Home Kits Signal End Of Cervical Smear Test
This is a headline on the front page of today’s copy of The Times.
Being male and living alone, I wouldn’t know what a woman thinks!
But there must surely be some women, who would think this is at least an improvement.
Health services across the world will also be able to save money, as the procedure must be more efficient and need less staff, who can probably be redeployed, where they are needed.
Football At Rochdale
My trip to the North was partly to see Ipswich play at Rochdale, which is a ground, that at which I’d not seen a match before.
I had been to the ground before, as when I went to all the ninety-two clubs in the Premier and Football Leagues in alphabetical order by public transport, I visited on a very hectic day 31, which is described in 92 Clubs – Day 31 – Rochdale, Rotherham, Scunthorpe, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday.
On this visit, I took the Metrolink to Rochdale from outside the Arndale Centre and then it was a walk of thirty minutes, with the last section up a steep hill.
I did have a guide in a friendly Rochdale supporter.
This Google Map shows the route.
The football ground is in the North-East corner and the red the red arrow indicates Rochdale Interchange, where the tram terminates.
- My companion said there used to be a special football bus, but now there is just an occasional regular service.
- I estimate the distance was about a kilometre and a half.
Going back, a very kind Ipswich supporter and his brother gave me a lift to the tram, which was much more a personal taxi, than mass transit.
It was a good night for the six hundred or so Ipswich fans, as Ipswich won by the ony goal and went back to the top of the League.
Conclusion
Most people seem to have driven to the ground and parked in the surrounding streets. As did my lift!
In London, supporters would be more likely to go to any sporting event on public transport, as it is more frequent and parking doesn’t exist.
As population gets more dense in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, public transport will have to get more comprehensive to serve new housing, as the roads will not be able to cope.
I should say, except for getting there, it was a good stadium to visit and the Away seats were some of the best, I’d used in a smaller ground.
Tesla Has A Rival In New Hyundai Hydrogen-Powered Semi-Truck Concept
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on designboom.
This is the introductory paragraph.
hyundai has revealed two new hydrogen-powered concepts – a fuel cell electric semi-truck and refrigerated trailer. both vehicles are part of the automaker’s fuel cell electric vehicle 2030 vision, which includes the widespread use of hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology in vehicles.
The concept looks to be aimed at large countries like Australia, Canda and the United States, but surely one scaled to the United Kingdom market, would be a very useful truck.
- It would be a very efficient motorway cruiser, with those aerodynamics..
- It would be zero-emission with no pollution, so could operate in cities.
- The cab could be designed to meet all present and future driver visibility regulations.
- It might not be liable for extra charges in cities like London.
- Would battery trucks have enough range?
These trucks will be seen on UK roads in the next few years, as I believe that there is no other way to decarbonise heavy road transport.
Eight-Wheeler Trucks
If I walk two hundred metres from my house to the Balls Pond Road or the Kingsland High Road, the most common truck, that I see is an eight-wheeler heavy truck, that is transporting building materials, cement and spoil to and from the myriad building sites around where I live.
The pictures show typical eight-wheeler trucks working during the installation of the subway at Hackney Wick station.
Note the space under the truck between the front and rear axles. Surely, those clever Koreans can fit all the hydrogen gubbins under and in the truck.
- Many of these trucks are in large fleets, which return to a depot, that is close to the city centre on a regular basis, so refuelling should be easy to arrange.
- These trucks would probably need less fuel per day, than a large artic.
- I doubt they would pay any access charges.
- As they would be pollution-free, zero-carbon and probably a lot quieter, would they be able to work near sensitive sites like hispitals, schools and transport hubs?
They could be a very good economic proposition in a large city of urban conurbation.
Other Trucks
I also believe that hydrogen would be a sensible fuel for several classes of other trucks.
- Four-wheel box vans.
- Refuse trucks
- Skip lorries
- Larger vans
Hydrogen buses already seem to be running successfully in several cities.
The Missing Hydrogen Vehicle
I have chatted with black cab drivers in London, about the use of hydrogen as a fuel for taxis. Black cabs are getting larger and I believe that hydrogen could be their ideal fuel.
Conclusion
I believe that hydrogen will play a big part in decarbonising transport in the next few years and especially in urban areas.
Thoughts On The Design Of A High Speed Freight Shuttle
I am enthusiastic about the concept proposed by Rail Operations Group, that will see Class 769 trains running freight shuttles between London Gateway and Liverpool Street station, which I wrote about in A Freight Shuttle For Liverpool Street Station Planned.
