Railway electrification voltages in Europe - a visualization

[OnTheBranchline]

I found this map online - probably not 100% accurate but it is interesting.
 

[woodenhead]

Except it misses the 25KV through Kent, none at all in Scotland and has the whole of the Southwest and Wales as 25Kv - is that some sort of wishful thinking.

 

It's quite a generalisation and would lead to the idea that there are no diesel trains except in Scotland and Eire.

[009 micro modeller]

59 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Except it misses the 25KV through Kent, none at all in Scotland and has the whole of the Southwest and Wales as 25Kv - is that some sort of wishful thinking.

 

It's quite a generalisation and would lead to the idea that there are no diesel trains except in Scotland and Eire.

It shows Northern Ireland as unelectrified as well, but if you look carefully there are small areas of 1500V marked for Tyne and Wear Metro and Dublin DART, and the same with 750V for Merseyrail and the Southern electric network. I’d say it’s actually oddly specific for most of the UK and Ireland, whereas I thought some of the other countries had a bit more of a mix than us implied by the map (e.g. Mallorca should be shown as a small piece of 1500V within Spain). Scotland is an odd omission though (although if we’re doing metro and suburban electrification, which apparently we are for Dublin, Liverpool and Newcastle, does it need a pocket of 600V shown for the Glasgow Subway?).

Edited September 26, 2023 by 009 micro modeller

[Edwin_m]

10 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

It shows Northern Ireland as unelectrified as well, but if you look carefully there are small areas of 1500V marked for Tyne and Wear Metro and Dublin DART, and the same with 750V for Merseyrail and the Southern electric network. I’d say it’s actually oddly specific for most of the UK and Ireland, whereas I thought some of the other countries had a bit more of a mix than us implied by the map (e.g. Mallorca should be shown as a small piece of 1500V within Spain). Scotland is an odd omission though (although if we’re doing metro and suburban electrification, which apparently we are for Dublin, Liverpool and Newcastle, does it need a pocket of 600V shown for the Glasgow Subway?).

Dublin and Liverpool are officially part of their respective national networks, and a section of the Tyne and Wear Metro (though not within Newcastle) runs on Network Rail.  So if it's limiting itself to national networks then it's largely consistent within the UK, except for not showing the short section of 750V tram-train running on Network Rail in Rotherham.  

 

A much more specific map is available on the link below - select the Electrification button which claims to be a beta, but looks pretty accurate for the UK at least.  

 

https://www.openrailwaymap.org/

[Nearholmer]

It’s the sort of “view from space” that might be useful to answer a question like “Which electrification gear and electric traction drives should we seek to sell in each territory?” arising at the global HQ of a corporation, and I doubt it’s intended for anything more specific. You could spend hours/days/months/years/decades picking over it for exceptions and nuances - I can think of oodles outside of these isles straightaway.

[009 micro modeller]

21 minutes ago, Edwin_m said:

Dublin and Liverpool are officially part of their respective national networks, and a section of the Tyne and Wear Metro (though not within Newcastle) runs on Network Rail.  So if it's limiting itself to national networks then it's largely consistent within the UK, except for not showing the short section of 750V tram-train running on Network Rail in Rotherham.  

I know, I’m just thinking that there’s an issue here about where you draw the line. On one hand you could argue that Tyne and Wear Metro and Merseyrail are metros like London Underground (though the latter mostly overlaps with the area already covered by the Southern region bit - I’m not sure the map is high enough resolution to show the extra bits sticking out towards Chesham and Watford etc., and anyway it isn’t 750V). On the other hand, Tyne and Wear Metro used to be part of the national network before the PTE took it over and created the current system, and Merseyrail still is effectively part of the national system. But that argument applies in Manchester as well, but Metrolink is a tram so maybe that shouldn’t be included. But if it is, do you then need to include all the other major tram networks in Europe? Not to mention adding an indication for whether 750V DC is third rail or tramway overhead. If you’re not including Mallorca because it’s self-contained and run by the regional government then for consistency you couldn’t include some of the UK networks mentioned etc. etc. The shading obviously isn’t precise enough to show HS1, which is one line in an otherwise third rail area.

