UK Ditches Electrification Plans In Wales, The Midlands And The North
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in Global Rail News. This is the first two paragraphs.
The UK government has abandoned plans to electrify the railway between Cardiff and Swansea, the Midland Main Line north of Kettering and the line between Windermere and Oxenholme in favour of bi-mode, or ‘alternative-fuel’, trains.
An announcement from the Department for Transport (DfT) this morning said electrification of the lines was no longer needed and that cancelling the work would result in less disruption for passengers.
So do I agree with the Government’s decision?
Before I answer that question, I will put a few facts into this post!
All Trains Should Be Powered By Electricity
Most trains in the UK are actually powered by electricity.
If you take the noisy and smelly Class 66 locomotive, the wheels are actually turned by electricity, although that electricity is generated by a 2,460 kW diesel engine and an alternator, which is then fed to the traction motors.
The great advantage of electricity is that when you need to deliver precise power to move the train, it is very easy to control.
As an example of precise electric control, think of a variable-speed drill or food mixer.
What makes some trains more efficient than others, is the way they handle the electricity and get it to the traction motors.
Electrification; Overhead Or Third Rail
Ptobably the most efficient way to get electrical power to a train is from an electrification system, which in the UK can be 25 KVAC overhead wire or 750 VDC third rail.
25 KVAC overhead electrification has the following problems.
- Bridges and tunnels must be raised or enlarged to give sufficient clearance for the wires.
- Stations must be designed so that passengers can’t get near the wires.
- Overhead wires are liable to damage.
- Overhead gantries can be unsightly and subject to objection by local interest groups.
- Erecting overhead gantries on an existing railway seems subject to various problems.
I could add that in the UK, we seem to be particularly bad at overhead electrification, but then most other countries electrified their lines decades ago.
750 VDC third rail electrification has one main problem, which is one of Health and Safety.
What is the purpose of this palisade fence at Abbey Wood station?
It certainly doesn’t protect passengers on the North Kent Line platform from where I took the photo from the 750 VDC third rail electrification in front of the fence.
The Crossrail tracks behind the fence are electrified with 25 KVAC, which is several metres in the air.
So is the fence to protect passengers on the platform behind the fence from running across the electrified track?
I think it probably is!
Electrification of both types has problems in certain track layouts.
- Switches and crossings sometimes need very complicated layout of the power system.
- Level crossings can present difficult Health and Safety problems.
- Depots can be dangerous places, even without live rails and overhead wires.
Engineers are constantly coming up with ideas to make electrification safer and more efficient.
Diesel Power
Putting an appropriate diesel engine on a train coupled to an alternator is a common way to generate electricity to power the train.
But.
- There is the noise and the smell.
- Diesel engines are very heavy.
- Diesel fuel has to be carried.
- Diesel trains have to be regularly refuelled.
To cap it all, diesel trains are not very green.
Gas Turbine Power
One version of he Advanced Passenger Train of the 1970s was intended to be powered by gas turbines and this shows how engineers tried all sorts of power for trains.
Gas turbine power, although very successful in aircraft is probably not suitable for trains.
Hydrogen Power
The Alstom Coradio iLint is a train powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. This is said in the Wikipedia entry.
Announced at InnoTrans 2016, the new model will be the world’s first production hydrogen-powered trainset. The Coradia iLint will be able to reach 140 kilometres per hour (87 mph) and travel 600–800 kilometres (370–500 mi) on a full tank of hydrogen. The first Coradia iLint is expected to enter service in December 2017 on the Buxtehude-Bremervörde-Bremerhaven-Cuxhaven line in Lower Saxony, Germany. It will be assembled at Alstom’s Salzgitter plant. It began rolling tests at 80km/h in March 2017.
As we have successful hydrogen-powered buses in London, I suspect we might see trains powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Battery Power
Powering a heavy train for more than a couple of miles, by means of batteries seems very much of a fantasy.
I was sceptical until I rode inn Bombardier’s Class 379 train, that took part in the BEMU trial.
I believe strongly, that the place for a battery in a train is not normally as a primary power source, but as an intermediate electricity store in much the way the battery is used in a hybrid bus or car.
The battery would be charged, when running on electrified track or by using an onboard diesel engine or hydrogen fuel cell.
It could then power the train on a length of track without electrification.
Regenerative Braking
Regenerative braking can save as much of twenty percent of the electricity use of a train.
Every time the train brakes, the traction motors turn into generators and transform the train’s kinetic energy into electricity.
On some systems like the London Underground, the electricity is returned to the network and used to power nearby trains.
But on some trains, it is passed through resistors on the train roof and just turned into heat.
Hybrid vehicles have shown how it is possible to use batteries to store and reuse the energy and I believe that this technique is now starting to be used on trains.
In Thoughts On Batteries, I said this.
