Custom House Station – 22nd March 2015
Today’s pictures add a few of the Crossrail line as it runs along by the side of the Docklands Light Railway to the Connaught Tunnel.
This area of the line is now starting to look like a railway. The bridge at Prince Regent station must have some of steepest and longest steps on the DLR, but once you’re up there you get good views of the rebirth of the Connaught Tunnel and Crossrail as it goes back to Custom House station and the portal to the tunnel to the west of that station. This Google Earth image shows the location of the station by the Excel Exhibition Centre.
Prince Regent Station
You can clearly see the buttresses in the Connaught Tunnel, that are also visible in the gallery, to the east of Prince Regent station and above the train on the Docklands Light Railway.
The Connaught Tunnel must curve southwards to link up with Crossrail’s Thames Tunnel.
Should We Create A Northern Playground In Addition To A Northern Powerhouse?
George Osborne and other politicians, thinkers, academics and businessmen talk about creating a Northern Powerhouse.
I am very much in agreement to these aims, but from my London-based viewpoint, I tend to think that the North has a lot more to offer.
Two of the bigger successes of the North in recent years have been the reinvigoration of Liverpool as one of the best tourist destinations in the world and the Tour de France in Yorkshire in 2014.
So should any Northern Powerhouse plans, take more than a large nod to emphasising the leisure and tourism opportunities in the area?
The government’s plan for transport in the North released yesterday and discussed in this post, is fifty years too late and if it’s implemented, it will be some years, before High Speed Trains touch 140 mph on the way between Liverpool and Hull and Newcastle.
The high speed railway should remain an end objective, but in the mean time, we should do various things to make the wait bearable.
1. Electrification In The North
The Electrification in the North study recommended that virtually all lines north of a line drawn between Chester and Lincoln be electrified. A rolling program should be planned that virtually eliminates diesel-powered passenger and freight trains.
This would speed up services between all the major cities and also connect all of the wonderful rural lines that cross the Pennines and hug the coastline to major centres of population.
So this electrification program is just as much Northern Playground as Northern Powerhouse.
2. Contactless Ticketing
Plans for the North talk about an Oyster Card for the North. As so many Londoners will tell you, Oyster is old superseded technology and so last decade.
We need a universal contactless ticketing system based on bank cards that works all over the UK!
This would mean that you just turned up at any station, bus or tram stop in the UK, touched in and you’re off on your journey.
Those who doubt this is possible, should spend a week using their bank card as a ticket in Greater London. They will find a system totally devoid or hassle and cash, well-liked by both passengers and staff. It also automatically gives you the cheapest price for the collection of journeys you take over a day, week or month.
Leisure passengers by their more spasmodic and impulsive nature will benefit tremendously from simple contactless ticketing.
3. Maps And Information Everybody Can Understand
As London was first in the world with decent maps and also because it is so large, that no resident knows the whole city, London needs comprehensive maps and travel information displayed everywhere in a common easily-understood and learned format.
As the combined population of the North of England is upwards of eleven million as against the eight of Greater London in a wider area, I suspect those in the North find themselves in an unknown area more often than those in Greater London.
So one thing that the North needs for both Playground and Powerhouse is a universal mapping and information system, which is the same all across the various parts of the North.
I feel that the North should use London’s system, which includes.
1, A detailed local walking map on every bus stop, tram stop and station.
2. Comprehensive bus information at every station.
3, A detailed bus spider map on every bus stop, tram stop and station.
4. A five digit number on every bus stop, which if sent as an SMS message to a short SMS number, gives details of the next few buses.
,I doubt that this will ever happen, as no council in the North would ever allow something to be used in exactly the same way as it is in London. Or if it was one of the larger cities, in the same format as another.
If the system relied on passengers having and using smart phones, then it should be prohibited.
But quite frankly, at the moment the information systems in the North are truly dreadful.
4. Two Hours From London
This is a list of the major cities of the North and typical fastest journey times by train to and from London.
