Cunning Electrification On The North London Line
I took a trip on the North London Line from Highbury & Islington station to Richmond station.
I took various pictures on the way.
25 KVAC Overhead Electrification
East of Acton Central station, typical 25 KVAC overhead electrification is used.
It may need to be beefed up, if more large electric locomotives haul freight trains along the North London Line.
Gunnersbury Station
Gunnersbury station is a two-platform station with London Underground four-rail electrification.
It can be used by London Underground S-Stock and London Overground Class 378 trains.
It must help that both trains were built by Bombardier in Derby.
Kew Gardens Station
Kew Gardens station is a two-platform station with London Underground four-rail electrification.
As with Gunnersbury station, both types of train can use both platforms.
Richmond Station
Richmond station is both a through and terminal station.
Note.
- Platforms 1 and 2 are through platforms for South Western main line services.
- Platforms 3 to 7 are for terminating London Underground and Overground services.
- Platforms 1 to 3 have traditional third-rail electrification.
- Platforms 4 to 7 have London Underground four-rail electrification.
- If needed, it may be possible to add another platform between platforms 3 and 4.
It looks like a lot of flexibility has been built in.
I have a few general thoughts.
Getting The Voltages Right
London Underground’s system used to use 630 VDC for its four-rail system, whereas Network Rail’s system uses 750 VDC.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that both trains use quality power electronics that can work on a range of voltages. This would enable London Underground to up their voltage to the same 750 VDC as used by Network Rail.
In Chiltern Sets Out New Fleet Ambitions, I talked about how Chiltern Railways could use London Underground’s four-rail electrification between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Amersham stations to charge the batteries.
As an electrical engineer, I don’t think this is outrageous.
London Overground: Design Work For West London Orbital Route Begins
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Plans for a new London Overground link in west London are progressing, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has said.
These paragraphs outline what will happen.
Engineering consultants who worked on the Elizabeth line have been chosen for the West London Orbital service.
“This engineering design will help determine the cost of delivering the scheme, which is currently unfunded,” Transport for London (TfL) said.
It hopes the scheme, which would connect Hounslow with Hendon and West Hampstead, could start next decade.
My feeling, is that they should get on with it.
- There would be no major construction like tunnels.
- Four stations would need to be built.
- I doubt there will be any demolition.
- It wouldn’t need more electrification, as the route is electrified at both ends and battery-electric trains could be used.
- It would create more connections to Old Oak Common for High Speed Two.
But if it does for North West London, what the Overground has done for North and East London, it will be very much worth it.
These are a few thoughts and observations.
The Route
This is a schematic of the route from the BBC article.
Note.
- Services will be between West Hampstead Thameslink and Hounslow stations and between Hendon and Kew Bridge stations.
- If services follow the London Overground frequency, they will be four trains per hour (tph).
- The new stations are Neasden, Harlesden, Old Oak Common Lane and Lionel Road.
- Acton Central, Brentford, South Acton, Syon Lane and West Hampstead Thameslink are step-free and Isleworth is on the way.
- The fully step-free Brent Cross West station will open soon.
- Lionel Road station will serve the new Brentford stadium.
- Old Oak Common Lane will serve High Speed Two, the Elizabeth Line and the North London Line.
They look to be a useful set of stations.
Kew Bridge Station
There’s been a lot of development at Kew Bridge station, since I was last there.
There are lots of flats and Brentford’s new stadium.
I suspect all the stations between Kew Bridge and Hounslow will see similar levels of development.
Electrification Issues On The Dudding Hill Line
The Dudding Hill Line forms the Northern section of the route between the Midland Main Line and the North London Line at Acton Wells Junction.
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the junction between the Dudding Hill and Midland Main Lines.
Note.
- The Midland Main Line is shown in red as it is electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
- The Dudding Hill Line is shown in black, as it isn’t electrified.
This second map from OpenRailwayMap shows the junction between the Dudding Hill and North London Lines at Acton Wells junction.
Note.
- As before red tracks are electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires and black tracks have no electrification.
- The Dudding Hill Line is the black track running North-South at the West of the map.
- Acton Wells junction, where the Dudding Hill and North London Lines join is in the South-West corner of the map.
- The North London Line is shown in red running across the North-West corner of the map.
- The Great Western Main Line is shown in red running across the South-East corner of the map.
- High Speed Two will run East-West across the map and is shown dotted in red.
- The red lines in the middle of the map is the Elizabeth Line depot.
With all the 25 KVAC overhead electrification at both ends of the Dudding Hill Line, it would appear, that if this section is ever electrified, it will be electrified with this form of electrification.
