Heart Aerospace Relocates Corporate Headquarters To Los Angeles, California
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Heart Aerospace.
This is the sub-heading.
Hybrid-electric airplane manufacturer Heart Aerospace has announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Gothenburg, Sweden to Los Angeles, California. This strategic move aims to bolster the company’s product development in the United States, supporting the upcoming experimental flights of its Heart X1 prototype and the future Heart X2 prototype.
These two introductory paragraphs add ,ore detail.
Scheduled for its maiden flight in 2025, the X1 marks a major milestone in Heart’s innovation journey, setting the stage for X2.
“Our move to Los Angeles marks a new chapter in Heart Aerospace’s journey—one that prioritizes iterative development and deeper vertical integration,” said Anders Forslund, co-founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace. “For the X2, we’re developing key technologies like batteries, actuation systems, software, and hybrid-electric hardware in-house. This approach allows us to refine and enhance our systems continuously, just as we’ve done with the X1 prototype, which has seen extensive testing and major design updates since its initial rollout in 2024.”
In some ways, I find this move to California slightly sad, as I suspect most of those associated with the airliner, would have liked to see the development stay in Sweden.
This paragraph gives more details on the reasons for the move.
“We are deeply grateful to our team in Sweden for being part of this chapter of Heart’s journey, and for all the support we have received in Sweden,” said Anders Forslund. “However, as our customers, partners, and investors are increasingly based in the U.S, we see greater opportunity in focusing our resources here. By consolidating our operations in Los Angeles, we can accelerate development, strengthen collaboration, and better position Heart Aerospace for the future.”
They are not mentioned, but I do hope, Trump’s tariffs have nothing to do with it.
Arriva Group Submits Open Access Rail Application To Connect Newcastle And Brighton, Via London Gatwick
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Arriva Group.
These three bullet points act as sub-headings.
- New services operated by Arriva’s Grand Central would introduce a direct rail connection between the Northeast and Midlands to London Gatwick and the South Coast.
- Making better use of available network capacity, the proposed route would connect underserved communities in the UK and enhance long-distance connectivity without the need to interchange through London.
- The application reflects Arriva’s wider European strategy to connect people and places through sustainable transport solutions, strengthening regional economies and supporting modal shift.
This introductory paragraph provides more details.
Arriva Group has today announced it is submitting an open access application to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to introduce a new direct rail service between Newcastle and Brighton, via London Gatwick, providing vital connectivity for underserved communities along the route.
Other points to note include.
- There will be five trains per day in each direction.
- The proposed service would call at Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, York, Doncaster, Sheffield, Derby, Burton-on-Trent, Birmingham New Street, Warwick Parkway, Banbury, Oxford, Reading, Wokingham, Guildford, Redhill, London Gatwick and Haywards Heath.
- The service would be operated by Grand Central.
- The service could be introduced from December 2026.
It will be the be the first direct service between Newcastle and Brighton.
This final paragraph outlines where the service fits in Arriva’s wider philosophy.
The plans are part of Arriva Group’s broader commitment to strengthening regional connectivity and making better use of available rail capacity. By opening up new travel corridors, Arriva is helping to connect more people to jobs, education and leisure opportunities – and to encourage a greater shift from private cars to public transport.
There are certainly plenty of places in Europe, that could use a service like this one between Brighton and Newcastle.
In The Ultimate Open Access Service, I describe a possible open access service between Amsterdam and Hamburg, which is about the same distance as Brighton and Newcastle, which is 372.8 miles by Arriva’s proposed route.
These are some of my thoughts in no particular order.
A High-Class Service Between Oxford And Brighton Could Be An Interesting Development In Its Own Right
Governments, rail operators and passenger groups of all persuasions and flavours have warmly welcomed the planned reopening of the rail route between Oxford and Cambridge.
I suspect an Oxford and Brighton service would be equally welcomed.
Brighton may not be an academic powerhouse yet, but it does have one thing that Oxford and Cambridge lack ; the sea.
