Siemens Mobility Looks To Build Battery Trains In Goole
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway News.
These first three paragraphs add more details.
Siemens Mobility has announced plans to build battery-powered trains in Goole, Yorkshire, to replace ageing fleets on Britain’s railway.
The manufacturer envisions that battery trains could replace rolling stock for operators such as Chiltern, Great Western Railway (GWR), Northern, ScotRail, TransPennine Express (TPE) and Transport for Wales (TfW) within the next decade.
This would mitigate the need to electrify all sections of the track to deliver zero-emission solutions. In doing so, 3.5 billion GBP could be saved and 12 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could be avoided over 35 years.
Note.
- The post is dated in June 2024, so I am sorry I didn’t spot it earlier.
- It talks in detail about Siemens’ plans for battery-electric trains.
- It also talks about the Siemens’ Rail Charging Converter, which can power short lengths of overhead wires for charging trains from the domestic grid.
- I also talked about Siemens’ technology in Technology Behind Siemens Mobility’s British Battery Trains Hits The Tracks.
It is certainly a must-read article.
Coventry To Leicester In A Flash? New Rail Plans Promise Faster, Greener Travel!
The title of this post, is the same as this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the sub-heading.
Passengers travelling between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham have outlined their support for proposed upgrades to reconnect the cities by direct rail for the first time in over two decades.
These first two paragraphs add some detail.
Despite being located just 23 miles apart, travelling between the cities requires passengers to change trains in Nuneaton, with wait times for the connection often exceeding 30 minutes. As a result, just 3% of trips between Coventry and Leicester are made by train; compared to 30% of journeys made between Coventry and Birmingham.
Midlands Connect recently visited Nuneaton railway station to speak with passengers travelling between the cities, waiting for their onward connection, about the proposed upgrades and how they would be impacted.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the route between Coventry and Leicester.
Note.
- Coventry is in the South-West corner of the map.
- Leicester is in the North-East corner of the map.
- Nuneaton, where you currently have to change trains,is marked by a blue arrow.
- The red track passing through Nuneaton station, is the Trent Valley Line.
Services between Coventry, Leicester and Nuneaton are run by two companies.
- CrossCountry run a half-hourly service between between Birmingham New Street and Leicester via Nuneaton.
- West Midlands Trains run an hourly service between Leamington Spa and Nuneaton via Coventry.
I feel ideally, that Leicester and Coventry need a half-hourly service, but an hourly service would be easy and a half-hourly service would mean a four-trains per hour (tph) service between Leicester and Nuneaton.
Probably, the easiest service would be to extend the hourly Leamington Spa and Nuneaton to Leicester, with a reverse at Nuneaton.
What Does The Article Mean By Greener Trains?
I would expect the article means battery-electric trains, but the only mention is in the title.
Could Leicester And Coventry Be Served By Battery-Electric Trains?
This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at Nuneaton station.
And this OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at Coventry station.
As electrified tracks are shown in red, it would appear that all tracks at both stations are electrified.
The platforms at Coventry and Nuneaton, may be good enough for a quick Splash and Dash, but trains don’t spend long enough in the stations for a full charge.
- Perhaps the solution is to install one of Siemens’s Rail Charging Converters in Leamington Spa and Leicester stations.
- The distance between Leamington Spa and Leicester stations is 48.3 miles, which is well within the range of a battery-electric train.
- Leamington Spa and Nuneaton takes 38 minutes.
- Leicester and Nuneaton takes 27 minutes.
I feel an efficient hourly service could be created between Leicester and Leamington Spa using battery-electric trains.
Onward To Nottingham
Nottingham is another 27.5 miles from Leicester and currently takes 48 minutes in a Class 170 train.
Connections To The North-West And Scotland At Coventry And Nuneaton
They are good and could be more numerous and better.
Could Hydrogen-Powered Trains Be Used?
Yes! If a UK hydrogen-powered train existed!
Cost Of The Project
As reasonably modern trains happily use the route between Leamington Spa and Leicester every day, I suspect that little needs to be done on the full route to create a new service.
So the cost of the project would be sufficient new battery-electric trains and the ability to charge them at Leamington Spa and Leicester.
Conclusion
I believe that Coventry and Leicester would be an easy route to run using an hourly battery-electric train.
It could be extended to Leamington Spa at one end and Nottingham at the other.
Electrification – The Baldrick Way
Electrification In England
There are two major electrification projects underway in England at the moment; the Midland Main Line to Sheffield and Nottingham and the TransPennine Upgrade between Church Fenton and Stalybridge via Leeds and Huddersfield.
In addition, there are other important routes, that need to be electrified around the UK.
- Edinburgh and Aberdeen
- Crewe and Holyhead
- Newbury and Taunton
- Cardiff and Fishguard
- Bristol and Penzance
- Peterborough and Birmingham
- Peterborough and Doncaster via Lincoln
- Felixstowe and Peterborough
There must be loads of other important routes.
Do We Need Electrification Or A Zero-Carbon Railway?