But if you were starting from scratch, how would you design the ultimate freight shuttle train?
Consider these objectives.
The Amazon Objective
Amazon and their suppliers would like next day delivery for all of their customers.
Probably within a country the size of the UK, next day delivery can be achieved.
But I suspect that Amazon and their competitors would like anybody in the world to get as near as next day delivery as possible from anywhere in the world.
Giving worldwide next day delivery is obviously impossible, but giving it to as much of the world as is currently practical is clearly an Amazon objective.
We live in a I-Want-It-Now world!
Destinations To Be Served
I feel that places to be served by high speed light freight shuttles fall into various groups.
Major Cities
The proposed shuttle into Liverpool Street station will be the first of many.
Liverpool Street station is also an easy station at which to run such a service.
- There is level access from the street for vehicles like electric vans and cargo bikes at Platform 10, using the old taxi cab road.
- The station and the approaches are fully electrified.
- Crossrail will release platform space at the station.
Three trains per day can probably be accommodated in the Off Peak hours, with more services during the night.
It would not be possible to fit a light freight facility into all city-centre stations, as easily as it appears to be at Liverpool Street.
But I do think light freight facilities of this type at the following stations could be possible..
- Brighton
- Bristol Temple Meads
- Glasgow Central
- Liverpool Lime Street
- London Euston
- London Paddington
- Manchester Piccadilly
- Nottingham
Some recently rebuilt stations like Birmingham New Street, would be very difficult, so I would recommend that all station developments, should take possible light freight facilities into account.
Logistics Parks, Ports And Airports
London Gateway is a large port and logistics facility, to the East of London.
This Google Map shows London Gateway.
The logistics park is still being developed to the North of the port, with the rail lines in between the two.
- I have searched the rail lines and I can’t see anything like a loading bay for a freight shuttle, which surely will be something like a platform for passengers.
- It is early days yet and this map could be a couple of years old.
- There would also be space to the North of the rail lines for someone like Hermes, UPS or Yodel to build a large secure shed with a siding alongside, served by a platform, so that goods could be rolled into the trains.
- It should be possible to electrify the siding, in a similar way to Platform 10 at Liverpool Street station.
It’ll all come clear, when the service starts.
Other ports like Felixstowe, Immingham, Liverpool and Southampton might also want to develop high speed light freight services as will the various logistics parks and freight terminals dotted around the country.
Most are served by rail connections, although in many cases like Felixstowe, London Gateway, Liverpool and Southampton, the last few miles need to use some form of independent power.
Could these light freight services connect to airports like Heathrow, Manchester and Stansted?
Retail Parks And Out-Of-Town Shopping Centres
Large retail groups, like Marks and Spencer, Sainsburys and Tesco have set up large distribution centres often in the centre of England, some of which have rail access.
Could major retail centres like Lakeside in Essex, Sheffield Meadowhill, Gateshead Metro Centre and others receive goods by rail.
Specialist Terminals
If you go to Montrose station, you can see the remains of sidings, where Scottish fish was loaded to be taken by rail to ports for export to places like New York.
But it is likely that specialist terminals will be setup to handle goods, such as seafood, flowers and Scotch whisky.
Some seasonal products like Cornish flowers would only need a part-time facility, but these would only be rudimentary.
Long Rural Routes
I can see the requirement for light freight deliveries increasing in all parts of the UK.
Some destinations are probably expensive for delivery companies.
But could an integrated delivery system be setup using the long rural rail routes.
- Inverness and Wick
- Inverness and Aberdeen
- Glasow and Oban
- Chester and Holyhead
- Settle and Carlisle
Services might automatically roll pallets off and on at stations, which would then be handled locally by a purpose-built van or light truck.
- Some services would start in London and the South-East, but others could start in the East Midlands or the Scotland’s Central Belt
- Some services would connect with ferries to serve islands, like the Hebrides and the Orkneys.
- A daily service might do wonders for business in rural areas.
London and Wick takes thirteen hours by passenger train. This would enable, somebody in Wick wanting an urgent part for a machine that has broken, to order it from London and certainly receive it within forty-eight hours.
Great Britain And Ireland Services
Services between Great Britain and Ireland will be a problem, as trains will have to unload on one side of the Irish sea onto trucks for delivery after the sea crossing.
