Category Archives: Railtex

Rolling blog. Infrarail – and things…

11 Wednesday May 2022

Posted by in Hs2, Infrarail, London, Photography, Railtex, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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06:30.

I’m currently sat on Northern’s 06:00 from Halifax to Leeds en-route to London to join day 2 of the Railtex/Infrarail trade fair in London.

195128 arrives at Halifax on the 06:00 to Leeds

It’s a busy time that’s being made far more complex than I’d have liked by the fact so many things are hsppening at once (fairs, press trips and HS2 protester evictions) and to put the cherry on the cake I’ve got ‘technical issues’. The local cable network went down last night – just as my laptop was installing new updates. Now the machine’s having an attack of the vapours which means I’ll have to take it back to factory settings then waste a whole day reinstalling programmes and software on the damned thing! Ho bloody hum! On the bright side, I had time to copy all my files off the machine (just in case) as I’ve learned that the wifi being kaput is the first sign of issues.

So, this blog’s being brought to you courtesy of my smartphone. The weather’s doing its best to add to the gloom as it’s wet and miserable here in the Pennines snd it’s meant to be the same in London where I’m heading. Oh, and I’m also ‘cream crackered’ due to yet another early start after a late night trying to sort out the laptop. Still, as the old saying goes – you can sleep when you’re dead!

Moan over I’m actually looking forward to the next few days. There’s lots to see/do and friends and colleagues to catch-up with. But first, I have to get there…

07:15.

My transfer at Leeds between Northern and LNER was painless as everything was running to time so I had 20 mins to catch the 07:00 to London Kings Cross. This is the fast service that only stops at Wakefield Westgate before running non-stop to the capital, arriving into London at 09:00. LNER run another (slower) departure just 15 mins later which stops at Doncaster Grantham and Stevenage to arrive in London 30 mins behind the 07:00.

Today the train’s quiet. I’m relaxing at a table in coach C where I’m going to try and grab a little more sleep. See you later…

07:25.

So much for sleep! The Train Manager’s just announced we’re stopping at Doncaster where the trains terminating at Doncaster due to cable theft on the line “further down South”. No-one’s any idea what’s happening but the 07:15’s cancelled too…

07:45.

Well, I didn’t expect to be in Doncaster today! Apparently, the theft of signalling cable is between Peterborough and Stevenage, which screws up any chance of diverts via Lincoln. The station staff did a very good job of keeping disgruntled passengers informed and a plan B was soon put in place as LNER tickets are been accepted for travel to London on the Midland route from Sheffield to St Pancras – which is why I’m now sat on a Trans-Pennine Express 185 heading for Sheffield. Judging by how empty the rear set is some people are taking their chances that the ECML will reopen quickly, but as it’s cable theft I’m not risking it.

LNER passengers streaming off the 07:00 to catch unfamiliar traction to Sheffield…
Many didn’t bother heading for the rear of the two sets. I did!

08:25.

The miserable weather’s followed me to Sheffield where I’ve swapped to a rather battered and careworn East Midlands Railway 5-car diesel ‘Meridian’ – a far cry from the smart LNER ‘Azuma’ trains we had to abandon at Doncaster.

Needless to say, the train is very busy as it’s the only way for folks to get to London right now.

14:45

Well, that’s been an interesting few hours but not in any way that I expected. By the time I arrived in the capital I was running over two hours late. Plus, the weather was crap. Taking stock, I made a series of phone calls that meant I didn’t need to be at Infrarail after all. Whilst I’m going to miss catching up with some people I’ve had different priorities to think about. Plus, I’m going to be back in London again tomorrow anyway as I’ve now got a ministerial site visit in the calendar…

So, instead of looking at an arena full of sales stands I quickly nipped over to London Victoria for a last chance to get shots of some of the old ‘Southern’ Class 455s before they disappear after next weeks timetable change. Whilst I was at Ebury St I bumped into an old friend, the former Editor of The Railway Magazine – Chris Milner – who’d had the same idea as me!

