Cross-City Electrification from Barnt Green to Bromsgrove

[Bald Rick]

And then we will be left with insufficient power to run electric trains with increase in GWML, Manchester-Blackpool, Bromsgrove, Walsall-Rugeley, Transpennine, MML, Glasgow-Edinburgh. I think that is why TP and MML have been put back as there will be insufficient generation to run them!!

I hope you missed off the smiley there. Although the rail network is the largest single consumer of electricity in the country, it is still only 2% of the total. Deferring the electrification projects has nothing to do with power generation.

 

[Noddy]

I've read somewhere they are also resignalling the route between Five Ways and Ashchurch (Tewksbury). Any idea how this is going and if it will result in capacity and/or speed increases?
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Here it is:

http://barntgreen.org.uk/latest-new...rove-electrification-update-10-february-2015/

 

[40907]

Slightly off-topic, but mentioned in an earlier post above, National Grid say the peak-time margin of supply over demand is likely to be a slim 1.2% this winter, and that for the 2016-17 winter there may well have to be heavy users taken offline to "keep the lights on". ( These heavy users will of course be paid for their sacrifice)
Further coal-fired power stations are due to close next year, and no new generating capacity is likely to start up. There are apparently a few mothballed smaller gas-fired stations that might be brought into use, again if the owners are paid by National Grid so to do.

So, just wait for the station announcement during your winter rush -hour home.... " We apologise to the delay in our services, we are waiting for the electricity supply to be sufficient to actually run your train...."

Anyone else like me think that we are sleep walking into an electricity supply crisis?

40907

 

[The Planner]

I've read somewhere they are also resignalling the route between Five Ways and Ashchurch (Tewksbury). Any idea how this is going and if it will result in capacity and/or speed increases?

No, it is like for like and is an opportunity to start phasing out Gloucester.
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I would be keeping my eyes firmly on the Peter Hendy review though, does anyone think there is a major chance of this work being delayed or cancelled?

Close to zero I would have thought, it has already been delayed once.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Slightly off-topic, but mentioned in an earlier post above, National Grid say the peak-time margin of supply over demand is likely to be a slim 1.2% this winter, and that for the 2016-17 winter there may well have to be heavy users taken offline to "keep the lights on". ( These heavy users will of course be paid for their sacrifice)
Further coal-fired power stations are due to close next year, and no new generating capacity is likely to start up. There are apparently a few mothballed smaller gas-fired stations that might be brought into use, again if the owners are paid by National Grid so to do.

So, just wait for the station announcement during your winter rush -hour home.... " We apologise to the delay in our services, we are waiting for the electricity supply to be sufficient to actually run your train...."

Anyone else like me think that we are sleep walking into an electricity supply crisis?

40907

Network Rail will be exempt from the need to disconnect larger users, and in any case, the way the grid capacity is determined is an almighty fudge with wind being effectively ignored on the basis that extreme cold weather which causes a surge in electricity demand is accompanied by low wind speed conditions which reduce the amount of wind energy available.

There's also the known issue of photovoltaic and home wind not being accurately reported, and only being able to be estimated from forecast demand compared to actual demand, and some sales data being added in.

What will also happen, but which isn't modelled, is that during extreme cold weather events, industrial demand is likely to drop as factories close due to staff being unable to reach work, railway demand drops as some services are cancelled or reduced in speed and so on.

I notice National Grid put out a requirement for 500MW of additional capacity on Wednesday, when wind generation was down to 300MW, but we've had a couple of days this autumn already where wind was in excess 5GW of total production, and it's sitting at 2.4GW right now. There's plenty of capacity and probably more importantly, more than enough carbon credits to go around, thanks to the fairly decent wind production figures this year so far.

As an aside, I would like to see Network Rail build and rebuild more platform canopies with solar panels and wind turbines. Stations in lots of areas have huge amounts of south facing roof space available.

 

[40907]

Thanks, an interesting insight.

I was assuming the "perfect storm" situation ( no pun intended) of night-time, so no PV input, and a cold high pressure winter situation were there is virtually no wind either.
What I clearly don't have knowledge of, --and you possibly do--is the amount of reserve capacity ( my " mothballed" comment) that can be brought into use at fairly short notice.

Without getting political in any way, we do have a privatised electricity generation market, so the power generators will want paying for having spare capacity standing around, surely?

40907

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Thanks, an interesting insight.

I was assuming the "perfect storm" situation ( no pun intended) of night-time, so no PV input, and a cold high pressure winter situation were there is virtually no wind either.
What I clearly don't have knowledge of, --and you possibly do--is the amount of reserve capacity ( my " mothballed" comment) that can be brought into use at fairly short notice.

Without getting political in any way, we do have a privatised electricity generation market, so the power generators will want paying for having spare capacity standing around, surely?

