Trump Forgot The Ace Of Clubs
This article on the BBC web site, is entitled Donald Trump loses wind farm legal challenge. This is said.
Donald Trump’s legal challenge to a planned offshore wind farm has been rejected by the UK’s Supreme Court.
The UK Supreme Court is probably the end of an expensive road.
My late friend; Brian, would have said that an old accountancy phrase would apply – Screwed, Glued and Tattooed.
Seeing as it’s Scotland, perhaps it should be the Scottish version – Screwed, Glued and Bagpiped. I’m certain, there are a large number of Scots, who have innovative uses of a set of bagpipes as an instrument of torture.
There is this article on the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, entitled EOWDC partners welcome Supreme Court decision. This is said.
Vattenfall and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG), partners of Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm Ltd, the company behind the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), welcomed today’s Supreme Court decision.
Andy Paine, Project Director for AOWFL, said: “This is another significant step forward for the EOWDC. It affirms the scheme’s potential to position Scotland, and particularly the North-east, as a centre of innovative offshore wind power. The project partners remain committed to seeing the EOWDC come to fruition and delivering long-term economic benefits to the region.”
It certainly looks like Trump didn’t have the heaviest club; the Ace, in his bag.
I’ll leave the last word to the Professional Golfers Association, as detailed in this report on the BBC entitled Donald Trump controversy bad for golf – PGA chief Sandy Jones. This is said.
The chief executive of the Professional Golfers’ Association says the ongoing controversy generated by Donald Trump is “not a positive thing for golf.”
Trump, who owns two Scottish courses, has been criticised for comments made during his bid to become the Republican Party’s US presidential candidate.
And Sandy Jones says the negative publicity around Trump is bad for golf.
“Sadly his political campaign in America seems to be getting in the way of all the great things golf offers.”
Tìoraidh!
While Cameron Dithers About London, Manchester Decides!
I picked up two reports on airports this week.
This report on the BBC is entitled Heathrow airport delay gutless, says business group and talks about a lot of the fallout from David Cameron’s decision not to decide on a new runway for the South-East.
In contrast, you have this report in the Manchester Evening News entitled New images shows possible high-tech future of Manchester Airport’s check-in after ‘Super Terminal’ transformation, which describes the airports expansion plans.
Expanding Heathrow seems to generate controversy in super-tanker loads, whereas Manchester doesn’t sem to attract anything like the same level, even when you take the different sizes into account.
Look at this Google Map of Heathrow.
Heathrow Airport
Compare it with this one of Manchester Airport.
Manchester Airport
I don’t know for sure, but it would appear from these maps and larger ones, that Heathrow has used up much more of the available space around the runways, whereas Manchester hasn’t!
When Heathrow wanted to build Terminal 5, they had to move a sewage works, and another terminal would be difficult on the same site. Manchester has some space left.
So any expansion at Heathrow needs to expand the airport site, which is where a lot of the opposition comes from.
In my view the only way to expand Heathrow is to make better use of the current runways and the terminals. But that can only go on for so long!
And would the locals object to more landings and take-offs? You bet they would!
David Cameron is no fool and he knows that with the opposition of Boris Johnson and nearly all the candidates for the London Mayor against Heathrow, that it will never gain a third runway.
I hate to look backwards but the Roskill Commission of the 1960s and their eventual decision by a roundabout route was for an airport on Maplin Sands to the East of Southend.
But Harold Wilson’s government cancelled this airport, just as they did the Picc-Vic Tunnel in Manchester and improvement of the rail lines across the Pennines.
In my view as air traffic increases, Heathrow needs to expand to just survive, as there is competition all around.
- Schipol, Paris Charles de Gaulle and even Manchester competing for the interchange traffic.
- Trains to the Continent
- Birmingham, Gatwick, Luton, Southend, Stansted and others nibbling Heathrow’s markets.
- HS2
- Passengers are increasingly savvy and go from any convenient airport, using an acceptable airline at the right time and price.
- Internet technology will guide people to the best and cheapest way to travel from say Cambridge to Boston. An expensive Heathrow could be its own worst enemy.
- Other airports will offer better car-friendly solutions.
So as it can’t expand, due to the politicians and local residents, Heathrow must accept that it can’t and it must prepare itself for downgrade to just an airport for London and those living locally.
