A New Bus for London Training On Route 24
I was at the front of the top deck of a 30 bus today going past Warren Street station, when I saw a New Bus for London going towards Camden Town.
As this is along route 24, I would assume it could be driver training or route proving.
The bus wasn’t showing any signs or advertising.
Changing At New Cross Gate
Coming home, I didn’t go via Clapham Junction station, as the quickest train from Redhill went via New Cross Gate station, where I changed to the Overground.
It is not far to walk, but it is not step free and I had to walk up one tricky staircase and down another. So this would not be a route from Dalston Junction to Gatwick with a heavy case.
A Visit To Dorking West Station
Dorking West station has a reputation, as one of the least busy stations on the UK network. This was reported here on the BBC, which said it only had 16 passengers in 2011-12.
incidentally, I saw at least seven or eight passengers get off the train at Dorking West station.
The station was generally clean and tidy, although it is very short on facilities, with it would seem nothing convenient to the station, except for the scrapyard. Apparently, a few years ago, the latter caught fire and disrupted the trains, according to someone in Information at Redhill. I’ve since found this report on the BBC.
The Class 166 trains were in good condition too!
It was in some ways an interesting trip, to one of the least used parts of the rail network in the South East England.
Various things have been proposed to generate traffic from electrification, to use as a route from the Channel Tunnel to Reading for freight, but it is unlikely that much will be done.
Riding The Class 377 To Redhill
A few years ago, travelling south of the Big Sewer, usually meant a ride in some rickety old electrical multiple unit, that had seen better days.
Now though, I seem to usually get an immaculate Class 377.
It wasn’t very busy and I had a coach to myself.
The New Pedestrian Bridge At East Croydon Station
Going south from Clapham Junction station today to Redhill, staff at Clapham said it would be quicker to go via East Croydon station.
It would appear that Network Rail is creating another of their excellent pedestrian overbridges.
This one isn’t as spectacular as Reading or Leeds, but it does seem, that Network Rail have got a concept that can be applied easily in different ways at various stations.
I should hope they’re working on a standard system, that can be used on the many stations, that need better access.
There Would Appear To Be Good Connections At Clapham Junction
One of my gripes with Clapham Junction station, is that if you arrive on the Overground like I do, you have to exit the barriers to either purchase or pick up a ticket for your onward journey.
I did think it might be likely, that the obvious place for a machine, the refurbished pedestrian bridge, didn’t have proper network connections!
Cashpoints At Clapham Junction
But it’s got these two cashpoints, so that can’t be the reason!
As it was today, I was changing for Redhill and missed my train by a minute or so, because I was delayed by having to walk a long way to get the ticket.
What Shall We Do With The Royal Mail?
I get very little useful mail today and haven’t for about ten years. My friends either, e-mail, text or phone me and all of my banks, utilities are on line. The only important post I get is tickets for various events, I’ve ordered on-line or by telephone and the odd small package delivered by the postman, like my INR test strips.
Most of the rest of the mail is junk usually addressed to the Occupier of my house. Make non-specific junk mail illegal and the Royal Mail would go bust. The worst offenders are estate agents and Virgin Media. I think I’ll get some cards printed, that I can post to the worst offenders, saying they will be charged £50 for wasting my time, if they send anything more.
Incidentally, I do post letters more regularly than I used to, as I have a post box on the corner.
Most of us love the Royal Mail and in rural and sparsely populated areas, I will admit, they do perform a regular social service. But where I live now in Hackney, I wouldn’t even recognise my postman, if I sat next to him in a pub or cafe. We though have a guy, who performs that low-level social service. We have this very accommodating guy, who keeps the streets clean and tidy, with his barrow and he always wishes you a hello and how are you, every time, you meet him on the street.
The real problem, I have is with parcels and packets, delivered by all of the companies and not just Parcelforce and Royal Mail. Usually, they come early in the morning, when I am still here, but often I return to find a card through the door.
Royal Mail/Parcelforce are in a strong position to create a proper on-line tracking service, as they are generally trusted.
You would need to register your name and address on their site, so that if you were getting a parcel delivery, they could send you an e-mail to say it was coming. I know some on-line vendors do this, but it often means logging in to a site and entering a tracking number, which means you have to have on-line skills.
Obviously, you wouldn’t always get an e-mail before it arrived, but you could have standing instructions like leave with number 27 or something similar.
A properly designed system would make it more efficient and probably save the Royal Mail money.
The first courier that gets it right and completes the loop between supplier and customer, will make a fortune and clean up.
Privatisation is not the cure, but augmenting the local link with technology may just be.
Just look at how easy it is to track trains and collect tickets at stations, compared to say ten years ago.
The Anonymous Widower 