Waterloo Upgrade August 2017 – 28th August 2017
I took a quick trip to Waterloo station and took these pictures from a train departing from Platform 19.
There certainly seems to be less piles of track and other construction materials.
The Ultimate Gluten-Free Product
This morning, I bought a new gluten-free product from Marks and Spencer.
It may only be a humble seeded brown roll, but I think they have pitched it right for the market.
I ate one for lunch with one of their smoked salmon parcels.
I have tasted other gluten-free rolls that were slightly better, but none came anywhere near the 50 pence, I paid at The Angel.
I suspect, I’ll regularly use one for my lunch with an appropriate filling.
I called it the ultimate gluten-free product, as it is precisely targeted at the market.
- I would expect, that the taste is acceptable to most people; coeliacs or not!
- It is in a sealed packet with a Use-By Date of the 1st of September, which is four days from today.
- You don’t have the waste of a loaf, which gets thrown away half eaten after a few days.
- It would be ideal to buy, if you’re going to a party, in case the host doesn’t have a clue about gluten-free bread.
- It would also be ideal, if you’re hosting the party and know that perhaps two out of twenty are gluten-free.
- You could even pack a couple in hand-baggage, if you’re going abroad for a weekend and aren’t sure of the hotel.
- I’ve stayed in a couple of excellent B&Bs, who would have found this product very useful.
At just fifty pence a time, you could even feed them to the birds or make breadcrumbs , if some are left over.
I’m certain at that price, M&S won’t make much direct money out of the product.
But if it takes off, how many will the product attract to the gluten-free section, who will then buy other products?
Slow Trains Outside The South-East
This article on the Times and Star website is entitled Mind the snores! Snail’s-pace trains four times slower outside South East.
This is said.
Trains connecting Britain’s major towns and cities are up to four times slower outside the South East, according to new research.
Press Association analysis of the quickest possible trains on 19 routes found that services from London travel at average speeds of 65-93mph, compared with just 20-60mph elsewhere.
The slowest route featured in the study was Liverpool Central to Chester, which takes 41 minutes to make the 14-mile journey (as the crow flies) at 20mph.
The example that they give between Liverpool Central and Chester stations, is one that I can use to illustrate the problem.
- Currently, services on this route are run by nearly forty-year-old Class 508 trains, that are only capable of 75 mph.
- The speed limit on the Wirral Line is just 70 mph, so the well-maintained elderly trains can’t even stretch their legs properly.
- The route has thirteen stops.
The timing is dreadful, if you consider that Merseyrail has exclusive use of the line.
The new Stadler Flirt trains are promised to save nine minutes between Southport and Hunts Cross stations, because they are better designed for passenger entrance and exit with faster speed and better braking and acceleration.
Applying this saving to the Liverpool Central to Chester route would reduce the time from 41 minutes to 35 minutes.
If these Swiss trains can get a roll on, I do wonder if they could do the round trip in under an hour, which would mean Merseyrail could run a four trains per hour (tph) service with just four trains. The slower Class 508 trains need six trains.
This logic can apply to a lot of rail lines in the UK.
Conclusion
The reasons for slow trains can be summed up as follows.
- Trains are timetabled for the slowest trains that work the route.
- A lot of routes, including quite a few in the South-East are timetabled for elderly scrapyard specials.
- Line speeds can often be improved by five or ten mph.
- Modern trains like Merseyrail’s new Flirts are designed to minimise the time it takes to stop at a station. This is referred to as the dwell time.
- Platforms and trains don’t always match up well.
- Level crossings can be a nuisance on some lines like the York to Scarborough Line, which has 89 of the little darlings in forty-two miles.
Trains can be speeded up by doing the following.
- Improving platforms, track and signalling to the highest possible standard and safe line speed.
- Choose trains that can make use of the good infrastructure.
- Consign scrapyard specials like Pacers and Class 508 trains to a well-deserved but long-overdue retirement.
- Make sure that train entry and exit for wheelchair users, persons of reduced mobility, buggy pushers and wheeled-case draggers is level.
- Have well-trained staff and excellent information on the platform.
This is the London Overground’s philosophy and it looks like Merseyrail are applying it.
