Are These Two Good News Articles From Crossrail?
This press release from Crossrail is entitled Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth Line Station Enters Final Commissioning Phase.
These are the first three paragraphs.
The Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth line station has reached an important milestone with construction works sufficiently finished for final commissioning activities to start, Crossrail has confirmed.
The station has reached the T-12 landmark, this means the station is now considered to be 12 weeks away from being ready for handover to Transport for London (TfL), who will operate the Elizabeth line.
Work at the station will now primarily focus on the extensive testing and commissioning of systems ahead of the Elizabeth line opening. The railway is still on track to open in the first half of 2022.
This video from Crossrail explains what needs to be done before Trial Running can start.
This article on New Civil Engineer is entitled Crossrail | All But One Central London Station Is ‘Ready For Use’.
These are the first two paragraphs.
All but one of Crossrail’s central London stations has been signed off as “ready for use”, Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild revealed in his latest update to the London Assembly.
Paddington is the only station yet to have its assets assured and certified as ready to enter trial running.
It looks like Crossrail is finally getting there.
Bond Street Station
In both articles there is no mention of Bond Street station, which in many reports has been described as running behind the other stations.
So when the New Civil Engineer article said that only one station wasn’t ready for use, I assumed it was Bond Street, rather than Paddington, as noted in the article.
So has progress at Bond Street station improved? If it has that that would appear to be more good news.
In Your First Crossrail Service May Arrive In Time For Christmas, I was speculating, when I said.
Bond Street station certainly seems to have caught up with the others and there is no longer any suggestion it could open a year later.
Perhaps, I was right.
Conclusion
The news certainly isn’t bad!
Walking Between Oxford Circus And Tottenham Court Road Stations – 19th February 2021
Today, I walked down Oxford Street from Oxford Circus station to Tottenham Court Road station.
Note the pictures in the middle of the walk of the new Western entrance to Tottenham Court Road station, which will be on Crossrail.
This article on Construction Enquirer is entitled Galliard To Start £55m London Soho Resi Job.
- 92 flats, a large store and smaller retail spaces.
- Look at the pictures in the Construction Enquirer article and it looks to be a building that is not out of scale.
- Ideal for Crossrail and the Northern and Central Line.
- A hundred metres from the flagship stores of Marks & Spencer and Primark on Oxford Street.
- All the colour and food of Soho at the back door.
- Buses outside the front door to Euston, Kings Cross, Paddington and St. Pancras.
Who was it said, that the three most important points about a property are location, location and location?
Is Heavy-Duty Fuel Cell Trucking Almost Ready For Prime Time?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Freight Waves.
It is a comprehensive article, that discusses hydrogen-powered trucks with respect to the United States.
Some quick points from the article.
- Companies are looking at dedicated routes.
- California with its emissions legislation, will be in the forefront of hydrogen trucks in the US.
- Nikola will build hydrogen filling stations to support big customers.
- Toyota are using the same fuel cells in passenger cars and the largest trucks.
- Toyota are trialling their trucks on short runs from the ports in the Los Angeles area.
There does seem to be a lot of US companies getting involved in hydrogen.
The article is definitely a must-read.
Some of the applications mentioned for hydrogen trucks are more about heavy loads over short distances, than taking a load half-way across the US.
These applications will possibly mean.
- Back-to-base refuelling.
- More running in urban areas.
- Large reductions in emissions and pollution.
As fleets get larger, it might be economic for a fleet to have its own system to provide the hydrogen, as the hydrogen-buses do in Pau.
I suspect that roll-out of these applications could be helped by some well-designed tax incentives.
Approaching Kings Cross – 19th February 2021
I took these pictures approaching Kings Cross.
Comparing these pictures to those in Approaching Kings Cross – 6th January 2021, show that work is progressing.
Highview Power Begins 2021 With 4 GWh Of CRYOBattery Storage In Global Pipeline
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Builder.
Read the article to find out how Highview Power are progressing with partners, offices and projects all over the world.
Not bad for an idea, that was invented in a garage in Bishops Stortford.
The article points to this video produced by the BBC.
If there’s one new venture, I wish I’d have a share of, it is this one.
- One of the projects, I worked on at ICI was optimising the size of a new plant to make plastic granules. I learned a great deal about how process plants can be scaled and their mathematics and economics.
- I believe that Highview Power’s CRYOBaterries fit with everything I know and are just world-class process engineering arranged in a unique way, which means they can be built in any country, where modern process plant technology is available and can be run and serviced by skilled engineers and technologists.
