The Anonymous Widower

Advance Warning Of Brixton To Beckenham Junction Rail Closure In July

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.

These are the first two paragraphs.

In late July, the railway between Brixton and Beckenham Junction will be closed for 9-days as Network Rail carry out a major upgrade of the tracks in the Penge railway tunnel.

Over the 9-day closure Network Rail says that it will be delivering a £4.5 million investment to replace the tracks through the Penge tunnel to help improve train service reliability. During the works, they will be replacing 3,970 metres of track in total, using engineering trains, road-rail vehicles and other heavy machinery to complete the work.

The railway will be closed between Herne Hill and Beckenham Junction stations for the week of Saturday 23rd to Sunday 31st July 2022.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the tunnel.

Note.

  1. The North-South railway is the Brighton Main Line, that passes through Sydenham and Penge West stations.
  2. The NW-SE railway is the Chatham Main Line, with Sydenham Hill station in the North-West and Penge East station in the South-East.
  3. Penge East Station – 11th March 2022 shows the station and the distance to Penge Tunnel.
  4. Sydenham Hill Station – 11th March 2022 shows the station and Penge Tunnel.
  5. Penge Tunnel is between the two stations and is shown in cream.

This second map, shows where the two lines cross.

In Penge Interchange, I described how Transport for London would like to build a new Penge Interchange station to possibly replace both Penge East and Penge West stations.

  • It could be fully step-free.
  • The station would be built on railway land.
  • It would have four tph between Victoria and Bromley South stations.
  • It would have four tph between Highbury & Islington and West Croydon stations.
  • It would have two tph between London Bridge and Caterham stations
  • It might also be possible to have platforms on the Crystal Palace branch, thus adding six tph between Highbury & Islington and Crystal Palace stations.
  • The station could have Thameslink platforms.

I feel it would offer the following benefits.

  • Better connection between South East and North London, without going through Central London.
  • Better connection between South East London and Crossrail, with all its connections.
  • Closure of the two older Penge stations.

I hope that whilst the railway is closed for the relaying of track, that Network Rail will do a full survey to at least find out whether a Penge Interchange station is feasible.

March 10, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gelion Claims Zinc-Bromine Gel Batteries Will Replace Lithium-Ion

The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on RideApart.

These are the first two paragraphs.

Battery technologies are evolving at a rapid pace—and for good reasons. With the automotive world moving toward electrification, companies need to find solutions for producing electric vehicles on a massive scale. While lithium-ion battery technology rules the roost today, that isn’t stopping firms from developing the next big leap forward.

From solid-state power units to structural batteries to sci-fi-worthy quantum batteries, there’s no shortage of ideas and concepts. However, the Australian company Gelion Technologies believes it found a more affordable and durable approach with its zinc-bromine gel battery. Unlike lithium-ion units, the material found in Gelion’s design isn’t rare, expensive, or potentially flammable.

It’s yet another development coming out of Australia.

March 10, 2022 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage, Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment