The Vivarail Fast Charge System At West Ealing – 7th November 2022
I went to West Ealing station today and took these pictures.
At last, it seems something is happening.
Note the concrete pads on the other side of the track for the bay platform. There appear to be eight pads, which could be to support the containers that will hold the Vivarail Fast Charge System.
So Many Cases On A Train!
This afternoon about three, I went to West Ealing station to see what it was like to transfer between the Elizabeth Line Central Tunnel and the Western Branch at Paddington.
Coming back, I took an Elizabeth Line service that had started from Heathrow Airport and it was one of the busiest Lizzies, I’d ever ridden!
To get on the train at West Ealing station, I got in to probably coach 4 of 9, as that was in the dry and the back end of the train I needed for Moorgate station was certainly in the wet.
I then had to walk half the length of the train to get to the back of the train.
It was not easy, as the train was full of scores of passengers with large wheelie cases.
This got me thinking.
Are Passengers Transferring To The Lizzie Line?
And especially those with large cases. that are the sort you could use for bringing in a pair of folded-up contortionists.
- These cases don’t fit well on the Piccadilly Line, which has only a few step-free stations.
- From what I’ve seen cases are easily wheeled to Elizabeth Line platforms at Heathrow.
- Many of these cases won’t fit in the average family car.
- All parking is expensive at Heathrow, whether it is short, medium or long.
- Valet parking at Heathrow has been devalued by all the scam artists.
- Taxis are the province of those that own oil wells, hedge funds or belong to the highest wunch of bankers.
- Pick-up and drop-off is now very expensive.
- There were a good proportion of couples, who were both dragging or pushing a massive case.
- The Elizabeth Line is cheaper than the Heathrow Express.
- The Elizabeth Line like the Piccadilly Line allows the use of a bank card as a ticket.
- Only the Elizabeth and Piccadilly Lines take you direct to dozens of stations with only same-platform interchanges.
- The Elizabeth Line has step-free interchanges with the Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee, and Metropolitan Lines, the Docklands Light Railway and the London Overground.
- Whitechapel has been turned into a major transport hub for the Easternmost part of London.
There seems to be quite a few reasons why a traveller going to or from Heathrow might at least try the Elizabeth Line.
And travellers seemed to be doing it in droves today!
Were Upmarket Passengers Using The Lizzie Line?
Take the couple next to me on the train from West Ealing.
- Around sixty.
- Very well-dressed.
- Possibly Mediterranean or South American.
- Matching medium-size wheelie-cases.
- She was wearing expensive glasses.
A couple of years ago, they would have probably used the Heathrow Express.
They certainly weren’t the only passengers, who looked like archetypal Heathrow Express passengers.
Will The Lizzie Line Take Passengers From The Piccadilly Line?
As the cost will be the same, I suspect the answer will be yes.
Although, there will be groups of travellers, who will probably remain loyal to the Piccadilly Line.
- If you were going to or from the step-free Cockfosters or Oakwood, with a heavy case, all the way on the Piccadilly Line could be a simple sensible option. I used to live near Oakwood station and remember several long trips on the Piccadilly Line, but not too Heathrow.
- The step-free Kings Cross St. Pancras, Green Park, Knightsbridge and Earls Court may well have reasons to keep their regular passengers.
- Those only travelling a few stops to or from Heathrow will probably stay with the Piccadilly Line for convenience.
- Transport for London have been adding step-free access to the Heathrow Branch and this will surely promote use.
The Piccadilly Line is also getting new trains in a few years.
In Extending The Elizabeth Line – Piccadilly Line To Ealing Broadway, I talked about a proposal to turnback some Piccadilly Line trains at Ealing Broadway station.
I think it is a good idea, as it could make it simpler for Piccadilly Line passengers to access Heathrow and reduce congestion on the Piccadilly Line.
Will The Lizzie Line Take Passengers From The Heathrow Express?
This is an extract from Extending The Elizabeth Line – Piccadilly Line To Ealing Broadway
It will be difficult to predict what will happen to Heathrow Express, but I suspect several groups of passengers will desert it.
- Passengers wanting to go anywhere East of Paddington without changing trains.