It also means, the South East must eventually find another site for a new airport to replace Heathrow.
The only place is the Thames Estuary!
So why didn’t the Davies Airport Commission recommend the Boris Island?
Howard Davies is a man of the City Establishment, who are very conservative with a small c and love the convenience, which Crossrail will make better, of Heathrow. How many submissions were against the Boris Island because it would mean too much change in their business?
But a properly designed Thames Hub Airport, could also incorporate the new Thames Barrier and Lower Thames Crossing that London needs.
To many of London’s residents and a lot of their politicians, it is a no-brainer! But for the City, only an expanded Heathrow will do!
So how will Manchester Airport affect London’s Airport mess in the future.
I believe that Manchester Airport will start to dominate air transport in the North of England and Scotland, just as Heathrow used to dominate the South.
- It has space for new terminals and aircraft and car parking.
- A rail network is developing to bring passengers to the airport from all over the North and Scotland.
- HS2 and probably HS3 are coming to the Airport.
- When it needs to expand it decides to and does!
It could also be combined with Liverpool Airport using a very high speed train, if it needed more runway capacity. It’s just forty-four kilometres as a Maglev would fly at 200 kilometres per hour, up the Mersey. Manchester and Liverpool airports could work together, much better than Heathrow can work with either Gatwick, Luton or Stansted.
So will an expanded Manchester Airport take a big bite out of Heathrow’s traffic? You bet it will. Especially, if Heathrow continues to not expand.
I think we should start to plan a Thames Estuary Airport now, even if we don’t built it for twenty years.. If we don’t, then when we need to start building, we’ll take another fifty years to make a decision.
Or we could always do what we’re doing now and let market forces, various interests and passenger choice decide our airports policy?
And as ever, engineers and architects, will improve aircraft and airports, so that we find them acceptable.
The airports problem won’t be solved until perhaps in about 2060, when the Dutch get fed up with Schipol and we join with them and the Belgians to create an airport perhaps slightly east of the Thames Estuary connected to various countries by high speed rail lines. It could be called Canute International!
The only certainty, is that I won’t be here to see it built!
Torotrak Share Price Rises
On of my Google Alerts picked up this article from www.financialmagazin.com which is entitled How Analysts Feel About Torotrak plc After Today’s Huge Increase?
Torotrak is an engineering company behind some kinetic energy recovery systems, that are seen in motor sport like Formula One. But the technology also has applications in the general motor industry to save fuel and we all know the hole VW has dug for itself.
But could the rise in the share price be driver by the big event happening tomorrow – The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement?
Probably not, but Torotrak’s system might be part of a suitable energy storage system for an Independently Powered Electrical Multiple Unit or IPEMU.
One of George Osborne’s biggest problems is funding the electrification of the railways, as if we are to modernise this country, then most rail lines need to be electrified or at least provided with modern trains.
I believe that the IPEMU is one solution to reduce costs, by avoiding the horrendous problems and costs of putting up the wires.
So will George go for it?
Which Constituencies Lie On Crossrail 2?
Alexandra Palace – Catherine West – Labour
Angel – Emily Thornberry – Labour
Angel Road – Kate Osamor – Labour
Balham – Sadiq Khan – Labour
Berrylands – James Berry – Conservative
Brimsdown – Joan Ryan – Labour
Broxbourne – Charles Walker – Conservative
Cheshunt – Charles Walker – Conservative
Chessington North – James Berry – Conservative
Chessington South – James Berry – Conservative
Clapham Junction – Jane Ellison – Conservative
Dalston – Meg Hillier – Labour
Enfield Lock – Joan Ryan – Labour
Epsom – Chris Grayling – Conservative
Ewell West – Chris Grayling – Conservative
Euston Kings Cross St. Pancras – Keir Starmer – Labour
Fulwell – Tania Mathias – Conservative
Hampton – Tania Mathias – Conservative
Hampton Court – Dominic Raab – Conservative
Hampton Wick – Tania Mathias – Conservative
Kempton Park – Kwasi Kwateng – Conservative
Kingston – James Berry – Conservative
Kings Road Chelsea – Greg Hands – Conservative
Malden Manor – James Berry – Conservative
Motspur Park – James Berry – Conservative
New Malden – James Berry – Conservative
New Southgate – David Burrowes – Conservative
Norbiton – James Berry – Conservative
Northumberland Park – David Lammy – Labour
Ponders End – Kate Osamor – Labour
Raynes Park – Stephen Hammond – Conservative
Seven Sisters – David Lammy – Labour
Shepperton – Kwasi Kwateng – Conservative
Sunbury – Kwasi Kwateng – Conservative
Stoneleigh – Chris Grayling – Conservative
Surbiton – James Berry – Conservative
Teddington – Tania Mathias – Conservative
Thames Ditton – Dominic Raab – Conservative
Tolworth – James Berry – Conservative
Tottenham Court Road – Keir Starmer – Labour
Tottenham Hale – David Lammy – Labour
Turnpike Lane – Catherine West – Labour
Upper Halliford – Kwasi Kwateng – Conservative
Victoria – Mark Field – Conservative
Waltham Cross – Charles Walker – Conservative
Wimbledon – Stephen Hammond – Conservative
Wood Green – Catherine West – Labour
Worcester Park – Paul Scully – Conservative
Totalling it up, there are fifteen stations in Labour consituencies and thirty-three in Conservative ones.