A zero-carbon Railway is probably sufficient, as that would include traditional electrification.
Are The Electrification On The Midland Main Line And The TransPennine Upgrade Working To Similar Objectives?
The Midland Main Line carries the following services.
- Long distance expresses between London St. Pancras and Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield, which will be run in the future, by Hitachi bi-mode express trains.
- Local suburban electrics between London St. Pancras and Bedford and Corby.
- A variety of heavy freight trains between Chesterfield and London.
- Various regional services run by diesel multiple units.
The Midland Main Line is a typical mixed railway.
It is electrified between London St. Pancras and Wigston Junction, which is a total of 95.3 miles.
Sheffield is a further 69.4 miles from Wigston and Nottingham is just 31.1 miles.
The maximum range needed by a battery-electric train is 69.4 miles.
The TransPennine Route carries the following services.
- Long distance expresses between Liverpool and Newcastle and Hull via Manchester, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds, which are run by Hitachi bi-mode express trains and diesel multiple units.
- Local suburban electrics around Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds
- A variety of heavy freight trains along the route.
- Various regional services run by diesel multiple units.
The TransPennine Route is another typical mixed railway and carries a similar traffic mix to the Midland Main Line.
Much of the TransPennine Route is electrified, with these exceptions.
- Cleethorpes and Doncaster 52.1 miles
- Doncaster and Manchester Piccadilly – 61.2 miles
- Manchester United FC and Liverpool South Parkway – 26.2 miles
- Hull and Leeds – 51.8 miles
- Redcar and Northallerton – 28.1 miles
- Scarborough and York – 42.1 miles
- Stalybridge and Church Fenton – 50 miles
The maximum range needed by a battery-electric train is 61.2 miles.
This brief analysis indicates to me, that Hitachi battery-electric bi-modes with a range of eighty miles on batteries and charging at selective stations like Cleethorpes, Hull, Nottingham, Redcar, Scarborough and Sheffield could run electric high speed trains on both the Midland Main Line and the TransPennine Route with very little extra infrastructure.
I asked Google AI what is the range of a Class 802 train on batteries and received this reply.
A Class 802 train converted for a battery-electric trial, known as BEMU, has demonstrated the capability to run up to 60 miles (approximately 97 km) on batteries in a trial setting, with real-world data suggesting potential future trains could achieve a range of 100 to 150 km (62 to 93 miles). This technology is intended to allow these trains to cover non-electrified sections of track, reducing the need for overhead wires and potentially saving on electrification costs for intercity routes.
In What Will Be The Range Of A Hitachi Class 800 Battery Train?, I came to this conclusion.
The first version of the battery-electric train will have a range of around a hundred miles, so that they can handle the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line diversion, which is 93.7 miles, on battery power.
But fairly soon after introduction into service, I will be very surprised if they don’t claim the Guinness world record by running farther than the Stadler FLIRT Akku’s 139 miles.
No-one likes being second!
The 93.7 miles needed for the East Coast Main Line diversion via the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line through Lincoln will be more than enough range for Hitachi’s battery-electric trains to run the full length of both the Midland Main Line and the TransPennine Route.
Electrifying A Route
I think that Network Rail have identified an efficient way to electrify an express route.
You start by doing these actions.
- Get the track layout right, so that trains can use the route at the optimal speed.
- Update the signalling to a high standard. I suspect digital signalling would be a good idea, to maximise the capacity of a route.
- Make sure, that the chosen battery-electric express trains can handle the route.
- Charging stations would be installed as required.
The battery-electric trains would be introduced as soon as the route is ready.
Hopefully with good project management, there would be the following benefits compared to traditional electrification.
- Difficult sections like tunnels could be left without electrification.
- Fewer bridges would need to be demolished and rebuilt.
- There would be less disruption to local residents.
- Siemens have developed a Rail Charging Converter, which connects to the domestic rather than the National Grid, so is easier to install.
But the big benefit is that new electric trains could probably be introduced earlier, which hopefully should increase ridership and revenue.
Once the expresses were working well, the best way to decarbonise the rest of the services on the route can be ascertained and actioned.
RWE Opens ‘Grimsby Hub’ For Offshore Wind Operations And Maintenance
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
RWE officially opened its ‘Grimsby Hub’ offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) facility in the UK on 9 July. From the new O&M base, located at Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Port of Grimsby, RWE’s teams will maintain and operate the Triton Knoll and Sofia offshore wind farms.
These are the first two paragraphs.
The Grimsby Hub also houses RWE’s new UK Centralised Control Room (CCR), which has been set up to provide 24/7 monitoring of the company’s UK offshore wind farms and can provide services such as marine coordination, turbine operations, alarm management, high voltage monitoring and Emergency Response services with a team of twelve operatives, the developer says.
The O&M facility is already employing over 90 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs), according to RWE, and is expected to employ around 140 RWE staff by 2027, as well as create approximately 60 new locally sourced jobs through the development of the CCR and ongoing offshore operations.