A typical four-car electric multiple unit like a new Class 710 train, weighs about 130 tonnes or 138 tonnes with passengers. Going at a line speed of 100 kph, it has a kinetic energy of 15 KwH. So this amount of kinetic energy would be well within the scope of a 75 KwH battery from a Routemaster bus.
I think that the typical four-car electric multiple unit can easily be fitted with a battery to handle the braking for the train.
The physics of steel-wheel-on-steel-rail are also very efficient, as Robert Stephenson, if not his father, would have known.
So it would appear that combining regenerative braking with batteries of a practical size can improve the efficiency of a train.
One of the great advantages of handling the regenerative braking on the train with batteries, is that expensive transformers to handle the return currents are not needed at trackside.
Putting It All Together
I very much feel that the ultimate train should have the following characteristics.
- The ability to work on 25 KVAC overhead and/or 750 VDC third rail electrification.
- A suitable independent power source, which today would probably be diesel.
- Regenerative braking.
- A battery of sufficient size.
- The ability to switch modes automatically.
As a Control Engineer, I feel sure that some form of Automatic Power Management would be welcomed by the driver.
The Class 800 Train
The Class 800 trains, have the following maximum speeds.
- 125 mph on 25 KVAC overhead wires
- 140 mph on 25 KVAC overhead wires with ETCS in-cab signalling.
- 100 mph on diesel.
I think it is true to say, that on 125 mph lines, they may be capable of going faster.
But whatever they can do is probably well known now as Hitachi have over two years of experience of running the trains on British tracks.
In Do Class 800/801/802 Trains Use Batteries For Regenerative Braking?, I analyse the posed question.
After spending several hours searching the Internet, I found this very helpful document on the Hitachi web site.
Reading every word several times, I came to the conclusion, that it is more likely than not, that all variants of Class 80x trains have batteries, that are used for the following.
- Handling regenerative braking
- Providing hotel power for the train in case of complete power failure.
- Providing emergency train recovery in case of complete power failure.
I also discovered the following.
- The all-electric Class 801 train, has at least one onboard diesel engine for emergency situations.
- All Class 80x trains could be modified to use third rail electrification.
- All Class 80x trains can couple and uncouple in under two minutes.
- Class 80x trains can rescue another.
- Class 80x trains can be locomotive-hauled.
Hitachi have worked hard to produce a seriously comprehensive train.
This specification will lead to some interesting operational strategies.
More Destinations
Great Western Railway currently has services between London Paddington and the following destinations in South Wales
- Bridgend
- Carmarthen
- Cardiff
- Llanelli
- Neath
- Newport
- Pembroke Dock
- Port Talbot
- Swansea
But how many other stations in South Wales could benefit from a direct service?
The intriguing thing is that a Class 800 train is narrower at 2.7 metres, than the following trains.
A five-car Class 800 train is also considerably shorter and a lot quieter than an InterCity 125.
So it raises the possibility of direct services between London and the following stations.
- Smaller stations in West Wales like Fishguard Harbour and Milford Haven
- Important stations in the Cardiff Valley Lines.
Could a five-car Class 800 train reach Aberdare, Ebbw Vale and Merthyr Tydfil, with some platform and track modifications?
Or if not a five-car, what about a four- or three-car train, which due to the flexible nature of the trains, I feel is very much possible!
Joining And Splitting Of Trains
In Wales, smaller separate trains could join into a train of up to twelve-cars at say Cardiff or Newport stations and then run to London as a single train.
Similar processes could apply in West Wales, with trains joining at perhaps Port Talbot Parkway station.
Returning from London, the trains would split at an appropriate station.
The big advantage of this approach, is that two or even three services share one path and driver between the join/split station and London, which means an increased number of separate services and total seats between Wales and London.
Similar processes will be possible on the following sets of routes, which will or could be run by Class 80x trains.
- London Paddington to Cheltenham, Gloucester, Hereford, Oxford and Worcester.
- London Paddington to Devon and Cornwall.
- Midland Main Line services.
- East Coast Main Line services.
How many stations on these lines will receive a new direct service to and from London?
Network Rail’s Secret Weapon
I have been suspicious for some time, that Network Rail have a very sophisticated simulation of the UK rail network. In fact, I’d be very surprised if they didn’t have one.
But that’s because I’ve done extensive dynamic simulation and scheduling in my working life and know the power and capabilities of such a system.
It’s just that some of the new franchises have developed some quite radical train patterns.
So I would suspect, a lot of the thinking behind the dropping of electrification has been thoroughly tested on the computer.
So how will the three lines quoted in the article be handled?
Oxenholme To Windermere
The Windermere Branch Line is just ten miles long with four stations.
This article in the Railway Gazette, says this.