Barnsley – 2:34 to 2:45 – Change at Sheffield
Blackburn – 2:56 – Change at Preston
Blackpool – 2:45 – Change at Preston
Bolton – 2:45 – Change at Manchester
Bradford – 2:49 to 2:52 – Change at Leeds
Burnley – 3:41 – Change at Preston
Darlington – 2:20 – Direct
Doncaster – 1:34 to 1:38 – Direct
Halifax – 2:48 – Direct/3:08 – Change at Leeds
Harrogate – 2:43 – Change at York or Leeds
Huddersfield- 2:52 to 2~:54 – Change at Manchester or Leeds
Hull – 2:33 – Direct
Leeds – 2:11 to 2:13 – Direct
Liverpool – 2:12 to 2:14 – Direct
Manchester – 2:07 to 2:09 – Direct
Middlesbrough – 2:57 to 2:59 – Change at Darlington
Newcastle – 2:50 – Direct
Preston – 2:08 – Direct
Rotherham – 2:16 to 2:28 – Change at Doncaster or Sheffield
Sheffield – 2:01 – Direct
Stockport – 1:55 to 1:56 – Direct
Warrington – 1:44 – Direct
Wigan – 1:55 – Direct
York – 1:50 to 2:02 – Direct
This list shows several things.
1. Many of the direct journeys between London and the North could be brought consistently under two hours, once ERTMS allows 140 mph running on the East Coast Main Line and the West Coast Main Line in a few years time.
2. Electrification of the Midland Main Line to Sheffield will bring that city consistently under two hours from London, which will speed up the journey to Barnsley, Rotherham and other places.
3. Some destinations like Blackpool, Bradford, Huddersfield, Hull and Middlesbrough would get a significantly faster service to and from London, if there was no need to change.
If we get the expected speed up on the East and West Coast Main Lines, what sort of times will we get to the major cities in the North.
Adjusting for the probable speed increase from 125 to 140 mph. gives these estimates for the following journeys.
Darlington – 2:05
Doncaster -1:26
Hull – 2:17
Leeds – 1:57
Liverpool – 1:59
Manchester – 1:55
Newcastle – 2:32
Preston – 1:54
York 1:47
I think we can say that in a few years time, many more towns and cities in the North will be within two hours from London, which can only be beneficial to those places for both Powerhouse and Playground purposes.
I regularly go to the North for the day by train to see football. Some places like Middlesbrough and Blackburn are tiring journeys, but get them under two hours and leisure traffic can’t help but increase, especially, if there were more affordable good hotels and better late train services back to London..
5. Better Connectivity
More places could be brought under the important two hour ideal, if perhaps the east-west routes interfaced better with the north-south ones at places like Darlington, Doncaster, Leeds, Preston and York.
In an ideal world, a passenger from say London to Hull, should be able to step off a northbound train at Doncaster and just by walking across the platform to step on to a train for Hull. At the same time passengers from Sheffield and Rotherham going to Newcastle would just step across the platform the other way.
This may seem rather utopian, but precise timing of trains is what ERTMS is supposed to enable.
The easier it is to get between any two points in the North, the more things will be improved.
6. High Speed Lines Across The Country
When the upgrade and electrification of the Midland Main Line is completed in 2020, there will be three major 140 mph railways between London and the North.
To complement these there needs to be High Speed Lines across the country from say Liverpool to Hull and Newcastle.
Any east-west lines will connect with the north-south lines at places like Darlington, Doncaster, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Preston, Sheffield and York.
As I said in the previous section, there needs to be good interfaces between the two sets of lines to speed up journeys to stations that are a change away from the north-south lines.
At some point in the future, there will be a need for purpose-built High Speed Lines across the county.
But by the time this is done, I think tunnelling techniques will have improved to such a degree that instead of building a surface railway with all the planning and other difficulties that entails, a tunnel will be bored under the Pennines to connect Hull and Doncaster with Liverpool. The tunnel would be arranged to pass under major stations like Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly and could connect to them by lifts and escalators.
