Trade Show at the National Exhibition Centre

Because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Trade Shows and Exhibitions were suspended but, following the easing of emergency legislation in July 2021, this type of event was able to resume subject to 'Covid Secure' guidance.

On Thursday 9th September 2021 I attended the last day of the Railtex and Infrarail combined exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham, together with one of my friends from Bath who travelled independently by train.

Getting there

Once again, I took the first bus from Brewood to Wolverhampton at 07:30 and walked to the railway station. For a change, I decided to catch the 'local' to Birmingham New Street. The service currently then continues to Walsall (I described using this circuitous route to Walsall in the post Walsall by Rail). In recent years, platform 5, the bay platform 5 at the south end of the station on the Down side) is used by the terminating 'all stations' Electric Multiple Units along the Stour Valley line but, before electrification and then called 'Down Bay' I think, it wasn't very often used by passenger trains (but I've described catching one Diesel Multiple Unit from this bay during 1962 in the post here). As part of the station redevelopment which accompanied electrification, the end of this bay became a parcels sundries depot, which has now been demolished.


Wolverhampton Station: View from platform 5 showing stop signs, remains of the parcels sundries shed and, in the background, new station in black and orange

There weren't many passengers on the train when I boarded but by departure time at 08:22, the train was reasonably full and at each stop, more people boarded than alighted so we were quite full on arrival at Birmingham New Street. We stopped at Coseley, Tipton, and Dudleyport (all stations I regularly used 60 years ago when making unofficial visits to signal boxes as described in the postVisiting Signalboxes). Stops were then made at Sandwell and Dudley, Smethwick Galton Bridge and Smethwick Rolfe Street. Smethwick Galton Bridge is a relatively recent development, opened in 1995 to provide connections with the 'Jewellery Line'. Over the years, I've occasionally used all six stations between Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street. Currently, 25 minutes are allowed including stops.

I had expected us to arrive in platform 1 at New Street but discovered it was closed with engineering works on the platform being carried out so we used platform 2. I've complained previously about the confusion that can arise in attempting to change platforms using the stairs or escalators at the 'A' (southern) end of the platforms which seems to involve leaving through the ticket barriers and then coming back in again through another ticket barrier. I was amused to see that signs have now been erected recommending using the 'B' end when changing platforms. With plenty of time in hand, I decided to have another look at the adjacent Grand Central Shopping Centre to see if I liked it any better than on a visit in 2016 described here. I didn't, so I left the station to look at the Midland Metro Tram station in Stephenson Place.

This tram station hadn't been completed at the time of my 2016 visit, but was in use in 2019 when I attended the UKRRIN Annual Conference (described here). However, in September 2021 I was surprised to find the area dug-up again and piles of pre-cast sleepers around. It appeared that the service had been terminated at Bull Street whilst an urgent track relaying along Corporation Street to Stephenson Place was carried out, expected to be completed before Christmas 2021. No explanation was available about the reasons for such major works only five years after completion of build on this section.


Sleepers in Stephenson Place for track replacement (West Midland Metro)

I walked as far as the Town Hall before returning to the railway station along pedestrianised New Street then through the Arcade past the Macdonald Burlington Hotel. When this was still the Midland Hotel it had a decent, old-fashioned restaurant on the first floor overlooking New Street which I used to enjoy visiting for lunch occasionally. On platform 4, I joined a Cross Country 'Voyager' from Manchester, where I was joined by my friend for the 9-minute journey to Birmingham International station. Birmingham International is another relatively recent development, opened in 1976 to serve both the adjacent airport and the National Exhibition Centre.

The Venue

When I started my own business in 1966, all major trade shows were held in London at Olympia or Earl's Court, which were both showing their age. The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is one of the better ideas promoted by Birmingham City Council, in my opinion. The idea of a new exhibition location on a 'greenfield' site with good motorway, main-line railway and international air connections appealed to me. The first stage was opened in 1976 and expansion up to 1998 now offers 20 exhibition spaces of various sizes, including the multi-purpose indoor Arena which can be used for exhibitions or entertainment events. 'London-centric'-thinking made establishing the venue rather difficult. For instance, in 2000, the ExCeL exhibition and conference centre opened in London and its foreign owners have continued to develop that competing site. In 2014, Birmingham City Council sold the site which is currently owned by the Blackstone Group.

