DfT Objects To Eight Open Access Applications
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in the March 2025 Edition of Modern Railways.
Surprise! Suprise! There are no prizes for innovation and risk, to be given out by Starmer’s Government Of All The Lawyers.
- Alliance Rail – Cardiff and Edinburgh – opposed
- Grand Central – London and York – opposed
- Hull Trains – London and Hull – opposed
- Hull Trains – London and Sheffield – opposed
- Lumo – London and Glasgow – opposed
- Lumo – London and Rochdale – opposed
- Virgin Trains – London and Liverpool – opposed
- Virgin Trains – London and Glasgow – opposed
Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway – London and Wrexham – supported.
Splitting And Joining Of Trains
Several of the objections, seem to be on grounds of capacity.
So why not pair up some services and split and join at a convenient station?
Hull Trains – A Hull and a Sheffield service could start together in London and split in Retford.
Lumo – A Newcastle and an Edinburgh service could start together in London and split in Newcastle.
Lumo – An Edinburgh and a Glasgow service could start together in London and split in Edinburgh.
Virgin Trains – A Liverpool and a Glasgow service would start together in London and split in Crewe.
A Bad Decision
I believe the Government’s decision is a very bad one.
At the weekend I wrote Sutton Station To Gatwick Airport By Hydrogen-Powered Bus, about my trip in a hydrogen-powered bus to Gatwick-Airport.
- The quality, performance and roadholding of this new zero-carbon bus was superb.
- I can’t wait to try out Wrightbus’s new hydrogen-powered coach in the next twelve months.
- In the future, I can see high speed hydrogen coaches steaming along the motorways of the UK and Ireland.
Hydrogen-powered coaches will do for cheap travel on the roads of these islands, what Ryanair and easyJet for did above our heads.
Tea Removes Toxic Heavy Metals From Water, Study Suggests
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
The longer tea is steeped, the more contaminants are removed
These are the first three paragraphs, which give a flavour of the research.
A daily cup of tea may do more than just perk you up — it can also purge the water of toxic heavy metals, a study suggests.
Researchers found that tea leaves will trap lead, cadmium, and other unwanted contaminants during the brewing process. These metals bind to the leaves and remain there until they are thrown away.
Benjamin Shindel of Northwestern University, Illinois, who led the research, said that while other materials might achieve a similar effect, tea’s popularity made it unique. “What is special about tea is that it’s the most consumed beverage in the world,” he explained.
My late wife was a coffee drinker and I only have the odd cup of cappuccino, although, I do drink lots of zero-alcohol beer, hot chocolate and decaffeinated tea.
I would assume that from his name Professor Benjamin Shindel is quite likely to be Jewish.
So did he ask all his friends and relatives round for a tea party?
The Professor certainly wouldn’t have had to have stinted on the cakes, as they wouldn’t have got near the water, which was the real subject of the research.
But he wouldn’t have been short of volunteers to brew their favourite tea!
Eyes Full Of Sleep
I can remember my mother telling my wife a; C, about myself, when I was a baby. She said that my eyes got terribly bunged up with muck, what she called sleep. She also said she’d spend time cleaning out my eyes and ears.
Last night, I was finding, that my eyes were so full of muck, that I couldn’t type, with one in about five letters wrong.
I thought it just could be be my eyes full of sleep, so I ran a deep bath and gave my eyes a thorough flush.
After that I could see and type properly.
I slept well.
In fact I slept so well, that I overslept until nine. Which is very unlike me.
I also wasn’t sure of the day, when I woke up. But at least, I got my drugs right.
An Incident As A Child
In one incident as a child, when I was about five, I can remember my mother picking me up, taking me upstairs, running a bath and then undressing me quickly and putting me in it. I also remember that I was very red.
Any ideas about what she was doing?
The Anonymous Widower 