Gatwick Airport Will Surely Welcome The Extra Connectivity
Gatwick Airport will expand and extra rail services will do the following for the airport.
- Make it easier to get the planning permission for the second runway.
- Make it easier for passengers and airport and airline staff to get to the airport.
- Surely, the more direct rail connections the airport has, will increase the likelihood, that families and other groups, will choose to fly from Gatwick.
- More train services could cut the amount of car parking per flight needed at the airport.
Gatwick Airport station has recently rebuilt and added extra capacity, so I doubt there will be trouble accommodating another ten trains per day.
Would The Army Welcome The New Service?
Two of the British Army’s main training areas are in North Yorkshire and in Surrey.
Would they find a train service between the two areas useful?
What Trains Will Grand Central Trains Use For The New Service?
In Arriva Group Invests In New Battery Hybrid Train Fleet In Boost To UK Rail Industry, I talked about how Grand Central will be acquiring Hitachi trains for their routes between London and Bradford and Sunderland.
- These will be Hitachi tri-mode trains.
- The trains will have a range of over forty miles on batteries.
- They will probably be serviced in Yorkshire or the North-East.
- The trains will be built by Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe, with batteries from Turntide Technologies in Sunderland.
- The first trains will be delivered in 2028.
As Arriva intend to start services from December 2026, they would probably use diesel trains to start with.
I would expect that Grand Central would go for a unified fleet, which would mean more Hitachi tri-mode trains.
For convenience, they could all be serviced at Doncaster, which all Grand Central services will pass through.
What Sections Will Not Be Electrified Between Brighton and Newcastle?
As far as I can see from OpenRailwayMap, the following sections of the route are not electrified.
- Two sections of the North Downs Line – 29 miles.
- Didcot and Birmingham New Street – 80.9 miles
- Birmingham New Street and Derby – 41.3 miles
- Derby and Sheffield – 36.4 miles
- Sheffield and Doncaster – 18.4 miles
Note.
- Electrification South of Reading will be third rail, so some trains will need to have third-rail shoes.
- The length without electrification is a total of 206 miles.
- As Newcastle and Doncaster, Redhill and Brighton, Reading and Didcot, and Birmingham New Street station are all electrified, the longest sections the trains would run without electrification would be between Didcot and Birmingham New Street and between Birmingham New Street and Doncaster.
- The planned electrification between Derby and Sheffield would make life easier.
It appears that trains capable of handling a hundred miles of unelectrified railway are needed.
Hitachi have shown that a five-car train with one battery will travel 70 km (43.5 miles) on a full battery, so one with three batteries should be able to manage the hundred miles needed in a few years.
Will Any Extra Electrification Be Needed?
I think Birmingham New Street station will be the critical point.
- The next electrification on the route to the South of Birmingham New Street is at Didcot, which is 80.9 miles away.
- The next electrification on the route to the North of Birmingham New Street is at Doncaster, which is 96.1 miles away.
These battery ranges should be possible, but an alternative would be to provide an electrified platform at one or more intermediate stations to be safe.
Stations that could be equipped to the South would include Oxford and Banbury and to the North would include Burton-on-Trent, Derby and Sheffield.
Perhaps electrifying a single platform at these stations, should be the first thing to be done, so that battery-electric trains can run on some useful routes as soon as they are delivered and approved.
Electric Trains, Even Battery-Electric Ones, Will Be Quick Off The Mark
Electric trains have good acceleration and I wonder, if this acceleration will enable stops, that are not feasible with diesel trains to be fitted in with electric trains, without having to take the same time penalty.
This might allow useful stops to be added to the service.
- Chesterfield is not mentioned, but most trains passing through stop.
- As I said, Farnborough North could be a useful stop for the Army.
- There might be a case for selective stopping patterns.
Battery-electric trains stop without any noise or pollution.
Connection To The Ivanhoe Line At Burton-on-Trent
The proposed Ivanhoe Line is intended to link Burton-on-Trent and Leicester.