Shots in the can I made my way back to Kings Cross to ponder my next move and see what the options were. East Coast services were still disrupted with services to most Yorkshire destinations canned through cancellations so heading back before rush hour and whilst I could seemed like the most sensible plan. I’m now sat on the 13:30 from Kings Cross to Edinburgh which I’ve been using as a mobile hospital whilst I nurse a sick laptop back to health. So far, so good. Restoring it to factory settings has cured the glitches and allowed me to connect to the internet (hence you reading this) but I’ve a long evening ahead of me reinstalling a multitude of programmes to restore full functionality ready for another busy tomorrow. Still, at least I’ll be able to have a good night’s kip tonight!

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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Thank You!

Bog-eyed and screen-tied

17 Friday May 2019

Posted by in Railtex, Railways

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After the past few days adventures I’m back at home and glued to my computer screens, trying to edit the hundreds of pictures caught in the queue after so many events, but right now I’m taking a break as we’re off to visit friends in Mytholmroyd tomorrow, so I’ve also been busy cooking a lamb tagine as the pair of us offered to cook. There’s also a queue of blogs building up as I’ve seen and learned some fascinating things at Railtex. Here’s a taster. Alstom (in conjunction with leasing company Eversholt) are ready to rebuild and convert old BR Class 321 electric trains to hydrogen power. It’s a fascinating project which I’ll write about shortly, in the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures of the mock-up of the train, which has been named ‘Breeze’. The basic concept is to provide an alternative to the old suburban diesel trains that run into and between our cities

DG323576. Alstom Class 321 Hydrogen powered train model. Railtex. Birmingham. 16.5.19.crop

DG323588. Alstom Class 321 Hydrogen powered train model. Railtex. Birmingham. 16.5.19.crop

Right, off to bed…

 

 

Rolling blog: back to Railtex

16 Thursday May 2019

Posted by in Railtex, Railways, Rolling blogs

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09:59.

After a decent night’s sleep I feel ready to tackle another day tramping round the Railtex trade fair at Birmingham’s National Exhibition centre. There’s lots to see and photograph, people to chat to and lectures to learn from. Let’s see what happens…

14:30.

I’ve been run off my feet this morning getting pictures for clients and to clients, so there’s been no time for blogging at all. I’m writing this as I’m sending pictures of yesterday’s events to ACoRP right now.

I had a long shortlist to get this morning, which has really kept me busy. Plus, I needed to get shots of the keynote address by the Shadow Transport Minister, Andy McDonald MP. Despite the froth from the Taxpayers Alliance and the Lord’s Economic Committee, Andy made Labour’s unswerving support for HS2 plain

19:47.

Well, this ‘rolling’ blog turned out to be far more static than I thought it would be. There simply wasn’t the time to take the volume of pictures clients required and blog at the same time. I had an extensive picture request list from one client handed to me this morning, which had a silver-lining as I learned an awful lot about some industry innovations that would otherwise have passed me by – which is why I really enjoy working at these events. You get so much from them. Afterwards, a few friends and I decamped and ended up in an old haunt. The ‘Great Western’ pub in Wolverhampton which is sandwiched between the high and (former) low level stations. Let’s just say that it’s not a pub you’ll stumble upon – and they had a long-time favourite beer on, “summer lightning”

Chatham House rules apply to the conversations we had but it was a great end to a hectic few days. Now I’m on the 19:15 from Wolves to Manchester Piccadilly which is just pulling into Macclesfield. I’ve been doing this trip for years and moaned about it in blogs several times so I won’t reprise the argument. All I can say is – roll on HS2!

21:01

I’m now on the last train of the day, heading home from Manchester Victoria to Halifax. As is my wont, I always walk between the two stations, which isn’t always easy with the amount of kit I’m normally carrying. Tonight it had grown because my friends at the Talgo stand had given me a huge amount of unused fresh fruit and snacks to take home with me. In Piccadilly Gardens I spotted a charity that had set up a stand to feed the dozens of homeless people living on the surrounding streets. Without a second thought I went over and donated the food I was carrying. I’ve blogged about this before, so regular readers will understand my feelings about the issue. I know that Carlos, the President of Talgo would approve of my actions…

Rolling blog: and so it begins…

14 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by in Birmingham, Engineering, I love my job, Photojournalism, Railtex, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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06:18.

It’s a bright and beautiful morning here at Sowerby Bridge station. The sun’s shining, the birds are singing and I have fresh coffee, thanks to the Jubilee refreshment rooms on the station.

