting a 10-year track access agreement with services starting in May 2025.
I have a few thoughts.
The Route
The route between Stirling and Euston is as follows.
- Trains will call at Larbert, Greenfauds, Whifflet, Motherwell, Lockerbie, Carlisle, Preston, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes.
- Station upgrades are proposed for Larbert, Greenfauds, Whifflet and Lockerbie.
- The route is fully-electrified.
- There will be four trains per day in both directions, with a slightly reduced service on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings.
This sentence from the article sums up the philosophy of Grand Union Trains.
The company says the aim is to link towns which have no or limited long-distance services and to improve connectivity for some station pairs on the West Coast Main Line.
Note.
Currently Larbert, Greenfauds and Whifflet don’t have services running past Stirling or Motherwell.
- Currently, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes have no Scottish services.
- Nuneaton is well connected to Peterborough and the East.
- Milton Keynes will be on the East-West Railway to Oxford and Cambridge.
It looks to be a service that has been well-planned and offers good possibilities for travel.
The Trains
The article says this about the trains.
New bi-mode rolling stock would be used and GUT says discussions with potential suppliers and manufacturers are ongoing.
Why Are Bi-Mode Trains Needed?
I can think of these reasons.
- Grand Union Trains want to run their South Wales services with the same trains.
- They might want to extend Scottish services from Stirling to perhaps Perth or Dundee.
- They want to offer a reliable service, when the electrification is damaged.
Bi-mode trains will certainly offer flexibility and reliability.
How Long Will The Trains Be?
Consider.
- An eleven-car Class 390/1 train is 265.3 metres long.
- A pair if five-car Class 802 trains is 260 metres long.
I suspect a train has a maximum length of 260 metres and these can be run between London Euston and Stirling.
Could it be that station upgrades are needed for Larbert, Greenfauds, Whifflet and Lockerbie, is that these stations have short platforms?
Could the trains and platforms start short and grow with the business?
The Trains Will Have Three Classes
These classes will be offered.
- First Class in compartments
- Standard in a 2+1 arrangement
- Standard Economy in a 2+2 arrangement
You pays your money and you make your choice.
Vanload Freight May Be Carried
Consider.
- There has been a lot of speculation and some serious train conversions, looking at the possibilities of high speed freight.
- Imagine a train of perhaps five passenger cars and one freight car for containerised freight.
- I suggested earlier, that the trains might grow with the business.
- As business develops, extra cars can be added as appropriate.
- If business booms, then it might be best to run separate passenger and freight services.
Modern trains and refurbished older ones, offer a multitude of solutions.
The Finance
The article says this about finance.
Grand Union Trains has linked with European independent investment firm Serena Industrial Partners to support its ambitions for its new Great Western service, and the project is supported by Spanish operator RENFE.
Serena Industrial Partners are Spanish, so does that mean, that the trains could be Spanish too?
Are These Two Stories Related?
These are two stories recently published in Railway Gazette.
Deutsche Bahn Sells Arriva Businesses To Private Equity Holding Company, which starts with this paragraph.
Deutsche Bahn has reached agreement to sell its Arriva local transport activities in Denmark, Poland and Serbia to München-based private equity holding company Mutares SE & Co KGaA.
That is fairly clear and is probably related with the German government’s desire for DB to concentrate on its core business.seren
This article on Railway Gazette is entitled RENFE Looks At Entering UK Rail Market Through Open Access Partnership, which starts with this paragraph.
Open access passenger service developer Grand Union Trains is working with Spain’s national operator RENFE and private equity firm Serena Industrial Partners on a proposed service between London and Wales.
That also is fairly clear and would bring competition to services to and from South Wales.
It would also help in the financing of Grand Union Trains.
The article also says the following.
- RENFE seem to be expanding into partnerships to run services outside Spain.
- A parkway station at Felindre will be build to avoid the reverse at Swansea, that would save 20 mins.
- It will be a high quality service with new electro-diesel trains.
- Four trains will be needed.
- A 2025 start is envisaged.
Will this partnership with Grand Union Trains proceed with the development of Grand Union Trains’ London and Stirling service?
I have some thoughts and questions.
Will Deutsche Bahn Sell Other Arriva Businesses?
I think this is a reasonable question to ask, especially, as Deutsche Bahn owns two Open Access Operators in the UK; Chiltern Railways and Grand Central Trains.
- Both operators have a good reputation.
- Both operators need to decarbonise, either by updating their current stock or buying new trains.
- Both operators have solid niche markets, where they are often responsible for the stations.
- Both operators have expansion plans.