Note.
- Does RWE’s new UK Centralised Control Room control all their UK offshore wind farms?
- I have added them all up and there are almost 12 GW around our shores.
- I’ve read somewhere, that RWE are the UK’s largest power generator. From these figures, that would not surprise me.
This Google Map shows the location of RWE’s facilities in Grimsby.
Note.
- The bright red arrow at the top of the map indicates RWE Generation UK in Grimsby Docks.
- There is another RWE location to the right of the bright red arrow.
- There is a line of stations along the coast, which from left-to-right are Stallingborough, Healing, Great Coates, Grimsby Town, Grimsby Docks, New Clee and Cleethorpes.
- Cleethorpes is not shown on the map.
- Doncaster and Cleethorpes are 52.1 mile apart, which is within the range of a battery-electric Hitachi and other trains.
- Charging would be at Doncaster, which is fully electrified and at Cleethorpes, by a short length of electrification.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the layout of and the railways around Grimsby Dock.
Note.
- Cleethorpes station is indicated by the blue arrow, in the South-East corner of the map.
- Cleethorpes station has four platforms, but no electrification.
- Grimsby Docks are to the North of the railway to Cleethorpes.
- This Wikipedia entry for Cleethorpes station, shows other railways and light railways served the area. Some were even electric.
These are a few of my thoughts on the development of railways between Sheffield and Cleethorpes.
RWE Will Be A Large Driver Of Employment In Grimsby
Earlier I wrote.
- Does RWE’s new UK Centralised Control Room control all their UK offshore wind farms?
- I have added them all up and there are almost 12 GW around our shores.
- I’ve read somewhere, that RWE are the UK’s largest power generator. From these figures, that would not surprise me.
It’s a long time, since I’ve added resources to a large project, so I asked Google AI, “How many people are needed to support a 1 GW offshore wind farm in the UK?”, and received this answer.
Direct & Indirect Support: For a large-scale project, this often breaks down into approximately 100–150 direct, permanent, high-skilled roles (technicians, engineers, management) and hundreds more in indirect, contracted, or supply chain roles (vessel crews, port operations, logistics).
Industry Average: Studies suggest that for operations and maintenance (O&M), around 50–100 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs are generated per GW of installed capacity in terms of direct, permanent staff.
Key Takeaways for a 1 GW Farm:
- Direct Technicians/Operators: ~100–200+ (working on-site, turbines, or in control rooms).
- O&M Support Services: ~300–400+ (vessel operators, port logistics, supply chain).
- Total Operations Personnel: 300–600+ people.
Google AI appeared to have borrowed the figure from Ørsted and Hornsea 1 and 2.
So if it’s correct, there will be a total of 7,200 personnel supporting RWE’s wind farms in the UK. Even if only a third were employed in Grimsby, that is still a lot of people to accommodate and who will need to travel to work.
I also think a lot of personnel will come in by train, as the station is close to RWE’s locations.
Will Grimsby Have An Aberdeen-Sized Office-Shortage Problem?
One of the biggest problems, I was always hearing in the 1970s, was the shortage of offices in Aberdeen for the use of the oilmen.
In RWE Goes For An Additional 10 GW Of Offshore Wind In UK Waters In 2030, I talked about RWE’s plans for the future and published this table of new wind farms.
- Sofia – 1,400 MW
- Norfolk Boreas – 1380 MW
- Norfolk Vanguard East – 1380 MW
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1380 MW
- Dogger Bank South – 3000 MW
- Awel y Môr – 500 MW
- Five Estuaries – 353 MW
- North Falls – 504 MW
Note.
- Sofia is nearly complete.
- Only the three Norfolk and the Dogger Bank South wind farms are on the East side of England and suitable to be serviced from Grimsby., but they still total 7,140 MW.
Has Grimsby got the office-space for all the people needed?
Could The Cleethorpes And Liverpool Lime Street Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Rolling Stock?
The various sections of this route are as follows.
- Cleethorpes and Doncaster – No Electrification – 52.1 miles
- Doncaster and Meadowhall – No Electrification – 15.2 miles
- Meadowhall and Sheffield – No Electrification – 3.4 miles
- Sheffield and Dore & Totley – No Electrification – 4.2 miles
- Dore & Totley and Hazel Grove – No Electrification – 29.2 miles
- Hazel Grove and Stockport – Electrification – 3.3 miles
- Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly – Electrification – 5.9 miles
- Manchester Piccadilly and Deansgate – Electrification – 0.8 miles
- Deansgate and Liverpool South Parkway -Not Electrified – 28.2 miles
- Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street – Electrified – 5.7 miles
Adding the sections together gives.
- Cleethorpes and Hazel Grove – No Electrification – 104.1 miles
- Hazel Grove and Deansgate – Electrification – 10 miles
- Deansgate and Liverpool South Parkway -Not Electrified – 28.2 miles
- Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street – Electrified – 5.7 miles
Note.
- To cover the 104.1 miles to Hazel Grove battery-electric trains would probably need to leave Cleethorpes with full batteries.