I’m here to catch to 06:23 to Manchester in order to get to Birmingham and the Railtex trade fair.

06:52.

The first chariot of the day was 158849, one of Northern’s refurbished fleet and one that’s been fitted with new seats and USB sockets. It’s only a two car so it’s packed after leaving Rochdale. It’s also remarkably quiet as most people (including me) are staring at their portable devices! This is a great example of how you can have a large group of people who are together in the flesh but are miles apart mentally!

07:38.

I’m now on TfW’s (Transport for Wales) 07:30 to Milford Haven as far as Crewe.

I walked between Victoria and Piccadilly which is always a depressing experience this time of morning as it’s painfully obvious how many people are sleeping rough. Forget the stories about “professional beggars” who return to their council flats each evening, these are real people curled up in doorways or huddled on pavements. A decade of austerity and a government that doesn’t really give a shit has made the problem worse than when I worked in housing back in the 1990s. It’s not going to get any better either. The UK’s flirting with fascism in the form of Nigel Farage and his Brexit party. People who blatently lie through their teeth and have no manifesto or policies other than crashing us out of the EU and who say they won’t tell us what they stand for until AFTER we’ve voted for them! How the hell has the country got itself in this state? I’ve never been more pessimistic about the future of the country as I don’t see much sign of people waking up to what’s going on and the road we’re heading down.

07:50.

We’ve called at Wilmslow, where a sizeable chunk of the folk on this two-car train decanted. Clearly, this time of day this train is a commuter service masquerading as a long-distance train. Next stop is Crewe, so I’ll be interested to see how many get on.

08:18.

I’m now on London Northwestern’s 08:18 to Birmingham New St, which is a 4-car Class 350, which is pretty much full and standing. There’s a few spare seats, but they’re the middle ones in sets of three, which most folk avoid. I’m sharing a vestibule with a bunch of LNW drivers who’re clutching notices about splitting and joining trains at New St. I’m assuming this has to do with the May timetable change. In age old fashion they’re grumbling about the new diagrams and rosters!

09:42.

Almost there! I was delayed changing trains at New St because some of the toilets are closed for refurbishment. New St being New St it was a trek to the alternatives which had folk queuing out of the door! Now I’m on a slightly delayed TfW service to Birmingham International.

14:54.

Phew! It’s been a full on day so far and started as soon as I walked through the Railtex door at 10:00. I’ve finally found time to sit down for a few minutes and get some pictures edited. Here’s a glimpse of the show so far.

DG322474cop

As usual, Siemens have a big presence at Railtex. This is one half of their stand!

DG322509crop

The Talgo stand. The company are bidding for the HS2 train contract (amongst others).

DG322554crop

It’s a Breeze! This is a model of the Class 321 train that Alstom are converting from electricity to Hydrogen.

DG322573crop

The Tratos stand always serves a good lunch for anyone leaving their business card.

19:54.

Right, where were we? Oh, yes – Railtex. I left the show an hour ago and I’m currently on virgin Trains Pendino snaking it’s way to London. Today feels like a bit of a blur as it’s been so manic. Trying to get round the show to take it all in is bad enough. Then there’s the need to be in certain places at set times, constantly bumping into friends and colleagues and trying to blog/upload pictures. By the time the day winds down you’re knackered. That said, the end of the event was fun. Alstom had a really interesting drinks reception to chat about their ‘Breeze’ hydrogen train, so a lot of us hacks met at that, afterwards we moved over to the main networking event which was a great opportunity to catch up with folk and shoot a few more pictures like this one of the band who did a great job of keeping us all entertained.

22:45.

The final update. It’s been a brilliant day. After tearing myself away from a very convivial couple of hours with friends at the end of the show I emerged, blinking, into the light and realised just what a stonking day it must have been weather wise. Now, having caught a train down to London I’m ensconced in the basement of a hotel in Kings Cross that makes me think of scenes from the bunker in ‘Downfall’ – only with better bathrooms. When you realise that to get to your room you have to press -2 you do start to get suspicious…

Hopefully I might actually see a bit of sunshine as I tour the London stations taking part in tomorrow’s event. Watch this space…

A personal view of Railtex

16 Saturday May 2015

Posted by in Hitachi, Rail Investment, Railtex, Railways, Siemens

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Earlier this week I spent a couple of days at the Railtex trade trade fair at the NEC in Birmingham. In truth, I could have done with being there for all three days as the show had a record number of exhibitors and an awful lot to see & do – and people to talk to.

