Paris – Berlin Direct High Speed Train Service Launched
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Railway Gazette.
This was the sub-heading.
A daily high speed train service linking Paris Est and Berlin Hbf was launched on December 16.
These four paragraphs outline a few details of the service.
It is operated through the Alleo partnership of SNCF Voyageurs and DB, with both French and German onboard staff and using DB Class 407 Velaro D trainsets built by Siemens Mobility.
The journey time is just over 8 h, using high speed lines from Paris to Strasbourg and from Frankfurt to Berlin, and calling at Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt Süd and Berlin-Spandau.
The service is targeted at both leisure and business travellers, with the operators highlighting the environmental benefits of the rail journey producing 2 kg of CO2, compared to 200 kg when flying.
Fares start at €59·99 in standard class and €69·99 in first.
Those prices seem good value.
I have just looked up going on the direct trains from Paris to Berlin on 19th Feb and coming back on the 21st.
These were the two trains.
- Paris Est – Berlin HBf 19th Feb – 09:55-18:03 – 8:08 – £52:00
- Berlin HBf – Paris Est 21st Feb – 11:54 – 20:00 – 8:06 – £86:50
Note.
- Why is it cheaper to go to the East?
- The Berlin HBf – Paris Est should allow you to catch a late Eurostar to London.
- easyJet could get you fast and affordably between Gatwick and Berlin Brandenburg Airport.
- Lumo can get you between London and Edinburgh for under £25:00.
New train services are opening up interesting trips.
Consider.
- I’ve not been to Berlin by train except from the East.
- I’ve not been to the new Brandenburg Airport.
- I’ve not done an eight-hour East-West daytime train trip across Europe.
- I want to look at Karlruhe and Chemnitz, and their new tram-trains.
I might organise my trip like this.
- Eurostar from London to Brussels
- Train from Brussels to Karlsruhe
- Overnight in Karlsruhe
- Train from Karlsruhe to Chemnitz
- Overnight in Chemnitz
- Train from Chemnitz to Berlin
- Overnight in Berlin
- Train from Berlin to Paris
- Walk between Paris Est and Paris Nord
- Eurostar from Paris to London
Note.
- I’ve done London to Karlsruhe in a day via Brussels.
- There will be three nights in hotels.
- It should be possible to do Berlin and London via Paris in a day.
I think I’ll at least plan it.
Ocado: Early In The Morning
Today, I had my shopping delivered at six o’clock in the morning.
I’d booked Ocado for that time and I rose at five, so that the door was ready, when the van arrived dead on the allotted time.
I just unlatched the door and the six grey plastic carrier bags were lined up along the wall inside my hall.
As I always do, I sorted out the beer first, as it is heavy and I keep it downstairs, only bringing what I need upstairs.
But by seven, everything was stored away and I’d had my daily bath, where I give my eyes a good rinsing of the accumulated night’s sleep, of which my eyes collect a lot.
I quite like having the groceries and other shopping delivered early, as it allows me to plan my day properly.
But it has always been thus.
I was usually first out of bed and through most of my teenage years, I marked up newspapers near Oakwood station, before going to school.
I have no recollection of the time I rose at University, but we generally got into the centre of Liverpool by about nine.
So Ocadao at six seems to fit my pattern of life.
Stratford Station – New Gittins Road Entrance
I’ve been meaning to check out this new entrance at Stratford station for some time, as it opened in July 2024.
It is only a simple entrance with a gate-line, ticket machines, information displays and a warm hut for a ticket checker.
Transport for London and other transport operators could do with a few of these entrances, to cut off travelers, who don’t think they should pay.
Silvertown Tunnel Works – 1st January 2025
cklAlthough today was not the best day weather-wise, it has been a long time since I’ve photographed the works on the Northern exit of the Silvertown tunnel.
Note.
- The picture sequence starts as I’m leaving Canning Town station on a Docklands Light Railway train.
- As the weather wasn’t good, I took the train to London City Airport, where I walked across the platform and came home.
- City Hall is the angular building, that is behind the flyover.
- Is that underpass under the flyover to get vehicles to and from City Hall quicker?
The quality of the pictures would have been helped by better weather.
Airport Train Services Hit By £100k Cable Theft
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Trains to Manchester Airport have been affected by the theft of more than £100,000 of power cable from a railway line.
These three paragraphs give more details.
The signalling cables were stolen from the railway line between Preston and Bolton over Christmas.
All lines between these stations will be closed “for most of the day” while repair work is carried out, a Network Rail spokesperson said.
Work is due to be completed by around 18:00 GMT, with limited rail replacement buses running to the airport from Blackpool and central Manchester.
In the last century, I was involved in the analysis of cable theft with British Rail.
I discussed it with a judge once, and she said that she felt it would be within sentencing policy to give an extra few months in prison for compromising safety.
Automated Wheel Shape Monitor To Detect Wear
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazzette.
These three paragraphs describe the monitor.
Central Japan Railway has developed a device that allows the shape of wheels to be measured while trains are passing over it at up to 80 km/h.
Following a series of field tests, the equipment is being introduced on JR Central’s Tokyo – Shin Osaka Shinkansen route in the 2025 financial year, ending in March 2026. Similar devices will then be installed for JR Central’s electric rolling stock running on 1 067 mm gauge conventional routes.
The Automatic Wheel Shape Measurement Device is intended to ensure that wheels are reprofiled at the optimal time based on the wear condition of the wheels. Until now reprofiling has been used at regular intervals or after a train has run a specified distance.
I like this monitor and I hope it is a success.
In the early 1970s, I was working for a section in ICI, that developed innovative instruments for chemical plants.