What has surprised me is how many MPs have more than one station in their constituency. James Berry has eleven for example.
Crossrail 2 October 2015 – Tooting Broadway Or Balham
In Crossrail 2 Changes its Mind under Tooting Broadway Or Balham, I wrote this.
Both Tooting Broadway and Balham stations are on the Northern Line, but I think Balham is being preferred as it is also a busy main line station.
As some of the main line services through Balham, are duplicated by Crossrail 2, the new line now offers opportunities to release the pressure off the lines through Balham.
If you look at a map of the railway lines in the area, it may be that Crossrail 2 will send the new tunnels in a wide circle from Balham to Wimbledon under Tooting and Haydons Road stations, so that the tunnels are dug totally under existing railway land.
Using Balham rather than Tooting Broadway seems a good idea.
I don’t live in |South London, or even know it too well, so I’ll accept that what I said could have been a comment in haste.
This report from This is South London is entitled Sadiq Khan demands answers as Balham is proposed instead of Tooting Broadway in Crossrail and says this.
It comes after ground faults near Tooting were discovered, meaning work there would take two years longer than originally estimated and cost more.
The news was met with frustration as many said Tooting needed the station more than Balham.
I know he’s the local MP, so he will stick up for his constituents.
Let’s look at the two stations.
This Crossrail 2 document is entitled Wimbledon To Clapham Junction and I’ve used it for information.
Tooting Broadway
These pictures show the area around Tooting Broadway station.
Tooting Broadway station is a typical Underground station on a busy surburban shopping street, that appears to be ruined by heavy traffic. I certainly wouldn’t go there to shop.
Tooting Broadway station is in the London Borough of Wandsworth
It is on the Northern Line
The Crossrail 2 document says this about a station at Tooting Broadway.
To relieve crowding on the Northern line, we had proposed a station at Tooting Broadway. Land for this was safeguarded earlier this year and further work on the station design has been completed to inform this consultation. Recent assessments have identified that ground conditions in the Tooting area would make it significantly more difficult to build a station at Tooting Broadway than originally thought. As a result of these challenges, we are looking at an alternative station location at Balham.
Work to date has suggested that a station at Balham could be built with significantly less disruption and would still provide many of the same transport benefits as a station at Tooting Broadway.
A station at Tooting Broadway would take up to two years longer to build, would require much larger worksites and thousands more lorry movements. This is because a station there would have to be built from the surface with more material removed by road. This would mean it would be more disruptive and cost nearly twice as much to build than a station at Balham.
I also think that even the world’s greatest architect, would have problems creating a decent station for the area.
If I lived in Tooting, I’d think that all those lorry movements would say that Balham can have the station and I’ll go there for shopping and entertainment.
Perhaps the only reason to build a station at Tooting Broadway, would be that it would make it easy to get away from the place.
Balham
These pictures show both the Tube and main line station at Balham.
I have a feeling that Balham is a very rare design for a Tube station in that it has two buildings on either side of the road and I can imagine that Crossrail 2 could serve Balham with a double-ended station with entrances on both sides of the High Road.
A good architect could create a world-class station here, that could act as a magnet for visitors and businesses to the area.
Balham station is in the London Borough of Wandsworth
It is on the Northern Line and also a busy station, through which the Brighton Main Line passes.