The event was opened by Network Rail Chairman Professor Richard Parry-Jones who delivered a keynote speech in which he talked about way technology is transforming lives (and railways), the cost of providing extra capacity & his worry that the industry is under-providing capacity for future demand. Afterwards he went ‘walk-about’ to visit some of the exhibitors such as Siemens, Hitachi and Derby based Rail Vehicle Engineering Ltd (RVEL).

Network Rail Chairman, Professor Richard Parry Jones chatting to Andy Lynch RVELs Managing Director on their stand at Railtex

Network Rail Chairman, Professor Richard Parry Jones chatting to RVEL Managing Director, Andy Lynch on their stand at Railtex

Meanwhile, the show was getting into full swing. The Chinese had a big presence this year with both CSR and CNR having large stands that must have kept Chinese model makers busy for months as both displayed huge numbers of product models – including CNRs high speed trains. On the CSR stand a signing ceremony was held to seal co-operation between the company & the universities of Birmingham, Southampton & Central London by forming the China-UK joint research & development centre for rail technology. In a statement, CSR said the centre would look at developing new technologies, new materials and new production processes.

DG213298. China - UK rail research co-operation agreement. Railtex 2015. 12.5.15.

Although they had separate stands, the two companies are merging to create the world’s largest railway equipment manufacturer. The merger should be complete by the end of the year.

Elsewhere, Hitachi were demonstrating their 3-D interior images and design theory of their ‘British Bullet train’ – a potential offering for Hs2. The design draws upon key influences from existing and influential rolling stock in the UK. Using these to look forward & address the needs of future passengers by providing a train that has the flexibility to grow and evolve with their needs. Take a look..

Sleek & stylish, the British bullet train from Hitachi.

Sleek & stylish, the British bullet train from Hitachi.

How standard class might look

How standard class might look

Could this be the 1st Class of the future?

Could this be the 1st Class of the future?

The Europeans had been busy too. Siemens had a large stand showcasing their impressive array of products, including Trains, signalling systems & power supplies. In a low key launch the company had slipped out a model of a new 125mph EMU for the UK market – the Desiro Verve. Siemens told me they’ll be doing an expanded launch for this train later in the year.

The new Desiro Verve.

The new Desiro Verve.

Of course Railtex wasn’t all about new trains. One of the strengths of the event is variety of exhibitors from the massive multinationals through to the small UK companies who supply equipment & expertise worldwide. Railtex is the ideal opportunity to check-out what they have to offer. It’s also a fantastic place to touch base with companies you already work with -and meet potential new ones. I ended up working for several at the event itself as well as arranging new business. At the end of day 1 the networking event allowed many of us to meet in an relaxed atmosphere over a drink & some snacks before heading off to more events – or take the weight off tired feet!

Day 2 began with another keynote address, this time by Alstom UK President  Terence Watson (wearing his Rail Supply Group Co-Chair’s hat). Terence spoke about the value of the rail supply chain, how big the world wide market is – and how small UK exports are at the moment compared to the likes of China & Germany.

Wednesday seemed far busier than the first day & I found myself tied up with visiting as many of my contacts, colleagues & friends as I could before I had to leave. This meant that I missed out on many of the interesting seminars that I’d wanted to listen to altough I did make time to get to the Hs2 update. Sadly, Prof McNaughton was double booked, so a change in the programme saw him replaced by Jon Kerby, Director of BIM at High Speed 2 who talked more generally about the strategic implementation of BIM & the development of a digital railway. I’d have loved to have made it to the Thameslink & Great Western route modernisation seminars too, but I ran out of time. Another day – hopefully…

From my personal perspective Railtex was a great success. Many others I talked to thought so too. I’ll certainly be back next time. One theme I was left with was the continued development of rail technology & the growth of high speed rail. What was on offer at Railtex shows just how uninformed & stupid Jeremy Paxman’s Financial Times rant about HS2 & HSR being ’19th century’ really is!

If you want to see more pictures of Railtex,follow this link to the gallery on my picture website;

http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p508759096