Improving London’s Transport In Small Ways
I feel there are two ways of getting more out of London’s crowded transport system.
The first is the obvious ones of capital projects, which at the top end is Thameslink, Crossrail and Crossrail 2, and at the bottom end it is projects of the order of small numbers of millions, which might include.
- Remodelling major junctions like Archway, Elephant and Castle, Highbury Corner and Old Street.
- Reorganising bus routes around train and Underground stations, with more shelters and better information.
- New and rebuilt stations like Crystal Palace, Deptford and Lea Bridge
- Inclined lifts like that installed at Greenford.
- Step-free access at stations like Clapham Junction, Gospel Oak, Honor Oak Park, New Cross and South Tottenham.
I’m sure that new technology epitomised by the inclined lift at Greenford, will increasingly be seen.
But with any complex system, there is always improvements to be made in small ways.
The recent extension of contactless cards to Gatwick Airport, could be the sort of improvement, that increases ridership on the trains to the airport and is very much a win for the airport, the train companies and passengers alike.
We need more small improvements to London’s transport system to squeeze more capacity and improved efficiency out of the network.
1, London’s Airports And Other Places Should Have Contactless Ticketing
Heathrow, Luton and Southend Airports will join City and Gatwick in coming within London’s contactless ticketing network.
But why stop at just airports?
I feel that within a few years, the following will be within London’s contactless ticketing area.
- Chafford Hundred for the shopping at Lakeside.
- Ebbsfleet International for trains to Europe.
- Greenhithe for the shopping at Bluewater.
- Thorpe Park and other places for the fun!
- Windsor and other places for the tourists!
The benefits to residents, tourists, business and train companies won’t be small.
I suspect that as the contactless ticketing network grows, attractions and towns outside the area, will be enthusiastic to join and might even bribe Transport for London.
2. Buses Should Trial Entry Through All Doors
The bus journey I do most commonly is to get a 38 or 56 bus between my house and the Angel, where I tend to do my food shopping.
The 38 route uses New Routemasters with three doors, all of which can be used for entrance and exit, whereas on the 56 route, standard two door buses are used, where you enter through the front door and exit through the one in the middle.
There is no question that the Routemasters get through a typical stop quicker, as drivers and passengers use their brains to get on and off the bus as fast as possible. However, on the standard buses, threading a push-chair into the middle of the bus can be difficult and time consuming.
I think that an experiment should be trialled, where in perhaps areas, where there are a lot of Routemasters, passengers can board the standard buses from the middle door and touch-in on a convenient reader.
Obviously, it would be open to fraud, which is why an experiment would have to be performed first. But from several years of watching passengers on New Routemasters, I don’t think losses would be substantial. Many a time, I’ve seen passengers collectively stare at another passenger, who didn’t touch in! It’s East London peer pressure at work!
Remember too, that the doom-mongers of the left, felt cashless buses and contactless payments would be a disaster and discriminate against the poor. Try finding an incident, where someone was severely inconvenienced by London’s contactless ticketing system!
3. All Stations Should Indicate The Train Direction
On some stations this is obvious, or can be worked out, as on heavy rail routes, trains drive on the left.
But on many Underground stations, it is not obvious from which direction your train will arrive.
Often regular passengers will know that when going to a specific station, they will need to be in a particular carriage. If I am coming North to Angel on the Northern Line, I want to be in the first or second car, as this saves the effort of walking down the platform.
A simple arrow above the sdverts say, would orient you on the platform.
Hopefully, it would distribute passengers in a better manner along the platform.
4. Some Rail |And Underground Maps Could Be Larger
The standard maps are fine, but over the years, I’ve seen some really large transport maps around the world.
There’s no doubt in my mind that with maps, big is beautiful and the bigger the better.
In many stations there is a large tiled wall, for which no-one has really found a sensible use. Often you’ll come down an escalator into the bowels of an Underground station and face such a wall.
So why not put a really large map there?
It would be out of the way too and if passengers just wanted to stand in front of it and look, no-one would bother.
5. More First Train Indicators At Terminal Stations
Some terminal stations have more than one platform from which stations start their return journeys.
At Walthamstow Central on the Victoria Line, where there are two platforms, an indicator tells you, from which platform the first train will leave.
But at other stations like Stratford on the Overground, it is difficult to ascertain which will be the first train to travel west.
All terminal platforms should be fitted with First Train Indicators.
6. Better On Board Bus Information
London’s buses have a simple display, which gives a selection of the following information.
- The route and the destination.
- The name of the next stop
- Any customer information like delays, strikes or closures.
- The time.
I know the size of the display is limited, but it is poorly arranged and could be much better.
It should also show the five-number code of the next stop, so that passengers changing there could check out their next bus.
7. All Stations Should Have TfL-Standard Rail/Tube, Bus Spider And Walking Maps
When you arrive at a Transport for London (TfL) managed station, you find the following maps prominently displayed.
- The Rail and Tube version of the iconic Underground map.
- A bus spider map for all the routes serving the area.
- A comprehensive walking map.
