Scotrail future plans for network enhancements

[och aye]

This video has some information about ScotRail's future plans for the network in Scotland

 

[Southsider]

This video has some information about ScotRail's fleet replacement at around 15 mins in with Syeda Ghufan, ScotRail’s Engineering Director explaining their plans. There's also a lot of information and slides about the future plans for the network in Scotland as well.

Interesting to see how much electrification work has already been contracted - Barrhead, East Kilbride, Maryhill, Borders, Fife, Kilmarnock and Perth If I read it correctly.

 

[ld0595]

Interesting to see how much electrification work has already been contracted - Barrhead, East Kilbride, Maryhill, Borders, Fife, Kilmarnock and Perth If I read it correctly.

Correct, there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes that isn't in the public domain.

 

[The exile]

Correct, there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes that isn't in the public domain.

Does “Fife” include Dundee - or is the Tay Bridge in the “ too difficult “ category?

 

[gingertom]

Correct, there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes that isn't in the public domain.

I'd have thought good news stories like these would get shouted from the rooftops, not kept quiet.

 

[waverley47]

Does “Fife” include Dundee - or is the Tay Bridge in the “ too difficult “ category?

Officially, not difficult at all. Earthed supports and conductor rail through the high girders.

Practically, you might have to fiddle around to satisfy the folks vying for world heritage status, but we shall see. I suspect however, that the longer the high girders remain as is, with quite a restrictive weight limit, the longer it will take to wire them up.

 

[mcmad]

Interesting to see how much electrification work has already been contracted - Barrhead, East Kilbride, Maryhill, Borders, Fife, Kilmarnock and Perth If I read it correctly.

Depends what you mean by contracted. TS have basically said that the plan is non negotiable and everything in red will need to have at least discontinuous electrification on it hence the lack of announcements as as far as they are concerns it's all announced already. Barrhead/EK is the only 'on the ground' OLE project currently. Fife is limited to Leven to somepoint prior to Thornton initially but with the 'easier' extensions both from the current end of wires at Haymarket Central toward the Bridge and from Thornton along both legs being looked at. Maryhill I believe is currently paused and Kilmarnock and Perth are both at early studies.

 

[clc]

If I’m understanding this screenshot from the video correctly the pink sections will be wired by 2030 is that correct?

 

[snowball]

I think plans are changing rapidly and some information is therefore inconsistent. That map appears to show that all electrification of passenger lines (where due to happen at all) will be complete by 2035, whereas the other map shows Inverurie-Inverness and Inverness-Tain being completed after 2035, and being run by battery or hydrogen in 2035.

Projecting more than a very few years into the future is a very dodgy business.

It's a pity the chart on the right is illegible, but no doubt a version will appear in the magazines within a few months.

 

[Southsider]

It's a pity the chart on the right is illegible, but no doubt a version will appear in the magazines within a few months.

You can pause the video and read it.

 

[Backroom_boy]

If I’m understanding this screenshot from the video correctly the pink sections will be wired by 2030 is that correct?
View attachment 99170

I'd say it was the other way around, the pink is the non-wired sections which would require the B of the BEMU and the blue bits are to be wired. (Why would you wire the last few miles to Tweedbank?) But the dates are a bit confusing; I'd treat it as an aspiration rather than gospel

 

[clc]

I'd say it was the other way around, the pink is the non-wired sections which would require the B of the BEMU and the blue bits are to be wired. (Why would you wire the last few miles to Tweedbank?) But the dates are a bit confusing; I'd treat it as an aspiration rather than gospel

I assumed the BEMUs would charge under the wires in the Tweedbank section so that the batteries had enough juice to make it back to Edinburgh?

 

[alf]

I hope who ever OK’d the blue & pink electrification plan is not in charge of the electrification itself.

As post 11 says why just wire the last few miles to Tweedmouth & not the rest.
Why is the Leven branch not to be electrified?
Why are the Tay & Forth Bridges to be electrified but not the track on terra firma on either sides.

