Elizabeth Line – Tottenham Court Road Station – 24th May 2022
I took these pictures at the Dean Street entrance to the Elizabeth Line at Tottenham Court Road station.
Note.
- The Dean Street entrance is the one to the West at Tottenham Court Road station.
- It is perhaps a hundred metres to the East of the large Marks and Spencer at The Pantheon.
I took these pictures from Oxford Street on the 9th of May.
There will be flats on the top of the station, with retail in the front.
Buses On Oxford Street
There are some buses that go along Oxford Street.
- 55 – Between Walthamstow Central and Oxford Circus
- 73 – Between Stoke Newington and Oxford Circus
- 98 – Between Willesden Garage and Holborn
- 390 – Between Victoria Station and Archway
Note.
- I regularly use the 73 to come home from Oxford Street, as it goes close to my house.
- Having found how close the 73 bus stop is to the Dean Street entrance to the Elizabeth Line, this might be my easiest route to get to the Western reaches of the Elizabeth Line.
- The 73 and 390 buses go between Oxford Circus and Kings Cross stations via Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street, Warren Street, Euston Square and Euston stations.
- The 98 bus runs the full length of Oxford Street.
Step-free buses on Oxford Street are often the easiest way to get where you want to.
Brighton Buses – 30th March 2022
I had a short ride up from the sea-front back to Brighton station on a bus, as the climb is a bit much for me on some days.
Note.
- The bus I travelled on had two doors like London’s, which makes entry and exit so much more efficient.
- Brighton seems to have contactless ticketing, where you touch-in and touch-out, as you do on the London Underground.
- The two buses in the pictures have the route on the side.
I was very surprised that there were no stops on the sea-front, where you can get a bus to the station, as not all visitors to the city, are in the first flush of youth.
There wasn’t even any instructions about how to find a bus.
UK On Track To Reach 4,000 Zero Emission Bus Pledge With £200 Million Boost
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the Government.
These are the main points of the press release.
- Nearly 1,000 more zero-emission buses to be funded in towns and cities across the country, bringing the total funded in England to 2000 so far under this government.
- A further 600 zero-emission buses have been funded in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Comes as consultation launched on ending sale of all new non-zero emission buses from 2025 to 2032.
- Government continues taking unprecedented action to hit net zero and level up transport across the country.
Areas to get the new buses include.
- Blackpool
- Greater Manchester
- Hertfordshire
- Norfolk
- North Yorkshire
- Nottingham
- Oxfordshire
- Portsmouth
- South Yorkshire
- West Midlands
- West Yorkshire
- York
I would also like to see the government fund trials for the conversion of suitable buses to zero carbon. I certainly believe that London’s New Routemaster buses could be converted to hydrogen.
Aberdeen City Council And BP Sign Joint Venture Agreement To Develop City Hydrogen Hub
The title of this post, is the same as this article on Renewable Energy Magazine.
The title is a good description of the project and these are a few details.
- Production will start in 2024.
- The hub will produce 800 kilograms of green hydrogen per day.
- That will be enough for 25 buses and 25 other vehicles.
- Further investment would provide hydrogen for rail, freight and marine uses.
I don’t think this is a small project, as they are talking about potentially exporting the hydrogen.
These are a few thoughts.
Electricity Supply
In Can The UK Have A Capacity To Create Five GW Of Green Hydrogen?, I said the following.
Ryze Hydrogen are building the Herne Bay electrolyser.
- It will consume 23 MW of solar and wind power.
- It will produce ten tonnes of hydrogen per day.
The electrolyser will consume 552 MWh to produce ten tonnes of hydrogen, so creating one tonne of hydrogen needs 55.2 MWh of electricity.
Scaling those figures mean that to create 800 kilograms of hydrogen will need 44.16 MWh of electricity or if it is a 24/7 operation, the electrolyser will need a feed of 1.84 MW.
Currently, there are two offshore wind farms close to Aberdeen.
- European Offshore Wind Development Centre – 93 MW
- Hywind Scotland – 30 MW
That would provide enough electricity to provide a starter of under 2 MW.
I can see a lot more wind farms off the coasts around Aberdeen, as on all my visits to the city it has been windy and there is a lot of empty sea.
I don’t think providing enough renewable electricity for a very large electrolyser in Aberdeen will be a problem.