Such a tunnel could be bored to a W10 loading gauge, so that it could transfer freight containers under the Pennines to link Liverpool and the West Coast Main Line with the Electric Spine to Southampton and the East Coast Main Line to London Gateway and Felixstowe. I believe a high-capacity freight railway between east and west through the Pennines, will have the same effect as theFelixstowe-Nuneaton freight corridor has had on the A14.
This Google Earth image shows the towns and cities between Liverpool and Hull.
Liverpool To Hull
It may seem a long way to bore a tunnel even if it didn’t go all the distance, but we’re probably talking about 2030 and the machines then, will make today’s machines look like toys. The tunnel would probably start west of Manchester and go to east of Sheffield, which would be under fifty kilometres, connecting to Liverpool and Hull by means of surface lines.
Also if any new route could handle freight and link the Port of Liverpool to the east side of England this could have interesting possibilities.
For instance, would it be quicker for containerised freight from the United States and Canada to reach Germany and Central Europe if it went via Liverpool and a freight train through the Channel Tunnel?
Plans of this nature have existed for years, but none has ever been implemented. Some proposals for the Great Central Railway are given here.
It all goes to show that modern technology will create lots of options for putting a High Speed Line across the country.
Both Powerhouse and Playground will benefit.
The Train Now Arriving Is Fifty Years Late
When I went to Liverpool University in October 1965. According to Wikipedia, electric trains between London and Liverpool and Manchester, started public service in April 1966. I can remember once taking a late train to London from Liverpool and a time of five hours forty minutes stricks in my mind.
The electric service between the North West and London is faster and more frequent now, but in some ways services between London and Blackpool and other places, is worse than it was in the 1960s, when there were direct trains.
In addition Leeds and Newcastle were connected to London by an electrified East Coast Main Line in 1990.
Over the last fifty years, since I first emerged into Lime Street, Liverpool and Leeds have developed local electric railways and Manchester has created a tram network. On the negative side, the electrified railway between Manchester and Sheffield has been ripped out.
The contempt for the North shown by successive Governments under Wilson, Callaghan, Heath, Thatcher, Major, Blair and Brown, by not even creating a plan to build a modern electrified railway from Liverpool to Newcastle and Hull, is one of the greatest political disgraces in this country, ranking with the day that Chamberlain thought he’d got a deal with Hitler.
But now, that plan is emerging to create that railway that the French or the Italians would have built before the 1970s. It’s here on the BBC and this is the first two paragraphs.
Plans to overhaul transport across the North of England, including with multi-billion pound rail schemes, have been laid out by the government.
The Northern Transport Strategy report details what George Osborne believes will create a “northern powerhouse”.
It contains a long-term plan to improve road links and speed up train times between major cities.
This plan or at least a simpler one which only used 100 mph trains, should have been created in the 1960s. All those politicians who failed the north should hang their heads in shame.
I blame Harold Wilson in particular, as surely being a Yorkshireman representing a Lancashire constiuency, he should have known the value of good rail links across the country.
I suppose that until recently, trains didn’t get any votes outside London and the South East, but wide and empty new motorways do.
In some ways, I find that all the rail developments in the North are being driven, by that most unlikely champion; the St. Pauls and Oxford-educated Tory Chancellor; George Osborne, who said this about the plans according to the BBC report.
Connecting up the great cities of the North is at the heart of our plan to build a northern powerhouse.
From backing high-speed rail to introducing simpler fares right across the North, our ambitious plans for transport mean we will deliver a truly national recovery where every part of the country will share in Britain’s prosperity.
But then Osborne is someone, who spent a lot of their formative years in London. I suspect as a teenager he roamed all over the city on the Underground and the buses, as I did. It is the sort of experience, that gives you the opinion that good public transport is a necessity for prosperity for all those who live and work in an area.
Sorting out the public transport in the North with electrified fast trains and contactless ticketing at its heart, should be something that anybody standing in the May election should be made to sign up to, before they are allowed to be a candidate.