Would RENFE and Serena Industrial Partners be interested in taking over Arriva UK and developing the business?
The Talgo Factory At Longannet
I believe that there is reason to believe that one of Talgo’s reasons for a factory in Scotland, is that it could have been used to build Russian and dual-gauge trains for Eastern Europe. The trains would have been delivered by ferry from Rosyth.
There is also the not-small matter of the fleet for Rail Baltica, for which Talgo will surely be a bidder.
But Russia’s attack on Ukraine has scuppered that plan, or at least delayed it for a few years. But now, there could be a much larger market for trains in Eastern Europe and especially Ukraine.
If RENFE Acquire Open Access Operators In The UK, They Will Need New Trains
They will certainly need new trains for the South Wales operations, if they go ahead, but if they were to decarbonise Chiltern and Grand Central, the order could be substantial.
With one Spanish train factory in the UK and another a possibility, I would suspect any train order would go to a Spanish train-builder.
If the orders fell right, could we see Talgo’s factory at Longannet built after all?
Open Access Operators And The Lumo Model
In the UK, there are only three established Open Access operators, who run UK train services.
- Grand Central
- Heathrow Express
- Hull Trains
From the 25th of October, they will be joined by Lumo.
We probably don’t think of Heathrow Express as an Open Access operator and as it is effectively a short distance special service with new trains between Heathrow and Paddington, it has its own business model, that may or may not survive.
But how will Lumo and their bold new business model affect Grand Central, Hull Trains and any future Open Access operators?
Grand Central Trains
Grand Central is a well-established Open Access operator.
- They run services between London King’s Cross and Bradford Interchange, Sunderland and several other convenient en-route stations.
- They are owned by Deutsche Bahn.
- They also regularly seem to apply for new routes and extra services.
But they have a big problem fast catching up on them; they have a diesel-only fleet and need to decarbonise.
I also think that all express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line will at some date need to be run by 140 mph trains capable of running with full digital signalling and a degree of Automatic Train Operation.
In Lumo: Why Won’t The New Train Service Stop At Yorkshire Stations?, I said that to continue to be successful, they probably need to embrace the Lumo model and acquire new trains.
I will repeat what I said in the related post.
This would entail.
- The ten diesel Class 180 trains would be replaced by new electric trains.
- The trains would need a 140 mph capability under digital signalling to fit in with the plans of Network Rail, LNER and Lumo to create a top-class high-speed high-capacity East Coast Main Line.
- The trains would need a battery capability as Grand Central’s routes are not fully electrified.
- They could copy Lumo’s green marketing philosophy, ticketing and catering offering.
As to the trains, I’m sure that Hitachi could offer a version of their Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, the specification of which is shown in this Hitachi infographic.
The trains would need a range of fifty miles on battery-power.
I have some other thoughts.
Financing
If you look at the finances of decarbonising Grand Central, they would need a new fleet of ten trains, which as Lumo’s fleet of five trains are reported to be costing £100 million, so that figure can be at least doubled.
There would also be costs for the two charging systems at Bradford Interchange and Sunderland. But at least there are several possible solutions for charging systems, so the price will probably not be more than a few million, if that.
Will Deutsche Bahn be prepared to stump up the extra finance?
A Service To Cleethorpes
In the Wikipedia entry for Grand Central, there is a section which is entitled London Kings Cross to Cleethorpes, which outlines a proposed service.
- It would split and join with the London King’s Cross and Bradford service at Doncaster.
- It would call at Crowle, Scunthorpe, Barnetby, Habrough and Grimsby.
- Doncaster and Cleethorpes is 52.1 miles and should be in range of a Battery-electric train with a charging system at Cleethorpes.
Using current times from LNER and TransPennine Express, I estimate that Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Trains could travel between London and Cleethorpes in around two hours and twenty minutes.
With digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line to the South of Doncaster, the overall time could be much closer to two hours.
This could be a very viable service with battery-electric trains capable of running at 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line and for sixty miles at 100 mph on battery power.
Maximising The Use Use Of Train Paths By The Use Of Splitting And Joining
The proposed service to Cleethorpes is a classic use of splitting and joining, which enables two separate services to run a large part of their routes together.
- On the East Coast Main Line, it means that maximum use can be made of the paths available.
- Splitting and joining is part of the specification for the Hitachi trains and they do it automatically in under two minutes.
- LNER are already talking about using the technique to serve various destinations from Leeds.
I wouldn’t rule out Grand Central’s two services working as a pair between London King’s Cross and Doncaster, where they would split and join.
Conclusion On Grand Central Trains
Decarbonisation with high-speed battery-electric trains could ensure the future of Grand Central Trains.