There are three trains an hour from Victoria to Epsom via Balham, which is a route duplicated by Crossrail 2. Could there be scope for cutting a few services?
This Google Map shows Balham station.
BalhamStation
The Northern Line crosses the main line at virtually a right angle following Balham High Road. The Crossrail 2 line will be built on the Western side of and parallel to the Northern Line.
The two lines would be linked by dedicated passenger tunnels, effectively creating a four platform underground station.
This link means that Crossrail 2 will go some way to meeting a secondary objective of relieving capacity on the Northern line.
It also enables anybody coming from or going to stations south of Balham, like Tooting Broadway for instance, will have a faster route to Central London.
Two work-sites would be used to sink shafts to the new line and Crossrail 2 station.
- Site B – A Northern one on the site of Balham Waitrose.
- Site A – A Southern one just south of where the Northern Line crosses the main rail lines.
It is worthwhile looking at the main lines through Balham on this Google Map.
Lines Through Balham Station
Note how the lines split to the East of Balham station, with the Brighton Main Line going south.
If you’re building a new Crossrail 2 station at Balham, you should probably rebuild and extend Balham station if that is required to improve services on the Brighton Main Line.
You’ve certainly got a lot of space!
Balham and its new Crossrail 2 station looks an excellent solution, especially as the link between the Northern Line and Crossrail 2 could be made so simple and totally step-free.
Making The Decision
So on a quick look, it would appear that Balham offers the better connectivity and Tooting has ground faults and would be much more difficult, expensive and disruptive to build.
Let’s face it, Tooting does not have any of the charm and space of Balham and save for complete demolition, Tooting Broadway is probably beyond redemption.
In some ways, it gives Sadiq Khan a difficult problem if he is elected Mayor next year. Should he insist as Mayors possibly can, that Crossrail 2 call at Tooting Broadway in his current constituency?
On what I have written here, I think it would be a seriously wrong decision to chose Tooting Broadway.
Her Majesty’s Most Disloyal Opposition
The term Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition was first used in 1826 according to Wikipedia. They say this about the terms origins.
The phrase His Majesty’s Opposition was coined in 1826, before the advent of the modern two-party system, when Parliament consisted more of interests, relationships and factions rather than the highly coherent political parties of today (although the Whigs and Tories were the two main parties). The phrase was originally coined in jest; in attacking Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in the House of Commons, John Hobhouse said jokingly, “It is said to be hard on His Majesty’s Ministers to raise objections of this character but it is more hard on His Majesty’s Opposition to compel them to take this course.”
The phrase was widely welcomed and has been in use ever since.
In my over fifty years of watching politics, I can’t remember an opposition, that to which the term Most Loyal Opposition can be least applied.
Led by one of their most-rebellious MPs, if they can’t even be loyal to each other, how can they agree on and stick to policies that might be better for the country or win them an election.
I don’t even think that the current Labour Party has enough combined loyalty to mount a challenge to any of the Government’s policies.
So can it be described as a true opposition or is it just a bunch of mal-contents, who disagree on principle waving banners and shouting tired and outdated slogans?
It is a sad day for the United Kingdom, when the term Most Loyal Opposition applies most to a party, that is only interested in one part of the country.
The National Infrastructure Commission Is Welcomed By Warwickshire
This article on Rail News is entitled Warwickshire rail campaigners welcome news of National Infrastructure Commission and it discusses the struggles of local campaigners trying to restore the rail line between Stratford-on-Avon and Honeybourne, on the North Cotswold Route. Wikipedia says this about the plans.
The Shakespeare Line Promotion Group is promoting a scheme to reinstate the 9 miles (14 km) “missing Link” between Honeybourne and Stratford. Called the “Avon Rail Link”, the scheme (supported as a freight diversionary route by DB Schenker) would make Stratford-upon-Avon railway station a through station once again with improved connections to the Cotswolds and the South. The scheme faces local opposition. There is, however, a good business case for Stratford-Cotswolds link.
Note this could also be a freight diversion route.
Last year, I went to Stratford-on-Avon and wrote Stratford Upon Avon Station Is Getting A Facelift.
I hinted at more services to come and linked to the Wikipedia comments above.
To return to the Rail News article, it says some interesting things like this.
