Modern Railways 2023-01.pdf

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ROLLING STOCK SPECIAL
A
TR ES!
EX G
PA
NEWS, VIEWS & ANALYSIS ON TODAY'S RAILWAY
www.modernrailways.com
GRAND UNION
GO AHEAD
Great Western open access plan
GWR plots competing
Carmarthen service
LIVERPOOL STREET
REDEVELOPMENT
£1.5bn private sector plan
Crossrail cab ride
Up front
on the
Elizabeth
Line
Vivarail
goes bust
Blow
for battery
train
plans
TFW
‘197’ IN
SERVICE
Conwy Valley
debut for
CAF DMUs
JANUARY 2023
£5.99
Philip Sherratt
philip.sherratt@keypublishing.com
Welcome
An introduction to this issue of
Modern Railways
A
Midland reflections
s a difficult 2022 drew to
a close, I was reflecting on
the many challenges we
have seen and my travels around
the country over the year that has
passed. It tends to be customary on
this page to write about unusual
journeys to some of the more far
flung parts of the network, but this
can mean the everyday is neglected.
For the record, I don’t travel from
my home in the East Midlands to
London on a daily basis, but usually
do so several times a month. The
Midland main line is a route in the
throes of change – virtually every
time I travel there is evidence of new
infrastructure north of Kettering
as electrification inches towards
Wigston (and, eventually, we hope,
Nottingham and Sheffield).
The issues with poor performance
and cancellations at a number
of operators have been widely
reported in our pages and the
mainstream media, particularly
during the second half of the year.
But this means those parts of the
network where things are running
better do not hit the headlines.
East Midlands Railway’s Midland
main line service is one such
example. If I am travelling to
London, my first thought when I
wake up is not to check the list of
cancellations – for usually there isn’t
one. And my trust in the railway
remains such that I am happy to plan
travel to meetings without a huge
buffer in case of any delays. I have
experienced delays, as you would
expect, including one unfortunate
journey in which the train I was on
hit a person. But such incidents
are very much the exception.
Of course, this is the way it should
be. But the mere fact that on some
parts of the network it has not been
reminds us of the hard work so many
people put in to deliver the day in,
day out service that thousands of
people rely on, and that this doesn’t
happen by chance. And despite the
industrial relations issues affecting
the railway, the staff at EMR almost
without exception remain pleasant
and helpful – again, as it should be.
From my local station at Beeston,
my Meridian to London (or more
occasionally a ‘180’) first passes
the popular photographic spot at
Attenborough before traversing
Trent Junction. On the left is
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station,
which has seen a revival amid the
current energy crisis. I often spy
one of the new Toyota car-carrying
services running to and from
Toton, newly launched in 2022.
No longer do we have to slow
down to 15mph at Leicester,
after Network Rail has raised the
linespeed through the station to
40mph. I continue to wonder how
the job of electrifying here will be
tackled, given the low height of
the overbridge. The straightened
layout at Market Harborough is
another relatively recent change
– but the old curved layout here
now seems a distant memory.
At Kettering we pass the sidings
used by the Class 360s on EMR’s
Connect service from Corby. The fact
these units have not yet received
an internal refurbishment has been
a source of great frustration all
round – but getting the sign-off on
a scheme which the Department
for Transport views as affordable
has clearly been challenging.
From here, most Nottingham
services are non-stop to London,
a change introduced in May
2021. For me this is welcome,
but for those further south at
the likes of Wellingborough and
Bedford it is less so – proof that
timetabling is an art in which you
are unable to please everyone.
Up Nottingham services usually
follow a ‘360’ into St Pancras, and
if the ‘360’ is late it is customary to
catch it up in the Luton area as it
stops on the Up Fast. The flighting
of services in the Down direction
creates similar challenges – my
usual Nottingham departure from
St Pancras at five past the hour
follows the xx.02 to Sheffield, but by
Wellingborough both are often on
the coat tails of the Corby service
which left St Pancras 15 minutes
earlier. We must hope that the full
upgrade of the overhead wires south
of Bedford will proceed, enabling
the ‘360s’ to use their 110mph
capability, and of course permitting
EMR’s new bi-mode trains which
will be introduced later this year to
run at 125mph in electric mode.
The architecture of St Pancras
never disappoints, although East
Midlands travellers continue to
lament the draughty concourse
whose inadequacies become clear
at times of disruption. But my
travels are usually spent profitably
catching up on work – often the
arrival in London comes too soon as
I am right in the middle of a task!
As I reflect on these and my
many other travels this year, it is
time to offer season’s greetings to
all our readers. And, at the same
time, to thank all those railway
staff at EMR and elsewhere who
have provided me with safe and
speedy travels in the year that
has passed. A word too to the
beleaguered train planning teams,
battling Covid changes and latterly
strikes and constantly rewriting
schedules. They have been tested
more than ever over the past few
years, and they certainly deserve
a break over the festive season.
Let us hope 2023 will be a better
year for the railways all round – with
better performance, a resolution
to the disputes that have dogged
the second half of 2022 and greater
certainty about the future.
Philip Sherratt
Editor
Midland main line electric: an East Midlands Railway Class
360 heads south towards St Pancras from Corby at Isham, just
south of Kettering, on 22 September 2022.
