Extending The Elizabeth Line – Adding Ladbroke Grove Station To The Elizabeth Line
There is a Wikipedia entry for Ladbroke Grove railway station, which starts with this paragraph.
Ladbroke Grove is a proposed railway station in London, England on the Crossrail Route between Old Oak Common and Paddington. This is not part of the internal route and would be added at a later stage. Locals want the station to be called Portobello Central to serve the nearby Portobello Market. It was originally called Kensal.
The Wikipedia entry also gives these details of two proposals for a Ladbroke Grove station on the Elizabeth Line.
Kensington and Chelsea Council has been pushing for a station at North Kensington / Kensal, just to the east of the Old Oak Common railway station site, off Ladbroke Grove and Canal Way, as a turn-back facility will have to be built in the area anyway. Siting it at Kensal Rise, rather than next to Paddington itself, would provide a new station to regenerate the area. Amongst the general public there is a huge amount of support for the project and then-mayor of London Boris Johnson stated that a station would be added if it did not increase Crossrail’s overall cost; in response, Kensington and Chelsea Council agreed to underwrite the projected £33 million cost of a Crossrail station, which was received very well by the residents of the borough. Transport for London (TfL) is conducting a feasibility study on the station and the project is backed by National Grid, retailers Sainsbury’s and Cath Kidston, and Jenny Jones (Green Party member of the London Assembly).
The plans were resurrected by Boris Johnson in 2016.
In March 2017, it was announced that TfL was considering a Crossrail station in Kensal Green, on the site of a former gasworks, and it would be between Old Oak Common and Paddington.
This map from cartometro.com shows the railway lines to the West of Paddington.
Note.
- The Elizabeth Line is shown in purple.
- Ladbroke Grove rube station is not close to the Elizabeth Line.
- Kensal Green tube station is not close to the Elizabeth Line.
But we do know this about the future Old Oak Common station.
- It will be served by Elizabeth Line services between Central London and Heathrow Airport.
- It will be served by High Speed Two services between London Euston and the North of England and Scotland.
- It will be served by Great Western services between London Paddington and the West of England and Wales.
- It will be served by North London Line services betweeen Stratford and Richmond.
- It will be served by Heathrow Express services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport.
From the map, it looks unlikely that the Hammersmith & City Line will be able to serve Old Oak Common station.
However, it might be possible that Euston and Old Oak Common could be served by Watford DC Line services, which called at either Old Oak Common or Kensal Greeen.
A link between Euston and Old Oak Common, would give all stations on the line access to High Speed Two and Heathrow with a change at Old Oak Common.
Some Euston suburban services could stop at Old Oak Common for access to High Speed Two and Heathrow.
The Watford DC Line which is very self-contained could become a comprehensive feeder line for High Speed Two and Heathrow.
Kensal Green Station
I took a trip to Kensal Green station and took these pictures.
Note.
The station handles two heights of trains on single-height platforms.
Some of the stairs are not the best.
There is no step-free access.
There are six lines through the station and there may be scope for more platforms.
If ever there was a station that needed a makeover it is Kensal Green.
Conclusion
I doubt that the Hammersmith & City Line could be connected to the Elizabeth Line to the West of Paddingt9n.
But I do feel that the Watford DC Line could be developed into a comprehensive link between Euston and Old Oak Common satiations.
UK To Fund Hydro Energy Storage Projects
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
New infrastructure aims to help balance the electricity system after the rapid growth in renewables
These three paragraphs infrastructure the article.
Projects that use water to store and release energy are to be given government support, in an attempt to help manage the volatility in supply and demand as more green power enters the grid.
From next year, pumped hydro storage projects will be able to apply for government subsidies, which will be provided via a “cap and floor” mechanism. These would guarantee revenues if prices drop below a certain floor but prevent providers from charging above a ceiling when power prices are high.
Like other government support schemes, any cost will be levied on energy bills, while consumers will be paid back any money generated above the cap. It is yet to be decided precisely how the cap and floor will be set.
I feel it is reasonable to expect the system to be a success, as a similar system is used for interconnectors and this article on Offshore Energy is entitled Over $86 million To Be Split Between UK and Belgium Consumers As 1 GW Subsea Interconnector’s ‘Remarkable’ Revenues Exceed Ofgem’s Cap.
It looks like Ofgem played this right for interconnectors and the Nemo Link is making a substantial payment.
It will be interesting to see what happens when “cap and floor” contracts are assigned.
This move by Ofgem will probably have effects in two areas.
- SSE, Statera and Statkraft, who are typically developing systems at the high end with a size of about 1.5 GW/25 GWh could find money is easier to come by.
- At the lower end, companies like Highview Power, who have systems of 50 MW/300 MWh and 200 MW/2.5 GWh under development, will also benefit.
My Control Engineering thoughts are leaning towards the 200 MW/2.5 GWh systems being the popular ones. Especially as they would appear to be close to the right size to support a 1 GW wind farm for two hours.
A Highview Power Two-Hour Liquid Air Battery could fit nearly with a fleet of Two-Hour BESS.
It should be noted that CAF use a little-and-large approach to theit battery-electric trams in the West Midlands.
A large lithium-ion battery is the main storage device.
A supercapacitor handles the high-frequency response and keeps the power steady.
