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ECML Power Supply Upgrade

Nicholas Lewis

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Also worth remembering that Newcastle - Edinburgh was not part of the ECML electrification when it was first presented to the DfT for Authority. That was added on later, as an ‘even cheaper than chips’ extra.
Argh didn't know that it was already full scheme by the time i secured a position as a junior engineer on the project. At the end of the day there was limited grid points in Northumberland and Borders area so had to use what was on offer. CEGB were also quite worried at that time about the impact of Negative Phase Sequence currents arising from our unbalanced load and harmonic content especially in this area as there was limited generation to support the grid. This was why demand had to be constrained at some sites which was really only an issue under outage conditions. Unlike WCML the east coast EHV circuits ran a lot further inland so it wasn't practical to tap into that like WCML had done at Elvanfoot substation a decade earlier.
 
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Does taking all of the three phases (as opposed to just one or two) mean that distances between feeder stations can be increased due to higher power?
 

Nicholas Lewis

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Does taking all of the three phases (as opposed to just one or two) mean that distances between feeder stations can be increased due to higher power?
No. The spacing of feeder stations is a factor of how frequently you want to run electric trains and the demand from each train and you also need to factor in perturbation situations. ie a half hourly service each way may only ever see 2 trains taking a load over a 40km long feeder section but if you get delays and the signalling system allows close headways you could find yourself with double the load. The ability to present a balanced three phase load to the electricity distribution system opens up where you can source a supply of electricity as you can connect at lower voltages down to 33Kv although I suspect this may result in more feeder stations rather than less as at this voltage level they may run up against supply constraints within the distribution network. Also a 2-3MW load may cause flicker issues with other consumers at this voltage level.
 

59CosG95

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I was caught up in Sunday night's disruption, and stopped right by the new disconnector at the site of Newark FS. All the cabling from Newark to North Muskham (in the troughs) is in place at the Newark end, and the 2 sealing ends are up on the "25kV" side of the disconnector. The DNO (Western Power Distribution IIRC) have yet to re-route the 132kV connection from Staythorpe to this new disconnector - it looks like that's the last thing required here. Not sure of progress at North Muskham however.
 
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59CosG95

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Update for August: Modern Railways has reported that one of the factors behind the delay to the ECML May 2022 TT change is power supply issues at Grantham North FS & Retford FS, with WPD. The excerpt is below.C0D785AA-1893-4192-B6A4-FE0F6D14EBB5.pngA56E4CED-E687-4013-A91B-5E5678CCE2E7.png
 

HSTEd

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And another scheme falls over because they tried to save money by not just installing the SFC to start with, no doubt they will end up spending far more than if they had simply bitten the bullet and started installing SFCs as standard equipment.

Oh well.

No. The spacing of feeder stations is a factor of how frequently you want to run electric trains and the demand from each train and you also need to factor in perturbation situations. ie a half hourly service each way may only ever see 2 trains taking a load over a 40km long feeder section but if you get delays and the signalling system allows close headways you could find yourself with double the load. The ability to present a balanced three phase load to the electricity distribution system opens up where you can source a supply of electricity as you can connect at lower voltages down to 33Kv although I suspect this may result in more feeder stations rather than less as at this voltage level they may run up against supply constraints within the distribution network. Also a 2-3MW load may cause flicker issues with other consumers at this voltage level.

Feeding through SFCs potentially allows for paralleling all substations and using electronic control (or quadrature boosters) to spread load between adjacent substations in any way that is desired.

It dramatically improves the performance of 25kV in the long run - especially as with autotransformer feeding substations can share power over very very long distances.
 

59CosG95

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And another scheme falls over because they tried to save money by not just installing the SFC to start with, no doubt they will end up spending far more than if they had simply bitten the bullet and started installing SFCs as standard equipment.

Oh well.



Feeding through SFCs potentially allows for paralleling all substations and using electronic control (or quadrature boosters) to spread load between adjacent substations in any way that is desired.

It dramatically improves the performance of 25kV in the long run - especially as with autotransformer feeding substations can share power over very very long distances.
Of course, most AT-fed railways in the UK typically need a much larger supply transformer at feeder stations. Typical sizes of transformers are 80-104MVA for a 400kV/50kV ATF supply, and 25-26.5MVA for a 132kV/25kV classic supply. Both Grantham North & Retford are lower than this, at 18MVA. Coreys Mill (Wymondley) & Essendine are both 80MVA; Elstree, Long Meadow Farm/Chalton & Braybrooke on the MML are all rated/due to be rated at 80MVA. The WCML 400kV sites north of Crewe are also 80MVA.

When ECPSU1 was in the design phase, SFCs hadn't even been considered as an option - ATF was very much in vogue but was later value engineered out, except between Welwyn & Hitchin.
 
