The Anonymous Widower

Tales Of Woe And Opportunity On The West Of England

The title of this post, is the same as that of the Railtalk editorial in the September 2027 Edition of Modern Railways.

These is the opening four paragraphs.

The West of England Line from London Waterloo to Exeter was once an important main line, the London & South Western Railway’s great rival to Brunel’s ‘billiard’ table, but its role is much diminished since the glory days.

Largely singled west of Salisbury in the 1960s, and with many of its coastal branches closed, a casual onlooker might conclude it has rather lost its purpose.

Yet recent journeys on the route suggest otherwise. Travelling from Waterloo on the way West one late afternoon was instructive.

On a baking hot day in London, the six-car South Western Railway Class 159 departed on time, full and standing. More passengers joined at Clapham Junction, and Woking.

The two problems of the line are mentioned in the text from the article.

  • The singling of the West of England Line, to the West of Salisbury was typical of many short-sighted acts of vandalism inflicted by the Treasury on British Rail.
  • The Class 159 diesel trains date from the early 1990s and probably need replacing.

 

This OpenRailwayMap shows middle part of the route between Basingstoke and Salisbury.

Note.

  1. Tracks shown in black are not electrified.
  2. Tracks shown in red are electrified  with 25 KVAC overhead,
  3. Tracks shown in dashed red and black are proposed to be electrified.
  4. Tracks shown in mauve are electrified with 750 VDC third rail.
  5. Reading station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  6. The Reading and Basingstoke Line runs South from Reading station and is shown dashed.
  7. Basingstoke station is on the third-rail electrified South West Main Line between London Waterloo and Southampton.
  8. Salisbury station is indicated by the blue arrow.
  9. Linking Basingstoke and Salisbury is the unelectrified West of England Main Line between London Waterloo and Exeter.
  10. The branch line going North from the West of England Main Line to the East of Salisbury is used by the Army to move tanks.
  11. Ludgershall Town Council want passenger trains on the branch line to support housing at Tidworth with trains to Andover on the West of England Main Line.
  12. I wrote about this branch line in A Branch Line For Ludgershall
  13. Across the top of the map is the Reading and Taunton Line, which is electrified as far as Newbury.

I will now look at replacing the Class 159 trains.

Consider.

  • Between Exeter St. David’s and Basingstoke stations is not electrified and is 124.3 miles.
  • I believe that both Hitachi and CAF have the capability to produce a zero-carbon train with a range of 125 miles.
  • The Office of Rail and Road will not allow any more third-rail electrification.
  • Trains could have a generous turnround time at Exeter St. David’s which could allow trains to be charged, before returning to London.
  • Basingstoke and Salisbury is only 35.8 miles, so a train terminating at Salisbury from London, should be able to return to London.
  • Trains could be charged using short length of overhead electrification.
  • Five-car trains, which could run in pairs might be ideal.
  • I believe several manufacturers could make trains capable of running the route.

I also believe that once the charging strategy is known and any infrastructure has been installed, the new trains can be introduced into service to run alongside the Class 159 trains.

This would hopefully avoid, the current problems of the Class 820 trains on the Midland Main Line.

August 24, 2026 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Quick Visit To Okehampton Interchange Station – 4th August 2026

Today, I went to the new Okehampton Interchange station and took these pictures, between Exeter St. Davids and the new station.

Note.

  1. Exeter St. Davids station has some interesting artwork and some less than ideal stairs.
  2. Have you ever seen accident hotspot signs in a station before? I haven’t!
  3. Crediton station is shared with trains to Barnstaple.
  4. The bridge at Okehampton Interchange is an unusual cost-saving design, that only uses one lift.
  5. The car park is generous with 200 spaces.
  6. All-day parking is available for £2.
  7. There is storage for cycles.
  8. There is a defibrillator on the platform.
  9. The platform is 100 metres long.
  10. I suspect that with selective door opening a five-car Class 800 or 802 train could use the station.
  11. The Class 158 train was in excellent condition and was rattling along at a good speed without too much fuss.

