Between North Greenwich And West Silvertown Stations Around 8 p.m.
In this trip, I went between North Greenwich and West Silvertown stations in the evening at about eight in the evening, to look at the traffic levels.
Luckily, I got the same seat alongside the driver as I was able to use, when I took the pictures in Is This The Best Seat On A Bus Through The Silvertown Tunnel?.
I took these pictures.
Note.
- I’d arrived at North Greenwich station on the Jubilee Line and it was very busy because of something at The O2, so I arrived at the 129 bus stop, just as a bus left for Gallions Reach.
- As sunset was about eight, I was still able to take pictures.
- I waited perhaps eight minutes for the next bus.
- There was perhaps a dozen passengers on the lower deck through the tunnel.
- From my position next to the driver, I was able to read the driver’s speedometer, which a lot of of the time showed 30 mph or just a few mph under.
- The tunnel wasn’t very busy with traffic.
- The only problem with my position at the front, is that you don’t have a view of the destination board, so I got down a bit early for my West Silverton stop, from where I took the Docklands Light Railway to Bank station.
After a quick supper in Leon, I took a bus home from Moorgate.
Does Innovation Get Mr. Ed Miliband Better Prices To Doncaster?
The East Coast Main Line has ticketing unlike any other in the UK.
Turn up at any LNER station to go to any station that is served by trains from that station and you will be given a choice of the best prices at the ticket machines or at the booking office.
Effectively, you are sold your choice of the cheapest Advance tickets for your journey, at the time of booking.
In the last few months, I have taken three trips from London to Doncaster. All were priced between £20 and £25, with one trip on each of Grand Central, Hull Trains and LNER.
Some might argue it is because of the three Open Access operators on the route, that good value is available. But I would argue that it is down to the fact that because of the Open Access operators there is more seats on the route.
This ticketing model should be adopted on the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line.
The ticketing has certainly modified my behaviour.
If I want to go to Sheffield, I go to Doncaster, as it’s a lot cheaper, then get a local train between Doncaster and Sheffield.
Ed Miliband Is A Doncaster MP
When he is going between his Doncaster North constituency and London, does he use last minute ticketing?
Silvertown Tunnel Increases Network Resilience But It Comes At A Cost, Says Logistics UK
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on UK Haulier.
This paragraph summarises the view of Chris Yarsley of Logistics UK.
Following the opening of the Silvertown tunnel in London, Logistics UK Senior Policy Manager – Road Freight Regulation Chris Yarsley says it will increase network resilience and make journey times more predictable, but feels the high toll charges penalise essential delivery vehicles who have no alternative means of servicing the capital.
Click this link to see all my Silvertown Tunnel posts.
Note.
- I have been through the Silvertown Tunnel a number of times now and I have only seen one large truck and a couple of vans in the tunnel.
- I have also seen no congestion at any of the entrances to the tunnels.
It certainly seems to have been well-designed.
FirstGroup Makes Last-Minute Open Access Plea
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railnews.
The article is definitely worth a full read.
A little bit of competition never hurt anybody, unless they weren’t very good.
I have already decided to give Great Socialist Railways a miss, unless I have a desperate need.
Cummins Unveils Integrated Powertrain
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Big Rigs.
These four paragraphs, describe what Cummins can offer to the world’s builders of large trucks.
In recent years, Cummins has gone through a remarkable transformation, becoming a genuine powertrain supplier – from engine to transmission to axles and brakes.
Now for the first time, Cummins will showcase its new integrated powertrain at the upcoming Brisbane Truck Show next month.
This world-first display will feature the integration of a Cummins X15 engine, Eaton Cummins 18-speed Endurant speed transmission, and Meritor driveline and axles.
Cummins’ acquisition of Meritor in 2022 was a critical step for the company to be able to roll out a completely integrated powertrain.
Note that the X15 engine has a hydrogen version numbered as X15H.
Another Headache For Fossil Fuels: Liquid Air Energy Storage
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Clean Technica.
This article is an honest American look at Highview Power’s liquid air batteries and a must-read.
This is the first paragraph.
