My First Ride In A Class 720 Train
Today, I took my first ride in one of Greater Anglia‘s Class 720 train.
It was only between Liverpool Street and Stratford.
Notes and questions.
- Are all of the individual seats identical and can they be arranged as ones, twos or threes as required?
- Could this mean, that Greater Anglia could create a 2 + 2 version with tables. if they felt such a train was necessary for some routes?
- The details like luggage racks, wheelchair spaces and power sockets seem to be of a high standard.
- The ride seemed smooth. But if I was going between Liverpool Street and Norwich, I’d prefer to ride in one of Greater Anglia’s Stadler trains.
- The last picture is of the seats in a Class 345 train, as I wanted to judge a comparison.
- The Class 720 seat appears to my posterior to be slightly more comfortable, than the Class 345 seat.
This train is more than just a high-capacity suburban trundler.
Felixstowe And Harwich Ports Submit Bid For ‘Freeport’ Status
The title of this post is the same as this article on the BBC.
These are the first three paragraphs.
A bid for “freeport” status for two existing ports has been submitted after the project was approved by a council.
East Suffolk Council unanimously backed the bid for the Port of Felixstowe and Harwich International to become one of 10 freeport facilities across the UK.
Freeport East would see owners Hutchison operate a single custom zone covering both coastal ports.
I think, some will think this a bit cheeky, but I think it is a product of the characters of the counties of Essex and Suffolk.
I was conceived in Suffolk and have probably spent half my life in the county.
It’s a county that thinks big.
- Is there another woman, who as Boudica did, assembled an army of hundreds of thousands and attempted to throw an unwelcome invader out of her country?
- The history of her tribe; the Iceni is closely tied, according to some historians, to the development of the thoroughbred racehorse at New Horse Market or Newmarket as it is known today!
- Newmarket is to horse racing as St. Andrews is to golf.
- The town is home of about 3,500 horses and is a major centre for horse and animal health.
- Newmarket Heath is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is to be the largest area of mown grass in the world.
- Suffolk sheep are one of the most numerous sheep breeds in the world, having been exported all over the world.
- Suffolk is the only county in England with its own breed of sheep, cattle (Red Poll) and horse (Suffolk Horse)
- Bury St. Edmunds Abbey was one of the largest churches in England.
When I was about seven, the Port of Felixstowe was just a small dock exporting grain and now it the busiest container port in the UK and the eighth in Europe.
It is no surprise to me, that Felixstowe and Harwich want to be a Freeport, so they can expand further.
There have already been related news and media reports.
Freeport East Web Site
The Freeport East web site is at www.freeporteast.com.
Read these sections.
It is an ambitious vision. As someone, who believes we must innovate, this paragraph from the Innovation section strikes the right tone.
Beyond the energy sector, Freeport East will also contribute to wider innovation in the technology sector. Hutchison Ports is already working with Cambridge University and Three UK to develop innovative 5G applications. Hutchison Ports is also working with the New Anglia LEP, Tech East and BT’s research centre at Adastral Park on new telecommunications infrastructure. Freeport East will embed these technological innovations at its heart and help to make the UK a world leader in technological innovation
The web site, also talks about the ports becoming major centres for the development and servicing of renewable energy in the North Sea.
A Little Help From Their Friends
I notice that in some reports, they have joined forces with the University of Cambridge. As Cambridge colleges are big local landowners, this can only be to the benefit of the concept.
A Hydrogen Freeport
This article on the Eadt Anglian Daily Times is entitled Top Ports Could Be Powered By Hydrogen In Major Project.
The project is well-described in the article with this infographic, that shows how nuclear power from Siewell and wind power from the North Sea can come together to decarbonise shipping and the port.
This paragraph sums up the hydrogen project.
At its peak, the power project, which will be delivered in partnership with Ryze-Hydrogen and EDF, developers of the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station, will produce 1GW of hydrogen – 20% of the 5GW target in the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
Suffolk is thinking big again!
It certainly does appear, that several ports are following the hydrogen route. On this blog I have mentioned Antwerp, Holyhead and Portsmouth recently.
So what will the hydrogen be used for?
The East Anglian article says this.
The clean fuel would be used to power port equipment, ships, trucks and trains.
Port Equipment
I think the interesting one is port equipment.
- The chairman of JCB is Anthony Bamford.
- His son; Jo Bamford owns Ryze Hydrogen.
- JCB have recently released a hydrogen-powered digger.
- JCB is mentioned on the infographic.
Could we be seeing a range of hydrogen-powered port equipment, that has been developed by JCB?
Other companies like Hyster are certainly developing hydrogen-powered port equipment.