A NIC could overcome one of the biggest hurdles that has existed for decades. For mainly no other reason the route from Stratford to Honeybourne straddles two government regional boundaries (West Midlands and South West) two Network Rail regions (Chiltern/West Midlands and Western), three County Councils, three District Councils and two Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Is anybody in charge? Perhaps the NIC will be. This is said on visitors to Stratford-on-Avon.
Stratford only attracts six per cent of visitors to the town to travel by rail, while the national average for visitors by rail to similar UK rail-connected tourist destinations is over double that, at 13 per cent.
As the line has a good case for reopening and Stratford-on-Avon station has been upgraded, perhaps this is a project that should be looked at seriously.
We are probably going to live in a new era if George Osbourn’s plans for business rate reform come to fruition, which might see progressive Councils developing infrastructure to enable business, housing and tourism opportunities.
Surely a reconstructed line from Stratford-on-Avon to Cheltenham would tick a few boxes.
There is a major prize at the Cheltenham end if Cheltenham Racecourse, which is one of the busiest in the UK, could be linked to the main line rail network at Cheltenham Spa station. The Google Map shows the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway going past the racecourse, where there is already a station.
Cheltenham Racecourse
Unfortunately, there is a supermarket which is partially blocking the route between the racecourse and Cheltenham Spa station.
These are the sort of problems that a National Infrastructure Commission should have the power to solve or dismiss as insoluble.
Watching National Hunt racing at Cheltenham is one of the great sporting spectacles of the British Isles and a viable rail service to the course from London and Oxford needs to be created.
Harold Wilson Liked The Muppets
Daniel Finkelstein in The Times is often entertaining. Yesterday, he told a story about how as a 14-year-old, he wrote to Harold Wilson to ask questions for an article in the Scout magazine he’d established for his troop.
He had just found the letter and it discloses that Harold liked The Muppets. He also read every newspaper except the Morning Star.
Where Does The Borders Railway Go Next?
My Borders correspondent, who lives near Selkirk, says that the Borders Railway has been generally well received. Certainly if you search Google News for Borders Railway, you don’t find many problems or complaints, except one about the singing of the National Anthem for the Queen.
A friend in Edinburgh has just told me, that the trains are too crowded at times. So what’s new? New railways are always crowded, especially if they fulfil a need.
The most common articles on the web, are ones like this one from the Border Telegraph, entitled Next Stop Hawick….
So what will effect this line in the next few years and what do I think will happen?
The Me Too Effect
Now that Galashiels has a reliable half-hourly service to Edinburgh, I suspect that the inhabitants South of Tweedbank, will say that if Galashiels and Tweedbank can have this, why can’t Melrose and Hawick?
Cross Border Co-operation
The Borders area of Scotland and the neighbouring area of England are very similar and probably have the same strengths, problems and needs.
In some ways they are very economically linked now.
- Carlisle is economically tied to the Scottish Borders for shopping and transport links.
- Newcastle is a major airport for the area.
- There is even a rail service between Glasgow and Newcastle, that goes via Kilmarnock, Dumfries, Hexham and the Metro Centre.
- Area rail tickets for North West England include Lockerbie.
- Carlisle and Newcastle are the two major places to catch trains to the South, unless you go North to Edinburgh and Glasgow..
Surely this togetherness should be built on to develop the Borderlands, provided the politicians can be kept out of their way, in their offices in London and Edinburgh.
Increasing Railway Capacity Between England And Scotland
At present, the East Coast Main Line and the West Coast Main Line do not provide enough capacity between England and Scotland, for both passengers and freight.
Tourism And Other Economic Effects
I live in the Dalston area of Hackney, which is an area that has been uplifted by the creation of the London Overground from the rather decrepit railways that used to run through the area.
Unless you have lived through the process, most people will not understand how regular trains, running on a frequency of at least two an hour, can bring economic benefits to an area.
The Borderlands, probably have an economic profile not unlike the areas of East Anglia away from the large towns and cities that I know well.
- Both areas are ringed by a series of large towns and cities
- There is a lot of farming.
- There are a lot of tourism-related businesses of all sizes.
- In the summer, visitors take days out into the areas.
- There is a certain amount of specialist manufacture.
- Housing is being developed for those who have retired, who live and work locally and who commute to major towns and cities nearby.
All of these activities will increase the need for better transport links to the major cities that ring the areas.