Whatever happened to liquid air energy storage? The UK startup Highview Power was going to bring its new liquid air system to the US back in 2019, providing the kind of scaled-up and long duration energy storage needed to support more wind and solar power on the grid. Highview switched gears and headed back home where the grass is greener. Our loss is the UK’s gain…
They first wrote about Highview Power in 2011, which shows how long some of these projects take to come to fruition.
The article also has this view on the state of offshore wind in the United States today.
Perhaps it’s just as well that Highview dropped its US plans when it did. Offshore wind stakeholders in the US were just beginning to find their footing along the Atlantic coast when President Trump took office on January 20 and promptly sent the offshore industry into a death spiral.
If I lived in the US today, I’d thinking about leaving given Trump’s barmy energy policies.
This paragraph from Highview Power’s web site, discloses their backers.
The £300 million funding round was led by the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) and the British multinational energy and services company Centrica, alongside a syndicate of investors including Rio Tinto, Goldman Sachs, KIRKBI and Mosaic Capital.
So at least some American companies believe in Highview Power. KIRKBI is the investment vehicle of the family, that invented Lego.
Eastern Green Link 2 Moves Up A Gear Using Low Carbon Fuel For Material Handling Trucks
The title of this post is the same, as that of this press release from National Grid.
These three bullet points act as sub-headings.
- Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2), a high voltage direct current (HVDC) 436km subsea transmission cable connecting Scotland and England, is being delivered as a joint venture by National Grid Electricity Transmission and SSEN Transmission.
- Project sustainability efforts are accelerating by adopting Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuelled trucks to move materials in Yorkshire.
- The introduction of HVO fuel will deliver up to 90% reduction in direct CO2 emissions.
The use of HVO fuel is good and the carbon dioxide emission savings are to be welcomed, but there is only so much of this HVO fuel available.
If hydrogen-fueled trucks were available, then this would deliver up to 100% reduction in direct CO2 emissions.
This paragraph from the press release talks about where the HVO fuel will be used.
HVO, a low-carbon biofuel made from waste vegetable oils, will be used at the Wren Hall converter station site in North Yorkshire, where 20-tonne construction trucks will transport approximately 370,000 tonnes of quarry stone from a quarry 27 miles away. This switch from conventional diesel to HVO is expected to deliver up to a 90% reduction in direct CO2 emissions and an 80% reduction in other harmful emissions such as particulate matter.
This Google Map shows the location of Wren Hall with respect to Drax power station.
Note.
- The six large cooling towers of the Drax power station are in the North-West corner of the map.
- Google Maps indicate, where they think Wren Hall is, with a red arrow.The lane running North-South to the West of the red arrow is called Wren Hall Lane.
- There is a legend saying BAM Nuttall Ltd Eastern Green Link 2 on the opposite side of the square of lanes to the red arrow.
Click the map to show it to a larger scale.
It looks to me, that if hydrogen could be provided on the Drax site, then the 370,000 tonnes of quarry stone from a quarry 27 miles away could be brought to the site by hydrogen-powered 20-tonne construction trucks.
So how could hydrogen be provided on the Drax site?
- Drax is a 2.6 GW biomass power station, so I’m sure that some electricity could be used to generate hydrogen.
- Drax is a rail-connected site, so hydrogen could be brought in by rail.
- Depending on the amount of hydrogen needed, hydrogen could surely be brought in by road.
I feel that if hydrogen-powered 20-tonne construction trucks were available, this transfer of quarry stone could be performed carbon-free.
Conclusion
This project illustrates a problem with large infrastructure projects all over the UK.
Moving the large amounts of stone, concrete, sand and rubble into and out of construction sites generates a lot of carbon dioxide and pollution from the 20-tonne trucks employed.
If I were to be given Ed Miliband’s job of Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, one of my first actions, would be to say that all new 20 tonne construction and cement trucks would have to be zero carbon.
I suspect, that zero-carbon with trucks this size, will mean hydrogen, as the weight of the battery would destroy the mathematics of the truck.
This would obviously reduce carbon emissions, but more importantly, what would it do for the health of those working on large construction sites?
In MAN Expands Its Zero-Emission Portfolio, I show MAN’s heavy hydrogen trucks.
This is an articulated heavy hydrogen truck.
I’m sure that MAN could build a hydrogen-powered 20-tonne construction truck.