There may be a problem, in that there are three or four bridges over the line.
Electrification Issues At Kew
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the triangular junction by Kew Bridge station.
Note.
- As before black tracks have no electrification.
- Mauve tracks are electrified with 750 VDC third-rail electrification.
- Kew Bridge station is indicated by the blue arrow at the Eastern point of the junction.
- Trains to Hounslow will arrive in the North-East corner of the map and go diagonally across the map to leave in the South-West point of the junction.
- Trains to Kew Bridge will arrive in the North-East corner of the map and take the Eastern chord of the junction to a new platform in Kew Bridge station.
Brentford’s new stadium and a lot of housing are in the middle of the junction.
It would seem to be obvious to electrify the triangular junction using 750 VDC third-rail electrification.
But not to the ORR it isn’t, as they won’t allow any new third-rail electrification to be installed on Health and Safety grounds.
Charging Trains At Kew Bridge Station
Consider.
- It looks like trains from Hendon will terminate in a new platform on the chord without electrification to the North of the current Kew Bridge station.
- A short length of 25 KVAC overhead electrification could be used to charge trains.
It may be sensible to build two platforms on the chord, as this could allow more flexible operation of the London Overground during engineering works.
Charging Trains At Hounslow Station
A short length of 25 KVAC overhead electrification could be used to charge trains.
Project Management Issues
I believe this could be one of those projects, where by careful selection of the order of the sub-projects, time and money can be saved and passengers will see benefits earlier.
For example.
- Early delivery of Old Oak Common Lane station would also connect the North London Line to High Speed Two and the Elizabeth Line.
- Early delivery of step-free access at Kew Bridge station would help passengers going to the new Brentford stadium.
There may be other projects, that need an early delivery.
The Feltham And Wokingham Resignalling Programme
The Feltham And Wokingham Resignalling Programme is currently underway and there are pairs of new and old signals everywhere between Kew Bridge and Feltham and also between Feltham and Richmond.
These are digital signals and according to Network Rail, they will increase the capacity, which must surely allow the extra trains between Kew Bridge and Hounslow stations.
This signalling project finishes in mid-2024, so I suspect by then the Southern part of the West London Orbital Railway will not have any problems with interaction with other services.
The Feltham And Wokingham Resignalling Programme could be considered an important enabling sub-project of the West London Orbital Railway, that is being performed early.
Richmond Station
As I came through Richmond station, there was an Overground train in Platform 3 and I noticed that Platforms 3 to 5 were allocated to the Overground.
Has the new signalling given Network Rail and train operators more flexibility and extra capacity at Richmond?
Currently, the London Overground runs four trains per hour (tph) between Stratford and Richmond.
The increased flexibility may allow the following.
- An increase in frequency of trains to Stratford.
- An increase in frequency of District Line trains, if Ealing Broadway station swaps from being a District to a Piccadilly Line terminus, as I wrote about in Extending The Elizabeth Line – Piccadilly Line To Ealing Broadway.
- Could Richmond also act as a terminal of the West London Orbital Railway during construction and engineering works?
Another benefit that could be arranged is to run the current four tph London Overground services into Platform 3.
These pictures show a Waterloo-bound South Western Railway train in Platform 2 and a Stratford-bound London Overground train in Platform 3.
As there are 8 tph between Richmond and Waterloo via Clapham Junction, this could be quite a useful cross-platform interchange for passengers going from say Staines or Windsor to Hampstead.
Trains
Consider.
- The three most likely Northern termini are Brent Cross West, Hendon and West Hampstead Thameslink.
- There could be other terminals on the North London Line or the Gospel Oak and Barking Line.
- All possible Northern terminals have 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- The two most likely Southern terminals are Hounslow and Kew Bridge.
- There may be other possible Southern terminals like Twickenham or Richmond.
- All possible Southern terminals have 750 VDC third-rail electrification.
- The sections without electrification of the route are less than twelve miles.
- The ORR won’t allow any new third-rail electrification.
It looks like the trains will need to be dual-voltage with a battery capability.
In this article in Global Rail News from 2011, which is entitled Bombardier’s AVENTRA – A new era in train performance, gives some details of the Aventra’s electrical systems. This is said.
AVENTRA can run on both 25kV AC and 750V DC power – the high-efficiency transformers being another area where a heavier component was chosen because, in the long term, it’s cheaper to run. Pairs of cars will run off a common power bus with a converter on one car powering both. The other car can be fitted with power storage devices such as super-capacitors or Lithium-ion batteries if required. The intention is that every car will be powered although trailer cars will be available.
