Petition Calls Made To Scrap Blackwall And Silvertown Tolls
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A petition containing more than 37,000 signatures calling for proposed tolls on the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels to be scrapped has been presented at City Hall.
These four paragraphs give more details.
Toll charges of up to £4 per journey through the soon-to-open Silvertown Tunnel and the neighbouring Blackwall Tunnel were announced by Transport for London (TfL) on 26 November.
The Silvertown Tunnel will open next spring and will provide a new road crossing under the Thames between Silvertown and the Greenwich Peninsula.
The charges are “designed to manage levels of traffic using the tunnels”, TfL has said.
A TfL spokesperson added that without the tolls, “traffic would increase in both tunnels causing delays and congestion, which contribute to poorer air quality”.
Note.
- 37,000 is a large petition.
- If Transport for London wanted to reduce pollution, they could encourage greater use of hydrogen.
I have done some simple modeling using Excel.
- There are six vehicle crossings; Dartford Bridge, Dartford Crossing, Woolwich Ferry, Silvertown Tunnel, Blackwall Tunnel and Rotherhithe Tunnel.
- Matters are complicated by each crossing being a different size.
- There are several reliable rail crossings and a number of foot crossings, which offer alternatives, for those travellers on foot.
- Currently the worst disruption occurs, when more than one route is out of action at the same time.
It is a very complex river crossing,
I feel strongly that we aren’t going to get a true picture of traffic flow through the two new tunnels, until we see serious disruption on the Dartford Crossing.
But what worries me most, is that in the last few years, TfL have made decisions, where they must have done extensive mathematical modelling and they seem to have come up with answers, that are wide of the mark.
Congestion Prediction
I believe that we now have enough data, that by the use of modern computing, advanced vehicle detection techniques and a liberal dollop of artificial intelligence we should be able to accurately predict the traffic flow over the Thames between Dartford and Silvertown, better than we have done in the past.
But will this just mean, that everybody just takes the least-congested route?
Are Too Many Pharmaceuticals Round And White?
Last week one of the nine pills I take was changed from a small plain cream pill to one that was white, slightly larger with a slash on it.
I now take nine pills daily of which five are white and round, with two having slashes on them.
It didn’t cause any confusion with the dispensing, as I made sure I only pre-loaded a week’s drug containers. But, when I went to fill up Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s containers for this week, I couldn’t find the new drugs, as I’d confused them with the other drug with a slash and put them in the wrong drawer of the cabinet, where I store the drugs.
I put the confusion down to two many similar white drugs.
As a child, I used to build radios and amplifiers, so to avoid mistakes electricians and engineers started to use colour-coded wires, for all the different signals.
It became important, as some voltages used in high-power amplifiers could kill you. As Keith Relf of the Yardbirds was!
But then white drugs are cheap, just like grey cables.
New Tram-Like Bus Involved In Crash On Launch Day
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Transport for London (TfL) has said it is investigating after one of its new electric “tram-like” buses collided with a car on the day the new fleet was launched.
These are the three paragraphs of the article.
The Go-Ahead London bus was reportedly involved in the crash on Sevenoaks Road in Orpington, south-east London, on 20 November, when the new 358 buses came into service.
During a Bromley Council meeting, Labour councillor Kathy Bance said the bus collided with a car belonging to a Bromley Labour councillor’s wife.
A TfL spokesperson said no-one was injured and it was understood the collision was minor.
It appears to be very embarrassing, but not as serious, as it might have been.
If you go back to Edwardian times, there are tales of horses being startled by new-fangled motor-cars and charabancs, so could the councillor’s wife have been confused by this unusual looking bus?
I think it best to keep a watching brief, as to whether the bus did confuse the lady.
My First Ride In An Irizar ie tram
I took these pictures as we travelled from Orpington station to Crystal Palace.
These are my thoughts. In My Second Ride In A Wrightbus Single-Decker Hydrogen Bus, I talk about the Wrightbus single-decker hydrogen bus. Both buses are going for the single-decker zero-carbon market.