 

If you were just basing it on ‘majority electrification system per sovereign state’ then that would result in the whole UK being shown as 25kV AC and Ireland being shown as unelectrified (because it’s only the Dublin suburban lines) but again in Northern Ireland and South West England, for instance, that wouldn’t really reflect what is actually there.

[009 micro modeller]

36 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

It’s the sort of “view from space” that might be useful to answer a question like “Which electrification gear and electric traction drives should we seek to sell in each territory?” arising at the global HQ of a corporation, and I doubt it’s intended for anything more specific. You could spend hours/days/months/years/decades picking over it for exceptions and nuances - I can think of oodles outside of these isles straightaway.

Actually, I looked at the more detailed map linked by @Edwin_m, and noticed that Volk’s Electric Railway is shown, correctly, as electric but less than 750V. Then, as I work there, I thought I should have a look at Mail Rail as well, which surprisingly is actually included amongst the multitude of lines in London. It shows only the operational section at the museum but the track plan is incredibly accurate, and it is shown as unelectrified (which is correct as, though previously 440V, the museum trains use battery power). The odd bit is that there is a little piece of straight track at 440V indicated within the depot area, which definitely isn’t operational! Also there’s a specific colour on the map key for de-electrified lines (i.e. once electrified but not any more) but I’m not sure what this has actually been used for. It doesn’t seem to be used for Mail Rail or the line to Heysham Port (both shown as ‘unelectrified’) or Epping-Ongar (not shown at all). Unless it isn’t working properly, because Seaton Tramway is also shown but the colour-coding is a bit odd. Beamish museum is also shown.

 

Does anyone know what the short bit of 750V at Derby is for? Not sure if it’s overhead or third rail but I assume it’s some sort of works test track.

Edited September 26, 2023 by 009 micro modeller

[Edwin_m]

6 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

Does anyone know what the short bit of 750V at Derby is for? Not sure if it’s overhead or third rail but I assume it’s some sort of works test track.

There is a test track in the Litchurch Lane works, which I believe can be energised at a variety of voltages.  

[jjb1970]

The map shows Southern Scotland electrified at 25KV AC. It's not a perfect map but as a generalization it's interesting.

[Reorte]

3 hours ago, woodenhead said:

It's quite a generalisation and would lead to the idea that there are no diesel trains except in Scotland and Eire.

It could be read as that but I take it to mean "in this area if there is electrification at all then this is what it is," rather than implying every line is electrified.

 

Clearly 25 kV AC isn't quite as universal as I always assumed.

[woodenhead]

10 minutes ago, Reorte said:

It could be read as that but I take it to mean "in this area if there is electrification at all then this is what it is," rather than implying every line is electrified.

 

Clearly 25 kV AC isn't quite as universal as I always assumed.

It's just one of those general charts but depending on how it is used then you could infere different outcomes.

 

I had to do a chart recently for someone, first we took out a some peaks, then we altered the period the chart represented, then we took out the months, then we added a 'and this is what everyone else experiences' trend line and then we removed the actual plotted data and left just the trend for those plots (as they were a super smooth line).  It looked nothing like reality, but it told the story it needed to, and to be fair the story was a correct one but it needed to be simplified so much to as not to generate awkward questions.

 

Also it appears the UK is the only country in Europe with a third rail, I see they lumped the T&W Metro under the same colour as it was voltage based.

[Reorte]

6 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Also it appears the UK is the only country in Europe with a third rail, I see they lumped the T&W Metro under the same colour as it was voltage based.

Interesting, never knew that (to be honest I don't think I've ever thought about it!)

[phil-b259]

2 minutes ago, Reorte said:

 

 

Clearly 25 kV AC isn't quite as universal as I always assumed.

 

Indeed - and thats largely because of what year mass electrification started.

 

The Germans started some electrification early in the 19th century and found that if they restricted the frequency to a very low number you could use AC current to power DC traction motors (they type most suitable for powering trains*) directly - in the UK the LBSCR noted this and also used the same principle for its electrification.

 

However other states which got going with electrification early on viewed this as rather too complex and as such opted for DC power feeding DC traction motors, but at varying voltages for reasons which are unclear.  What is true however is that as the 1920s and 1930s progressed the Germanic and the various DC systems continued spread becoming substantial networks (much like the way the Southern Railway in the UK massively expanded the conductor rail system.)