As it is intended that the Newcastle and Brighton service will call ten times per day at Burton-on-Trent station, this must surely improve the economics of the Ivanhoe Line.
Are there any other new or reopened rail schemes, that will be helped by the proposed Brighton and Newcastle service?
Updated Frequencies At Sheffield
Currently, trains at Sheffield have these daily frequencies to the towns and cities on the proposed Newcastle and Brighton route.
- Newcastle – 18
- Durham – 16
- Darlington – 15
- Northallerton – 0
- York – 19
- Doncaster – 64
- Derby – 58
- Burton-on-Trent – 9
- Birmingham New Street – 21
- Warwick Parkway – 0
- Banbury – 0
- Oxford – 3
- Reading – 4
- Wokingham – 0
- Guildford – 0
- Redhill – 0
- London Gatwick – 0
- Haywards Heath – 0
- Brighton – 0
Note.
- Sheffield gets five trains per day (tpd) direct connections to nine new destinations.
- Other useful destinations will get five more tpd.
- Reading is a useful interchange for Wales and the West.
- Guildford is a useful interchange for Portsmouth, Southampton and West Surrey.
- Reading and Guildford have coach services to Heathrow.
There are also a large number of universities along the route.
Hitachi Can Offer A One-Supplier Battery-Electric Train Solution
It should be noted that Hitachi can offer a complete package including battery-electric trains and all the electrification, transformers and other electrical gubbins needed.
So perhaps for the Chiltern Main Line, which is used for part of the route between Didcot and Birmingham, Hitachi could deliver a one-supplier solution, that would also electrify Chiltern’s services between Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street.
Remember, Chiltern are another Arriva Group company.
If Hitachi get this right, I can see other lines being electrified in this way.
Could This One-Supplier Battery-Electric Solution Be Exported?
I discussed this in Arriva Group Invests In New Battery Hybrid Train Fleet In Boost To UK Rail Industry, where I suggested that the United States could be a market.
- Arriva Group are ultimately American-owned.
- Hitachi’s battery technology is also American-owned.
In these days of Trump’s tariffs, these could prove useful facts.
As Arriva Group used to be owned by Deutsche Bahn, they may be another interested party, especially as they have a lot of lines, where I believe Hitachi’s solution would work.
Conclusion
A battery-electric railway service of nearly four hundred miles would certainly attract the passengers.
Wrightbus To Build 1,000 Zero-Emission Buses
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Northern Ireland company to ramp up production by 40% and recruit hundreds more employees as it also develops the UK’’s first long-distance hydrogen coach
These are the first two paragraphs, which add more detail.
Wrightbus, the Northern Ireland bus manufacturer, could be supplying as many as 1,000 zero-emission vehicles to depots around the UK as it increases production by 40 per cent over a two-year period and takes on hundreds more workers.
The company, best known for the redesigned 21st century take on the Routemaster ordered by the former mayor of London Boris Johnson, also announced it is to spend £5 million developing the UK’s first long-distance hydrogen coach capable of travelling 1,000km (621 miles) on a single recharging of its fuel cells.
These two paragraphs describe their production and employment plans.
Jean-Marc Gales, the former senior Peugeot director who is Wrightbus’s chief executive, said production at its Northern Ireland plant would go from 1,000 vehicles last year to 1,200 this year and 1,400 in 2026.
Over the same period the company’s workforce will grow from 1,500 to 2,500.
Peter Kyle, the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, said this.
The level of innovation at Wrightbus and their quality standards have been recognised.
That is surely rare praise for a private company from a Labour Minster.
I first wrote about Wrightbus’s new hydrogen coach in early March, when I wrote Wrightbus Goes Back To The Future As It Relaunches The Contour Coach, which was based on this Wrightbus press release, which has the same title.
I said this in my post.
Wrightbus is entering the coach market for the first time in more than 30 years with the launch of two new vehicles in the next 18 months.