Pairing a Highview Power Two-Hour Liquid Air Battery and a Two-Hour BESS could achieve the same performance and possibly result in some cost savings.
Am I Sleeping Better Because Of Ocado?
A couple of months ago, I switched to shopping for food on-line at Ocado, and I am certainly sleeping better.
The only big change in my eating habits, is that I am now having a Marks & Spencer’s Lamb’s Liver and Bacon ready meal once a week.
Is that Vitamin B12 making a difference?
I do wish, that someone would do a proper Italian fegato, like Carluccio’s used to do. It’s virtually unobtainable in London.
After they stopped selling it, I used to have lunch with a friend in a pub in Oxfordshire. But sadly they died a couple of years ago.
If anybody knows of a decent country pub, by a station, that services excellent liver please let me know.
15+ MW Floating Wind Turbines to Be Tested At Norway’s METCentre
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Three companies have signed contracts with Norway’s Marine Energy Test Centre (METCentre) to test new technology aimed at reducing the costs of floating offshore wind by demonstrating floaters equipped with 15+ MW turbines.
These are the first two paragraphs.
According to Norwegian Offshore Wind, this is the turbine size that will be relevant for future floating offshore wind farms.
The test area is located just a few kilometres away from the Utsira Nord zone, where Norway’s first commercial floating offshore wind farm will be located.
This sounds like the sort of sensible test philosophy, that you’d expect from the Norwegians.
Lower Thames Crossing Decision Delayed To May 2025
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A decision on whether to build a new road crossing under the Thames will not now be made until at least 23 May 2025.
These are the first three paragraphs.
The Lower Thames Crossing would link Gravesend in Kent and Tilbury in Essex.
A statement from Transport Secretary Louise Haigh on Monday said the delay was “to allow more time for the application to be considered further, including any decisions made as part of the spending review”.
This is the third time the decision has been extended, with previous dates of 20 June and 4 October having also been missed.
This article on RouteOne, which is entitled Further Lower Thames Crossing Delay Draws Dismay From RHA, indicates the views of the road haulage industry.
On the other hand opponents say that the building of the link will damage the Green Belt.
But then the Government’s proposed housing will do that!
I laid out various options in What Are We Going To Do For The Lower Thames Crossing?, but it just seems an intractable problem.
The Wikipedia entry for the Lower Thames Crossing is a long list of failed and abandoned proposals.
Wrightbus Signs Deal For Largest Ever Order
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Ballymena bus manufacturer Wrightbus has signed a deal to supply more than 1,000 buses to operator Go-Ahead over the next three years.
These are the first three paragraphs.
The company said it is the largest deal in its 78-year history and will be worth up to half a billion pounds.
Go-Ahead is an international transport group and one of the UK’s largest public service providers.
Wrightbus has had a strong 2024 with 786 buses registered so far this year and it now employs more than 2,000 people.
It finally looks like Wrightbus is securely on the road again.
Looks Like It Was Modelled On A Steel Urinal Stolen From The Gents In A Flat-Roofed Pub
This pithy comment was put in the comments of The Times for an article on the Tesla Cybertruck.
I once saw a Hummer on the road in London, but Tesla’s monstrosity would be a lot worse.design.
The Cybertruck is certainly a design crime!
My Worst Part Of A Visit To The Dentist
This afternoon, I went to the dentist.
My dentist is only a couple of stops away on the 141 bus route at Newington Green and getting up the hill is easy, once the bus arrives.
It used to be a route, where two buses, the 21 and the 141 doubled up, but now there is only one bus; the 141, so the journey takes longer.
Coming down was particularly bad, as I had to wait perhaps twelve minutes for a bus to roll down the hill.
To make matters worse, it was school throwing out time and there wasn’t any space left on the bus.
Have bus services deteriorated as bad as this all over London?
I suspect, I shall be using a taxi for my next dental appointment! Or cancelling, if it’s not a fine day, so that I can walk down the hill.
Donald Trump To Open Second Aberdeenshire Golf Course In 2025
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These opening two paragraphs introduce the course.
The 18-hole links MacLeod Course – named after the former US president’s Lewis-born mother, Mary – will welcome players at the Trump International resort in Menie from the Summer of 2025.
The resort claimed the course would feature the “largest sand dunes in Scotland” and form “the greatest 36 holes in golf” alongside the original course, completed in 2012.
It sounds to me that the environmental aspects could be rather detrimental. But then Trump has form for a poor record in this area, as I wrote in Trump Forgot The Ace Of Clubs!
Equinor Acquires Minority Stake In Ørsted, Becomes Second-Largest Shareholder
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Norway-headquartered Equinor has acquired a 9.8 per cent minority stake in Denmark’s Ørsted, making it the second-largest shareholder behind the Danish state, which holds a controlling stake in the company.
These are the first two paragraphs.
According to Equinor, the company is supportive of Ørsted’s strategy and management and is not seeking board representation.
“Equinor has a long-term perspective and will be a supportive owner in Ørsted. This is a counter-cyclical investment in a leading developer, and a premium portfolio of operating offshore wind assets”, said Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor.
Could it also be two Scandinavian companies getting together to put up a stronger front to outside interests?
Are they frightened of the actions that might be taken by Great British Energy and by the Germans with their massive thirst for hydrogen?
The Anonymous Widower 