Decarbonising the Western (Great Western Electrification - Part 2)

[zwk500]

They refer to other regions priorities? Does this mean similar reports have been written for other regions?

Almost certainly, although they may not have published it formally yet

 

[higthomas]

Almost certainly, although they may not have published it formally yet

Interesting though. Does this imply we might actually see some action here?

 

[zwk500]

Interesting though. Does this imply we might actually see some action here?

Writing a report and carrying out things it says are two very, very different things.

 

[59CosG95]

A full copy of the Wales & Western Region report which is referred to in the Modern Railways article is now attached to this post. With thanks Network Rail's FOI team for a very speedy response (request made on 6 August, response received just now!).

Worth mentioning that the Wales section of the document shows the SWML from Cardiff to Swansea, along with the VoG, the Penarth & Barry branches, and the short stub beyond Ninian Park to the NR/CVL interface...


Further north, the NWCL from Chester to Holyhead is also included, which seems to imply that Crewe - Chester is another wiring candidate.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Writing a report and carrying out things it says are two very, very different things.

And even then that government within a government aka HMTreasury will say no.

 

[mrmartin]

What exactly is this document (I've read through it)? Is it just a wishlist? Or is it likely to be implemented?

 

[tomuk]

Having read the report I think it is critically flawed they seem to have given far too much weight to 'Deployment Efficiencies' in the 'Multi-criteria Assessment'.

Rolling stock lifespan has a weighting of 0.6 the highest of any of the other criteria. Therefore if a line has older stock it can outscore a line with newer stock despite the newer stock line actually reducing emissions more.
This seems to be the driver of electrifying to Exeter being a higher priority then Bristol to Birmingham
It seems to ignore the possibility of cascading stock in the assessment but then further in the report goes on to repeatedly talk about stock cascades.
The Heart of Wales is an extreme example as it scores very highly under 'Deployment Efficiencies' due to the age of the 153s, the fact that at only 5tpd run on the root is moot.

It should be passed on Diesel vehicle miles reduced both freight and passenger not the fact that GWR have a load of old Sprinters that need replacing. Electrify the Chiltern line\Snow Hill lines and send the Turbostars\172s to GWR.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Not really; where desired, route boundaries have changed to suit wiring requirements.
Blackwell Loop (IIRC) used to be the Central/Western route boundary, but it was moved to Stoke Works Jn when wires came to Bromsgrove.
There's no reason why the Central/Western boundary can't move north to Aynho Jn too.

Small point of order:
According to the SA, the Western/Central border on the Birmingham-Bristol line is now at MP 77.40, which is at Bredon just north of Ashchurch.
This is now the interface between West Midlands and Gloucester signalling control areas.
The Worcester loop (Stoke Works-Droitwich-Worcester-Norton Jn) is still Western.

 

[JamesT]

Having read the report I think it is critically flawed they seem to have given far too much weight to 'Deployment Efficiencies' in the 'Multi-criteria Assessment'.

Rolling stock lifespan has a weighting of 0.6 the highest of any of the other criteria. Therefore if a line has older stock it can outscore a line with newer stock despite the newer stock line actually reducing emissions more.
This seems to be the driver of electrifying to Exeter being a higher priority then Bristol to Birmingham
It seems to ignore the possibility of cascading stock in the assessment but then further in the report goes on to repeatedly talk about stock cascades.
The Heart of Wales is an extreme example as it scores very highly under 'Deployment Efficiencies' due to the age of the 153s, the fact that at only 5tpd run on the root is moot.

It should be passed on Diesel vehicle miles reduced both freight and passenger not the fact that GWR have a load of old Sprinters that need replacing. Electrify the Chiltern line\Snow Hill lines and send the Turbostars\172s to GWR.

You'll note that each scheme is graphed on a 2d plot, with deployment efficiencies on one axis and decarbonisation benefits on the other.
The obvious priority for schemes is to go for those in the top right, that score highly on both axis. Hence HoW in the top left isn't in the top tranche for alternative technologies (and doesn't appear in the list for electrification).
There doesn't appear to be a scheme labelled as 'Bristol-Birmingham', but Bristol-Exeter is listed as the most Diesel usage of any of the lines and the decarbonisation benefits are amongst the highest, so electrifying that early seems reasonable.

 

[snowball]

What exactly is this document (I've read through it)? Is it just a wishlist? Or is it likely to be implemented?

Maybe preparing for a change of government?