- Their partnership with the likes of Sumitomo Heavy Industries means, Highview Power, probably has access to the best technology, for some of the components needed.
After reading the article in Solar Builder, I now feel that Highview Power are on their way!
One of the first places, I shall visit after lockdown ends is Carrington near Manchester, to take pictures of the site of Highview Power’s 50 MW/250 MWh system, that is being built at Carrington.
TfL Confirms Northern Line Extension Work Is ‘On Track’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Wandsworth Guardian.
It is good to hear, that there has been no further delays.
Part of the article talks about the use of the Kennington Loop, which is shown in this visualisation from at least a century ago.
But what I found useful was speculation about the services after the extension opens.
However, it is thought that when the new stations open, 16 trains per hour will carry on to Nine Elms and Battersea, leaving just eight trains per hour terminating at Kennington and travelling around the loop.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised to see all trains going to Battersea Power Station station, as it might be operationally easier and the higher frequency may attract more passengers.
A Class 66 Locomotive At Stratford
I’ve needed a generic photograph of a Class 66 locomotive for some time and one obliged at Stratford.
The sooner these are replaced with a modern more environmentally-friendly locomotive the better.
Artwork At Hackney Wick
I took these pictures as I walked from the 30 bus to Hackney Wick station to get to Stratford.
Hackney Wick station and the subway with its mural in concrete, appears to be complete.
Up From The Depths At Moorgate Station
Moorgate station must have been built for rabbits, as it is a bit of a warren.
On arriving on the Northern Line platforms at the station a few days ago, I took the rat-up-the-drainpipe route to the surface.
This is the route I took.
- Up the escalator to the Northern City Line platforms.
- Straight up the Northern City Line escalators to the surface.
- Through the barrier and then up to street level on one of two flights of steps, which are on opposite sides of Moorgate.
It is quicker and has less steps.
Crossrail
How will axxess change, when Crossrail opens.
Look at this image, I’ve clipped from this large visualisation of the massive Liverpool Street-Moorgate Crossrail Station.
The image shows the Northern City Line coming into Moorgate station.
Colours are as follows.
- Blue – Northern City Line
- Yellow – Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines
- Black – Northern
- Turquoise – Crossrail
Details to note.
Existing Northern City Escalators
The escalator shaft to the existing ticket hall is shown in white by the letter M of Moorgate.
Existing Northern Line Escalators
The double tunnels from the stairs leading to the platforms to the escalators are shown in white underneath the Northern City Line.
The escalators to the existing ticket hall are clearly shown. Both are in white.
Circle And Hammersmith & City Lines
When Crossrail opens, passengers would seem to still do, as they do now to interchange between Northern/Northern City and the Sub-Surface Lines.
But there is also a turquoise tunnel with a right-angle bend in the middle, that appears to do the following.
- Link to the Northern and Northern City Lines at its Northern end.
- Run under the sub-surface Lines.
Finally the tunnel connects to the big turquoise block, which I take to be the new Crossrail ticket hall.
There appear to be lifts on both sides of the Sub-Surface Lines.
Note.
- The lift on the North side of the Sub-Surface Lines, appears to be in a room with a window. Perhaps, the wall will be removed?
- The lift on the South side of the Sub-Surface Lines, appears to be in a lobby, set back from the tracks, but accessible from all three platforms on that side.
- I suspect they connect to the connecting tunnel below the platforms.
There does appear to be quite a bit of work to do.
The New Crossrail Station
The big turquoise block is the new Crossrail station and Ticket Hall.
Crossrail would appear to connect to the Northern and Northern City Lines, using the new subway, but it doesn’t seem that obvious how passengers will walk between the Sub-Surface Lines and the Crossrail Ticket Hall.
It
Holyhead Hydrogen Hub Planned For Wales
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on H2 View.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Plans for a new hydrogen production plant, refuelling and distribution hub have been unveiled for Holyhead, North Wales.
Some other points from the article.
- Unsurprisingly, it will be called the Holyhead Hydrogen Hub.
- Holyhead is the second largest roll-on, roll-off port in the UK.
- There is plenty of potential for renewable energy in the area.
- It will support the port and large scale movements of HGVs.
- There is plenty of potential for renewable energy in the area.
- The hydrogen in future could support trains, ships, public transport and other uses.
In the last year, I’ve read about hydrogen hubs in ports, including Portsmouth and Antwerp, so Holyhead is just following a trend.
The Anonymous Widower 