‘We have listened to concerns about electrification gantries spoiling protected landscapes’, Grayling said when confirming the cancellation of plans to electrify the Windermere branch in the Lake District, adding that Northern would begin work to trial an ‘alternative-fuelled’ train on the route by 2021. Grayling mentioned the ongoing development of battery and hydrogen power in his statement, but Northern said it had only just begun to explore possible options following the cancellation of the electrification, and so any decision on the technology to be used was still some way off.
From May 2018 Northern plans to operate services to Windermere using Class 769 Flex electro-diesel units to be formed by fitting diesel powerpacks to Class 319 EMUs. New CAF DMUs would then be introduced to the route from December 2019.
It is both a short-term and a long-term solution, that is probably to the benefit of all stakeholders.
Given that the Class 769 train has been designed to serve Manchester to Buxton, you can’t accuse Porterbrook and Northern of hiding their creation under a bushel.
Cardiff To Swansea
The South Wales Main Line between Cardiff Central and Swansea stations is a forty-five mile double-track with the following operating speeds.
- 90 mph from Cardiff Central to East of Bridgend station
- 75 mph from Bridgend to Swansea Loop North Junction
- 40 mph from Swansea Loop North Junction to Swansea
But there is a short section at 100 mph through Pyle station.
This is said in the article in Global Rail News.
Referring to the Cardiff-Swansea route, the statement said, “Rapid delivery of passenger benefits, minimising disruption and engineering work should always be our priority and as technology changes we must reconsider our approach to modernising the railways.”
The argument is based on the planned introduction of bi-mode Class 800 trains later this year.
I have flown my virtual helicopter along the tracks and it doesn’t seem a badly designed route.
- It appears to be fairly straight with flowing curves.
- There are only eleven stations to pass through.
- Looking at the current timetables, it would appear that the fastest trains take about 51-53 minutes to go between Cardiff and Swansea.
- Wikipedia says this about the South Wales Main Line, “resignalling and line speed improvements in South Wales, most of which would be delivered in 2010–2014”.
So have Network Rail found a way to increase the operating speed nearer to the 100 mph of the Class 800 trains, when running on diesel?
I obviously don’t know for sure, but given the improvements to the South Wales Main Line and the performance of the new trains, I wonder if Network Rail’s simulations have shown that there is very little to be gained by full electrification.
As I indicated earlier, by joining and splitting services, the number of trains and the total number of seats can be increased to West Wales without needing more train paths between London and Cardiff.
Midland Main Line
There has been discussions in Modern Railways recently about the problems of devising a timetable for the Midland Main Line.
The article in the Railway Gazette says this.
Hitachi is supplying bi-mode trainsets for Great Western services under the Department for Transport’s Intercity Express Programme, while the operator of the next East Midlands franchise will be required to introduce bi-mode trainsets from 2022. DfT said the use of electro-diesel trainsets instead of electrification would mean passengers would ‘benefit sooner’, because ‘disruptive’ work to install ‘intrusive wires and masts’ would ‘no longer be needed’.
It looks to me that simulation has shown, as in South Wales, there is little to be gained from full electrification.
But there could be a lot to gain from the following.
- Creative joining and splitting of trains.
- Improved track layouts.
- Improving the electrification South of Bedford.
- Adding new stations.
With these intelligent bi-mode trains, electrification can be added selectively, if it is shown to be worthwhile.Control systems linked to GPS, can raise and lower the pantograph appropruiately.
Conclusion
I think that someone asked the heretical question.
What would happen if instead of electrification, we used bi-mode trains?
Both the South Wales Main Line and the Midland Main Line have similar characteristics.
- Operating speed upwards of 90 mph.
- Sections where the operating speed could be raised.
- Partial electrification at the London end.
- All London suburban trains sharing the routes are 100 mph trains.
- Modern signalling
Couple this with the Class 800 trains and a very good simulation, and I suspect that Network Rail have found ways to improve the service.
I very much feel that similar techniques are being used to increase the capacity of the electrified Great Eastern Main Line to achieve Norwich-in-Ninety.
I can’t of course prove my feelings, but then I started writing computer simulations in the mid-1960s and like to think, I know when I see others have done some good numerical analysis.
Where Else Could Bi-Mode Trains Be Used In This Way?
This is very much speculation on my part.
Basingstoke To Exeter Via Salisbury
Consider.
- There have been ambitions to electrify this route for decades.
- The new operator of the route; South Western Railway and Great Western Railway, who will operate Class 800 trains, are partially in the same ownership.
- Third rail or dual voltage Class 800 trains are possible.
- The trains are 100 mph units on diesel against the current 90 mph Class 158 trains.
- The trains would save four minutes between London Waterloo and Basingstoke.
- The trains could take advantage of speed improvement South of Basingstoke.
- If Basingstoke to Exeter was a 100 mph line, then up to fifteen minutes could be saved.
- The trains could join and split to serve multiple destinations.
But perhaps the biggest advantage would be that all trains between London Waterloo and Basingstoke would be 100 mph trains, which must mean that more trains could use the line.
