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Scottish Electrification updates & discussion

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Stopper

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WCML past Newton has 2tph Shotts and 2tph Lanark. Aswell as the sporadic via Carstairs services and the VT/XC/TPE services. Works out around 8tph (sometimes more) passing the non-platformed lines I think.
 
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Class 170101

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Is that not what used to happen with the Class 322s on the North Berwicks as I'm sure they only had door control panels in the cabs?

It would be better if they modded the fleet to have door panels in the vestibules added as Northern did with the Class 319s but as nobody knows how long the fleet will work in Scotland maybe there wasn't a business case to do so?

Class 321s and Class 322s only have door control panels in cabs.

My data shows that electric schedules are planned in the December 2018 to March 2019.
1 ILFEMUD to SHENFLD via Shotts

Definitely lost.
 

Aictos

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Class 321s and Class 322s only have door control panels in cabs.



Definitely lost.

Yup pretty much what I said about the Class 321s because that was the case with the Class 319s which were modified to have guard panels by the saloon doors when they moved to Northern.
 

Stopper

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Can’t see it happening. The Shotts and Lanark services are often followed by fast VT services so I’m not sure they’d be able to call on the main line. Not sure about the via Carstairs services but they’re quite infrequent anyway so it wouldn’t be worth the cost.
 

d9009alycidon

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But they call at Cambuslang and Uddingston, would one extra stop cause havoc, just timetable leave Central slightly earlier to compensate
 

Southsider

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Any news of signoff/test runs via Shotts?
Nothing yet but, according to their Twitter feed, they are working night shifts on cross-platform bridges and lifts. I assume that this needs the OLE power to be off at the times they would normally run the test trains.
 

Southsider

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Just been looking at this Transport Scotland document from 2008. If it's still valid then only Anniesland, East Kilbride and Kilmarnock electrifications remain from the short term goals. Perhaps the various recent, teasing statements from the Transport Minister and Scotrail officials are leading up to a formal announcement.

https://www.transport.gov.scot/publ...ts-review-report-4-summary-report/j10194c-11/

A.48 It is envisaged that electrification would be delivered on a phased basis. In the short term, this would include:

  • Phase 1 - Committed improvements as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow improvements, comprising Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk route, Diversion Routes 1 (Haymarket) and 2 (Falkirk Grahamston), and electrification on the route via Cumbernauld and to Dunblane / Alloa; and
  • Phase 2 - Electrification of the remaining routes in the Central Belt (Shotts, Whifflet, Paisley Canal, Glasgow North Suburban, East Kilbride and Kilmarnock).
 
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mcmad

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Of those, I'd say only Anniesland and East Kilbride are potentials to be completed in CP6. Would think Barrhead - Kilmarnock will need more general improvements to track and signalling first, similar to Perth.

Hearing rumours that electrification to EK doesn't really gain anything performancewise so would be to remove diesel pockets rather than capacity.
 

Class 170101

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Hearing rumours that electrification to EK doesn't really gain anything performancewise so would be to remove diesel pockets rather than capacity.
Maybe also reduces pollution issues? Class 156s can't hang around for ever anyway. Also in the interim electrifying EK would release the 156s to strengthen other services to Kilmarnock / Dumfries or the West Highland Lines.
 

mcmad

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but we got the news this week that TS/Scotrail had gained an extra 4(8?) units for the franchise specifically to strengthen EK and Barrhead services. Unlikely they'd be doing that if they're going electric in the next few years. I'd expect platform extensions and possibly some loop lengthening or part doubling rather than stringing wires. Looking on it on a map, there are a lot of busy road bridges in the section from Pollochsheilds to Pollockshaws that potentially would be tricky to raise for electrification.
 

NotATrainspott

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but we got the news this week that TS/Scotrail had gained an extra 4(8?) units for the franchise specifically to strengthen EK and Barrhead services. Unlikely they'd be doing that if they're going electric in the next few years. I'd expect platform extensions and possibly some loop lengthening or part doubling rather than stringing wires. Looking on it on a map, there are a lot of busy road bridges in the section from Pollochsheilds to Pollockshaws that potentially would be tricky to raise for electrification.