I caught the same Class 158 train back to Exeter St. David’s on its return from Okehampton station.

I have some further thoughts.

Buses From Okehampton Interchange Station

Google AI gave me this information.

Bus services connecting directly to the newly opened Okehampton Interchange station include local and regional routes linking to Tavistock, Bude, Exeter, and Launceston.

Active Bus Routes

Service 6: Runs between Bude, Holsworthy, and Okehampton (Stagecoach South West).

Service 66: Connects Okehampton, Cheriton Bishop, and Exeter (Dartline / Stagecoach).

Service 118: Links Tavistock, Brentor, and Bridestowe to the new Interchange station instead of the older town station (Stagecoach).

Service 306: Connects Launceston and Okehampton via Lifton and Lewdown (Go Cornwall Bus).

Okehampton Interchange station appears not to be for just trains only.

The Location Of Okehampton Interchange Station

This Google Map shows the location of Okehampton Interchange station.

Note.

  1. This map was created before the station opened.
  2. Okehampton Interchange station is towards the North-West corner of the map and is indicated by three red dots and
  3. The distinctive roundabout by the station, that is shown in the pictures, can clearly be seen.
  4. The station is to the East of the town.
  5. Running across the bottom half of the map is the Okehampton by-pass.
  6. The B 3260 appears to connect the town and Okehampton Interchange station to the Okehampton by-pass in the South-East corner of the map, at a comprehensive interchange.

This opening paragraph from the Wikipedia entry for the route, gives a brief description of the road.

The A30 is a major road in England, running 284 miles (457 km) WSW from London to Land’s End.

These towns and cities are served.

  • Heathrow Airport
  • Staines-upon-Thames
  • Basingstoke
  • Salisbury
  • Shaftesbury
  • Yeovil
  • Honiton
  • Exeter
  • Okehampton
  • Launceston
  • Bodmin
  • Newquay
  • Truro
  • Redruth
  • Penzance

Note.

  1. A good proportion of the route is dual-carriageway.
  2. It is dual-carriageway between Exeter and Cambourne.
  3. I suspect some people in North Cornwall may find it more convenient to drive to Okehampton Interchange station for access to trains.
  4. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the new generation of mouse-quiet hydrogen coaches connecting Okehampton Interchange station and the far South-West.

I believe that the usage of the station will exceed the predictions, by a large margin.

Could Okehampton Interchange Station Have Trains To And From London?

This OpenRailwayMap show how the various lines connect at Exeter St. David’s station.

Note.

  1. Exeter St. David’s station is indicated by the blue arrow.
  2. The yellow track going North-West leads to the Tarka Line for Barnstaple station and the Dartmoor Line to the Okehampton stations.
  3. The orange track going North-East is the Great Western Main Line to Taunton, Swindon, Reading and London Paddington.
  4. The orange track going East is the West of England Main Line to Salisbury, Basingstoke and London Waterloo.
  5. The yellow track going South-East is the Avocet Line to Exmouth station.
  6. The orange track going South is the South Devon Main Line to Dawlish, Newton Abbot, Plymouth and ultimately to Penzance.

To access the Dartmoor Line and Okehampton Parkway station.

  • Trains from the Great Western Main Line would need to reverse in Exeter St. David’s station.
  • Trains from the West of England Main Line would go straight through Exeter St. David’s station.

Note.

  1. Currently, some trains go between the Tarka Line and Exmouth, by going straight through Exeter St. David’s station.
  2. I said earlier in this post, that trains serving Okehampton Parkway station would need to be short or use selective door opening.
  3. South Western Railway have an hourly service between Exeter St. David’s and London Waterloo, that starts from Exeter St. David’s station and could be occasionally extended to Okehampton Parkway station.
  4. Great Western Railway have a two-hourly service between Exeter St. David’s and London Waterloo, that starts from Exeter St. David’s station and could be occasionally extended to Okehampton Parkway station.

I believe it would be possible to run occasional services between London and Okehampton Parkway station.