Cardiff to Brighton via Southampton, Portsmouth Harbour and Bristol
Consider.
- This route has significant overcrowding according to Wikipedia.
- Cardiff to Bristol should eventually be electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
- Brighton to Southampton is electrified with 750 VDC third rail.
- Great Western Railway run this route and have Class 800 trains.
- Dual voltage Class 800 trains are possible.
To run this route efficiently, Great Western Railway would need an appropriate number of five-car dual voltage Class 800 trains.
Norwich To Stansted Airport via Ely and Cambridge
The Breckland Line between Norwich and Cambridge has the following characteristics.
- Double-track throughout its just over fofty miles.
- Sections of electrification at Norwich and South of Ely.
- A variable operating speed of up to 90 mph.
The line has recently been upgraded with improved track, removal of level crossings and modern signalling.
As part of their new franchise proposal, Greater Anglia decided to run services from Norwich to Stansred Airport using new Stadler Class 755 trains, with the following characteristics.
- Three- or four-car
- Bi-mode power.
- 100 mph capability.
- Running on 25 KVAC, where available.
I think this is a good plan and is an example of the sort of use of bi-mode trains that will be seen increasingly.
Consider.
- Norwich gets a much better connection to Cambriodge and Stansted Airport.
- Some services on the route are still run by 90 mph Class 158 trains.
- Speed improvements will come because of the nearly fifty miles of electrification between Ely and Stansted Airoport.
- There may be further track improvements possible.
There is also the big possibility of being able to run a direct service between Norwich and London via Cambridge. I estimate that this could be done in about two and a half hours.
This is obviously not as fast as the route via Ipswich, where the current timing is around one hour fifty minutes and plans are in progress to reduce it by twenty minutes, but as an engineering work diversion, it is faster than a bus replacement service.
Peterborough To Colchester via Bury. St. Edmunds and Ipswich
This is an extension of the current Peterborough to Ipswich service that will be run by a bi-mode Class 755 train, under the new franchise agreement.
Consider.
- The route is not electrified, except for Peterborough to Stowmarket.
- Colchester gets a new hourly direct link to Peterborough, which has many services to the North.
- A two train per hour service across Suffolk between Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds is created.
- Colchester to Peterborough may be reduced by twenty minutes or more.
- Ipswich to Peterborough may be reduced by a few minutes.
If it was decided to electrify from Stowmarket to Peterborough, timings would benefit substantially.
Ipswich To Cambridge via Bury. St. Edmunds and Newmarket
This is an existing service that will be run by a bi-mode Class 755 train, under the new franchise agreement.
Leeds To Glasgow Via Settle
Why not?
If you look at timings for Leeds to Glasgow, they are typically as follows.
- 3 hours 58 minutes with an 11 minute change at Haymarket.
- 4 hours 12 minutes with a 30 minute change at Carlisle
- 4 hours 4 minutes on a direct train via Edinburgh.
The Settle-Carlisle Line has been stoutly repaired after the 2015-2016 Temporary Closures and is probably in its best state for years, if not ever.
- Leeds to Skipton is electrified.
- Carlisle to Glasgow is electrified.
- Virgin Trains East Coast run to Skipton, using InterCity 225s.
I estimate that a Class 800 train could reduce the journey time to around three-and-a-half hours.
Would that be a successful service considering driving between Leeds and Glasgow probably takes almost four hours?
Wales Orders Some Golden Oldies
This article on Global Rail News is entitled Arriva Trains Wales Invests In Bi-mode Class 319s.
These four paragraphs define the deal and why.
The Welsh Government and Arriva Trains Wales are investing in five Class 319 Flex bi-mode trains.
Due to arrive next year, the four-car trains will be leased from Porterbrook thanks to £1.9 million from the Welsh Government and £1 million from Arriva Trains Wales.
Arriva Trains Wales said the trains would likely be deployed on commuter services into Cardiff.
Introducing the 319s will allow Arriva Trains Wales to carry out work needed on its Class 150 and 158 vehicles to ensure they meet new accessibility standards.
This looks to me to be a sensible way to provide cover and also increase the size of the fleet.
Consider.
- The Class 769 train, to give the Class 319 Flex train it, its new official TOPS name, has been designed around the Manchester to Buxton route.
- Manchester to Buxton is as stiff as any route in the Cardiff Valley Lines.
- The trains can do 100 mph on 25 KVAC overhead electrification, so would be ideal for any partially-electrified routes.
- According to this article on the BBC, electrification reaches Cardiff in December 2018.
- The trains can do around 90 mph on diesel.
- Range is ten Manchester-Buxton round trips on a full tankfull.
- Modern Railways has reported the trains can change between diesel and electric modes on the move.
- Drivers have told me, that the brakes on Class 319 trains are superb. Will that be needed on descents into Cardiff?