 

(In fact the UK was very much behind the times in the 1920s and 30s by not investing in electrification - had we been more enlightened then like France we could have ended up with a mix of 1.5KV DC and 25KVAC systems....)

 

The destruction of the European railway system in WW2 also gave a further boost to these already existing systems as many countries went and extended the electrification further during their rebuilding efforts.

 

It wasn't until the 1960s that the technology existed to rectify AC to DC on board a locomotive - without which 25KV at 50Hz was impossible in terms of feeding DC traction motors and although that tended to become the new standard for all rail projects it simply wasn't economic to rip out all the legacy systems - particularly when a lot of the previous Dc or Germanic kit was barely 10 years old...

 

 

[phil-b259]

9 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

 

Also it appears the UK is the only country in Europe with a third rail, I see they lumped the T&W Metro under the same colour as it was voltage based.

 

Its certainly the only country which extended the 3rd rail concept away from urban metros and used it for main line applications (Brighton, Hastings, Portsmouth pre-WW2 and the Kent Coast / Bournemouth post WW2).

 

3rd rail is very inefficient as an electrification system and also limits speed. The LBSCR knew that as far back as 1910! - a big part of the reason for their adoption of the Germanic overhead system was that sort of system was far better suited to longer distance applications (like London to the south coast resorts) and had things cone differently we might well have seen the Germanic 15Kv AC system be the norm....

[woodenhead]

12 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

(In fact the UK was very much behind the times in the 1920s and 30s by not investing in electrification - had we been more enlightened then like France we could have ended up with a mix of 1.5KV DC and 25KVAC systems....)

 

We did - Woodhead finished in 1955 alongside Phase 1 of the WCML in 1959.

 

Woodhead never expanded though and was never converted apart from the commuter route to Hadfield after the through route closed.

[woodenhead]

10 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Its certainly the only country which extended the 3rd rail concept away from urban metros and used it for main line applications (Brighton, Hastings, Portsmouth pre-WW2 and the Kent Coast / Bournemouth post WW2).

 

3rd rail is very inefficient as an electrification system and also limits speed. The LBSCR knew that as far back as 1910! - a big part of the reason for their adoption of the Germanic overhead system was that sort of system was far better suited to longer distance applications (like London to the south coast resorts) and had things cone differently we might well have seen the Germanic 15Kv AC system be the norm....

And after years of denying any further extensions in favour of overhead electrification, I think the DFT would now consider infill third rail again as it costs less and unlike the bi-mode conversions it works.

[phil-b259]

Just now, woodenhead said:

We did - Woodhead finished in 1955 alongside Phase 1 of the WCML in 1959.

 

Woodhead never expanded though and was never converted apart from the commuter route to Hadfield after the through route closed.

 

But the Woodhead was a single route not a network of lines!

 

Take a look at the likes of SW France where by the end of the 1930s there were hundreds of miles of 1.5KV DC electrification in operation.

 

That is the sort of thing you are needing to have to make it viable to keep it - and thats also why BR expanded the 3rd rail system in the South east. One single route across the Pennies is ridiculous in comparison to either and no wonder it was junked.

 

Now had the ECML got 1.5KV as the NER were looking at in the period before WW1 then things might well have been different...

[phil-b259]

4 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

And after years of denying any further extensions in favour of overhead electrification, I think the DFT would now consider infill third rail again as it costs less and unlike the bi-mode conversions it works.

 

Quite possibly - but you need to remember their resistance to 3rd rail comes from legal implications - i.e. installing something which is strictly forbidden in any workplace let alone where the public can gain easy access to it under HSE legislation.

 

Put it this way if someone did become injured by trespassing from a foot crossing / off a platform on a newly electrified route then I can easily see an ambulance chasing lawyer going to court over it.

[woodenhead]

6 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

But the Woodhead was a single route not a network of lines!

 

Take a look at the likes of SW France where by the end of the 1930s there were hundreds of miles of 1.5KV DC electrification in operation.

 

That is the sort of thing you are needing to have to make it viable to keep it - and thats also why BR expanded the 3rd rail system in the South east. One single route across the Pennies is ridiculous in comparison to either and no wonder it was junked.

 

Now had the ECML got 1.5KV as the NER were looking at in the period before WW1 then things might well have been different...

The route from Liverpool St to Shenfield also began as 1500 DC and there was also the Altrincham suburban line that started as DC and hosted Tommy.

