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Suddenly energy efficiency is being taken seriously
Two themes in this column over the past couple of years have got people jumping up and down – technically obese rolling stock and the railway's declining energy efficiency. Now the major players are taking both issues seriously.
In its first National Rail Review, the Office of Rail Regulation highlighted the ‘significant increases' in fuel and power costs and warned that the recent very rapid rises are placing a ‘considerable strain' on train operators. This has been echoed in the interim financial results announcements by the big transport groups.
In 2005-06 train operators paid well over £100 million for electric current for traction (EC4T). Their traction current costs are linked to the Moderately Large Users Index(MLUI) which first came to prominence in this column.
Over the last two years the MLUI has doubled. The DTI's index of prices for large gas oil consumers has also risen by just over 70% during the same period, although oil prices have fallen back since the ORR's Review was published.
With higher fuel costs likely to be a permanent feature of the transport industry ORR says that the development of more fuel-efficient trains has become a higher priority. But the large number of new, (and grossly overweight) vehicles ordered since privatisation means it could be ‘many years', before new energy efficient stock ‘has a widespread impact'.
So we are into palliatives. ORR sees the introduction of regenerative braking as a priority, commenting that progress to date has been slow.
Of course it has. Under the weird and wonderful regulatory structure, operators with trains capable of regenerative braking receive a discount on EC4T charges from Network Rail, irrespective of whether the system is operational. Truly bonkers. ORR reckons that metering the current of individual trains should be explored as a means of incentivising operators to seek more energy efficient operation.
Fortunately, Network Rail, which would benefit, is taking the lead on both regen braking and train weights, Unfortunately, under the Southern Region New Trains Programme, the Strategic Rail Authority ( SRA ) decided that equipping all those new substations to accept regenerative braking was an old railway luxury.
And, of course, when buying the Siemens Desiros, SWT didn't specify regenerative braking anyway. So you would need hardware and modifications to the traction packages, and a modified safety case, for the heaviest EMUs on the track to save some of the energy they waste accelerating their bulk.
But that was yesterday. In today's railway both DfT Rail and Network Rail are pushing for regen'.
In its Initial Strategic Business Plan (ISBP) Network Rail says that its budget for Control Period 4 starting on 1 April 2009 includes provision to make the AC electrified routes ‘regeneration capable'. This is linked to the national oil-filled switchgear replacement project and ‘other stand alone relay replacement projects'.
Indeed, the 25kV ac electrification on the Fenchurch-Street-Southend line has already been made regen-capable The cost has been met from the company's environmental fund. As this appears, c2c should have a Class 357 going through the necessary safety case paces on the test track at Velim in the Czech Republic .
Why test at Velim? Testing the modifications to the Electrostar on c2c would have required possessions and long waits between tests while documentation was revised. At Velim the validation programme can run uninterrupted and there are facilities for recording data.
Rectifying the SRA 's false economy south of the Thames is also on the agenda. An analysis of the cost and benefits of making the 750V dc system regeneration capable will appear in the October 2007 Strategic Business Plan.
Meanwhile, as already reported, DfT Rail is funding tests. Siemens is to test regenerative breaking with a Class 350 Desiro traction package at its Wildenrath track as part of a programme to check compatibility with older equipment and ensure that receptivity would be similar to that with an all-Desiro fleet. As explained above, modifications would be needed.
DfT Rail funding is also supporting regenerative braking tests. Here the much denigrated Class 458 shines.
According to Informed Sources as built the Class 458 can regenerate safely without the links between sub-stations – known as inter-tripping. These are needed to ensure detection of a short circuit which could be masked by a train pumping thousands of amps back into the third rail. The safety case should require minimal modifications, too.
Clearly the bigger return comes from the large Bombardier Electrostar fleets, which need software changes. But with the class 458s coming back into service (see last month's column) look for regen trials to start shortly.
As remarked before, the one organisation with an incentive to do something about lardbutt trains is Network Rail whose track takes the punishment. In the ISBP It claims that lack of integration between rolling stock specification and acceptance has inflated both rolling stock and network management costs.
With future rolling stock design likely to be driven by the continuing need for reduced journey times plus a requirement for greater energy efficiency Network Rail sees lighter trains the key to reconciling these conflicting demands.
It then lists four ways of reducing weight per seat. Engineers in the readership may care to comment.
1 Improved design, including a greater use of composites and other ‘new' materials. There have been sundry attempts over many years at using structural composites in rail vehicles – from bogies to bodyshells. The automotive industry suggests that steel and aluminium still have a lot going for them.;
2 Extension of electrification, eliminating the weight of engine and fuel. Amen to that
3 The removal of ‘tonnes' of crash resistance from the train, relying on improved signalling and control minimise collision risk plus the use of low cost modular bridges to allow the cost effective removal of many level crossings which now represent the greatest risk of catastrophic accidents. ‘Tonnes of crash resistance is a railway myth. According to one expert informed source, 3MJ energy absorption equates to an extra 300kg, although you do have to ballast up the leading bogie of driving trailer cars.
4 Improved track quality will allow ride standards to be maintained with lighter bogie and axle weight. The bogie for the Hitachi Class 395 weighs a tonne more than its home-country equivalent because of the Gaijin's poor track.
Network Rail is already represented on DfT Rail's InterCity Express Project (was HST2) working groups. Informed Sources within Network Rail make no secret of the company's desire to specify and procure new generation rolling stock.