In Riding In A Clean Class 319/4 Train, I describe a recent ride in one of the better examples, that could be converted for Wales.
The trains may be thirty-years-old, but they are based on Mark 3 coaches, as are the InterCity 125, so like certain actors and singers, they seem to keep on performing.
How Would The Bi-Mode Trains Be Used?
Arriva Trains Wales has the following trains currently working the Cardiff Valley Lines or that need to be converted to meet the latest regulations..
- 15 – Class 142 Pacer
- 15 – Class 143 Pacer
- 36 – Class 150 Train
- 24 – Class 158 Train
The Pacers can in part be ignored, as I suspect they’ll be going to the scrapyard, when the next franchise starts. But Arriva Trains Wales will need fifteen four-car trains to replace them, if they hit the cut-off date in the regulations.
The Class 158 trains were given a full refurbishment in 2010-2, as described like this in Wikipedia.
A complete refurbishment programme to provide the Class 158s with full ‘as new’ interiors took place between December 2010 and October 2012. Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government at a cost of £7.5m, work completed includes interior and exterior repainting, along with replacement of seating, wall coverings, carpets, lighting, luggage racks and toilet fittings. A passenger information system has been fitted, while selected seats have gained at-seat power sockets for mobile phones and laptops. Until this refurbishment, the fleet had seen only minor attention to its interior since a refit by Wales & West in the late 1990s, as well as having been only partially repainted into Arriva colours externally
So will these Class 158 trains need much more than attention to detail and a very good clean? As most seem to be based away from Cardiff, I don’t think we’ll see many Class 769 trains standing in for Class 158 trains. Unless of course Arriva Trains Wales wanted to see how a Class 769 train performs on a longer route.
The Class 150 trains are a totally different matter. In What Train Is This?, I rode in a superbly refurbished Class 150 train, that if standing in for a Class 172 train wouldn’t bring many complaints.
Much of the time on the Cardiff Valleys Lines, the Pacers and the Class 150 trains seem to be running as pairs to make four-car trains.
So five Class 769 trains mean that ten Class 150 trains can be released for updating.
It is worth comparing a Class 769 train with two Class 150 trains working as a pair.
- A Class 769 train, based on a Class 319/4 has a capacity of 50 First Class and 255 Standard Class seats.
- A Class 150 train has a capacity of 147 seats or 294 for a pair.
- The Class 769 train has a top speed of 100 mph on 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- The Class 769 train has a top speed of just over 90 mph on diesel.
- The Class 150 train has a top speed of 75 mph.
- The Class 769 train has a higher power/weight ratio than the Class 150 train.
It would appear that a pair of Class 150 trains and a Class 769 train can be considered equivalent and with the right number of trains, the two types of train could work the Cardiff Valley Lines.
But the bi-mode Class 769 train has the advantage that it is faster and can run on 25 KVAC overhead wires.
On some routes the Class 769 train may actually reduce the number of trains needed.
Cardiff Central To Ebbw Vale Town
This route between Cardiff Central and Ebbw Vale Town stations uses the South Wales Main Line and the Ebbw Valley Railway.
If you look at the timetable, the trains take up to a few minutes over the hour, which must be an inconvenient time to use trains efficiently.
But eighteen minutes of the route are between Cardiff Central and Pye Corner stations, has perhaps fifteen minutes or so on the South Wales Main Line, with four tracks and an operating speed of 90 mph.
Given the superior power and speed, I suspect that the Class 769 trains can do a round trip in under two hours, even if they had to run on diesel on the South Wales Main Line.
This would mean only two trains would be needed to work an hourly service. Class 769 trains would be four coaches, as one size fits all!
Penarth To Rhymney
This route between Penarth and Rhymney stations uses the Rhymney Line.
If you look at the timetable, journeys both ways take around an hour and 16-20 minutes.
I think that three trains would be needed to work an hourly service.
Two factors slow the trains.
- There are eighteen stops along the route.
- From Bargoed to Rhymney, the line is only single track.
This extract is from the Wikipedia entry for the Rhymney Line.
In March 2007 the latest in a series of infrastructure improvements on the Valley Lines was announced, included lengthening of platforms between Rhymney and Penarth to allow Class 150 units to operate in multiples of 3 (6 cars). However, this is postponed indefinitely due to the sub-lease by the Department for Transport, to First Great Western, of the units that would have allowed this extra capacity.
Would four-car Class 769 trains be an adequate substitute for the planned three Class 150 trains working in multiple as a six-car?
If they were, this would mean that three trains would certainly work an hourly service with a substantial increase in capacity.
I wonder what times, well-driven Class 769 trains, with their hill-climbing abilities could do for the service on this line.
Bridgend/Barry Island/Cardiff Central To Merthyr Tydfil/Aberdate
These services are run in what appears to be an intricate diagram.
But as the Class 769 trains are faster and more capable than anything else running the routes, they should be able to deputise.
