Moorgate Station – 26th April 2022
In July 2021, I wrote Down Into The Depths At Moorgate Station and I included this picture of the lift that connects the Northern and Elizabeth Lines.
For much of the last few months, this lift lobby has been full of builders junk piled along the right hand side.
But today, everything looked finished.
The yellow bars are the barrier to stop passengers taking a closer look.
When Will Crossrail Open?
Between Angel and London Bridge stations, there are four projects underway on the Northern Line.
The Rebuilding Of Old Street Station
This page on the Transport for London web site, describes the rebuilding of the station.
This is an extract.
In summer 2022 we will:
- Create an interim exit route through the main station entrance stairs while works continue on the above-ground part of the new entrance
- Complete final changes to the traffic layout and close Subway 3 over the weekend of 10, 11 and 12 June 2022.
Transport for London’s journey planner also indicates that up to the end of June, there will be no closures of Old Street station or the Northern Line through the station.
It would appear that this project is totally independent of the trains and access to the platforms.
The Bank Station Upgrade
As far as Angel, Old Street, Moorgate and London Bridge stations are concerned, these stations are generally not affected by the work at Bank, as one line between Moorgate and London Bridge stations is being replaced by another.
- The signalling will have to be thoroughly checked.
- Drivers will have to be trained.
- Station staff will have to be trained in the procedures in the new platform at Bank.
I have checked the closed sections of the Northern Line on Transport for London’s journey planner and found this.
- May 1st to May 19th – Northern Line closed between Moorgate and Kennington. As now!
- May 20th – Northern Line fully open
- May 21st to May 22nd – Northern Line closed between Archway and High Barnet
- May 23rd to May 31st – Northern Line fully open
Note.
- I haven’t checked June yet!
- Archway has a turnback siding to allow the High Barnet branch to be closed.
- All dates are 2022.
It does look that the new Southbound tunnel through Bank station could open on May 20th, which is a Friday.
Crossrail Opening
Transport for London’s journey planner provides some interesting information about TfL Rail services.
- May 1st – Slightly reduced service
- May 2nd to May 6th – Normal service
- May 7th to 8th – Slightly reduced service
- May 9th to May 19th – Normal service
- May 21st to 22nd – Slightly reduced service
- May 23rd to May 31st – Normal service
Note.
- The slightly reduced service has a few less early morning services and a possible reduced frequency. It only applies at weekends.
- Normal service is just that, although trains might not be stopping at all stations.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find, that Crossrail can open on any day, where normal service is running.
With the new Southbound tunnel of the Northern Line possibly opening on the 20th May, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Crossrail opening a few days before, so as to give the very busy part of the London Underground in the City of London, a good test.
The Crossrail Pedestrian Route Between Liverpool Street And Moorgate
I described this pedestrian route in London’s First Underground Roller Coaster and as it is part of the Crossrail pedestrian routes, I suspect it will open with Crossrail.
This picture shows a cross-section of the massive Liverpool Street Crossrail station, which will connect Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations when it opens in December 2018.
Note.
- Moorgate station is on the left.
- Liverpool Street station is on the right.
- In the middle looking like a giant juicer is the ventilation shaft in Finsbury Circus.
- The Crossrail tunnels, which consist of two running tunnels and a pedestrian walkway between them are at the deepest level.
- There are escalators and lifts all over the place.
The route will become an ideal walking route between Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations in heavy rain, for those who don’t want to get wet.
But it could open earlier, as it would test the pedestrian tunnels.
A Planned Trip To Belfast
I’m thinking about going over to Belfast for a couple of days to have a look at the transport systems in the city and the wider Northern Ireland.
I have several things, I would like to do.
- Ride in the latest Wrightbus hydrogen and battery-electric buses.
- Ride in a Glider. I also intend to go to Pau to ride in a hydrogen-powered version of these Van Hool Equicity articulated buses, but Belfast is nearer.
- Perhaps, if I have enough time, I’ll visit a few touristy bits.
- Do a bit of research into offshore wind farms in Northern Ireland.
Has anybody got any advice?
Knightsbridge Station – 25th April 2022
I wrote Development Of Knightsbridge Station on November 27th 2017.
It is now a few days short of four years and five months later and the station looks a bit different.
Note.
- The original station entrance on the corner of Sloane Street and Knightsbridge is now a new retail unit for Burberry.
- The original entrance in front of Harvey Nicholls is still open.
- The entrance opened in 2017 on the North side of Knightsbridge is still open.
- The new step-free entrance with lifts, is behind the black hoarding to the right of the new Burberry.
- The pavements are wider around the frontage of Burberry, than they were, when it was the station entrance.
The station is intended to fully open with lifts to the Piccadilly Line by Summer 2022.
Conclusion
This Google Map shows the site of the original Sloane Street entrance.
Note.
- Knightsbridge running East-West across the top of the map.
- Brompton Road running towards the South-West and past Harrods.
- Sloane Street running North-South towards the right of the map.
