The Anonymous Widower

The Rise Of One-Platform Stations

As I was writing DfT Names Five Winners Of Fresh £16m Stations Fund,  I came to the conclusion that a lot of well-designed one-platform stations have been built since the turn of the millennium.

New one-platform stations include.

• Alloa – Scotland – Reopened 2008 – Commuter and terminal station
• Alesbury Vale Parkway – Bucks – Opened 2008 – Park-and-Ride, commuter and terminal station.
• Beauly – Scotland – Reopened 2002 – £250,000 – 75% of local commuters switched from road to rail.
• Bow Street – Wales – Reopened 2021 – £8million – Park-and-Ride, commuter and rural station
• Brunstane – Scotland – Opened 2002 – Commuter station
• Chandler’s Ford – Hampshire – Reopened 2003 – Commuter station
• Chatelherault – Scotland – Reopened 2005 – Commuter station.
• Conon Bridge – Scotland – Reopened 2013 – £600,000 – Local station
• Cranbrook – Devon – Opened 2015 – Commuter station
• Ebbw Vale Parkway – Wales – Opened 2008 – Park-and-Ride and commuter station.
• Ebbw Vale Town – Opened 2015 – Commuter and terminal station.
• Eskbank – Scotland – Opened 2015 – Commuter station
• Fishguard and Goodwick – Wales – Reopened 2012 – £325,000 – Local station and bus interchange.
• Galashiels – Scotland – Reopened 2015 – Commuter station and bus interchange.
• Gorebridge – Scotland – Opened 2015 – Commuter station
• James Cook – Teeside – Opened 2014 – £2.2million – Serves the hospital
• Kelvindale – Scotland – Reopened 2005 – Commuter station
• Kenilworth – Warwickshire – Reopened 2018 – £11million – Commuter station
• Llanhilleth – Wales – Reopened 2008 – Commuter station
• Merryton – Scotland – Opened 2005 – Commuter station
• Newbridge – Wales – Reopened 2008 – Commuter station
• Newcourt – Devon – Opened 2015 – £4million – Commuter station.
• Newcraighall – Scotland – Opened 2002 – Park-and-Ride
• Newtongrange – Scotland – Opened 2015 – Commuter station
• Pye Corner – Wales – £3.5million – Commuter station
• Rogerstone – Wales – Opened 2008 – Commuter station
• Soham – Cambridgeshire – Opened 2021 – £21million – Commuter station

Note.

1. I am adding to this list, as new one-platform stations are opened.
2. That is a total of twenty-four stations including three termini since 2000.

Several of the stations are on three reopened or new lines.

• Argyle Lane
• Borders Railway
• Ebbw Valley Line

The three routes have sections of single-track.

How many more one-platform stations will we see in the next few years?

• They must be more affordable.
• They don’t need expensive pedestrian bridges.
• They are usually step-free.
• They can be as long as you need
• They are ideal for single-track lines without electrification.

On the other hand there may be signalling and safety issues.

Integrated Design Of Rail Routes, Stations And Trains

If you look at the design of a new or reopened railway line like the Borders Railway, there have been various complaints from residents, commuters, railway purists and tourists.

• Why wasn’t it built as double-track throughout?
• There is no siding to help if a train brakes down.
• Parking is insufficient.
• The capacity of the trains is small.
• The trains are old and tired.
• The trains perform poorly.

A lot of the complaints can be blamed on the need to deliver the railway on a minimum cost.

But, I also believe that if the line had been designed to fit around a small fleet of trains, designed specifically for the route, then more money could have been saved and the railway would offer a better service to everyone.

Imagine a train with these characteristics.

• At least four comfortable carriages.
• Ability to run on electricity, where 25 KVAC overhead electrification is available.
• Ability to run on diesel or batteries, where there is no electrification.
• Change of power mode would be automatic and at line speed.
• Level access to Harrington Humps at all stations for those needing step-free access.
• Integrated CCTV between train and stations, so train crew can check if there are any possible problems or passengers who need assistance as they approach a station.
• Wi-fi and 4G, although the latter might be difficult on the Borders Railway.
• An onboard ticket machine, so late passengers can board without a ticket and the conductor is busy.

The train doesn’t need to be new, but designed for the route and of refurbished to a high standard.

I believe that train designers can come up with a train that would be more efficient to operate at stations, so that time-keeping would be spot on.

A Rail Link To Saint Andrews

I will use this rail link as an example, because of the importance of the historic City and its links to golf.

The length of the route by road between Leuchars station and Saint Andrews is 5.8 miles.

This is not much longer than the 4.4 miles of the Greenford Branch Line in West London, which has a frequency of two trains per hour (tph).

The service is provided by a single Class 165 train. So I suspect, a single train could maintain a two tph shuttle between Leuchars station and Saint Andrews.

The minimum infrastructure to sustain this two tph service would be as follows.

• A single bay platform at Leuchars station.
• A single platform terminus at Saint Andrews.
• Perhaps a single platform station for golfing visitors convenient for the courses.
• All platforms would be able to handle six car trains.
• A single track would connect all the stations.

But surely this is not good enough for Saint Andrews.

• A passing loop could be provided at halfway.
• There must also be the possibility of a triangular junction to link the rail link to the main line.

Doing both, might allow four tph and direct trains from Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow to Saint Andrews.

July 29, 2017 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Design, Harrington Hump, New Stations, Single Platform Stations | 1 Comment