Tag Archives: transportation

Bittersweet Day as FWLE Opens

December 6^th, 2025, was the day that the Federal Way Link Extension opened as part of Sound Transit’s light rail system in the Puget Sound region. When I moved back to the UK at the beginning of the year, I had thought I would be able to get back for the opening events which I had anticipated would be in early 2026 after another extension opened. As it happened, they were able to open ahead of that other section, and a December date was chosen. The timing of this – along with some other concerns – meant I wasn’t able to go back.

I first got involved with the project in 2017. I had just joined SNC-Lavalin, which was to become AtkinsRéalis, and we started discussions with Mott MacDonald about partnering for the project management role. The rest of that year was spent on preparing the proposal and then the interviews and the result was our selection. Things kicked off in 2018, and we had some immediate ups and downs. However, we got on track pretty quickly and built a strong team between the two partners and our associated sub consultants.

I was not involved in the day-to-day activities of the project, and our team deserve all of the credit. I was on the board of the joint venture, but I did get to spend a lot of time down with the project team and I made sure to regularly get out on site and see what was happening so I could be up to date with the progress as well as the issues that were being experienced. Aside from that, I found it very interesting to see the construction process underway as I was learning a lot myself.

The early stages of the project do not make it apparent how much is happening. Clearing out the land that will be used and prepping for construction is so important but not very glamourous. Then the large structures started to come together. The construction was phased with the northern sections happening before the southern. We re-routed a state route to build the section just south of the airport and then built a whole new road bridge which is now part of the SR509 project that WSDOT is building.

Stations were built at three locations. These were large structures but also included significant parking garages which came with very different but no less difficult issues to solve. The agency makes a big deal on the architecture side of the stations, and they were all to a style but with individual finishes and artwork to reflect the region. Heading up the tower crane at one of the stations gave me a chance to see the wider location from a perspective that few get to experience.

The largest part of the cost of building a light rail system like this is the civil works. Moving large amounts of earth and building concrete structures requires a lot of people and plenty of time. However, the most complex part of the process is installing and commissioning the systems. This includes the track, the power and the signalling elements. Once the civil works are complete, to the passers-by it might look like things are done. However, there is much still to be achieved. Getting the track laid and properly aligned is a major effort. I found the complex track-work to be a fascinating thing to see. Powering up the system was also a big deal, but the overhead wires are dependent on the track location so can’t be done until the track is complete.

The latter stages include getting trains down the track to check for clearances before they can be powered up and operate under their own steam. That was being done at the time I left the country. I didn’t get to see the full tests of trains on the track. That all happened through 2025 and then it was in to trial running to demonstrate not only the capability of the various systems but also the ability to meet the required running times and the integration into the existing operations on the network. I was sorry to miss all of that.

This addition to the system will provide better connectivity to the southern part of the region and the launching point for the next extension which will go down to Tacoma. If you are stuck on I-5 heading northbound early in the morning and you see the train zipping by, maybe you will consider an alternative way to head into Seattle? If you do, I hope you get the train with the livery our project team paid to have added.

Lighting the Christmas Train

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Get to the run up to Christmas and, if you have a heritage railway near you, there is a good chance they will be advertising that they have illuminated trains in operation. The trains will have lights all across the outside and probably within the carriages too. I’m sure they are fun to ride on but, from my point of view, seeing the outside lights is more appealing than being inside.

The Watercress Line is close to Winchester, and they had an illuminated service. In fact, they had more than one. My mum was visiting, and she was also interested in the lights so, late in the afternoon, since it was already getting dark at that time, we popped out to see the train go by. Sure enough, we soon saw it coming up the hill out of Alresford. There is a long stretch where the trees have been trimmed back when you get a good view of it coming our way. Even with the lights, the exposure is still a stretch for the camera. It did okay, though, and a bit of noise reduction software helps.

As they came around the corner into the straight heading at us, the lights would illuminate the embankment on either side of the cutting. There was also a strong yellow glow which, I assume, came from the firebox. The colours were constantly changing and it looked really impressive as the loco pulled hard up the bank. I think that they had swapped to a smaller loco because they had a diesel on the back of the train to support.

We were going to head straight home but one of the other people there told us there was a second train coming down from Alton a little while later. While it was getting a bit chilly and definitely dark, we figured there was no harm in hanging around. We did get the second train as it came down the cutting and then headed back the way the previous train had come. Going that way, they are going downhill so the loco is barely working to get them home. No plumes of smoke and thundering noise.

The Funicular Collection Continues and One That Isn’t Anymore

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I do not travel around looking for funicular railways (yet!), but I do seem to come across them on my regular travels. My visit to Scarborough has already shown up on this blog as a result of the shots I got while there on my cycling trip. However, I had excluded the funiculars. I say funiculars because I saw two although only one was operational – well, it would have been but not at the time I was there.

The working railway takes you down the cliffs from the town to the waterfront. Not a long run but I imagine it gets a few customers when the peak season is underway. I paid it a bit of attention as I walked around the town first thing in the morning. Then, I walked along the shore towards the spa and saw another track. This one has clearly been deactivated but the core infrastructure was still visible. I don’t know when it was taken out of service. This got me wondering whether there were even more in Scarborough when it was at its peak of popularity.

Riding the Thames Clipper

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During some previous visits, I had seen the Thames Clipper/Uber ferries running up and down the river. They seemed to be pretty powerful beasts as they fought the strong currents that the Thames can produce. However, I never used them myself. I finally got around to using one recently. We had been down to Battersea and decided to take the ferry back towards the station rather than retrace our steps on the Tube.