- Passengers wanting any Elizabeth Line station.
- Passengers, who don’t like the prices of Heathrow Express.
- Passengers using Oyster or contactless cards.
- Passengers who want to ride on London’s spectacular new Elizabeth Line.
After Old Oak Common station is opened for High Speed Two, the numbers could further decrease.
Will Heathrow Express survive?
Will The Lizzie Line Attract Passengers Who Usually Drive?
Large swathes of the country already have single-change step-free access to the Elizabeth Line.
- All services out of Liverpool Street and/or Stratford.
- All services out of Moorgate.
- All Thameslink services through Farringdon.
- All services out of Paddington.
- All services through Abbey Wood.
- When Crossrail to Ebbsfleet (C2E) opens, this will add all services through Gravesend and Ebbsfleet.
- When High Speed Two opens, this will add all services through Old Oak Common.
- When the Western Rail Approach To Heathrow is completed, this will add all services through Reading.
If you can get a train direct to the Elizabeth Line network and then a train direct to your terminal, would you seriously want all the hassle of parking after a two hour drive?
I can see parking at Heathrow suffering a severe lack of demand.
Conclusion
Lizzie will start a revolution in travel to and from Heathrow.
The Vivarail Fast Charge System At West Ealing – 4th May 2022
This article on Rail Business UK is entitled UK Railway News Round-Up.
This is the first section.
Vivarail has awarded Sella Controls a contract to supply of Tracklink III Readers and beacons for GWR’s Class 230 battery train fast charging trial on the Greenford branch. As the train enters the station one beacon will initiate the deployment of the train collectors for charging, and another beacon will trigger the charging process when the train is in the correct position.
I went to West Ealing station today and took these pictures.
Note.
- The bay platform is Platform 5.
- I couldn’t see any signs of any Tracklink III Readers.
- I wouldn’t be surprised to find that two Class 230 trains could fit in Platform 5.
I took these pictures of the station in April 2021.
It does appear by comparing the pictures, that the biggest change is that the area on the far side of the track in Platform 5, which has been cleared.
Battery Train And Fast Charger To Be Tested In London
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
Great Western Railway has signed an agreement to test Vivarail’s Class 230 battery multiple-unit and fast charging technology under real-world conditions on the 4 km non-electrified branch between West Ealing and Greenford in West London.
As an engineer, who started designing control systems for rolling mills in the mid-1960s and went on to get a Degree in Control and Electrical Engineering from Liverpool University, before working for ICI applying computers to a variety of problems, I can’t look at a railway line like the Greenford Branch without wanting to automate it.
I had one amateurish attempt in An Automated Shuttle Train On The Greenford Branch Line. I was trying to get four trains per hour (tph) on the branch and I don’t think that is possible, with the Class 230 trains.
Now we know the train we are dealing with, I could plan an automated system, that would drive the train.
- Each journey on the branch takes around 11-12 minutes.
- Two tph would take between 44 and 48 minutes shuttling between the two stations in an hour.
- The article states that recharging takes ten minutes.
- If the train charged the batteries once per hour, that would leave between two and six minutes for the other three stops.
- Any freight train using the branch seems to take about six minutes, so they could sneak through, when the shuttle is having a fast charge.
- I would also use a similar system to that originally used on the Victoria Line. After the driver has closed the doors and ascertained that there were no problems, they would press a button to move the train to the next station and then automatically open the doors.
From this rough calculation to run a two tph service, I suspect that the train needs to be able to go between West Ealing and Greenford stations in ten minutes. Assuming one ten minute Fast Charge per hour, this would give three minutes and twenty seconds to turn the train, at the three terminal station stops.
I certainly feel, that an automatic shuttle would be possible.
GWR To Test Battery Train On Branch Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Business UK.
This is the first paragraph.
Great Western Railway has invited expressions of interest in trialling a battery powered train on the 4 km non-electrified branch line from West Ealing to Greenford in west London.
The article says that Vivarail have made a previous proposal, but other companies are also likely to declare their interest.
I feel some unexpected proposals could turn up.
The reason would be commercial,.
This is the last paragraph of the article, which says this.