At most TfL stations, there is increasingly a Legible London lith.
But this is not the case at some stations in London, that are managed directly by railway companies.
All stations should be made to adhere to London’s standards.
8. Below Ground Information Needs To Be Improved
Crossrail will bring some truly labyrinthine stations to London, to add to those difficult to navigate ones like Bank, Green Park, Kings Cross St. Pancras and Waterloo.
Transport for London needs to provide more bus and walking maps on the platforms and in the passageways, so that passengers can find their way to the entrance they need to continue their journey.
9. Rail And Tube Map On All London-Bound Platforms
The need for this was illustrated at Coventry station, where two tourists were asking the Virgin station-man, how to get to Ewell West from Euston. He told me, he had asked for a London Rail and Tube Map for the station, as this would have answered a large proportion of the questions he was asked.
The map could also have full details on how to use London’s contactless ticketing, which should reduce the queues at London terminals.
The only station outside London, I’ve seen such a map is Cardiff Central.
If it’s good enough for Wales, then the map should be displayed in Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne, Lille, Marseilles and Paris.
Obviously, with information in the correct languages!
10. There Needs To Be More And Better Ticket Machines
Increasingly, I use the Internet less and less to buy tickets for travel out from London, unless it’s a longer journey and I want to reserve a seat.
I get the best Internet price from the latest ticket machines at Dalston Junction station, where I can buy the following tickets.
- Singles and returns, for today or a date in the near future between any two stations in the UK.
- Extension tickets from the Zone 6 boundary to certain stations close to London.
I get the best Internet price, without having to sign-up to be bombarded with spam by the train or ticket company.
The Zone 6 extension tickets are often a big money saver. Recently a return to Woking cost me just £5.15 with my Senior Railcard. The Standard Class Return Ticket costs £14.10, so the saving almost paid for my lunch in Woking.
These ticket machines need to be in a lot more places and not just on the Overground.
11. Ban Diesel Trains As Much As Possible From London
Despite lots of electrification on the lines into and through London, their are still quite a few noisy and smelly diesel trains to be found in London. They fall into the following categories.
- Long-distance trains like those to the West Country, Wales and Scotland.
- Freight trains on through routes, like the North London and Gospel Oak to Barking Lines.
- Commuter services using diesel multiple units.
- Engineering trains haled by diesel locomotives.
I believe that many of these can be replaced by trains hauled by quieter and greener electric traction.
Many residents of London, especially those who live on the feight routes of North London, would back this small improvement.
Conclusion
I have detailed ten small ideas, that might be used to improve London’s transport network.
I think that only the provision of more and better ticket machines will cost serious amounts of money, but from what I see as I travel around London, I suspect it’s already being done.
If I was the London Mayor, I would ask Londoners and regular travellers for simple ideas to improve the network.
Some would be bonkers, some would be so-so, but I believe that some would be brilliant.
I also believe that those good ideas, that were worthwhile implementing, should result in a reward to the proposer.
After all, London’s transport network belongs to London and Londoners, so why shouldn’t they have a say in its design?
London’s New Stations
This is a list of the new stations that are being built or are proposed for the London area.
- Battersea Power Station – Being built for Northern Line Extension – Opening by 2020
- Brent Cross Thameslink – Outline planning permission
- Canary Wharf – Being built for Crossrail – Opening in 2018
- Cassiobridge – Being built for Croxley Rail Link – Opening in 2020
- Lea Bridge – Being built – Opening in 2016
- Maiden Lane – Proposed for North London Line
- New Bermondsey – Being built for East London Line
- Nine Elms – Being built for Northern Line Extension – Opening by 2020
- Old Oak Common – Being planned for Crossrail and HS2 – Opening in 2026
- Primrose Hill – Proposed for North London Line
- Silvertown – Proposed for Crossrail
- Watford Vicarage Road – Being built for Croxley Rail Link – Opening in 2020
- West Hampstead Interchange – Proposed
- Woolwich – Being built for Crossrail – Opening in 2018
There are of course other proposals in the dreams of London’s many local authorities.
Could The Golden Mile In Houslow Get A Station?
A couple of words in Modern Railways led me to this article on the Hounslow Council web site, which is entitled Restoring Great West Rd to former golden glory. This is said.
He said: “We need a big improvement to the public transport links to realise our vision. We want to see a brand new station near Sky’s HQ by using an under-used freight line and create a new station – the Golden Mile’s very own station – and link it to Southall which will be on Crossrail.”
This Goggle Map shows the area.
Sky HQ And Possible Golden Mile Station
Note the following.
- Sky’s HQ is indicated by a red arrow.
- The rail line behind the Sky HQ is the Brentford Branch Line.
- The main road is the A4.
- The other rail line running parallel to and south of the A4 is the Hounslow Loop Line.
There are certainly possibilities to create a station here.
At the other end the Brentford Branch Line used to terminate at Southall station.
Around Southall Station
Note.
- The Brentford Branch Line curves into the Great Western Main Line to the East of Southall station.
- Trains on the branch could terminate in a bay platform in Southall station.
