A Return Journey Through The Silvertown Tunnel On A 129 Bus
This morning, I did a return journey through the Silvertown Tunnel on a 129 bus.
These pictures summarise the journey.
Note.
- I started at Pontoon Dock station on the Docklands Light Railway.
- The Pontoon Dock bus stop is difficult to find at the moment, as they are landscaping the bus stops to incorporate a cycle lane.
- The 129 bus stops at Gallions Reach, London City Airport, Pontoon Dock and West Silvertown stations on the Docklands Light Railway.
- I turned round at North Greenwich station.
- I finished my journey at London City Airport.
- The bus route turns round at Lewisham.
This could be a very useful cross river route, if you live close to the 129 bus route.
Level Boarding Included In Rail Innovation Funding Competition
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Innovate UK has opened the latest calls for grant funding proposals under the First of a Kind programme, which supports the demonstration of innovative technologies to give them a better chance at being deployed by railway companies.
What annoys me about boarding trains (and some buses for that matter!), is how variable it is.
- Trains in East Anglia, Merseyside and Switzerland are particularly good, but then they have the common Stadler factor.
- Will the Newcastle Metro and the Glasgow Subway be as good?
- Some European countries, including Germany, could do much better!
- Once at Leipzig, I helped four hefty Germans lift a guy and his wheel-chair out of the bottom-deck of a double-deck train.
- In London, the Docklands Light Railway, the Elizabeth Line and some parts of the Overground are acceptable, but there is need for improvement.
- Southeastern, including the HighSpeed is particularly dodgy and I need help at some stations like Clapham Junction and Lewisham.
- Bank has a notorious platform on the Central Line.
- Perhaps the worst in London are some stations on theBakerloo Line, where it shares with the Watford DC Line.
All passengers on buses and trains deserve the best access that designers and bus and train manufacturers can devise.
In one incident, a slight, elderly Indian lady in a sari, was having difficulty getting down from an Overground train on the Watford DC Line at Willesden Junction station.
I was the only person on the platform, so I called out. “Can You Jump?”
Which she did and landed safely on her feet! I caught her and it was smiles all round!
I suspect she’d done that before.
So is one idea to give all passengers, lessons in jumping on and off buses and trains?
Seriously though, could Lego devise a large-scale engineering version of their product, that could be used to create steps and humps, which could be glued together for strength.
Alternatively, 3D printing could be used to create gap-fillers.
I think this challenge from Innovate UK will bring forward some good solutions.
A Step-Free Adventure Under The Thames Between Moorgate and Grove Park
I am assembling this post, as a number of sub-posts, so it will not make sense until it is finished.
From Moorgate Station To East India Station
I started this adventure from Moorgate, but I could have started it from any Central London location that is well-connected to Bank station.
As I had had a full English breakfast in a pot, at Leon on Moorgate, it seemed to be a good place to start.
My route started simple, in that I took the Northern Line to Bank station and then took the Docklands Light Railway to East India station.
This first gallery of pictures shows my journey until I caught the SL4 bus at East India station.
Note.
- The first few pictures show getting to East India station on the Docklands Light Railway.
- Moorgate station has a high step into the Northern Line train.
- All the others are more or less level.
- East India station is then shown in detail.
East India station is fully step-free with lifts.
Southbound Through The Silvertown Tunnel
This second gallery of pictures shows my Southbound journey approaching and through the Silvertown Tunnel.
Note.
- The dual-carriageway leading to the tunnel wasn’t busy.
- The bus was in the inside lane all the way through.
- I don’t think anybody passed the bus.
- There appeared to be more traffic coming out of the Blackwall Tunnel.
The traffic from the two tunnels seemed to merging well.
Blackheath Station
This third gallery of pictures shows Blackheath station.
Note.
- Blackheath station has a good number of useful shops for a worthwhile pit-stop.
- There was even a fish and chip shop.
- Blackheath station has a lift to one platform and a ramp to the other.
- The bus stop I used was only a small step into the bus.
The transfer between bus and train would not be as easy as East India station, but I don’t think it would be difficult for say someone in a wheel-chair.
Lee Station
This fourth gallery of pictures shows Lee station.
Note.
- The station was a stiff uphill walk from the bus stop.
- Both platforms had their own uphill walk.
If I was in a wheel-chair, I’d give this Lee station a miss.
Grove Park
The route ends at Grove Park bus station.
