TfL Says Ready On The Northern Line Extension
This article from Global Rail News announces that Transport for London has now chosen their preferred contractor for the Northern Line Extension to Battersea.
Although it is starting later than Crossrail, the article says it could open before that rail line is fully complete.
2019 is looking to be a momentous year for new rail projects.
Is This A Case Of More With Less Electrification?
When asked in the House of Lords about the cost of extending Crossrail to Reading, Baroness Kramer, the Transport minister, said it would save £10million. It’s all reported here in New Civil Engineer. As it has been reported for some time Crossrail and the Great Western Main Line electrification will share some infrastructure like transformers, I don’t think the cost saving is unexpected.
Roll On Crossrail
I’ve recently been to Iceland for a few days holiday, which meant a trip to and from Heathrow.
For people like me in East London just to the North of the City, it is a boring and tedious journey.
Going out, I took the easy route for me, which is to take a 141 bus from virtually outside my house to Manor House station and then got the Piccadilly Line all the way to Heathrow. It gets you there but around thirty stops on the Underground isn’t quick at around an hour and a half.
Coming back, the flight was in a bit late and I decided to use Heathrow Express. My ticket cost me £13.80 with a Senior Railcard and is timed at 21:09, which as the Heathrow Express I got left Heathrow at 22:18 and arrived at Paddington at 22:36, says a lot for the speed of the Border Agency and the baggage handlers at the airport. From Paddington, I decided that as I was hungry and there is no good gluten-free restaurant at Paddington, that I would get a taxi. I got home just after 23:00, as although there were lots of taxis, the self loading cargo couldn’t get itself organised. As the taxi cost me £26, and although it might have been slightly quicker by about twenty minutes or so, each minute saved cost me a couple of pounds.
Next time, I’ll take the Underground.
In a few years time, I’ll probably use Crossrail. Heathrow to Whitechapel will take about 37 minutes according to their web site and from there to home is probably about 15 minutes now. So Crossrail should deliver a time of under an hour for a lot less money. Hopefully, it will be free as reports say that Freedom Passes will be able to be used to the Airport.
So on a brief look, it would appear that everybody in the City and East London will probably use Crossrail to get to Heathrow. Who in their right mind, would struggle to get to Paddington to get the Heathrow Express?
Incidentally, my taxi driver last night thought that Crossrail would be good for black cabs, as more people would use the train to get into London.
The one problem is that Terminal 5 at Heathrow is not on Crossrail. But looking at the various trains that are either are or will be connected to Heathrow and their routes, I would suspect that this will be rectified a few years after Crossrail opens.
There are various proposals that help to link Heathrow to the rail network.
The one that probably stands the highest chance of being built, is to link Terminal 5 to Reading to give rail access to the airport from the West of England and Wales. The BBC talks about it here.
If this one gets built would some Crossrail trains just go underneath Heathrow stopping at Heathrow Central, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 in order before carrying on to Reading on the other side of the airport. At Reading, it could be a cross-platform interchange to fast trains to the west. Reading to Cardiff now takes just under a hundred minutes. When electrified and with new Class 801 trains, this could be reduced by about fifteen minutes or so. So if you add the short hop from Reading to Heathrow, the journey to Heathrow from Cardiff could be well under two hours. If the Class 801 could get to Heathrow, obviously the journey would be quicker too!
Will It Be More Of The Same?
London Overground has short-listed four manufacturers for the new rolling stock for the Gospel Oak to Barking and the newly taken over lines. There’s an article on Global Rail News. Here’s the first paragraph.
Siemens, Hitachi, CAF and Bombardier have been shortlisted for a contract to supply a new suburban train fleet for London Overground.
The order will include 39 new trains in total, of which 31 will be used on the newly devolved West Anglia franchise routes and eight will replace diesel stock on the Gospel Oak to Barking route.
I obviously don’t have the figures, but surely the current Class 378 trains on the Overground don’t have any drawbacks that are talked about by passengers or the media. Except for the overcrowding, which is due to the success of the Overground.
But surely, it would be a common sense decision to just extend the Class 378 fleet.
1. Maintenance of a single uniform fleet would surely be easier and less costly.
2. All of your drivers and other staff would only have to be familiar with one class of train.
3. The configuration of the Class 378 is flexible, so it would be possible to run three coach trains on one line and four or even five car trains on another.
4. The Class 378 trains are becoming an icon to Londoners and regular passengers know how to use them effectively. Do passengers really want two train fleets on the Overground?
5. We also have the extra procurement costs if another type of train is chosen, as it will have to be fully tested.
I would be surprised if any train other than a Class 378 is chosen.
This Icelandic Crossing Has A Secret Button
As I can’t drive because I have a slight eyesight problem to the left, I always look to see how the countries I visit cater for the blind at road crossings. In the UK, we increasingly find secret buttons under the controls, as described here on the BBC web site.
I must admit that I was surprised to find this crossing control in Iceland.
This Icelandic Crossing Has A Secret Button
It certainly is a little development, that I’d like to see everywhere.
The Icelandic National Museum
The Icelandic National Museum was worth a visit. It is a modern building above the city and the displays are well laid out and highly informative with copious notes.
Note the picture of the curious three-seater seat, which could be mistaken for a luxury three-hole commode. There were several like these and the slots in the sides hold descriptions of the exhibits around you. This was a clever idea, that other galleries and museums could borrow.
There is also an excellent cafe with free wi-fi and perhaps more importantly for some, proper teapots.
My Tired Hotel
If there was one thing that spoilt my holiday to Iceland it was the hotel.
This picture sums up the hotel.
My Tired Hotel
It was tired and in need of a stiff makeover.
But there were some faults you just can’t excuse.
1. The shower was stuck on hot and unusable.
2. The gluten-free bread they produced was frozen and inedible.
3. They had a glut of Earl Grey teabags, so that was what you got in the room. I hate the stuff.
4. I had a top floor room, which suffered from top-floor-too-hot syndrome. They kept the fire escape open to try to cool the top floor.
But the biggest problem was that it wasn’t the city centre hotel I asked for and it was claimed to be ten minutes walk away. You might have been able to walk it to the centre in just over that, but walking back up the hill would have been a lot more for me.
If I’d have donre my research better, I wouldn’t have booked it, as some entries on Trip Advisor said that all was not well!
Fish Market Restaurant, Reykjavik
I went here for dinner, as I really didn’t think I could stand the hotel food.
They had a gluten-free menu and I had some excellent lamb.
But why was it served on a plate like a piece of guttering?
Incidentally, the restaurant had whale on the gluten-free menu. I didn’t partake!
One thing that can be said for Rejkjavik is that there is no problem finding a restaurant if you’re coeliac
Crazy Hot Water Pipes
On the way back to Reykjavik, the road was lined with these large pipes for quite a way.
They carry the hot water that is used to heat the city from the various geothermal sources.
The Anonymous Widower 