Hydrogen-Powered Ambulance Drives Into Glasgow Ahead Of London Trial
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on New Atlas.
This is the first paragraph.
Back in February, ULEMCo and industry partners announced plans to design an electric rapid response ambulance for the UK’s NHS Trust that would run on batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. Now, the working prototype has driven into Glasgow to give global leaders attending the UN’s COP26 climate summit a closer look at the technology.
Surely, this is a good application of hydrogen power.
Could they be used in the scenario I proposed in Big London Hospital Was Close To Running Out Of Oxygen?
Hospitals would have an electrolyser, which would produce the following.
- High grade oxygen for the hospital.
- Hydrogen to power the vehicles and especially the ambulances.
Note.
- There would be no oxygen delivery problems.
- The excess hydrogen could be stored to use as an emergency power supply.
- Would it improve the air quality by the hospital?
I have checked with the world’s premier electrolyser company; ITM Power of Sheffield and my idea is feasible.
Through Settle And Carlisle Service Under Consideration
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the June 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the first paragraph.
Plans for a new Leeds to Glasgow through service via the Settle and Carlisle line are being developed, with CrossCountry and the Department for Transport starting to look at the possible scheme.
It sounds like a sensible idea to me.
The article also suggests the following.
- CrossCountry is a possible operator.
- CrossCountry are keen to improve services between Leeds and Glasgow
- The trains could be InterCity 125s, freed up, by a the arrival of Class 221 trains from Avanti West Coast, when they receive their new Class 805 trains.
- Maintenance of the trains wouldn’t be a problem, as this could be done at Neville Hill in Leeds or Craigentinny in Edinburgh.
- Services could start in December 2023.
I have a few thoughts of my own!
The Route
The route between Leeds and Carlisle is obvious, but there are two routes between Carlisle and Glasgow.
Trains would probably choose a route and call at stations to maximise passenger numbers.
These stations are on the various routes.
- Settle and Carlisle – Shipley, Bingley, Keighley, Skipton, Gargrave, Hellifield, Long Preston, Settle, Horton in Ribblesdale, Ribblehead, Dent, Garsdale, Kirkby Stephen, Appleby, Langwathby, Lazonby & Kirkoswald and Armathwaite
- Glasgow South Western – Dunlop, Stewarton, Kilmaurs, Kilmarnock, Auchinleck, New Cumnock, Kirkconnel, Sanquhar, Dumfries, Annan and Gretna Green
- West Coast Main – Motherwell, Carstairs and Lockerbie
There are certainly a lot of possibilities.
Upgrading The InterCity 125 Trains
CrossCountry appear to have enough InterCity 125 trains to muster five in a two Class 43 power car and seven Mark 3 coach formation.
They may not be fully in-line with the latest regulations and there may be a need for a certain degree of refurbishment.
These pictures show some details of a refurbished Great Western Railway Castle, which has been fitted with sliding doors.
Will The InterCity 125 Trains Be Shortened?
Scotrail’s Inter7City trains and Great Western Railway’s Castle trains have all been shortened to four or five coaches.
This picture shows a pair of Castles.
Journey Times, Timetable And Frequency
The current journey time between Leeds and Glasgow Central stations via the East Coast Main Line is four hours and eight minutes with nine stops.
The Modern Railways article says this about the current service.
The new service would be targeted at business and leisure travellers, with through journey times competitive with road and faster than the current direct CrossCountry Leeds to Glasgow services via the East Coast main line.
I would expect that CrossCountry are looking for a time of around four hours including the turn round.
- Stops could be removed to achieve the timing.
- The trains could run at 125 mph on the West Coast Main Line.
This could enable a train to have the following diagram.
- 0800 – Depart Leeds
- 1200 – Depart Glasgow Central
- 1600 – Depart Leeds
- 2000 – Depart Glasgow Central
- Before 2400 – Arrive Leeds
Note.
- A second train could start in Glasgow and perform the mirrored timetable.
- Timings would probably be ideal for train catering.
- Trains would leave both termini at 0800, 1200, 1600 and 2000.
- The timetable would need just two trains.
I also think, if a second pair of trains were to be worked into the timetable, there could be one train every two hours on the route, if the demand was there.
I certainly believe there could be a timetable, that would meet the objectives of attracting business and leisure passengers away from the roads.
