Even Vauxhall Corsas Have 4G Wi-Fi
This is the case according to adverts at the side of the pitch in the England Slovakia game at Wembley tonight.
I don’t drive, so I don’t care, but it appears that this increasingly features on cars.
Bombardier have fitted this feature to Crossrail’s Class 345 trains, so will we see it increasingly fitted to all trains, taxis and buses?
It’ll certainly be something that passengers on public transport will expect.
Coastal Communities Among Worst Off In UK, Report Finds
The title of this post is the same as an article on the BBC web site, which they are covering on BBC Breakfast.
When I was fifteen my parents partially-retired to Felixstowe and I remember a very boring couple of summers in the town. In summer 1963, I spent most of it reading Nelkon and Parker in preparation for my A Level Physics course.
In those days, public transport to Ipswich was dire with nothing back after working hours and I can remember that I only ever went to the cinema in Felixstowe once!
Today, the last train from Ipswich is 22:28, but in those days it was about 19:00.
So one factor that applied, was you needed a car to have any social life outside of the dreary town. The few people of my age, I knew in the town couldn’t wait to leave school, so they could earn money to buy a car.
If you look around the country, the coastal areas that are vibrant and successful like say Bournemouth, Brighton, Liverpool, Southend and Swansea, tend to be larger, with excellent external and internal public transport links.
Other non-successful coastal towns like Felixstowe, Hastings, Hull, Lowestoft, Redcar, Skegness and Ysrmouth don’t have the same quality of external transport links, although some like Hull have good bus networks.
I may be being selective, but I believe it would make a big difference to a lot of coastal towns, if they had a first class rail service to the nearby inland larger towns and cities.
If there is no rail route, then a first class bus connection is needed.
Felixstowe
I’ll take Felixstowe as an example.
- The train service is one train per hour and it finishes around ten in the evening.
- The length of the line is such, that one train can do the return trip in an hour.
- Most of the rolling stock used on the line are past it, although I’ve done the trip in a passenger-friendly Class 170 train.
- If it is a sunny Saturday or Sunday, the train can get overloaded at times.
Hopefully, the train service will get better.
- Greater Anglia have ordered new three-car Class 755 bi-mode trains.
- Network Rail are improving the Felixstowe Branch Line.
- Ipswich station is to be upgraded with an extra bay platform for Felixstowe and Lowestoft services.
Point 1 would probably attract more passengers and points 2 and 3 would allow a half-hourly service at selected times of the day.
The increase in capacity and quality, should be enough, so that on a glorious day if people in Ipswich decide to go to the coast, the trains can make it a good experience.
It will be interesting to see how the number of rail passengers to Felixstowe change in the next few years.
Incidentally, Felixstowe station shows how you can create a quality station for a town of 24,000 people.
- The Grade II Listed station buildings have become a Shopping Centre with a cafe and bar.
- There is just a single platform that can take a four-car train.
- There is a ticket machine and a basic shelter.
- The station is on the High Street.
- The car park is shared with the local Co-op supermarket.
- The station is unstaffed, but the trains are double-manned.
How many coastal stations could be Felixstowed?
Felixstowe used to have a second station at Felixstowe Beach, which is near to the Port of Felixstowe and Landguard Fort.
Some might argue that reopening the station would be a good idea, especially as it could be a modern single platform station.
But surely, it would be better to improve the bus services in the town or provide quality bike hire at the station.
Greater Anglia’s Class 755 Trains
Greater Anglia have ordered 24 x four-car and 14 x three-car Class 755 trains.
- The trains are bi-mode.
- In terms of carriages, the new bi-mode fleet will be at more than twice the size of the current diesel fleet.
- Greater Anglia have said, that they will use electric power from overhead wires, even if it’s only available for short distances.
- The trains are probably large enough for an on-board full function ticket machine and lots of buggies, bicycles and wheel-chairs.
- They will probably carry their own wheelchair ramp, as I saw in What Train Is This?
This article in RailNews is entitled Greater Anglia unveils the future with Stadler mock-up and says this.
The bi-mode Class 755s will offer three or four passenger vehicles, but will also include a short ‘power pack’ car to generate electricity when the trains are not under the wires. This vehicle will include a central aisle so that the cars on either side are not isolated. Greater Anglia said there are no plans to include batteries as a secondary back-up.
So Stadler are using their well-proven design, which I saw in Germany.
What surprises me is the ruling out of batteries by Greater Anglia.
