GWML Electification

[Coryton]

The environmental benefit of rail mostly comes from being able to get cars off the roads, which reduces noise and accidents as well as emissions.  It also reduces the amount of domestic aviation, which has more severe climate effects than a similar level of emission at ground level.  These benefits will be maximised if the train offers an attractive journey time, fare and level of comfort.

 

In general I agree, though I would imagine that the impact of the GWR 800's on domestic aviation is going to be limited.

 

Airlines have occasionally attempted to fly between Cardiff or Swansea and London and it just doesn't seem to work*.

 

I don't believe there are direct flights from Bristol to London either.

 

Much is made of the 3 hour limit above which people will fly instead of getting the train...but you don't seem to have to go too far below that and people won't fly. Mind you, people fly between Leeds and London and I've never really understood why, unless they were connecting with a flight.

 

The last two times that flights were tried from Cardiff to London they went to City, which isn't good for long haul connections. If people want to go long haul from Cardiff they tend to fly KLM and change at Schiphol.

 

* I flew from London to Cardiff some years ago for the novelty value when Air Wales gave it a go. I had to share the plane with the other passenger. The plane carried a crew of three.

[Edwin_m]

In general I agree, though I would imagine that the impact of the GWR 800's on domestic aviation is going to be limited.

 

Airlines have occasionally attempted to fly between Cardiff or Swansea and London and it just doesn't seem to work*.

 

I don't believe there are direct flights from Bristol to London either.

 

Much is made of the 3 hour limit above which people will fly instead of getting the train...but you don't seem to have to go too far below that and people won't fly. Mind you, people fly between Leeds and London and I've never really understood why, unless they were connecting with a flight.

 

The last two times that flights were tried from Cardiff to London they went to City, which isn't good for long haul connections. If people want to go long haul from Cardiff they tend to fly KLM and change at Schiphol.

 

* I flew from London to Cardiff some years ago for the novelty value when Air Wales gave it a go. I had to share the plane with the other passenger. The plane carried a crew of three.

Agreed.  There does seem to be a fairly rapid change in air:rail mode share when the rail journey goes below 3hr, though with increased airport security and general hassle the critical time may have increaesd a bit.  On GW only London to Plymouth and Cornwall is beyond 3hr, and rail serves multiple stations whereas an air traveller has to find their way to Newquay. 

 

However London-Newcastle teeters around the 3hr mark so it would be interesting to see whether new trains, new timetable and whatever NR manages to achieve with the infrastructure will make a difference. 

[Suzie]

There is the cost to take in to account too, with air travel often being much cheaper than rail and that rather makes up for the hassle of security etc. on short flights.

[Zomboid]

That can be true in headline fares, but I wonder how the total cost works out once you've got to the airport/ station and parked (if appropriate), and got to your destination at the other end. Airport express services in particular are very expensive - at least the ones I've used have been.

[jim.snowdon]

A valid point, as is the extent to which air fares are easier to understand than railway fares, at least once you get into off-peak fares, super off-peaks and any number of Advance fares.

 

Jim

[APOLLO]

Interesting video & write up.

 

CHRIS GRAYLING GRILLED OVER RAIL ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAMME AS DELAYS LEAD TO SOARING COSTS

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/chris-grayling-rail-electrification-gwr-great-western-diesel-electric-trains-trancks-damage-a8173116.html

 

Brit15

[Steadfast]

Here's a few pictures of the current state of play at various locations on the 'Top Road'. As per other previous reports, it's very inconsistent in terms of progress. Most pictures are from January 2018, but the first few are from November 2017. Working geographically east to west, starting at Callow Hill, between Wootton Bassett and Brinkworth (17/11/17):

The wiring looks to be complete here, there seem to be a lot of the heavier portals with hexagonal holes around here. I count 4 in the space of a couple of hundred metres.

Moving west, Rodbourne is to the east of Hullavington loop. Again, it looks pretty well advanced. The new bridge installed on this farm access track is visible to the left in some of the shots. (19/1/18)

From Chipping Sodbury tunnel westwards there's plenty of masts up, but no wires yet and still plenty of horizontal fittings missing. The heights of the masts seem particularly varied here. (16/1/18)

Ram Hill, the other side of Westerleigh Junction shows a similar level of development.