 

I recognise that Woodhead as DC purely from an economical factor, it was ready to go for BR to rollout with all the planning undertaken by the LNER and in better circumstances BR might have held off if it could until AC was proven but there was a short time where 1500 DC could have taken off on on mainlines under Eastern Region control.

[phil-b259]

Just now, woodenhead said:

The route from Liverpool St to Shenfield also began as 1500 DC and there was also the Altrincham suburban line that started as DC and hosted Tommy.

 

I recognise that Woodhead as DC purely from an economical factor, it was ready to go for BR to rollout with all the planning undertaken by the LNER and in better circumstances BR might have held off if it could until AC was proven but there was a short time where 1500 DC could have taken off on on mainlines under Eastern Region control.

 

Indeed but that hardly amounted to a coherent network did it? - particulalry when judged against the ex SR 3rd rail network or the other DC electrification schemes in place in Europe at the time.

 

Thus to  an extent the Woodhead route was pretty my doomed from the beginning - its only saviour would have been if the ECML / MML (plus connecting lines) had been quickly electrified at 25KV because then conversion to of the Woodhead to AC and thus link two sets of 25KV together might well have been feasible.

 

Alas some 60 odd years after we started main line electrification in the UK wires are still yet to reach Sheffield - an absolute disgrace!

[009 micro modeller]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

Also it appears the UK is the only country in Europe with a third rail, I see they lumped the T&W Metro under the same colour as it was voltage based.

Actually if you look carefully it’s a slightly different colour, which it shares with Dublin and some Continental countries (all 1500V DC, not 750). I’m not sure why this was chosen for DART though. True though that it doesn’t indicate the type of electrification, only the voltage. I think most of the other third rail in Europe is metro or underground and may not have been included (although there are a few NG lines with third rail, including the one in the Pyrenees).

[Gordonwis]

I would sum up as : quite a useful generalisation but you need to know in what sense! - In other ways it is a fairly pointless map. 

 

However, it is nice to get confirmation that railways in Greenland and Iceland are not electrified.😁 

[OnTheBranchline]

7 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Indeed but that hardly amounted to a coherent network did it? - particulalry when judged against the ex SR 3rd rail network or the other DC electrification schemes in place in Europe at the time.

 

Thus to  an extent the Woodhead route was pretty my doomed from the beginning - its only saviour would have been if the ECML / MML (plus connecting lines) had been quickly electrified at 25KV because then conversion to of the Woodhead to AC and thus link two sets of 25KV together might well have been feasible.

 

Alas some 60 odd years after we started main line electrification in the UK wires are still yet to reach Sheffield - an absolute disgrace!

not really surprising when the HS2 will only go to Birmingham.

[009 micro modeller]

9 hours ago, Gordonwis said:

However, it is nice to get confirmation that railways in Greenland and Iceland are not electrified.😁 

 

Not sure about Greenland but the railways in Iceland aren’t electrified because they aren’t there. Although 100% of all the steam locos that have worked in Iceland (i.e. both of them) are preserved.
 

[009 micro modeller]

16 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

Now had the ECML got 1.5KV as the NER were looking at in the period before WW1 then things might well have been different...

Another interesting ‘what-if’ is if the ex-GC lines, including into Marylebone, had been electrified at 1500V DC. Would we have ended up with a mixed network, or would it have still all been converted to AC eventually like the ex-GE lines? Would the GC main line still have closed? On a more specific level, would there have been any conflict with the Met/GC joint line, which was already partly electrified with four rail DC?

 

As an aside, does anyone know why third rail was chosen for the original Tyneside suburban electrification, given that other NER electrification in the region used DC overhead (which ironically is now used anyway by the Metro)?

 

Actually on the subject of DC overhead electrification, in a modern context I’m sure I saw an article a few years ago that suggested the electrification of some branch lines (the sort of self-contained ones that don’t require inter-running with other lines, but are unlikely ever to justify proper main line electrification) with 750V DC overhead wires (so the same as modern trams, but I don’t think the article was suggesting light rail conversion as such). Frustratingly I can’t find the article now, or remember where it was. It would have probably been just before the interest in bi-modes and before battery power became a practical solution.

Edited September 27, 2023 by 009 micro modeller