The latest East Anglian Rail Franchise will mandate the franchisee to provide much better services all over the area and especially on the branch lines.
I can’t believe that the areas on both sides of the Border would not be worth developing in a similar way to that proposed for East Anglia.
Extending The Borders Railway To Melrose, Hawick And Carlisle
Scottish Borders politicians are all in favour of this extension, as are probably the good citizens of the area. My Borders correspondent and his family certainly appear to be.
Just as I have seen an economic uplift in Hackney because of the London Overground, I think it would be unlikely that the Borders Railway running through Melrose and Hawick, would not increase economic activity in the area.
This extension would certainly happen if Scotland stayed in the United Kingdom, as in some ways, this reopening, would help develop tourism in the wider area of the whole Borderlands, the Lake District and North Yorkshire.
Carlisle is probably the big winner in this activity and becomes a city with important or picturesque railway lines going everywhere.
- The West Coast Main Line, links England to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
- The Glasgow And South Western Line to Glasgow via Dumfries and Kilmarnock
- The Settle and Carlisle Line
- The Cumbrian Coast Line around the Lake District to Barrow and Preston
- The Newcastle and Carlisle Line
- The Borders Railway to Edinburgh
The Borders Railway provides the missing link in the railways of the Borderlands.
So when the Scottish politicians discuss the project, they should take into account, the positive affects a complete line would have on England!
Should The Borders Railway Be Electrified?
This question could legitimately by asked about all the other lines meeting at Carlisle, that are not electrified.
But as Carlisle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle , Preston and Skipton are all electrified, I suspect all of the Carlisle lines have enough electrification to be run by modern four-car Aventra IPEMU trains, charging their batteries where overhead power is available and running on batteries as needed.
Some of the lines, including possibly the Borders Railway, are probably ready for Aventra IPEMUs now, with a bit of modification to platforms, track and signalling! Some like probably the Cumbria Coast Line would need some electrification or other means to charge the batteries en route.
So the answer to the electrification question must be yes, if Aventra IPEMUs are used.
But it would create a local railway network, as good as any in Europe, in an environmentally-friendly but totally affordable way.
It would be a showpiece of British technology and an attraction to rail enthusiasts from all over the world.
The network also connects to four World Heritage Sites and the Lake District, Hadrian’s Wall and the major cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle.
Would An Extended Borders Railway Provide Extra Capacity Between England And Scotland?
The Borders Railway has a limited number of paths for trains and when a steam special is run, one of the diesel multiple units has to give up its slot. Read various criticisms on Wikipedia.
My scheduling experience, does suggest to me, that if the line was run by the faster and better accelerating electric trains, including Aventra IPEMUs, that this might create some extra capacity on the line.
Unless the line was fully electrified, it wouldn’t be a route for using the electric trains that run up the East and West Coast Main Lines.
But it would be able to take services run by Aventra IPEMUs or any diesel-hauled passenger or freight trains.
These capacity arguments would also apply to the Glasgow and South Western Line, so with a bit of selective electrification and Aventra IPEMUs, some extra capacity might be squeezed in.
I certainly think that a railway time-tabling expert could certainly find some extra capacity.
But it might be overnight freight trains?
Are There Any Branches To The Borders Railway That Could Be Created?
The original Waverley route had several branches including to Peebles and Hexham.
Midlothian Council have also thought about a branch to Penicuik.
Extra branches are up to the economics and the politicians.
Conclusion
In my view, not to extend the Borders Railway to Carlisle by way of Melrose and Hawick, would be total stupidity.
The problem is that despite being totally in Scotland, extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle, has substantial benefits for England too!
What will Nicola think?
Is Northern Electrification Going To Use Battery Trains?
This report on the BBC is entitled Network Rail to restart electrification of train lines. This is said.
The electrification of two railway lines is to be restarted after the projects were halted so a review could be carried out, the government says.
Work on the TransPennine Express Railway – between Manchester and York – and Midland Mainline – from London to Sheffield – was paused in June.
Sir Peter Hendy, chair of Network Rail, said the “temporary pause” had “given us the space to develop a better plan”
The Aventra IPEMU
Looking at the electrification of the two lines in posts over the previous few days, I have come to the conclusion that properly engineered battery trains built by Bombardier in Derby called Aventra IPEMUs (Independently Powered Electrical Multiple Units) could charge their batteries on existing sections of electrification and jump the gaps at speeds of up to at least 110 mph and possibly 125 mph, by running on batteries.