Unlike today’s commuter trains, AVENTRA will also shut down fully at night. It will be ‘woken up’ by remote control before the driver arrives for the first shift
This was published over twelve years ago, so I suspect Bombardier or Alstom have refined the concept.
In an article in the October 2017 Edition of Modern Railways, which is entitled Celling England By The Pound, Ian Walmsley says this in relation to trains running on the Uckfield Branch, which is not very challenging.
A modern EMU needs between 3 and 5 kWh per vehicle mile for this sort of service.
So for a four-car running for twelve miles, the train would need a battery capacity of between 144 and 240 kWh.
These are not large batteries.
I suspect that the best trains for the route, will be dual-voltage Class 710 trains.
- The Class 710/2 variant used on the Gospel Oak and Barking Line is dual-voltage.
- London Overground has 54 Class 710 trains.
- I am certain, that the batteries needed can be fitted to the trains.
- Aventras are still in production in Derby.
A test battery-electric version could probably be created and tested on the short Romford and Upminster Line.
There may be other places in London and the rest of the UK, where a four-car battery-electric Aventra would be the ideal train.
A North London Line With Digital Signalling
In Digital Signalling Implications For North London, I indicated that there may be benefits in equipping the North London Line with digital signalling.
- It would ease co-ordination of services between Gunnersbury and Richmond stations, where track, stations and signalling are shared with the District Line.
- All freight trains are being fitted with digital signalling capabilities.
Obviously, the other benefits of digital signalling like closer running of trains would apply.
Current Service Levels
The Service Levels section of the Wikipedia entry for the North London Line, gives the following details..
Services run seven days a week and since the December 2018 timetable change are the same all day.
- Four trains per hour (tph) – Richmond and Stratford
- Four tph – Clapham Junction and Stratford
Which gives eight tph between Willesden Junction and Stratford
Compared to the service I remember from the 1980s, it is a great improvement.
Possible Future Service Levels
London Reconnections is a web site, that usually gets things right.
In this article, which is entitled More Trains for London Overground: A Bargain Never to be Repeated, this is said.
London Overground have a long-held desire to increase the frequency on the WLL from 4tph to 6tph. They also aspire to another 2tph (at least) from Clapham Junction continuing to Stratford, to further increase the frequency on the North London Line (NLL). This would enable 10tph on eastern end of the North London line. This is due to be implemented with the main order of the new Class 710 stock.
What, it is suspected, London Overground would really like is to have 6tph from Richmond to Stratford and 6tph from Clapham Junction all the way to Stratford. Unfortunately, the additional trains to Stratford would appear to rely on freight, travelling between East London and the West Coast Main Line, using the route via Gospel Oak instead of via the NLL. Until that actually happens, sometime after the electrification of the GOBLIN, such an intensive service on the NLL can only be a dream.
Would this mean this service?
- Six tph – Richmond and Stratford
- Six tph – Clapham Junction and Stratford
Which gives twelve tph between Willesden Junction and Stratford
I can’t say I’d complain living equidistant from Dalston Kingsland and Canonbury stations.
Richmond Station
The current service between Richmond and Gunnersbury station is as follows.
- Four tph – London Overground to Stratford
- Six tph – District Line to Upminster
Digital signalling on the District Line is likely to add 33% capacity to Peak Hour services, so this would mean another two trains to Upminster.
So a future service could be as follows.
- Six tph – London Overground to Stratford
- Eight tph – District Line to Upminster
This level of service could be easily handled by conventional signalling and good driving or by digital signalling.
Piccadilly Line To Ealing Broadway Station
This article on Chiswick W4, is entitled Major Reorganisation Of Local Tube Services Planned.
This is said.
The decision appears to have been made by Transport for London (TfL) to press ahead with a major restructuring of local underground services. This would see the District line service to Ealing Broadway ended and services switched to the Piccadilly line. The rolling stock would transfer to the Richmond and Wimbledon branches of the District line allowing an increase in regularity for these services.
Currently, Ealing Broadway station has a six tph service to Upminster on the District Line.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines at Ealing Broadway station.
Note that after the changeover, the following would apply.
- The Piccadilly Line would have three platforms.
- In a few years time, the Central and Piccadilly Lines will have similar trains.
- Passengers for Turnham Green, Stamford Brook and Ravensbrook Park, would use the Piccadilly Line, which would probably have a higher frequency.
- Passengers for Victoria and other stations in the East on the District Line, would probably have a step-free cross-platform interchange at a number of stations.
But I think, that probably the main reason for the change, is that it will make the proposed frequency of well upwards of twenty tph of the Piccadilly Line easier to operate.
Consider.
