An Event Driven Life
Yesterday, when I went to Bognor, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, when I saw the weather forecast, which said that Bognor would be the warmest place in the UK. The hotspots today are Heathrow, Salisbury, Birmingham, Harlow and Barnsley. I hsven’t been to Salisbury for years, but I don’t think I’ll be going today. But who knows?
So every day, I look at the news and the weather and decide where I might go, if I feel a trip coming on.
I also try to sign up to offers, I get from places like Liverpool University.
It is a mildly exciting way to live.
Checking Up On King George V
It has often been said that King George V’s last words were “Bugger Bognor”. Although, as this article says, it is probably a myth.
But today, the BBC Weather is saying that Bognor Regis is going to be the warmest place in the UK at 15°C
So as I’ve never been to Bognor Regis, I think this is a good day to see if King George V had the right thoughts about the place.
How To Parallel Park
This video has become a YouTube hit.
The Jubilee Line Bites London Again!
According to this article in the Evening Standard, the Jubilee line is being shut by the wrong kind of water.
The Jubilee line is to be shut for more than 30 days over the next two years in central London because acidic water is eating into the cast iron linings of the tunnel walls.
Services will be halted in both directions between Finchley Road and Waterloo for major repairs costing £40 million.
Why has the Jubilee line got it in for London, as when a line goes berserk, it is often that line, which was opened for the Millennium? When I use the line, there seems to be a higher chance of trouble compared to the other lines.
It would appear that the problem is in the first section of the Jubilee line that was built in the 1970s. The tunnels seem to use iron linings and it is interesting that Crossrail is manufacturing all of its linings out of concrete.
I do wonder what other problems will turn up on London’s most troublesome Underground line!
At least on the BBC News tonight, they showed how the repair techniques were being tested in the old Charing Cross platforms, which were last used for Skyfall. So hopefully, they’ll find a way to cut the closure of the line to a minimum.
Not Very Correct French
French Railways or SNCF has just introduced a budget low-cost TGV service . They’ve called it Ouigo, which I assumed is pronounced “we go”.
I thought the French had laws against the language of the dreaded rosbifs!
But it is a concept that might just have enough to succeed.
Would I use it?
Probably not, as it seems to be tied into French mobile phones and post codes. But I had read that the web site was only in French, but it’s now also in English. So I suspect that in a few months, it’ll be as easy to use as easyJet or Ryanair.
I shall certainly try it on one of my trips back from somewhere in Southern Europe.
Lea Bridge Station May Be Reopened
Tucked away in the May 2013 edition of Modern Railways, is a statement that Lea Bridge station in Walthamstow may be reopened.
If they do reopen the station and the nearby Hall Farm Curve, this would link the Chingford branch directly to the Lea Valley Lines. Wikipedia says this about the project.
Transport for London ran a study on the feasibility of reopening the curve for 2016 that produced a result with a benefit-cost ratio ranging between 8:1 and 14:1 depending on the length of trains involved. In 2007, the Greater Anglia Route Utilisation Strategy published by Network Rail suggested that construction of the curve could be possible by 2019 or later.
Designs for new services run using the curve have been suggested to reduce journey times between Walthamstow and Stratford or Tottenham Hale to 12 minutes from their current duration of 34 minutes and 43 minutes respectively.
It would appear that house prices in Walthamstow and Chingford should soon be on the rise, if the project goes ahead.
I believe that small projects like this can often give great benefit to passengers and the railways. This one is one of three that have just been proposed. The others are Ilkeston and Pye Corner. They all follow Cambridge Science Park station, which will start construction next year.
Are Virgin Trains Going To Go Faster?
With trains, it has always been known, that the faster you go, the more passengers you attract.
So when you get a headline of Virgin mulls 135 mph working in Modern Railways, you suspect that they are working on faster trains.
After all the Class 390 Pendolinos are capable of 140 mph, but are limited to 125 mph in service.
At present, most trains to both Liverpool and Manchester take about eight minutes over two hours from Euston, but one train a day does it in two hours. So to lose that eight minutes and get all trains on the headline-grabbing two hours, would mean an average speed increase of 6.25%. If the average journey speed bears a direct relationship to the train’s maximum speed, then by increasing the current maxium from 125 mph to 135 mph is a rise of 8.0%.
So is this where the conservative figure of 135 mph came from? It is just enough to get all London to Liverpool and Manchester trains just under that magic two hours, that will give a sensible return for the cost of the extra speed and the track and signalling improvements?
Applying the same rules to the Glasgow time of four hours and thirty minutes, could give a speed reduction to four hours and ten minutes.