- The London Underground roundel indication the old entrance.
- Thee large size of the development site.
Is this going to be the world’s most expensive step-free rebuild of a Metro station?
The development is being carried out by the owners of the site; the Knightsbridge Estate, who are ultimately owned by one of Saudi Arabia’s richest families.
On the Development page of the web site, this is said about improving the public realm.
Significant improvements are being made to the public realm. The pavements on Brompton Road and Sloane Street have been widened to ease the pedestrian flow, Hooper’s Court, which links Brompton Road and Basil Street, is being completely remodelled and the Knightsbridge underground station is being substantially upgraded. A brand new tube entrance is being created further west along Brompton Road, a step-free access via two 17-person lifts located on Hooper’s Court will be introduced as well as on-platform cooling systems.
How many other tube stations are there in London with air-cooled platforms?
But then those, who buy the multi-million pound flats in this development, will expect a constant atmosphere between flat and platform. Remember too, that the New Tubes for London being built by Siemens for the Piccadilly Line will be air-conditioned.
Consortium Plan To Build & Operate Scotland’s First Low Carbon, Energy Efficient, Soil-Free Vertical Farms In The Central Belt
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from RheEnergise.
These four paragraphs introduce the project.
A consortium of four British companies have earmarked a series of sites between Dumbarton and Dundee for the locations of Scotland’s next generation of hectare+ scale vertical farms, powered by 100% Scottish renewables. These farms would provide locally produced fresh foods (salads and fruits) to over 60% of the Scottish population.
The vertical farms will help meet the Scottish Government’s ambitions to produce more homegrown fruit and vegetables. Each vertical farm would be powered by locally produced renewable energy.
Next generation vertical farms use advanced soil-free growing techniques and stack crops in specially designed beds and trays. They minimise water, fertiliser and pesticide use which is highly beneficial to the environment and make use of artificial lighting and climate control to get the desired results.
The V-FAST consortium comprises UK Urban AgriTech (UKUAT), Vertegrow Ltd, Light Science Technologies Ltd and RheEnergise Limited, the UK energy storage company.
The press release is certainly worth a detailed read.
An Interview With Stephen Crosher, CEO Of RheEnergise
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on UK Investor.
As the title says, Stephen Crosher is the CEO of RheEnergise, who are an innovative energy storage company.
The article is very much a must-read and an interesting insight into RheEnergise.
Highview Chief Rupert Pearce On The Cold Batteries That Could Save The Planet
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Sunday Times.
It is an article very much worth a read, as it talks about former Inmarsat boss; Rupert Pearce and his new position as boss at Highview Power.
I have followed Highview Power for a few years.
I first wrote about the company in British Start-Up Beats World To Holy Grail Of Cheap Energy Storage For Wind And Solar, after reading about the company in the Daily Telegraph in August 2019.
They seem to have had good press in the last three years and have generated a steady stream of orders from Spain, Chile and Scotland.
But progress seems to have been slow to get the first full-size system at Carrington completed.
It does seem , that Rupert Pearce could be the professional boss they need?
Highview Power ‘s CRYOBatteries certainly have potential.
Highview Power CRYOBatteries Compared To Lithium-Ion Batteries
Highview Power ‘s CRYOBatteries do not use any exotic metals or materials, that are not readily available, whereas lithium-ion batteries use lots of rare metals and electricity in their manufacture.
CRYOBatteries can also be expanded in capacity by just adding more liquid-air tanks.
Highview Power CRYOBatteries Typically Cost £500 Million
This figure is disclosed in the Sunday Times article.
For that you probably get a power station, with these characteristics.
- 50 MW Output.
- Five to eight hour storage.
- No emissions.
- Well-understood maintenance.
- An environmentally-friendly plant.
- Long battery life.
But my experience tells me, that like large lithium-ion batteries used for grid storage, that CRYOBatteries could be an asset that will appeal to large financial companies.
- At present, Highview Power have not run a 50 MW CRYOBattery, but once they show high reliability, I can envisage the energy storage funds taking a good look.
- At £500 million a throw, they are a good size with probably a decent return for insurance companies and pension funds.
See World’s Largest Wind Farm Attracts Huge Backing From Insurance Giant for Aviva’s view on investing in massive green infrastructure.
I very much feel, that with his City connections and experience, that Rupert Pearce might be the right person to arrange financing for CRYOBatteries.
I will add a story from the financing of Artemis, which was the project management system, that I wrote in the 1970s.
Normally we leased or rented the systems, but some companies wanted to buy them outright, so we came up with a price of something like £125,000. Our bank were happy to fund these systems, when the purchaser was someone like BP, Shell, Bechtel, Brown & Root or British Aerospace. Later on, the bank would package together several systems and get us a better deal.
Intriguingly, £125,000 in the late 1970s is about half a billion now. I suspect, I’m being naive to suggest that Highview’s problem of funding multiple sales is similar to the one we had fifty years ago.