The first vehicle to hit the market is the Contour, a low-emission 55-seater coach that was launched at a customer showcase event today (March 5).
It’s a case of back to the future for Wrightbus, which last produced a Contour coach in 1987 before retiring the vehicle.
The second vehicle, a zero-emission hydrogen coach – which is under development in Ballymena, Northern Ireland – will be added to the Wrightbus coach range within the next 18 months to help drive decarbonisation of the sector.
The low emission Contour has a lead time of just six months from order, which is considerably faster than the current one-to-two-year average wait customers have come to expect from the sector. Featuring a Cummins Euro 6 400BHP X11 engine and a ZF automatic gearbox, the modern-day Contour has been built with comfort in mind, with up to 55 reclining seats – each with its own USB port – alongside other modern safety features. Competitively priced and available with or without PSVAR compliance, there is also the option of the vehicle being ‘pre-prepared’, protecting the vehicle’s ‘second life’ and flexibility.
The coach has a range of bespoke options for customers to choose from and is designed to maximise luggage space and functionality.
The low emission Contour coach was to have been built in China.
But events have moved on fast in the last month, with Trump and China trading insults on tariffs almost daily.
From today’s article in The Times and a press release from the Government, which is entitled Science Secretary Hails Wrightbus As Company Pledges £25 million To Bolster UK’s Green Transport Revolution And Drive Growth, it appears that the Chinese coach has been dropped.
Could the plan now be something like this?
- The low emission Contour coach will either be dropped, built in Ballymena or perhaps even built on JCB’s site in Texas.
- It might possibly be advantageous to build the coach in the United States to balance the tariffs and target the North American market.
- I would feel, that North America could be a lucrative market for the larger thousand kilometre coach.
- With the low emission Contour coach, Cummins get a chance to show the United States their excellent hydrogen technology.
- Trump can claim, that he’s brought jobs back to the United States.
- If Wrightbus and/or JCB build the low emission Contour coach, they could probably create a better product and get it to market earlier.
I suspect we’ll learn more of Wrightbus’s plans in the next few weeks.
Arriva Group Invests In New Battery Hybrid Train Fleet In Boost To UK Rail Industry
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Arriva Group.
These four bullet points act as sub-headings.
- Order worth around £300 million for fleet of new trains, which will increase seats by 20 per cent, improving capacity and connectivity.
- 45 rail cars to be manufactured at Hitachi Rail in the North East and financed by Angel Trains, helping secure highly skilled jobs and unlocking a new advanced manufacturing opportunity for rail.
- State-of-the-art ‘tri-mode’ train technology has proven its ability to cut emissions and fuel costs by around 30 per cent to support UK Government’s decarbonisation agenda.
- Announcement is made from Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe factory and attended by the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander MP.
These three paragraphs give more details.
Arriva Group announced today an order for nine cutting-edge battery hybrid trains to replace its entire Grand Central fleet, providing a major boost to regional economies and offering passengers more comfortable, greener travel options.
The order for 45 Hitachi Rail ‘tri-mode’ cars, which have the flexibility to run on electrified and non-electrified tracks, along with a 10-year maintenance contract, represents an investment of around £300 million. Tri-mode means the trains can be powered using electricity, battery or diesel.
It follows approval by the rail regulator for extended track access rights for Grand Central’s existing services through to 2038, with the investment underpinning Arriva’s long-term commitment to UK rail and to delivering sustainable public transport solutions to communities up and down the country and across Europe.
The trains will be built by Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe.
I have some further thoughts and questions.
What Distances Will The Trains Run Away From Electrification?
The distances that the various services will run away from electrification are as follows.
- King’s Cross and Bradford Interchange – Doncaster and Bradford Interchange – 52.1 miles.
- King’s Cross and Cleethorpes – Doncaster and Cleethorpes – 52.1 miles.
- King’s Cross and Sunderland – Longlands junction and Sunderland – 48.5 miles.
It would appear that a train with a range away from electrification of 55 miles would be enough, if there were to be charging at all the destinations.
