The World Cup On The Big Screen
London may have been a bit short of big screens on which to watch the World Cup, but there was one in the centre of Reykjavik. I watched the Third Place Final.
It’s funny but I think I’ve only watched football once before on a giant screen and that was part of a Cup Final between races at Newmarket.
Whale Watching
These pictures show a trip whale watching from Reykjavik.
It was a good trip, where we saw several dolphins and minke whales. I will add a few words of warning about these trips. On the day before, they’d seen nothing.
I was also a bit disappointed with my photographs. I should have used the camera on video!
The tip reminded me of how we used to sit on Felixstowe beach watching the porpoises on the horizon.
Would The RSPB Have Approved My Supper?
I had a good supper in a restaurant called Tapas House, by the harbour in Reykjavik.
The starter was smoked guillemot, which was followed by fish. There was no problems about it all being gluten-free
The Blue Lagoon
As I got off the plane in Iceland, I thought that my taxi would take me straight to the hotel. But we went by the most amazing paddling/swimming pool called the Blue Lagoon.
I don’t swim, but waddling around in chest-deep water at blood temperature is a different and very pleasurable experience. The steam in the background of some of the pictures is a geothermal power station.
My itinerary didn’t say I would be going on the way to the hotel and it was more by luck than judgement that my swimming trunks were packed at the top of my case. If I’d known of this detour, I would have arranged a massage.
As the Blue Lagoon is on the road between Keflavik Airport and Reykjavik, make sure your plans include the visit on the journey to and/or from the airport and your hotel.
What Do The French Do For Commuter Trains?
The French equivalent to the Class 345 for Crossrail, also has a version built by Bombardier called the Z 50000 Francilien.
What probably shows more of this train is this excellent YouTube video.
Looking at the video and comparing the images with say travelling in a familiar Class 378 on the Overground, you notice several differences.
The biggest difference is that the French train is wider and taller in cross-section than the British train. This is due to the much more generous Continental loading gauge, which the designers of the train have used to their advantage.
Another big difference is getting into and out of the trains. On the Class 378 and probably the Class 345, it’s just a simple step across, but on the French train, an extra step emerges from the train and it’s a double step into the train. How would the French train cope with platform edge doors, like those that will be installed on Crossrail? I ask this question as European safety legislation insists on these in all stations in tunnels.
The Trains For Crossrail And Thameslink
London’s two new cross-town railways; Crossrail and Thameslink will both be fully opened around the end of this decade.
So it would seem logical that the two lines might share the same trains.
But it is not as simple as that!
All sorts of factors like delaying of projects, the slightly different natures of the two lines and the decision of Siemens, who won the contract for the Thameslink trains, to withdraw from Crossrail, because of a lack of capacity, mean that we now have two separate train fleets; Class 700 for Thameslink and Class 345 for Crossrail.
Although separate train fleets, it does look that the design philosophy of the two trains is very similar. Take this paragraph from the specification issued by Crossrail for their Class 345 trains.
Wide through gangways between carriages, and ample space in the passenger saloons and around the doors, will reduce passenger congestion while allowing room for those with heavy luggage or pushchairs.
From what I have read here on First Capital Connect’s web site, the Class 700 might be very similar.
So it would seem that four of London’s important new train fleets will be walk-through. In addition to the Class 345 and Class 700, the Overground’s Class 378 and the Underground’s S Stock are build to similar principles, although the latter two trains, probably expect more standing passengers.
One advantage of these trains is that they can be designed to line up with the platform edge, as the Class 378 generally do, which enables a simple step across the gap into or out of the train. At some stations, like Willesden Junction, on the Overground, the alignment is bad and you certainly notice the difference. So I will hope that the two new train classes line up with the platforms! As on Crossrail and Thameslink most stations will only be served by one type of train, I suspect that it could be possible.
In my view, if we are to have a step-free railway, then all station-train interfaces, should be a simple step across.
Another advantage of this type of train, is that you can walk inside the train to less-crowded areas or perhaps to your preferred door for exit at your destination. I do this regularly, when I take the short hop from Highbury and Islington to Dalston Junction stations on the Overground, as I get in at the front and get out at the back, due to the layout of the two stations.
