Where Have All The New Buses For London Gone?
I went all the way home from Victoria today and didn’t see one going the other way.
Either it was just chance or could there be some devious plot to use them for the Olympics.
Was this a practice?
Fifty Shades of Grey On A 38 Bus
After seeing a young lady reading the book of the moment on a Tube, I was surprised to see, another young lady reading it on the lower deck of a 38 bus. And not on a Kindle either!
The First Gig on the Emirates Air-Line
I know it was a stunt by The Sun newspaper, but surely Newton Faulkner‘s gig set new heights in music.
Next thing someone might perform a few magic tricks or perhaps take a flea circus for a ride.
On A Clear Day You Can See For Miles
I took these pictures on the Emirates Air-Line on Sunday.
It just shows how far you can see if the weather is good. The Mittal Orbit on the Olympic Park stands out. It is quite easy to pick out Wembley Stadium towards the North West
Two New Buses For London Kiss At The Angel
Because of the Torch Relay, you don’t pass anybody these days, but kiss. Here two of the New Buses for London kiss at the Angel.
Two New Buses For London Kiss At The Angel
As there are now eight in service, we’ll see more of this.
Is This The Only Modern AEC Bus In London?
I took this picture a couple of days ago of one of the Wright buses on route 38.
Is This The Only Modern AEC Bus In London?
For many years, all London buses, including the famous Routemaster, were built by the Associated Equipment Company or AEC.
Midland Main Line To Be Electrified
It is being reported this morning, that the Midlands Main Line from St. Pancras station to Sheffield is going to be electrified. At present it only goes as far as Bedford, which must be one of the most stupid planning decisions by Railtrack and its predecessors.
But then there are several cases, where electrification stopped in the UK, rather than continue to its logical conclusion. I remember as a teenager, that the original plans for electrification in East Anglia included the branch line to Felixstowe. It should probably have included Ely to Norwich and Norwich to Yarmouth as well. Now there is a strong case to electrify Ipswich to Peterborough to haul all that freight from Felixstowe. Although the last bit would be difficult due to the number of bridges on the line, but hopefully when the line was upgraded for larger containers, they did it to allow for electric wires as well. But knowing the muppets in the Department of Transport, that like to think it’s their railway, deliberately didn’t, so that electrification would stay in the sidings.
This is what surprises me about Midland Main Line electrification being announced. Logically, it should be done before the Great Western, as it is a smaller scheme, doesn’t have a difficult tunnel like the Severn Tunnel and many of the current trains can be converted to electric operation, as I posted here. I think it is mostly three track too, which helps with the engineering.
But when do governments do things logically?
Have they seen sense or does Justine Greening read the railway press?
It will be interesting what is said on Monday.
Thinking about this more, we have to take into account the fact that a spur into Heathrow from the west has also been announced. Putting my old project management hat back on, I can’t help feeling that underneath all this is some very good project management. Three electrification projects on the go at the same time, all relatively close together mean that the expensive electreification train that Railtrack has bought can be fully utilised.
The M4 Is Open Again
So what?
After all this is supposed to be a Green Games, so shouldn’t athletes and official be using trains to get to Stratford. The original plans for the Heathrow Express called for the trains to go to St. Pancras as well as Paddington. So what happened to that? Here‘s a press release from Railtrack.
If the Heathrow Express to St. Pancras, had connected to ThamesLink, in say a simple cross platform interchange, that would have been the quick way to get between London’s two biggest airports.
What’s Parking?
They’re discussing parking on BBC Breakfast this morning.
Two years ago, I had a stroke, which left me unable to drive. So I sold my car, moved to London and now if I want to go anywhere I just walk round the corner and get a bus, for which I never wait more than two minutes. This is because I live on a high capacity route.
The effect on my bank account has been dramatic and totally positive. A great game is to watch the idiots trying to part in my road.
Do I miss driving? No! Not at all!
Olympic Security in Perspective
It has been reported, that two British climbers and five are missing after an avalanche in France.
We are rightly worried about security for the Olympic Games, but I think we are very much overly so.
Most of the people-related problems in the Olympics, will be drunks falling under Tube trains and serious health problems like heart attacks. As a regular user of London’s transport network, I know my places, where problems are likely to occur, but I won’t follow the government and most of those listening to radio phone-ins and scare-monger.
As I write this there is a Colonel on the radio, saying that we wouldn’t be able to provide the extra security, once we’ve reduced the size of the Armed Forces. I’ve heard his arguments many times before from left-wing union leaders, when a factory is being closed.
The real security failure has been the non-fulfilment of the contract by G4S to provide the security, they said they would provide.
The largest mole, I’ve ever seen, has just scurried down my road in the direction of the Olympic site. I assume, he’s part of the moles’ Mountain Brigade.
The Anonymous Widower 