Ships
Decarbonisation of ships is difficult, as they need a lot of power and it usually comes from that most noxious of fuels; bunker oil.
The Wikipedia entry for bunker oil, has a section called Environmental Issues, where this is said.
Emissions from bunker fuel burning in ships contribute to air pollution levels in many port cities, especially where the emissions from industry and road traffic have been controlled. The switch of auxiliary engines from heavy fuel oil to diesel oil at berth can result in large emission reductions, especially for SO2 and PM. CO2 emissions from bunker fuels sold are not added to national GHG emissions. For small countries with large international ports, there is an important difference between the emissions in territorial waters and the total emissions of the fuel sold.
A lot of work is being done to power ships with hydrogen.
Provide refuelling for hydrogen-powered ships and you’ll get the business.
Trucks
Diesel trucks hauling goods to and from ports contribute to the pollution in the port, but if they are powered by hydrogen, the pollution for workers and neighbours is less.
I can see some freight terminals adopting a policy of No Hydrogen – No Load, with hauliers.
In Holyhead Hydrogen Hub Planned For Wales, I talked about a hydrogen hub at Holyhead. Will the ports of Dover, Felixstowe and Immingham need to have hydrogen refuelling facilities to handle hydrogen trucks hauling goods between the island of Ireland and Europe?
Trains
It is my belief, that hydrogen freight locomotives will be developed, so Felixstowe will need facilities to fuel the trains.
Imagine two highly-automated ports at Felixstowe and Holyhead, both with large supplies of hydrogen.
- A hydrogen-powered freight train would link the two ports.
- Hydrogen-powered handling equipment would load and unload the containers.
How many trucks would that take off the roads between Holyhead and Felixstowe?
Conclusion
The Port of Felixstowe is going to use hydrogen to become more efficient and zero-carbon, and make it more attractive to shippers wanting to pay more than lip-service to decarbonisation.
The EU have constantly accused Boris of turning the UK into Singapore-on-Thames!
But here we are creating Singaport-on-the-Haven.
The EU has freeports, so I guess it’s OK.
Are These Two Good News Articles From Crossrail?
This press release from Crossrail is entitled Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth Line Station Enters Final Commissioning Phase.
These are the first three paragraphs.
The Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth line station has reached an important milestone with construction works sufficiently finished for final commissioning activities to start, Crossrail has confirmed.
The station has reached the T-12 landmark, this means the station is now considered to be 12 weeks away from being ready for handover to Transport for London (TfL), who will operate the Elizabeth line.
Work at the station will now primarily focus on the extensive testing and commissioning of systems ahead of the Elizabeth line opening. The railway is still on track to open in the first half of 2022.
This video from Crossrail explains what needs to be done before Trial Running can start.
This article on New Civil Engineer is entitled Crossrail | All But One Central London Station Is ‘Ready For Use’.
These are the first two paragraphs.
All but one of Crossrail’s central London stations has been signed off as “ready for use”, Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild revealed in his latest update to the London Assembly.
Paddington is the only station yet to have its assets assured and certified as ready to enter trial running.
It looks like Crossrail is finally getting there.
Bond Street Station
In both articles there is no mention of Bond Street station, which in many reports has been described as running behind the other stations.
So when the New Civil Engineer article said that only one station wasn’t ready for use, I assumed it was Bond Street, rather than Paddington, as noted in the article.
So has progress at Bond Street station improved? If it has that that would appear to be more good news.
In Your First Crossrail Service May Arrive In Time For Christmas, I was speculating, when I said.
Bond Street station certainly seems to have caught up with the others and there is no longer any suggestion it could open a year later.
Perhaps, I was right.
Conclusion
The news certainly isn’t bad!
Walking Between Oxford Circus And Tottenham Court Road Stations – 19th February 2021
Today, I walked down Oxford Street from Oxford Circus station to Tottenham Court Road station.
Note the pictures in the middle of the walk of the new Western entrance to Tottenham Court Road station, which will be on Crossrail.
This article on Construction Enquirer is entitled Galliard To Start £55m London Soho Resi Job.
- 92 flats, a large store and smaller retail spaces.
- Look at the pictures in the Construction Enquirer article and it looks to be a building that is not out of scale.
- Ideal for Crossrail and the Northern and Central Line.
- A hundred metres from the flagship stores of Marks & Spencer and Primark on Oxford Street.
- All the colour and food of Soho at the back door.
- Buses outside the front door to Euston, Kings Cross, Paddington and St. Pancras.
Who was it said, that the three most important points about a property are location, location and location?