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Class 170101

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Of course, most AT-fed railways in the UK typically need a much larger supply transformer at feeder stations. Typical sizes of transformers are 80-104MVA for a 400kV/50kV ATF supply, and 25-26.5MVA for a 132kV/25kV classic supply. Both Grantham North & Retford are lower than this, at 18MVA. Coreys Mill (Wymondley) & Essendine are both 80MVA; Elstree, Long Meadow Farm/Chalton & Braybrooke on the MML are all rated/due to be rated at 80MVA. The WCML 400kV sites north of Crewe are also 80MVA.

When ECPSU1 was in the design phase, SFCs hadn't even been considered as an option - ATF was very much in vogue but was later value engineered out, except between Welwyn & Hitchin.

Is the 18MVA compared to 80 - 100MVA for Retford and Grantham because the ECML was wired on the cheap in the late 1980s?
 

Bald Rick

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Is the 18MVA compared to 80 - 100MVA for Retford and Grantham because the ECML was wired on the cheap in the late 1980s?

No, it’s because no one ever expected more than 4/5 electric trains an hour each way in the 80s.
 

Nicholas Lewis

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Is the 18MVA compared to 80 - 100MVA for Retford and Grantham because the ECML was wired on the cheap in the late 1980s?
ECML wasn't wired on the cheap in the 1980's it was engineered to deliver 350 electrified route miles of track, 31 new trains and resignalling at York and Newcastle for the £400m the government was prepared to invest or in todays money about £1.1B pretty good value I would suggest and was delivered on time and on budget. Lets not forget it laid the foundation for a railway that's become so successful it now needs further upgrading that is a positive not a negative.

Given the amount of additional Feeder Stations that have been added can't see what the issue is between Retford and Grantham given the closeness of the infeeds and im surmising this is only an issue on an n-1 outage issue which is pretty low risk and could be managed with reduced power working for the odd occasion it happens. Yes its not ideal but in the grander scheme of risks to daily operation its well down the list so we need to take a more balanced approach to keep the railway moving forward and attracting customers.
 

Senex

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ECML wasn't wired on the cheap in the 1980's it was engineered to deliver 350 electrified route miles of track, 31 new trains and resignalling at York and Newcastle for the £400m the government was prepared to invest or in todays money about £1.1B pretty good value I would suggest and was delivered on time and on budget. Lets not forget it laid the foundation for a railway that's become so successful it now needs further upgrading that is a positive not a negative.
For which huge credit to Don Heath and his colleagues.
 

snowball

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Can SFCs at consecutive feeder stations be synchronised so that their outputs are in phase with each other?

Can this be used to reduce the need for neutral sections?
 

hwl

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Can SFCs at consecutive feeder stations be synchronised so that their outputs are in phase with each other?

Can this be used to reduce the need for neutral sections?
Theoretically but not sure it is worth the extra effort...
 

swt_passenger

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Can SFCs at consecutive feeder stations be synchronised so that their outputs are in phase with each other?

Can this be used to reduce the need for neutral sections?
Discussed at length earlier in this thread, but in theory yes. You’d still need facilities to isolate sections for maintenance of fault finding though.
 

59CosG95

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Discussed at length earlier in this thread, but in theory yes. You’d still need facilities to isolate sections for maintenance of fault finding though.
Load Break switches at insulated overlaps could have potential(*) to work.



(*)I'll get my coat.

Back to progress with PSU1 - paid a visit to North Muskham FS. The sealing ends on the tee-feed mast from the compound at Newark are in, but construction earths are still up.
20210828_155710.jpg

The cables from the new Siemens ASG building, on the lower half of OLE mast E/198/21 (the neutral section cantilever), are all up and earthed; the old connections from the existing 1980s TSC are all still in situ. New signage, stating the sectioning location's updated function, are also in situ now.20210828_155652.jpg

The switches on the new masts either side of the NS (E/198/19A to the south; E/198/21A to the north) are also earthed - their switches are still incomplete. Both masts look to have a pinned connection for a boom to go on the top.
20210828_155754.jpg20210828_155814.jpg
Finally, two spare(?) pile foundations await installation/removal from site.
20210828_160114.jpg
Worth also pointing out that two VolkerRail MEWPs are within the site compound, so work could be imminent.
 

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td97

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Network rail provided a press release last week. Confirms £120m investment will see 6 new feeder stations constructed across Scotland by 2026, including in the Borders region for the ECML.
 

swt_passenger

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While the thread is open I can add some detail about the grid power supply upgrade to the upgraded Marshall Meadows SFC station, I had mentioned it in a more general thread about transmission lines back in May.