- Doncaster is a fully-electrified station and passing trains may be able to have a quick top-up.
- In South Yorkshire Now Has Better North-South Connections, I calculated that Doncaster is a very busy station with 173 express trains per day calling at the station or one every 8.5 minutes.
- Will trains be able to stop for a long period to charge batteries?
- It may be prudent to electrify between Meadowhall and Sheffield, under the Midland Mainline Electrification.
- Sheffield and Dore & Totley is shown that it will be electrified, under the Midland Mainline Electrification.
- Do we really want to have electrification marching along the Hope Valley Line?
- I believe that hydrogen-hybrid locomotives will be a better solution for freight trains on scenic lines like the Hope Valley, as they are zero-carbon, powerful and with a range comparable to diesel.
I believe CAF, Hitachi and Siemens have off the shelf rolling stock and factories in this country, who could build trains for the Cleethorpes and Liverpool Lime Street route.
How Would You Charge Battery-Electric Trains At Cleethorpes?
This picture shows Cleethorpes station
Note.
- The four long platforms without electrification.
- The platforms have recently been refurbished.
- The train in Platform 2 is a TransPennine Express Class 185 Siemens Desiro diesel train.
The simplest way to electrify the station would be to put up enough 25 KVAC overhead wires, so that battery-electric trains needing a charge could put up a pantograph and have a refreshing drink.
In Technology Behind Siemens Mobility’s British Battery Trains Hits The Tracks, I wrote about Siemens Rail Charging Converter.
This is a visualisation of a Siemens Rail Charging Converter in action.
Note.
- The track is electrified with standard 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- The train is a standard Siemens electric or battery-electric train.
- Siemens Rail Charging Converter, which is the shed in the compound on the left is providing the electricity to energise the catenary.
- I suspect, it could power third rail electrification, if the Office of Rail and Road ever allowed it to be still installed.
- The Siemens Rail Charging Converter does have one piece of magic in the shed. I suspect it uses a battery or a large capacitor to help power the electrification, as it can be powered from any typical domestic grid supply.
- I also wonder, if it has safety devices that cut the power outside the shed if track workers or intruders are detected, where they shouldn’t be?
- It could even cut the power, when trains are not running to save power and increase safety.
This looks to me, that a Siemens Rail Charging Converter could be a superb example of out-of-the-box thinking.
Could The Cleethorpes And Barton-on-Humber Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Rolling Stock?
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways of North-East Lincolnshire.
Note.
- Cleethorpes is in the South-East Corner of the map.
- Barton-on-Humber is in the North-West corner of the map and marked by a blue-arrow.
- Stations from South to North would be New Clee, Grimsby Docks, Grimsby Town, Great Coates, Healing, Stallingborough, Habrough, Ulceby, Thornton Abbey, Goxhill, New Holland and Barrow Haven.
- The line is double track.
- Cleethorpes and Barton-on-Humber is just 22.8 miles.
- A round trip would be under fifty miles, which would be well within range of a full-charge at one end.
- Service is one train per two hours (tp2h), which would only need a single train, shuttling between Cleethorpes and Barton-on-Humber.
- Two trains could provide an hourly service.
I would expect, that well-designed, solid and reliable German engineering could build a Siemens’ Rail Charging Connector that could charge four trains per hour (tph) at Cleethorpes station.
At present services are.
- TransPennineExpress – 1 tph to Liverpool Lime Street.
- East Midlands Railway – 1 tp2h to Barton-on-Humber
- East Midlands Railway – 1 tp2h to Matlock via Lincoln and Nottingham
- Northern Trains – 1 train per day (tpd) Sheffield via Brigg.
That is probably only about two tph.
Could The Cleethorpes And Sheffield Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Rolling Stock?
This is a description of the current Cleethorpes and Sheffield service.
- It is run by Northern Trains.
- The morning train leaves Sheffield at 09:54 and arrives in Cleethorpes at 11:40.
- The afternoon train leaves Cleethorpes at 13:20 and arrives in Sheffield at 15:10.
- The train is a Class 150 diesel train, which is a bit of a Joan Collins of a train – Of a certain age, but still scrubs up extremely well!
- Intermediate stations are Worksop, Retford, Gainsborough Central, Kirton Lindsey, Brigg, Barnetby and Grimsby Town
- The route length is 71.6 miles
- Trains take about 45-50 minutes.
It is also a parliamentary train.
The Wikipedia entry for parliamentary train gives this description of the Cleethorpes and Sheffield service.
Via Kirton Lindsey & Brigg. Became a parliamentary service when weekday services were withdrawn in 1993. Regular trains have operated between Gainsborough and Sheffield for most timetable periods since. Suspended January 2022 by Northern, who cited COVID-19 and staffing issues , but the service was reinstated in December 2022. Changed in May 2023 to be one return journey on weekdays only.
