The Big Disadvantage Of The New Borders Railway
The Borders Railway which is Scotland’s new rail line from Edinburgh to the borders, is progressing well according to an article in Modern Railways.
Speaking of the new terminal station at Tweedbank, the article ends with this sentence.
It will have platforms of sufficient length to accommodate charter trains and thus give Borders tourism a welcome boost.
Do the locals really want more tourists from Edinburgh?
Slow Train To Liverpool
On Saturday, I’m flying out from Liverpool to Gdansk in Poland to start one of my home runs by train back to London.
You might argue why I’m starting from Liverpool rather than one of the London airports.
It’s because I’m seeing Ipswich Town play their last away match of the season at Burnley and it seems logical to take a flight from the more convenient Liverpool Airport.
I had thought, it would be easy to get a train between Burnley and Liverpool, as I’ve driven the route in the 1960s and it must have taken about two hours in my 1950s-vintage Morris Minor. So surely, there must be a train in about that time to speed me on my way, with a change at Preston.
If I was to do it today, I can do the journey in two hours and eight minutes with just that single change, but on Saturday, it’s a journey of two and a half hours changing at both Preston and Ormskirk. At least I end up in Liverpool at the station nearest to Carluccio’s, so there should be just time for a good late lunch and then a taxi to the Airport, from the rank next to the restaurant.
Fifty years on, we don’t seem to have made much progress!
Although things should get better in the next few years, as the Northern Hub spreads its electric tentacles.
More Assembled Concrete At Custom House Station
Every time I go to have a look at the new Custom House Station for Crossrail, there is a lot of evidence of progress.
If they do organise a site visit in Open House, this could be one to view.
Are The Consumers Controlling The Energy Prices?
This article from Real Business entitled ‘Big 6’ Energy Companies To Lose Dominance in 2019 caught my eye. Here’s the first paragraph.
The UK’s ‘big six’ energy companies are losing customers to their smaller rivals at such a rate that they will control less than 50 per cent of the residential market in 2019, according to UKPower.co.uk.
So perhaps savvy comsumers and the Internet are actually in control these days?
I do wonder whether Miliband’s statement that he would freeze energy companies has actually got the Great British Public to think deeply about their energy use and they have seen they can save money by switching to a smaller supplier.
And from my own experience, once you’ve switched once, you realise that it’s not a painful process, so if it doesn’t work out, switching again will not be a problem.
A Station For The Chattering Classes
A few years ago on the North London line, some of the stations were a tribute to the ingenuity of British Rail’s maintenance and their hard-working contractors, with poor lighting, dangerous stairways, pot-holed platforms with little shelter.
But look at these pictures I took of Hampstead Heath station today after the station’s reopening after a full makeover.
There is now a lift on each platform, lots of shelter, bike racks, a coffee stall, extra handrails on the stairs and perhaps most importantly extended platforms for the new 5-car Class 378 trains.
Some might questioning, this rebuilding of the station, but the passenger usage figures tell an interesting tale.
From just 334,000 passengers in 2004-2005 they had grown to 858,000 in 2008-2009, by which time the line had become part of the London Overground. The last figures quoted in the Wikipedia entry for the station is 2,718,000 for 2012-2013. So in just four years, passenger usage has more than tripled.
Pudding Mill Lane Station – 21st April 2014
This weekend is the big weekend for the new Pudding Mill Lane station on the Docklands Light Railway. I took these pictures on the trains to and from Ipswich yesterday.
It is slated to open on Monday the 28th. Nothing I’ve seen or heard makes me think that this date won’t be kept to create one of the main entry stations for the Olympic Park.
The old station was just about visible. Soon everything will be being Crossrail‘s ubiquitous blue hoardings to allow the tunnel portal and its links to the Great Eastern Main line to be built.
A Slow Train From Shenfield
My train back from Ipswich was a stopping one and stopped at Shenfield, before crawling its way to the next stop at Stratford.
So I got a good look at all the stations in between and I think it is true to say, that for many Crossrail can’t come soon enough.
A lot of the stations have simple staircases with no lifts to provide access between the platforms and the street.
At least though the improvements that are programmed, can be done to a convenient schedule without waiting for the main tunnels to be fitted out and the arrival of the new trains.
Do Cats Like Mark 3 Carriages?
I took this picture of a smug cat in his cage on the train to Ipswich.
Do Cats Like Mark 3 Carriages?
I didn’t get a reply to my question.
The East End Dogsbody Who Got To Shoot The Queen
David Bailey is a real East Ender, who started as a studio dogsbody at £3.50 a week.
This morning, the papers are all showing the photograph he has taken of the Queen.
The picture is shown here in the Telegraph. Here’s a small extract about fom the accompanying text.
The pair are said to have got on famously during the photoshoot, which took place at the palace in March.
Bailey, 76, said: “I’ve always been a huge fan of the Queen. She has very kind eyes with a mischievous glint. I’ve always liked strong women and she is a very strong woman.”
I have a feeling that this image will be one of the lasting ones of the only British Queen most of us will ever know.
The Anonymous Widower 