Could This Interim Pattern Emerge?
These routes could be run by Class 769 trains.
- Cardiff Central to Ebbw Vale Town
- Penarth to Rhymney
Conveniently, the two routes would need five trains.
By the end of 2018, it is predicted that the South Wales Main Line will be electrified, which would mean they could use electric power for some of the routes.
There might be small amounts of add-on electrification to ease changeover of mode.
- South Wales Main Line to Pye Corner
- Cardiff Central to Penarth
It might even be sensible to electrify the Vale of Glamorgan Line to give a second electrified route from Cardiff Central to Bridgend and serve Cardiff Airport.
Electrification of the lines in Cardiff would probably be much simpler than on some of the steep valley lines, but it would allow more Class 769 trains or similar to work the Cardiff Valley Lines efficiently.
But I did say this would only be an interim plan until perhaps 2020.
So Where Do CAF Come In?
CAF bring several things to this party.
- By 2020, CAF will have a fully functioning factory a few miles down the line at Llanwern, just to the East of Newport.
- CAF build trams, trains and tram-trains of all sizes and speeds.
- CAF are one of the world leaders in the application of energy storage to rail vehicles.
- CAF are not afraid to experiment or do Research and Development.
- CAF have a modular train concept called Civity, which in their data sheet claim is all things to everybody.
I believe that CAF can come up with a train with the following characteristics.
- Electric or diesel power.
- On-board energy storage.
- Regenerative braking.
- Lots of powered-axles.
- Four-cars
- 100 mph on electric power
- 90 mph on diesel power.
It looks very much like a modern Class 769 train with added battery power.
In fact the Class 769 trains will do all the specification development and route proving for CAF’s engineers.
So Where Do Porterbrook Come In?
Someone will have to finance the new trains for South Wales and they must be in prime position.
Similar systems can also be developed in other UK cities using Class 769 trains.
Conclusion
I have a feeling, that Network Rail have looked at electrifying the Cardiff Valley Lines and decided that it will be very difficult. Various commentators have suggested using trams.
What I have proposed is using bi-mode trains designed specifically for the Cardiff Valley Lines, that use electric power on and around the South Wales Main Line, diesel power to climb the hills and gravity and a bit of storage or diesel to come down.
I think that the purchase of five Class 769 trains will lead to an innovative solution from CAF to creating a world-class rail system in South Wales.
|Aberthaw Resumes Cement Dispatch
This is the title of another article in the January 2017 Edition of Modern Railways.
I wasn’t sure where Aberthaw was, so I looked it up on the Internet and this Google Map shows Aberthaw Cement Works, Cardiff International Airport and the Vale of Glamorgan Railway, that links Cardiff Central station in the East to Bridgend in the West.
Note.
- The red arrow indicates the cement works.
- The Airport terminal is on the North side of the long runway,.
- Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station is on the other side of the runway and connected to the Airport by a sguttle bus.
- The line was closed by Beeching to passenger traffic in 1964, but was reopened in 2005.
Could Cardiff Airport benefit from the same sort of train-train link, that has been proposed for Glasgow that I wrote about in The Glasgow Airport Rail Link Will Be A Tram-Train?
But the map does illustrate the benefit of rail access to the cement works.
- The works is close the Vale of Glamorgan Line.
- Trains from the cement works can go East to places that need the product, including surprisingly, the South West of England.
- The rail link could cut the number of truck movements by 25%.
This would seem to be an ideal use for rail freight.
Are we doing enough to develop similar links, from other large factories all over the UK?
As the line is supposed to be electrified in a few years, could it be that a proper review of the line should be done first, to see whether any other projects should be done at the same time.
The reason I say this, is that the history of the line is much the same as that of the Grand Old Duke of York and his soldiers.
From Carmarthen To Pembroke
From Carmarthen stastion I went on to Pembroke station before returning on a train an hour later, taking these pictures.
Pembroke and Tenby are certainly worth a visit and you could probably arrange the journeys, so that you did it all using one return ticket breaking the journey at Tenby one way.
The conductor suggested I do it, so if you’re uncertain if it’s possible, ask them.
Changing Trains At Carmarthen Station
Carmarthen station is on a spur from the West Wales Line from a triangular junction.
This Google Map shows the station and the junction.
Carmarthen Station
My train from Swansea arrived in the station and I crossed the tracks to the other platform to get my onward train to Pembroke.
These are some pictures of the station.
There aren’t many stations, where passengers are allowed to cross the lines.
This Google Map shows the station layout in detail.
Carmarthen Station Layout
It is a good example of how a reversing siding works.
Note in the larger map, the railway crosses over the River Towy, as it goes to the West.
There is a lifting bridge over the river called Carmarthen Bridge.
This web page on Movable Bridges, describes the bridge and has a picture.
The bridge was built in 1911 and hasn’t worked since about 1956.