New Trains From Old
In my view, when they write the history of railways in perhaps two or three hundred years time, when they talk about long-dead diesel trains, one iconic train will still hold the speed record for a diesel train and that will be praised as the ultimate diesel train.
The train is the InterCity 125 or High Speed Train, whose one blot on its copybook is the marketing association with the odious Jimmy Saville in the 1970s.
I have a soft spot for these trains, as I’ve had so many good journeys in them to the North East, Scotland, Wales and the West Country, including one memorable trip from Edinburgh to Inverness in the cab and another whilst enjoying the best gluten-free meal on a train anywhere.
I suspect that removing the InterCity 125 from front-line service, will be almost impossible, as both passengers and train companies have a strong affection for the train. Even now, Abellio ScotRail has plans for High Speed Trains in its new franchise. Wikipedia says this.
It will also introduce 27 refurbished (Likely British Rail Class 43 leased from Angel trains)H igh Speed Trains by December 2018 on longer distance services between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.
They are also committed to providing ‘Great Scottish Scenic Railway’ trains on the West Highland, Far North, Kyle, Borders Railway and Glasgow South Western lines, so could this need some more High Speed Trains? Perhaps the trains would be shortened, but with the seating returned to the 1970s original layout of four seats round a table at each window in the Mark 3 coaches.
Imagine services on the scenic Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh Line being run by say two or three, five-car-plus-buffet High Speed Trains, that replaced the totally inadequate service I rode some years ago. Those big windows would come into their own and I think the only problem they would have would be the same as that of the London Overground, where demand keeps exceeding supply. Even the power cars, with their big luggage space would come into their own for bicycles and large cases. Terry Miller and all of the team that designed this iconic train must be laughing like drains wherever they are, at the success of their stop-gap creation.
Usually old trains, cars and buses have a maintenance problem, but it is generally believed that as the High Speed Trains are so well known by the engineers, they can be kept in front line services until 2035. I think that will be pessimistic, especially if instead of thundering up and down the East Coast Main Line with eight coaches at 125 mph, they are running at lower speeds in shortened form on less demanding lines at slower speed.
I doubt for instance, that we’ll ever see them eliminated from Devon and Cornwall, as just as in Scotland, they could become part of the experience for visitors.
But could we see them on other routes like Liverpool and Manchester to East Anglia and on scenic routes in Wales?
Remember that there are nearly a hundred of the trains, which means there could be enough for all worthwhile ideas.
The Mark 3 Coach
The Class 43 power cars of the High Speed Train get all of the attention, but in some ways the real stars of the train are the 1960s-designed Mark 3 coaches in the middle.
Today most of the Mark 3 coaches on the UK rail network have been fitted with high-density seating, but on Chiltern Railways Main Line service between London and Birmingham, the coaches have been refurbished with four seats to a table by the window and automatic sliding doors.
Will remaining High Speed Trains get a similar treatment?
If they did because of their ultra-smooth air-suspended ride, they would become an unrivalled passenger experience, that met all modern safety and accessibility standards.
The Mark 3 coach is no lightweight aluminium vehicle, but is built out of steel. There were worries about the structural integrity, so a prestigious university was asked to do a full finite-element analysis of a Mark 3 coach. The findings showed that despite being designed in the 1960s without any computer help, that the structure would last a few more decades with the correct maintenance.
A Class 455 train, which is based on Mark 3 coaches, was involved in a unique incident, that tested the structural integrity of the Mark 3 coach to the limit. In the Oxshott incident, a fully-loaded cement mixer lorry weighing 24 tonnes fell onto a Class 455. There was injuries but no-one was killed.
I wouldn’t like to be in a modern aluminium train, when someone drops a similar weight on top of it.
Chiltern, Greater Anglia And Charter Operators
These days rakes of Mark 3 coaches are only used in three places on the UK rail network.
1. Chiltern Railways use them on their Main Line Service between London and Birmingham.
2. Greater Anglia use them on the Great Eastern Main Line between London, Ipswich and Norwich.
3. Some charter operators use them to provide services.
It is likely that within ten or twenty years, both Chiltern and Greater Anglia will convert to electrical multiple units to create faster services.