If that sounds like something that is too good to be true, I don’t believe it is! I was impressed when as a paying passenger, I rode the prototype train between Manningtree and Harwich.
For those who think that a battery train is just so-much Mickey Mouse-technology, note that the battery supplier; Valence is linked to Tessla; the electric vehicle manufacturer. A review of their latest car is on Autocar. The biggest problem with the car is not the power, range and performance, but the time it takes to charge the car from a typical supply. In addition to the overhead wire or third rail of the railway, an Aventra IPEMU has to charge the battery, the train will also charge the batteries using the regenerative braking system.
The TransPennine Line
On the TransPennine Line from Liverpool to Newcastle, the only gap in the electrification is the forty-three miles between Leeds and Manchester.
Aventra IPEMUs have a range of sixty miles, so Liverpool to Newcastle would be electric all the way and could be faster by up to thirty minutes on the current three hour journey.
Read Jumping The Electrification Gap Between Leeds And Manchester for full details on what it would entail.
The Midland Main Line
On the Midland Main Line, the electrification reaches from St. Pancras to Bedford.
As Corby, Kettering and Leicester are all within an Aventra IPEMU’s range from Bedford, these places could be served by these trains, once a certain amount of track and station work had been completed.
Read Thoughts On Midland Main Line Electrification for full details.
Delivering The Projects
The BBC article says this about the schedule.
The TransPennine upgrade is expected to provide capacity for six “fast or semi-fast trains” per hour between Manchester, Leeds and York , reducing journey times by up to 15 minutes.
The Manchester to York section of the work is now planned to be completed by 2022.
Once completed, the whole line from Liverpool to Newcastle will be fully electrified, the Department for Transport added.
The electrification of Midland Mainline north of Bedford to Kettering and Corby will now be completed by 2019, and the line north of Kettering to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and to Sheffield will finish by 2023.
My project management knowledge and observations of Network Rail, say that to get electric trains to Kettering and Corby by 2019, would be a very tight schedule to perform on a working railway using conventional electrification!
But if it were needed to replace the current Class 222 trains with Aventra IPEMUs, it would just be a matter of certifying the line for the new Aventra IPEMUs and training the drivers and other staff.
There would be little or no work outside in the elements and all of the electrification would effectively be done in a comfortable warm factory at Derby!
I also feel that if say Network Rail said that the projects would be delivered on a particular date, that the risk of non-delivery would be very small.
Aventra IPEMUs can’t be delivered earlier, as the Derby factory will be jammed solid with production of Aventras for Crossrail.
On the other hand to prove the concept, would Bombardier modify a Class 387 train to create an IPEMU variant to run in passenger service between St.Pancras and Corby. Note that there have already been rumours of Class 387 IPEMU variants for Great Western Railway.
I wouldn’t be surprised if such a train is created, as it would be a superb way to identify any problems, train staff, prove the credibility of battery trains to a sceptical public and even deliver electric trains earlier.
A Cunning Plan
There are twenty seven Class 387 trains running on the Thameslink route at the moment, that will be replaced by Class 700 trains between 2016 and 2018.
As the Great Western Main Line won’t be electrified to Newbury, Swindon and Oxford until 2019 or whatever, there does seem to be the possibility of some very new Class 387 trains going into storage.
But as they are very similar to the Class 379 that was used for the IPEMU demonstrator, I do wonder if those clever engineers at Bombardier could convert some of these 110 mph trains into an IPEMU variant that could be used on services on TransPennine and the Midland Main Line.
If there were any spare Class 379 trains, I’m sure that other train companies would find a use for them! Especially, if Bombardier developed a plug-in battery system for the trains, so they could be used to prove if IPEMUs improved the lot of passengers on secondary lines.
You have to make your assets sweat.
Conclusion
I may be wrong, but I can’t see any other way to meet the schedule that has been published, unless some form of IPEMU is used to bridge the gaps in electrification..
It could be said that the North needs fast electric trains now and George Osborne needs them by 2020, as he has an election to win!
It might not matter much to most people if the trains didn’t run until say August 2020, but George Osborne would be unlikely to win an election in May 2020, if the trains were not delivered and running smoothly.
The Anonymous Widower 