The Problems Of Upgrading Railways
The East Coast Main Line from Kings Cross to Newcastle and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster and York may be a High Speed Line that allows trains to run at 200 kph. The trouble with the line is that it doesn’t have enough capacity for all the passenger and freight trains that want to use the line.
The French or Spanish would have probably built a new line, but we don’t have the space they do, and it is questionable in this country, if high speed trains are popular with the general public.
But on the East Coast Main Line, there was already a decrepit bypass called the Great Northern Great Eastern Joint Line from Peterborough to Doncaster. I’ve talked about this line before in Project Managers Have Fun In The East.
This article in the Rail Engineer is the story of upgrading that line, so that in particular freight trains can be diverted to free up space on the East Coast Main Line.
The line has been virtually rebuilt, resignalled, level crossing have been removed and stations have been improved, at a cost of around three hundred million pounds.
There is still work to do and in a few years time, the following could have happened.
1. A better connection at the Northern end at Doncaster.
2. A diveunder or flyover at Werrington Junction near Peterborough, to remove a bottleneck.
3. There might even be a direct link across the Fens from Spalding to March. This would allow freight trains between Felixstowe and the North to join or cross the East Coast Main Line at Doncaster.
4. The line might even be electrified, in part to cut the noise of the dreaded Class 66 diesel locomotives.
Serial Cooking – Basmati Rice For One
My basic cooking lessons at home from my mother didn’t include cooking basmati rice. Rice was for making puddings, not as a substitute for potatoes.
So when I found this method of cooking basmati rice in this recipe from Lindsey Bareham, I had to try it. As it worked I’m posting it.
It may of course be a standard method, but it worked well and isn’t much more difficult than putting a packet in the microwave.
But it’s a bit more impressive, even if it is slower.
The great thing about this way of cooking rice, is that it takes twenty minutes from of virtually hands off cooking, from when the water boils, so is easy to slot into other cooking, talking with guests or drinking.
It is also very easy to scale up for a particular number of people.
Freight At Maryland Station
I had to catch a train from that ruin in the East, Maryland, this afternoon. When I took pictures of all the stations before they are taken over by Crossrail, I gave Maryland a score of 2/10. As these pictures I took today, show of a freight train passing through, I think I was generous.
Sorting this dump out will need a real top quality architect with imagination. This Google Earth image shows the station and the roads around it.
Maryland Station
The following problems will challenge the design team.
1. The site is cramped and surrounded by busy roads.
2. The access to the station is along narrow pavements, even if they opened up the entrance on the South side.
3. The Crossrail platforms on the South side of the station are too short for the new trains and selective door opening will have to be used.
4. There would also appear to be few redeeming features in the current station. There isn’t any Victorian ironwork to preserve.
This is what is shown at present on the Crossrail web site.
Proposed Design
At least the number of trees has been increased!
I wish the architects the best of luck, but I sometimes feel that the only way to improve the station, would be to put a concrete raft over the whole area and build some tower blocks on top. At least they’d have good access to the rail system.
But then what do I know about architecture?
More Electric Multiple Unit Refurbishment
I am not a great fan of the Class 321 electric multiple units, that I seem to use, when I travel all over Essex and Suffolk.
On my regular trips to Ipswich, I much prefer to take the trains formed of a rake of Mark 3 coaches hauled by a Class 90 electric locomotive.
However like many of the UKs electric multiple units, the Class 321 are based on the smooth-riding Mark 3 coach.
As in recent years, a some of these like the Class 319 and 455 have been refurbished, it is no surprise that Eversholt Leasing has decided to update its fleet of thirty Class 321 trains, to make them more attractive to train operating companies.
This article in the Railway Gazette describes the project to upgrade these trains, into a new variant called the Class 321 Renatus.
It would appear to me, that these 100 mph trains will find gainful employment all over the UK Rail network, as more lines are electrified.
The New Freedom Pass Map
This document on the Transport for London web site, is the latest definitive map of where I can roam with my Freedom Pass.
The big addition for me is Shenfield, as although I don’t go there often, I could use it as the station to get my train for football at Ipswich.
I would have to change trains twice, but I could still arrive on the same 13:43 train into Ipswich.
But by using TfL Rail to Shenfield and then Abellio Greater Anglia from there, my Saturday Off-Peak Return, drops from £26.25 to £16.75, which is a saving of £9.50.
Similar savings even occur for a Tuesday evening match, as the cheapest fare drops from £28.70 to £19.35. It would also appear that you just buy an Off Peak Return, which is a saving in aggravation.
I’m only working on the current timetable, but I suspect that a new Anglia franchisee in a couple of years time, might stop all of the Ipswich and Norwich trains at Shenfield for Crossrail. It will probably be quicker to go from Liverpool Street, but there will be a lot of possibilities for saving money.
I also suspect that, when Crossrail opens, then Reading, like Heathrow and Shenfield, will appear on the Freedom Pass map, so instead of going to Paddington, will I join trains to Wales and the West Country at Reading.
The biggest effect on the economy of the spreading of the Freedom Pass, will be that more and more retirees will move into the capital, thus fuelling the rise in house prices.
So perhaps the best way to spend that pension pot is to buy a place in London.
The Todmorden Curve Has Helped A Campaign For More
The opening of the Todmorden Curve seems to have been a success according to press reports I’ve found, but this article from the Lancashire Telegraph, entitled New hope for campaigners looking to re-establish link between East Lancashire and North Yorkshire, shows that the opening is having other effects. This is the first paragraph.
A NEW hope has emerged for campaigners looking to re-establish a link between East Lancashire and North Yorkshire after a transport chief signalled concerns about possible logjams in Calderdale and Leeds.
The link between Colne and Skipton, which is mentioned in the article is shown in this map.
Skipton To Colne
It is being promoted by the Colne-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership.
Having explored the area a lot in the last couple of years. I feel very much that tram-trains perhaps linked to Blackpool and/or Manchester have a lot of possibilities. I said as much in Could Tram-Trains Be Used To Advantage In Blackpool? It may sound fanciful and ambitious, but a single track tram-train link from Colne to Skipton, would have a high passenger capacity and wouldn’t require the infrastructure of heavy rail.
Things seem to be moving fast in East Lancashire.
In North London, there has been strong enthusiasm for the recent extension of the Overground. I now perceive a wanting for more of the same.
So are the good citizens of East Lancashire behaving in the same way?
The Anonymous Widower 