I have deliberately taken the Google Map over a wide area, so that I bring in the Southall Gas Works site, which is currently used for long term valet parking at Heathrow.
The site is to be developed and I just wonder, if the businesses and houses could be served by an extension of services on the Brentford Branch.
Perhaps a tram could run from the Gas Works site, through Southall station and then down to the Golden Mile.
- I have suggested a tram, as this would mean that extra stops would be more affordable.
- If it needed to cross the Great Western Main Line, a single-track bridge for trams would be more affordable.
- Trams could also go walkabout at either end of the core section.
- If the line was just used as a shuttle between Southall and the Golden Mile, to get sufficient capacity with trains might be an expensive solution.
- Perhaps a tram could sneak down to Syon Park and the River Thames.
I think that there are possibilities for a well-designed solution in the area to connect the Golden Mile to Southall station for Crossrail.
Railways In North East Poland
Look at this Google Map of the Polish town of Goldap, where we stopped for supplies on our holiday.
Goldap
Just to the North of the main road, it appears that there is the recognisable scar of a multiple-track railway.
Our Polish guide confirmed that Goldap had a large station with several platforms, and that it is still there.
Until the end of the Second World War, this area was East Prussia and was part of Germany. The railways were connected to the Prussian Eastern Railway, which connected Berlin to the major East Prussian city of Koningsberg. The Prussian Eastern Railway still exists as far as Braniewo on the Polish side of the Border, but there doesn’t appear to be a rail connection onward to Kaliningrad as Koningsberg is now called. This Google Map shows the area from Braniewo in Poland to Mamonova in Russia.
Braniewo To Mamonova
The white line across the map is the border.
You can pick out the old railway from Braniewo to Mamonova.
If we lived in a sane and reasonable world, which I’m afraid that President Putin doesn’t, it would appear that some form of direct rail connection could be created, which would connect Russia and the Baltic States to Poland.
There is the problem of gauge as like Spain, Ireland and India, Russian railways don’t use the same gauge as everybody else. At one time the platforms in Kaliningrad-Passazhirsky station, were arranged so that those facing Poland were standard gauge and the others were Russian gauge.
As a train enthusiast, wouldn’t it be nice to travel from Berlin to Kaliningrad by luxury train, spend some hours in the city, before taking a train on to St. Petersburg.
It would sadly appear that Putin doesn’t have the commercial nous to run the Russian equivalent of a whelk stall.
It is a long term ambition of the European Union to connect the Baltic States and Finland to the rest of the European Union by rail, they have funded the creation of Rail Baltica. This map shows the route.
Rail Baltica
The objectives are broadly as follows.
- Build a 200 kph double-track standard gauge railway all the way.
- By-pass Russia and Belarus.
- Put a lot of the extensive freight traffic in the area on the railway rather than the roads.
The overall aim is to finish by 2025, although rumours persist that the section from Warsaw to Kaunas in Lithuania could open this year.
An interesting take on the project is given by this article on the Latvia Public Broadcasting web site, which is entitled Rail Baltica hits buffers at Polish border. This is said.
Even though Poland has allotted €16 billion to modernizing its railroads by 2023, not a single zloty has been earmarked to be spent on developing the connection to Rail Baltica at the Polish side of the border with Lithuania. Without this 200-kilometer section, the planned high-speed European gauge rail from Tallinn through Rīga through Kaunas won’t be connected with the rest of Europe, reported LSM’s Russian-language site on Friday.
It does appear that the section between Bialystok and Trakiszki isn’t up to scratch.
There is an interesting take on Rail Baltica in this article on a blog, which is entitled Rail Baltica Project Directed against Russia’s Security, Pavlovsky Says. This is said.
The Rail Baltica project, eventually intended to link Berlin with Helsinki via Poland and the three Baltic countries is “extremely doubtful from an economic point of view” but has obvious security implications for the region and Russia’s interests there, according to Moscow commentator Igor Pavlovsky.
The project, which will allow trains to pass from one end of the line to the other without changing from Western to Russian gage track, may never carry as many passengers or as much freight as its boosters claim, he writes on Regnum.ru; but it can carry troops and materiel from the West to the border of Russia.
Ever since I first heard of Rail Baltica, I’ve been rather surprised on the silence from Putin and his merry thugs!
Aberdeen Gets A City Deal
Yesterday as reported in this article on the BBC, Aberdeen got a City Deal.
Acording to the BBC, the funding will be used as follows.
- An initial £200m to improve journey times and increase capacity on key rail links between Aberdeen and the central belt, upgrading the rail line in the Montrose basin
- £24m for the trunk roads programme to support improvements to the key A90/A937 south junction at Laurencekirk
- £10m for extension of digital infrastructure in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire area above and beyond the commitment through the City Deal
- £20m in infrastructure funding to unlock housing sites that are of strategic importance to the local authorities as well as five-year certainty on £130m of affordable housing grant.
It all seems good to me, given the problems of the oil industry.
I gained a unique perspective to the North of Scotland, when I travelled from Edinburgh to Inverness, a few years ago. I wrote about the trip in Edinburgh to Invernesss In The Cab Of An HST.