The central powercar would surely be the ideal place to put energy storage, for the following reasons.
- It could be easily integrated with the diesel power-pack.
- The weight of the battery is probably in the best place.
- It could be part of an energy saving regenerative braking system, which would work under electric or diesel power.
- In Battery EMUs For Merseyrail, I wrote how Stadler were fitting batteries in Merseyrail’s new fleet.
When the trains arrive, it’ll all be explained. Perhaps, Greater Anglia’s words were carefully chosen.
How will these trains change the coastal towns of Cromer, Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Sheringham and Yarmouth?
If it’s positive, Greater Anglia will be setting a strong precedent.
What Needs To Be Done To Railways To And Along The Coast
In no particular order, there are various topics.
A Coastal-Friendly Train Fleet
From personal experience on East Anglian trains, I feel that the passenger profile is different with always several bicycles on a train. Greater Anglia will have researched their passengers’ journeys and this has resulted in their choice of three- and four-car bi-mode Class 755 trains.
- One- and two-car diesel multiple units are being replaced with three-car bi-modes
- The Class 170 trains appear to be being replaced by four-car bi-modes.
So it would appear that Greater Anglia are expecting more passengers on the coastal routes to Cromer, Felixstowe, Lowestoft and Yarmouth, as they are always running at least three-car trains.
I also suspect they will be allowing for more bicycles and buggies, with higher traffic at weekends with good weather.
Their fleet choice will also allow them to use a four-car train instead of a three-car.
Looking at the fleet choices of other train operators like Northern working over a wide area with a large proportion of leisure traffic, they seem to have a degree of flexibility.
Stations In Coastal Towns
Many stations in coastal towns were built in the grand manner. This is St. Leonard’s Warrior Square station.
Felixstowe station was built in this way and the station buildings are Grade II Listed. This is the single platform.
But it also shows how you can create a quality station for a town of 24,000 people.
- The station buildings have become a Shopping Centre with a cafe and bar.
- There is just a single platform that can take a six-car train.
- There is a ticket machine and a basic shelter, underneath an ornate 1898 canopy.
- The station is on the High Street.
- The car park is shared with the local Co-op supermarket.
- The station is unstaffed, but the trains are double-manned.
How many coastal stations could be Felixstowed?
These are a few pictures of other stations in coastal towns.
Some are grand, some are simple and some need a lot of improvement.
But if you want to improve the fortunes of a coastal town, or any town for that matter, you must give it a decent station, which will be one of main entry points for visitors.
The larger stations must have the following characteristics.
- A certain style.
- Good understandable information and perhaps a proper Tourist Office.
- A cafe or a bar.
- Decent bus connections to the rest of the town.
- Bicycle hire
- A shop for a paper and some chocolate.
- A cash machine with no extra charges.
Hopefully, the station needs a central location in the town.
But Felixstowe station shows what can be created, with its Victorian canopy and a single platform, tucked away behind a shopping centre, built around the original Listed station building.
These days with modern signalling and double-ended multiple units, single-platform stations like Felixstowe, could probably handle four trains per hour.
New Stations
In DfT Names Five Winners Of Fresh £16m Stations Fund, I talked about new stations funded by the Government’s New Stations Fund. Two of the five stations are near the coast; Bow Street and Horden Peterlee.
So does the Government realise the value of good rail links to coastal areas?
The Walkers’ Halt
Some of the coastal lines go along some of the most spectacular coast-lines in the UK.
This Google Map shows the Durham Coast Line just South of Seaham station.
A modern train like a bi-mode Class 755 train could have the following characteristics.
- The ability to execute station stops with a short dwell time.
- In-cab radio signalling.
- CCTV to aid the driver at a station stop.
- On-board ticketing machine.
- On-board wheelchair ramp.
- Two crew members.
So would it be able to stop to pick up and set down at an old-fashioned halt with perhaps a single platform?
The England Coast Path
The England Coast Path will be 4,500 kilometres long and go round the whole coast of England.
In places, it must go near to railway lines, so will we see simple walkers’ halts, as I described in the previous section?
It strikes me, that we need a large helping of careful design to make sure that the England Coast Path and our costal rail routes would well together.
I used England as an example, but I suspect, the same logic applies in the rest of the UK.
Conclusion
This post isn’t complete yet!
I do feel though based on my East Anglian experience, that improving the train service to coastal towns could be the first step in improving their prosperity.
Too often going to the coast by train is a second-rate experience. Greater Anglia with its train fleet renewal seem to be creating a new era of getting to the coast in Norfolk and Suffolk.
