Taxis, Taxis Everywhere, But Not One To Hire
On Wednesday London’s taxi divers staged a protest again Uber. I was in the area, so I took a few pictures.
There have been reports that Uber benefited from the protest.
Passport Delays
I renewed my passport in March this year and my new one came about a week or so after I gave the forms in for checking at my local Post Office. So there ewasn’t any delay then, at least as far as I was concerned.
My renewal wasn’t simple either, as my name was being changed from that on my birth certificate to that that I have on my credit cards, bank account and use on the Internet.
But it still was one of the fastest renewals I’ve ever had.
So how come, there are now severe delays in getting a new passport.
There has been one major change in the intervening period.
The economy has got a lot better and unemployment has got lower. So just how many people who are feeling optimistic have decided to take a holiday and as they haven’t been able to for a couple of years, have found that their passport has expired. Or perhaps, they’ve had an addition to the family, who needs a first passport.
So I don’t blame the Passport Office, but the upturn in the economy.
It will be interestring to see the figures for Ryanair and the other airlines and holiday companies that get published later in the year.
Some More Self Winding Clocks
I first found two of these at Tooting Bec some years ago.
Golders Green station has a pair, which appear to be in good condition.
I wonder how many are still installed and in full working order. According to this section in the Wikipedia article on the Self Winding Clock Company, there were originally 600 and installation started in the 1900s.
Long may they continue to give passengers the time!
A Well-Designed Transport Interchange
Golders Green is not an area I go to often. Years ago, C and myself used to go there to buy shoes for the children, at a shop I think was called Brians. I wonder if it is still there!
But yesterday, I needed to go there to get some extra keys for my new Banham lock. It is not a difficult journey, as I just got a train up the Northern line from the Angel to Golders Green station.
There are numerous buses to places all over North London from the station as this map shows.
It’s also a stop for a lot of National Express coaches.
We need more well-designed simple interchanges everywhere, so that train passengers can easily get to their ultimate destination.
From the station, it was just a short walk to Banham’s shop.
A Black And Dirty New Bus For London
London’s buses are normally very clean. But this one wasn’t!
The red buses always look pristine. So does the advertising vinyl attract the dirt?
The sooner these buses are returned to the proper red colour, the better.
My Pension Could Get A Boost in 2029
I have a good pension, although if I have a problem with it, it’s that I can’t find enough ways to spend it.
But the announcement yesterday that Crossrail 2 might open in 2029 can only be good for me.
I live in a quiet plesant tree-lined road about five minutes walk from Dalston Junction station, which could be one of the stops on the line. Even if it is not and Hackney Central and Angel are the two nearest stops, it all must be beneficial for the value of my house.
I would suspect that if Dalston Junction is not on Crossrail 2, then the Eastern Curve at the station might be reopened, so that East London Line trains can terminate somewhere in North East London.
After being ignored by transport planners for years it now seems that the North Eastern areas of London are finally getting the public transport, they desperately need.
Judging by the welcome the Overground has received in this area, I suspect that the good burghers of Hackney will welcome Crossrail 2 with open arms.
Crossrail 2 is having a consultation locally in July. I shall be going.
Thameslink’s Connections To Long Distance Trains
When Thameslink and Crossrail are complete how will this effect those tricky long distance journeys that should be done by train.
Some journeys like Eastbourne to York will become easier, as you’d probably hop along to Brighton and then take a train to Peterborough, for your train to York.
So how do two destinations I know well connect to the main radial routes from London.
I’ll start with Cambridge.
Great Eastern Main Line – Not really a problem, as you’d probably take a local train to Ipswich and Norwich. You could also go direct into Liverpool Street or change onto Crossrail at Farringdon.
East Coast Main Line – You’d still do what you’ve always done and take a train into London. Whether there will be fast trains into Kings Cross itself, has not been said. But travelling to Scotland without the direct Kings Cross trains and a heavy case, would mean lugging it across from St. Pancras Thameslink. If Thameslink improves the service to Stevenage that would be an alternative for the ECML, but train company management, must be wishing that over zealous cuts in the past that left Cambridge with no direct train lines to Peterborough or Bedford, had not been made.