In the 1950s and 1960s I lived in Felixstowe part of the time and in the 1970s and 1980s I lived near Woodbridge and I observed first hand the development of the Port of Felixstowe and the effects it had on the surrounding countryside.
The development of the Port of Felixstowe, has brought the following.
- Improved roads and railways.
- Ipswich is now an hour from London by train.
- Ipswich is now a University town.
- New housing and other developments, both in Ipswich and Felixstowe and the surrounding countryside.
- Employment also has increased considerably, both in the Port and in surrounding towns.
- Ipswich’s football team is very much respected all over Europe and has won the English top division, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup.
When you consider the jobs that RWE could create in the Port of Grimsby, I believe that this could have similar effects in Grimsby and Cleethorpes, as the Port of Felixstowe had in East Suffolk.
Already, the following are being talked about.
- A direct rail link between Cleethorpes and Grimsby to London.
- Battery-electric trains between Cleethorpes and Grimsby and Doncaster, Manchester and Liverpool Lime Street.
I believe that an improved rail link between Cleethorpes and Sheffield could be the catalyst for much needed housing along the route, which would be to the benefit of Cleethorpres, Grimsby, Sheffield and all the intermediate towns and villages on the route.
and the affects this will have on the countryside around the town, I believe that a strong case can be made out for a more frequent service between Cleethorpes and Sheffield.
Darlington And Bishop Auckland – 26th June 2025
My second trip out from Darlington was to Bishop Auckland station and I took these pictures on the way up and down.
Note.
- Bishop Auckland station is a one-platform station, but all the other stations seem to be two-platform stations.
- The railway museum; Locomotion seems to be within walking distance of Shildon station.
- There is a short section of electrified track, that Hitachi use to test trains and get them to the East Coast Main Line.
The stations seemed tidy and clean, but more step-free access is needed.
I have some further thoughts.
The Location Of Hitachi Rail
This Google Map shows the location of Hitachi Rail.
Note.
- Heighington station on the Tees Valley Line is marked by the red arrow.
- Hitachi Rail is the large building in the South-West corner of the map.
- There appear to be electrified sidings to the North of the factory, which have a connection to the Tees Valley Line.
From the map it looks efficient and well-designed.
Could The Services On The Branch Be Run By Battery-Electric Trains?
I don’t think there would be too many problems.
- Bishop Auckland and Darlington is only twelve miles.
- Both platforms at Darlington used by Tees Valley Line services are electrified.
- The single platform at Bishop Auckland station could be fitted with one of Siemens’s Rail Charging Convertors.
- Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe might like some more formal electrification between Newton Aycliffe and Darlington stations.
- An electrified Tees Valley Line would surely be useful to Hitachi for showing the capabilities of battery-electric trains.
This would be a very easy line to run using battery-electric trains.
£2.1bn North Wales Rail Overhaul Plans Unveiled
The title of this post is the same as this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A £2.1bn plan to overhaul north Wales’ railway network has been unveiled by Welsh Transport Secretary Ken Skates, but with no funding commitment from the UK government so far.
These three introductory paragraphs add more detail.
The proposals include more services, the introduction of pay-as-you-go “tap in tap out” technology, electrification of lines and a Metro-style service linking Wrexham and Liverpool.
Promising the plans would mean “better stations and more trains”, Welsh ministers have committed an initial £13m, with substantial UK government cash needed to realise the proposals.
The UK government has been asked to comment.
Having lived in Liverpool for seven years, I can understand how this upgrade will benefit Wales and also bring the area closer to Liverpool and Merseyside, to the benefit of the wider region.
There is also this press release from the Welsh Government, which is entitled “METRO IS GO” with Network North Wales.
This press release says plans include.
- Commencing work on the line between Wrexham and Liverpool as the crucial first phase of delivering metro services direct between the two cities.
- Doubling train services between Wrexham and Chester next May.
- Bringing forward the introduction of 50% more services across the North Wales mainline from December 2026 to next May – resulting in a new service from Llandudno to Liverpool and extending the Manchester Airport service to Holyhead in place of Llandudno.
- Upon completion of rail line works at Padeswood, increase train services between Wrexham and Bidston to 2 trains per hour within the next three years, ahead of the introduction of 4 trains per hour that will run direct between Wrexham and Liverpool by 2035.
- The existing Borderlands Line will also be renamed the Wrexham – Liverpool line.
- Key stations on the Wrexham – Liverpool line will be improved in the next 12 months.
- Trains operating on the Wrexham – Liverpool line will be wrapped to reflect the communities and football clubs they serve.
- Introducing Pay as You Go tap in tap out technology – covering connections between Gobowen and Rhyl, and along the full length of the Wrexham -Liverpool line
- Working with Network Rail to determine the feasibility of a rapid delivery of a new test railway station at Deeside Industrial Park, to gauge demand for permanent services to the park.
- A new, multi-million pound electrification innovation fund to develop a plan to decarbonise the railway in North Wales and enable more frequent metro services and additional stations
- Match funding for step-free access at Shotton and Ruabon stations.