Hull Trains
Hull Trains is another well-established Open Access operator.
- They run services between London King’s Cross and Hull and Beverley.
- They have a fleet of five bi-mode Class 802 trains.
- The company is part of First Group.
Hull Trains don’t have the decarbonisation problem of Grand Central Trains, as I suspect Hitachi will come up with a solution to turn Class 802 trains into a battery-electric train with a range of perhaps seventy miles on battery power.
- Beverley and Temple Hirst junction is a distance of 44.3 miles and is the only section of the route without electrification.
- Charging of the batteries will be needed at the Eastern end and probably would be best handled by a short length of electrification in Hull station or between Hull and Brough stations.
The Class 802 trains are also ready for updating to run under the new digital signalling of the East Coast Main Line.
First Harrogate Trains
First Harrogate Trains was a subsidiary of Hull Trains, which hoped to run the following services.
- London King’s Cross and Harrogate via York
- London King’s Cross and Cleethorpes via Peterborough, Spalding and Lincoln
Both these services could be run in conjunction with the current service with an appropriate split and join.
Conclusion On Hull Trains
As both Hull Trains and Lumo share London King’s Cross and are both owned by First Group, I would expect that both train operators would share some services, methods and ideas.
There may be advantages if Hull Trains’s Class 802 trains and Lumo’s Class 803 trains could run each other’s services.
Grand Union
Grand Union is a prospective open access operator who are proposing to operate train services from England to Wales and Scotland.
They are proposing two services.
London Paddington and Cardiff Central via Reading, Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport and Cardiff Parkway, with a possible extension later to Swansea andLlanelli or Carmarthen.
London Euston and Stirling via Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert.
Note.
- London Paddington and Cardiff Central is fully electrified, but there is no electrification West of Cardiff Central.
- Cardiff Central and Swansea are 45.7 miles apart.
- London Euston and Stirling is fully electrified.
Currently, the rolling stock for both services is proposed to be a tri-mode Class 93 locomotive hauling a rake of Mark 4 coaches and a driving van trailer.
The locomotive should be capable of handling the routes to Stirling and Cardiff using the electrification alone.
When the Cardiff route is extended, Grand Union would intend to use Class 802 trains, which could be fitted with batteries to serve Swansea, where the batteries would be charged.
There is no sign as yet, that the Office of Rail and Road have approved any of their possible services, but both services might be improved with some Lumo-style thinking.
Alliance Rail Holdings
Alliance Rail Holdings, which is a sister company to Grand Central, is ultimately owned by Deutsche Bahn, seems to have several ideas for new services, but only seems to have got approval to one.
They were given approval some years ago to run a service between London Euston and Blackpool North.
- Calls would be made at Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham and Wesham, Preston, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes Central.
- There will be six trains per day.
- Trains would be InterCity 225 trains.
- The approval is for seven years from 2018.
But because of the pandemic it hasn’t run.
Conclusion
The Lumo model will affect all these services.
ORR Rejects Grand Union’s London Paddington To Cardiff Train Service Bid
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
I wrote about this service in Grand Union Seeks ’91s’ To Cardiff and this was my conclusion.
I like this proposal.
-
- The important Paddington and Cardiff route gets a fifty percent increase in train frequency.
- There could be genuine competition on the route.
- Grand Union would be using five of the thirty InterCity225 sets, which are in good condition, judging by my recent journeys.
- Could we see a customer service and catering war between the two operators?
If Grand Union Railway runs to Cardiff, I’ll give it a go.
I can see a revised proposal being successful.
Go-op Plans New Services From Summer 2020
The title of this article is the same as that of this article on Modern Railways.
This is the first sentence.
Community-owned rail operator Go-op Co-operative Ltd is seeking views on proposed new open access rail services in Somerset and Wiltshire. Services, which it hopes could start in summer 2020, would be operated by two refurbished Class 769 units working ‘a complex series of trips between Oxfordshire and Somerset’
I wrote about this before in An Ambitious Proposal For A New Train Service?
In the intervening three years, their plans have developed with more detail and a change to Class 769 trains.
I suggested the latter trains in my original post about Go-op, would be an idea.
Given the proposed route structure, they would be able to run at 100 mph on the electrified sections.
Budget Trains To Get Rail Network Flying
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in The Times.
It outlines how open access operators like Grand Central and Hull Trains, are being encouraged by the Office and Rail and Road to set up new services.
I think that these companies are a welcome addition to the UK rail network.
I don’t always use them, when one is available, but if their train is at the right time for my trip, I usually do.
Sometimes I save money and sometimes I don’t!
The Anonymous Widower 