InterCity 125s may be iconic transport, but Scotland’s two Northern cities and the surrounding areas need many more quality services to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The rail part of the City Deal talks about dualling the railway line from Aberdeen to the South.
I would go further. Consider.
The Aberdeen to Edinburgh Line is a 100 mph railway.
The Aberdeen to Glasgow Line branches off at Dundee and goes to Glasgow via Perth and Stirling.
Important communities are served all along the railways.
Services are every hour, but some are slow, as there are a lot of stops.
In my view Scotland North of the Tay, is ideal IPEMU country. I would run services between Edinburgh and Glasgow and Aberdeen using 125 mph electric trains with an IPEMU capability. These would shorten journey times, not just because of their speed, but because electric trains, stop at stations and then accelerate away in a reduced time.
Obviously, there would need to be some electrification.
- Across Aberdeen, Aberdeen Crossrail could be built between Dyce and Stonehaven, so that Aberdeen could have an electrified cross-city service.
- Around Dundee and Perth. This would come with the aspiration of connecting these two cities to the much-delayed Edinburgh to Glasgow electrification with electric trains. These trains could have an IPEMU capability.
It would give the Eastern side of the North of Scotland the railway links it needs.
To provide electric services to Inverness would be trickier, but as support for IPEMUs gets even more innovative, I suspect that Perth and Aberdeen to Inverness could be bridged.
I think IPEMUs are one area, where engineers will be able to marry all sorts of disparate technology together to give improvements, others would think impossible or even downright silly.
The main northern routes and their approximate distances are.
- Dundee to Aberdeen – 70 miles
- Aberdeen to Inverness – 100 miles
- Perth to Inverness – 110 miles
The only route that could be served by an IPEMU at the present time is Dundee to Aberdeen. But this would mean that creating an electric service from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Aberdeen is not the major engineering project that many believe it to be.
It would need.
- Creation of an electrified Aberdeen Crossrail from Dyce to Inverurie.
- Electrification from Stirling to Dundee via Perth.
- The purchase of some suitable trains with an IPEMU capability.
Get the railways to the North of Perth and Dundee right and the benefits to the North of Scotland could be immense.
- An improved rail service would increase tourism, with all the benefits that brings.
- Aberdeen Airport would get a proper rail service.
- Edinburgh to Aberdeen by train is now well over two hours. Steam trains in the 1895 Race To The North did it in only an hour longer.
- 125 mph trains with an IPEMU capability could break the two-hour barrier.
- Ferries for the Orkneys and Shetlands leave from a port near to Aberdeen station. so those islands could benefit.
I also believe that if the lines are improved in the North, then connectivity in the South of Scotland should also be improved.
- Glasgow Crossrail would improve rail links through Glasgow.
- Some form of Glasgow Airport Rail Link should be provided.
- The Borders Railway should be extended to Carlisle.
- The Glasgow and South Western Railway should be electrified to provide an alternative to the West Coast Main Line.
Scotland needs to get its railway improvement plans into shape.
Class 387 Trains On Track
February 2016’s Modern Railways has some news on the building by Bombardier of Class 387 trains. Three orders are in the pipeline.
- 27 trains for Gatwick Express
- 8 trains for Great Western Railway
- 20 trains for Porterbrook
All are of four cars.
Modern Railways says this.
The 20×4-car units for Porterbrook (for an as-yet unnamed operator) will be built first, followed by the 8×4-car units for Great Western Railway.
I feel that we’ll be seeing Porterbrook’s twenty trains on the UK rail network before the end of 2016 or soon afterwards. You have to admire their business acumen in spotting the need.
The article also goes on to say that Bombardier has created a new facility dedicated to the Class 345 trains, that will be for Crossrail. So their production will not effect production of other trains.
Does this also mean that Bombardier could use the existing production facilities to create more Class 387 trains or build the Class 710 trains for the London Overground?
If it’s the first then there are several operators, who would like a new 110 mph electric multiple unit. If it were a 125 mph train, there would be more takers.
If it’s the second, then I’d be pleased to be riding new Aventras on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line and up and down the Lea Valley Lines.
I think that it is true to say, that judging by the mess, that is the Great Western Electrification, that Great Western Railway will have a few spare Class 387 trains, if any operator had an electrified railway.
I would also love to ask Porterbrook and/or Bombardier how many of the leasing company’s twenty trains will be delivered with an IPEMU capability.
As I’ve said many time before, a 125 mph four-car IPEMU would be some train and would transform rail services in East Anglia, Across the Pennines, on the Midland Main Line and perhaps many other places.
All is starting to be revealed!
Are We Seeing A New Approach To Electrification On The Gospel Oak To Barking Line?
Over the years, I’ve followed several electrification schemes starting with the Lea Valley Lines through Southbury in the 1960s.
The electrification of the Gospel Oak To Barking Line (GOBlin), is not a particularly large or important one, in the overall scheme of things, but after the well-publicised problems of the electrification of the Great Western Main Line and the Trans-Pennine routes, Network Rail don’t want another train-load of bad publicity.