40907

The "perfect storm" situation is what National Grid and DECC use for baseline modelling, but without the predicted reductions in load that will likely result from such weather, so it's really almost worst case scenario.

There's the reserve capacity and disconnection of larger customers for an hour or two at peak demand periods, the costs for doing this are borne by National Grid and then passed onto consumers on their bills as part of the transmission charges, the electricity generated/released being paid for separately, of course.

 

[deltic08]

I hope you missed off the smiley there. Although the rail network is the largest single consumer of electricity in the country, it is still only 2% of the total. Deferring the electrification projects has nothing to do with power generation.

It was tongue in cheek but a possibility with all these coal fired stations closing and new nuclear 15 years away.

 

[40907]

Back on topic, the last time I passed through Bromsgrove the eastern platform construction was well advanced. This platform is adjacent to the current line away from the incline, and am I correct in assuming this will become an island platform eventually?
If so, it looked as though the existing platform will need to be in part demolished to get the track in behind the platform. Looked quite tight.

40907

 

[The Planner]

Yes, it will be two island platforms with the Cross City trains terminating in the middle.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Back on topic, the last time I passed through Bromsgrove the eastern platform construction was well advanced. This platform is adjacent to the current line away from the incline, and am I correct in assuming this will become an island platform eventually?
If so, it looked as though the existing platform will need to be in part demolished to get the track in behind the platform. Looked quite tight.

40907

13/000029/REG3 on Worcestershire County Council's planning portal will bring up the publicly available design drawings.

The layout is a little unusual in that space has been left for future platform extensions.

 

[Class 170101]

No, it is like for like and is an opportunity to start phasing out Gloucester.
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Really? Phasing out Gloucester (Town) will save plenty of supply on the electricity. :P
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As an aside, I would like to see Network Rail build and rebuild more platform canopies with solar panels and wind turbines. Stations in lots of areas have huge amounts of south facing roof space available.

I like the sound of this but can they actually do so?

Some stations are listed
Some stations I believe are leased out to the lead TOC operator for the area and they decide on station improvements not NR even though NR may be contracted to do the work.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Really? Phasing out Gloucester (Town) will save plenty of supply on the electricity. :P
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I like the sound of this but can they actually do so?

Some stations are listed
Some stations I believe are leased out to the lead TOC operator for the area and they decide on station improvements not NR even though NR may be contracted to do the work.

Listed buildings aren't generally a problem for solar panels - with a few exceptions, councils are generally happy for them to be installed as they're unobtrusive and the building's fabric is generally unaltered.

Network Rail would have to take a conscious decision to take on energy efficiency and renewable energy at stations, so it's not just a TOC issue, but it's something they're entitled to do and could do if they so choose.

 

[Class172]

Yes, it will be two island platforms with the Cross City trains terminating in the middle.

That's a rather unconventional layout isn't it? I assumed the up and down main would be platforms 2/3 in the middle based on keeping the line-speed through the station. If I understand it right, then that leaves it as:

Platform 1 - Southbound services
Platform 2 - Cross-city
Platform 3 - Northbound services
Platform 4 - something else??

What happens at the southern end of the station, does platform 1 continue onto the loop that ends at Stoke Works Jct. or will there be another crossover before then?

 

[The Planner]

Through trains on the outside. It is the best layout for terminating trains as it removes most of the conflicts. Loop stays seperate. Line speeds on the fast are unaffected IIRC, will double check the signalling plans.

 

[Class 170101]

I would have thought the outside platforms would be for Through services leaving the middle platforms (2&3) for terminating services uch as to remove the conflicting moves of terminating on the outside of the layout.

 

[The Planner]

Nope, you were right, just double checked, Platform 1 is the Up Loop for freight banking and 30mph, Platform 2 is the Up Gloucester at 90, Platform 3 is the Down Bromsgrove Station Loop at 40, Platform 4 is Down Gloucester at 90. Only 2 and 3 are wired.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Only 2 and 3 are wired.

Wiring will be by means of portal structures, so there's no major issues with wiring just 2 and 3 at present, the capability will exist to wire 1 and 4 without having to modify the station.

It'll help the Bristol to Birmingham scheme which could be slotted into the last couple of years of CP6.

 

[ac6000cw]

You would be surprised how steep the South Staffs is, its no Lickey but it is far from flat.

Agreed - in the 1970s when I used to train watch at Stourbridge Junc, BR kept a banking engine there (usually a 46/46/47) to assist freights towards both Dudley and Rowley Regis (about 1 in 50 climbs on both routes, from memory).

 

[edwin_m]

That's a rather unconventional layout isn't it? I assumed the up and down main would be platforms 2/3 in the middle based on keeping the line-speed through the station.