And finally the only part of the highland main line to be wired up - the tunnel between Pitlochry & Blair Atholl.
Weird!

 

[Darandio]

That map makes zero sense.

 

[clc]

I think pink denotes the sections which will have to be electrified (ie. wired) to operate a BEMU service, and blue is the final phase of electrification to enable an EMU service to operate.

 

[snowball]

I think I've seen an article suggesting that wiring of the Borders line might proceed south to north because there is a site for a feeder station near the south end.

You can pause the video and read it.

I did pause the video but still couldn't read it on my screen.

 

[clc]

If BEMUs will be operating to Maybole (or Girvan) by 2030 I’d hope to see a new station built in South Ayr within the same timescale.

 

[waverley47]

I think pink denotes the sections which will have to be electrified (ie. wired) to operate a BEMU service, and blue is the final phase of electrification to enable an EMU service to operate.

This is correct

Work will start/has started on the easiest sections where entire diagrams can be converted to EMUs.

The plan is to decarbonise the railway as soon as possible. That involves stringing up wires near feeding stations and along the easiest stretches, so that units can be replaced with BEMUs. Once that is done, and you've got rid of diesel, you can go methodically through the rest and string up wires along whole routes.

The biggest reduction in carbon is to remove diesel and replace with an electric unit. The easiest way to do that is short stretches of wires supplemented with batteries.

However, battery units cost more to run and are inherently more risky, as there's always a possibility of running out of charge. So once you've changed over to batteries, it makes sense to continue stringing up knitting to remove that potential for risk, and continue reducing costs.

Contracts let so far include the Levenmouth wiring, as far (give or take) as Kirkcaldy and Cardenden, East Kilbride and Barrhead, and from Haymarket to Dalmeny.

Following that, Montcreiff tunnel track lowering and Perth remodelling (tba but expect that to be announced early 2022) is needed before you start on anything north of Dunblane. Borders line is slowly getting worked out, and works are underway trying to find a suitable feeder location around Aberdeen.

 

[Meerkat]

I was once told here that islands of electrification based on single feeds were a bad idea as there was no redundancy??

 

[waverley47]

I was once told here that islands of electrification based on single feeds were a bad idea as there was no redundancy??

That is true, but I'm the grand scheme of things, climate change is worse.

These units should have enough battery capacity to limp around at low speeds, and it's not like a feeder station has that much downtime, they're quite reliable pieces of kit (one particular example in the south east which shall remain nameless excepted). Furthermore, diesel locos should be kicking around for a while yet.

A bigger problem tends to be the opposite; you don't want to fork out several million pounds on a feeder station which might end up redundant five years later when you decide to wire the intermediate journey. People advocating for wiring of the Devon banks for example tend to forget that at some point, if wires ever get that far, you may end up not needing so many stations and axing some. In Scotland, that won't be a problem as they've already committed to wiring the lot; makes it easier to plan where all the feeder stations are needed before committing to something that ultimately becomes redundant.

 

[snowball]

The Scots are really serious about this, aren't they? Let's hope HMG learn from them.

 

[waverley47]

The Scots are really serious about this, aren't they? Let's hope HMG learn from them.

Yep. There was a conversation in the East Kilbride thread which I'd recommend looking at, outlining the reasons why politicians aren't really shouting from the rooftops about this. ScotGov has decided that it's all going to happen, so in their minds all of rolling stock and infrastructure plans are all committed.

It's a bit more of a hands off view on things; approve construction and set aside the cash, and just let the people who know what they're doing get on with it. It contrasts markedly with the DfT way of doing things, which appears to have its origins in West Wing more than anything else.

 

[Meerkat]

Or maybe the politicians have so little confidence in NR they don’t want to be associated until it’s nearly finished!

 

[DynamicSpirit]

So if I've understood that map, and the comments in this thread correctly, the plan is that by 2035 everything will be wired except the yellow bits (Stranraer, Oban/Fort William, Kyle of Lochalsh and Wick/Thurso) - and there will be no diesel trains running anywhere? Is that right?