Unless politicians do what I suggest in A Solution To The Northern Irish Problem!, which is to build a high speed rail system connecting Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- The main crossing would be a bridge or a tunnel, where my preference would be for a bridge.
- The main route would be Glasgow and Dublin via Stranraer and Belfast.
- There would be a 125 mph connection between Carlisle and Stranraer
- The Irish section of the route would be an electrified standard-gauge railway capable of running trains at 125 mph.
- The route would handle passengers and freight.
- There could a branch to Shannon, where some proposals have been made to create a deep water port.
I estimated that London and Belfast would take four hours, with an hour longer for Dublin.
But as this fixed link would probably not be built this century, as Ulster always says no, unloading on to trucks would probably be necessary for a long time.
Continental Services
Why not? Unlike Ireland, there’s a rail connection and it’s standard gauge!
Eurostar has shown that the same trains can run successfully on British, French, Belgian and Dutch railways and trains can now be fitted with systems to access the various electrification voltages.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Europe-wide high-speed light freight service for appropriate cargoes.
Summing Up Destinations
I can sum up the destinations as follows.
- They will not be large grand affairs, in many cases.
- There must be easy access for local transport, which will include a proportion of electric vehicles.
- Destinations are generally within a few miles of an electrified main line.
- Some services like Cornish flowers or Scottish seafood will need an independently-powered train, with a moderate range.
You can see why Rail Operations Group have chosen to use bi-mode Class 769 trains, as they will be ideal to connect to places perhaps a hundred miles from electrification.
New Or Refurbished Trains?
The proposed service is to be run with a Class 769 train, which is a bi-mode rebuild of a 1980s Class 319 train.
But would it be better to use a brand new train, rather than an old conversion?
In the future, if the experiment is a success, a new train will probably be designed, that will be based on the experience of the trials.
But at the moment modifying an old train, is probably a more affordable approach and one that carries less risk.
Operating Speed
The Class 769 train can operate at 100 mph on electrified lines and at around 90 mph, when relying on the diesel generators.
In High Speed Urban Freight Logistics By Rail, I talked about Rail Operations Group’s plans for running high speed freight services between Thames Gateway and the Central Belt in Scotland.
Surely, a faster train would be desirable for services along high speed lines.
Train Capacity And Interior
This will depend on the application and I suspect Rail Operation Group’s trial will show the optimum design.
But I wouldn’t be surprised to see trains based on British Rail’s standard length of eighty metres, as this would mean, they will easily fit so many existing stations without expensive modification.
If longer trains are needed for busy routes, then the trains could work in twos or threes, as many British Rail electric multiple units have done for decades.
Are Freight Shuttles Ideal Trains For Battery Power?
The train will not need the full air-conditioning and toilet services of a passenger train, which could mean.
- Electrical power needed for services other than traction would be lower.
- Underneath the train could be relatively free of equipment.
In addition, it should be noted.
- Most routes will be run for the major part on electrified lines.
- Charging technology for batteries at remote destinations could be easily provided.
- Battery-electric trains have operational, environmental and marketing advantages over trains with diesel engines.
So why not efficiently fill space under the train with batteries?
For their initial service between London Gateway and Liverpool Street station, Rail Operations Group would probably only need to use diesel for less than a dozen miles.
Could Modified InterCity 125 Trains Be Used?
The fact that they are diesel is a major drawback, but there are other problems too!
- Major structural work would be needed to create cargo doors.
- I suspect that they may be too long.
- They may not be very operator friendly.
Other companies have proposed them for high speed freight, but nothing has materialised so far.
Conclusion
Rail Operation Group’s thinking is spot on!
The New Light Freight Terminal At Liverpool Street Station
These pictures show the old cab road at Liverpool Street station, where the proposed light freight terminal will be developed.
The spacious cab road shut a few years ago and was moved to its current position in front of the station. Nowadays it is used mainly for deliveries to the station and the retail units, by Network Rail maintenance vehicles and sometimes by Rail Replacement Buses.
This second set of pictures show the exit of the cab road in Primrose Street, behind the station.
Note these points about the old cab road.
- There is some nice ironwork and a vaulted ceiling, but nothing that would be damaged if electric vans and cargo bikes used the cab road to serve freight shuttles.
- The road surface and the brickwork all appear to be in good condition.
- By removing the barrier between the cab road and platform 10, there would be no problem loading and unloading trains.
- There is also a good wide passage leading from the old cab road to the main concourse of the station.