As The Planner suggests, centre turnbacks are the least conflicting arrangement but quite rarely seen. I think this is because of the amount of space needed for the fast tracks to spread outwards without reducing speeds.

 

[D1009]

To me it's amazing that between 1969 and 1990 Bromsgrove had only one platform with a very sparse service compared with what is now proposed.

 

[Class172]

I passed through the station again yesterday and significant progress appears to have been made. Cosmetically, the platforms are pretty much finished, with seats, signage and lighting installed, whilst the entrance looks like there's still some work to do. New signals have started to appear on the northern approach to the station (covered with hoods for now).

Interestingly, in a curious quirk, the platform signage is not of the London Midland branded design, and has navy text on a white background. I thought perhaps it was following the style of the 'city' stations however neither does it bare the centro/NWM logo found on other stations, nor is the text in VAG rounded (which I think is the one used). It looks like something from Regional Railways more than anything.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Any photos? Is it similar to the totally neutral BR style used at Warrington BQ?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Class172]

Didn't have chance to take any photos, though they don't look dissimilar to those you mention at Warrington.

 

[D6975]

Agreed - in the 1970s when I used to train watch at Stourbridge Junc, BR kept a banking engine there (usually a 46/46/47) to assist freights towards both Dudley and Rowley Regis (about 1 in 50 climbs on both routes, from memory).

Whenever 1S19 was diverted that way, it used to have a pilot from Worcester.

 

[59CosG95]

I noticed the changes as well en route to Bristol for the SPM Open Day-it certainly seems to have made leaps and bounds in progress. No news on the exact date however-though it did mention 'Spring 2016', so they'd better hurry up before the Summer Solstice...

 

[WesternS]

I passed through the station again yesterday and significant progress appears to have been made. Cosmetically, the platforms are pretty much finished, with seats, signage and lighting installed, whilst the entrance looks like there's still some work to do. New signals have started to appear on the northern approach to the station (covered with hoods for now).

Also happened to use (the current) Bromsgrove station yesterday. Two points I picked up; the first from observation was a number of hooded signals lying alongside the track from Five Ways south in the New St direction (e.g. between Edgbaston tunnel and University station). The second was from a conversation with a Network Rail-orange jacketed man on the 16.43 to New St (thank you) that "the station was effectively finished and due to open in about 2 weeks with systems/processes testing going on at present". There is clearly still a fair bit of work for Buckingham's to do in the car park/station approach but that doesn't look much more than final asphalt/wearing course, kerbs, lighting, markings etc etc. Although the new station site is further south, it does seem to have the ability to provide a lot more space for car pick-up/drop-off than the old one, albeit one wonders how long that will last with 3x hour service (?as I assume the Longbridge terminators will all be extended?) from New St as opposed to the current 1x hour.

Finally, didn't see any signs of electrification although there has been a large area of ground recently stripped of grass and fenced on the east side of the Incline close to the B4096 Hewell Lane - is this a site compound/offices perhaps ? And two of the over-bridges between Barnt Green station and the top of Lickey have been raised/replaced over the last month or so (which is a bit of a pity since they were lovely stone arches, but at least the new ones are not the usual green iron trenches).

 

[swt_passenger]

...as I assume the Longbridge terminators will all be extended?

That is the primary purpose of the whole project, so it would be incredible if it were not to happen:

CP5 output driver
This project is providing infrastructure to support an increase in capacity by extending a service of three trains per hour which currently terminate and turn round at Longbridge to Bromsgrove. The additional services offer a significantly enhanced frequency for passengers in Bromsgrove and improvements in connectivity between Bromsgrove and the intermediate locations...

 

[WesternS]

That is the primary purpose of the whole project, so it would be incredible if it were not to happen:

Thanks for adding the CP5 output statement - just stating that 'the assumption is correct' would have done as well though....

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Just confirming all that WesternS reported above, the only signs of active electrification work I could see today were marker pegs at future mast sites.
They are of the same style as those between Walsall and Rugeley, so maybe being done by the same contractor.
Hendy says completion is April 2017, so there's going to be a big transformation in the next 11 months.
New signals (bagged up or lying flat) are in evidence so presumably Barnt Green-Bromsgrove will need to be transferred from Gloucester PSB to WMSCC before the wires go live.
Bromsgrove old station is down at heel and looks ready to be abandoned...
Very healthy usage though, on the hourly Hereford train.

If anybody is interested, there are 50 single cantilever masts (on each side) between Kings Norton and Longbridge, on the Slow lines.
These will need replacing whenever the Fast lines are wired.
The rest of the route to Barnt Green is headspan wiring over all tracks, although only 2 are currently wired.

PS The picture is of the new station, taken from the footbridge of the old one.