- Working with local authorities to develop plans for Gateway multi-modal interchanges at Holyhead, Bangor, Caernarfon and Wrexham.
- A new T13 bus service – connecting Rhyl, Ruthin, Denbigh and Wrexham.
- Examining options to re-open stations and build new stations to serve employment growth areas.
- A new bus network specifically designed to link communities with industrial estates in the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone.
It all seems very comprehensive.
The Current Wrexham And Liverpool Route
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways of North Wales between Chester, Flint and Wrexham Central.
Note.
- Wrexham Central station is at the bottom of the map indicated by the blue arrow.
- Chester is in the North-East corner of the map, where three orange tracks meet.
- The orange track running East from Chester is the North Wales Coast Line to Crewe
- The orange track running West from Chester is the North Wales Coast Line to Shotton, Flint and then on to Llandudno, Bangor and Holyhead.
- The orange track running South from Chester goes to Wrexham.
- The yellow track running North from Chester is Merseyrail to Liverpool.
- Flint station is in the North-West corner of the map, with Shotton station between Chester and Flint stations.
- The yellow track running North from Wrexham Central station to Shotton station is the Borderlands Line to Bidston for Liverpool.
This second OpenRailwayMap shows the two Wrexham stations and the lines to Liverpool and Chester.
Note.
The orange track running North-South is the Chester and Shrewsbury Line, which runs through Wrexham General station.
The yellow track running North -West is the Borderlands Line to Shotton and Bidston for Liverpool.
Wrexham Central station is on an extension of the Borderlands Line.
This third OpenRailwayMap shows where the Borderlands Line crosses the River Dee on the Hawarden Bridge.
Note.
- Running across the South-West corner of the map is the River Dee.
- The orange track in the South-West corner of the map is the North Wales Coast Line between Chester and Holyhead.
- The yellow track is the Borderlands Line between Wrexham and Bidston for Liverpool.
- The Borderlands Line crosses the River Dee on the Hawarden Bridge.
- Shotton station is a poor interchange between the two lines.
- Hawarden Bridge station is North of the river.
This fourth OpenRailwayMap shows where the Borderlands Line joins Merseyrail’s Wirral Line at Bidston station.
Note.
- Bidston station is in the vNorth-West corner of the map.
- The yellow track running West from Bidston station is Merseyrail to West Kirby.
- The yellow track running South from Bidston station is the Borderlands Line to Wrexham.
- The yellow track running North from the triangular junction to the East of Bidston station is Merseyrail to New Brighton.
- The yellow track running East from the triangular junction to the East of Bidston station is Merseyrail to Liverpool via Birkenhead North, Birkenhead Park, Conway Park and Hamilton Square stations.
- Birkenhead Central station is in the South-Eastern corner of the map and is on Merseyrail’s branches to Chester and Ellesmere Port stations.
Services from Chester, Ellesmere Port, New Brighton and West Kirby all combine at Hamilton Square to go round the stations under the centre of Liverpool; James Street, Moorfields, Lime Street, Central and James Street (again).
Wrexham And Liverpool Improvements
These plans concern the Borderlands Line or the Wrexham and Liverpool Line.
- Commencing work on the line between Wrexham and Liverpool as the crucial first phase of delivering metro services direct between the two cities.
- Upon completion of rail line works at Padeswood, increase train services between Wrexham and Bidston to 2 trains per hour within the next three years, ahead of the introduction of 4 trains per hour that will run direct between Wrexham and Liverpool by 2035.
- The existing Borderlands Line will also be renamed the Wrexham – Liverpool line.
- Key stations on the Wrexham – Liverpool line will be improved in the next 12 months.
- Trains operating on the Wrexham – Liverpool line will be wrapped to reflect the communities and football clubs they serve.
- Introducing Pay as You Go tap in tap out technology – covering connections between Gobowen and Rhyl, and along the full length of the Wrexham -Liverpool line
- Working with Network Rail to determine the feasibility of a rapid delivery of a new test railway station at Deeside Industrial Park, to gauge demand for permanent services to the park.
- A new, multi-million pound electrification innovation fund to develop a plan to decarbonise the railway in North Wales and enable more frequent metro services and additional stations
- Match funding for step-free access at Shotton and Ruabon stations.
- Examining options to re-open stations and build new stations to serve employment growth areas.
There looks a lot to do, but none of the actions would appear to be that large and expensive.
Running Class 777 Trains Between Wrexham Central Station And Liverpool City Centre
Consider.
- There is no way, that the Office of Road and Rail will allow any more third rail electrification.
- Class 777 trains could be fitted with pantographs, if the trains need to be charged on the tracks past Bidston station.
- Siemens Mobility have developed a Rail Charging Converter, that I wrote about in Technology Behind Siemens Mobility’s British Battery Trains Hits The Tracks.
- I suspect Stadler have some similar technology for the Class 777 trains.
- Wrexham Central station is a single platform station.
- Bidston and Wrexham Central stations are 27.5 miles apart or a 55 mile round trip.