Courtesy On London Buses
Today, a 30 bus was at the stop that takes me on my way in the morning. Especially, if like today, I was tryibg to get to the Angel I say trying, as Thanes Water are having a big construction party as they try to sort out the water mains on Upper Street. Normally, I have three routes that I can take. But due to the works, only the 30 is a sensible option, as the others go via Silicon Roundabout.
Courtesy 1 – The driver was about to leave as I approached, but he saw me coming and waited.
Courtesy 2 – The bus was pretty full with the only one empty seat for persons of restricted mobility. So I had one of those non-arguments with a pregnant lady about who would not have the seat. On seeing a vacant seat towards the back of the bus, I walked past and she eventually sat down. You see these after you situations a lot. The funniest, I saw was when an elderly Orthodox Jew and a black lady about twenty, delayed a bus whilst they decided who got on first. So charming!
Courtesy 3 – The seat I went for had a lady’s bag on it, but she quickly removed it, when she saw I was coming for the seat.
Courtesy 4 – At Highbury Grove a guy pushing a lady in a wheelchair needed to get on! As the ramp descended a guy who’d parked his baby in a buggy in the space made a quick exit, to allow the wheelchair to be parked.
Courtesy 5 – At the next stop, a lady with a buggy and two other children, needed to get on, but after other passengers told her the wheelchair space was occupied, she moved on.
London buses are generally friendly places and people often talk to each other.
I’ve actually never seen an argument over the wheelchair space in London.
I do wonder if this courtesy is helped, by London’s bus design, which always has a separate entrance and exit. The exit doubles as the wheelchair entrance.
Waterloo Upgrade August 2017 – A Progress Report From London Reconnections
This article on London Reconnections is entitled Back to the Future: (Re)lengthening and Shortening at Waterloo.
It describes in detail why and how the platforms at Waterloo station are being lengthened and shortened and information on other important topics can be gleaned.
Why Did The Train Hit The Barrier Train?
It doesn’t actually say why, but it does discuss the need for the barrier train to protect the workforce. As the train hit the barrier train, it seemed to have worked.
If you want to know more, I suggest you search for barrier in the comments added to the article by others. If nothing, you’ll realise there’s a lot to go wrong.
Why Weren’t The International Platforms Used Earlier?
The platforms were designed to handle six trains per hour (tph) with a long dwell time in the platform and after modification they will handle 18 tph for the Windsor Lines. So a lot of serious work was needed!
There was also complicated ownership of the five platforms.
Looking at it from a planning point of view, the provision of a terminal for Eurostar in London could have been handled better.
Why Are The International Platforms Only Being Used For A Few Weeks And Then Reopening in 2018?
The platforms are needed for this August’s blockade, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Effectively, the remodelling of the International Platforms have been almost split into two independent projects.
I like the way they’ve done this.
How Will Suburban Capacity Change?
In addition to the five platforms in the old International station, platforms 1-6 will also be remodelled for suburban use.
Currently, the slow lines through Wimbledon can handle 18-19 tph into four platforms.
After completion . these same slow lines will handle 22 tph, but they will have the use of two extra platforms.
In An Analysis Of Waterloo Suburban Services Proposed To Move To Crossrail 2, I showed that if you were running 4 tph on the four branches to Chessington South, Epsom, Hampton Court and Shepperton, which will transfer to Crossrail 2, then you need.
- New 100 mph trains.
- A capacity of 20 tph between Waterloo and Wimbledon.
Both these conditions will be met.
How Will The Passenger Experience At Waterloo Change?
Read the article and there are some snippets in there, that give me hope, that passengers will like it. See what you think!
Conclusion
It is a highly intricate and difficult project, that will be performed in a short time.
An Alternative View On HS3
This article on CityMetric is entitled Is Crossrail For The North The Biggest Priority For The North?
The article presents a lot of information and finishes with this paragraph.
None of which is to say that HS3 (I’m sticking with that name) is a bad idea: the existing trans-pennine links are shocking, and it’s pretty gross that transport secretary Chris Grayling scrapped plans to invest in rail in the north in literally the same week he called for another £30bn railway line for London. But if money is scarce, there may be better things we can do with it.
In Lord Adonis On Crossrail Of The North, I came to this conclusion.