Midland Main Line – This would be a walk or lift up from St.Pancras Thameslink. It would be nice though if there was a lift directly between Thameslink and the MML platforms.
Eurostar – This would be a walk or lift up from St.Pancras Thameslink.
West Coast Main Line – This is a bad change, as it’s a long walk from St. Pancras Thameslink to the Underground. It’s also difficult with a heavy case.
Great Western Main Line – If the interchange to Crossrail at Farringdon is properly designed, which it should be, you’d use Crossrail to get to either Paddington or Reading.
South Western Main Line – This one is difficult, as it’s either a struggle to the Underground at St. Pancras Thameslink and then a change to get to Waterloo or Clapham Junction. Whatever it is, it’s a nightmare with a heavy case. A better alternative might be to go to London Bridge and then get the Jubilee Line to Waterloo.
Lines from Victoria – As with Waterloo, Victoria is difficult with a heavy case, due to the Underground connections. From Cambridge to Victoria, you are probably better taking a Liverpool Street train to Tottenham Hale for the Victoria line.
Now I’ll look at Brighton.
Great Eastern Main Line – Not really a problem, as you’d just change onto Crossrail at Farringdon for Liverpool Street, Stratford or even Shenfield. Or for perhaps Ipswich and Norwich, you might just go to Cambridge and get a relaxed local train, through the countryside.
East Coast Main Line – This is a connection that will be greatly improved, as you might skip London and go direct to Peterborough, to pick up the train there.
Midland Main Line – This would be a walk or lift up from St.Pancras Thameslink. It would be nice though if there was a lift directly between Thameslink and the MML platforms. Or would you go to somewhere like West Hampstead Thameslink or Luton.
Eurostar – This would be a walk or lift up from St.Pancras Thameslink.
West Coast Main Line – This is a bad change, as it’s a long walk from St. Pancras Thameslink to the Underground. It’s also difficult with a heavy case.
Great Western Main Line – If the interchange to Crossrail at Farringdon is properly designed, which it should be, you’d use Crossrail to get to either Paddington or Reading.
South Western Main Line – You’d probably do as you do now and take a train direct to Clapham Junction and change there.
Lines from Victoria – These are no problem, as you can get a train to either Victoria or Clapham Junction.
One thing that becomes obvious from this post, is that Euston, Waterloo and Victoria don’t have the best links to Crossrail and Thameslink.
Euston’s problems are mainly because when the station was built in the 1960s, together with the Victoria line, passengers were treated as fit, uncomplaining individuals, who should be satisfied with what the government paid for.
Victoria suffers from similar problems to Euston.
Waterloo’s problems are that to get there from St. Pancras by Underground, requires a change of train.
What doesn’t help any of these transfers is the substandard interchange between Thameslink and the Underground at St. Pancras. It may be step free, but it’s a long walk.
If the interchange with main lines in London to Thameslink and Crossrail are to be improved, the following should be looked at.
Improve the Access to St. Pancras Thameslink
If you’re going up from St. Pancras Thameslink to Eurostar or the Midland Main Line, it isn’t too bad, but the long hike to the Underground is a disgrace. Especially for a station that is only a few years old.
I wonder if it’s possible to create a tunnel between Thameslink and the Northern line at St. Pancras.
Build a Crossrail station at Old Oak Common
This would make it easier to get on trains out of Euston on the West Coast Main Line.
Link Thameslink to Clapham Junction
This would help travellers from the north to get on the lines out of Victoria and Waterloo.
I use Clapham Junction a lot as it is very useful station, and I can get the Overground there easily.
Crossrail 2
This may be the real solution to a lot of the problems, as it is proposed it will link Kings Cross/St. Pancras/Euston to Victoria and Clapham Junction.
It will be interesting to see how Thameslink changes in the first couple of years of operation.
A Tricky Problem For Thameslink
I said in this post, that Thameslink will make it possible a lot of journeys across London with just a single change.
Looking at the provision timetable for Thameslink, there are some terminals at either end of the line, which are not connected to others at the opposite side of London. For instance Tattenham Corner only links to Cambridge and Maidstone East only links to Luton.