The Exhibition

'Railtex' and 'Infrarail' are two leading exhibitions in the UK aimed at the railway industry. Following the inability to stage this type of exhibition at all during 2020 because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the two exhibitions were combined under the banner of the 'UK Rail Hub'in 2021. The event was open 7th-9th September in Halls 11 and 12 of the NEC. 'Railtex' was billed as "the 15th international exhibition of railway equipment, systems and services" and 'Infrarail' as "the 13th international railway infrastructure exhibition".

Arriving at the show during the Age of Covid-19 provided a new experience. On the broad, covered overhead walkway connecting the railway station to the NEC, teams of security checked documentation relating to the Covid-19 status of visitors, who were then asked to wear a self-adhesive wrist-strap to confirm a satisfactory check.

On reaching the exhibition halls, registration was quick - I'd signed-up on-line previously and printed out the confirmation which included what used to be called a 'QR Code' (for quick response) but, with wider utilisation for all sorts of purposes, including railway ticketing, is also called a '2D Barcode'. There's an excellent article about these codes on Wikipedia here. A pleasant lady scanned my confirmation at a special pedestal at the entrance which immediately printed a card label which she attached to a lanyard and I was 'in'.

The show was useful but, perhaps understandably, seemed rather more subdued than previous, similar events I've been to. But I found it good that people were starting to meet face-to-face rather than by the dreaded 'Zoom' or 'Teams' video conferencing.

By mid-afternoon, my friend and I had achieved all we'd hoped and we walked back to Birmingham International station. The northbound train we caught was rather full so we stood in the coach vestibule to Birmingham New Street, where my friend had a change of train. The passengers thinned-out somewhat here so I found a seat to complete my journey back to Wolverhampton.

My local railway pictures

West Midland Railways.

By Train to Croydon

As the Covid-19 Pandemic continues, some easement of travel restrictions has allowed me to repeat previous journeys in the United Kingdom to note changes. Having visited Liverpool area (described here) and Blackpool area (described here), I travelled via London to Croydon to visit my friend on Thursday 2nd September 2021, returning the following day.

The day before my trip, I'd managed to book train tickets online, after some difficulty with the booking 'apps'. Government advice was strongly recommending social distancing (and mask-wearing in crowded locations) so I decided to travel First Class.

I took the first bus from Brewood to Wolverhampton at 07:30, which meant I had plenty of time to walk to Wolverhapton's new and rather incomplete station which still fails to impress me. I couldn't help compiling a mental 'snagging list' of features I came across that were either not yet finished or had already broken in use. My childhood visits to the station were to a rather run-down station after the exigencies of WWII but it still provoked a sense of anticipation quite lacking in the 21st century version. There are short posts describing that period here and here.


Wolverhampton Station entrance hall showing the new ticket gateline giving access to platform 1

The departure was from platform 4 and the previous operators of the service, Virgin, had a First Class Lounge there but there isn't one currently. The Avanti website says "Most of our First Class Lounges are currently closed. To ensure safe social distancing, we’ve also reduced the available space in our open lounges".

The train arrived on time - a Glasgow to London via Birmingham service operated by a Class 390 'Pendolino'. I found my reserved seat and settled down. There were only a couple of other passengers in my coach. We departed a couple of minutes late and the on-board staff quickly provided a cup of tea and an instant porridge, which I selected from the rather limited menu. Both were served in cardboard containers with wooden cutlery. In the age of Covid-19, a reasonably 'proper' breakfast served with metal cutlery is a distant memory. The ride quality was not particularly good and I wondered if the fact that I was in the leading vehicle was a factor.

The journey was uneventful and the driver had no difficulty in maintaining the fairly generous timing to London Euston, arriving in platform 16 at 10:33. As we slowly ran in, I had a good view of the adjacent major civil engineering works for HS2, the new high speed railway which will initially link Euston to a new station at Curzon Street Birmingham. The former Down side carriage shed and associated sidings have been removed and the site is being prepared for the new line. I'm a great believer in railways but can find no justification for proceeding with HS2 when many parts of the country are crying out for more investment on existing, conventional routes.


Euston in 2013 with the disused Down Side Carriage Shed in the background.

The present Euston station has become rather down-at-heel, despite periodic refurbishment. Some years ago, a major rebuilding was promised but this will presumably coincide with the eventual completion of the first stage of HS2, whenever that is. There's a short post from 2008 discussing Euston, St. Pancras and King's Cross here. The concourse area at Euston has escalators leading directly to Euston Underground station but, at present, a detour is needed. All passengers are first directed outside, make their way along the outside of the building, then re-enter further along to reach the escalators. Builder's partition walls ensure this detour. I found the signage rather inadequate and the impression conveyed is that 'Customers' (as the railway prefers to term its passengers) are really rather a nuisance.

