Government Boosts Hydrogen Buses With £26m
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Live ~News.
These are the first two paragraphs.
A Northern Irish bus company is receiving £26 million in funding to build electric and hydrogen buses.
Wrightbus built the world’s first hydrogen double-decker bus in 2020 and is now looking to export its zero-emission buses worldwide to Australia, Germany, Italy, France and Spain.
Other points from the article include.
- Wrightbus are aiming to build 3,000 zero-emission buses.
- Jobs could increase by 300.
- They would like to increase exports by 40 %.
It looks like there’s a future in zero-emission buses.
Cummins Is Charging Towards Green
If ten years ago, you’d asked any green activist to name companies, that would be ruined by or fail to adjust to global warming by decarbonising their product line, I’m sure most big diesel engine manufacturers, like Cummins, would have been on their list.
But Cummins have successfully moved on as their latest press releases about their technology show.
- October 13th – Cummins Drives Gigawatt Electrolyzer Manufacturing Plant Forward in Spain, Expanding Its Global Clean Energy Footprint.
- October 10th – Cummins Drives Domestic Green Hydrogen Economy Forward With First U.S. Electrolyzer Manufacturing Facility.
- October 6th – Atura Power Selects Cummins To Design, Manufacture 20 MW Electrolyzer System For Niagara Hydrogen Centre.
- October 5th – Cummins’ Second Largest Solar Farm Goes Live at Rocky Mount Engine Plant.
- September 22nd – Destination IAA: Cummins Unveils New Technology For Zero-Emissions Power Solutions.
- September 20th – Cummins QSK95 Engine Proven Fully Compatible With Renewable Diesel.
- September 15th – Cummins Advocating for Racial Equity (CARE) Supports Mobile Grocery Markets in Communities Across the U.S.
- September 15th – Destination IAA: Cummins Debuting Electrified Meritor Powertrains For The First Time Since Acquisition.
- September 8th – Cummins Advocating for Racial Equity (CARE) Invests in a Sustainable Future Through Private Equity Partnership.
- September 8th – Cummins Scaling Belgium Electrolyzer Manufacturing Capacity To 1 Gigawatt Through IPCEI Support.
- September 7th – Werner Enterprises Signs Letter of Intent Planning to Secure 500 X15H Engines from Cummins.
- August 31st – Transport Enterprise Leasing Planning to Integrate Cummins’ X15H into Heavy Duty Truck Fleets.
These can be summarised as follows.
- Green Solutions – 4
- Electrolysers for green hydrogen – 3
- Decarbonisation of diesel engines – 3
- Community Support – 2
- Electric Powertrains – 1
- Solar Power – 1
According to Google, the Cummins share price has risen thirty percent in the last five years.
They must have done something right!
Bank’s New Moving Walkways Seem Busy
I have used Bank station’s new moving walkways a few times now and they seem to be busy.
Note.
- These pictures were taken at 14:00 on a Sunday afternoon. I wouldn’t have thought that would be a busy time.
- I’m fairly certain, that I’ve only seen one person walking in the middle.
- Perhaps, the wide moving walkways encourage walkers to walk on the moving surface and save more time?
- There were no travellers coming towards me, as I timed the pictures, so no-one could be easily recognised.
The number of users makes you wonder, if some travellers are taking this route for the novelty?
Or do travellers just like to go as fast as possible?
New Escalators And Moving Walkways Between The Central And Northern Lines At Bank Station – 29th October 2022
This important link in the Bank Station Upgrade opened yesterday.
So this afternoon, I went and took these pictures, as I walked from the Central to the Northern Line interchange plaza at the Monument end of the station.
Note.
There is only a short bank of escalators between the Central Line and the moving walkways.
A good-sized landing for the escalators has been squeezed in at the top of the escalators between the two Central Line platforms.
At the bottom of the escalators, there is a generous space to accommodate the ninety-degree turn to and from the moving walkway.
The moving walkway appears wider than others on the Underground and is very well-lit.
At its Southern end, the moving walkway connects to the spacious interchange plaza, I wrote about in New Escalators At Bank Station Between The Northern Line And The DLR and showed in these pictures.
The interchange rule at the Bank/Monument station complex appears to be make for the interchange plaza and moving walkway and follow the signs.
- The Central Line is at the Northern end.
- The Northern Line is on either side.
- The DLR is underneath the plaza.
- The District/Circle Lines are at the Southern end.
I was surprised to see, that there were no staff in the interchange plaza.
Or would one of the Lizzie Line signposts be a good idea?
It could also have a clock.
Countdown To Swiss Record Attempt: Assembling A 1.91-kilometre Train
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on RailTech.com.
The article explains all the things that they do to achieve this ultra-long train, but they do leave out the why!
I can only assume, that they want to test the train software in the most extreme of circumstances and they feel that this is the best they can do!
