Questions from a 12 year old.

[Jones]

Following my nephews visit I have 2 questions:

How many unstaffed stations are there?

How much does it cost to power the infrastructure (sigs/points/third rail OHL/lights etc) without any trains operating? Imagine a Christmas day without any traffic.

And.......go!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

For the station staffing I would guess it is very roughly 50:50; so 1,250 give or take a few.

 

[WatcherZero]

As of 2011 Stations RUS

A 28
B 67
C 248
D 298
E 679
F 1200

Category F being small unstaffed stations

 

[#1 driver]

Christmas day is a big day for p-ways .
you can get jobs done at places that are normally really busy .

 

[Jones]

Christmas day is a big day for p-ways .
you can get jobs done at places that are normally really busy .

Yup, and they do achieve some fantastic results.

That's why I said no traffic

 

[MidnightFlyer]

As of 2011 Stations RUS

A 28
B 67
C 248
D 298
E 679
F 1200

Category F being small unstaffed stations

There are a few discrepancies within that though: In Category E for example, Adlington (Cheshire), Bargoed and Folkestone Harbour are all unstaffed, as are the five recent LM ones; and some, such as Barmouth (tourist office), Fishgard Harbour (StenaLine) and Pwllheli (ATW traincrew depot) are debatable.

In F1 there's also Horwich Parlway, which is staffed, though wasn't for a long time after being built IIRC; as are Eaglescliffe and Filton Abbey Wood. There are also advanced plans for the likes of Burnley Manchester Road to be staffed in the near future, ditto some of the East London ones when TfL take over presumably.

A good indication anyway, and probably as accurate as is readily available.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Your second question is almost impossible to answer: if it's a cool summer night then quite low; in the depths of winter with all the points heating on the load is probably double that. However, I can't resist a challenge!

Extrapolating the figures in http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/1784/ec4t-consultation-apr-2013.pdf Network Rail's traction current bill is ~£291m annually.

This ties up quite well with http://www.cgi.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Network-Rail-Energy-reduction.pdf, which also suggests that the non-traction annual bill is £50m. Assuming half power at weekends, this is about £150k a day, however the traction system consumes power even when nothing is happening train-wise, so (assuming a 4% "overhead") that's another £37k a day - the answer is therefore about £190k a day with a probable range of +/- £50k between winter and summer.

 

[Bald Rick]

Your second question is almost impossible to answer: if it's a cool summer night then quite low; in the depths of winter with all the points heating on the load is probably double that. However, I can't resist a challenge!

Extrapolating the figures in http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/1784/ec4t-consultation-apr-2013.pdf Network Rail's traction current bill is ~£291m annually.

This ties up quite well with http://www.cgi.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Network-Rail-Energy-reduction.pdf, which also suggests that the non-traction annual bill is £50m. Assuming half power at weekends, this is about £150k a day, however the traction system consumes power even when nothing is happening train-wise, so (assuming a 4% "overhead") that's another £37k a day - the answer is therefore about £190k a day with a probable range of +/- £50k between winter and summer.

Good effort!

 

[BestWestern]

In F1 there's also Horwich Parlway, which is staffed, though wasn't for a long time after being built IIRC; as are Eaglescliffe and Filton Abbey Wood. There are also advanced plans for the likes of Burnley Manchester Road to be staffed in the near future, ditto some of the East London ones when TfL take over presumably.

A good indication anyway, and probably as accurate as is readily available.

That raises an interesting point; you mention Filton Abbey Wood as being staffed. The only staffing presence, aside from frequent revenue blockades, is a small ticket hut on the MOD side of the station which is manned for a couple of hours in the morning. There are no 'station staff' to speak of, nobody mans the platforms or dispatches trains. Does that actually still count as staffed though?!

 

[Greenback]

That raises an interesting point; you mention Filton Abbey Wood as being staffed. The only staffing presence, aside from frequent revenue blockades, is a small ticket hut on the MOD side of the station which is manned for a couple of hours in the morning. There are no 'station staff' to speak of, nobody mans the platforms or dispatches trains. Does that actually still count as staffed though?!

That in itself raises an interesting question as to the definition of 'unstaffed'.

I don't think there's any dispute that my favourite station, Gowerton is unstaffed but in Llanelli the ticket office is staffed for the morning only, Monday to Saturday, and there are no other rail staff there, though the shop sometimes opens until late afternoon in the summer!

So, should unstaffed stations be define dinits most literal sense, as somewhere where there are no rail staff based at all? I think this is probably what most people would mean when using the term, so I would argue that Filton Abbey Wood should be included as a staffed station!

 

[David Sinnett]

Images of the electricity bill dropping on the door mat! How many meters needing reading are there?

 

[Jones]

Your second question is almost impossible to answer: if it's a cool summer night then quite low; in the depths of winter with all the points heating on the load is probably double that. However, I can't resist a challenge!

Extrapolating the figures in http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/1784/ec4t-consultation-apr-2013.pdf Network Rail's traction current bill is ~£291m annually.

This ties up quite well with http://www.cgi.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Network-Rail-Energy-reduction.pdf, which also suggests that the non-traction annual bill is £50m. Assuming half power at weekends, this is about £150k a day, however the traction system consumes power even when nothing is happening train-wise, so (assuming a 4% "overhead") that's another £37k a day - the answer is therefore about £190k a day with a probable range of +/- £50k between winter and summer.

Bravo Sir.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Images of the electricity bill dropping on the door mat! How many meters needing reading are there?

Definitely don't know that one, and neither do NR exactly ...

However there will be at least one meter for every junction, Relay room, station, depot, office, GSM-R mast, REB, AHB crossing and Traction Power substation / feeder...

Many meters (and all new installations) are read remotely though.

 

[WelshBluebird]

That in itself raises an interesting question as to the definition of 'unstaffed'.

I don't think there's any dispute that my favourite station, Gowerton is unstaffed but in Llanelli the ticket office is staffed for the morning only, Monday to Saturday, and there are no other rail staff there, though the shop sometimes opens until late afternoon in the summer!

So, should unstaffed stations be define dinits most literal sense, as somewhere where there are no rail staff based at all? I think this is probably what most people would mean when using the term, so I would argue that Filton Abbey Wood should be included as a staffed station!

Oldfield Park and Keynsham are similar. Unstaffed for most of the time, but one member of staff in a small cabin with an Avantix machine for a couple of hours in the morning Monday-Friday. Personally, I don't think I would count either of these two stations as staffed. Especially as even when the member of staff is there, they do not do anything other than sell tickets or check the timetable for people who ask. No station responsibilities or anything like helping dispatch trains etc.