- In New Merseyrail Train Runs 135km On Battery, I describe how a Class 777 train ran for over eighty miles on battery power.
In Liverpool City Centre, trains would join services from Chester, Ellesmere Port, New Brighton and West Kirby and go round a loop through James Street, Moorfields, Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool Central and James Street.
This Google Map shows Wrexham Central station.
Note.
- The single track, with the platform alongside.
- There would be plenty of space on the North side of the track to put up a short length of overead wire to charge the trains.
- The station appears to be surrounded by a shopping centre.
One platform should be able to handle four trains per hour (tph)
This second Google Map shows Bidston station.
Note.
- Bidston station is indicated by the station symbol.
- Merseyrail’s line between West Kirby and Liverpool runs through the station.
- Trains to Liverpool take the Eastern point of the triangular junction.
- Trains to New Brighton take the Northern point of the triangular junction.
- Trains to West Kirby and Wrexham take the Westerly lines, from Bidston station.
Work will probably need to be done at the junction, where the West Kirby and Wrexham line split.
I discuss the work at Padeswood in Train Frequency Focus In North Wales Transport Commission’s Interim Recommendations.
It doesn’t seem to me, that to be able to run 2 or even 4 tph between Wrexham Central and Liverpool, is going to need a large budget. Although, a few extra Class 777 trains, with a battery-electric capability, will be needed.
But this corner of Wales will have one of the world’s first battery-electric international trains.
New And Improved Services And Stations
These plans concern new and improved services and stations on the Borderlands Line or the Wrexham and Liverpool Line.
- The existing Borderlands Line will also be renamed the Wrexham – Liverpool line.
- Key stations on the Wrexham – Liverpool line will be improved in the next 12 months.
- Trains operating on the Wrexham – Liverpool line will be wrapped to reflect the communities and football clubs they serve.
- Introducing Pay as You Go tap in tap out technology – covering connections between Gobowen and Rhyl, and along the full length of the Wrexham -Liverpool line
- Match funding for step-free access at Shotton station.
- Examining options to re-open stations and build new stations to serve employment growth areas.
Deeside Industrial Park Station
This is planned for Deeside Industrial Park station.
Working with Network Rail to determine the feasibility of a rapid delivery of a new test railway station at Deeside Industrial Park, to gauge demand for permanent services to the park.
This Google Map shows Deeside Industrial Park
Note.
Shotton station is in the South West corner of the map.
Hawarden Bridge station is indicated by the red arrow.
The double-track Borderlands Line runs between the two stations and then Northwards between the warehouses and factories of the estate.
This second Google Map shows the area to the North of the two stations in greater detail.
Note.
- Flintshire Bridge Converter Station is the Southern end of the 2.2 GW Western HVDC Link from Scotland.
- Toyota’s Deeside Solar Park.
- The Borderland’s Line running between the substation and the solar park.
It does appear there could be plenty of space for a station.
Network Rail on Merseyside certainly have access to to a temporary station, as these pictures show of one’s use at Liverpool South Parkway station, which I wrote about in Liverpool South Parkway Station Stands In For Lime Street.
Note.
- It was mainly built of scaffolding.
- It was long enough for an eleven-car Class 390 train.
It could certainly be rearranged to make a temporary two-platform station.
But why a temporary station?
- It may turn out, that Bidston and Wrexham Central is too long for battery-electric trains.
- But Deeside Industrial Park station would be about half-way, so an ideal place for a pit-stop.
- It’s also got plenty of electricity.
- Toyota might also want to see how it helps the operation of their engine plant.
Network Rail might want to try out the idea of building a temporary station elsewhere in the future.
UK Solar Applications Spike Ahead Of CP30 But Planning Process Remains Slow
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.
This is the sub-heading.
Solar Media Market Research analyst Josh Cornes tracks the time solar PV developments spend in the planning system, as delays and refusals slow the rate of buildout.
These three introductory paragraphs add more detail.
Solar PV buildout in the UK continues to pick up, with year-on-year growth forecast for 2025, the seventh year of growth in a row.
With government-led initiatives like Clean Power 2030 (CP30) encouraging buildout and the Contracts for Difference (CfD) mechanism incentivising development, this growth is unlikely to slow down.
However, there are several factors at play stunting this growth, hurting the UK’s chances of hitting the CP30 target of 45-47GW solar generation capacity by 2030.
The article also talks about the problems of grid connections and says that some solar farms will take thirty-three years to get a connection.
In Technology Behind Siemens Mobility’s British Battery Trains Hits The Tracks, I said this.
Cameron Bridge station is lucky in that there is already a 132,000 KVAC electricity connection to the distillery next door.
But at other places, where there is no connection, you could wait as long as seven years to be connected to the grid.
So could the clever engineers at Siemens, devise some sort of electrical gubbins, that connects a solar farm directly to Siemens innovative Rail Charging Converter?
Instead of needing two connections to the grid, the setup won’t need any.
Surely, other types of users could be driven directly, or through an appropriately sized battery?