Design And Build Quality
The design and build quality of both buses is excellent, but then I suspect Irizar and Wrightbus are giving the bus companies, what they feel they need, within the various regulations.
Both buses had USB charging for phones and I particularly liked the seats in the Spanish bus for being very comfortable.
Road Holding
None of my rides in these two buses were at a particularly fast speed, but both vehicles handled the roads in and South of South London with very little difficulty.
Both vehicles felt much more like mini-coaches, rather than small buses, which is probably a good thing.
Battery Charging Of The ie Tram
I watched this at Crystal Palace. But for some reason my camera wasn’t recording the time. So I don’t know how long it took.
Hydrogen Or Battery Power
When you are in the bus, you don’t have any idea, what the fuel is. Both buses are mouse quiet, but I do feel that hydrgen’s longer range and greater power may mean it is better on some routes.
So some bus companies will go hydrogen and some will go battery.
Looks Like It Was Modelled On A Steel Urinal Stolen From The Gents In A Flat-Roofed Pub
This pithy comment was put in the comments of The Times for an article on the Tesla Cybertruck.
I once saw a Hummer on the road in London, but Tesla’s monstrosity would be a lot worse.design.
The Cybertruck is certainly a design crime!
Is A Ride Across South London On Tramlink, The Worst Rail Ride In London?
Last week, I took a ride across South London on the London Tramlink from Beckenham Junction to Wimbledon.
I was in one of the original Bombardier trams and it was very underwhelming.
None Of The Current Trams Have Air-Conditioning
These days, this is expected.
In this article on RailAdvent, which is entitled Potential Tram Builders Announced For New London Trams, this is said.
Transport for London has issued an Invitation to Tender for four manufacturers to design and build a new fleet of trams.
Alstom UK, CAF, Hitachi and Stadler are the four manufacturers who can now proceed to the next stage of the procurement process with Transport for London to design and build the new trams.
The new trams are expected to feature air-conditioning, real time travel info and charging points, along with areas designed for wheelchair users and those with pushchairs and luggage.
It sounds that the new trams will be to a higher standard with more comfort and interior space.
The Current Trams Have Bricks For Seat Padding
In my except from the Rail Advent article, surely this is covered with more comfort.
The Current Trams Lack Interior Space
In my except from the Rail Advent article, surely this is covered with more interior space.
On one journey recently, two mothers were having a friendly discussion about the limited space for their buggies.
The Current Trams Lack Flat Floors
The floors weren’t flat on my cross-London tram ride and it nearly tripped me up.
All trams, buses and trains should have flat floors and no-step entrances and exits.
The Current Trams Lack Details That Passengers Now Expect
In my except from the Rail Advent article, surely this is covered with more real time travel info and charging points.
The Route Of The Tramlink Is Boring
I’ve travelled on trams and light rail systems in other cities and towns, in the UK, in Europe and around the world.
But I feel that unlike say Blackpool Tramway, except for a couple of shopping centres and IKEA, London Tramlink doesn’t take you anywhere.
I expected to find refreshment kiosks at the terminals, but only at Wimbledon and East Croydon did they exist.
Perhaps, Transport for London could add a few kiosks, as they have done on the Overground?
Conclusion
Transport for London should look at all aspects of design of the London Tramlink.
Principle Power Unveils New Floating Wind Foundations For 15 MW+ Turbines
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Principle Power has expanded its WindFloat portfolio by introducing two new semisubmersible floating wind foundation designs, called WindFloat TC and WindFloat FC, which are said to be optimised for 15 MW+ wind turbines.
A large picture and these two paragraphs introduce the new designs.
According to the company, the new designs are natural evolutions of the existing WindFloat technologies that support a wind turbine located on a column in the centre of the platform.
Designed to complement the existing perimeter column designs WindFloat T and WindFloat F, the new solutions share the same 4th generation design heritage and benefits.