I suspect that the only functional building in the area, which is the Left Luggage Office, will have to be moved. But it might be better placed on the main concourse.
Platform 10 Looks Very Convenient For The Freight Shuttle
The closeness of Platform 10 and the old cab road makes the platform look very convenient for the terminus of freight shuttles from London Gateway
How Will The Freight Shuttles Travel Between London Gateway And Liverpool Street Station?
The route from London Gateway to Liverpool Street station will be as follows.
- From London Gateway, the train will join the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway between Stanford-le-Hope and East Tilbury stations.
- The train will only run using diesel on the spur to London Gateway.
- The train will continue to Barking, where it will take the Gospel Oak to Barking Line.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the tracks, where the Gospel Oak to Barking Line crosses over the Great Eastern Main Line.
The train will join the Great Eastern Main Line here for a fast run into Liverpool Street station.
- I suspect the train will switch to the fast lines using the crossovers shown in the map.
- Note that the performance of a Class 769 train on electrified track, will be only slightly less than the expresses.
At Liverpool Street station, the train will run into Platform 10.
Will Liverpool Street Station Lose A Platform?
Currently, Platforms 9 and 10 are generally used for the London and Norwich services.
- These trains run at a frequency of two trains per hour (tph).
- They are formed of a rake of Mark 3 coaches topped sand tailed by a Class 90 locomotive and a driving van trailer.
- They call at various stations en route including Chelmsford, Colchester and Ipswich and are very heavily used at peak times.
- Entry to and exit from the trains is not of a modern standard and I suspect turnround times can sometimes must be very slow.
From next year, these trains will be replaced by modern twelve-car Class 745 trains.
- These trains have 757 seats, which I have read somewhere is more than the current trains.
- The trains will have level access between train and platform at all stations.
- I suspect turnround times will be shorter, due to the modern design.
Frequency between London and Norwich will also be increased yp three tph, by extending a service between London and Ipswich, which will be run by a Class 720 train.
Will it be possible to fit three tph into Platforms 9 and 10?
I suspect that it might be tight, as over the last few months, Norwich trains have sometimes been using higher numbered platforms like 14.
So will the proposed three tph to Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich be moved to two higher numbered platforms.
This would enable platform 10 to be used by freight shuttle trains, but will the station be able to run all the services, with one platform less?
Current Services Into Liverpool Street Station
Current services from Liverpool Street station are as follows.
- Six tph – GEML – TfL Rail – Shenfield
- Three tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Southend
- Two tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Norwich
- One tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Ipswich
- One tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Clacton
- One tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Colchester Town
- One tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Braintree
- Four tph – WAML- London Overground – Chingford
- Two tph – WAML- London Overground – Cheshunt
- Two tph – WAML- London Overground – Enfield Town
- Four tph – WAML- Greater Anglia – Stansted Airport
- Two tph – WAML- Greater Anglia – Hertford East
- Two tph – WAML- Greater Anglia -Cambridge
Totalling these up means the following.
- 16 tph use the double-track West Anglia Main Line (WAML)
- 15 tph use the four-track Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) as far as Shenfield.
- 6 tph use the double-track GEML to the North of Shenfield.
It looks neatly balanced.
Would moving Norwich services to a pair of the higher-numbered platforms improve operation?
All WAML services would be in platforms 1 to 9, as against platforms 1 to 8 now!
All GEML services would be in platforms 10 to 18, as against platforms 9 to 18 now!
If platform 10 is used by the freight shuttles, this would make operational sense, as the shuttle will approach Liverpool Street along the GEML after joining at Manor Park station.
Future Services Into Liverpool Street Station
From 2021 or so, these could be the from Liverpool Street station.
- Three tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Southend
- Three tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Norwich
- One tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Clacton
- One tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Colchester Town
- One tph – GEML – Greater Anglia – Braintree
- Four tph – WAML- London Overground – Chingford
- Two tph – WAML- London Overground – Cheshunt
- Two tph – WAML- London Overground – Enfield Town
- Four tph – WAML- Greater Anglia – Stansted Airport
- Two tph – WAML- Greater Anglia – Hertford East
- Two tph – WAML- Greater Anglia -Cambridge
Totalling these up means the following.
- 16 tph use the double-track West Anglia Main Line (WAML)
- 9 tph use the four-track Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) as far as Shenfield.
- 12 tph from Crossrail will use the slow lines as far as Shenfield.