So say if you wanted to go from Tattenham Corner to Luton, you’d need to get off a train in the core section and then get on one to your required destination. It will mean two easy steps across a level gap, as the new trains will obviously align to the platforms.
If you look at St. Pancras Thameslink station, the platforms are long and bleak with few seats and no outlets of any sort. But upstairs there is St. Pancras International station, which is almost a shopping and refreshment venue, where trains happen to arrive and depart.
So will ticketing allow a traveller from say the South Coast to Peterborough, to break their journey at St. Pancras and perhaps have lunch, a meeting or get their supper for the evening?
Electronic ticketing will be the key in some ways, as obviously this will be possible using something like Oyster as it is now from Wimbledon to say Cricklewood with a break at St. Pancras on the current Thameslink.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to use Oyster or a contactless bank card as a ticket on buses, trains and trams all over the UK!
Two Other Low Profile Rail Projects
Over the next few years there are a lot of projects being implemented on the UK Rail Network, as I listed here.
But two other projects that few have heard of, will have a significant effect on UK rail services.
Travel in or out of Kings Cross and you don’t realise the work what is going on underneath the lines going into the station.
The two Canal Tunnels are being fitted out, which will allow trains on the Thameslink route to go up the East Coast Main Line to Peterborough and Cambridge. These will probably be the most significant new tunnels to be fitted out and opened in the period between the Channel Tunnel and Crossrail. According to the provisional timetable for Thameslink, eight of the 24 trains each hour in each direction will go to and from the ECML. Of these eight trains, four will go to Cambridge. So many difficult cross-London journeys will become much simpler and will become either direct or will involve just a single change.
But think again!
Twenty-four trains an hour is a train every two and a half minutes between St. Pancras and Blackfriars. And to make matters more difficult, the trains will have to change electrical systems from overhead to third rail or vice-versa halfway through each journey.
How do they do that?
New signalling will be installed and the new Class 700 trains will take advantage of this to maintain the schedule. They will be fitted with ERTMS to aid in this task.
And this leads me to the other hidden project that is going to completely change the UK’s railways.
The project is ERTMS or European Rail Traffic Management System. Network Rails plan is here.
In simple words it means that all conventional signals will be removed from the tracks on the railway and the train drivers will have everything on a screen in the cab. This sounds very similar to the way airline pilots have worked for years.
This is Network Rail’s view of the benefits.
Installing ERTMS across the country as signalling becomes life-expired will save an estimated 40 per cent over conventional systems. Each train will run at an appropriate safe speed, allowing more trains onto the tracks. ERTMS will improve train performance and reduce energy consumption.
As an example of what it will mean, most high speed lines in the UK, will be limited to 140 mph instead of 125. This could mean thirty minutes off the journey time from London to Scotland.
My Thoughts On Uber
There has been a lot of opposition to the taxi-app called Uber around the world, with London taxi-drivers being particularly vocal.
It probably won’t affect me in London, as I’m not a very heavy user of taxis. Usually, I only use them, when late in the evening, I want to get home from a station and I’m tired.
I wouldn’t use Uber though, as I don’t do apps on my mobile phone. So my only worry is that Uber is so successful, black cabs become a rarity and I can’t find one when I need one.
We should also remember that a lot of people are like me and need to sit down to do anything complicated on a smartphone. Which probably means I’ll avoid apps like the plague.
I also avoid signing up to many companies, as they just fill my inbox with spam. I suspect that if I downloaded an app for a bookmaker, I’d constantly be pestered to have a eit. I’m in control, not the company and anybody who thinks otherwise doesn’t get my custom or business. As an example, if there is an alternative to Virgin Trains, I use it if it’s cheaper or more convenient, as Virgin keep sending me junk mail through my letterbox.
I also think that black cabs should trade on their strengths, like their knowledge, their ranks and their general friendliness and jokes.
They also should make it, that all black cabs take bank and credit cards. Last Saturday, I could have had an embarrassing moment, when I took a taxi back from Waterloo. I thought I didn’t have enough cash and the driver didn’t take cards. But luckily, I had another note tucked away in my wallet.
The Anonymous Widower 