One of the instruments that the section developed, measured the size of a plastic-film bubble using a television camera and then used the result to control the size and the pressure of the bubble.
We need more clever instruments to measure the size of moving objects.
Lumo Launches A 0.5% Beer For The New Year In Partnership With A Newcastle Brewing Company
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Cumberland Gazette.
This is the sub-heading.
Lumo has launches a locally-sourced, low-alcohol beer in partnership with Newcastle’s Donzoko Brewing Company to be available on services between Edinburgh and London.
These two paragraphs add a bit more detail.
Big Nothing 0.5% will be available in time for the new year, aimed towards those taking part in giving up alcohol for Dry January. The addition is part of Lumo’s commitment to providing locally sourced onboard options as part of the catering offer on its services on the East Coast route.
The release of the drink comes after the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) reported a 45% increase in alcohol-related incidents during the festive period last year.
I shall be trying some of this beer next time I travel on Lumo.
Putin Apologises Over Plane Crash, Without Saying Russia At Fault
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has apologised to the president of neighbouring Azerbaijan over the downing of a commercial airliner in Russian airspace, in which 38 people were killed – but stopped short of saying Russia was responsible.
These three paragraphs give more details on the crash.
In his first comments on the Christmas Day crash, Putin said the “tragic incident” had occurred when Russian air defence systems were repelling Ukrainian drones.
Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky said Russia must “stop spreading disinformation” about the strike.
The plane is believed to have come under fire from Russian air defence as it tried to land in the Russian region of Chechnya – forcing it to divert across the Caspian Sea.
Who do you think you are kidding Mr. Putin?
I’ve Got A New Keyboard
My eyesight is not as good as it was, so I have called in the experts.
The RNIB recommended this keyboard with large yellow keys.
At a price of just over thirty pounds it seems to make a lot of difference to my typing.
It was bought from the RNIB web site.
To install it, I just shut down the computer, swapped the keyboards and restarted the computer.
These are some thoughts on the use of these keyboards.
Typing Accuracy
I’ve been using the keyboard for about three hours now and I’ve only made one mistake.
Last week, I was typing garbage all the time.
Should Every Office Have A Keyboard Like This?
I have four minor eyesight and keyboard problems, so I am probably a special case.
- My first eye-test was done by a retired eye doctor of many years experience, who said, I’d got the driest eyes he’d ever seen.
- Because of the dryness, I have a bath every day and put my head under the hot water for perhaps five minutes every morning, when I get up.
- The school bully broke my left humerus, so I usually type with just my right hand and look down on the keyboard.
- My mother went blind from macular degeneration, so I’m worried about the same happening to me.
The keyboard certainly seems to improve my typing.
From what I’ve learned in the last few hours, at least the knowledge of these keyboards and where to get them should be in every office.
Customer Data Entry
I have solar panels on my roof and I have to enter how much electricity, I’ve generated every few months.
Although, I have problems reading the meter, I have no problems entering the values into the Internet.
But I can envisage some data entry, where one of these keyboards would help, when the customer in reporting their readings or energy usage.
Perhaps someone should devise a large screen smart meter for solar panels? I certainly need one!
Medical And Other Research
I am involved in medical research as a lab-rat.
In two cases, I have been asked to use a computer.
- At Moorfields Eye Hospital they were testing a new instrument that had been designed by one of the London Universities, to test a particular ocular function, that used a keyboard worked by the patient.
- At the University of East London, I used a computer to test my balance as part of stroke research.
Using a yellow keyboard might remove bias in the research, against bad typists.
High Pressure Typing Jobs
How many people have to retire from high pressure jobs with a lot of typing, because there eyes aren’t up to it?
Could the thirty pounds for one of these keyboards allow people to work productively longer?
The keyboard my help someone to return to work earlier after an eye operation.
Coeliacs like me are prone to cataracts and I’m pretty certain, that the keyboard would have helped my recovery.
Public Keyboards
I haven’t come across more that one or two public keyboards in say a GP’s surgery or an optician’s, where the patient has been asked to use a computer for a test.
But I do believe this type of testing will happen more often.
Using a yellow keyboard might remove bias in the test , against bad typists.
Digital Disparities Among Healthcare Workers
This paper in the BMJ is entitled Digital Disparities Among Healthcare Workers In Typing Speed Between Generations, Genders, And Medical Specialties:Cross Sectional Study.
Surely, the title suggests a problem. But does that problem exist in similar or different patterns across other professions?
More Research needs to be done.
Conclusion
With a small amount of innovation, the blind and those with failing eyesight should be able to use computers and smart devices as easily as sighted people.
My Mother And Her Brother Shared a Birthday
My mother was born on the 22nd December 1911 and her eldest brother; Leslie had been born on the same day about eight years earlier.
These two pictures were drawn by Leslie of my mother as a child and his wife Gladys in later life.
Cousins Reunited
Gladys was a first cousin to my mother and her brother.
My mother and her brother were close and always phoned each other on their birthday and had a long chat.
Last Sunday, which would have been their birthday., I was thinking about my mother and her brother and wondered, if any other siblings shared a birthday. Other than twins of course.
It’s explained in the Wikipedia entry for the Birthday Problem, where this is the first paragraph.
In probability theory, the birthday problem asks for the probability that, in a set of n randomly chosen people, at least two will share the same birthday. The birthday paradox refers to the counterintuitive fact that only 23 people are needed for that probability to exceed 50%.
It would appear that to be certain in siblings to have a fifty percent chance of having two birthdays the same, you would need twenty-three siblings. My mother and her bother were only one of nine, so they got good odds.
The Anonymous Widower 