 

August 5, 2026 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WSMR Plans Alstom-Built Bi-Mode Sets If Open Access Bid Approved

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail magazine.

This is the sub-heading.

Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway (WSMR) has said it will invest in new Alstom battery-electric bi-mode trains if its open access application is successful.

These three paragraphs add some more details.

In December the Alstom-backed operation resubmitted its application to run between the North Wales city and London Euston via Shrewsbury and Walsall after its initial bid was rejected by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) last year.

In a letter to the regulator and Network Rail, Mobilisation Director Darren Horley said: “Should our application be successful, WSMR will work alongside its parent company, Alstom, and will commit to invest in a new bi-mode battery-electric fleet based on the Adessia platform – Alstom’s new generation passenger train designed specifically for the UK market.

“Initial discussions regarding the procurement of a small new fleet have already commenced with Alstom and a financier.”

The Adessia will be a high speed version, with a maximum speed of 125 mph or 200 kph.

I have some thoughts.

How Much Of The Route Is Without Electrification?

In Alstom Plans To Operate Its Own Passenger Train Service In The UK For The First Time, I gave these distances of the sections of the route.

  • Euston and Nuneaton – 96.7 miles – electrified
  • Nuneaton and Walsall – 26.7 miles – electrified
  • Walsall and Wolverhampton – 6.7 miles – electrified
  • Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury – 29.7 miles
  • Shrewsbury and Wrexham General – 30.3 miles

That looks like there are sixty miles in each direction without electrification.

Either the trains would have a battery range of 120 miles or a battery range of over 60 miles with charging at Wrexham General station, which is shown in these pictures.

Note.

  1. Wrexham General station has four platforms. Two are a pair of long through platforms and there are also a separate long and a short through platform.
  2. The station is step-free.
  3. The last four pictures are Platform 4.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the platform layout at Wrexham General station.

Note.

  1. The blue arrow is between the two through Platforms 1 and 2.
  2. Platform 3 is the platform in the middle.
  3. Platform 4 is the platform on the left.

An overhead charging rail could be used on Platforms 3 and/or 4, as has been used at Caerphilly station.

 

The overhead charging rail could also charge other Wrexham General services.

 

Prospective Routes

I would expect that there would be a need for such a train on the following UK routes.

  • CrossCountry – Class 221 train replacement.
  • East-West Rail – New fleet.
  • Southeastern – London and Hastings.
  • ScotRail – Inter7City replacement.
  • South Western Railway – Class 158 and Class 159 train replacement.
  • Transport for Wales – Some diesel services.

There would be probably be other services too!

Will The Service Call At Willenhall, Darlaston And Walsall?

This OpenRailwayMap shows the three stations.

Note.

  1. Willenhall station is in the North-West corner of the map.
  2. Darlaston station is marked by the blue arrow.
  3. Walsall station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  4. Tame Valley Parkway station is in the South-East corner of the map.
  5. It might also be a good idea to call at the Parkway station.
  6. Red tracks are electrified.
  7. To call at all four stations will need a reverse at Walsall.

There may be some thinking to do, on the best calling pattern in Walsall.

 

 

March 27, 2026 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Travelling Between Heathrow Airport And Staines Station

Staines Station and Heathrow Airport are not far apart, as this OpenRailwayMap shows.

Note.

  1. The mauve lines in the bottom half of the map are South West Trains services out of Waterloo.
  2. Waterloo via Feltham, Twickenham and Richmond to name but three stations , is to the East.
  3. Reading is to the South-West
  4. Windsor is to the North-West.
  5. The blue arrow indicates Staines station.
  6. Heathrow Terminal 5 is in the North-East corner of the map.
  7. The pink tracks are the Piccadilly Lines
  8. The red tracks are for the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express.
  9. This OpenRailwayMap shows Terminal 5 to a larger scale.

 

Note.

  1. The pink tracks are the Piccadilly Line.
  2. The red tracks are for the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express.
  3. In front of the red tracks is what looks like a circular walkway or emergency exit, with a rectangular block to its West.
  4. The rectangular block is the lift tower to get from the railway station to the Departures and Arrivals floors of Terminal 5.