- 3 tph use the double-track GEML to the North of Shenfield.
Crossrail has opened up capacity on the Great Eastern Main Line.
- Currently, there are 15 tph on the GEML using platforms 9 to 15.
- In 2021, there will be just 9 tph on the GEML using platforms 10 to 17.
There will be extra services to Lowestoft and Crossrail’s Peak Hour service to Gidea Park station.
But even so, I suspect there will be space for more services.
High Speed Urban Freight Logistics By Rail
The title of this article is the same as that of this article on World Cargo News.
It describes from a freight operator’s point-of-view, Rail Operation’s Group‘s plans to run freight services between London Gateway and Liverpool Street station, which I wrote about in A Freight Shuttle For Liverpool Street Station Planned.
Points include.
- Current operators are struggling to lower their carbon footprint.
- Congestion is affecting delivery times.
- Charges to use London’s ULEZ could add two hundred pounds per round trip to costs.
- To enter London, trucks will need high visibility cabs in a couple of years time.
- Last mile delivery would be by e-vans and cargo bikes.
- This initial service is about proving the concept and identifying the best techniques.
The article also discloses that Rail Operations Group are planning to run a high-speed overnight freight service between London Gateway and the Central Belt in Scotland, using their modified Class 769 trains.
- Journey time will be reduced from eleven-twelve hours by truck to five-and-a-half by rail.
- The deadline for guaranteed overnight delivery will go from 20:00 to 23:00.
- Trains will be running at 100 mph on electricity all the way.
- If it works going North, surely it will work going South.
I can see Rail Operations Group needing a lot more trains, than the two they have ordered.
Trump Brings Personal Pastor Paula White-Cain To White House To Preach Her Gospel Of Wealth
This is the title of an article in today’s copy of The Times!
I do like the paper’s sense of humour!
Fuel Cell Train To Be Tested In The Netherlands
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
A Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell multiple-unit is to be tested on the Groningen – Leeuwarden line after an agreement was signed at the Klimaattop Noord NL climate summit by manufacturer Alstom, the province of Groningen, local operator Arriva, infrastructure manager ProRail and energy company Engie.
You can get a flavour of some of the Dutch railways in the area from The Train Station At The Northern End Of The Netherlands.
Hydrogen powered trains are also part of the future plans for the use of hydrogen, which I wrote about in The Dutch Plan For Hydrogen.
The Railway Gazette article gives more details on how they will be introducing low carbon trains in the network around Groningen and the wider Netherlands.
These general points are made.
- The Netherlands has nearly a thousand kilometres of lines without electrification.
- Alstom has forty-one orders for their hydrogen-powered Coradia iLints.
They will also be refurbishing the 51 Stadler GTW trains in the area.
The main improvement, is that they will be fitted with batteries to handle regenerative braking and cut their carbon footprint.
The Railway Gazette article also says this.
A further 18 new Stadler Wink trainsets have been ordered which will be able use overhead electrification or hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel, with batteries for regenerated braking energy. These will be designed so that their engines can be replaced with larger batteries when the planned 1·5 kV DC discontinuous electrification of the routes is completed.
The Stadler Wink appears to be the another train from the Flirt family, which is the successor to the GTW.
The Dutch seem to be moving very firmly towards a zero-carbon railway in the North.
Collateral Benefits For The UK
What areas of the UK would be ideal places to adopt a similar philosophy to that which the Dutch are using in the North of the Netherlands?
I think they will be areas, where there are lots of zero carbon electricity, railways without electrification and terrain that’s not to challenging.
These areas come to mind.
- East Anglia
- Lincolnshire
- East Yorkshire
- Far North and North East Scotland.
Note.
-
- The only electrification in these areas is the main lines to Norwich and Cambridge in East Anglia.
- All areas have Gigawatts of offshore wind farms either operating or under development.
- Vivarail are proposing to run battery-electric trains between Wick and Turso, as I wrote about in Is This The Most Unusual Idea For A New Railway Service in The UK?
- With the exception of East Yorkshire, the train operating company is Abellio, who are Dutch railways, by another name.
- East Anglia is already using Stadler Flirt Class 755 trains, that can be fitted with batteries.
I also believe that Hitachi will soon be providing battery-electric versions of their AT300 trains. I wrote about this in Thoughts On The Next Generation Of Hitachi High Speed Trains.
Battery electric AT300 trains could provide long distance services to the areas I listed.