This fifth gallery of pictures shows, where the bus terminated.
Note.
- It wasn’t the most interesting of places.
- I couldn’t even find a decent cafe for a coffee.
- In the fifteen minutes I was at Grove Park, I must have seen five SL4 buses.
- I’d hoped it would be near to Grove Park station, but I couldn’t see any signs to it and the two people I asked didn’t know where it was.
- In the end I had to walk about five hundred metres to get the SL4 back to Central London.
My mother always advised you take a posse with you, when you venture into South London. She was right!
When I got home, I looked up, where I’d been on Google Maps.
Note.
- Baring Road running North-South down the Eastern side of the map.
- The Esso filling station and the bus station are at the top of the map.
- Grove Park station is at the bottom of the map.
My mother would have said, this is why you need a posse.
Return To East India Station
This sixth gallery of pictures shows the run up the dual-carriageway approach and the run through the tunnel.
Note.
My First Trip Through The Silvertown Tunnel – 7th April 2025
These pictures show my first trip through the Silvertown Tunnel.
Note.
- The two S4 Bus Stops are not far from the Waitrose At Canary Wharf.
- I picked up the S4 Bus in the North Collonade At Canary Wharf at stop H.
- Coming North I would have been dropped at Stop J, which is close to the plaza of the famous clocks.
- Unfortunately, I was given bad information by station staff and I took a roundabout route to stop H, but a helpful security guard put me right.
- One of the first stops of the bus was East India station, which looks a good accessible interchange with the Docklands Light Railway.
I got out of the bus at Blackheath station, which was a short walk across the road from the bus stop.
I have some thoughts.
Who Chose The Chinese Buses?
On a prestige project like this it is a classic opportunity to show off, the best of British design and technology.
So undoubtedly, it was a mistake that the buses through the tunnel are Chinese.
I doubt the French, German or Spanish would have chosen Chinese buses on such a project.
Are There Enough Stops At Stations Close To The River?
There seem to be quite a few small hotels between the Silvertown Tunnel and Blackheath and I wondered if there were enough stops.
There also doesn’t appear to be a stop by Westcombe Park station.
Thirty mph Seems Fast Enough In The Tunnel
Everything seemed to be going smoothly in the tunnel.
Conclusion
I shall be writing more about the Silvertown Tunnel.
But from a first ride-through, it looks a well-built tunnel.
How Many Cars Can You Get In A Station?
This morning, I took this sequence of pictures in Denmark Hill station.
Note.
- The train had started at Toton
- The train was going to Dollands Moor in Kent.
- The train would then be transhipped through the Channel Tunnel.
- It will be a distance of 207.4 miles in the UK. Will that be classed as delivery mileage only?
I did think about calling this set of pictures – Japanese-designed cars, built in Derby, going between Toton and Europe, via Denmark Hill.
1.2 GW Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm Granted Development Consent
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The UK has granted development consent to Rampion 2, the proposed 1.2 GW extension to the 400 MW Rampion offshore wind farm in Sussex. The Development Consent Order (DCO), issued by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on 4 April, will come into force on 28 April.
Rampion 2 is one of a number of extension wind farms that are listed in this list on Wikipedia.
They include.
- Awel y Môr which is a 500 MW wind farm, that is adjacent to the 576 MW Gwynt y Môr wind farm
- Five Estuaries, which is a 353 MW wind farm, that is adjacent to the 353 MW Galloper wind farm
- North Falls, which is a 504 MW wind farm, that is adjacent to the 504 MW Greater Gabbard wind farm
- Outer Dowsing is a 1500 MW extension to the 194 MW Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farm.
- Rampion 2 is a 1200 MW extension to the 400 MW Rampion wind farm.
- Seagreen 1A is a 500 MW extension to the 1400 MW Seagreen 1 wind farm.
- Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Extensions, which is a 353 MW wind farm, that is adjacent to the 575 MW Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms
In total 3780 MW of wind farms are being increased in size by 4406 MW.
A parcel of seven web sites have been more than doubled in size. Is this more efficient to do them this way, as some resources from the previous wind farms can be shared and better use can be made of resources like ships and cranes?
I feel that some serious project management may have been done.
Development To The West Of The North Entrance Of The Silvertown Tunnel
This Google Map shows the site to the West of the North entrance of the Silvertown Tunnel.
Note.
- The red arrow indicates City Hall.