 

[ABB125]

There doesn't appear to be a scheme labelled as 'Bristol-Birmingham

It'll be listed as Bristol Bromsgrove or similar

 

[zwk500]

It'll be listed as Bristol Bromsgrove or similar

Which is fair enough as it would be rather silly to electrify Birmingham-Bromsgrove twice!

 

[snowball]

Which is fair enough as it would be rather silly to electrify Birmingham-Bromsgrove twice!

Except that I believe there's a section where only two of the four tracks are wired.

 

[zwk500]

Except that I believe there's a section where only two of the four tracks are wired.

I think the goods lines south of Longsight (Edited:bridge) aren't wired, yes. Also the Camp Hill lines.

Also, relevant to this being the 'Western' Strategy is that Bromsgrove is near the NW&C/Western area boundary.

 

[tomuk]

Also, relevant to this being the 'Western' Strategy is that Bromsgrove is near the NW&C/Western area boundary.

Yes I think that is part of the problem with the report is that cross border lines seem to have a lower priority. For example it states Shrewsbury-Crewe doesn't connect to an existing electrified line, which to the lay person seems wrong but I assume the existing electrification at Gresty Lane runs out before the Western/LNW route boundary.

The electrification schemes should be being prioritised on a national/service group basis not what neatly fits into NR region boundaries. As an isidee this is an issue I see with GBR going forward, the NR routes and Region don't align with either TOC boundaries or devolved\regional government ones.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

However, and I believe this is on topic, the Northern Sparks report produced a few years back gave its priorities and did not go into other regions, so I do understand where they are coming from.

Link here for completeness. https://transportforthenorth.com/wp-content/uploads/EFT_Report_FINAL_web.pdf

PARTIAL

The North of England Electrification Task Force was announced by the Secretary of State for
Transport in December 2013, with a remit to consider the priority order for the electrification
for those sections of the North of England rail network which are not included in current
industry plans. In carrying out this work the Task Force has focussed on the benefits to the
northern economy which would flow from further electrification with a strong emphasis on
supporting economic growth across the region.
The first task we undertook was to establish the baseline – the existing electrified network
and those schemes which are committed for delivery by the end of this decade. Concurrently
the strategic economic plans and supporting materials for the entire region were collated,
together with material from detailed studies into the electrification of some routes. This
material provided the background to our subsequent analysis.
A second stream of work established a set of three criteria which would be used to rank routes
in priority order – always on the understanding that this was an exercise in prioritisation and
not justification for electrification.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I think the goods lines south of Longbridge aren't wired, yes. Also the Camp Hill lines.

Two of the four lines are wired from Barnt Green to Kings Norton, but not the same ones throughout, with the fast lies unwired Longbridge-Kings Norton.
Apart from wires, the power might need a boost for intercity trains and freight - it was only sized for the cross-city service.

 

[SynthD]

Cross border lines are hard for any one area's report to justify. This one does talk about CrossCountry several times, mostly Cornwall and Oxford-Aynho. I think it implies that, together with the Central region's high priority for the Chiltern line, CrossCountry should be able to move over to bimode EMUs (OHLE/third rail).

 

[JamesT]

There are 6 tranches for the Western Region (0-5). Bromsgrove to Westerleigh is in Tranche 2.

Tranche 2 offers major opportunities to remove diesel fleets and decarbonise freight flows. It should be developed as a priority following the Tranche 0 and Tranche 1 schemes, with focus on the type of infrastructure required and the timetable to enable efficient fleet modifications and/or replacement. Joint working with North West & Central Region is critical as the decarbonisation benefits are largely co-dependent

To me that reads that there has been a degree of co-ordination between the regions as to priorities, even though particular schemes may be solely within a region.

 

[tomuk]

There are 6 tranches for the Western Region (0-5). Bromsgrove to Westerleigh is in Tranche 2.

To me that reads that there has been a degree of co-ordination between the regions as to priorities, even though particular schemes may be solely within a region.

To me Bromsgrove to Westerleigh should be in Tranche 1 surely it more important than Bathampton to Westbury.

 

[JamesT]

To me Bromsgrove to Westerleigh should be in Tranche 1 surely it more important than Bathampton to Westbury.

Electrifying Bromsgrove to Westerleigh needs other projects completed to get the full benefit, or you're looking at XC buying bi-modes.
Whereas Bathampton and Thingley Junctions to Westbury / Warminster lets you replace entire routes with EMUs.

 

[The exile]

Cross border lines are hard for any one area's report to justify. This one does talk about CrossCountry several times, mostly Cornwall and Oxford-Aynho. I think it implies that, together with the Central region's high priority for the Chiltern line, CrossCountry should be able to move over to bimode EMUs (OHLE/third rail).

