A Lazy Man’s Supper
This was my supper sourced from the De Beauvoir Deli.
I wouldn’t normally be so lazy, but I had a lot to do and as I was buying some paint from the DIY store opposite, by buying supper, it saved me another trip later in the day. The steak came from Downland Produce and the potato dauphinoise from Ginger’s Kitchen.
I enjoyed it immensely!
A Two Hundred Million Pound Railway Project Of Which You’ve Probably Not Heard
The West Coast Main Line doesn’t have the capacity it needs to speed passengers between London and Liverpool, Manchester, Lancaster and Glasgow.
A few miles north of Stafford is Norton Bridge Junction, which has been likened in the July issue of Modern Railways as a set of traffic lights on the M6.
So a £200 million pound project has been commenced to remodel the junction. This map from Network Rail shows the lines through the area.
Norton Bridge Junction
Note the proposed new lines shown in orange. This Google Map shows the junction in detail.
Norton Bridge Junction
It would appear that construction has started, which the images in Modern Railways confirm. There is also a Youtube video, which shows a simulation of the junction.
One of the most interesting things about this project is that it is being implemented by the Staffordshire Alliance, which is an alliance of four major consultancies and construction companies. The structure has been borrowed from Australia, where it is called the Pure Alliance Model. This page on the Laing O’Rourke web site gives more details on how it works.
A detailed explanation is given in this article in Rail Engineer.
Let’s hope it works, as Network Rail needs all the good news it can get.
The outcome, when the project is finished in 2017 are stated in Modern Railways as being.
- Two additional fast services per hour between London and the North West; one to Liverpool and one to Lancaster and Glasgow.
- An additional Birmingham to Manchester service.
- An additional freight service.
These unpublicised projects are opening up new paths on Britain’s railways.
For me, it will mean that there will be more train services from London to Liverpool, Preston and Glasgow.
Thoughts On Double Deck Trains
On my Home Run from Krakow, I travelled on quite a few double-deck trains.
But you don’t travel on a train to look at the outside! When I travel on a double-deck train, I usually try and travel on the top deck, as it’s all about the view.
The quality of the view is very much the same as you get out of a Chiltern Railways Mark 3 coach, set up as the designer intended with four seats around a table by each window
Most uninformed comments about double-deck trains seem to come from politicians and journalists, whose only knowledge of engineering, is that it starts with an E. The comments are probably based on a trip on holiday on the top deck of a French, Dutch or German train and the view has told them, that this is the way to travel.
We also have masses of increasingly well-designed buses in this country, so people ask why if we can do it for buses we can’t do it for trains?
Double Deck Train Issues
But having travelled extensively on double-deck trains, I’m convinced they’re not a solution for everyone.
1. Getting On And Off
Speedy boarding is important with any train, but especially with commuter services and this is why increasingly our modern trains have wide doors and are walk-through like the Class 378 trains of the Overground.
But double-deck trains are slow to board for various reasons. Just sit near the stairs on say a German double-deck commuter train at a busy time and see the chaos, which ultimately delays the train.
2. Luggage
This is more of a problem on a long distance double-deck like a TGV Duplex. There may be plenty of space, but passengers want it near them, so it gets in the way of getting on and off in a reasonable time.
3. Cramped Seats Downstairs
One of the reasons, that I go upstairs is that often on a double-deck train, the lower deck seats are cramped and claustrophobic.
4. Disabled Issues
Perhaps on the Continent, they don’t have so many disabled as we do or perhaps they’re not as organised, but their trains are not as disabled-friendly as are our trains.
As a dimple example, many of our new trains are just step across and this helps everybody with a mobility difficulty. Few and none of the double-deck trains, I’ve seen feature this important design detail. Often it’s a couple of steps down or up to get on or off the train.
5. Tram-Trains
Tram-trains running under the Karlsruhe model and train-trams under the Chemnitz model are showing a lot of promise in Germany and France. I believe that more cities will embrace these methods of integrating urban transport, but I can’t see double deck trains running as trams through the main square at Kassel.
6. Design Issues
On one German train recently, I was on the upper deck and needed to go to the toilet. I had to go down the stairs and then fiight my way between the wheelchair passengers, babies in buggies and passengers with bicycles crammed into the lobby downstairs. Then after I’d done my business, I had to fight my way upstairs.
This illustrated to me, how difficult it is to design a usable double-deck train for all types of passenger.
UK Issues
In the UK, there are other issues, that affect double-deck trains.
1. Loading Gauge
The big problem is the UK loading gauge, which is smaller than that on the Continent. Double-deck trains in the UK, that will run on our classic lines, are really trying to fit a quart into a pint pot.
It is interesting to note, that the only attempt to introduce double deck trains in the UK was on the Southern Railway, where the loading guage doesn’t have to accommodate an overhead power supply.
