Elizabeth Line – Paddington Station – 24th May 2022
I went to the new Elizabeth Line platforms at Paddington station today and took these pictures.
Note.
- It is a double descent from the main Paddington station level to the depths of the Elizabeth Line.
- The Paddington Bakerloo Link Link is another level down. See Elizabeth Line – Paddington Bakerloo Line Link – 24th May 2022.
- There is a spectacular lift tower in the middle of all the escalators.
One puzzle is that there are three escalators down and two up.
Elizabeth Line – Paddington Bakerloo Line Link – 24th May 2022
These pictures show the Elizabeth Line end of the Paddington Bakerloo Line Link.
Note.
- This pedestrian tunnel connects the Elizabeth Line platforms and the Bakerloo Line platforms at Paddington station.
- The tunnel runs under the main pedestrian concourse of Paddington station from one side to the other.
- At the start of construction, I wrote about this tunnel in Paddington Bakerloo Line Link Project, London.
In Paddington Is Operational Again, I showed this image, that I found on the web.
I also said this.
It looks to be a very well thought out link.
- It is connected to the Crossrail station by escalators and lifts in the middle of the island platform at that station.
- The connection at the Bakerloo Line end, would appear to have lifts, stairs and escalators.
- Wll the lifts go direct to the surface as well?
- All routes seem to be direct to the central landing in the Bakerloo Line platforms.
- It may be a hundred and sixty five metres, but the design probably means most passengers will do it fairly fast.But I’m only speculating.
It will certainly be a very powerful interchange, as it will give a much needed connection to London’s least-developed Underground Line.
Having seen one end today, I agree with my statement in the previous post.
Walking The Paddington Bakerloo Line Link
On the 26th May, I walked the Paddington Bakerloo Line Link from the Elizabeth Line to the Bakerloo Line platforms.
Note.
- There are two escalators and a lift at both ends.
- It appears to be a level walk. Walking the contours around a hill is always easier.
- There are two seats at one third and two thirds distance. Do the seats have a mobile phone hotspot?
- The seats make each section fifty-five metres, as the tunnel is 165 metres long.
- According to this page on the BRE Group web site, it cost just £40 million.
- There is a handrail all the way in the middle of the link.
- Each direction, is wide enough for the largest pram, wheelchair or stretcher.
The Paddington Bakerloo Line Link has set a high gold standard for below ground pedestrian links.
- Both ends have escalators and lifts to provide step-free access between platforms and the tunnel.
- The tunnel is level.
- There is a handrail.
- The tunnel is wide.
- The tunnel has seats for those who need a rest.
- There are help points.
- Most importantly, at only £40 million it was not expensive.
Several other long pedestrian links in London, the UK, Europe and the world could borrow ideas from this link, which I would rate as the best I’ve ever seen.
Does The Paddington Bakerloo Line Link Make The Bakerloo Line A North-South Cross-Branch Of The Elizabeth Line?
The Elizabeth Line has these major North-South cross-branches.
- Jubilee Line at Bond Street station.
- Charing Cross Branch of the Northern Line at Tottenham Court Road station.
- Thameslink at Farringdon station.
- Bank Branch of the Northern Line at Moorgate station.
- East London Line of the Overground at Whitechapel station.
With the opening of the Paddington Bakerloo Line Link, another North-South cross-branch of the Elizabeth Line been added.
It could be argued that London has a new NW-SE high frequency link between Harrow & Wealdstone and Abbey Wood stations.
- Bakerloo Line – Harrow & Wealdstone and Paddington
- Paddington Bakerloo Line Link – 165 metre level step-free walk
- Elizabeth Line – Paddington and Abbey Wood via Whitechapel and Canary Wharf
The journey would appear to take 73 minutes from the National Rail journey planner, which allows fifteen minutes for the change at Paddington.
Is The Bakerloo Line Extension Still Needed?
So how long would it take for journeys from Harrow & Wealdstone to selected stations, that could be served by the Bakerloo Line Extension.
- New Cross Gate – 82 minutes – Change at Paddington and Whitechapel
- Lewisham – 93 minutes – Change at Paddington and Canary Wharf
- Hayes – 98 minutes – Change at Paddington, Whitechapel and New Cross
Note.
- Going South the Hayes train arrives at New Cross, just after the train from Dalston Junction has arrived.
- I also feel with some Northbound improvements on the Overground service times could be shortened.
- Locations on the Old Kent Road might be better served by frequent buses between Elephant & Castle and New Cross stations.
Improving the Overground and the fast link between Whitechapel and Paddington may allow the Bakerloo Line Extension to be kicked into the long grass.
Wi-Fi And 4G
This page on the TfL web site is entitled Everything You Need To Know About The Elizabeth Line, where this is said about Wi-Fi and 4G.