The Chiltern Line will need electrification and Greater Anglia will need to replace their Class 90 locomotives anyway.
But no plans have been made and no orders have been placed.
I think it is likely that in a few years, the only use for Mark 3 coaches will be in High Speed Trains and by charter operators.
Multiple Units Based On Mark 3 Coaches
Many of the successful classes of both diesel and electric multiple units are based on the Mark 3 coach design, as was the Class 319 that I rodeyesterday.
These will now be looked at in detail.
Class 150 Diesel Multiple Unit
The Class 150 train, is the only one of the Mark 3 coach-based diesel multiple units, that was produced in large numbers.
Their quality is a bit variable and I’ve ridden some immaculate ones like this one on the St. Ives branch and some terrible ones elsewhere.
The one yesterday in Liverpool, that I rode after a refurbished Class 319, could have benefited from the same sort of upgrading that the electric train had received.
I suspect that many of the hundred and thirty or so in this class could do with a good maintenance, a repaint, new seat covers and an uprated information display. They’d certainly be a lot better than Pacers.
Class 317 Electric Multiple Unit
There are seventy-two Class 317 trains working various lines around East London and some are in pretty good condition like this one I encountered between Romford and Upminster.
There is a plan to upgrade these trains described here in Wikipedia. The upgrade could cover a range of options from new efficient traction equipment and regenerative braking to new interiors.
Some may be available for cascade to other operators, as both London Overground and Thameslink could be buying replacement trains in the next few years.
Class 318 Electric Multiple Unit
The Class 318 trains are Glasgow’s version of London’s Class 317 trains.
These trains are undergoing an upgrade, which is described here in Wikipedia.
Class 319 Electric Multiple Unit
There are eighty-six Class 319 trains, that were originally built for Thameslink.
Twenty of these are being refurbished for use on the North West electrified lines and I rode one yesterday. The train had scrubbed up well!
Others may be moved to the Great Western Main Line to work electrified services to Oxford and Newbury.
Class 320 Electric Multiple Unit
There are twenty-two Class 320 trains, which are a Scottish version of the Class 321 trains.
All have had an upgrade, which is described here in Wikipedia.
Class 321 Electric Multiple Unit
There are a hundred and seventeen Class 321 trains, which are fairly numerous on the lines out of Liverpool Street.
Greater Anglia are developing a demonstrator, which is described like this in Wikipedia.
Abellio Greater Anglia in conjunction with Eversholt Rail Group has refitted a 321/4 as a demonstrator to show what Abellio planned to do with their Class 321 fleet. The unit number is 321448, which features a new paint job, completely re-fitted interior including two examples of sitting arrangements including 2+2 and 2+3 and a new First Class area. The demonstrator also features air conditioning, previously unseen on Class 321 trains, fixed panel windows to replace opening windows and an overhauled traction system. The ultimate plan is to introduce other Class 321 trains in a similar configuration rather than replace them, to save money on purchasing brand new trains.
This demonstrator illustrates that refurbished old trains could be a better and more cost-effective solution than new trains.
They would certainly be welcomed by me, as the current interiors are rather tired. Especially, when compared to the Class 319 yesterday.
Class 322 Electric Multiple Unit
The five Class 322 trains are another variant of the Class 321 trains, which were built for the Stansted Express and are now running in the Leeds area.
No plans for an upgrade are mentioned in Wikipedia.
Class 442 Electric Multiple Unit
There are twenty-four Class 442 trains, that currently work the Gatwick Express, although they are being replaced on this task.
They are probably a bit surplus to requirements and will need to be converted to overhead electrics to find any further use.
But at least as they are Mark 3 coach-derived, there is a lot of solutions available from other members of the family.
Class 455 Electric Multiple Unit
There are a hundred and thirty-seven Class 455 trains, which generally work the suburban lines into Waterloo.
They have all been given a high quality upgrade, which is detailed here.