Take a ride down the line and you see the following.
- A collection of quite run-down stations, only a few of which are step-free. And some of those have extensive and somewhat tortuous ramps.
- The western end of the line from South Tottenham station sits in the middle of a wide track bed, with a few convenient metres of grass and scrub on each side of the line.
- The eastern end of the line from Leyton Midland Road station is on a viaduct, with the platforms either side of the track.
- Several of the station p[platforms are not long enough, but there are often disused sections that can be brought back into use.
- I don’t think there is any points or crossings between West of Blackhorse Road and East of Wanstead Park stations, which is all the viaduct section of the line.
- The line terminates in two bay platforms at Gospel Oak and Barking stations.
I suspect a few objectives have been laid down for the design and installation of the electrification and updating of the stations.
- Simple and affordable.
- Well-proven techniques.
- Installation in a minimum time, with as little disruption as possible.
- Ability to handle six-car trains after simple upgrades. This was not built-in to the North London and East London Lines
- As step-free as possible.
The following sections show what has been achieved so far and some of the problems and helpful factors of the electrification.
IPEMU
I like the IPEMU or Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit and feel that it has a place in many electrification schemes.
We have to remember that the Class 710 trains destined for the GOBlin can be fitted with an IPEMU-capability.
So how could an IPEMU help in making the GOBlin an electric railway?
- The extension to Barking Riverside is only a few kilometres and could be run totally by IPEMUs charging on the rest of the line. Imagine the kudos, that would give the development at Riverside and the electrification costs it will save.
- During the construction phase, IPEMUs could provide a service from an electrified line over a section, where the wires were still being erected.
Whether we believe it or not, the IPEMU is coming and it’s just whether it will make its debut on the GOBlin.
Where Are The Trains?
One rumour from a reputable source (NC!), says that the line will be closed from June or July 2016 for eight months, whilst electrification is completed on the line and testing takes place. It will then open (Feb/Mar 2017?) with a full electric service.
If you look at Bombardier’s production schedule, the Class 710 trains destined for the GOBlin will not enter service until 2018.
So bang goes the reason for the eight-month suspension of service, as passengers won’t accept all that pain for no gain.
Perhaps, there could be some Class 315, Class 317, Class 321 or even some of the very ugly Class 319 trains available. After all only eight four-car units are required!
But I don’t think anybody would be pleased if a new flagship service was to be started after an eight-month closure, with the contents of British Rail’s dustbin.
It is often said, that someone else’s troubles is somebody else’s gain and the problems on the Great Western electrification, means that there could be some almost-new Class 387 trains available.
It should not be forgotten, that a Class 379 train, was used as the demonstrator in the IPEMU trial in Essex, and 379s are very much cousins of 387s.
I believe that the Class 387 trains, are the only acceptable and available trains, that will be available to open the service after an eight-month blockade.
Power Supplies
Often supplying power to the overhead wires is an expensive business, with the need for massive transformers and connection to the electricity supply.
The GOBlin has good connections to electrified lines and short sections that are already electrified.
- A connection to the North London Line at Gospel Oak
- A short electrified section at South Tottenham.
- A connection to the Great Eastern Main Line at Woodgrange Park.
- A short electrified section between Woodgrage Park and Barking.
So getting the power is one problem, that won’t challenge the engineers.
The Pattern Of The Piles
Look at any overhead electrified line in the UK and every fifty metres or generally less, you’ll see a masts and/or a portal frame to support the overhead wires, which is supported from both sides of the track. This Google Map shows Woodgrange Park station on the GOBlin.
Electrification At Woodgrange Park Station
Note the frames supporting the wires everywhere, in the station, on the disused sections of the platforms and on the way to Barking,which is to the East (right).
If you look at the piles that have been put in to support the masts for the overhead wires on the western end of the GOBlin, they show a totally different pattern to that which I would expect. Here’s a few pictures.
My observations lead me to define the pattern of piles as follows.
- Piles are paired, with one on each side, as expected.
- There are none in stations.
- There isn’t even any tell-tale paint, to indicate where the masts will go in the stations.
- Piles seem to stop thirty metres or so before stations and overbridges.
Murphys were so keen to get the piling started, they were thumping away on Christmas night, so given the days and nights available since them, there doesn’t seem to be too many piles in the ground.
So short of using skyhooks or drones, or perhaps calling on the services of someone like Jasper Maskelyne, what is going to happen?
In my view, there is only one possible solution and that is to put central masts between the two tracks.
I also suspect that some of the substantial road bridges over the GOBlin, will be used to support the overhead wires, as I’m sure that the engineers have a solution for that method of fixing. This picture shows an ancient fixing, under the arch at Stoke Newington station.
Overhead Wires At Stole Newington Station
I’m sure the modern product, is more elegant! And less corroded.
Central Masts
Normally in the UK, the overhead wires are supported from the sides of the track. But look at this picture from the Sheffield Supertram.
The Meadowhall South/Tinsley Tram Stop
Note how the overhead wires are supported from a central mast between the tracks.
