Cambridge station now has a station square with a hotel, a pub, several coffee shops, a convenience store and a taxi rank, which is a big difference from when I left Suffolk ten years ago.
It is so much better than the crowded space squeezed between the car parking.
As a pedestrian, I like it! I was able to walk to everything I would need like a coffee, some gluten-free snacks, a bed, a decent meal, bus or a taxi.
The only thing missing is a proper tram to take you to the City Centre.
How many towns and cities need a station square like this in the UK?
March 3, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | Cambridge Station, Cambridge Station Square, Hotel, Roaming Around East Anglia- March 2019 |
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I spent Friday and Saturday roaming around East Anglia, ending up at the football at Portman Road.
These pictures show one of London Overground’s Class 317 trains, which I used to start my journey between Hackney Downs and Cheshunt stations.
Some questions?
- Are then any other inner-city metro trains, where there are comfortable seats and tables for four?
- How are passengers going to react, when it is replaced with a high-capacity Class 710 train, with longitudinal seating?
- Will the wi-fi and charging points of the new trains compensate.
One factor that will help the changeover, is that most on the line are Class 315 trains, which need to be delivered to the scrapyard.
The Class 317 trains will surely find a good home.
March 3, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | Cheshunt Station, Class 317 Train, Class 710 Train, London Overground, Roaming Around East Anglia- March 2019 |
2 Comments
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on The Guardian.
This is the first paragraph.
Minicab drivers are launching a legal action against the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, accusing him of discrimination against a largely ethnic minority workforce by making them pay the congestion charge while black cab drivers, who are overwhelmingly white, will be exempt.
Black cab drivers may or may not be overwhelmingly white, but I have certainly never seen a South Asian black cab driver.
But Central London is getting increasingly polluted and congested and this slows the buses, that I regularly use through the centre.
I am no legal expert, but I have a feeling, that the Ultra Low Emission Zone, which will extend to the North and South Circular Roads will be a very big factor in the next Mayoral Election.
The lawyers, who will be big winners in this debate, have surely been sharpening their pencils.
March 1, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | London, Sadiq Khan, ULEZ |
6 Comments
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Utility Week.
If you read the article, you will find out how the humble electric storage heater could be joining the smart electricity grid.
This is a paragraph.
It says the facility to store excess energy can lower the cost of electrification by reducing the need for backup generation and investment in the power grid to increase its peak capacity. Analysis by Imperial College London has indicated that deploying smart flexible heating could cut decarbonisation costs by £3.9 billion per year.
This is going to be technology to watch.
Especially, if your heating needs are best met by some form of electric storage heaters.
March 1, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
Energy, Energy Storage, World | Electricity, Innovation, OVO |
2 Comments
The title of this post, as the same as that of this article on the Evening Times.
Surely, the Airport must know best what passengers want!
March 1, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | Glasgow Airport, Tram-Train |
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This was one of their tweets tonight.
Two Class 710s out on the WCML tonight and they’ve allowed onto the fast lines as well with no shadowing ROG diesel! Things are looking up!
So are they right?
TfL and Bombardier are being increasingly brave with where they are taking the trains.
Pictures have been taken of Class 710 trains in these places.
- During the day at Gospel Oak, Walthamstow Queens Road and Upney.
- At night on the West Coast Main Line
As a software man of at least forty years experience, I wouldn’t be surprised to be told, that the important train control software is now working as it should in most situations.
- And in those situations where it doesn’t work, Bombardier have probably got a work-round. Even if it is stop and reboot! We’re all familiar with that on our desk- or lap-tops.
- It would mean a trained technician on each train, but as there are twenty trains al;ready built, testing and driver training can continue on as many trains, as can be accommodated on the various test tracks and routes.
As I have said many times, there has been a major failure on the part of all European train manufacturers and governments, to make sure there is enough testing facilities for all the trains ordered from European manufacturers in the last few years for both Europe and export.
Software needs a lot of testing and with desktop software, you need to have tens of testers, each with their own installation.
Why should trains, which these days are just computers on wheels be any different?
I suspect that the cabs and control systems in the various classes of Aventra, with the exception of the Class 345 train, are identical.
- Bombardier have said the the 345s have an older computer architecture based on the Electrostar.
- Having the same software on every Aventra must make testing and acceptance into service so much easier.
- The software would be configured for the each train size and application.
I wouldn’t be surprised, if Bombardier retrofitted the 345s with the computer system of all other Aventras.
Identical computer systems across all Aventras would have benefits for Bombardier.
- A mixed fleet of Aventras of different sizes and performance could be driven by all drivers, with the appropriate route knowledge.
- New versions of the software could be distributed automatically over the Internet.
- It would be easier to add new hardware and software features to the trains.
Aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus have been using similar philosophies for years.
If I’m right about this, I would expect to see the following after the 710s are working reliably on the GOBlin and the Watford DC Line.
- A rapid introduction of the 710s on the Lea Valley Lines limited only by train testing and mileage accumulation, and driver training.
- The next fleet of Aventras start to be tested for another operator.
Bombardier are gearing up for high production rates of Aventras, so there will not necessarily be serial production of fleets.
- London Overground might take the initial twenty and run them for a year to ascertain any small design changes they need, which will be incorporated into the rest of the trains.