I asked Google AI if it would it be possible in the future to extend the Elizabeth Line to the West out of the Western end of Terminal 5 and received this reply.

Extending the Elizabeth line west from Terminal 5 is technically possible and has been proposed, notably as part of a potential westward rail link to Staines or to support airport expansion, but it is not currently funded. Terminal 5 was designed with future expansion in mind, potentially allowing a connection to Staines to create a “southern rail link” for better connections.

Perhaps there are two tunnels under the lift shafts?

How many trains per hour (tph) terminate in those two platforms?

  • 4 tph – Heathrow Express
  • 2 tph – Elizabeth Line to Shenfield.

Note.

  1. Only six trains in two platforms is easily managed.
  2. Because, Heathrow Express services appear to use both platforms, when I visited yesterday, the system seems to confuse passengers.
  3. The services surely need to be evened up, so that there are four tph  of each service, with each service having a dedicated platform.
  4. But terminating eight trains in two platforms could be troublesome.
  5. Platforms are numbered 1 to 6 from the South.
  6. Platforms 1 and 2 have not been built yet.

Although four tph for  Heathrow Express in one platform, should be easy with digital signalling, as you see it every day in London, it may be difficult on two platforms, at the same time.

In Is More Capacity Between Heathrow Airport And Central London, Needed On The Elizabeth Line?, I said this.

Currently, the Elizabeth line provides up to 12 trains per hour (including Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express) on the relief lines, making it nearly at capacity.

Note.

  1. When I use the Elizabeth Line, I deliberately avoid trains going to and from Heathrow, unless I’m going that way, as they are too crowded with passengers and their oversized cases.
  2. High Speed Two, the West London Orbital Railway and the North London Line will bring passengers for Heathrow Airport to Old Oak Common station.
  3. Surely, as Heathrow Airport gets bigger and increases its passenger numbers. the Elizabeth Line will need to be increased in capacity.

I believe Elizabeth Line capacity needs to be increased soon.

The only feasible plan I’ve seen is Heathrow Southern Railways plan, which included.

  1. Construction of a bay platform 0 at Staines alongside the Staines to Windsor line.
  2. A step-free bridge across the tracks.
  3. Construction of a single-track railway with 25 KVAC overhead electrification and a passing looop, between the new platform 0 at Staines and Platform 3 at Heathrow Terminal 5 station.
  4. Run four trains per hour in both directions between  Heathrow Terminal 5 and Staines stations.
  5. This plan would would add two trains per hour through the Central Tunnel.

Various Journeys Would Be As Follows

This OpenRailwayMap shows Staines junction and the positions of the three platforms.

Note.

  1. The Windsor Line goes North-West.
  2. The Reading Line goes West.
  3. The Waterloo Line Goes East.
  4. Platform 1 is on the North side of the tracks.
  5. Platform 2 is on the South side of the tracks.
  6. The bay platform, which I’ve numbered 0, will be on the North side of the tracks towards Windsor.
  7. I suspect the step-free bridge will be over the tracks and replace the current rickety structure.
  8. The bridge would be a short walk from all three platforms.

Interchanges would be as follows.

  • Windsor to Heathrow – Walk between Platforms 1 and 0.
  • Reading to Heathrow – Walk between Platforms 1 and 0.
  • Heathrow to Windsor – Cross the bridge between Platforms 0 and 2.
  • Heathrow to Reading – Cross the bridge between Platforms 0 and 2.
  • Waterloo to Heathrow – Cross the bridge between Platforms 2 and 0.
  • Heathrow to Waterloo – Walk between Platforms 0 and 1.

Note.

  1. All trains to or from Heathrow use Platform 0.
  2. All trains to Waterloo use Platform 1.
  3. All trains going away from Waterloo use Platform 2.
  4. Reading and Heathrow gain a step-free route at 2 tph.
  5. All interchanges at Staines station would be step-free.
  6. A train like London Crosslink, which used to go between Feltham and Woking, would use Platform 1 going towards Feltham and Platform 2 going towards Woking.