Other companies should be made to follow.
Would It Be Better To Run Some Suburban Trains With Two Drivers?
Reading an article about South Western Railway in the September 2017 Edition of Modern Railways, I read this statement from Andy Mellors of the company.
SWR does not have any intend to reduce staff numbers and sees a strong bernefit in having more than one person on a train, even if some specific duties change.
The plan is to have a second person onboard every train. We know that our customers appreciate that and from time to time regular customers as well as infrequent travellers need that reassurance as well. We plan to have a second person on-board our trains, and we are not committed to any particular method of operation through our bid.
Between Waterloo and Chessington South stations, trains currently take the following times using the current Class 455 trains.
- Waterloo to Chessington South – 36 minutes
- Turning train at Chessington South – 15 minutes
- Chessington South to Waterloo 38 minutes
For an efficient train service, it is essential that the trains can execute the route as fast as possible.
A modern train like a Class 720 train, will decrease journey times because of the following.
- 100 mph capability
- Fast acceleration and efficient regenerative braking.
- Efficient loading and unloading of passengers.
- Level access for wheelchair users, buggy pushers and those dragging large cases.
- Driver aids, so that time keeping and other measures are improved.
The trains will reduce the journey times, but how do you reduce the fifteen minutes to turn the train at Chessington South?
If the trains working the branch are ten-car units, a lot of the time at Chessington South will be spent walking from one end of the train to the other.
Supposing both members of the crew were qualified to drive the train and they shared duties as a team.
- Each crew member would drive one way, whilst the other looked after passengers, doors and safety.
- As SWR have said all suburban trains will have a toilet, there may be further efficiencies.
- The turnback time could probably be reduced by several minutes.
I believe that with the new trains and a well-thought out method of working, a complete return trip could be made within an hour.
With the current method of working, two trains per hour (tph) is possible and it needs three trains, due to the ninety minute return trip.
But with two crew sharing duties, four tph could be possible and it would need only four trains.
It should be noted that to speed turnround on the Underground, drivers walk back and then step up on the next train.
Conclusion
Obviously, it’s not this easy, but I believe management and unions can work together to find a working method, that is acceptable to all stakeholders.
Specialist Trains Lead The Charge Against Leaf Fall on The Piccadilly Line
The title of this post is the same as the title of this press release on the Transport for London web site.
Last year, the Piccadilly Line suffered badly from leaves on the line as this article on the BBC, which is entitled Piccadilly Line delays: Wet leaves cause train shortage reported. This was the opening paragraph.
The Piccadilly Tube Line has been hit with major delays after half its trains were taken out of service as wet leaves on the track damaged their wheels.
Transport for London’s press release, talks about using RATs.
The two Rail Adhesion Trains (RATs) are part of a package of measures being introduced this Autumn to tackle wheel flats and prevent disruption.
A robust action plan to tackle leaf fall on the Piccadilly line is well underway for the Autumn months, TfL confirmed today.
It follows the publication of an independent report, commissioned by TfL, into leaf fall issues on the Piccadilly line that have led to delays and disruption on the line over the past two years.
Two 1973-stock trains have been converted into specialist engineering trains which will travel on the Piccadilly line treating rails to reduce the risk of poor adhesion. The adhesive material they dispense helps the train wheels grip the tracks during braking. When trains brake on slippery tracks it can cause the wheels to lock and subsequently wear down, an issue known as wheel flats.
Other measures TfL is taking to ensure that services on the Piccadilly line run as smoothly as possible this Autumn include:
- Aggressive vegetation clearance.
- Obtaining better weather prediction data.
- Better signage and information for drivers.
- Developing an Autumn leaf-fall timetable.
- Recruiting more maintenance staff and purchasing more spare wheels.
It’s certainly a comprehensive package of measures.
The Class 769 Trains Are Progressing
The August 30th Edition of Rail Magazine gives a few details about the creation and testing of the Class 769 trains at Brush Traction in Loughborough.
- A test rig will be built to test the combination of MAN diesel engine and ABB alternator.
- The first train will be fitted with a power unit in the next eight weeks.
- After static tests it will move to the nearby Great Central Railway. for dynamic testing.
- The first train will be joined by a second train to test compatibility and multiple working.
- After returning to Brush for approval, they will move to Allerton Depot, where they will be based.
- It is planned that all eight trains for Northern will be in the North West by April 2018.
I find it intriguing that the testing is done on the local heritage railway.