Blake Cracknell
www.modernrailways.com
January 2023
Modern Railways
3
Contents
REGULARS
NEWS
3
6
30
42
48
50
102
104
106
108
112
Welcome
An introduction from the Editor
Railtalk
Our editorial view
Informed Sources
Roger Ford assesses the latest High Level Output
Statement and Statement of Funds Available – and
compares them with previous iterations
Pan Up
Ian Walmsley takes a trip to Cardiff to see the new Taff’s Well depot,
and explains the project to improve Southern’s Electrostar fleet
Forum
Readers’ views and opinions
Blood and Custard
Our diary column
Trackwatch
The latest changes to the rail network
Community Connections
Vicki Pipe visits a CRP just outside London and is
blown away by the beauty of the scenery
People
The latest arrivals and departures from across the railway
In Business
Contracts and developments in the rail supply chain
Alan Williams
Alan Williams casts a sceptical eye over the latest GBR
developments and warns that private companies’
duty is to their owners first – not the public
8
24
28
94
98
111
News Front
Grand Union wins open access Carmarthen bid; DOO
rollout plan complicates strike negotiations; Vivarail
enters administration; TfW Class 197s in service
Rail Freight
More aggregate trains for HS2; coupler uprating allows longer
trains; new infrastructure for Sizewell C construction
Infrastructure News
TfW installs OLE through Radyr; first wires up on Transpennine
Route Upgrade; Old Oak conveyor starts work
Europe View
Keith Fender reveals the latest news from across the Continent
Moving Wheels
Rolling stock news
Crossrail update
Crossrail nears full completion – but there is still work to do in 2023
TRACTION
&
ROLLING
STOCK
SPECIAL
52
The Golden Spanners 2022
Roger Ford looks at how
the rolling stock sector
has performed in 2022
as the railway recovers
from the pandemic
TRACTION
&
ROLLING
STOCK
SPECIAL
A
SPECIAL REPORT
64
68
71
72
76
4
Rolling stock community
celebrates success
The winners of the
2022 Golden Spanners
are revealed
Aurora upgrade: Govia Thameslink Railway’s No 377108 at Selhurst depot
on 30 November 2022
awaiting installation of forward facing CCTV and associated lights. The work
is part of Porterbrook’s
‘Project Aurora’ to upgrade the fleet, described by Ian Walmsley on pages
46-47.
KEN BRUNT
Golden Spanners
conference
Reports from our topical session on rolling stock matters
More BEMUs for Dublin
Tony Miles provides an update on rolling
stock developments in Ireland
Wagons roll through challenging times
GB Railfreight and Porterbrook’s new wagons from
Greenbrier Europe have been delivered despite
the challenges brought on by the Ukraine war
Aventra’s platform for success
An update on the rollout of Alstom’s new
rolling stock design for the UK
GOLDEN SPANNERS
RELIABILITY REVIEW
NEW WAGONS
FROM GREENBRIER
ALSTOM AVENTRA
PROGRESS REPORT
IRISH FLEET
UPDATE
Modern Railways
January 2023
www.modernrailways.com
Contents
FEATURES
78
81
82
86
90
100
Rail finances under pressure
Paul Cooper sets out the challenges facing a railway with rising
costs but revenue still short of pre-Covid levels
Is rail investment being stifled?
The Railway Consultancy Ltd Managing Director Nigel G. Harris calls for
greater ambition in funding enhancement of the network
Crossrail from the cab
Philip Sherratt takes a ride up front in a Class 345 on the Elizabeth Line and
explains how the trains work with three different signalling systems
Upgrading Liverpool Street
Controversial plans have been unveiled for a new over-site development
at one of London’s historic main line termini, reports James Abbott
Victoria resignalling progress
A key investment project in South London is gaining ground, as James Abbott discovers
Restoration rewarded
Some of the winning public sector entries at the 2022 National Railway Heritage Awards
Streaking ahead: LNER Azuma No 801226 passes under the new A14 heading north
towards Peterborough on the East Coast main line on 26 January 2022.
Blake Cracknell
ON THE
COVER
ROLLING STOCK SPECIAL
A
TR ES!
EX AG
P
NEWS, VIEWS & ANALYSIS ON TODAY'S RAILWAY
www.modernrailways.com
GRAND UNION
GO AHEAD
Great Western open access plan
GWR plots competing
Carmarthen service
LIVERPOOL
STREET
REDEVELOPMENT
£1.5bn private sector plan
Crossrail
cab ride
Up
front
on the
Elizabeth
Line
Vivarail
goes bust
Blow for battery train plans
TFW ‘197’ IN
SERVICE
Conwy Valley
debut
for
CAF DMUs
JANUARY 2023
£5.99
GWR’s No 800319 passes Coychurch
with the 09.22 Swansea to Paddington
on 2 April 2021.
Jamie Squibbs
Mini pics: Philip Sherratt
51
Rolling stock special
8
Grand Union go-ahead
86
Liverpool Street
redevelopment
82
Crossrail cab ride
17
Vivarail goes bust
12
TfW ‘197’ in service
A SUBSCRIPTION
TO
MODERN
RAILWAYS
OFFERS GREAT
SAVINGS ON THE
COVER PRICE.
SEE PAGES 40 AND
41 FOR DETAILS
www.modernrailways.com
January 2023
Modern Railways
5

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