Why BMW Chair Oliver Zipse Says Hydrogen Cars Will Be The “Hippest Thing” On The Road
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
BMW Chair Oliver Zipse recently spoke at an interview in Goodwood, England, underscoring that hydrogen cars will soon be the most desirable zero-emission passenger vehicles to drive, not battery electrics.
He made these points and predictions.
- Electric vehicles will hit their peak in about ten years, then H2 will take over.
- After the electric car, which has been going on for about 10 years and scaling up rapidly, the next trend will be hydrogen.
- When it’s more scalable, hydrogen will be the hippest thing to drive.
I agree with him, but I do find anybody called Zipse to take seriously, because of the character in the Tom Sharpe novel; Porterhouse Blue.
Moorgate To Grosvenor Square On The Elizabeth Line
The Grosvenor Square area of Central London is shown by this Google Map.
Note.
- Grosvenor Square is the green square in the middle of the map, with the former US Embassy at its Western end.
- A block to the East of Grosvenor Square is Davies Street, which runs North-South to and from Oxford Street.
- It is mainly an area of expensive houses, some offices, embassies and luxury hotels.
- There are at least half-a-dozen four or five-star hotels on this map, with the former US Embassy being converted to another.
- So as most of its residents and visitors are well-heeled, there has generally been little need for public transport.
- But on the other hand luxury hotels, expensive houses and embassies are large employers of staff and services.
So do many travelling to the area, have to use a taxi or walk from public transport on Oxford Street or Park Lane?
At the top of this map, just on the West side of Davies Street is a building site, which is labelled Cavendish Buildings. This building site is now the Western or Davies Street Entrance to the Elizabeth Line at Bond Street station.
This morning I took an Elizabeth Line train between Moorgate and Davies Street and then walked to Grosvenor Square,
Note.
- There are two triple escalators and a lift at Moorgate station.
- Travel in the front of the train to be positioned correctly for a quick exit.
- There are two triple escalators and a lift at the Davies Street entrance to Bond Street station.
It took me twenty-two minutes for the whole journey.
Will The Elizabeth Line Have Any Effects On The Grosvenor Square Area?
This is a difficult question to answer, but I’m sure that there will be changes.
Staff Will Have An Easier Journey To And From Work
The manager of a luxury hotel in London told me that good staff is a problem, especially, where public transport is not good.
So I do feel that the new Bond Street station will widen the pool of employment for staff commuting to the area.
I would certainly feel, that if your hotel, restaurant or club was within walking distance of an Elizabeth Line, you might well find, that the quality of your staff improves.
Will Light Cargo And Services Use The Elizabeth Line?
Some years ago, I had handrails fitted by a company from Sheffield. The salesman/designer came by train and walking and only for the fitting did the company use a vehicle.
It was certainly a job done well and efficiently.
I can see all sorts of goods moved into Central London, using the step-free and level features of the Elizabeth Line.
If the other Underground lines had improved step-free access, there would be more opportunities for improved services for Central London businesses.
The Hotels In The Grosvenor Square Area Now Have A Fast Comfortable Connection To The City And Canary Wharf
Since the Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf station opened in the last years of the last century, there has been a reasonably fast Underground service to between Bond Street station, various stations in the City of London and Canary Wharf station.
But the Elizabeth Line brings this link to a much higher level.
- It is faster.
- It has much more comfortable trains.
- Access to trains is step-free and with level access.
- Soon, the trains will have wi-fi and 4G signals.
- The trains connect to Heathrow Airport and with a simple change to City, Stansted and Gatwick Airports.
I suspect that hotels on the Elizabeth Line will see an increase in business.
Conclusion
The Elizabeth Line is going to change London more than anyone would think.
Bond Street station will improve the Grosvenor Square area.
What will your local Elizabeth Line station, do for your area?
‘Ryanair Of Rail’ Lights Up The East Coast On Fast Track To Profit
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the first paragraph.
A cut-price rail service between London and Edinburgh, dubbed the Ryanair of rail, is on track to turn a profit after a year in service and has helped to reverse the airlines’ previous dominance of the travel market between the capitals.
Other points from the article.
- Lumo will carry its millionth passenger in November.
- The average one-way fare has been less than £40.
- Rail is now claiming 63 % of the London and Scotland travel market.
Will this success lead to more trains attracting more rail travellers between England and Scotland?
Can Lumo Carry More Passengers?
Lumo use five-car Hitachi Class 803 trains for their services.
- Their fleet consists of five cars.
- Each five-car train can carry 402 passengers.
- Lumo run five trains per day (tpd) in both directions.
There are various ways that the number of passengers could be increased.
Could Lumo Run More Services?
This may seem to be a solution, but only a fixed number of trains can be run in every hour, between England and Scotland.
- Other train operators may also want to run more services.
- It would also mean Lumo would need to buy more trains.
On the other hand it may be possible to squeeze in perhaps one extra service.
Could Lumo Run Longer Trains?