- The platforms would help with service recovery,
- I suspect that TfL would like to see a Victoria Line frequency of thirty-six tph.
- Currently, twenty-four tph run between Arnos Grove and Acton Town in the Peak.
- Twenty-one tph run in the Off Peak.
If thirty-six tph is the intended frequency, then two terminal platforms in a rebuilt step-free Ealing Broadway station, could turn a lot of trains.
A Side Effect Of Changing The District Line Terminus
If the District Line service of six tph to Ealing Broadway, were to be reallocated between Richmond and Wimbledon, this would add three tph to the section between Gunnersbury and Richmond.
So now we could be looking at seventeen tph between Gunnersbury and Richmond stations.
Will that mean that North London Line trains to Richmond will need digital signalling and automatic train control?
The West London Orbital Railway
The proposed West London Orbital Railway will use the Dudding Hill Line to create the following services.
- West Hampstead to Hounslow
- Hendon to Kew Bridge
If both routes run at four tph, then it will add eight tph to the North London Line between Acton Wells and South Acton junctions.
Added to the six tph between Richmond and Stratford, this would be fourteen tph through Acton Central and South Acton stations.
Digital signalling on the North London Line and the West London Orbital Railway would probably ease the merging of trains for the joint section.
Freight
It appears that there are up to four freight trains per hour in both directions on the line.
The Level Crossing At Acton Central Station
I doubt the users of the level crossing at Acton Central would like the levels of traffic, that digital signalling would enable.
A Summary Of Passenger Services
I can summarise the passenger train frequencies as follows.
- Stratford to Willesden Junction – 12 tph
- Willesden Junction to Acton Wells Junction – 6 tph
- Acton Wells Junction to South Acton Junction – 14 tph
- South Acton Junction to Gunnersbury – 6 tph
- Gunnersbury to Richmond – 16 tph
I have assumed all developments mentioned earlier take place.
The Effect Of High Speed Two And Crossrail
When High Speed Two and Crossrail open at Old Oak Common station, this must surely increase the number of passengers using the North London Line, by a significant amount.
There will be two new stations.
- Old Oak Common Lane station will be between Willesden Junction and North Acton stations.
- Hythe Road station will be on the West London Line between Willesden Junction and Shepherds Bush stations.
Will the proposed six tph, each of five cars have sufficient capacity?
Conclusion
It looks to me, that they’ll come a time, when digital signalling will be needed to squeeze the required number of trains along the North London Line.
As I said in the previous section, traffic will continue to grow on the North and West London Lines because of High Speed 2 and Crossrail, as it has done since the route’s reopening with new trains in 2010.
I feel there will come a time, when trains will have to be lengthened from their current length of five cars.
Can all the stations on the route be extended if necessary?
Around The Hounslow Loop Line
The Hounslow Loop Line is a suburban railway in South-West London, that runs in a loop off the Waterloo to Reading Line.
Today, to get to know the line, I took a Hounslow train from Waterloo and after passing through Clapham Junction, Putney and Barnes stations, the train took to the Hounslow Loop Line calling at a succession of stations on both sides of the Thames.
We waited a minute or so at Hounslow station, before starting to return via Whitton and Twickenham stations.
When the train got to Richmond station, I changed to the North London Line to come home directly, whilst the train went back into Waterloo, by way of the Waterloo to Reading Line.
These pictures give a flavour of the Hounslow Loop Line.
It is a very tidy suburban line.
- Most platforms have been lengthened to take ten-car trains.
- Whitton station has been rebuilt as I wrote about in How To Spend Five Million Pounds.
- It has a triangular junction with the North London Line around Kew Bridge station.
- In the mid-2000s, the train frequency on the line was doubled from 2 trains per hour (tph) to four.
All of this work has led to a 162% increase in passengers between 2004-5 and 2007-8.
I wonder what is the limit of trains round the Hounslow Loop Line.
This is more proof if it were needed, that suburban lines need at least 4 tph to really bring in the passengers.
Transport for London’s Orbital Railway
In August 2014, I wrote Will The Gospel Oak To Barking Line Be Extended To Hounslow?, which was based on a Modern Railways report on the Mayor’s Transport Infrastructure Plan for 2050. This is said.
There may be a case for further orbital rail capacity, says the document – it shows an indicative, uncosted network to link Hounslow, Old Oak Common, Neasden, West Hampstead, Harringay, Walthamstow, Barking, Abbey Wood, Bexleyheath, Norwood Junction, Sutton and New Malden and back to Hounslow, with another route between Abbey Wood and New Malden via Lewisham, Peckham Rye and Wimbledon.