There are two parts of the Great Central Railway separated by the Loughborough Gap.
- The Northern part is the Great Central Railway (Nottingham), which runs from the Midland Main Line at Loughborough to the South of Nottingham.
- The Southern part is the Great Central Railway, which runs between Loughborough Central and Leicester North stations.
It is not said, whether the testing is North or South of Loughborough.
The two heritage railways are trying to bridge the gap at present and I can’t help feeling that once it is bridged, there will be winners all round.
It’s All Over Now, Waterloo!
As was planned, the former International platforms 21 to 24 are now closed and will remain so until the end of next year.
Note that Platform 20 is still open and can be accessed from a hole in the wall on Platform 19.
The platform closure is to allow the following to be done..
- Access to the Underground to be finished.
- Lifts to be added to the platforms.
- The platforms to be completed.
- Retail units to be added to the area.
Operationally, Waterloo station now seems to have at least the same amount of capacity as before the modifications started, but with the following changes.
- Platforms 1 to 6 can now all take ten-car trains.
- Access to the Underground has been improved on Platforms 1 to 4.
- A more efficient track layout has been created tp Platforms 1 to 6.
- The frequency of trains between Waterloo and Wimbledon has been increased.
There is still Platforms 21 to 24 to be added to the station to increase capacity.
South Western Railway’s Plans
In the September 2017 Edition of Modern Railways, there is a short article entitled Uplift In Windsor Line Capacity.
South Western Railway are proposing to make two major timetable changes in December 2018 and December 2020.
The first will see the following changes.
- Waterloo to Reading services updated from two trains per hour (tph) to four tph.
- Waterloo to Windsor services doubled to 4 tph.
They will be run by the new Class 707 trains.
This will be the first benefit of the Waterloo Upgrade.
As Waterloo handles about forty tph at present, this represents a ten percent capacity upgrade for trains.
The LaMiLo Project
I don’t know whether the new platforms or any others at Waterloo have been designed so that they can handle freight movements as in the LaMiLo Project, but you’d think it would be a good idea to make sure new platforms in major cities could handle parcel and pallet trains, where the goods will be collected and distributed by electric vehicles in the City Centre.
Conclusion
It appears that platforms 1 to 6 are now fully operational, although, I think that the lifts still need to be fitted.
So it seems that the doom mongers didn’t get this one right!
But the engineers and project managers seem to have done!
Is Peer-To-Peer Lending Having A Spot Of Bother?
There have been one or two news reports questioning asking tis question.
I invest in Zopa and I have made the prudent decision to put my spare money in a Safeguarded product.
I have had a good run and certainly get more on my savings than I would in a bank. Obviously, I am including any bad debts in this statement.
I shall watch the situation, but I still believe what I said in Stability in Financial Systems.
If there are rumours of a spot of bother, then the following will happen.
- Investors will put their money elsewhere.
- Rates to lenders will rise.
- This will tempt nvestors back in.
It’s a merry-go-round for money!
Note that because Zopa matches investors and borrowers by means of a computer, no human bias can drive the system in a wrong direction. Except a bent programmer and hoipefully systems are in place to check the honesty of their employees.
My Japanese Wallet
These pictures show my Japanese wallet.
Note.
- The pocket on the outside to hold one credit card. Unfortunately, you can’t do contactless in the pocket.
- The inside purse to hold a few coins, my door key and a few Warfarin tablets.
- Plenty of space for cards.
- The usual folder for notes.
- The zip that closes it shut.
I haven’t shown the miniature Samurai sword, that pokes out if someone, who doesn’t look like me tries to open the wallet.
The Cavalry Are Arriving!
This article in Rail Magazine is entitled First HST for ScotRail Arrives In Scotland.
I seem to remember reading accusations that Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and their governments weren’t too keen on the ageing InterCity 125 trains, that plied up to Scotland and across to Wales and the West of England. So they did a deal with Hitachi, which included a new train factory close to Blair’s constituency in the North-East of England.
But removing InterCity 125s or High Speed Trtains (HSTs) as they are commonly known, from the UK rail network, appears to be as difficult as removing Japanese knot-weed from a garden.
When delays hit the Great Western electrification, Great Western Railway started experimenting with short formation HSTs, consisted of two Class 43 power cars and four or five Mark 3 coaches. The experiments were obviously a success, as they have decided to do this according to Wikipedia.