- There is a large site between the DLR and the river.
- The Docklands Light Railway separates the site from the North entrance of the Silvertown Tunnel.
- The CEMEX Thames Aggregate Wharf seems to occupy part of the site.
This picture shows the North entrance of the Silvertown Tunnel from the cable-car.
It is surely a site with development potential, as Roy Brooks would say.
It will probably be used for more tower blocks along the Thames.
But could it be used for a coach station to handle the increasing number of coaches between London and the Continent?
- A Docklands Light Railway station could be built to serve the site.
- Thames Clippers could also serve the site.
- Coaches could use the Silvertown Tunnel to start their journey out of the capital.
I added these pictures, that were taken of the site from the Docklands Light Railway, a day later.
The site certainly has development potential.
Silvertown Tunnel Works From The Cable Car – 6th April 2025
As the Silvertown Tunnel opens tomorrow, I thought I’d take a last few pictures before the tunnel is filled with traffic.
Google AI describes the distinctive green conical building in many of the pictures like this.
The distinctive green conical building at the Silvertown Tunnel entrance in Newham is a services building housing essential tunnel maintenance and operation equipment, placed on a green landscaped plinth above the tunnel entrance.
Compare these pictures with those in Silvertown Tunnel Works From The Cable Car – 8th January 2025.
This Google Map shows the North entrance to the Silvertown Tunnel.
Note.
- The red arrow indicates City Hall.
- Just to City Hall’s East is the Northern cable-car terminal.
- A dual-carriageway A 1011 Silvertown Way separates City Hall from the North entrance of the Silvertown Tunnel.
- The City Airport branch of the Docklands Light Railway forms a Western border to the North entrance of the Silvertown Tunnel.
- You can always trust politicians to make it easy for their drive to work.
Click on the map to show it to a larger scale.
The 7 Largest Dow Jones Net Drops In American History
Somebody posted these as a comment on The Times.
- 16th March 2020 -2,997.10
- 12th March 2020 -2,352.60
- 9th March 2020 -2,013.76
- 11th June 2020 -1,861.82
- 4th March 2025 -1,679.39
- 11th March 2020 -1,464.94
- 18th March 2020 -1,338.46
All were when Trump was president.
Somebody else said, That he’s good at losing other people’s money!”
Another added. “Trump is also good at losing his own!”
Alzheimer’s Expert Was Treated Like A Heretic Until Now
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
For decades Professor Ruth Itzhaki believed there was a link between Alzheimer’s and the virus that causes shingles, and has just been vindicated
These two paragraphs outline an amazing story.
Ruth Itzhaki does not, she says, refer to it as her time “in the wilderness”. When she reflects on the decades investigating — often almost alone — whether Alzheimer’s could be triggered by viruses, she prefers a different term. “I’d call it, ‘repeated burning as a heretic at the stake’. ” For much of her career she was treated “contemptuously”.
Today, as yet another study finds that the shingles vaccine appears to cut dementia risk, that has changed. At a stage in life when most researchers are retired, Itzhaki, an emeritus professor at Manchester University, finds herself reviewing studies from around the world. She is treated with contempt no more. But, she says, it has not been fun. “I just have to stop myself from being bitter.”
Sad to say, it is not an unusual story.
This was the comment, I appended to the Times web site.
There was a wonderful BBC Panorama about a Glasgow Veterinary professor, who believed the messenger of the body was an oxide of nitrogen, at least twenty years ago.
He was ostrasised for being a heretic.
Eventually, he was proved to be right.
I might have exposed how a simple treatment for stroke is ignored in the UK.
I was found to be coeliac at fifty and Addenbrooke’s hospital said that I should have B12 injections every three months.
In my sixties, I had a serious stroke and if I lived in the States, I would have been given B12 injections to aid my recovery. But that simple treatment is not used here, as it is considered American quackery.
However, several doctors have said, I have made a remarkable recovery. Was that because of the B12 injections, I still have?
More research needs to be done and I’ll travel anywhere to help any doctor, who is doing serious research.
It could just be, that as a London Mongrel, I have more survival genes, than a small field of Japanese Knotweed.
I should add, that as the date of my next B12 injection approaches, I can almost feel, the various parts of my body fighting for what little I have left.
But what do I know? I’m just a slightly crazy engineer/scientist and mathematician, with no medical training, who has been given an unusual body to investigate.
The Anonymous Widower 