Do We Need Another Thames Crossing?
There have been plans released today about building another crossing of the Thames close to or downstream of the current Dartford Crossing. It’s all here on the BBC.
It will be of no use to me, as I think, I’ve only been over the current crossing, once since I moved here and that was because I was getting a lift home from Ipswich by a friend who lives in Kent.
Even my friend going home to the Netherlands on Friday, crossed under the Thames in the Blackwall Tunnel.
It could be one of those questions, where now, we might actually need the new crossing, but in say a couple of years, we might not.
London Gateway will be operational by then and will this cut down the number of truck movements around the M25?
Hopefully, there will be more trains from St. Pancras into Europe to new destinations like Amsterdam, Cologne and Geneva.
Will too, passengers for Gatwick be less likely to use a car to get there, when Thameslink is fully operational?
And who’s going to predict the effect of Crossrail?
It is a very complex problem and perhaps spending £5billion on a new bridge, might have better effect, if it was spent elsewhere?
The New Pedestrian Bridge At East Croydon Station
Going south from Clapham Junction station today to Redhill, staff at Clapham said it would be quicker to go via East Croydon station.
It would appear that Network Rail is creating another of their excellent pedestrian overbridges.
This one isn’t as spectacular as Reading or Leeds, but it does seem, that Network Rail have got a concept that can be applied easily in different ways at various stations.
I should hope they’re working on a standard system, that can be used on the many stations, that need better access.
The Opening And Closing Of Tower Bridge
Surprisingly, I’d never seen the opening and closing of Tower Bridge from up close. But as today, I hadn’t anything planned and the BBC London News said it would open twice at 10:30 and 17:00, I decided to go and look.
The boat that requested these openings was the SB Kitty.
Along To Tower Bridge
I then walked on to Tower Bridge.
The prohotographic exhibition was in front of City Halland was for an organisation called 2020Vision.
I timed my arrival for just before 10:30, as the BBC had announced the bridge would be opening at that time. There is a list of opening times here.
From Bratislava To Vienna
I left Bratislava on Wednesday morning. Not by train, but by taking a fast boat on the Danube.
The fare was just twenty euros and it was a very pleasant trip, that took you from one city centre to the other in about seventy-five minutes. As there are three ropund trips a day, you could easily stay in one city and visit the other.
I was particularly fascinated by the fishermen’s cottages along the banks, where they use nets to get the fish.
I have tried to nake all of the bridges, but information on the web is a bit lacking.
Exploring Budapest
As I usually do, I used a combination of walking and the various trams and metro lines. There is a card called a Budapest Card, but at the first station I tried near the airport, they just sold me an ordinary 24 hour ticket.
These are some of the pictures I took.
Particularly useful was the number 2 tram, which ran up and down the Danube. If you’ve got a 24-hour ticket, just get on the tram and sit down. You don’t have to touch in, although my ticket was checked on the Metro.
The only problems I had were the extreme cold and the lack of information and maps on the street. But Budapest is one of those cities, where you can generally see one of major features like the Danube, Buda Castle or St. Stephen’s Basilica.
On the other hand, when I did get lost, a friendly Hungarian usually put me right. I was plagued a bit by hop-on/hop-off tourist bus salesmen, but I just ignored them, as I prefer to play my game of chance with the public transport. You see more interesting things, like the little girl sitting on the dog statue. How many places would allow that?
Incidentally, Line 1 of the Budapest Metro is the second oldest in the world and is included in the World Heritage Site for Budapest.
The New Bridge Over The Thames
In my lifetime, I can remember five bridges being built and opened across the Thames; London Bridge in 1973, the bridge at the Dartford Crossing in 1991, and the Golden Jubilee footbridges and the Millennium Bridge in 2002.
So today, when the BBC said that a new Walton Bridge was nearing completion, I just had to go, despite the weather.
I went to Waterloo station and got the train to Walton on Thames station.
Walton On Thames Station
From the station, after a fifteen minute wait, I got a 478 bus to the bridge. The bus actually, went over the old bridge next to the new one.
The New Walton Bridge
The weather was now the worst it had been all day, so I retreated on the first bus that arrived; a 555 for Heathrow Central.
It was possibly a mistake, as it went all round South West London, before arriving at the airport an hour or so later,
So in the end I got off at Hatton Cross station and took the Piccadilly line back to Green Park station, from where I got a 38 bus home.
Although, I achieved my objective of seeing the new bridge, the cold, snowy weather, the slow bus and the very crowded Underground coming home, put rather a damper on the day.
Canary Wharf’s Floating Bridge
Whilst at West India Quay DLR station, I also looked at the floating bridge.
Canary Wharf’s Floating Bridge
It is a unique design and it is something that could be copied elsewhere.
Arriving In Lisbon
After an overnight sail, we arrived in Lisbon early in the morning of the 25th March.
It is an impressive approach under the Tagus Bridge. Note that the blue building by the Cruise Terminal is both a Metro and main line train station called Santa Apolonia, whereas the domed church on the hill is the National Pantheon, where prominent Portuguese are buried.
Cadiz
I’d been to Cadiz before with C and only had a brief time in the city, as I took the tour to Seville from the ship.
Note the bridge to nowhere or La Pepe bridge! Is it one of numerous infrastructure projects in Spain, caught up in the recession?