Staines station would gain step-free access to all Heathrow terminals,  all Elizabeth Line and High Speed Two stations.

Could Anglia Railways’ London Crosslink Be Recreated As Part Of The London Overground?

I like the idea of the London Crosslink service, that ran for a few years between East Anglia and Hampshire via the North London Line and Staines.

My arguments for its restoration are described in Could Anglia Railways’ London Crosslink Be Recreated As Part Of The London Overground?

At various times in my life, it would have been very useful.

Today, as I live about fifteen minutes from Highbury and Islington station, I could use London Crosslink for the following reasons.

  • Visiting friends and family in Hampshire.
  • Going to Heathrow Airport, especially Terminal 5.
  • Visiting friends in East Anglia.
  • Going to football at Ipswich.
  • Exploring new parts of England.
  • I would wait at home and time my departure to catch a booked train at a fully step-free station.

Conclusions

Extending the Elizabeth Line to Staines gives these advantages.

  • Staff at Heathrow, who live in the Staines area get easy access to the airport.
  • Buses and coaches between Heathrow and the local area may be reviewed.
  • Less cars will be used to get to and from the airport.
  • Reading and Heathrow gain a step-free route at 2 tph.
  • A lot of stations would gain a step-free route to all terminals at Heathrow, and all Elizabeth Line and High Speed Two stations.

There may well be other advantages.

 

March 13, 2026 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

To Norbiton For A Plate Of Lovely Liver

I seem to need a lot of Vitamin B12.

  • I am coeliac, which probably means I don’t absorb enough out of my food.
  • Although, when my gallstones were removed, the surgeon had a look and said everything was good.
  • When Homerton Hospital found my Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease, that I talked about in I’ve Got Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease, they also said everything else was good.
  • In the United States, Vitamin B12 is given to stroke patients to help recovery.
  • I’ve had Vitamin B12 injections for nearly thirty years, since they were prescribed by Addenbrooke’s hospital.

Certainly, I find that a Vitamin B12 injection doesn’t seem to have the same effect, it had twenty years ago. So, is my brain saying, I’ll have that, when I have an injection?

When I lived in Suffolk and I felt my Vitamin B12 was low, I’d go down the pub or carluccio’s in Cambridge or Bury and have a plate of liver.

But liver is rare in London restaurants and Carluccio’s don’t serve it any more.

A guy in the reader’s comments in The Times told me of a restaurant called the Trattoria Calabrese, that sold liver in sage butter yesterday. So today, I took a train to Norbiton to get myself some extra Vitamin B12.

These pictures describe my first visit to Norbiton.

The short walk to the restaurant from Norbiton station was very much worth it. I shall go back!

February 11, 2025 Posted by | Food, Health | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scrap Rail Caused Train Derailment – Network Rail

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

These three paragraphs introduce the story.

Scrap rail left on tracks following engineering works was the cause of a derailment in Surrey, according to Network Rail.

The company said a train hit the object at about 05:50 GMT on Monday in a 90mph area near Walton-on-Thames.

A Network Rail Wessex safety bulletin said it was the first train on the fast line following the weekend works.

I wrote about this incident before in Woking: Train Derailed On 90mph Line After Hitting Object On Track.

Someone is going to get their knuckles rapped or posterior spanked after this serious incident.

March 10, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | 7 Comments

Woking: Train Derailed On 90mph Line After Hitting Object On Track

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

Disruption has hit a rail operator’s entire network after a train hit an object on a 90mph track in Surrey.

These three paragraphs describe the derailment.

The incident initially closed four tracks between Woking and Surbiton before disruption spread across the South Western Railway (SWR) network.

Network Rail said the train hit the object at about 05:50 GMT in a 90mph area near Walton-on-Thames in Surrey.

SWR said services were impacted between London, Exeter St David’s, Portsmouth Harbour and Weymouth.

It appears that no-one was hurt.

But derailments like this have happened before.

