Crossrail/Elizabeth Line. From construction to operation - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[a-driver]

I travelled parallel to one just yesterday leaving Paddington and was struck with exactly the same observation.  I have never seen a carriage with so much fresh air underneath.  There looks room for a couple of diesel engines under each one!

That is odd. It's hard to comment based on the pictures people post on line, since they are never  taken side--on near the middle of a train. However, I did find some in comments on this somewhat obsessive web page (of The Anonymous Widower), with the comment "There’s some complicated gear underneath".

Seen from past the end, there are obviously plenty of boxes under the first three cars - DMSO^▸ (Driving Motor Standard Opens)/PMSO^▸ (Pantograph Motor Standard Opens)/MSO^▸ (Motor Standard Opens). The middle three are two more MSOs and a TSO^▸ (The Stationary Office (now OPSI)); obviously the trailer could be almost unladen underneath, and as those motor carriages are omittable they may have not so much either (though I'd expect the odd IGBT^▸ (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) or two). "What a lot of motors", you may say - but it's only one bogie per car, and that in itself halves the drive electronics needed relative to a VFD^▸ (Variable Frequency Drive) box per bogie.

But maybe it just depends on what you are used to seeing in that area - IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) are about as full of stuff underneath as is possible.

A request - I checked the list of acronyms and abbreviations, and found IET, but none of the others. For the benefit of the dozen or so members of the coffee shop who don't what they all mean, could you enlighten us please? I'll be happy to update the acronyms page, once I and the other 11...

Class 345 trains have two Driving Motor Standard Opens (DMSO), two Pantograph Motor Standard Opens (PMSO), four Motor Standard Opens (MSO) and one Trailer Standard Open (TSO). They will be formed as DMSO+PMSO+MSO+MSO+TSO+MSO+MSO+PMSO+DMSO.

An IGBT is an insulated-gate bipolar transistor.
A VFD is a variable frequency drive

[TonyK]

Thank you a-driver, my education is at last complete. I will update the Acronyms page as soon as an apparent technical difficulty is sorted.

I think I know an IGBT^▸ (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor).

Edit: Done 7 September 2018.

[stuving]

Class 345 trains have two Driving Motor Standard Opens (DMSO^▸ (Driving Motor Standard Opens)), two Pantograph Motor Standard Opens (PMSO^▸ (Pantograph Motor Standard Opens)), four Motor Standard Opens (MSO^▸ (Motor Standard Opens)) and one Trailer Standard Open (TSO^▸ (The Stationary Office (now OPSI))). They will be formed as DMSO+PMSO+MSO+MSO+TSO+MSO+MSO+PMSO+DMSO.

An IGBT^▸ (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) is an insulated-gate bipolar transistor.
A VFD^▸ (Variable Frequency Drive) is a variable frequency drive

Exactly. Mind you, those vehicle type codes are hardly new or unfamiliar (unlike on the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train), where some news ones have been invented).

In terms of the original context, what goes where and why, the VFD is the motor drive so lives next to a motored bogie. Being variable means it can drive an AC motor, following its frequency as the speed changes. The VFD is where most of the IGBTs live, providing the universal high-power on-off switch that power circuit designers had been having to do without for decades.

There are some more IGBTs in another box, with less consensus about its name: the input rectifier, which naturally lives near the pantograph and its friend the transformer. Here, the magic IGBT switch makes possible a PWM (pulse-width modulation) rectifier. Single phase rectifiers always used to suffer high harmonic current levels and low power factor; the PWM design slays both dragons. So that should mean an end to serious interference problems (though no-one told the IETs about that, apparently).

[bradshaw]

Excellent analysis of Crossrail dilemma in this article.

https://www.londonreconnections.com/2018/crossrail-a-hole-new-world/

London Reconnections always a thoughtful read

[eightf48544]

Delay on front page of this weeks Maidenhead Advertiser.

Along the lines of better to get it right.

[Electric train]

Delay on front page of this weeks Maidenhead Advertiser.

Along the lines of better to get it right.

One of the things that has come out of the May 18 timetable debacle is a robustness stress test, anjd I agree it is better to ensure the trains, infrestructure, oeprating procedures, time table have been stress tested as far is reasonable before the system if opened for public use.

My guess is the opening West will not see to much delay from its original date.

[grahame]

From ITV

Sadiq Khan said he cannot be sure when Crossrail will be completed.

The Mayor of London said he will talk about a revised timetable at some stage, but only when he has confidence in it.

Mr Khan previously revealed that he only learned of Crossrail’s delay two days before the announcement.