Lumo’s Class 803 trains are unusual among the Hitachi AT 300 trains, that handle long distance services all over the UK, in that they have no diesel engines and rely on battery power for emergencies.
As the trains’ computer work out which cars are present, I wouldn’t be surprised that these trains can be lengthened or even run as a pair, as GWR’s and LNER’s five-car Hitachi trains often do.
Platforms at King’s Cross, Stevenage, Newcastle, Morpeth and Edinburgh are probably already longer than is needed for a five-car train.
I could even see Lumo adding coaches as required to satisfy the need of the day. On a day like the Calcutta Cup, they might even run ten or twelve car trains, which is the longest formation possible with the Hitachi trains. But they’d have to have enough coaches!
Lumo use a very simple catering option, which I suspect can be modified to serve a longer train.
I am fairly certain, that LUMO’s fleet has been designed for gradual lengthening to expand capacity.
Would The Lumo Model Work On The West Coast Main Line?
As the Lumo model seems to work to Edinburgh, would it work to Glasgow?
I don’t see why not! And it might improve the service from Avanti West Coast?
Grand Union have lodged an application to run four tpd between London and Stirling via at Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert with InterCity 225s.
This proposal seems to be stalled at the moment, but I do feel it is a good idea.
I would certainly use it, as the air-conditioning on the Class 390 trains, used by Avanti West Coast, makes me ill!
Elizabeth Line Bond Street Station And South Molton Street
South Molton Street is one of my favourite streets in London.
- It runs between Bond Street station on Oxford Street in the North and Fenwick’s department store on New Bond Street in the South.
- Many times, I bought my late wife; C’s Christmas or birthday present on that street, on New Bond Street or in Fenwick.
- One of her last purchases had been an Armani suit for work on New Bond Street.
- She also usually bought her shoes in Salvatore Ferragamo at the Southern end of New Bond Street.
- I would usually travel there by taking the Central Line to Bond Street station or the Victoria or Piccadilly Line to Green Park station.
C and I spent many hours happily shopping in that small area of the West End of London.
- We used to shop together for clothes, shoes and many other things.
- One day at a party in her barristers chambers in Cambridge, one of her colleagues expressed surprise that the following day, I was going clothes shopping with her in London.
- C replied to everyone’s amusement, that I was a transvestite-by-proxy. In other words, I am a man, who likes dressing ladies in appropriate clothes.
- I am also lucky, that my mother taught me to sew and in the early years of our marriage, I used to borrow my mother-in-law’s sewing machine and make some of C’s clothes.
- When long coats became fashionable in the 1960s, C had the first of any of her friends. Because I had made it!
So today, I just had to go and see how the new Elizabeth Line Bond Street station fitted in with my favourite shopping street.
I travelled to the new Davies Street entrance of the station.
- I walked through the tunnels to the original Underground station.
- I emerged onto Oxford Street.
- I walked down South Molton Street to Fenwick, with a couple of diversions.
- I then walked through Medici Courtyard to the Hanover Square entrance to Bond Street station.
Finally, I took the Elizabeth Line back to Moorgate for a bus to my house.
Note.
- There are two banks of escalators to the surface at the Davies Street entrance at Bond Street station.
- The tunnel between the Davies Street entrance at Bond Street station and the original Underground station has a seat at halfway.
- South Molton Street connects to Oxford Street.
- South Molton Passage connects the Davies Street entrance at Bond Street station and South Molton Street.
- C had her unusual wedding dress made in Haunch of Venison Yard.
- The Medici Courtyard sign also says it leads to the Elizabeth Line.
- I couldn’t find a coffee shop selling a cappuccino and a gluten-free cake in Medici Courtyard. That is poor!
One of the station staff at Hanover Square indicated, that there may be additional passages to the West of New Bond Street, that will connect to the Davies Street entrance at Bond Street station.
I feel this could make the area even better.
Moorgate Station To Bond Street Station And Return
This morning, I went between Moorgate Station and the Hanover Square entrance of Bond Street Station on the Elizabeth Line.
I then walked to the Davies Street entrance of Bond Street Station via Medici Court, Bond Street and Brook Street, and returned on the Elizabeth Line.
Note.
- The Hanover Square entrance to Bond Street station, is a single bank of escalators and is only a short walk between platforms and street.
- Medici Court is a quick covered walk from the station to Bond Street. There is an upmarket coffee-shop.
- ~Brook Street can be used as a walking route between Bond and Davies Streets and on to Grosvenor Square.
- The Davies Street entrance to Bond Street station, is a double bank of escalators and is a slightly longer walk between platforms and street.
- I suspect that South Molton Street will become a walking route between the Davies Street entrance and the Southern section of Bond Street.
- Many times in the past fifty years, I’ve bought my late wife presents in South Molton and Bond Streets.
Andy Byford, London’s outgoing Transport Commissioner has called this new station is the jewel in the crown of the West End’s transport provision.
The Anonymous Widower 