http://www.modern-railways.com April 2019 Modern Railways 55
A new feeder is due to come on stream at
Potteric Carr, Doncaster, in October this year. Static
frequency converter technology is planned for this
location, which offers higher efficiency and lower
maintenance costs compared to earlier designs.
Conversion to bi-mode Azumas of West Riding
and Harrogate services currently operated by
diesel HSTs cannot be contemplated until Potteric
Carr is on stream, as the electricity supply is not
up to feeding any more electric trains without it.
In readiness for the December 2021
timetable, a power supply upgrade is planned
at Marshall Meadows, Berwick-upon-Tweed,
for the weak Morpeth to Dunbar section
through the Scottish Borders.
Another feeder station is planned at
Hambleton Junction, south of York, to be
delivered by the end of next year in preparation
for the forthcoming trans-Pennine electrification.
This will provide a back-up for Potteric Carr.
In a separate project, Network Rail is replacing
headspan installations with portals on windy
stretches of the East Coast main line, such as
between Huntingdon and Peterborough, with
a view to reducing dewirement incidents. The
LNER chief commends the productivity being
achieved by the work teams: around eight
beams a day, or 1km in a weekend possession.
Reviewing the infrastructure projects, David
Horne strikes a positive note. ‘When you add it
all up – three grade separations, the King’s Cross
remodelling, the power supply work – you can see
that over the years we have made progress and
continue to do so. The constraints are being tackled.’NEW FLEET
On this upgraded infrastructure, a stud of shiny
new trains is about to be introduced. A fleet of
10x5-car and 13x9-car bi-mode Class 800s, along
with 12x5-car and 30x9-car Class 801 straight
electrics, has been ordered from Hitachi.
While none had been accepted at the time
of writing in early March, LNER was expecting
to have accepted 9x9-car bi-modes by the end
of the month. This will allow a start to be made
on fleet replacement, with the first old train to
go being the EMT HST set on NL65 and then
IC225s, as the diesel capacity must be left inplace pending the Potteric Carr power upgrade.
Retirement of IC225s will free up Class 91
electric locomotives, allowing the two Class 90s
LNER currently operates to be stood down.
Two hurdles had to be overcome before the
new Hitachi stock could be accepted. First of
these was the electro-magnetic interference
(EMI) issue, which has been covered in
previous issues in Roger Ford’s ‘Informed
Sources’ column. A two-pronged approach
has been adopted to solving this question,
with filters on the lineside and on the train.
‘Network Rail, to their credit, have done
a fantastic job at just cracking on with the
lineside installations’ reports Mr Horne.
‘As for the trains, Hitachi has come up with
an unobtrusive filter design and the first train
has been fitted, with encouraging results.’
Azuma working on the King’s Cross to Leeds
route has already been approved, while EMI testing
on the northern half of the East Coast main line
is due to be finished in May. Once this has been
achieved, branches such as Skipton will be covered.The second issue to be addressed prior
to acceptance is the safety angle of inter-car
connecting cables, with fears that these might be
climbed by trespassers, resulting in possibly fatal
contact with the 25kV overhead wire. As former
Southeastern manager Richard Dean pointed
out in the ‘Forum’ pages in our January issue, this
is a remarkable case of corporate amnesia, as
the same issue was raised with the Hitachi-built
Class 395 fleet a decade ago. A similar solutionStorm-proofing: a work team brings in a portal structure ready to replace headspans on the
East Coast main line at Conington Tip on 5 January 2019. Courtesy Network RailUnobtrusive: EMI filter on Azuma
undercarriage. Courtesy Hitachi052-057_MR_Apr 2019_LNER.indd 55 11/03/2019 17:22