The mayor was asked on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio London if he could reassure listeners and Londoners that he has put the checks and balances in place to ensure the current situation would not be repeated.

Mr Khan told presenter Eddie Nestor: “I can’t yet give Londoners the confidence that we will finish the project when we’ve been told by Crossrail with the most recent report.

“What we’re doing now is trying to make sure we have the rigour in Crossrail Limited so we’ve instructed someone to do a report into governance, a very speedy report that will come back in a couple of weeks, in relation to what the governance is like now, what it needs to be, and we’re doing several pieces of work.

“And at some stage I will come out and say what the revised timetable is, but only when I’ve got the confidence in that revised timetable.”

[Lee]

A very speedy report, eh? Next couple of weeks but they are doing "several pieces of work"...

As a veteran analyser of such reports, I confidently recommend the provision of bigger barn doors and banjos.

[IndustryInsider]

Class 345 testing/training between Maidenhead and Reading is set to start in earnest next week:

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G30024/2018/10/23/advanced
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G31017/2018/10/23/advanced
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G31025/2018/10/23/advanced
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G31019/2018/10/23/advanced

[Lee]

From the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about):

On 31 August 2018, Crossrail Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL^» (Transport for London - about)), announced a delay to the planned opening of the Elizabeth Line.

Discussions between TfL and government are underway as to how any additional funding will be provided, with London - as the primary beneficiary of Crossrail – bearing any additional costs via a financing arrangement.

TfL and the Department for Transport have commissioned an independent review of Crossrail’s governance and a separate review on Crossrail’s finance and commercial position.

Today (26 October 2018), as an interim measure, we are announcing that £350 million of short term repayable financing will be made available to the Mayor for the year 2018/19. This will ensure that full momentum is maintained behind Crossrail.

This project is already delivering benefits for the whole of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) through its cross-country supply chain and its UK built train fleet. When open, Crossrail will be transformative and carry up to 200 million passengers a year, delivering £42 billion of investment into the UK economy.

A further update will be provided once the discussions on the financing arrangements have concluded.

[stuving]

There is also an enquiry going on by the FCA into whether TfL^» (Transport for London - about) (and via them Crossrail Ltd) broke the market disclosure rules in a statement to the London Stock Exchange on 24 July 2018. This is the Assmbly's public statement on it:

Crossrail delay – should the markets have been told?
18 October 2018

A statement TfL made to the London Stock Exchange on 24 July 2018 made no mention of a delay to the Crossrail launch. Yet, following questioning by the London Assembly, it emerged that TfL already knew the project would not open on time.

The London Assembly Transport Committee was concerned about the lack of transparency and wrote to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for clarification on the issue.  The FCA has now responded to that letter saying it will consider whether it is appropriate to launch a formal investigation.

The FCA has a number of options available to it, if the rules were breached. Including:

    Public censure
    Fine (at its discretion)

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee said;

“The Transport Committee identified grave discrepancies in the evidence gathered from meetings to determine who knew what, when, with regard to the launch of Crossrail.

“We can only conclude that we have been misled – and now the financial markets will want to know if they have been misled too.

“Not being transparent about such a large infrastructure project affects many people and many businesses. Any misconduct should be taken very seriously.

“We expect the Mayor and TfL to fully comply with any requests from the FCA. This Crossrail debacle has knock-on effects across London’s transport system and accountability for poor management is imperative.”

Notes to editors
    On 6 September, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan told the London Assembly that Crossrail had not informed him of the delay to opening Crossrail until 29 August. Yet Transport for London (TfL) was definitely told of a likely delay on 19 July. It seems highly likely that the Mayor, as Chair of TfL, would have been briefed then too and Crossrail informed the Assembly it had briefed the Mayor on 26 July.

    London Assembly Transport Committee.
    As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

Note that while those referring allegations to the FCA often make this public, the FCA don't publish a list of referrals themselves.

[didcotdean]

Crossrail set for further £1bn rescue as problems mount (FT)
FT reports Crossrail will seek £1M extra funding and full operation put back possibly more than a further year to late 2020.

[TonyK]

Crossrail set for further £1bn rescue as problems mount (FT)
FT reports Crossrail will seek £1M extra funding and full operation put back possibly more than a further year to late 2020.

Where is the other £999 million coming from?

[chuffed]

DD should get a job at the Treasury. Another place where they get their millions and billions muddled up ! And I mean Didcot Dean not David Davis !

[eXPassenger]

Crossrail set for further £1bn rescue as problems mount (FT)
FT reports Crossrail will seek £1M extra funding and full operation put back possibly more than a further year to late 2020.

Same story in The Guardian but for £1B.