It was quite busy in the ticket hall of the underground station, mainly people apparently bewildered by the array of automatic ticket machines along one wall. The 'Oyster' contactless ticketing system is now extended to to allow 'touch-in' by credit card, allowing me to avoid the confusion and descend to the southbound Victoria Line platform where a train arrived after less than a minute. Despite the drop-lights at each end of the coach being lowered for ventilation and noisy fans in the ventilation system apparently turned up to maximum, it was a very warm journey to Victoria and I was quite relieved to return to ground level and the comparatively spacious concourse at Victoria.

Even today, the history of Victoria station as two stations side-by-side is apparent in its layout and architecture. On the eastern side, a pleasant arched roof covers the 'Chatham' lines (shared by the London and Chatham Railway and South Eastern Railway prior to their amalgamation). To the west, there's an impressive range of station offices built to serve the 'Brighton' lines of the L.B.S.C.R. which feature the heraldic shield of Sussex but the platforms themselves are now permanently without natural light following the construction of a modern building overhead.


London Victoria: Heraldic shield of Sussex featuring six martlets on the western range of offices on the Brighton side.

There's a brief article about the origins of Victoria Station here. I joined the next 'fast' train to East Croydon and within a few minutes we were on our way. We made the single mandatory intermediate stop at Clapham Junction which I've briefly described in a earlier post here. Around ten minutes are allowed from Clapham Junction to East Croydon but we were brought to a stand by a red signal just after Selhurst and then again just before East Croydon.


East Croydon: View from platform 4 looking towards Brighton in 2016

A short taxi ride then completed the journey to visit my friend - a visit delayed by almost 18 months because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The following afternoon, I returned home. This time I decided to catch the bus from my friend's to East Croydon station. The next train to Victoria was running a few minutes late and by the time it arrived, the platform was crowded, adding more passengers to the already-full train. I decided to remain standing for the journey to London. There were more people swarming around Victoria station than the previous day. When I reached the underground, I found an alternative access route was in use from the ticket hall to Victoria platform level, necessitating a fairly long detour through pedestrian tunnels. The train was well-loaded but I found a seat and, once again, the underground journey was hot and noisy. I arrived at Euston main line station in plenty of time for my booked train, then was pleased to discover that the Avanti First Class Lounge at Euston was still operating, providing a pleasant haven for a few minutes and offering drinks and snacks served by friendly staff. I was booked on the Edinburgh via Birmingham service which would deliver me to Wolverhampton without a change but, on making my way to the platform, I found two diesel-electric 'Super-Voyagers' (Class 221) units coupled together rather than a single electric 'Pendolino' (Class 390) unit.

I'm not sure whether this was a 'substitution' - certainly the reservations for a number of passengers (including the writer) had gone wrong but the on-board staff got everybody in my coach seated with some empty seats remaining. With underfloor diesel engines along the train, 'Voyagers' are always noisier than the 'Pendolinos' but what particularly annoys me is that the diesel-electric trainsets would be travelling "under the wires" from London to Scotland but using diesel fuel. This is because successive UK governments have declined to 'grasp the nettle' of comprehensive railway electrification despite a stated commitment to "de-carbonise" the economy. Instead, we now have the ultimate 'cop-out' of the later Hitachi 'Azuma' trains built for the UK (the Class 800 series) which are 'Bi-mode' and can run on overhead electrified lines or on non-electrified lines using diesel engines and electric generators. When running on overhead electrified routes, they suffer the weight penalty of lugging around unused diesel engines, generators, fuel tanks and fuel. When running on non-electrified lines, there's the weight penalty of the high-voltage switchgear and transformer. The increased complexity of 'Bi-mode' adds to both initial and maintenance costs.

In 2020, when rail journeys for non-essential purposes were prohibited by law, I remotely monitored movements at Euston a few times during the reduced 'Covid-19' timetable using Railcam UK (described in my post Watching The Trains Go By). There are two posts on those observations here and here.

By September 2021, more trains were being run but still fewer than in 'normal' times. However, the pair of Class 221s got me back to Wolverhampton on time. Rail travel in the age of Covid-19 is a little strange but at least it's possible.