Have You Heard about…the New European Transport Strategy?
That is the title of an article in Georgia Today, which gives a solid overview of the strategy. This is the first two paragraphs of the article.
In 2013, the European Commission, in a EUR 250 billion European strategy which gives priority to the creation of an integrated transport network and seeks to level the imbalance between the Member States of the European Union, proposed the creation of international transport corridors, bringing together Western and Central Eastern Europe. In order to overcome traffic imbalance in the EU, nine multimodal corridors will be created, each of which has to combine at least three types of transport and connect three states.
The new infrastructure policy will unite 28 EU states under trans-European transport network (TEN-T). Nine transport corridors will be provided: Baltic – Adriatic Sea, North Sea – Baltic, the Mediterranean Corridor, Middle Eastern Corridor, Scandinavia – the Mediterranean Sea, the Rhine – Alps, the Atlantic Corridor, the North Sea – the Mediterranean Sea, and the Rhine – Danube. They will be grouped into three general areas of “East – West”, “North – South” and “Diagonal” corridors. The project is scheduled for completion in 2030. The transport corridors will receive priority funding to connect the east and west of the European Union. To finance the first phase of the project, EUR 26 billion was allocated.
I suppose that the Brexiters will say, that all it will do is bring more migrants to the UK.
But, think of the news a couple of days ago, when the Swiss opened the Gotthard Base Tunnel as is reported in this article on the BBC. This tunnel will have passenger trains, but one of it’s main purposes, is to get trucks from the roads through Switzerland, by moving a million tonnes of freight a year onto the trains. The tunnel removes a bottleneck on the Rotterdam-Basel-Genoa corridor, which has been named the Blue Banana by a group of French geographers.
This is the introduction to the Wikipedia entry.
The Blue Banana (French: banane bleue, also known as the European Megalopolis or the Manchester–Milan Axis) is a discontinuous corridor of urbanisation in Western Europe, with a population of around 111 million. The concept was developed in 1989 by RECLUS, a group of French geographers managed by Roger Brunet.
It stretches approximately from North West England across Greater London to the Benelux states and along the German Rhineland, Southern Germany and Switzerland to Northern Italy in the south.
Since when have Greater London and Manchester been in mainland Europe?
I also didn’t realise that I lived in a megalopis of 111 million people.
We are doing our bit to create the freight rail corridor from Manchester to Milan, by improving rail routes between the Channel Tunnel and up the spine of the country to Manchester and eventually to Scotland.
This must bring benefits to the UK in terms of freight and trade.
- At the Northern end of the route, Liverpool is creating one of the largest container ports in the world.
- Our car factories can export direct to Europe using massive trains, as I wrote about in What A Lot Of Minis!
- British Steel’s renowned long products from Scunthorpe can’t be exported easily other than by train.
- Mediterranean produce can be delivered fresher to the UK.
- Scottish food and drink will have fast access to the heart of Europe.
And these are just five small examples.
One fifty kilometre tunnel in Switzerland has just made trade for the UK, easier.
Some of the other transport corridors will greatly help Eastern Europe, of which some parts need all the help they can get. The article says this about Rail Baltica.
There is a priority project in the railroad Rail Baltica. The Trans-European railway Rail Baltica, linking Helsinki – Tallinn – Riga – Kaunas – Warsaw and continuing on to Berlin, is to be developed within the territories of the co-operating EU Member States. Rail Baltica will support the wider EU goals of parity of access to services and infrastructure of EU Member States and development of sustainable modes of transportation, improved balance and interoperability between different means of transportation, and the establishment of links with the rest of the EU rail network. Even as far back as the 1990s it was in the works to build an underwater railway tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki, but the project was delayed due to financial constraints. This corridor also involves the development of river waterways and canals (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands), as well as ferry traffic (between Finland and Estonia). The project cost is estimated at over EUR 3.6 billion, including 50% from the EU budget (program TEN-T), and 50% from the budget of the project participants. In the Baltic countries there is no such means, and there are discussions about the feasibility of building a high-speed road which will pass by numerous settlements.
I feel very strongly, that good rail and road links through an area, improve its prosperity. If we look at that small project of the Borders Railway, can anybody deny that it has been a success and that it has helped to enhance the place of the Scottish Borders on the UK Tourist Map.
As I write this Radio 5 Live is hosting a discussion on Brexit from Cardiff. Some of the issued raisded include steel and agriculture.
The Welsh may not like it, but an electrified Great Western for freight and passengers, will make South Wales fully part of the Blue Banana, which can only be positive for the Principality.
Green Steel
This article on the BBC is entitled Tata Steel: Would-be UK buyer Liberty’s jobs hope.
Sanjeev Gupta, the head of the Liberty Group, is reported as saying this.
We would look to transition from blast furnaces to arc furnaces, from imported raw material to domestically available scrap, from making carbon steel to making what we call green steel – melting and recycling scrap using renewable energy.
