Liverpool’s Underground Railway
Liverpool has its own Underground railway and I took the Wirral line from Liverpool Central station to get to Liverpool University’s veterinary campus at Leahurst.
Central station has recently been refurbished to a good standard. You do wonder if Manchester’s chaotic transport system would be better, if they’d tunnelled under the city, like they did in Liverpool.
Liverpool’s network has been talked about as a candidate for years and this section in Wikipedia, shows what could and might be done.
Why Doesn’t The New Bus for London Have A Top Hat?
Some of the RT London buses of the 1950s and 1960s had the route number shown at roof level at the front of the bus. This was variously called a lighthouse box, a top box or a top hat. It’s the latter that I prefer and it was a great help when catching a bus, as you could more easily identify if the one in the distance was the bus you wanted.
It’s the one feature, I would have put into the New Bus for London, that Heatherwick didn’t!
A Late Running New Bus for London
It was running to the timetable, but tonight I travelled on a New Bus for London from the Angel to my house, catching the bus at The Angel a few minutes after nine o’clock. It was probably on time, but running later than I’d ever seen one before.
It was surprisingly full for a bus at that time, but I suspect like me, a lot of people got off the following 73 to go to Hackney rather than Stoke Newington. As the New Bus has three doors and the downstairs is more spacious, I think we’re going to see more of this bus-swapping, as for people like me, it gets me to a stop nearer my house and even if I was paying my own fare, I wouldn’t be charged any extra.
This hop-off and hop-on behaviour is one of the advantages of London’s automated Oystercard system. About the only interaction between driver and passenger on a London bus, as most people get on, is either a smile, a gesture or perhaps a quick greeting.
The bus tonight was running in one-person mode, with the driver controlling all three doors at stops.
It’ll be interesting to see, how the actual capacity changes when the next route for the New Bus for London; route 24, is fully operational. There are a lot of factors that will come into play.
1. The middle and rear doors are positioned by their own staircase and they have their own Oyster reader. So many passengers will get on through the more convenient door, touch in and go upstairs.
2. The middle door has a larger lobby than a standard bus and the rear door has the platform, so passengers will get themselves ready to leave the bus earlier. I know I do this on a New Bus for London, especially, if I’m going to jump off the back.
3. Because of the three doors, the front one only becomes an entry point for someone, who has to pay the driver, show a paper ticket bought elsewhere or is using the door as it’s the most convenient.
4. Buggies and wheelchairs usually go in the middle door. On a standard bus, wheelchairs come in the middle door, but buggy pushers generally have to use the front entrance. If they use the middle one, they then have to walk to the front to touch in or pay the driver.
5. The New Bus for London also develops its own unofficial stops. At the Angel, there is a light controlled crossing just before the stops by the station, when going south. I’ve got off at the lights, when they are red several times. Also at the Angel, there is often a queue to get on the bus stops at busy times. Passengers use the rear entry on a New Bus for London to avoid waiting for the bus to get on the stop.
All of these factors mean that the New Buses for London, load and unload passengers much quicker than the standard bus. This can lead to a shorter journey time from one end of the route to the other.
I also think that as passengers use the New Bus for London more, they will modify their behaviour to get a faster journey. There can’t be many people, who don’t like going as fast as possible from A to B.
The Timetable For The New Buses for London On Route 38
This post is for my benefit and it links to a timetable for the New Buses for London operating on Route 38.
Why We Need More Walk-Through Trains?
The Class 378 trains on the London Overground are completely articulated and you can walk through from one end to the other.
Class 378 At Highbury And Islington Station
The picture shows the train I got on to return from Highbury and Islington station, today. I got in at the end where you walk down to the platform at the station and then walked through to the other end, as that end is best for getting off at my station, which is Dalston Junction.
As there is no doors to open or close as on most trains, it’s an easy process and is something I’d like to see on a lot more trains, as not only is it more convenient, it might well be safer too! Already the new S stock trains for the London Underground are built similarly.
Where Is The Lift At Highbury And Islington Station?
I have been impressed with some of the lifts put in at stations like Camden Road and Hackney Central recently.
So I thought I’d have a look to see, if any stations, I use regularly were being updated with lifts or step-free access. Network Rail are managing the work across the rail network and the project is called Access for All.
I looked at all the stations to be upgraded and found an entry for Highbury and Islington. Click this link and then go down a bit.
The entry says that one lift is provided to the Great Northern and City line and that it was completed in Autumn 2010.
I’ve used the station extensively for the last few years and I’ve never found this mythical lift. To check, I asked the station staff tonight, when I came through the station on my way home. They’d not seen it and were a bit worried if someone turned up in a wheelchair looking for access to the deep lines.
As I said here, it is not the best station for step-free access, although that to the Overground is excellent. But the single lift mentioned on the Network Rail web site, would be a welcome addition.
Why I Often Wait For A New Bus for London At The Angel
Today, I went up to the Angel to do some shopping. I don’t use a reusable bag, as I haven’t found one I like, since my old Waitrose one collapsed.
So today, I was coming back with two plastic bags of shopping, of which one was particularly awkward as it contained a double large box of tissues. With only one good hand, getting on a normal bus is sometimes difficult, as the entrance is often crowded as people buy their tickets.
But if I go to the rear platform or middle door of a New Bus for London, getting on is usually a much more straightforward affair. Especially, at the rear platform, where many use it as a quick way to get upstairs. As the bus has three Oyster card readers, if it is particularly busy, I will sometimes get in and then reach back to become a legal rider.
Today, I saw a Hackney Central bus was arriving in a minute. So I waited! I struck lucky with a New Bus for London and I was able to ride home in First Class!
Visitors Parking Vouchers In Hackney
I may be a non-driver these days, but it doesn’t mean, I don’t have visitors with cars.
Last week, I bought some all day vouchers and today, I bought some for two hours.
Would you believe that effectively you have two separate accounts for each voucher?
The guy behind the desk in the Parking office thought it was crazy too!
Surely systems should be devised to be the most convenient for everybody. I can’t imagine that this is convenient for anybody!
Crossrail Looks To Yorkshire
Crossrail has made an appeal for firms in Yorkshire and Humberside to become suppliers to Europe’s biggest construction project. It’s all reported here in the Yorkshire Post.
I did write a post about Custom House station, which is being built in Sheffield and transported to London and installed on site. That sounds like a clever and affordable way to create stations.
Huddersfield Station Completed The Set For Me!
It wasn’t my visit a couple of weeks ago, but when I visited all football grounds in alphabetical order in 2011, but Huddersfield station was the last of the six Grade One Listed stations still used for trains that I visited.
The others are Bristol Temple Meads, Kings Cross, Newcastle, Paddington and St. Pancras.
The combined list of Grade Two Listed stations and Grade Two* Listed stations is an odd mix. It contains six stations, I’ve either lived near or used regularly; Cambridge, Cockfosters, Felixstowe, Liverpool Lime Street, Oakwood and Southgate.
But the list also includes Bury St. Edmunds, which matches the Abbey ruins and the truly awful Harlow Town.
The Anonymous Widower 