Furrer + Frey, who are a well-respected Swiss manufacturer of equipment for railway electrification and a big supplier to Network Rail, have a wide range of methods shown in this page. One method is to use a central mast to support wires on both sides over the two tracks.
Furrer + Frey Central Mast
I feel that given the challenging constraints and demanding time-scale of electrifying the GOBlin, that central masts could help considerably.
They would need to be sturdy, but if you analyse the stresses in a typical central mast, the wires on both sides balance each other. It’s like a milkmaid carrying two buckets.
There may be other advantages in the installation of central masts, as the work will probably be done on a flat surface, using a rail mounted crane, whereas installing a portal frame over the railway may need scaffolding to be erected.
The latter method might also mean closing the businesses in the many arches under the line for the duration of the work.
The Upper Holloway Bridge
One of the problems of the work, is that in the middle of all this electrification, the bridge at Upper Holloway station is being replaced with the electrification work going on at the same time.
According to this document from TfL, the bridge deck is due to be replaced over Christmas 2016 and the project will be completed by the end of 2017.
Surely, this blows the time-scale of the whole project, as until the bridge is finished, surely electrification can’t proceed!
Or does it?
If the overhead wires through the station are supported centrally between the tracks, with the assistance of two strong portal frames outside the station/bridge area, it might be possible to change the bridge deck, using some of innovative techniques that were used at York, which I wrote about in Dancing With Cranes And A Bridge With Help From Lego.
This Google Map shows the station/bridge area.
Upper Holloway Station, Bridge And The A1
Note that there is more space along the railway, than on the main road.
I think we need a new word to describe the nature of replacing this bridge, in just a few days over Christmas.
I suspect the bridge deck has been designed as a series of components, that are small enough to transport into the area, either by road or train, and then bolt them together like Meccano. It could be the most exciting live television of Christmas 2016.
To sum up, I believe that engineers have found a solution to electrify the line before the bridge deck is replaced.
I went to the station today and had a chat with an engineer.
He told me, that the bridge will be replaced bit-by-bit and indicated that there will be no big closure.
So could Transport for London have had a change of heart and decided to fit a new bridge over the gap, that will allow the wires to be put up at the same time, with the bridge assembled from a kit of smaller more manageable pieces?
The next few months will give an answer.
Whilst I was at Upper Holloway station, I took this picture, which shows the layout of lines to the West of the station.
Note.
- There is only one pile in the picture and it is between the stacked-Portakabin signal box and the grey cabinet about ten metres further on, on the left.
- There are no piles or paint markings in the station area.
- There is plenty of space to extend the platforms, if that should be required.
- The crossing, which will need to be fully electrified, allows freight trains to access the Midland Main Line.
This all leads me to believe, that if overhead wires are going through this station, then they might well be supported on central masts.
Obviously, portal frames could still be attached to the platforms, but there is a lot of work going on to add two nice waiting rooms to the station. Surely, good project management would put up the masts and frames first!
Obviously, the wires can also be supported on the bridge, which was about thirty metres behind me, when I took the picture.
So you would have a solid road bridge at one end of the station and a very sturdy portal frame over the crossing by the signal box at the other to support the catenary, with some help from a couple of central masts in the station area.
Harringay Green Lanes Station
Harringay Green Lanes station is the nearest station on the line to my house, and to get there I just get a 141 bus direct too the station.
These pictures show the station.
It should be said, that the station sits in the middle of an area, that Harringey Council want to redevelop and that this will involve a new station. I wrote about stations in the area in The Piccadilly And Victoria Lines, Manor House Station And Harringay Green Lanes Station.
You can understand why it needs a rebuild.
Typical portal frames to support the overhead wires would either have to reach from outside the platforms or be mounted on the platforms themselves. In the case of the former, there are extensive ramps and staircases in the way and in the case of the second, the platforms may be able to support a lot of passengers, but would they need substantial rebuilding to bear the weight of the portal frames?
Incidentally, there has been some piling to both the east and west of the station, so perhaps they’ll be two strong frames about twenty to thirty metres from the platforms? Obviously, to future-proof the station, they would be far-enough away to allow any possible platform extensions.
Between the platforms the wires could be supported on central masts. The pictures show, that the space between the tracks is probably wide enough for the installation of central masts.
Traditional electrification might be difficult or even impossible, but I’m sure there are clever engineers, who can get round the problems of stations like Harringay Green Lanes.
Leytonstone High Road Station
Leytonstone High Road station is typical of the viaduct-mounted stations towards the eastern end of the line. Leyton High Road and Wanstead Park are similar.
These pictures show the station, the viaduct to the east of the station and a nearby bridge.
Note the following.
- The unrestored platforms, that could be brought back into use for longer trains.
- The industrial units under the station.
- The generous width between the platforms.
- No sign of any electrification works or even markings on the platforms.
I believe that these stations and the viaduct between them, could be electrified using central masts to support the overhead wires.
Arches, such as used to hold up the viaduct and house the industrial units are some of the strongest forms around. Look at any medieval cathedral or castle!