In Cummins Agrees To Integrate Its Hydrogen ICE Technology Into Terex® Advance Trucks, I talk about the solution to the cement truck problem.
This is a side view of the top-of-the-range monster.
Note.
- Front is to the right.
- I suspect the driver doesn’t have to get out of the cab to discharge the concrete.
- The engine is at the rear with vertical exhausts.
- All axles are driven.
You’d certainly notice one of these if they were to be used in the City of London.
And this is the baby of the range.
Three axles is normal for the UK. so I wonder if this machine will ever make it across the pond.
This last paragraph in the original article describes the X15H hydrogen internal combustion engine.
The X15H was showcased at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in May (2023), along with its hydrogen ICE-powered concept truck. The X15H features a 700-bar pressure 80kg capacity hydrogen storage system and a range of more than 500 miles, with up to 500 horsepower.
Could one of these trucks really deliver ready-mix concrete from London to Manchester and return?
The trucks would appear to be available, so let’s get a few over and try them out.
Incidentally, if someone had told me ten years ago, there would be rear-wheel drive trucks like Volkswagen Beetles, I’d have said they were wrong in no uncertain terms.
The Wren Hall substation would appear to be an ideal trial project for hydrogen-powered construction trucks and cement trucks.
Blackwall Tunnel On A Sunday Morning
This morning, as it was a Sunday, I checked out Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnels for traffic for free, using my Freedom Pass.
These pictures were taken, on my route South to North Greenwich station.
Note.
Wrightbus At Heart Of £6.5bn Hydrogen Mega-Project Set To Transform UK Economy
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Love Ballymena.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Ballymena’s Wrightbus is at the forefront of a transformative £6.5 billion clean hydrogen initiative that promises to create 24,300 jobs across the UK and position the nation as a global leader in renewable energy.
Project HySpeed, unveiled this week, unites some of Britain’s most influential companies—including Wrightbus, Centrica, JCB, and ITM Power—in a landmark effort to scale up green hydrogen production, reduce costs, and accelerate industrial decarbonisation.
The project is a major coup for Ballymena, where Wrightbus, a pioneer in zero-emission transport, has been a vital part of the local economy for decades. As a key member of the HydraB Power group, which spearheads HySpeed, Wrightbus brings its expertise as the producer of the world’s first hydrogen-powered double-decker bus.
I believe we need the Irish dimension in Project HySpeed, as the Irish have a unique way of getting things done.
I am reminded by a story, that I heard from a retired Guards officer about the liberation of Vienna in World War II.
The city was in a desperate state and as he hold me the story, the retired officer said that a woman could be had for the price of two cigarettes.
In the mess one evening, the officers were discussing what to do, when an Irish Guards officer said, “The people need some fun! Let’s organise a horse race meeting!”
They all thought he was joking, but that is what they did!
The guy, who told the story is long since dead, but he believed that day of fun meant that Austria wasn’t taken over by the Soviets, like so many other East European countries.
The Irish do have this unique way of getting things done.
Note that the CEO of Centrica is Chris O’Shea. Does he have Irish roots?
Is This The Best Seat On A Bus Through The Silvertown Tunnel?
This morning, as it was a Sunday, I checked out Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnels for traffic for free, using my Freedom Pass.
These pictures were taken, on my route back from North Greenwich station to Gallions Reach, where the 129 bus terminates North of the Thames.
Note.
- I was on a 129 bus as the first picture shows.
- I was sitting opposite to the driver in a single seat on the left hand side at the front.
- For much of our trip through the tunnel, we were following the Silvertown Cycle Shuttle.
- From about picture number 22, it’s clear we are following another bus.
- The 129 bus runs along the route of the London City Airport/Woolwich Arsenal branch of the Docklands Light Railway for a time. It has stops at West Silvertown, Pontoon Dock and London City Airport.
- The last section of the route to Gallions Reach, is mainly new housing, a park, a couple of supermarkets and a Premier Inn.
- The area seems well-served with buses to take you to the supermarkets, the Docklands Light Railway and the London City Airport.
- Three of the last five pictures, show where I was sitting.
The pictures all entries to and exits from the tunnel have been smooth, except for the occasional short red traffic light.
The Anonymous Widower 