Smart Hull Trim System
The article also mentions a Smart Hull Trim System in this sentence.
Some of these include a Smart Hull Trim system to maximise annual energy production and reduce loads.
I would assume that the Smart Hull Trim System, works very much like the control surfaces of an aeroplane or submarine to keep the craft straight and level.
On the Principle Power web site, the various WindFloats are described as follows.
- WindFloat T – Proven WindFloat® design, suitable for tubular construction.
- WindFloat F – A pontoon-based design suitable for flat panel construction.
- WindFloat TC & FC – Center column design solutions, optimized for 15MW+ turbines with stiff-stiff towers.
From work, I did in the 1970s, with two Cambridge University engineering professors, I reckon that the TC and FC designs will be the best.
Conclusion
Whatever way you look at it, a 15 MW+ floating wind turbine, when you consider they can have capacity factors in excess of 50 %, could be a very powerful electricity generator.
Width And Height Of A Stadler Regio Shuttle RS1 Compared To UK Multiple Units
I am building this table, so that I can get a feel for where Stadler RS ZERO trains can go on the UK network.
Height Of The Regio Shuttle RS1
This is given as 3.70 metres in Wikipedia.
Other figures given in Wikipedia are.
- Class 150 – 3.774 metres
- Class 156 – 3.805 metres
- Class 158 – 3.73 metres
- Class 165 – 3.79 metres
- Class 185 – 3.71 metres
- Class 195 – 3.85 metres
- Class 378 – 3.774 metres
- Class 345 – 3.760 metres
- Class 399 – 3.720 metres
- Class 710 – 3.760 metres
- Class 745 – 3.915 metres
- Class 755 – 3.915 metres
Surprisingly, the Regio Shuttle RS1 is the shortest train!
But this means, that if the Regio Shuttle RS1 can get under all the bridges on a route, then all the other trains can.
Width Of The Regio Shuttle RS1
This is given as 2.90 metres in Wikipedia.
Other figures given in Wikipedia are.
- Class 150 – 2.816 metres
- Class 156 – 2.730 metres
- Class 158 – 2.700 metres
- Class 165 – 2.810 metres
- Class 185 – 2.673 metres
- Class 195 – 2.772 metres
- Class 378 – 2.800 metres
- Class 345 – 2.772 metres
- Class 399 – 2.650 metres
- Class 710 – 2.772 metres
- Class 745 – 3.720 metres
- Class 755 – 3.720 metres
Surprisingly, the Regio Shuttle RS1 is the widest train!
But this means, that if the Regio Shuttle RS1 can squeeze between the narrowest infrastructure on a route, then all the other trains can.
Conclusion
Does this mean, that once a Regio Shuttle RS1 can run on a route, lots of other trains can?
Itb looks to me, like a clever example of cunning Swiss engineering.
Could Stadler RS ZERO Be Used For The West London Orbital Railway?
In Stadler Presents A World First In Berlin, I talked about the launch of the Stadler RS ZERO.
I wonder, if these newly-launched trains, would be ideal for the West London Orbital Railway?
- They will be zero-carbon and will not be emitting fumes or carbon dioxide.
- Stadler could size the trains to UK platform height, just as they did the Flirts for Greater Anglia.
- The two routes are only eleven miles long with 25 KVAC electrification at the Midland Main Line end, so the battery-electric version could be ideal.
- They are likely to be extremely quiet, as battery-electric trains always seem to be.
This picture of the earlier Stadler Regio-Shuttle RS1 from Chemnitz, shows that it should be possible to have almost level boarding.
At least at new stations, where the platform height could be built for the RS ZERO.
The new stations along the Dudding Hill Line could be very simple indeed.
Conclusion
I feel that a fleet of RS ZEROs could convert the Dudding Hill Line into an efficient, step-fee and frequent addition to London’s passenger railways.
The Anonymous Widower 