This article from The Mail is entitled Furness Passengers Able To Walk Away From Major Rail Accident.

These paragraphs detail the story.

Furness rail passengers were woken from their slumbers 50 years ago as the carriages of an express train heading for Barrow came off the rails at 80mph.

Half-dressed and dazed sleeper-car travellers from London were led to safety up a grass embankment near Warrington in 1967.

Amazingly, not one of the passengers was killed or badly injured in what could easily have been a major disaster

The Mail on Friday, September 15, in 1967 noted: “Furness and West Cumberland passengers hung on for their lives when 11 coaches of the London-Barrow express hurtled off the rails at 80mph near Warrington today.

“The coaches bounced and zig-zagged for nearly a quarter of a mile, tearing up the permanent way and completely blocking the main London-Glasgow line.

“Miraculously, only one of the 60 passengers, who included many people from Furness and West Cumberland, was injured.

“He was Rohan Kanhai, the West Indian test cricketer, who was on his way to Blackpool.

“He was taken to Warrington Infirmary with an arm injury. After receiving treatment he was allowed to continue his journey.

I remember the story for two reasons.

  • Obviously, because a well-known sportsman was involved.
  • But also because British Rail put the low injuries down to new couplings between the coaches, which kept the train together.

Could it be that over fifty years after the Warrington derailment, no injuries occurred because the improved design of the train kept it all in one piece and most of the damage was to the infrastructure?

March 5, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 2 Comments

SWR Complete Major Refurbishment On 85-Year-Old Malden Manor Station

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Global Railway Review.

So I thought I’d go and take a look at Malden Manor station.

Note.

  1. The station was built in the 1930s.
  2. It will be part of Crossrail 2, if it’s ever built.
  3. The cafe is worth a visit.

The station certainly seems to have benefitted from a deep clean up and a new coat of paint.

June 1, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

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.

  1. Services will be between West Hampstead Thameslink and Hounslow stations and between Hendon and Kew Bridge stations.
  2. If services follow the London Overground frequency, they will be four trains per hour (tph).
  3. The new stations are Neasden, Harlesden, Old Oak Common Lane and Lionel Road.
  4. Acton Central, Brentford, South Acton, Syon Lane and West Hampstead Thameslink are step-free and Isleworth is on the way.
  5. The fully step-free Brent Cross West station will open soon.
  6. Lionel Road station will serve the new Brentford stadium.
  7. 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.

  1. The Midland Main Line is shown in red as it is electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
  2. 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.

  1. As before red tracks are electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires and black tracks have no electrification.
  2. The Dudding Hill Line is the black track running North-South at the West of the map.
  3. Acton Wells junction, where the Dudding Hill and North London Lines join is in the South-West corner of the map.
  4. The North London Line is shown in red running across the North-West corner of the map.
  5. The Great Western Main Line is shown in red running across the South-East corner of the map.
  6. High Speed Two will run East-West across the map and is shown dotted in red.
  7. 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.

  1. As before black tracks have no electrification.
  2. Mauve tracks are electrified with 750 VDC  third-rail electrification.
  3. Kew Bridge station is indicated by the blue arrow at the Eastern point of the junction.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

 

 

 

April 20, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Work Underway At Motspur Park Station In South London

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Business Daily.

These two paragraphs outline the project.

Network Rail has announced that £8.9 million is being invested in new lifts and walkways installed among other upgrades at Motspur Park station in south London.

Network Rail is working with South Western Railway and the London Borough of Merton Council to install a step free footbridge as part of the Government’s Access for All programme, funded by the Department for Transport (DfT).

I visited the station this morning and took these pictures.

Note.

  1. When Motspur Park station was built in 1925, I must assume that there were no persons of restricted mobility.
  2. According to some commentators, it sounds like Network Rail and its partners are going for a complete rebuild.
  3. Did the Woodworm Preservation Society protest at the new design?
  4. Some new trains to serve the station would surely help too!

It should open in early 2024.

I shall be interested to see how the new station alters passenger numbers.

 

April 3, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 4 Comments

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