WiFi access within the tunnels will be introduced later in 2022. Customers on both trains and platforms will have access to 4G connectivity this year too.
Will passengers be more likely to take a route through London with Wi-Fi and 4G?
I very much feel they will and that this will draw more passengers to use the Elizabeth Line.
And once, they start to use it, they’ll keep with it, so long as they’re happy.
Conclusion
The Bakerloo Line Extension can be kicked into the long grass.
Man Dies After Being Hit By Train As Services Out Of Lime Street Cancelled
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Liverpool Echo.
These paragraphs describe the incident.
Cheshire Police were called to Hartford station in Northwich at around 4pm on Monday, May 23, following reports of a man being hit by a train. Once officers and paramedics arrived at the scene the station was closed to all trains and British Transport Police were called.
British Transport Police have confirmed when emergency services arrived at the scene the man was already dead. Officers are currently working to identify the man and inform their next of kin.
At 15:47, I left Liverpool Lime Street station for London and this was my journey.
- We stopped at Runcorn and waited there about 15 minutes.
- We then reversed back to Liverpool and got off the train.
- We were then told to get back on the train.
- I actually sat opposite my original seat in coach U, but there was a bit of chaos as Avanti West Coast were combining passengers for the 15:47 and 16:47.
- We left Liverpool at 17:23.
- The route was through Manchester and then South from Manchester Piccadilly.
- We finally arrived in London at 20:18
The journey had taken five hours and thirty-four minutes.
In addition the 17:47, 18:47 and the 19:47 were cancelled, with some passengers taken by bus to Crewe.
Ukraine’s New Stealth Weapon
This article on Electrek is entitled Ukraine Is Now Using These 200-Mile-Range Electric Bikes With NLAW Rockets To Take Out Russian Tanks.
This is the first paragraph.
Ukrainian electric motorbike company Delfast has seen its electric bikes used for some vastly diverse tasks, such as breaking Guinness World Records and outfitting Mexican police. But their latest use is perhaps the bikes’ most important mission yet: helping Ukrainian soldiers strike a David vs. Goliath blow against Russia’s barbaric invasion of their country.
How do you protect your tank against a silent by deadly soldier coming to get you with a Belfast-made NLAW on a Ukrainian Delfast at 50 mph?
I suspect a fit well-trained soldier can outride a Russian T72 tank, hide in the forest and setup his NLAW. Now that’s humiliation!
It also appears from these two paragraphs, that Ukrainian snipers are also enjoying the advantages of electric bikes.
Another local Ukrainian company, ELEEK, has also supplied its country’s armed forces with silent, powerful electric motorbikes for use on the battlefield.
In that case, the electric motorbikes were requested for use by sniper teams.
The Ukranians seem to be a very inventive nation.
Daimler Truck North America And Cummins Collaborate To Drive Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks Forward In North America
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Cummins.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Cummins Inc., a global power and hydrogen technologies leader, and Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America, are collaborating to upfit and validate Freightliner Cascadia trucks with a Cummins hydrogen fuel cell powertrain for use in North America. Freightliner will leverage Cummins’ fourth generation fuel cell powertrain, which provides improved power density, efficiency and durability.
The joint effort will support both organizations’ goals to reduce emissions across product offerings and operations. Upon successful validation, the companies intend to have initial units available in 2024 for selected customers.
Note.
- The Freightliner Cascadia is a heavy-duty semi-trailer truck and the flagship model of Freightliner, which is a subsidiary of Daimler Truck North America.
- There is already an electric variant of the Cascadia, which is called an eCascadia. It is this truck, that is being converted to hydrogen.
This article on Hydrogen Fuel News is entitled Cummins Partners With Freightliner On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Truck, starts with this paragraph.
According to Cummins CEO Tom Linebarger who spoke at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, it’s the responsibility of the trucking industry to create a cleaner future. He stated that, “We think we deliver goods to market and empower things,” adding that “We do things that are essential to the economy, and we are proud of it. We also think, though, that we need to help with prosperity that has to do with making sure we don’t consume and destroy the planet that we live on.”
Cummins seem to have placed a few bets on hydrogen.
Daimler Truck North America seem to be following the philosophy of being in both the electric and the hydrogen market with two separate products, that I outlined in Daimler Trucks Presents Technology Strategy For Electrification – World Premiere Of Mercedes-Benz Fuel-Cell Concept Truck.
Wrightbus appear to have done the same with their hydrogen and electric buses.
It will be interesting to see how American truckers take to Cummins offer of a hydrogen-powered truck.
Renault Scenic Vision Concept Debuts As Hydrogen Fuel Cell Range Extender
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Inside EVs.
This is the subtitle to the article.
The French automaker is repurposing its Scenic nameplate for a very different vehicle.