Not to mention the difficulty of making chocolate and cream electricity and maroon electricity compatible with each other!

 

[Snow1964]

Have just noticed an oddity in the Network Rail Solent to Midlands Multimodal freight strategy. On page 100 there is an electrification map and the section from Chippenham (incorrectly labelled Bath) to Bathampton Junction is shown as a installed or committed scheme

When did this become a committed scheme (page 2 says the electrification map was updated 27.07.21

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Solent-to-the-Midlands-Multimodal-Freight-Strategy-Phase-1-V3.1.pdf

For those who have been wondering about including the line via Melksham in phase 1 electrification. This report shows route via Salisbury-Westbury-Melksham-Swindon is officially a W10 gauge diversionary route to Southampton area ports.

The purpose of this study is to develop a long-term strategy for the movement of freight along the Solent to the Midlands corridor. Both organisations have a shared goal of keeping Britain moving, as well as obligations to meet the Government’s commitment of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This Solent to the Midlands Multimodal Freight Study contributes to these goals by demonstrating how both networks could be used more efficiently in terms of their overall capacity and their carbon footprint.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been considered for this corridor and the wider road and rail networks. Rail freight has been resilient against the uncertainties surrounding Covid-19 whereas passenger rail demand has been severely impacted. The road network has proved resilient under Covid-19 and some freight movements have even seen an increase in comparison to 2019. This could be partly attributed to an increase in online shopping and a backlog of deliveries. It is unclear what the long-term effects will be on the SRN, but it shows that the movement of freight will remain an important part of the road and rail networks.

 

[tomuk]

Electrifying Bromsgrove to Westerleigh needs other projects completed to get the full benefit, or you're looking at XC buying bi-modes.
Whereas Bathampton and Thingley Junctions to Westbury / Warminster lets you replace entire routes with EMUs.

What services could be replaced by EMUs?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Solent-to-the-Midlands-Multimodal-Freight-Strategy-Phase-1-V3.1.pdf

I have read this and quite a few of the cited references. What is so frustrating is all the analysis and report writing but little gets done. Paralysis by analysis.

 

[JamesT]

What services could be replaced by EMUs?

Try reading the report?

Bathampton and Thingley Junctions to Westbury / Warminster
This route section, which links the GWML to Westbury, is important for local passenger
services and heavy freight traffic. Passenger traffic from Bristol will increase as part of
the MetroWest programme, and continued freight growth is predicted. Tranche 0
delivers a fully decarbonised GWML route, whilst Tranche 1 delivers the main line
between Newbury and Cogload Junction. To deliver the full benefits of these route
sections Bathampton / Thingley to Westbury needs to be included.
Local passenger service groups could be decarbonised in their entirety, as could some
freight flows. The passenger flows feature some of the oldest DMUs and therefore offer
fleet replacement efficiencies alongside decarbonisation benefits. There’s an important
relationship with the Berks and Hants line as well, with this route section offering crucial
diversionary and secondary route capability for passenger and freight services, including
the heavy aggregates flows from the Somerset quarries.
GWR Swindon to Westbury / Frome (Trans-Wilts) – this service group could be entirely
diesel-free to Westbury, and to Frome / Castle Cary / Taunton alongside other Tranche
1 schemes. This may deliver faster journey times The aspiration to extend to Salisbury
or Southampton may require a modular concept

 

[tomuk]

Try reading the report?

GWR Swindon to Westbury / Frome (Trans-Wilts) – this service group could be entirely
diesel-free

Wow 9 tpd of what a two car Sprinter or Turbo? Climate crisis averted!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Wow 9 tpd of what a two car Sprinter or Turbo? Climate crisis averted!

The longest journey starts with the first step.

 

[SynthD]

I have read this and quite a few of the cited references. What is so frustrating is all the analysis and report writing but little gets done. Paralysis by analysis.

I don’t think that applies. The analysis is done to be up to date and shovel ready for when the money comes.

 

[tomuk]

The longest journey starts with the first step.

Yes but my point is why not Bristol to Birmingham (Bromsgrove - Westerleigh) and help get rid of some Voyagers rather than 9tpd 2 car 150s tootling about between Swindon and Westbury.

I don’t think that applies. The analysis is done to be up to date and shovel ready for when the money comes.

Well the Wales analysis seems to be out of date with references to cascading 170s within TfW to the Heart of Wales. I don't really see how much of the report makes anything shovel ready. Did they do a desktop study of where to stick the OHLE stanchions?