Tourism And Leisure Potential
The Settle and Carlisle Line is known as one of the most scenic railway lines in England, if not the whole of the UK.
There are important tourist sites all along the route between Leeds and Glasgow
- Leeds – The station is well-connected in the City Centre.
- Saltaire – For the World Heritage Site and Salt’s Mill
- Keighley – For the Keighley and Worth Heritage Railway
- Settle – The town of Settle is worth a visit.
- Ribblehead – For the famous Ribblehead Viaduct
- Appleby – For the Horse Fair.
- Carlisle – The station is well-connected in the City Centre.
- Glasgow – Glasgow Central station is well-connected in the City Centre.
Many of the stations are used by walkers and others interested in country pursuits.
I believe that it is a route that needs a quality rail service.
Travel Between London and Towns Along The Settle And Carlisle Line
In Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, I said this.
I think it is highly likely that in the future, there will be at least one train per hour (tph) between London Kings Cross and Leeds, that does the trip in two hours.
It may seem fast compared to today, but I do believe it is possible.
With a timely connection at Leeds station, will this encourage passengers to places along the Settle and Carlisle line to use the train?
What About the Carbon Emissions?
The one problem with using InterCity 125 trains on this route, is that they are diesel-powered, using a pair of Class 43 locomotives.
But then there are over a hundred of these diesel-electric locomotives in service, nearly all of which are now powered by modern MTU diesel engines, which were fitted in the first decade of this century.
Consider.
- The locomotives and the coaches they haul have an iconic status.
- Great Western Railway and Scotrail have recently developed shorter versions of the trains for important routes.
- There are over a hundred of the locomotives in service.
- Companies like ULEMCo are developing technology to create diesel-powered vehicles that can run on diesel or hydrogen.
- There is plenty of space in the back of the locomotives for extra equipment.
- MTU have a very large number of diesel engines in service. It must be in the company’s interest to find an easy way to cut carbon emissions.
- I believe that the modern MTU diesel engines could run on biodiesel to reduce their carbon footprint.
And we shouldn’t forget JCB’s technology, which I wrote about in JCB Finds Cheap Way To Run Digger Using Hydrogen.
If they could develop a 2 MW hydrogen engine, it could be a shoe-in.
I believe that for these and other reasons, a solution will be found to reduce the carbon emissions of these locomotives to acceptable levels.
Conclusion
In this quick look, it appears to me that a Glasgow and Leeds service using InterCity 125 trains could be a very good idea.
Scotland To Trial World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Ferry In Orkney
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Herald.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The world’s first hydrogen-fuelled ferry is set to undergo testing as Scotland powers forward in the green energy race.
I wonder how many of these there are in the world?
This paragraph lists those behind the project.
The HyDIME project is made up of a consortium of partners being led by Ferguson Marine. Partners include ULEMCo, Lloyd’s Register, HSSMI and Orkney Islands Council.
I suspect ULEMCo will provide the motive power, as their speciality is converting vehicles to run on hydrogen or dual-fuel of hydrogen and diesel.
There is also a HyDIME web site.
This is the project description from the web site.
- HyDIME (Hydrogen Diesel Injection in a Marine Environment) is a 12 month, Innovate UK funded project that will use an environmentally friendly form of hydrogen as a fuel for a commercial ferry operating between Shapinsay and Kirkwall in Orkney.
- HyDIME aims to make waves in the marine industry by proving the safe integration and use of hydrogen on vessels. One of HyDIME’s goals is the design and physical integration of a hydrogen injection system on a commercial passenger and vehicle ferry which will be the first of its kind worldwide.
- The hydrogen used in the HyDIME project will be cleanly produced from renewable energy. Excess energy generated from Orkney’s abundance of wind and tidal power will be used to produce hydrogen via electrolysis, resulting in carbon free, ’green’ hydrogen.
- Looking to the future beyond the project, HyDIME will conduct a scale-up analysis, addressing key questions such as, “How much hydrogen and renewable energy would be required to fuel the Shapinsay ferry PLUS a fleet of hydrogen vehicles in Orkney?” and “Can this project be replicated in other areas of Scotland and the rest of the UK?”.
- The HyDIME project will provide a stepping stone to accelerate and de-risk future hydrogen marine projects and will contribute towards growing the hydrogen economy in the UK.
This looks to be a very professional project, as they seem to be trying to answer all the questions, anyone will ask.
The Anonymous Widower 