As I heard the quote on the radio, I can verify that it is more or less correct.
I don’t know, whether what Mr. Gupta said can be achieved, but it strikes me that it is a feasible idea.
Vivarail D-Trains And The Heart Of Wales Line
I’d never really heard of the Heart of Wales Line until it was mentioned in this paragraph in this article on Wales Online about D-Trains running in Wales.
Vivarail spokesman Alice Gillman says the firm’s engineers believe the refurbished rolling stock would be suitable for lines in Wales including the Heart of Wales Line.
It certainly looks like a forgotten line that could certainly use some new rolling stock.
Reading the Wikipedia entry for the line, I come to the following conclusions.
- The line is mainly single track, but has been upgraded with four modern passing loops and can take freight trains that fir a loading guage of W5.
- The line is thought to be scenic.
- The passenger service is only a few trains a day and is mainly run by single coach Class 153 trains.
- It must have some horrendous operating problems, which could be expensive to handle.
It sounds to me, that this line is a very much underused asset, that if it was given a better train service could help to improve the lives of those in some of the most remotest parts of Wales. It might even bring more tourists to the area.
I must take a trip on the line.
In 2010, I took a train ride from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh and after that trip, I came to the conclusion, that that very scenic line needed more capacity.
But five years on there is still not enough diesel multiple units to give these lines an upgraded service.
So as reports are suggesting, could one or more D-Trains be used on the Heart of Wales line?
The journey takes just over three hours with a Class 153 Train, which has a top speed of 75 mph.
So a D-Train would unlikely be faster along the route, as it only has a top speed of sixty. Although, as there are 29 stations on the line, the D-train which has been designed for easy loading and unloading in London, may actually not be much slower overall.
Imagine a train service with these characteristics.
- A train with seats arranged in fours around tables by the window.
- Lots of space for bicycles.
- Fully-accessible for everyone!
- Something like Vivarail’s proposed catering system.
- A clock-face hourly service from Craven Arms to Llanelli.
All is possible with the right number of D-trains.
D-trains offer other advantages.
- As the D-trains don’t need the sort of specialist depot that most trains need, this must ease maintenance of the trains.
- More than one train, probably eases the problems of what to do if a train has a serious breakdown or hits a flock of sheep or a snow drift in the middle of nowhere.
- Don’t forget the novelty value of riding a refurbished London Underground train in some of the most rural parts of Wales.
- D-trains will be available by the end of 2016.
D-trains may never run on the Heart of Wales Line, but I can certainly see the reasons why Vivarail have thought seriously about the possibility.
Wales Gets Details Of Vivarail’s D-Train
This article on the Walesonline web site is entitled First glimpse at London Underground carriages which could be used on Welsh train lines to ease overcrowding.
It talks about how Arriva Trains Wales have been sent details of Vivarail’s D-Train. This is said.
Vivarail spokesman Alice Gillman says the firm’s engineers believe the refurbished rolling stock would be suitable for lines in Wales including the Heart of Wales Line.
But she said at the moment there had been “no follow up” from the Welsh Government or Arriva Trains Wales.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Ministers have made it clear that any rolling stock used on the next Wales and Borders Franchise and Metro should be of a higher standard. It is up to ATW to manage capacity requirements for the current franchise.”
But perhaps the most interesting part of the article is this vote.
Vivarail Vote In Wales
Now the Welsh are not stupid and so I would suspect this vote is sensible, unless it’s only had a few votes.
So could it be, that those voting have got rather fed up with the trains that are used on the Welsh rail network? Some are not the best trains on the UK’s rail network!
One of the great things about the D-Train, is that once the train is certified and Vivarail have built a few examples, they can be trialled on lines all over the country.
I’ve now read about four or five articles about the D-Train and places where they might be used. None have been hostile, so either Vivarail are doing a good PR job or the concept appeals to serious engineers, train companies, politicians and passengers. At least enough to give the concept a trial with an open mind!
Somebody, asked me when the last truly dreadful train was delivered to the railways of the UK?
I don’t think it’s happened very often since the Pacer trains were delivered in the 1980s. The body shells of the D-Trains may be of a similar vintage, but they are a much better train in the opinions of most commentators.
Nigel -There Are Trains To South Wales
Nigel Farage is blaming his non-appearance at an event in Wales on immigration causing the jams on the M4. He said this on the BBC.
It took me six hours and 15 minutes to get here – it should have taken three-and-a-half to four. That is nothing to do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a population that is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration and the fact that the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be.
Obviously, if he travelled on the excellent train to Wales, he might have had to talk to some immigrants. Like I did on another train, where I chatted for an hour or so, to an Italian businessman, who moved here thirty years ago and married an Englishwoman a few years after.
I think I’ve met planks of wood with more real intelligence than Farage.
The Anonymous Widower 