Highview Power CRYOBatteries And Wind And Solar Farms
I discussed the use of CRYOBatteries with solar power in The Power Of Solar With A Large Battery.
As the Highview Power press release, on which I based the article has now been deleted, I would assume that that project has fallen through. But the principles still apply!
But surely, a wind farm paired with an appropriately-sized CRYOBattery would ensure a steady supply of power?
Could CRYOBatteries Be Used With Floating Offshore Wind Farms?
In ScotWind N3 Offshore Wind Farm, I described an unusual wind farm proposed by Magnora ASA.
- This page on their web site outlines their project.
- It will be technology agnostic, with 15MW turbines and a total capacity of 500MW
- It will use floating offshore wind with a concrete floater
- It is estimated, that it will have a capacity factor of 56 %.
- The water depth will be an astonishing 106-125m
- The construction and operation will use local facilities at Stornoway and Kishorn Ports.
- The floater will have local and Scottish content.
The floater will be key to the whole wind farm.
- It will certainly have an offshore substation to connect the wind turbines to the cable to the shore.
- Magnora may be proposing to add a hydrogen electrolyser.
- Tanks within the concrete floater can be used to store gases.
I wonder if CRYOBatteries could be installed on the concrete floaters, that would be used to smooth the electrical output of the wind farm?
Note that in the past, concrete semi-submersible concrete structures have been used to host all kinds of gas and oil processing equipment.
Conclusion
I feel that Highview Power have made a good choice of Chief Executive and I have high hopes he can awaken a company with masses of potential.
Where Can I Try A Kneeling Chair In Or Near To London Before I Buy One?
For much of the last forty years, I’ve used a kneeling chair, as it takes the pressure of my left knee, which has been dodgy since my twenties. The wheels feel off the last one about a dozen years ago, before I moved here.
But my knee is giving me trouble and I need a new kneeling chair.
I generally don’t buy many things before I can try them and I certainly wouldn’t buy a kneeling chair without a few minutes test.
Imagine the hassle of after assembling it, trying to put it back in the box, if it had made my knee worse.
So does anybody know where I can try out a kneeling chair, anywhere between Birmingham and Brighton or Norwich and Bristol?
London Underground Tests Trains In New Northern Line Tunnel
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the International Railway Journal.
This is the first paragraph.
Testing of new tunnels at Bank on the London Underground (LU) system reached a major milestone on April 16 when two trains travelled through the new structures.
It looks like the project is going to plan.
From the picture, it looks like the interior decorators haven’t finished.
Two Celtic Sea Floating Wind Projects Could Be Delivered By 2028
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the first paragraph.
Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy have said that they are looking at early delivery of their two floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea, called Llywelyn and Petroc, which have grid connections secured and almost a year’s worth of bird surveys already completed.
These would add two extra 300 MW wind farms to the Celtic Sea.
In Enter The Dragon, I indicated the potential of renewable energy around Wales based on this article on the Engineer is entitled Unlocking The Renewables Potential Of The Celtic Sea. This sentence from the article talks about the possibilities of offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.
The Celtic Sea – which extends south off Wales and Ireland down past Cornwall and Brittany to the edge of the continental shelf – is estimated to have around 50GW of wind generating capacity alone.
The article also talks about Blue Gem Wind and their Erebus and Valorous wind farm projects in the Celtic Sea, that I wrote about in Blue Gem Wind.
There now appears to be four floating wind farms under development in the Celtic Sea between the South-West corner of Wales and the Devon and Cornwall Peninsular.
- Blue Gem Wind – Erebus – 100 MW Demonstration project – 27 miles offshore
- Blue Gem Wind – Valorus – 300 MW Early-Commercial project – 31 miles offshore
- Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy – Petroc – 300 MW project – 37 miles offshore
- Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy Llywelyn – 300 MW project – 40 miles offshore
But they do create a starter for a GW.
Both consortia seem to have similar objectives.
- To use a stepping-stone approach, gradually building in size.
- To involve the local community in creating a supply chain.
- Create long-term benefits for the region.
If these and other consortia fill the Celtic Sea with 50 GW of floating wind turbines, then we’ll all benefit.
Eviation Says Cape Air Will Take 75 Alice Aircraft
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Flight Global.
Orders in the Wikipedia entry for the Eviation Alice says this.
The first buyer for the Alice was Cape Air, a regional airline serving the Northeastern United States as well as the Caribbean. In August 2021, Deutsche Post announced that it had ordered 12 aircraft for use by DHL to transport cargo, with delivery planned from 2024. In April 2022, Eviation stated that Cape Air ordered 75 planes.
It does look like this innovative aircraft could be ready for more than just a first flight.
Applicability To The UK
I have a feeling, that we’ll see a lot of five-to-nine electric aircraft in the UK, as we have lots of islands and quite a lot of small airports.
The Alice has a range of around 500 miles, which is useful, but the take-off run of 800 metres could be a limitation on some islands.
Conclusion
I can’t wait to fly in an Alice.
The Anonymous Widower 