Finally, the other side of Bristol sees us at Cattybrook and Pilning. (13/1/18) Cattybrook sees some vertical masts and a few fittings but not much more.

Finally Pilning sees a bit more metalwork up.

 

Jo

[royaloak]

Maybe today it does that, but look again on a sunny, breezy day and you will find a different story - with solar, wind and nuclear generating well over half the demand. 

 

With another ~20GW of offshore wind and onshore solar either under construction, or passed the planning application stage - the figure is only going to rise. 

90% of the time most of our electricity is produced from burning gas, just because occasionally when the wind blows and the sun shines renewables can be the biggest producers doesnt mean renewables are viable all the time.

 

Oh and just for information, most wind production, oops I mean electricity produced from wind is not actually metered so will actually show as a reduction in demand rather than on the meters-

No wind and demand will be 48GW

Lots of wind and demand will be 40GW even though the same amount of electricity is being consumed

 

The electrical consumption is actually the same but the unmetered (wind produced) electricity is showing as a reduction in demand.

 

I find this one easier to read-

http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

Edited January 23, 2018 by royaloak

[lmsforever]

Is there actualy a plan for this work or do they roll a dice as to were they will start actualy putting up the wires.?

[woodenhead]

At the end of the day it is easier for a government to control greenhouse gases from the generation process than it is to manage hundreds of diesel engines attached to trains pouring out exhaust fumes, it reduces pollution in the cities where air quality is at it's worst.

 

What I am unsure of is that whether the decision to go bi-mode on more trains is pure luck on the part of the DFT to enable a strategy that introduces new trains on the GWML in a timely manner and look like it and it's partner Network Rail actually know what they are doing or if there has been a major shift in traction packages that makes bi-mode a clean alternative to pure electric.

[St. Simon]

Is there actualy a plan for this work or do they roll a dice as to were they will start actualy putting up the wires.?

 

Despite the looks of it, there will be a plan, but obviously there are multiple issues that they will have to work around, including weather issues (presumably there is a wind speed limit on wire installation?), possession requirements, competent staff being available (and have had the correct rest days etc), availability of materials etc. etc.

 

Simon

[The Stationmaster]

A brief postscript to 'Steadfast's' post above.  for those who don't know the more substantial portals with the hexagonal holes carry the kit for then end of a catenary section - you'll find some of my detail pics of them further up the tread.

 

There is a very interesting development west of Alderton Tunnel where a substantial part of the distance from there to Badminton (but not immediately outside the tunnel) has very short masts, so short in fact that the registration arm fixings are right at the top of the mast.  Apart from a sort of 'general view' across the countryside I can't immediate;y see any reason for these short masts - taking a very old-fashioned view of things the normal height masts for double line work 'out in the country' would hardly be likely to interfere with either the Duke of Beaufort's view or indeed the view from the Badminton Hose Trials both of which are a good distance away.  

 

The short masts definitely won't on the other hand be likely to disrupt the view across some nice, but far from densely populated, countryside however an area stretching from east of Alderton Tunnel to just east of the site of Badminton station is part of the Cotswold AONB  and this probably explains the short masts - although those nearer to the west end of Alderton Tunnel are normal height (but there is a cutting there).   Quite where the 25kv feeder will go where there are short masts isn't immediately obvious but I presume it will either be in conduit or buried.

 

Coming further east masts are now appearing in greater numbers around Swindon and many )?most) are now in position east of Highworth Branch Jcn towards Shrivenham with a single section on the Up Main wired between Shrivenham and Bourton Crossovers.  Wiring also appears to be largely complete on all lines from just west of Causeway Crossing at Steventon through to the vicinity of Baulking, east of Uffington, although there are still masts missing at Uffington itself but many in position west from there to the site of Knighton Crossing.

 

Masts and fittings are also now present west of the A34 bridge to the west of Milton with most masts in position as far as Steventon overbridge and a few in place from the site of Steventon station through to Causeway Crossing.  However overall the increasingly obvious gap in catenary is from its current end at Milton through to the other side of Steventon - no doubt a consequence of the coming and going regarding rebuilding the bridge at Steventon.  If it wasn't for the 'Steventon gap' trains could (assuming all work is complete?) be running for an additional 10 miles or more on electric power - hardly an advertisement for logical progressive introduction of electrification.

[The Stationmaster]

Despite the looks of it, there will be a plan, but obviously there are multiple issues that they will have to work around, including weather issues (presumably there is a wind speed limit on wire installation?), possession requirements, competent staff being available (and have had the correct rest days etc), availability of materials etc. etc.

 

Simon

But all that (except the weather) can be planned in advance - in fact once you've got your labour force or have got it in training the rest of it can be planned up to a year in advance.  And in the case of possessions on the GWML, with its multiplicity of available diversionary routes and reversible signalling on some of it, plus nowadays minimal night trains, many possessions can be planned just the way they used to be in the past - well over a year in advance.   Alas the 'possessions argument' falls on very hollow ground as far as I'm concerned although I recognise there is great wariness within NR on granting some possessions for fear they might overrun and incur penalty payments to train operators.

 

And as so much of the work has involved going through almost any section you care to name several times over to carry out almost every stage of the electrification process (and which continues to be blindingly obviously happening) I really do wonder if a cogent plan exists.  equally whatever plan might have once existed it has clearly been turned on its head with the creation of  lineside workbases all over the place and the importation of huge numbers of road-rail vehicles.  For example on Saturday just past there were 4 road-rail wiring lorries and umpteen road-rail 'cherry pickers' in evidence at Swindon - home base of the once much lauded high output train.

[Steadfast]

Sounds like I'll have to go exploring around some of the bridges around Acton Turville then! I'm guessing that the Roman road and Pig Lane at Farleaze are both now of no use for photography

 

Jo

[APOLLO]

Some hideous electrification work shown.

 

Back in the 70's the WCML over Shap Fell was electrified - you almost don't notice it - and it is still fit for today's trains.

 

 

 

 

Brit15

[Budgie]

Is your view that the best way to reduce pollution in city centres is to make sure any intercity trains passing through are electric and keep the diesel buses and lorries, because trains are faster?

No. I (obviously mis)read the post as "let's get rid of the trains and replace them with buses".

[Northroader]

I noticed this afternoon that the Penzance sleeper set was stabled in the sidings at the new Reading depot. Presumably this is a development now that OOC belongs to someone else, and North Pole maybe doesn’t want it?

[Steadfast]

North Pole is Hitachi, so wouldn't want to touch it anyway. Reading has gained an 08 for shunting the sleeper stock, and I believe that Long Rock has taken on more sleeper based work too

 

Jo

[Vanders]

Some hideous electrification work shown.

Must we do this every few pages?

[jamie92208]

North Pole is Hitachi, so wouldn't want to touch it anyway. Reading has gained an 08 for shunting the sleeper stock, and I believe that Long Rock has taken on more sleeper based work too

 

Jo

 

I think it was mentioned in last week's Rail magazine that the sleeper work was coming to Reading with ECS workings to and from Paddington

 

Jamie

[Northroader]

Pity of it is it will make the operating costs even worse.

[Banger Blue]

The Sleeper stock and the GWR 57s officially belong to Long Rock Depot at Penzance but when the stock is at the London end it gets looked after at Reading.

Over the last week or so the 57s have been getting some attention at Reading too, tyre turning, A Exams, B Exams etc.

[Zomboid]

Pity of it is it will make the operating costs even worse.

Probably not all that important really, its continued existence is more political than anything else.

[locoholic]

Must we do this every few pages?

I think so! It's not getting any prettier as it spreads westwards, after all!

 

Brunel's railway was to a great extent a work of art as well as engineering. The 21st century embellishments are simply hideous.

[royaloak]

Is there actualy a plan for this work or do they roll a dice as to were they will start actualy putting up the wires.?

Of course there is a plan, unfortunately the plan keeps changing on a weekly basis.