2. Step Across Access
Increasingly, step across access will become the norm all over the UK, just as it is rapidly advancing in London. Any new trains coming into service, which do not have step across access will not be liked by passengers, who will have to lift their beloved wheeled cases in to and out of the train.
3. Go Anywhere Trains
We are innovative in this country and new services are always being examined with existing trains. I think it is true to say, that double-deck trains are often built for specific routes and the infrastructure is modified to suit them.
A Double Deck Train For A Double Deck Line
All of these facts and issues lead me to a conclusion – Any double-deck trains introduced on a network, must be designed for a specific route and the track and stations, must be designed to get the most out of the trains. They would have to have these features.
1. A Connected Train
Internet should go lot further than free wi-fi, which should be available to all passengers.
Some really wacky ideas will be successfully applied, providing the right connections are built into the tain.
2. Seating And Windows
This should be at least as good as Standard Class on the top deck of a German regional train or in a Chiltern Railways Mark 3 coach. Both feature four seats around a window. Some sets would have tables.
In Standard 2+2 seating would be a minimum with 2+1 in First.
3. Wide Aisle
The aisle between the seats must be wide and run the full length of the train.
4. Wide Entrance Doors And Step Across Access
Access into the trains must be through wide doors and there should be no steps up or down, whether passengers are going to the top or bottom deck.
5. Wheelchair Access To The Top Deck
Why not? It must be dreadful to be stuck in a wheelchair all the time, so why deny the disabled the pleasure of travelling on the top deck.
A Double Deck Train Design
It does all sound rather fanciful and expensive.
But if we can have double deck trains, why can’t we have double deck stations?
To build double deck stations for a commuter line would be difficult, but imagine how HS2 with its small number of stations could be designed so that passengers entered and left the train directly into the deck, where their seat was reserved.
Perhaps the only drawback is that all stations would need platform edge doors. But by the time HS2 is operational, train and platform design, coupled with sophisticated control systems could align the platform and train for a simple step across. I’ve never flown in an A380, but I think at some airports, you board directly into the deck, where you will be seated. Surely, what’s good enough for Heathrow and Dubai, is good enough for Euston, New Street and Piccadilly?
There Is No Product That Can’t Be Improved With LEDs
In this month’s Modern Railways, there is an article by Iam Walmsley, about the re-engineering of a Class 73 locomotive for Network Rail. This is a the extract which contains the title of this post.
The cab desk is best described as ‘functional’, a flat plate of stainless steel with everything on it, enlivened by cool teal-coloured LED backlighting, further evidence that there is no product that can’t be improved with LEDs.
This is so right.
Are The Banks Serious?
When I log in to my bank, I get an advert saying I can get a wonderful rate of two percent, if I lock money away with them for two years.
At present I have a sum of money invested in Zopa and my current return to date this year is just around five percent. Admittedly, I pay tax on that so it’s effectively a rate of three percent. With Zopa’s Safeguarding promises, that money is guaranteed.
So I’m getting an effective rate that is half as good again, as I would with the best banks.
But the big advantage of Zopa has shown itself this month.
I have the last Tax bill to pay concerning the sale of my house in Suffolk and also the bill for the handrails for my staircase, which as they were custom-made weren’t cheap. Couple that with other expenses and I have a lot of bills to pay at the end of this month.
But due to the churn in Zopa, every month, I get access to about six percent of the money I have deposited in the system, as borrowers repay capital, pay interest and end their loans early. So instead of reinvesting this money as I do normally, I have withdrawn most of the money to my Current Account, so I can pay my bills.
I have a feeling that I have actually withdrawn a couple of thousand too much. But no matter, when all the bills are paid it’ll go back into Zopa. All I’ve lost is three percent gross on £2,000 for a month or a fiver.
So why do people put so much faith in the Banks, as they rip us off?
My Current Account at Nationwide is mainly just a means to transfer money to and from other accounts.
What other benefits do I get?
1. At the Angel, there is an inside ATM, that I use when it’s pouring with rain. There are also seats, so if I’m drawing out a larger amount of cash, I can sit down and put everything away properly.
2. I have a Credit Card, which is recommended by many, that if I use abroad, charges me nothing extra for the currency conversion.
3. I have an on-line bank account, that to access from anywhere in the world, only needs to have information stored in the brain, I was born with.
4. I get a basic travel insurance, which covers me for everything but medical expenses. So if easyJet or whoever, were to lose my baggage on the way to wherever I’m covered.
On the other hand, I get the following annoyances.
1. The dreaded Verified by Visa, when I use the debit or credit card on-line.
2. No contactless service on the Credit Card, which means I have to carry another credit card that does, in case I lose my Freedom Pass.
Nationwide should be pleased that I’m not thinking of leaving yet!
The Anonymous Widower 