Conclusion
We’ll be seeing Mark 3-derived trains on the UK rail network for some years and because there are so many techniques and tricks available to the train companies, builders and remanufacturers, they will all be of a high quality.
What Makes You Happy?
The BBC is reporting that today is International Day of Happiness 2015.
After yesterday’s trip on a Class 319 in Liverpool, where the delight and surprise at the updated train was obvious, I ask if updated transport like new trains, trams and buses make you happy.
Yesterday, was just one example of several I’ve seen in the last few months and years.
1. I know from personal experience that the Overground has definitely been a feel-good influence for everybody in Hackney. It’s biggest benefit, is that lots of young people have been able to travel to that first or a better job.
2. I also know the effect that the New Routemasters are having in London. Bus travel has become cool.
3. On my visit to see the Borders Railway, I couldn’t help but feel the expectant mood and pride at their new railway that opens in September.
4. The good people of Edinburgh seem to have forgotten the difficult creation and have embraced their new trams with gusto.
5. Londoners may moan about the disruption caused by works for Crossrail, but all exhibitions and events relating to the project are extremely popular.
If transport projects seem to make us happy, just think what they will do to the nation over the next few years, when masses of large rail projects will be delivered, like Crossrail, Thameslink, Electrification of the Great Western Main and Midland Main Lines, the creation of the East West Rail Link and lots of improvement in Scotland and the North of England.
If nothing, I think they will ensure, that whoever wins this year’s General Election, will probably win in 2020, unless they completely louse up the economy or decide to take us into another pointless and unwinnable war.
I Finally Ride In A Refurbished Class 319 Train
I took these pictures of one of the Class 319 trains, that are being refurbished to run the new Northern Electric services between Liverpool, Manchester and the other towns covered by the North West Electrification.
In my view the limited updating has been done well. The awful colour scheme shown in these pictures, when the trains ran between Brighton and Bedford has gone and the seats were certainly more comfortable than I remember them.
There was a bit of a problem on the information system, but the conductor said it was getting better.
A passenger I spoke to, said that she’d used the refurbished trains a few times and the biggest difference was all the extra seats and that they were so much more comfortable.
Compared to the typical diesel units they are replacing the Class 319 are four instead of two carriages and have a 100 mph top speed instead of 75 mph, so as more trains enter service and more lines are electrified, things will only get better.
Two things stick in my mind after this short trip to Wavertree Technology Park station and back in a Class 150 Sprinter.
Class 319 trains are a version of the iconic Mark 3 coach, as is the Class 150 train, I used for the return. But the ride quality and NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) comparison between the two trains was like that between say a brand new BMW and a five-year-old one that has done a hundred thousand miles. Somebody had got their spanners out and checked and tightened everything on the Class 319. The question of what a proper service and similar refurbishment would do for a Class 150, has to be asked.
This was probably the first time that I’ve sat in a newly-refurbished train just a few days after it entered service. The train was crowded and you could see fellow passengers with smiles on their faces, looking round the carriage. They were obviously riding a newly refurbished Class 319 for the first time.
I think if these Class 319 trains, were a person, they’d be Bruce Forsyth. Perhaps a bit long in the tooth, but still a very good reliable mover, that scrubs up well, with a face that is practical but not beautiful by any means.
Yet again Mark 3 coaches in one of their umpteen variants seem to be digging the UK rail industry out of a hole.
A Transport Hub Fit For A Major Airport
I’ve only been to Manchester Airport once and that was many years ago, when I flew my Piper Arrow into the then single-runway airport.
On my trip north today, I wanted to take a ride on one of the refurbished Class 319 trains running between the airport and Liverpool Lime Street, so as I got a good deal on tickets including a trip in First to Crewe, I went via the airport.
The pictures show the rail station at the airport, which has three platforms for trains and one for the Metrolink. A fourth rail platform is under construction.
Most of the pictures were taken looking towards the entry to the station, with the platforms being number 1, 2 3 and 4 for right to left (south to north).
If the Metrolink platform was given a number, it would be five.