The line desperately needs more capacity today, so it's quite understandable if ScotRail have managed to secure a few more units in the short term. If announced today, it'd take a good few years before EK/Barrhead electrification is complete so any extra DMUs would be plenty useful. The 156s are considered good trains today because the alternative is a Pacer, even when objectively speaking they don't deliver the sort of passenger environment or features required for the modern railway. Therefore, I don't think there will be much reticence to replace them at the end of their natural lives at around the time the EK and Barrhead lines can be wired up.
 

Southsider

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but we got the news this week that TS/Scotrail had gained an extra 4(8?) units for the franchise specifically to strengthen EK and Barrhead services. Unlikely they'd be doing that if they're going electric in the next few years. I'd expect platform extensions and possibly some loop lengthening or part doubling rather than stringing wires. Looking on it on a map, there are a lot of busy road bridges in the section from Pollochsheilds to Pollockshaws that potentially would be tricky to raise for electrification.
The statement said that the extra units were the first phase of improvements on the line. On the contrary there are very few bridges to deal with, the major one at Crossmyloof having been rebuilt not that long ago presumably to the necessary clearance.
 

gingertom

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The statement said that the extra units were the first phase of improvements on the line. On the contrary there are very few bridges to deal with, the major one at Crossmyloof having been rebuilt not that long ago presumably to the necessary clearance.
the bridge at Clarkston will present challenges.
 

mcmad

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I count 5 bridges between the 2 junctions, 2 of which are major road junctions and 1 which is a rail over rail. Don't share your optimism that recent works to Crossmyloof would have resulted in the (new) necessary clearance having seen how low some of the rebuilt SDA bridges are in terms of the distance between the 2 OLE wires.
 

Macwomble

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there are a lot of busy road bridges in the section from Pollochsheilds to Pollockshaws that potentially would be tricky to raise for electrification.

Leaving aside the spelling mistakes.....bridges don't, necessarily, have to go upwards.....the tracks can go down.
 

mcmad

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Leaving aside the spelling mistakes.....bridges don't, necessarily, have to go upwards.....the tracks can go down.
Not (in this case) without rebuilding 2 station platforms at Crossmyloof and lowering the junction(s) at Muirhouse.
 

snookertam

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Where was the announcement about the additional units? Are they cl 156? In which case what about the units they just sent to Northern (!)..

As for the EK electrification work, the road bridge just before Muirhouse also runs across the adjacent Cathcart Circle at Pollokshields West so I'd be surprised if there were any issues there. IIRC the road bridge at Crossmyloof was designed specifically to allow for any future electrification, there is plenty clearance there. As for Clarkston, that probably does present a challenge but as others have said there would have been similar bridges on other routes being electrified. In addition, the road at that point is quite narrow and has a blind bend on it, so I'd imagine that East Renfrewshire Council wouldn't be too upset if NR came along and said they'd like to replace it altogether.

Whether the EK line gets electrified, as others have hinted, will come down to whether this work is made feasible by the likely improvements from running electric services. Electric trains are cleaner and better for public perception, but if there isn't a great performance gain to be had that may be an issue. I'm surprised if that was to be the case though, electrics generally have greater acceleration and so I'd thought would cope with the gradients better - think about the Cowlairs incline for an example - and of course electrics don't get affected by engine shut down so less chance of a defect resulting in termination at Busby.
 

Southsider

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Anymore than any other bridge that has been lifted?
There are arched bridges at either end of Clarkston station which would foul the pantograph of an EMU. The engineering aspects of the replacement are not any more challenging than many that have been done before it's the logistics of rerouting the traffic from the bridge at the north end of the station that will require some thought as it carries a busy, main road with no short diversionary option. The alignment of the bridge is very poor, especially for HGVs, but there may be room to build a new bridge alongside on a better alignment before demolishing the old one.
 

mcmad

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Believe that some have temporarily started doing maintenance work for NR but only till the end of the year probably.

Edit: and still lots of snagging on the SDA, shotts and even original EGIP scheme outstanding.
 
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