Great Western Railway are to retain 24 powercars and 48 carriages to form 11 four-carriage sets for use on local services between Cardiff and Penzance. The carriages will be fitted with automatic doors and controlled emission tanks at Wabtec, Doncaster.
Scotrail have gone down a similar route of shortened HSTs.
This article in Rail |Engineer is entitled ScotRail’s ‘new’ HSTs, gives full details. This is the first three paragraphs of the article.
In 2012, Transport Scotland published the results of its rail passenger service consultation. This considered how the railway should develop and the types of passenger services required. Its results were incorporated into the specification for the ScotRail franchise which was renewed in 2014.
One conclusion from this consultation exercise was that passengers traveling from central Scotland to Aberdeen and Inverness much preferred to travel in Virgin Trains East Coast High Speed Trains (HSTs) from London than ScotRail’s Class 170 diesel multiple units (DMUs).
For this reason, the invitation to tender (ITT) document for the ScotRail franchise included a specification for improved rolling stock for Scotland’s internal inter-city services that could have been based on the HST’s mark 3 coach. In its franchise bid, Abellio’s response to this requirement was that it would provide refurbished HSTs on the routes that serve Scotland’s seven cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness).
Abellio received the franchise and ScotRail will be getting seventeen 2+5 and nine 2+4 HSTs. This paragraph from the Rail Engineer article gives more details on the trains.
The HSTs will be phased into service from summer 2018, with the full fleet operational for the May 2019 timetable change. This aligns with the completion of Network Rail’s Highland main line journey time improvements project. 54 power cars and 121 coaches will be leased from Angel Trains. These will make up 17 five-coach trains and 9 four- coach trains with two power cars spare. The 2019 timetable will require 23 trains in service each day with five coach sets operating Central Belt to Aberdeen services and the four coach trains generally running to Inverness. The number of through services from Inverness to the Central Belt via Aberdeen will also be increased.
As the first HST has now arrived in Scotland as is reported in the Rail Magazine article, it looks like everything is going to plan.
Politicians and others might say, why are the lines not being electrified or services provided by Class 802 trains.
- Network Rail’s record on electrification isn’t good.
- There would probably be opposition to overhead electrification marching all over the Highlands.
- The lines in the North of Scotland probably have a maximum speed of 100 mph at best.
- Drivers have forty years of experience of running HSTs to Aberdeen and Inverness.
- To many of the British, the InterCity 125s are the definitive High Speed Train.
Could there even be a popular feeling behind using the trains, in much the same way people cling to the past in their politics?
I think it is a sensible plan for the following reasons.
- A 2+5 shortened set running at less than the 125 mph design speed could be a very sound economic proposition.
- The trains have large windows for a good view.
- I’m sure Scotrail will add appropriate catering, on the upwards of two to three hour journeys.
- These trains could be passenger magnets for business, leisure and tourists, especially from countries like Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Canada and the USA.
But above all these Scottish InterCity services must be the Marketing Department’s dream!
Carlisle Joins The Fight For The Extended Borders Railway
This article in the Southern Reporter is entitled Carlisle the ‘logical step forward’.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Carlisle City Council has joined the army of organisations fighting for the Borders Railway to be extended south.
The council’s leader, Cllr Colin Glover, has held joint talks with the Campaign for Borders Rail, agreeing to stimulate economic growth through reinstatement of the railway between Carlisle, Longtown, and the Central Borders.
The article has a lot of comments about why the extended Borders Railway would be good for both Carlisle and the Scottish Borders.
This is a comment from the leader of Carlisle Council.
There are clear benefits for Carlisle, Building a new line supports plans for growth all over the city and region.
Ever since, the Borders Railway opened to Tweedbank station, it has been my view that Carlisle is key to completion of the reinstated route between Edinburgh and the North West of England.
Consider.
- Carlisle is a city of just over 100,000 people.
- The whole of the Scottish Borders only has a population of 114,000.
- Carlisle is a major railway junction with services to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle and the South of England.
- Some of the most scenic rail routes in the UK, link Carlisle with Glasgow and South West Scotland, the Lake District, Leeds and Newcastle.
- The important scenic route to Edinburgh through the Borders is missing.
- The West Coast Main Line (WCML) needs to increase capacity through Carlisle.
- HS2 services will be arriving at Carlisle, via Crewe and the WCML, around 2033.
The Borders Railway to Carlisle is undoubtedly an Anglo-Scottish project.
Conclusion
I suspect that when the definitive report on the extension of the Borders Railway to Carlisle is published, Carlisle will be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
The Anonymous Widower 