The car looks fairly conventional, but the power system is not.
This paragraph describes it.
What’s perhaps more interesting than the styling is what powers this study. The 215-horsepower front-mounted electric motor is taken from the new Megane E-Tech, as is the 40 kWh battery pack (the smaller of the two available for the Megane EV). The battery pack is small because this vehicle also has an on-board power source, in the form of a 16 kW hydrogen fuel cell.
Note.
- 215 horse power is 160 kW.
- Is it significant that that motor is ten times as powerful as the fuel-cell?
The rest of the article, describes the construction of the car, which includes a lot of recycled plastic.
Another article on the car, indicates a range of 500 miles.
Incidentally, I never owned a French car, although my father did own a couple of Amilcars before World War 2. From one picture I saw, he might have had an Amilcar CGS. This car featured in Mousieur Hulot’s Holiday and I can remember a clip of the film appearing on television and my father remarking that the car was an Amilcar. I can also remember him telling the story of Isadora Duncan’s death, which involved an Amilcar.
My father had some surprising friends in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
Call For Rail Sector To Mobilise To Get Ukrainian Agricultural Exports Moving
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Rail has a central role in the European Commission’s plan to establish ‘Solidarity Lanes’ for the transport of Ukrainian agricultural exports which would normally use the Black Sea ports that are being blockaded by Russia.
Announcing its plan, the commission said the Russian blockade is threatening global food security, creating an urgent need for alternative transport routes. Ukraine is the largest exporter of sunflower oil (50% of world exports), the third largest of rapeseed (20%) and barley (18%), the fourth of maize (16%) and the fifth of wheat (12%).
It certainly is a big problem and not just for Ukraine, but for any country that habitually buys these agricultural products from Ukraine.
But it will probably require a lot of investment to solve.
These are points from the article.
- Trains handling 1,400 tonnes are possible.
- The average waiting time for wagons at the Ukrainian border is sixteen days.
- The capacity of existing freight corridors must be expanded and new ones must be created.
After reading the whole article, it does seem that an EU plan is being created.
I have my thoughts.
Gauge Change
Consider.
- There will be a gauge change between standard and Russian gauge.
- Spanish company; Talgo has developed the technology, so that trains can run on both gauges and even change between gauges at a slow speed.
- The technology is used on the Strizh train, which runs passenger services between Berlin and Moscow via Warsaw.
I feel it is likely, that Talgo could develop freight wagons to move the agricultural products between Ukraine and ports in Poland or Germany.
Talgo’s Plans
In A Spaniard In The Works!, I outlined Talgo’s plans, which included building a factory at Longannet in Scotland.
But their plans must have been disrupted, as the company did not secure the High Speed Two Classic-Compatible rolling stock contract.
On the other hand Longannet could be an ideal place to build trains for Eastern Europe. They could go on a ferry to Gdansk, Helsinki or other ports.
Diss Station – 19th May 2022
I went to Diss station for the first time today on a train, although I have caught a train from the station a couple of times.
These are my thoughts.
Long Platforms
Consider.
- The platforms are long enough to take two full-length twelve-car Class 745 trains, which are nearly 240 metres long.
- I suspect the platforms can also accept a pair of five-car Class 720 trains, which would be 244 metres long.
If this is true at all Inter-City stations, this must mean that Greater Anglia can still run a full service, if they are short of Class 745 trains.
Car Parking
This Google Map shows the extensive car parking at Diss station.
Note.
- There are two tracks and two platforms, with the London-bound platform on the Eastern side.
- There is parking on both sides of the tracks.
- According to the National Rail web site, there appears to be 316 parking bays on the London-bound side.
- A sign in the tenth picture shows a £2.50 All-Day parking deal on the Norwich-bound platform.
- The Internet shows a lot of competitively-priced parking around the station.
Commuters to London, Ipswich or Norwich will have to cross the line in the morning or evening and there are no lifts to make that easy.
A Step-Free Bridge At Diss
Network Rail had a competition a few years ago in conjunction with RIBA to design a stylish, affordable and easy-to-install footbridge and this was the winner.
This design is also under development.
I think one of these bridges could possibly be installed at Diss station at the Northern end of the station.
- Both bridges would appear to have small footprints.
- They are designed to clear 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- Both bridges appear to be able to be built to a flexible width. I suspect this might allow one end of the bridge could be in a car park and the other on the opposite platform.
- Both are fully step-free.
- The composite bridge might be better because of a lower weight.
- The first bridge appears to be enclosed, so would work better in Manchester.
- I suspect that both could be installed after creating an appropriately-sized concrete base on either side of the tracks, by lifting in the bridge by means of a rail-mounted crane.
It is now over three years since the first design won the Network Rail/RIBA competition. That is just too long to get a prototype bridge built and installed.