Is Heavy-Duty Fuel Cell Trucking Almost Ready For Prime Time?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Freight Waves.
It is a comprehensive article, that discusses hydrogen-powered trucks with respect to the United States.
Some quick points from the article.
- Companies are looking at dedicated routes.
- California with its emissions legislation, will be in the forefront of hydrogen trucks in the US.
- Nikola will build hydrogen filling stations to support big customers.
- Toyota are using the same fuel cells in passenger cars and the largest trucks.
- Toyota are trialling their trucks on short runs from the ports in the Los Angeles area.
There does seem to be a lot of US companies getting involved in hydrogen.
The article is definitely a must-read.
Some of the applications mentioned for hydrogen trucks are more about heavy loads over short distances, than taking a load half-way across the US.
These applications will possibly mean.
- Back-to-base refuelling.
- More running in urban areas.
- Large reductions in emissions and pollution.
As fleets get larger, it might be economic for a fleet to have its own system to provide the hydrogen, as the hydrogen-buses do in Pau.
I suspect that roll-out of these applications could be helped by some well-designed tax incentives.
Approaching Kings Cross – 19th February 2021
I took these pictures approaching Kings Cross.
Comparing these pictures to those in Approaching Kings Cross – 6th January 2021, show that work is progressing.
TfL Confirms Northern Line Extension Work Is ‘On Track’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Wandsworth Guardian.
It is good to hear, that there has been no further delays.
Part of the article talks about the use of the Kennington Loop, which is shown in this visualisation from at least a century ago.
But what I found useful was speculation about the services after the extension opens.
However, it is thought that when the new stations open, 16 trains per hour will carry on to Nine Elms and Battersea, leaving just eight trains per hour terminating at Kennington and travelling around the loop.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised to see all trains going to Battersea Power Station station, as it might be operationally easier and the higher frequency may attract more passengers.
A Class 66 Locomotive At Stratford
I’ve needed a generic photograph of a Class 66 locomotive for some time and one obliged at Stratford.
The sooner these are replaced with a modern more environmentally-friendly locomotive the better.
Artwork At Hackney Wick
I took these pictures as I walked from the 30 bus to Hackney Wick station to get to Stratford.
Hackney Wick station and the subway with its mural in concrete, appears to be complete.
Up From The Depths At Moorgate Station
Moorgate station must have been built for rabbits, as it is a bit of a warren.
On arriving on the Northern Line platforms at the station a few days ago, I took the rat-up-the-drainpipe route to the surface.
This is the route I took.
- Up the escalator to the Northern City Line platforms.
- Straight up the Northern City Line escalators to the surface.
- Through the barrier and then up to street level on one of two flights of steps, which are on opposite sides of Moorgate.
It is quicker and has less steps.
Crossrail
How will axxess change, when Crossrail opens.
Look at this image, I’ve clipped from this large visualisation of the massive Liverpool Street-Moorgate Crossrail Station.
The image shows the Northern City Line coming into Moorgate station.
Colours are as follows.
- Blue – Northern City Line
- Yellow – Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines
- Black – Northern
- Turquoise – Crossrail
Details to note.
Existing Northern City Escalators
The escalator shaft to the existing ticket hall is shown in white by the letter M of Moorgate.
Existing Northern Line Escalators
The double tunnels from the stairs leading to the platforms to the escalators are shown in white underneath the Northern City Line.
The escalators to the existing ticket hall are clearly shown. Both are in white.
Circle And Hammersmith & City Lines
When Crossrail opens, passengers would seem to still do, as they do now to interchange between Northern/Northern City and the Sub-Surface Lines.
But there is also a turquoise tunnel with a right-angle bend in the middle, that appears to do the following.
- Link to the Northern and Northern City Lines at its Northern end.
- Run under the sub-surface Lines.
Finally the tunnel connects to the big turquoise block, which I take to be the new Crossrail ticket hall.
There appear to be lifts on both sides of the Sub-Surface Lines.
Note.
- The lift on the North side of the Sub-Surface Lines, appears to be in a room with a window. Perhaps, the wall will be removed?
- The lift on the South side of the Sub-Surface Lines, appears to be in a lobby, set back from the tracks, but accessible from all three platforms on that side.
- I suspect they connect to the connecting tunnel below the platforms.
There does appear to be quite a bit of work to do.
The New Crossrail Station
The big turquoise block is the new Crossrail station and Ticket Hall.
Crossrail would appear to connect to the Northern and Northern City Lines, using the new subway, but it doesn’t seem that obvious how passengers will walk between the Sub-Surface Lines and the Crossrail Ticket Hall.
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The Anonymous Widower 