Will The Trains Be Able To Take The Great Northern And Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE) Diversion Via Lincoln On The East Coast Main Line?
I discussed using this diversion in detail in London And Edinburgh By Lumo Using the Joint Line Diversion.
In that post, I said this.
The January 2024 Edition of Modern Railways says that the diversion is approximately 90 miles or 145 kilometers.
If the trains have a 90 mile capability on batteries and/or diesel, they will be able to use the diversion.
As Hull Trains, LNER and Lumo all need this ability to take the GNGE Diversion, I suspect, it will be a tick-box on the order form for the trains.
When Will The Trains Be In Service?
The news item says this.
The trains will be delivered in 2028 under a 10-year leasing arrangement, in partnership and financed by Angel Trains.
Will The New Trains Be Faster?
They might save a couple of minutes, if Doncaster is the first stop.
Will The New Trains Be Quieter?
The news item says this about noise and emissions.
State-of-the-art ‘tri-mode’ train technology has proven its ability to cut emissions and fuel costs by around 30 per cent to support UK Government’s decarbonisation agenda.
Hitachi have said that the diesel engines will not run in stations.
Could The Trains Run Grand Central’s Routes Carbon-Free?
In The Data Sheet For Hitachi Battery Electric Trains, I came to these conclusions
- The battery pack has a capacity of 750 kWh.
- A five-car train needs three battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
- A nine-car train needs five battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
- The maximum range of a five-car train with three batteries is 117 miles.
- The maximum range of a nine-car train with five batteries is 121 miles.
As battery technology gets better, these distances will increase.
If I was choosing the trains for Grand Central, the trains would be able to operate these routes without using diesel.
- Doncaster and Bradford Interchange and return.
- Doncaster and Cleethorpes and return.
- Longlands junction and Sunderland and return.
Passengers might not like to have noisy passengers.
Probably, the best insurance policy to avoid running out of battery power, would be to have perhaps fifty metres of electrification at terminal stations. Hitachi claim they can offer a nice line in short lengths of electrification.
Quiet Trains Should Attract Passengers
I’ve seen it before and also with buses.
The Number Of Trains Ordered
The basic order is for nine trains, but Railway Gazette says this.
Arriva welcomed the ‘swift decision-making’ by ORR and the backing of the Department for Transport and Network Rail. It has also submitted applications to run more trains to Bradford and introduce services to Cleethorpes, and has an option to buy more trains if these are approved.
I’ve read somewhere that the option is for three extra trains.
So that’s a total of twelve, which would replace the ten Class 180 trains and two Class 221 trains, that Grand Central Trains currently run.
What About Chiltern Railways And CrossCountry?
Train operating companies Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and Grand Central Trains are all wholly owned subsidiaries of Arriva Trains UK, who are described like this in the first paragraph of their Wikipedia entry.
Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva’s train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, though several others were gained. In January 2010, with the take-over of Arriva by Deutsche Bahn, Arriva UK Trains also took over the running of those formerly overseen by DB Regio UK Limited
Arriva is ultimately owned by American infrastructure investment company; I Squared Capital.
Both Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry have trains, that are coming to the date, when they will need to be replaced and similar trains to those ordered by Grand Central could be suitable. to replace some.
Chiltern Railways have six rakes of Mark 3 coaches, that are hauled by diesel locomotives between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street stations, These rakes of coaches could be replaced by Hitachi tri-mode trains, of perhaps five or six cars.
Chiltern Railways also have about sixty assorted diesel multiple units totalling up to about 150 carriages.
CrossCountry Trains have twenty-nine two- or three-car Class 170 trains and sixty-one four- or five car Class 220 or 221 trains. All these ninety trains were built this century and are diesel-powered.
The Government’s policy of net-zero by 2050, would probably mean a significant number of these smaller diesel multiple units need to be replaced by 2030.
If the Grand Central Trains new Hitachi trains are a success, then changing the longer four-, five- and six-car trains for similar Hitachi trains, would be a low-risk replacement strategy for I Squared Capital, that could be applied at Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry.