So on a rough and ready cakculation, Virgin’s op speed of 135 mph, could bring a great improvement to the West Coast Main Line. Remember that the rebuild of the line in the early 2000s was intended to deliver a London Manchester time of an hour and forty five minutes.
Riding The DLR To The Cable Car
On Sunday, I did my usual trip from Royal Victoria to North Greenwich on the Emirates Air-Line. I took these pictures as I progressed along the DLR to Royal Victoria Docks station.
There is a lot to see!
On any Sunday with good weather, it is an enjoyable trip to do a circular route.
I would start early, by going on the roof of One New Change for the amazing views of St. Paul’s.
Then a quick walk to Bank and take a DLR train to Royal Victoria station. You might not get one direct on a Sunday, so change at either Shadwell, Poplar or Canning Town.
The cable car is close by the DLR station and don’t forget to use an Oyster card to cross to the other side, as it’s cheaper and you don’t have to queue.
At North Greenwich there is quite a few places to eat by the O2 Arena.
You can continue in one of two ways. Either take the Jubilee line from North Greenwich station to Canary Wharf or take a bus to the centre of historic Maritime Greenwich.
If you take the second option, you can take another DLR train from Cutty Sark station to Canary Wharf.
Canary Wharf is a good place to eat lunch and also do some shopping, as a lot of the best shops are there.
After Canary Wharf, I take the Jubilee line, back to London Bridge station, where you can see The Shard, London’s forgotten cathedral; Southwark, Borough Market and the other attractions between London and Tower bridges.
An Eat-Travel-Watch-Return Trip
I mentioned this in the previous post about next season and increasingly, I’m finding that this is the way I go to football matches.
I eat first, often at the London station, like Kings Cross or Waterloo, but sometimes like yesterday for the trip to Portman Road at home, which is a about twenty minutes from Liverpool Street station.
I then travel out in First Class, so I get a comfortable trip, getting to the match just before kick-off.
Afterwards, I usually take the first train back.
Next Season Is Starting To Take Shape
After yesterday, the matches that Ipswich Town will play next season are starting to come into line.
I can start to work out, which matches will be a bit more than an Eat-Travel-Watch-Return trip.
Looking at Championship promotion and relegation, it looks like the following.
Cardiff are definitely up and although I’ve never been to see Ipswich there, it’ll be one I’m happy to miss. Although, I quite like going to the Welsh capital on the best diesel trains in the world. I must go again to Cardiff or Swansea before the trains are retired from that route.
It looks like the others to go up are one or both from Hull and Watford, and possibly one from Brighton, Crystal Palace, Bolton, Nottingham Forest and Leicester. I would be sad to miss out on the trips to Hull, Watford, Brighton and Nottingham and I’d love to get rid of Leicester, as the ground is so far from the station. I think on balance, I’m prepared to put up with the dump that is Selhurst Park, to see an easy away match. It’s just a pity, that the two to go up can’t be Bolton and Leicester.
Sadly at the other end of the table, three of my favourite away places; Barnsley, Bristol City and Wolves are in line for relegation, along with Peterborough. The only one I’m not bothered about is the latter, as although the ground is one of the worst in the Championship, the city is worth a visit. After my last trip to Wolves, I think that I’ll miss that trip the most.
I’ll deal with who’s coming up first. Doncaster and Bournemouth are definitely up and although, I like Doncaster’s new ground, you have to get a taxi from the station and I would suspect, that Doncaster isn’t the most coeliac-friendly town. But as you go there from Kings Cross, it’s an Eat-Travel-Watch-Return trip. Bournemouth is an easy trip, the ground is very good and I’d probably fortify myself with a good breakfast at Carluccio’s in Waterloo.
Of the other candidates to possibly come up; Brentford, Yeovil, Sheffield United and Swindon, I’m really only against Yeovil, as that is an almost impossible trip. Brentford would be a low-cost bonus and Sheffield United and Swindon are more easy trips. Although, after my last trip back from Sheffield, I’d prefer one of the others.
The big question is who’s coming down from the Premier League, with Reading and QPR, who seem to me certain to get relegated. It’ll either be Aston Villa, Newcastle or Wigan. I hope it’s not Wigan, as that is a bad ground to travel to. I think I’d prefer Aston Villa to Newcastle, solely on the distance involved.
The team I’m annoyed about, who are coming down is QPR, as they have the worst ground for away supporters, where I’ve ever seen a match. Hopefully, they’ll get promoted or relegated quickly, or perhaps their rich owners, will walk away from their toy and the club will do a Portsmouth.
Since I wrote this post, we’ve seen Reading and QPR commit mutual suicide in a monochrome match. So I’ll just have to put on my strongest underwear and brave a trip to Loftus Road for a season or two.
The Anonymous Widower 