Could part-battery conversion and/or more electrification address GWR IETs' engine troubles long term?

[brad465]

The IET fleet seems to be going through a poor reliability spell on its diesel engines, with many running in service with 1-2 engines out of action, and some even having to be cancelled due to more than that. If the diesel engine issue is something that is going to be sustained for a long time, but electric does not have the same problem, could increasing electric ability be pursued to mitigate this?

At a minimum completing the remainder of the GWR electrification before being canned would allow all electric to Swansea, Bristol and Oxford. Battery power could cover extensions to Carmarthen, Weston-super-Mare and Taunton via Bristol, along with any situation where a section of electric can't be used (like power supply failure). Diesel would still be needed for the deep south west and the Cotswold line, but if other schemes were delivered there is less diesel running, hopefully improving diesel reliability where it is most needed.

 

[anthony263]

Need to wire to Oxford, Swansea and Bristol Temple meads for starters

 

[Anonymous10]

Need to wire to Oxford, Swansea and Bristol Temple meads for starters

Perhaps battery running to swansea could be possible with recharge facilities at swansea, but then you get the issue of the carmarthen and pembroke dock (summer only) services.

 

[HSTEd]

Fitting one of the battery packs from the TPE trial would probably reduce the amount of duty the diesels are called on to perform.

But buying the railway out of the Hitachi contract for the 80x and ordering a new replacement fleet would almost certainly be cheaper than completing the originally planned Great Western electrification.

 

[MarkyT]

Fitting one of the battery packs from the TPE trial would probably reduce the amount of duty the diesels are called on to perform.

But buying the railway out of the Hitachi contract for the 80x and ordering a new replacement fleet would almost certainly be cheaper than completing the originally planned Great Western electrification.

Swansea is the longest stretch and the most difficult. It still has incompatible 60s/70s WR signalling for the ~23 route miles between Pontyclun and Baglan, controlled by Port Talbot PSB. Renewing that will be a major project. Chippenham - Bristol - Filton is largely 'wires ready' with many structures cleared, track layouts adjusted and new compatible signalling. Oxford is nearing that state, and wires there are likely to become necessary for EWR and Chiltern battery trains in the future. Similarly, the Bristol area, electrified, could become a major future charging hub for other regional services radiating across the West Country.

Going back to Swansea, High Street - Baglan has been resignalled already, so subject to any remaining structure clearance, might support wiring as a charging island for battery operations. To further assist, a plain line extension heading west along the mainline from Cardiff as far as Pontyclun should also be possible without further resignalling.

Each of these might be tackled as clearly defined self-contained lower-risk projects that have no short-term fleet renewal dependency pressures. Elements could be introduced gradually as practical, given available resources, and engine hours reduced. Eventually, a position would be reached where most if not all the diesel packs could be replaced by battery modules in a significant proportion of the fleet. Like the almost-all-electric LNER IET units, I'd consider retaining one genset per unit for emergencies; it would accrue few engine hours and require minimal maintenance.

Once resignalling eventually takes place between Pontyclun and Baglan, some more wiring might be added, perhaps up hills, to assist freight performance.

 

[anthony263]

Certainly im sure baglan to port Talbot has been resignalled too . Wiring Swansea to Port Talbot would have been ideal for the gwr units plus TFW class 756s if swanline hadn't been joined with the Swansea to Pembroke Dock service.

 

[MarkyT]

Certainly im sure baglan to port Talbot has been resignalled too . Wiring Swansea to Port Talbot would have been ideal for the gwr units plus TFW class 756s if swanline hadn't been joined with the Swansea to Pembroke Dock service.

The Sectional Appendix clearly states that 'Port Talbot SB (PT) Panel A' controls the area, and the PDF version on the NR site has been updated fairly recently this year. Checking the British Power Signalling Register, I now see this was in fact an earlier area of SSI resignalling in 2007, long before electrification works started, with a Westcad workstation replacing the panels in the same building rather than transferring control to Wales Rail Operating Centre, which I'm not sure existed at that time. Perhaps everyone agreed to keep calling the workstation 'Panel A' because it covered the same area and avoided changing too much paperwork! The project employed traditional track circuits instead of the axle counters used in the later electrification schemes, so trackside infrastructure may need further work before wiring.

 

[Nottingham59]

The IET fleet seems to be going through a poor reliability spell on its diesel engines, with many running in service with 1-2 engines out of action, and some even having to be cancelled due to more than that. If the diesel engine issue is something that is going to be sustained for a long time, but electric does not have the same problem, could increasing electric ability be pursued to mitigate this?

Undoubtedly. The Transpennine trial with one diesel engine on 802207 replaced by a 700kW/575kWh battery demonstrated a 35% fuel saving. That represents an immediate reduction in engine hours and therefore wear and maintenance costs.

And I'd expect that the diesels on a diesel/battery hybrid would run at a steady rate, as the battery would provide most of the variation in power output that is required from rail operations. Running at a more constant power output is much less wearing on diesel engines, so i would expect the maintenance costs per hour of operation to be reduced too.

More details here:

Batteries included - Rail Engineer

Listen to this article In February 2015, a battery-fitted Class 379 Electrostar undertook trials on the Harwich branch. This independently-powered EMU (IPEMU) was the first battery-powered train on the UK rail network for more than 50 years. During its trials, it ran with its pantograph...

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