These arches may have been built by the Victorians, but you don’t hear many stories of sixty-eight tonne Class 66 locomotives and dozens of freight wagons and containers falling through.
Obviously, the masts would be properly anchored into the arches.
Could the viaduct section of the line be electrified using central masts from a company like Furrer + Frey?
Conclusion
Someone has got a very firm grip on this project and the finish date is very much up for grabs.
But it does seem, that they could be using the space between the tracks to support the overhead wires.
I also think that there could be a well-respected Swiss company somewhere in there rolling around.
Have they looked at Network Rail’s problems and applied their expertise of running electric trains in some of the most difficult terrain in Europe?
Arriva Rail North’s New Trains
Arriva Rail North have announced a deal for a future fleet of new trains from privately-owned Spanish manufacturer; CAF.
Class 333 trains from this manufacturer, are already running in the North, so I suspect that Arriva Rail North know a lot about their quality and reliability. As a mere passenger, I’ve found the trains around Leeds to be very acceptable.
In the UK, CAF’s trams run on the Midland Metrolink and in Edinburgh, so CAF is not a manufacturer unknown to the UK.
CAF are proposing their Civity train, which comes in various modules, as summed up by Wikipedia.
The Civity is a modular concept which can be delivered as an Electric multiple unit, Diesel multiple unit, Diesel-electric or Dual mode. This family of trains is designed for 4 different power supplies: 1500 V DC, 3000 V DC, 15 kV AC and 25 kV AC. Each unit has shared motor bogies and a low floor of 860 mm. The design was launched in 2010.
So it would appear that, as a modular design, where DMUs and EMUs will share components and characteristics, it may offer cost savings to an operator.
This data sheet from CAF describes the Civity range. Points to note.
- It has been designed for standard gauge.
- There is a UK version called Civity UK.
- There is a cold-weather version called Civity NORDIC.
- There is a Russian gauge version. As CAF have sold to Ireland, I suspect there’s an Irish gauge version.
- Top speed is 160 kph, but 200 kph is available.
- The list of interior options is wide.
Reading the data sheet, I get the impression that Arriva Rail North are getting standard trains with the features they want.
I don’t know the answer, but I suspect that like the Class 378 trains of the London Overground, the Civity trains can be lengthened or shortened, by adding or removing trailer cars between the two driving cars. This concept has worked so well on the Overground, I doubt that a train manufacturer wouldn’t copy it.
Thus you could have four car DMUs on a route like the Calder Valley Line. When the line gets electrified, you do a bit of swapping and add two electric driving cars and get four-car EMUs and two-car DMUs.
The trains are already in service in three countries; Italy, Latvia and Montenegro, with an order for 120 trains for The Netherlands in the pipeline.
Reading the various articles about the purchase, some worries surface in comments.
One is that do CAF have the capacity to build all the trains required? I think they do for two related reasons.
They are a private company based in the Basque country and it will be a matter of pride on the part of the owners and the region to not fail. This section from Wikipedia about the countries history is interesting.
Since 1958 the company has modernized and enlarged its Beasain plant and expanded its activity to include all kinds of rolling stock. In line with this, in 1969 CAF created its Research and Development Unit, which increased the company’s competitiveness and intensified the focus on in-house technology.
CAF gives the impression, it is an ambitious, technology-led company and I believe the Arriva Rail North and Dutch orders are just steps up the ladder.
Worries are also raised that there aren’t enough trains ordered by Arriva Rail North and that the new trains will not be built in the UK.
On the number of trains, I would tend to agree, but if Arriva Rail North’s business plan is successful, then there will be money to purchase more trains and lengthen the existing ones, just as happened on the London Overground. People seem to forget we live in the New Age of the Train and Tram and the days of inadequate rolling stock orders to please the Treasury are hopefully over.
The fact that the trains will be built in Spain rather than the UK, is not that significant, if you look at what has happened in the motor industry, where a dead industry is now thriving on exports. We may not see any more train factories in the UK, but we do produce good railway technology in certain areas and as trains revive all over the world, there will be opportunities for the best companies manufacturing in the UK.
I would add a question about the order.
Over the next few years, the North will gradually develop a network of electrified trunk lines, which Arriva Rail North will exploit with the Northern Connect sub-brand.
Ever since, I rode the prototype IPEMU at Manningtree, I have believed that the technology has a place in the UK’s rolling stock and especially on routes in the North.
So I do wonder, if CAF have an IPEMU in their stable, as it would be ideal for say the Windermere and Barrow services.
But CAF did have a large hand in the creation of the Seville tram. This is said about the tram’s movement without catenary in Wikipedia.
From the start it was envisaged that part of the Metrocentro system should be able to run free from using the overhead contact wire for power. On several occasions the City of Seville administration had to dismantle the overhead wires to allow, at Easter, processions to pass without restriction; the builder of the rolling stock paid the extra cost for this.
The final system, which is now in use commenced from Holy Week 2011, the system uses advanced technology ACR (Acumulador de Carga Rápida) fast charging batteries -developed and patented by the Spanish company CAF.