This walk-through capability will be essential for Crossrail, where the trains and platforms will be 200 metres long. One of Crossrail’s engineers told me, that she felt some people might not like the trains because of their length and the long walks in stations. I don’t think regular users will mind so much, as they’ll develop a strategy that works for their journey. But will a tourist dragging a heavy case going from say Heathrow to Bond Street, be so happy after walking a long distance to get out the station.
The various proposals for new deep-level Underground trains seem to have through gangways like this proposal from Siemens.
So is a de facto standard for train design emerging, where trains have through gangways, flat floors and wide doors with no-gap step-across access?
I think it is and it will be to the benefit of all rail users, including the disabled and those pushing buggies or dragging heavy cases.
Looking at the pictures I took of Siemens Underground proposal, it seems the design fits such a standard!
A secondary advantage of this design is that it should tighten up stopping time at stations, thus making it easier for trains to keep to schedules.
Va Va Froome
By chance I travelled yesterday on a DLR train bedecked with Va Va Froome for the Tour de France.
I’d actually seen it on the bridge as the cyclists passed underneath on Monday.
As the train went towards Canary Wharf, we passed another with Cavendish going the other way. I hope that one doesn’t have an accident.
Behaviour On New Routemasters
I am a people watcher, as was my late wife, C, and now that the 38 route, I use regularly is a route that uses only new Routemasters, it is fascinating to see how the self loading cargo use the buses.
I’ve spoken before about the friendly behaviour on these buses! Especially in the bay seats, although today when I returned from shopping, these seats were free.
Bay Seats On A New Routemaster
Although empty today, these bay seats are popular and often you’ll see families and groups travelling together using them.
The buses are ideal for shoppers, as you can get the average bag amongst your feet on a standard seat.
My Shopping Bag By My Feet
Regularly you’ll see someone sitting there, with their shopping trolley sharing the space.
I was actually sitting in one of the four rearward-facing seats, which seem to be popular with passengers.
As I rode today, these seats opposite were occupied by a mother and her baby, who she was amusing, by showing her things out the back of the bus.
I like to sit in these seats and have taken pictures and videos out of the back of the bus.
This post was prompted by two things that you’d never see on other buses in London.
A lady, who was certainly older than me, got up and walked down the bus swinging from hand to hand on the various hand holds in perfect safety along the flat floor, to the middle door, to prepare to leave the bus.
The designer would have probably been very happy, as when I went to a presentation of the bus in 2011, as he said then, he’d designed the bus so that passengers could move about easily with totally flat floors and easy to reach hand holds.
The other piece of behaviour was unusual.
An Asian lady about thirty, had forgot to touch in and after sitting in the bay seat on the other side of the aisle to where I was sitting, opened her hand bag and proceeded to look for her Oyster card. When she found it, she walked to the back platform to touch in, leaving her handbag fully open for anyone to help themselves.
No-one did, but surely few ladies would do this on a bus. Perhaps she did, as with a tail-gunner loaded, she felt very secure it would be unlikely she’d suffer a theft.
So do passengers generally feel more secure on new Routemasters?
An Iconic Picture Of A New Routemaster
I like this picture and report from the Wrightbus web site.
It shows a new Routemaster outside the Northern Ireland parliament building at Stormont, all decked out in pink for the visit of the Giro d’Italia.
The picture says so many things, some of which are political, but to me it shows how if you get the design of anything right, that stimulates the economy and creates jobs. But also as the report about the New Bus for West Yorkshire shows, these classic designs, look great in any colour, although black might be a bit much, as London has shown.
A New Bus For West Yorkshire
When searching for Routemaster and wi-fi, I found this article from the Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Here’s the first two paragraphs.
Transport company First has revealed plans to introduce London-style buses in Bradford and the whole of West Yorkshire.
It is proposing to introduce a fleet of Routemaster buses, which would have multi-door entry and exit points including a hop-on and off platform at the rear, free wi-fi and lower emissions.
As someone who has seen the transformation of the new Routemaster-equipped route 38, over the last couple of years, I believe that these buses have three main benefits for the passengers. The buses are faster, because they load and unload quicker, but surprisingly they are much friendlier places than the older London double-deckers, as the design seems to promote conversation and politeness. But as someone, who often travels with a large shopping bag and who sometimes can be a bit unsteady, their ride is so much better, that I choose my routes home accordingly.
I don’t think Bradford though, will buy Routemasters, as after all they are a London thing, and cities of the north don’t generally follow good examples from the capital. Look at their bus maps and information from the Dark Ages for a start.
The Anonymous Widower 