The challenge on Great Western is we’ve got branches like Greenford, Windsor, Marlow and Henley along the Thames valley, and then in the West Country we’ve got St Ives, Falmouth, Newquay, Looe, Gunnislake and so on’, said Hopwood. ‘If we don’t electrify those could we fit the trains with a battery?’ The ideal solution may be a train that fast charges either at one end of the route or possibly at both ends, or on a route like Marlow, Gunnislake or Looe, where the trains reverse during their journey, could the charge point even be on that part of the branch?’
Note.
- Mark Hopwood is now the Managing Director of GWR.
- Nine branches are mentioned, so with spare trains and maintenance, it could be a good-sized order.
But this project could be even bigger.
South Western Railway are a sister company of Great Western Railway and in August 2020, I wrote Special Train Offers A Strong Case For Reopening Fawley Line about the plans to open the Fawley Line.
This was a section, I wrote about trains that might work the line.
South Western Railway’s Innovative Train Plan
This is another quote from the article.
However, SWR’s Mark Hopwood favours a much bolder plan. “We’d have to take a decision, once we knew the line was going ahead. But my personal belief is that we should be looking for a modern environmentally-friendly train that can use third-rail electricity between Southampton and Totton and maybe operate on batteries down the branch line.”
Pressed on whether that would mean Vivarail-converted former-London Underground stock, Hopwood ads. “It could be. Or it could be a conversion of our own Class 456, which will be replaced by new rolling stock very shortly. But I don’t think this is the time to use old diesels.
This is the same Mark Hopwood, who is now Managing Director of GWR.
These pictures show the current status of one of the twenty-four Class 456 train.
In Converting Class 456 Trains Into Two-Car Battery Electric Trains I discuss this conversion in detail.
Conclusion
Twenty-four battery-electric Class 456 trains would probably go a long way to satisfy GWR’s needs.
West Ealing Station Goes Step-Free As Part Of Crossrail Upgrades
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
The title says it all.
These pictures, which were taken on the 31st March 2021, show West Ealing station.
Note
- It is fully step-free.
- As at Acton Main Line station, the lifts are very disabled-friendly.
- The terrible staircases of the old station have yet to be demolished.
- There is just a small amount of work to finish.
It is a fine addition to London’s portfolio of stations.
But one thing is not covered in the article – What is going to happen to the Greenford Branch?
- Currently, it is only hourly.
- Will it be going to four trains per hour (tph) ? It certainly needs this frequency to be a feeder line for Crossrail, which could have as many as six tph stopping in the station.
- Will it be run by battery electric trains.
- Will three-car Aventras work the route, as I wrote in Could Three-Car Aventras Run Services On The Greenford Branch??
- Will it be going to an automated shuttle, as I wrote in An Automated Shuttle Train On The Greenford Branch Line?
- Will it be run by Class 230 trains, as I wrote in Will The Class 230 Trains Be Coming Home??
- Will the management of the route go to Transport for London?
I think I would favour the automated shuttle! But then I’m a trained Control Engineer.
- Two-car battery electric train.
- Option of being lengthened to three cars.
- I suspect Alstom, CAF, Stadler and Vivarail could all provide trains.
- There would be level access between train and platform to reduce station dwell times.
- Automated like the Victoria Line, where when ready to depart, the driver presses a button to close the doors and then the train moves automatically to the next station.
- The driver could sit in the middle of the train with screens to see front and rear, so they wouldn’t even have to change ends, which wastes time.
- Or they might choose to sit in the front cab or even use a sophisticated remote control, developed with gaming or military drone experience.
- Charging would be automatic at both terminals.
- One train would run a continuous service with a timetable, which just said services would be a service approximately every fifteen minutes
- Trains would have wi-fi and passengers could view front and rear camera images on their devices.
- Trains would be stabled at night in one of the two terminal platforms and could have a spruce up each night from a mobile or the station cleaning crew.
- Trains might need to have sufficient performance to run a service into and out of Paddington, at the beginning and end of the day. But if Crossrail services were reliable and six tph, this feature could be superfluous. But other services might need a main line capability at say 60 or 70 mph to relocate to and from the main depot.
- On the Greenford Branch, signallers and/or the driver would need the ability to park the train in the next terminal station, when a freight train is passing through.