As an electrical and control engineer by training, I feel that the modular design of the Civity train, which does include dual-mode trains, could possibly lead to an IPEMU.
Lets face it, Bombardier probably haven’t got much unique IPR in their IPEMU design and batteries and other energy storage devices are used in all sorts of vehicles from racing cars, to hybrid and electric cars and buses.
It’s all about putting the right modules together, to create a fleet of trains that fits the services you want to run.
If you look at the various Northern Connect routes, some could use EMUs, some DMUs and others like Windermere to Manchester Airport could use dual-mode trains.
This is said in an article in Rail Magazine.
The contract is for 31 three-car and 12 four-car electric multiple units, and 25 two-car and 30 three-car diesel multiple units. The carriages will be owned by Eversholt Rail, and all will be in traffic by December 2018.
Using the diagrams on this page on CAF’s web site, this translates into the following.
- 86 EMU cabs
- 110 DMU cabs
- 85 Trailers
Which rather unsurprisingly adds up to 281 cars, the figure given in the article.
The question has to be asked, how many, if any, of the trains will be dual-mode variants, which can run on either overhead wires or on-board diesel engines.
It should be noted that the installed diesel power on a three-car dual-mode train is 200 kW or about the same as that of a single-car Class 153 train, so it might be fine when trundling Between Oxenholme and Windermere, but it is no long-distance charger.
Until we see the full fleet running a full service, we won’t see the actual mix of trains.
I think, that we’ll see other orders for the Civity family of trains in the near future.
Some will be in the UK.
Birmingham, Bristol, East Anglia and South Wales are all places, where a flexible fleet like Arriva Rail North seems to have ordered, will go down well.
If you look at the latest offerings from Alsthom, Bombardier, Hitachi and Siemens, they lack the flexibility of the Civity design.
I think that Arriva Rail North’s order could be more significant than anybody thinks!
The Saga Of The Ordsall Chord Goes Into Extra Time
If there is one railway project that sums up one of the worst problems often faced by rail planners in this country it is the endless saga of the Ordsall Chord. Wikipedia describes the chord and the reason for building it in this paragraph.
The Ordsall Chord is a proposed short railway line in the Ordsall area of Greater Manchester. It will link Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria and it is expected to increase capacity in the region and reduce journey times into and through Manchester.
Sadly, the endless fights, that this worthy aim, which would be to the good of millions of rail travellers, could have been avoided if history was different.
The Picc-Vic Tunnel was one of three major tunnels under Northern cities to improve rail services. The other two in Liverpool and Newcastle were built, but Manchester’s solution was cancelled by that very bad friend of trains in the North; Harold Wilson.
And then, the Ordsall Chord was proposed as an alternative to the tunnel. Wikipedia says this.
The chord was first proposed in the late 1970s. Parliamentary powers for its construction were received in 1979, but the project was cancelled. Network Rail revived the proposal in 2010 as part of its Manchester Northern Hub proposal. Funding for its construction was announced in the 2011 United Kingdom budget. It is scheduled to be completed by December 2016, and will cost around £85 million to construct.
So the proposal has been around a long time and since 2011, there has been the money to build it.
In A Single Objector Holds Up The Ordsall Chord, I expressed my despair at the delay and said this.
I will not judge this case one way or the other, but one of the reasons for bad economic progress in the North is poor and outdated rail infrastructure. So surely, it would have been better to have got this argument out of the way a couple of years ago.
I do wonder in this country, how many projects don’t ever get started because organisations like Network Rail feel it is better not to have a fight and leave the inadequate status quo alone.
So now according to this article in Rail Magazine, which is entitled Whitby issues new challenge to Ordsall Chord, the original objector is taking his challenge to a higher court. This is said in the article.
That High Court ruling also refused Whitby the right to appeal. However, Whitby has appealed this refusal, and on January 11 the Court of Appeal granted Leave to Appeal. Thus the former President of the Institution of Civil Engineers is set to launch his third attempt to derail the Ordsall Chord project, on a date to be set later this year. “The grounds of appeal raise important points and have real prospects of success,” the Court of Appeal said.
Comments from Council leaders in the area are less than pleased.
In another article in Manchester Confidential, there is this user comment.
If Mark Whitby is so right why did he lose the Judicial Review? The judge who heard the hearing Mrs Justice Lang who is no pushover in these matters. Ruled that the Public Enquiry was legally flawless and agreed with the planning inspector that the common good over ruled the objections to the Chord.
I don’t think its about historic buildings more Mr. Whitby’s dented big ego because his route was rejected.
Hopefully if he loses he should be made to pick up the bill for all the public money he’s wasted.
I think a lot of people feel that way about Mark Whitby.
What worries me is that if the Court of Appeal turns down the appeal, will the case go to the Supreme Court and then an appropriate European one.
The only winners in this sad saga are the lawyers.
But there are millions all over the North, who just want to get about their business, who are very big losers.
And that doesn’t count, all taxpayers from Lands End to John O’Groats, who are eventually footing the bill, for one man’s stubbornness.
The Anonymous Widower 