 

[waverley47]

Or maybe the politicians have so little confidence in NR they don’t want to be associated until it’s nearly finished!

Already funded so it's happening. Wether it takes ten years or fifteen is pretty much up to date at this point.

So if I've understood that map, and the comments in this thread correctly, the plan is that by 2035 everything will be wired except the yellow bits (Stranraer, Oban/Fort William, Kyle of Lochalsh and Wick/Thurso) - and there will be no diesel trains running anywhere? Is that right?

Yes. After 2035 the Scottish government has commited to net zero from public transport, which means no diesel anywhere in Scotland. Freight trains might take a while to switch over, but id expect a law of some description basically banning diesel after 2035.

 

[Meerkat]

Already funded so it's happening

Wasn’t GW fully funded until they spent all the money on not all the work?

 

[waverley47]

Wasn’t GW fully funded until they spent all the money on not all the work?

There seems to be a bit of confusion as to how the Scottish government has decided to fund things going forwards.

In England, most projects go through either the Network Rail enhancements program, part of a five year funding settlement, or are individually approved when costed. A junction renewal or signalling replacement will come under the former, whereas something like wiring or remodelling is a separate scheme, to be signed off by the SoS separately.

In Scotland, the scotgov have decided to grant two annual sums of money. The first, under the category "rail infrastructure" will comprise the day to day running, maintenance and renewals needed to keep things running.

The second category is "major public transport projects" which also receives an annual settlement. This is basically a pot of money (£207m in the 20/21 budget) with which to work down a list of projects. East Kilbride wiring, remodelling of Perth, wiring the Fife circle ect will all come from this pot, which will be agreed in the budget.

What this means is that Scottish projects take as long as they take, with a budget ready to be spent on whatever NR deems appropriate for the delivery of those projects. NR have a list of both necessities and nice to haves, and spend that budget to work down that list a few at a time. No signing off by ministers, no chopping and changing of scope, no getting Graylinged. As long as that pot of money keeps coming, the projects get worked on.

So, infrastructure projects aren't run by ministers. They're funded by the budget, and the list to work down is agreed upon with ministers, but it's all internal to NR as to how and when the projects get delivered. Ministers will take credit, and there may be pressure to shuffle around the list as priorities change, but it also means there is never a formal announcement of starting a project, instead the to Joe public it will appear as if it just happened one day. Consultations and planning documents come out, and work starts happening, but as it's not a government led project, we'll see very little in the way of announcement going forward.

Obviously, the exception to all this is new builds. Levenmouth was a separate project, not funded through NR, and instead directed from up on high by the government itself.


So, to answer Dave's question. There isn't reticence on the part of ministers, neither will we see a planning document. NR will continue to come out with consultations and planning documents, and ministers will excitedly take credit for the end results, but NR gets to spend the money without ministers looking over their shoulders. It has been funded, but because that money is NR's to spend, it doesn't need approval, and we won't see an official announcement or a vote in parliament ect .

There is always a chance that it would get defunded. However, that would be politically impossible for the SNP, and they'll be in power for another five years at least.

 

[clc]

There is always a chance that it would get defunded. However, that would be politically impossible for the SNP, and they'll be in power for another five years at least.

The SNP and Green Party are currently discussing a formal cooperation deal which would be good news for the electrification programme as I’m sure it would be written into the agreement.

 

[Alanko]

Perhaps unglamorous, but when can we start to see electric-hauled freight services from Grangemouth? The infrastructure is there.

 

[hwl]

Already funded so it's happening. Wether it takes ten years or fifteen is pretty much up to date at this point.



Yes. After 2035 the Scottish government has commited to net zero from public transport, which means no diesel anywhere in Scotland. Freight trains might take a while to switch over, but id expect a law of some description basically banning diesel after 2035.

What does that mean for XC services though?