This Google Earth image shows the station and the surrounding area.
Manchester Airport Station
Note the current three rail platforms with the Metrolink between them and the bus station. My Class 323 train from Crewe arrived on the southernmost platform, which is numbered one. Platforms two and three are either side of a long island and it would appear that the construction work between platform three and the Metrolink and the bus station will be the new platform four.
A station-man indicated that the lines into the station are a bit limited and expansion of the rail links out of the station might be something to upgrade in the future.
One difference between this airport station and most of the other ones I’ve visited was that it wasn’t buried deep in a dark claustrophobic pit under the airport. So I was able to walk up and down in the sun, whilst waiting for my train!
My only disappointment was that instead of getting a refurbished Class 319 train, I got a clean Class 156 train.
Transport for London Is The Fastest Growing Contactless Merchant In The UK
The title of this post is the title of an article in Computer Weekly, which describes the enormous take-up of using contactless cards for payment on London’s transport system. This is the first two paragraphs.
Transport for London (TfL) has become the fastest growing contactless Visa merchant in Europe, and the fastest growing Mastercard and American Express merchant in the UK, a mere six months after it first launched contactless payments in September 2014.
TfL claimed 60 million contactless journeys had now been made on its system since September 2014, 20 million of those since mid-February 2015, and 14% of all journeys made on the system were now contactless.
Perhaps, the most surprising thing, is why so few other transport operators in the UK, Europe and the wider world, have disclosed plans to go to a similar system.
Perhaps, what is most remarkable about London’s contactless payments system, is that there seem to have been no adverse media reports on the system, whereas before it started various political parties were saying it would be a disaster of Titanic proportions.
It probably says more about the average politician’s knowledge of technology, than anything else.
I believe that any city or region that doesn’t sign up for contactless ticketing will see a reduction in visitors and economic activity.
If you take Scotland as an example of a region, where several antique ticketing systems are still in existence, the total population is less than that of Greater London. So if it can be implemented in London, surely an appropriate system can be used in Scotland.
Crossrail Extension Work Has Started At Shenfield
I passed through Shenfield station this morning and took these pictures of the work that has started to create an additional Platform 6 at the station for Crossrail.
The work would appear to be not causing too many problems for rail passengers. This Google Earth image shows the station.
Shenfield Station
The platform will slot into the green area to the north of the current Platform 5, which is the odd platform of five, as 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 are all arranged on either side of an island platform. This is how the work is described in Wikipedia.
Ten-carriage Crossrail trains will run over the pair of ‘electric lines’, rather than the mainlines, replacing the existing eight-carriage “metro” trains and allowing Crossrail to serve all stations between Shenfield and Liverpool Street, continuing west towards Reading and London Heathrow Airport. At peak hours the frequency of service will increase from eight trains per hour to 12, necessitating the construction of a new 210-metre long platform 6, which will be built to the north of platform 5, replacing one of the existing three western sidings. The two remaining western sidings and three new eastern sidings will also be used by Crossrail. It is estimated that Crossrail will cut morning peak journey times by up to seven minutes although there will be no reduction to some journey times.
As the new Platform 6 will be paired with Platform 5, which is already step-free with a lift, this be one of the more simpler station upgrades for Crossrail.
I can’t help feeling that when Crossrail is open, that Shenfield will become a major interchange for passengers travelling between Crossrail stations in Central and West London and stations on the Great Eastern Main Line like Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.
Crossrail is not a high-speed line, but the increase in connectivity the line will bring, will change the lives of everybody who use it or live within a few miles.
The Natives Seem Reasonably Happy In Watford
According to this article in the Watford Observer, George Osborne gave the green light to the tune of £284 million to the Croxley Rail Link this morning.
Judging by the comments by readers to the article, the natives seem reasonably happy.
As new rail links generally seem to be successful, with perhaps the exception of the Dutch High Speed Line; HSL-Zuid, this rail link will probably be a valuable addition to the rail network in London and the South East.
The Anonymous Widower 