Conclusion
What is happening in the North of the Netherlands, will be watched with interest in the UK.
Williams Lifts The Veil On Forthcoming Rail Review
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railnews.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Keith Williams has confirmed that the creation of a new national railway body is to be recommended in his forthcoming Review, and that he is looking at removing the profit motive from passenger train operating contracts, which could become ‘passenger service contracts’ instead.
These are my comments.
Passenger Service Contracts
These are used on some parts of the UK rail network.
Such a type of contract seems to work well on the train operating company I use most; the London Overground, where it is operated by Arriva Rail London.
I also think, that although the London Overground is a large network in terms of stations and passengers, it is quite geographically compact, so management of the strengths and problems is easier.
I remember when the Lea Valley Lines were run by Greater Anglia from Norwich, using an out of sight out of mind attitude. Since, the takeover, these stations have improved to a high degree.
The Profit Motive
In some instances the profit motive can be bad, as where a train operating company reduces staff at a little-used station, which may result in more crime or incidents.
On the other hand, the profit motive may lead to extra train or customer services.
For instance in LNER To Put Lincoln On The Rail Map, I talked about how LNER are increasing services between Kings Cross and Lincoln and about rumours that say the service could be extended to Grimsby and Cleethorpes.
Because there is stabling at Cleethorpes, but no facility at Lincoln, in this instance, there could be cost advantages to turning the last train at Cleethorpes, rather than sending it overnight to Doncaster or Leeds.
Using the stabling at Cleethorpes might make it easier to run the following trains.
- A n early morning direct train from Cleethorpes to Kings Cross via Grimsby and Lincoln.
- A n evening direct train from Kings Cross to Cleethorpes via Lincoln and Grimsby.
There must be a robust partnership between all stakeholders, so that everybody gets the most out of the operation.
Political Interests
I am also wary of politicians, who are peddling their constituency’s or their own interests, or have long held views, that certain places don’t need a train service. For many years,
Hackney was considered a sink borough and wouldn’t know how to use a train service, by Silverlink and politicians of all colours. But this all changed, when the Silverlink Metro routes were placed under the control of Transport for London (TfL)
Wikipedia says this.
TfL decided to let this franchise as a management contract, with TfL taking the revenue risk.
It certainly proved very successful for passengers, but lately because of funding shortages at TfL, expanding and improving the Overground seems to have slowed.
In my view, transport is too important a factor in everybody’s lives to be left to politicians of one flavour.
The Transport for London Model
This is an extract from the article.
He is in favour of the Transport for London model, and praised the large amount of innovation which TfL has achieved. He believes one of the new-style National Rail contracts could also include specific bonuses for innovation. He added: ‘TfL is still run like a network, so we need to take account of the national network as well. To some degree, TfL could form a model for the new guiding mind.’
My comments are.
Does The Transport for London Model Work?
Speaking as a Londoner, I think it does and I can’t understand why other large cities and metropolitan areas, don’t have similar transport networks with.
- Local trains, trams, light railways and buses under the same overall guidance.
- Unified contactless ticketing.
- Comprehensive information for all transport users, including pedestrians and those who are less mobile.
- Buses and trams with smooth wheelchair access.
- A policy to increase step-free access towards hundred percent.
Some cities are making a good fist of it, but some are downright terrible and very difficult for those with no local knowledge.
Compare Liverpool and Edinburgh!
Innovation
Williams mentions innovation and he is right.
But sometimes the innovation is an expensive idea, that is out of step with what is being done in other parts of the UK and the rest of the world.
- To my mind, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway was an out-of-step development, which if it had been developed a few years later would have been a tram-train working on the Karlsruhe model.
- If Manchester had started to develop the Metrolink a few years later, it would probably use similar low-floor trams to Birmingham, Blackpool, Croydon, Edinburgh and Nottingham, which would surely ease the acquisition of new trams.
- Rhe Edinburgh tram system doesn’t use battery operation in the City Centre, as Birmingham and Cardiff will be doing soon and some European cities have done for years.
Partly, this is design by hindsight, but it does appear that the lessons have been learned by the designers of the South Wales Metro.
Contactless Ticketing
The biggest innovation by TfL has been the development of contactless ticketing across all modes of transport, using ordinary bank cards.
But why has it not been implemented in a similar comprehensive manner in other cities or areas of the UK?
I suspect it’s just a multiple case of NIH!
Conclusion
I await the full Williams review with interest.
The Anonymous Widower 