I can also see a need for a two-, three- or four-car tri-mode train for Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry.
Was The Date Of The Announcement Significant?
In October 2020, I wrote Hitachi Targets Export Opportunities From Newton Aycliffe and I believe that tri-mode trains like these that Grand Central have ordered could have export opportunities.
One country for exports has possibilities and that is the United States.
- Hitachi AT-300 trains like these don’t need expensive high-speed tracks and there are probably many lines in the United States, where these trains could fit existing tracks.
- This page on the Hitachi Rail web site is entitled Hitachi Rail in the USA and Canada.
- In the UK, companies like GWR, LNER, Southeastern and TransPennine Express effectively use theHitachi trains as fast commuter trains on some routes.
- Trump’s tariffs would only be 10 % on these trains.
- The Grand Central version looks very stylish!
- Hitachi’s battery technology is owned by Turntide Technology, who are a US company.
- For some routes, the trains would probably only need to be battery-electric.
Has the experience of running Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and Grand Central Trains convinced I Squared Capital, that running railways is a good investment?
Have I Squared Capital identified some railroads in the United States, that could follow a similar upgrade path to Chiltern Railways?
Was it significant that the order was announced the day after Trump’s tariffs?
.
Trump’s Tariffs Threaten To Wipe Out UK’s Economic Growth
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Rachel Reeves could be forced to raise taxes or cut spending after the US president announced plans for tariffs of up to 25 per cent on cars
These three paragraphs add more detail.
Rachel Reeves faces having to raise taxes or cut spending if President Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on Britain next week, the official budget watchdog has warned.
The chancellor was forced to announce a £14 billion package of cuts to repair the public finances in her spring statement after the Office for Budget Responsibility halved growth forecasts.
But the budget watchdog warned that there was a 50 per cent chance that Reeves would be forced to return with further cuts or tax rises as soon as October amid concerns that the UK’s economic outlook will deteriorate still further.
So I will hit back in the only way I can and avoid buying any goods made by US companies.
I have started by removing any US-owned products from my Ocado order on Saturday.
Scotch Whisky Is In A Unique Position
Scotland has so much zero-carbon energy now, let alone in a few years, that Scotch whisky would not be the most difficult of industries to make completely zero-carbon, which could marketing-wise completely trump any tariffs, that Trummkopf might impose.
- Already some small distilleries are using hydrogen to distill the whisky.
- Some glass bottles are already made using hydrogen instead of natural gas to make zero-carbon malt whiskies.
- I’m sure Cummins in Darlington, JCB in Rocester and Ricardo in Sussex will be pleased to help make farm machinery, mechanical handling and road transport zero carbon.
- Soft fruit like raspberries are already used to absorb the carbon dioxide from the distillation process in some areas of Scotland. I’m sure dealing with more quality raspberries would not be a problem.
- A large electrolyser is planned for Kintore in the North of Scotland. Think of the good publicity for say Centrica or SSE, if they built the world’s largest hydrogen plant to help make zero-carbon whisky.
These are some more thoughts.
Taste Is Everything
As only the method of providing heat and electricity will have been changed, I can’t see there will be any change to the taste.
It’s Already Happening
This page on the Annandale Distillery web site is entitled Annandale Distillery Pioneers Zero-Carbon Whisky Production with EXERGY 3 Project.
The Kintore Electrolyser
These figures summarise the Kintore Electrolyser.
- Total Electrolyser Capacity – 3 GW
- First Phase – 500 MW
- Hydrogen – 200 kTonnes per year
Explore the Kintore Hydrogen web site.
Marketing Advantage
Scotland, is probably, the only country, where the main ingredients for whisky come together in abundance ; barley, energy, tradition and water.
It also is all produced in a single country in many different brands and types, which could all be produced in a zero-carbon manner.
Conclusion
Let’s give Trump a beating and the planet a kiss.
The Anonymous Widower 