Technology Behind Siemens Mobility’s British Battery Trains Hits The Tracks
This title of this post is the same as that of this news item from Siemens, which was published in December 2024.
These three bullet points introduce the news item.
- The Mireo Plus B battery train is rolled out in the East Brandenburg network, Germany, using the same technology as the British Desiro Verve project.
- The Desiro Verve would save £3.5 billion and 12 million tonnes in CO2 emissions for Britain’s railways over 35 years.
- The development marks the latest step of this technology’s journey to Britain’s railways.
No-one, including me, seemed to have spotted this news item, especially, since it is significant to both the UK and Germany.
But then parts of Siemens’s home country; Germany and Yorkshire, where they are building, a train factory to build London’s new Piccadilly Line trains have something big in common – There is a distinct shortage of electric trains and the overhead wires to power them.
So did German engineers, egged on by pints of British real ale, realise that their battery-electric technology for the Mireo Plus B battery-electric train, would turn a Desiro City multiple unit, like the Class 700, 707 or 717 into battery-electric trains.
These are three paragraphs from the Siemens news item.
The innovative technology behind Siemens Mobility’s British battery trains has been rolled out in the East Brandenburg network in Germany.
31 of the company’s Mireo Plus B trains are being phased in to the Berlin Brandenburg metropolitan region, beginning on Sunday (15 December) and is the latest proof point of the technology that underpins the Desiro Verve project in Britain. This follows the debut of this technology on 27 new trains in the Ortenau region of Germany in April, with more set to arrive in Denmark in 2025.
The British Desiro Verve trains would be assembled at Siemens Mobility’s new Train Manufacturing Facility in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, formally opened by the Transport Secretary and Mayor of London in October.
I’d always wondered, what Siemens would do with this factory, when it had finished making the Piccadilly Line trains.
It also should be noted, that the boss of Siemens UK, when the Goole factory was planned was Jürgen Maier, who according to his Wikipedia entry has Austrian, British and German citizenship and is now the boss of Great British Energy.
I believe that Siemens have big plans for the Goole factory.
One thing it has, that at the present time could be a problem in Germany, is large amounts of renewable electricity and hydrogen, so will energy-intensive components for trains be made at Goole?
It will be interesting to see how the Goole factory develops.
The Desiro Verve Train For The UK and Ireland
In the Siemens news item, their Joint CEO for the UK and Ireland; Sambit Banerjee, says this.
The Desiro Verve would be assembled at our state-of-the-art Goole Rail Village in Yorkshire and offers an integrated solution to replace Britain’s aging diesel trains without having to electrify hundreds of miles of track, saving the country £3.5 billion over 35 years and providing a practical path to decarbonising British railways.”
In June, Siemens Mobility identified how the Desiro Verve could save Britain’s railways £3.5 billion over 35 years compared with using diesel-battery-electric ‘tri-mode’ trains. This would support the Government’s aim of removing diesel-only trains from Britain’s railways by 2040.
The British trains would be powered by overhead wires on already electrified routes, then switch to battery power where there are no wires. That means only small sections of the routes and/or particular stations have to be electrified with overhead line equipment (OLE), making it much quicker and less disruptive to replace diesel trains compared to full electrification.
I agree with his philosophy.
The Rail Charging Converter
When I wrote Cameron Bridge Station – 15th May 2025, I described how a short length of overhead electrification could be erected at the station to charge passing trains, using their pantographs.
Cameron Bridge station is lucky in that there is already a 132,000 KVAC electricity connection to the distillery next door.
But at other places, where there is no connection, you could wait as long as seven years to be connected to the grid.
So Siemens have come up with the Rail Charging Converter, that provides a local electricity supply to support the charger.
It is described in this paragraph from the news item.
This OLE can also be installed much more quickly using Siemens Mobility’s innovative Rail Charging Converter (RCC), which makes it possible to plug directly into the domestic grid – potentially cutting delivery times for OLE from seven years to as little as 18 months.
This Siemens visualisation shows a Verve train and an RCC.
This arrangement could be used in sensitive countryside or close to historic buildings.
Modern Railways – June 2025
There is an article about the Siemens technology in the June 2025 Edition of Modern Railways.
It is called The Battery Revolution Starts In Long Marston for which this is part of the sub-heading.
New technology being installed by Siemens Mobility at Porterbrook’s test facility paves the way for widespread use of battery trains in the UK.
The article is a must-read.
Conclusion
Siemens appear to have the technology with their Rail Charging Converter and battery-electric trains like the Verve and the Mireo Plus B, to be able to decarbonise lines without electrification all over the world.
Would larger gauge trains be delivered from Germany and smaller gauge ones from Goole?
I wouldn’t be surprised that a version for a German S-Bahn could share more characteristics, with a small British train, than a large German one.
I can also see an underground railway, that was built without power in the tunnels. So if you were building the Waterloo and City Line today, would it be battery-electric and charged at each end of the line using a pantograph?
The Anonymous Widower 