The proposed orbital railway passes takes a route from Hounslow to Wimbledon via the following stations.
- Whitton
- Twickenham
- Strawberry Hill
- Teddington
- Kingston
- New Malden
- Raynes Park
Nothing concrete has been said since about the railway, but the following is happening or planned.
- The Gospel Oak to Barking Line (GOBlin) is being electrified.
- New four-car Class 710 trains will go to the GOBlin and the Watford DC Line.
- More five-car Class 378 trains will be available to boost services on the North London Line.
All these should happen by the end of 2018.
Will More North London Line Trains Go To Richmond?
Currently the North London Line service from Richmond is 4 tph to and from Stratford.
It takes around an hour, which is ten minutes faster than going via Waterloo and taking the Jubilee Line.
The only possibly faster way would be when Old Oak Common station is opened and a change there would be made to Crossrail.
I estimate, that this could result in a timing of around 45 minutes or perhaps lightly less.
As Old Oak Common station, will also have connections to HS2, the West Coast Main Line ans other important routes, Richmond to Old Oak Common could become a very heavily used route.
4 tph would probably not be enough trains, especially as the current service to the East from Willesden Junction is 8 tph.
So I think it quite likely, that the frequency between Richmond and Old Oak Common stations would be eight tph.
The extra four trains, wouldn’t need to go all the way to Stratford, as there has been talk of alternative routes.
- Terminate at Old Oak Common.
- Terminate at somewhere convenient on the North London Line.
- Terminate at Barking via the Gospel Oak to Barking Line
- Go Along the Dudding Hill Line to Brent Cross Thameslink
The choice would be large.
But could Richmond handle the increased frequency of trains?
If the trains used the same route as now, there is probably a current limit of 4 tph, as the route is shared with the District Line from Gunnersbury station. Especially, as the District Line service will be increased!
So alternative ways of turning the trains is needed.
Trains could take the Houslow Loop Line after South Acton station and go through Hounslow, Whitton and perhaps terminate at Twickenham, where it should be possible to create a suitable bay platform.
But it’s not just events at Twickenham that need more capacity and North London Line services, so could we see services going in a loop via Hounslow, Whitton, Twickenham and Richmond?
This Google Map shows the line between Richmond and North Sheen stations.
Between Richmond and North Sheen Stations
Note.
- Richmond station is to the West.
- North Sheen station to the East.
- The North London Line turns North off the line through the two stations.
In some ways, North Sheen station is a bit of a mess and a real problem.
- It has a level crossing at one end.
- It has no disabled access.
- There is another three level crossings between Mortlake and Barnes stations, which are the next stations on the line towards London.
- The level crossings feature regularly in Google News with respect to accidents, failures and suicides.
It might be best, if North Sheen station was completely rebuilt and the level crossings are consigned to the dustbin of history.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the layout of lines at Richmond station.
Platforms And Lines At Richmond Station
I don’t think it would be too difficult to complete the loop, so that trains from the North London Line could turn without needing a terminal platform
It has a level crossing at one end.It has no disabled access.There is another three level crossings between Mortlake and Barnes stations, which are the next stations on the line towards London.
Improving Richmond To Waterloo
But the problems of the level crossings are still there!
These posts describe the line between Richmond and Barnes station.
- Is There A Worse Station Than This In London?, describes North Sheen station.
- Mortlake Station With A Level Crossing
- A Level Crossing In White Hart Lane, Barnes
- A Pair Of Level Crossings At Vine Road, Barnes
Currently, 8 tph run on the lines between Richmond and Waterloo via Clapham Junction stations.
In the other direction, the service is as follows.
- 2 tph to Reading
- 2 tph to Windsor and Eton Riverside.
- 2 tph to Waterloo via Hounslow and Brentford
- 2 tph to Waterloo via Kingston and Wimbledon.
Richmond will become an important station connecting lots of places to Old Oak Common.
Will 8 tph between Richmond and Waterloo be sufficient?
Heathrow Airtrack
Heathrow Airtrack was an attempt to create a link from Waterloo to Heathrow Airport.
Wikipedia says this about the proposal.
The scheme, estimated to cost around £673 million, was controversial mainly because of the projected impact on local road traffic due to the high number of level crossings on the route.
Trains would have been 2 tph calling at the following stations.
- Clapham Junction
- Richmond
- Twickenham
- Feltham
- Staines
Could another 2 tph be squeezed in through Richmond?
With difficulty and Automatic Train Operation, it might be a possibility.
But it also looks like the level crossings have already killed one project.
On the other hand, it does appear that if more capacity could be created between Richmond and Waterloo, other services would follow.
The Anonymous Widower 