It was a pretty good ride but had me wondering about its use in the centre of town. We didn’t go very far but we stopped multiple times en route. We were crisscrossing the river a lot so our overall progress was slow. We were not in a hurry but, even so, decided not to go where we originally planned and cut short to walk to the station. The speed with which they dock, unload, load and depart is very impressive. They have the whole thing well worked out. It is just a slow process. I imagine that a longer run would be a very efficient way to get through the city, but the price premium wasn’t worth it to me.

Vintage Buses at Old Warden

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The Shuttleworth collection includes many vintage vehicles. Amongst these are buses. Some of them are on display in the hangars but some come out and get used to shuttle visitors around the grounds. During the air shows I went to this year, I saw a few of them on display and in use. I didn’t take a ride on either occasion, but I did grab some shots of them.

Showing Visitors HydroFLEX

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2025 is 200 years after the Stockton and Darlington Railway first operated. While some might debate what the first true railway was, the UK industry is celebrating this year as Rail200. There are events taking place across the country throughout the year. One of these was held at the Severn Valley Railway at Kidderminster and we took one of our trains to be part of the display. This was our HydroFLEX unit, and I went along to support the visitor tours.

HydroFLEX is the first UK hydrogen fuel cell powered unit that is cleared for mainline running. We use it to test the technology and learn what is involved in a hydrogen fuel cell train. There are multiple technologies that will be needed to decarbonise the railway, and this is one of the ways forward that is being explored. We had it open to view at Kidderminster and had a steady stream of visitors coming to look at it. They had lots of interesting questions and some interesting opinions on all sorts of things – many not to do with hydrogen power!

The train is a converted Class 319 – a type I used to ride frequently when Thameslink operated them, and we lived along the Brighton mainline. Three of the vehicles are basically unchanged other than interior changes including a boardroom configuration. The fourth car is the one where everything is different. It has four fuel cells that provide power along with a battery under the vehicle. These fuel cells generate a lot of heat along with the electricity, so large cooling fans are incorporated.

The fuel cells are supplied by high pressure hydrogen tanks. There are 36 of these tanks made from spun aluminium wrapped in Kevlar. We would take visitors through this vehicle to see the changes that make it a hydrogen powered unit along with all of the safety systems. It is a cramped space, so we had to pre-book visitors five at a time. We could have shown many more people if we could have fitted them in because demand was high.

It is really interesting to be involved in a technology demonstrator of this sort. Our team has worked so hard on creating and developing this unit and we have learned so much that will hopefully be taken forward to trial operations and will then feed into the design of a production train. The train regularly goes out on the mainline so you can see it if you are in the right place at the right time.

Trains Are Back on the Pier

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The rebuilding of the Island Line on the Isle of Wight has been a drawn-out process. New (sort of) trains and a rebuild of the track to increase capacity took place a while back. More recently, the tracks up Ryde Pier were closed for refurbishment. That meant the trains did not go all the way to the ferry. That has now been completed and, while I was out watching the hovercraft, I was pleased to see the trains back on the pier. I hadn’t planned for photographing them but why not while I was there.

Some of Lyon’s Trams Look Cool

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I was in Lyon for a couple of days for a work trip. Lyon has an extensive tram network, but they don’t just have regular looking trams. They are clearly bothered about design and style – this is France after all – and so the cabs of some of the trams are far cooler than the average. I don’t know how much extra it costs to get a custom cab design, but I think it is worth it when they make the system look better.

Some Features Show Better in Video

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I was at Ryde one Saturday morning watching the Hovertravel service on a windy day. Because hovercraft are not in contact with the surface, there is no grip to counter any crosswinds. The technique for operating is therefore like flying a plane. You have to yaw into the wind to offset the drift the wind produces. When taking stills, you don’t really show this but, when watching it happen, the drifting is very obvious.

Consequently, video is the way to go. I got some clips of the hovercraft coming in, first over the water and then as it transitioned to the sand flats. For the hovercraft, the change of surface makes no difference. It does mean, when the wind is right, you can get head on shots when they aren’t coming straight at you!

National Railway Museum

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I was fortunate a little while ago to have a tour of the National Railway Museum. Our company had sponsored some of the development at the museum and we were invited to come and see some of the parts of the museum that are normally out of sight to the regular visitors. This was a most interesting visit, and our team really appreciated the time there. This was actually the first time I had been to this excellent museum.

As part of the Science Museum, the National Railway Museum is free to the public. They are expanding the facilities a lot currently but, if you were to visit now, you would still have plenty to see. There are trains of all types and age. The main hall is focused on a turntable. Apparently, the collection does get moved regularly so what you see at any one time can vary.

The majority of the collection is UK trains but there are other exhibits. A series 0 Shinkansen is part of the collection. Additionally, there is a Eurostar cab vehicle. Some famous locos are there, like Mallard, holder of the steam speed record. There are other less famous ones like the last steam loco built for the UK. I liked seeing the HST power car having had a lot of involvement with that fleet earlier in my career.

There are many artefacts aside from the trains. The gates that used to be at Euston station are most impressive. The nameplates from many locomotives are on the wall. There are two nameplates from Earl of Mount Edgcumbe which made me smile. My time around the main collection was slightly limited by other work commitments and, ultimately, the need to get on a train to Derby. After so long having never visited, I am really pleased to have finally made it there. If you are looking for a day trip in the area, do consider it. It is a short walk from the station.