The planning application is online for the 132 kV grid supply to the ECML power upgrade at Marshall Meadows, (which is using a pair of SFCs). The Northumberland council planning reference and description is:

“21/03293/ELEGDO” “Refurbishment of overhead line including installation of additional wood pole supports and new conductors (wires) along length of existing line routes to provide increased electricity supply to Network Rail to facilitate new fleet of electric trains on East Coast Mainline. | Land Running From Berwick Substation To Marshall Meadows Berwick-Upon-Tweed Northumberland”.

The existing pair of single phase 132 kV supplies from the Berwick substation is being upgraded to a pair of 3 phase supplies along the same route, with the existing two single wooden pole runs upgraded to pairs of “H-poles”. (I think they’re the twin poles with a crossbar?). According to the planning application this sort of online upgrade has an exemption as long as they stay fairly close (within 60m) to the existing route.

I haven’t provided a direct link because they seem to time out after a while.
 
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snowball

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Network rail provided a press release last week. Confirms £120m investment will see 6 new feeder stations constructed across Scotland by 2026, including in the Borders region for the ECML.
I linked and quoted this press release on Friday in the Decarbonising Scotland's Railways thread,


and mentioned possible or probable locations for 5 of the 6 new feeder stations. I forgot to add that, as it mentions the ECML, the sixth is likely to be there.

I now need to re-read this present thread to remind myself of the existing feeding arrangements between the border and Edinburgh.
 

swt_passenger

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The original ECML Phase 2 list did include undefined work at Innerwick FS - so there could be a case of double announcement…
 

Nicholas Lewis

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The existing pair of single phase 132 kV supplies from the Berwick substation is being upgraded to a pair of 3 phase supplies along the same route, with the existing two single wooden pole runs upgraded to pairs of “H-poles”. (I think they’re the twin poles with a crossbar?). According to the planning application this sort of online upgrade has an exemption as long as they stay fairly close (within 60m) to the existing route.

I haven’t provided a direct link because they seem to time out after a while.
Probably the Trident pole design that Scottish Hydro Electric have been using to connect wind farms as they are far less visually intrusive than old style steel lattice pylons
 

swt_passenger

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Probably the Trident pole design that Scottish Hydro Electric have been using to connect wind farms as they are far less visually intrusive than old style steel lattice pylons
In the earlier thread the suggestion was that they’d add additional wooden poles alongside the existing. That’s how the planning application reads. Old style lattice pylons would have been over the top though. I included a grab from street view showing the existing poles where they cross the A1 in post #68, the 132 kV line isn‘t really that visually intrusive.

The earlier discussion I mentioned is here:
 
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59CosG95

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Adding this here too as, while it's not directly related to TRU, it will be sectioning the OLE when it does go live.

Reposted from the TRU Electrification thread; Colton Jn is the first new TSC landed.
 

swt_passenger

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Reposted from the TRU Electrification thread; Colton Jn is the first new TSC landed.
Scrolling down that LinkedIn page there’s other ECML news. New ASG 25 modules also reported being installed at Ulgham Crossing, Benton, and Durham, and there’s major progress on the Hambleton SFC site. Are the pair of large buildings at Hambleton likely to contain the actual SFCs?
 

59CosG95

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Are the pair of large buildings at Hambleton likely to contain the actual SFCs?
Very possibly, although it could equally be the walled-off area to the left of shot here (where the orangefolk on the scissorlift are). image_d91c4cf6-912f-45e3-8587-a1d9005988b420220817_212336.jpg

Further down the LinkedIn page, work to install piles around Doncaster (for switch feed supporting portals) is ongoing.

As for the other TSCs (green buildings), ones still to be delivered are:
  • Doncaster North (MP) - will be a grey building
  • Balne
  • Tollerton - colour TBC
  • Dalton - colour TBC
  • Northallerton - colour TBC
  • Darlington - colour TBC
  • Aycliffe (MP) - colour TBC
  • Tursdale Junction - colour TBC
  • Chester-le-Street (MP) - colour TBC
  • King Edward Bridge Junction
  • Stannington (MP) - colour TBC
  • Chathill - will be a grey building
  • Fenham - will be a grey building
(There will also be an MPTSC at Shilbottle but this is apparently due to be a brick building instead)
 
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Elecman

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Very possibly, although it could equally be the walled-off area to the left of shot here (where the orangefolk on the scissorlift are). View attachment 119370

Further down the LinkedIn page, work to install piles around Doncaster (for switch feed supporting portals) is ongoing.

As for the other TSCs (green buildings), ones still to be delivered are:
  • Doncaster North (MP)
  • Balne
  • Tollerton
  • Dalton (MP)
  • Northallerton
  • Darlington
  • Aycliffe (MP)
  • Tursdale Junction
  • Chester-le-Street (MP)
  • King Edward Bridge Junction
  • Stannington (MP)
  • Chathill (MP)
  • Fenham
(There will also be a TSC at Shilbottle but this is apparently due to be a brick building instead)
Would that be for casting the walls for the AT Transformers?
 

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