Get this automated branch line right and the technology could be used in several places around the UK.
West Ealing Station – 12th October 2020
These pictures show the current state of West Ealing station.
A few of my thoughts.
The Size Of The Station
It is not small!
Will The Current Entrance Be Retained?
From the outside the original entrance looks to be in good condition.
Will it be retained?
I think it won’t be as the stairs are a bit of an accident waiting to happen.
Electrification Of The Greenford Branch
If the Greenford Branch is going to be electrified, the last picture shows that gantries and headspan wires are in place over the Western end of Platform 5.
The electrification could be fixed to the new station building, if it were to be electrified.
Power would not be a problem, as a main sub-station for Crossrail and the Great Western Main Line is nearby.
In Could Class 165 HyDrive Trains Be The Solution To The Greenford Branch?, I showed that a train with better acceleration could provide four trains per hour (tph) on the Greenford Branch.
I feel that a pair of powerful two-car battery electric trains could provide four tph on the branch.
- They would charge using a short length of 25 KVAC overhead electrification in Platform 5 at West Ealing station.
- The route is only 2.5 miles.
- Recharging time wouldn’t be very long, as the battery wouldn’t be enormous.
In Special Train Offers A Strong Case For Reopening Fawley Line, the Managing Director of South Western Railway; Mark Hopwood is quoted as saying, that their Class 456 trains could be converted to two-car battery trains. Converting Class 456 Trains Into Two-Car Battery Electric Trains discusses this conversion in detail.
A two-car Class 456 train equipped with batteries and the ability to use 25 KVAC overhead electrification, would be ideal for the branch and could probably provide four tph.
Conclusion
This station is starting to look like a quality station for Crossrail.
West Ealing Station – 12th June 2020
I took these pictures from a passing train of West Ealing station.
It looks like it will be a lot of steel and glass.
Nothing seems to have been said about improving the trains on the Greenford Branch.
An Interloper At West Ealing Station
These pictures show a Chiltern Railway‘s Class 165 train in West Ealing station.
Has the train just been borrowed by Great Western Railway or is there another reason?
It looks like as I passed, that I saw a Parliamentary Train, which uses the Greenford Branch to travel to High Wycombe
West Ealing Station – 2nd September 2019
These pictures show West Ealing station.
Some observations.
The Big Hole
A big hole is being dug on the North side of the station.
- This is the side where the entrance will be giving access from the road at the side of the station.
- There are no stairs or lift tower on this side.
- There looks to be foundations in the hole!
Could these support the stairs and lift and the entrance on this side of the station? I suspect the answer is an affirmative!
Bay Platform 5 Electrification
Platform 5 is not electrified, but two gantries are at the Western end of the platform and these could easily be fitted with wires.
Perhaps at the Eastern end, the wires will be fixed to the station building, as they have been at Abbey Wood station.
An electrified bay platform would be ideal for charging a battery-electric train, that was working the Greenford Branch.
- In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 mph?, I calculated that to overcome air resistance and keep a high speed train at 125 mph needs around three k|Wh per vehicle mile.
- I know that, trains on the Greenford Branch will be going a lot slower than 125 mph, so I will treat the three kWh figure as a maximum value.
- The maximum size of train will be two cars.
- The Greenford Branch is two-and-a-half miles long, so a round trip is five miles.
\Multiplying all the numbers together gives a maximum energy requirement for the cruise of thirty kWh.
I think that it should be possible to design a two-car battery-electric train with sufficient range to handle the Greenford Branch.
In Will The Class 230 Trains Be Coming Home?, I speculated that the Greenford Branch could be run by a small fleet of Class 230 trains.
Could this be right? Probably not!
But!
- The diesel version is already in service at Bedford.
- They are the right loading gauge and weight.
- Two cars would be an ideal length.
- They could have upwards of two hundred kWh of energy storage.
- They can be fitted with a pantograph for charging or a Vivarail fast charger could be used.in one or both stations.
If the battery version were to be thought too risky, the diesel version, as at Bedford could be used.
Judging by their performance at Bedford, they would probably do a quality job.
The Anonymous Widower 