- Greater Anglia may get some of their fleet, so they can train drivers and see what changes are needed on their platforms etc.
I actually think, that train companies would like to call off trains from Bombardier at a rate that they can bring into service. As Bombardier are producing a large number of very similar trains, they can then build them in the order that suits their customers and Bombardier’s cash flow.
But to do this successfully, you need orders for a large number of similar trains!
March 1, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
Computing, Transport/Travel | Aventra, Bombardier, Class 710 Train, Gospel Oak And Barking Line, Software, Transport for London |
2 Comments
In addition to World’s Top Wealth Fund Puts Billions Into Britain, there were other articles worth blogging about in today’s copy of The Times.
Build New Homes Away From Roads, Heath Watchdog Says
Surely, this very sensible! The distance can of course be vertical!
Plastic Packaging Used To Make Car Parts In Upcycling Revolution
Scientists working for the US Department of Defense have shown it is possible to convert recycled PET bottles and other packaging into useful long-life products.
Corbyn’s Favourite Firebrand Is Suspended In Antisemitism Row
My father believed that there was little different between the extreme left as represented by Stalin and the extreme right as represented by Hitler.
February 28, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
World | Antisemitism, Environment, Housing, Jeremy Corbyn, My Father, Plastic, Politics |
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The title of this post is my translation of the front page headline of today’s Evening Standard.
- Agent Orange is Spike Lee’s nickname for the current US President.
- Fatty The Third is how the Chinese refer to Kim Jong-un on social media.
These two imbeciles deserve each other!
February 28, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
World | Donald Trump, Kim Jong un, North Korea, Politics, United States |
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The title of this post is the same as that of a news story on the front page of today’s copy of The Times.
There is a subtitle to the article.
UK will be stronger after Brexit, Norwegians say.
Some points from the article.
- Norway’s wealth fund is worth £740billion.
- The fund owns £62billion of UK investments.
- Britain is the third largest market for their investments.
- The fund works to a thirty-year-plus investment strategy.
- The fund is co-owner of Regent Street.
- The fund is a top five investor in companies.
I feel a smidgen of pride, that Artemis, which was the project management software, that I wrote; in the late 1970s, had played small part in the creation of Norway’s wealth from oil and gas.
February 28, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
Finance & Investment, World | Artemis, Brexit, Norway |
1 Comment
This afternoon, I went to see if there was any progress on the Barking Riverside Extension. The easiest way to see the works is to take a train to Dagenham Dock station and then cross over to the other platform and take a train back to where you started. It’s a two trains per hour (tph) service and usually you wait about six minutes at Dagenham Dock station, for the return train.
Nothing much seems to have happened by the bridge where Renwick Road goes over the line, except a bit of tidying up of junk left by British Rail.
The Interchange At Barking
Back at Barking, I just had time to join a surprising number of passengers, who were intending to catch the 16:03 between Barking and Gospel Oak stations.
One thing that should be noted, is that when the Barking Riverside Extension opens, the following services will share the island Platform 7/8 at Barking station.
- 2 tph – Platform 7 – Fenchurch Street to Grays
- 4 tph – Platform 7 – Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside
- 2 tph – Platform 8 – Grays to Fenchurch Street
- 4 tph – Platform 8 – Barking Riverside to Gospel Oak
This is a well-designed same-platform interchange, that enables journeys like the following..
- Barking Riverside and Grays
- Barking Riverside and Fenchurch Street
- Barking Riverside and Blackhorse Road (for the Victoria Line!)
- Grays and Gospel Oak (for the North London Line!)
There are a lot of possibilities.
I do think, that the service between Fenchurch Street and Grays, should be doubled in frequency to four tph, if this is possible, to make the interchange more efficient.
Although, this might increase the number of passengers needing to use the Gospel Oak to Barking Line (GOBLIN).
The Full Four-Car Class 378 Train
The train was a four-car Class 378 train and nearly all seats were taken. There were a few standees and a dog lying in the middle, so it was a good demonstration of the advantages of the train’s longitudinal seating.
It does appear to me, that more passengers are using the GOBLIN.
Possible reasons could include.
- Some services being run by four-car electric instead of two-car diesel trains.
- A fifty percent increase in seats on the route.
- The step-free interchange with the Victoria Line at Blackhorse Road station.
- Passengers trying out the improved route.
I also wonder, if all the negative publicity has persuaded passengers to give it a try.
All Change At Blackhorse Road Station
A surprising number of passengers seemed to get off at Blackhorse Road station, as the train was much less full after the station.
On other trips recently, I’ve seen large number of passengers waiting to go East in the late afternoon.
It obviously has a lot of attraction as an interchange.
First Time Travellers
In my travels along the GOBLIN in the last few weeks, I have asked a lot of passengers, whether they like the current mixed service.
I have heard only a few moans about cancellations and unreliability, but I have been very surprised at how many first time travellers on the GOBLIN, that I have encountered.
Transport for London must be doing something right.
Conclusion
I am led to the conclusion, that the GOBLIN is stirring and that more and more travellers are using the line.
My only worry, is that in a couple of years, when the Barking Riverside Extension opens, that the line will need extra passenger capacity.
February 28, 2019
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | Barking Station, Blackhorse Road Station, Goblin Extension, Gospel Oak And Barking Line |
4 Comments
The Anonymous Widower 