Toilets
The toilets at the station were of an excellent standard. But this is getting increasingly common these days.
Cutting Emissions – Cleaner, Greener Turbostars
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Engineer.
It is a detailed technical description about how one of Chiltern Trains’s Class 168 trains has been converted to hybrid power.
This extract from the article gives the results of the conversion.
In July 2021, to celebrate Chiltern Railways’ 25th anniversary, the prototype was used to carry a number of invited guests to Bicester for a celebration lunch. The unit achieved speeds of up to 100mph during this demonstration run and operated with emission free battery power into/out of Marylebone and Bicester. The converted train is expected to reduce CO2 by up to 25%, nitrous oxide by up to 70%, particulates by up to 90% and fuel consumption by up to 25%. There was also an expectation that engine noise level will be reduced by 75%.
The article finishes by discussing how all 450 cars of the combined Class 168/170 fleet could be converted.
The article also hopes that the new Chiltern contract could lead to a full conversion of the fleet to hybrid operation.
It is an article well-worth a read.
Bank Station – 16th May 2022
The new Northern Line platforms at Bank station are now open and I went this morning to have a quick look.
These are my thoughts.
The New Southbound Platform Is Wide
The new Southbound platform is wide and compares well with the wide platform at Angel station, that I wrote about in All Platforms Should Be Wide Like This.
This picture shows the Southbound platform at Angel., which dates from 1992.
And this the new Southbound platform at Bank.
Two similar designs, but thirty years apart.
Simple Decor
The two pictures also illustrate the simple decor used in the rebuilt station.
The New Southbound Platform Is A Sprayed Concrete Tunnel
These pictures show the far wall of the new Southbound platform.
It looks from my untrained eye to be lined with sprayed concrete. I learned more about the use of sprayed concrete in tunnels, when I visited TUCA in Ilford, during Open House in 2012, which I wrote about in Open House – TUCA.
The Existing Northbound Platform Is Narrow
The Northbound platform is effectively as before, but with large and small holes in the wall to access a wide parallel pedestrian tunnel behind the wall.
There is a lot of circulation space.
The Parallel Pedestrian Tunnel
The old Southbound platform has been turned into a parallel pedestrian tunnel separated from the Northbound platform, by a wall that has four small and eight larger pedestrian-sized holes through it.
These pictures show a selections of the holes in the wall.
In addition.
- The tunnel has escalators at the Southern end connecting to Monument station.
- The tunnel has stairs at the Northern end to the Central Line.
- Further connections will be added.
- It also has seats along its length. These will be mainly for Northbound passengers, waiting for trains, who can see the trains through the large holes.
It is an unusual layout and I’ve never seen anything like it before anywhere in London, the UK, Europe or the world.
Wot No More Marble?
The Northbound Northern Line used to have a platform with marble facings.
Some of marble is still there as these pictures show.
Note that the old rat-run to the DLR is still there between the platforms.
The Wide Cross Tunnels
The wide cross tunnels link the two sides of the station together and to the escalators and moving walkways in the middle of the station.
This visualisation shows the station.
Note.
- The only more-or-less completed bits are the two Northern Line tunnels and platforms and parallel pedestrian tunnel.
- The four cross tunnels can be picked out towards the far end of the station.
- Three of the cross tunnels can now be used by passengers.
- The moving walkway can be accessed from the two cross tunnels nearest to the Central Line.
- The escalators from the yet-to-open Cannon Street entrance appear to lead directly into a cross tunnel and a parallel tunnel to the moving walkway.
This station has definitely been designed for rabbits.
Level Access To The Trains
This picture shows the level access on the new Southbound platform.
And this shows the step-up into the train on the old Northbound platform.
I wonder, if the platform can be raised to make the Northbound as good as the Southbound.
There Is Still A Lot To Do
At present the only sections of the project that are completed and visible to passengers are the following.
- The new wide Southbound platform.
- The refurbished Northbound platform, which is a similar width to before.
- The wide passenger tunnel behind the Northbound platform, that was converted from the old Southbound tunnel.
- The four new cross tunnels between the two platforms. Some still need finishing and there are spaces, where escalators will slot in.
It would appear that at least the following need to be done.
- Open up the new Cannon Street entrance
- Add the escalators and lifts.
- Put in the moving walkways between the Northern and Central Lines.
But it looks that everything left to do is small compared to the tunnel work that needed the closure from January.
This page on the TfL web site gives these dates.
- 16 May 2022: New southbound platform and concourse open
- Autumn 2022: DLR escalator and Central line link open
- Late 2022: Bank station capacity upgrade works due to be completed. New station with step-free access opens on Cannon Street.
It looks to me, that the project management has been done well and after hitting the first milestone, they appear to be on track.
The Anonymous Widower 