Improvements are much-needed in the North, which could include.
- A short/medium term plan to deliver the best possible service with the new trains ordered by Northern and TransPennine Express.
- A long term plan to deliver a genuine 140 mph service across the North of England.
- A plan to improve the Calder Valley and Hope Valley Lines across the Pennines.
- A plan to improve some of the poor connections across the North.
- A strategy to make the best use of the two connections with HS2 at Manchester and Leeds .
A detailed plan is needed that lays down what should be done in the next ten to twenty years.
The plan is also needed as soon as possible.
Perhaps, a high speed route or routes across the North of England could be paired with improved local rail, tram and bus services in all urban areas.
Internet Age Just Starting, Says Tech Guru
The title of this post is the same as the title of a short article in the Business section of the Sunday Times.
It is a summary of an interview with Marc Andreesen onside the Business section.
Some points raised.
- The next wave of technological disruption will affect law, medicine and construction.
- The basic cost of starting an Internet company has fallen dramatically
- There’s something really special happening at the intersection of medincine and computer science.
I certainly agree with the title of the article.
The New Ipswich Station Forecourt
These pictures show the new forecourt at Ipswich station.
It is certainly a lot better than it was, especially, if you want to get to Portman Road, as you have a clear route to the pedestrian crossing.
I should think the taxi drivers aren’t pleased, as they are no longer directly in front of the station.
Greater Anglia’s New Manningtree Depot – 26th August 2017
Work has started on clearing the site for Greater Anglia’s new Manningtree Depot.
There’s still a fair part of the old industrial buildings left, so it is unclear how much of the whole site the deport will occupy.
This visualisation is from Greater Anglia’s web site.
And this Google Map shows the site.
Note the access road and the conveniently placed Norwich to London express train on both images.
There are other visual clues that suggest to me that although taking a substantial part of the derelict, there will be space around the depot for substantial development.
The train is about 220 metres long, with the building in the new depot being described as 300 metres long.
Electrification ‘Very Unlikely’ To Come Back Into EWR Scheme
The title of this post is the same as this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is a quote from Andy Free, who is head of engineering of the alliance that is building the East West Rail Link.
The steer from the DfT is that wherever the Alliance is building a new structure it needs to be clear and suitable for electrification, “and we must do nothing that hinders future electrification, but it is not on the short- or medium-term horizon.
Given the developments in bi-mode trains in recent years, I suspect this is a sensible policy.
Electrification is probably cheaper to fit to a train in a nice warm factory in Derby or Newton Aycliffe, than at a remote location in the pouring rain and the howling wind.
In the case of the East West Rail Link, where sections of the route are well defined, as they are existing rail alignments, building the route would involve.
- Raising any over-bridges to be clear of future electrification.
- Building any bridges or flyovers, where the new railway crosses over roads and other railways.
- Preparing the track bed.
- Laying the track.
- Building or rebuilding the stations.
Note I have ignored signalling, as ideally that will be in-cab by radio.
Building the line without electrification must give advantages.
- Network Rail seem to find it impossible to do electrification projects to time and budget.
- Stations without electrification are safer places and easier to design and build.
- There is less visual intrusion for Nimbys to complain about.
- The cost of connecting the electrification to the National Grid is zero.
- There is less copper cable to steal.
In Is A Bi-Mode Aventra A Silly Idea?, I outlined what I believe the ultimate bi-mode train will be like.
A bi-mode Aventra would be a sophisticated train with the following characteristics.
- Electric drive
- Regenerative braking.
- 25 KVAC overhead and 750 VDC third rail capability.
- Automatic pantograph deployment.
- Onboard energy storage.
- Automatic power source selection.
- Diesel or hydrogen power-pack
The first four are probably already in service in the Class 345 train.
A train going from between Reading and Bedford on the East West Rail Link, would charge its energy storage at the terminals and then use this power along the route. If the train detected that the stored energy was running low, the diesel or hydrogen power-pack would cut in and charge the energy storage.
Conclusion
It is my view, that if you are building a new rail line that is not high speed or high frequency, that there is no need to electrify the line, as intelligent bi-mode trains will be able to work the route economically and without the noise, pollution and vibration problems of their diesel engines working all the time.
The Anonymous Widower 