Hydrogen Exports
I would expect, that the hydrogen would go to Germany, as the Germans are backing BP in their wind farm ambitions and they are building a large hydrogen import terminal at Wilhelmshaven on the North-West German coast. The distance for a ship is under 500 miles.
BP’s Future Hydrogen Plans
This is a quote from Louise Kingham CBE, BP’s UK head of country and senior vice president for Europe.
Partnering with cities and corporates as they shape their paths to net zero is a core part of BP’s strategy. BP expects to partner with 10-15 cities globally by 2030 to provide innovative, integrated, and decarbonized energy solutions at scale to help them achieve their goals of net zero emissions. BP also aims to capture 10% of the low carbon hydrogen market in key geographies by 2030.
BP is investing across all the energy transition growth areas in the UK. In fact, we have committed to spend £2 in the UK for every £1 generated here out to the middle of this decade.
“Today’s announcement is evidence of that commitment in action and is supported by other ambitious plans to produce clean energy from UK offshore wind, develop carbon capture in Teesside and grow the country’s electric vehicle charging network.
BP would be in part using their expertise in providing oil and gas to the production and delivery of hydrogen to end users, be they large or small.
I can also see BP repurposing a few gas and oil production platforms into offshore hydrogen production hubs, as this could be a better financial route, rather than demolishing the platforms.
Conclusion
Birmingham is building a hydrogen hub at Tyseley Energy Park to fuel hydrogen buses and other vehicles.
Where is the plan for London’s hydrogen hubs?
106 Solaris Zero Emission Buses Headed To ÖBB Postbus’ Fleet In Austria
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on Sustainable Bus.
This is the body of the story.
Up to 106 zero emission buses are headed to Austria, where ÖBB Postbus is going to deploy them starting from 2022 – 2025. Solaris has signed another framework agreement with the Austrian bus company Österreichische Postbus AG. It stipulates a possibility to deliver up to 106 battery-electric and hydrogen buses that would be deployed throughout Austria. The models offered include Urbino 9 LE electric and Urbino 12 hydrogen buses.
Solaris Bus and Coach is a Polish company, that is a subsidiary of CAF.
The Joy Of Freedom
I set out my views on masks in the title of Should We Be Given More Discretion Over Mask Wearing?.
Today was the first Friday under the relaxed rules on masks, when I have done my pre-weekend Friday morning routine.
- Take a bus and a Northern Line train or a direct bus to Moorgate.
- Have a Full English breakfast in Leon.
- Visit Marks & Spencer on Moorgate and get my weekend food.
These are my comments on today’s trip.
- I rode the bus to Angel without a mask and had a pleasant chat with a lady of my age about Putin.
- We felt that the Brutus solution for Vlad the Poisoner would be best!
- On the train between Angel and Moorgate stations, I was the only passenger not wearing a mask.
- It was easy to walk up the steps at Moorgate station.
- Leon was busy, with about half of customers and all staff wearing masks.
- Marks was about half full and it was nice to be able to shop wearing my glasses, which don’t fit my mask.
- I should say, that I need my glasses to read sell-by dates.
- There were no naked faces on the bus home.
It was such a joy for me, to be able to travel and do my shopping without a mask.
But then at no time, was I in a crowd, which might have made me reach for my mask.
Conclusion
I doubt at no time, I’ll go back to full-time mask wearing.
Incidentally, I used to have a racehorse called Joy of Freedom.
The Big Beast In Your Electric Bus
This article on electrive.com is entitled BAE Systems Takes Orders For 340 Hybrid Drive Systems.
This is the first paragraph.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has selected BAE Systems to supply up to 340 hybrid electric drive systems for its new fleet of low emission transit buses. BAE Systems will provide 220 electric drive systems to New Flyer of America, with an option for 120 additional systems, over the next three years.
The article also reveals that the company is working with AlexanderDennis.
The system appears to be hybrid, with a lot of intelligent choosing of when to use a polluting engine.
Does London Need High Capacity Bus Routes To Extend Crossrail?
If Crossrail has a major problem, it is that some areas of the capital will find it difficult to access the new line.
Up to the age of sixteen, I used to live half-way between Oakwood and Cockfosters stations on the Piccadilly Line.
There are a large number of people who live along the Northern reaches of the Piccadilly Line, who might want to use Crossrail to perhaps go to Heathrow or places in East London.
But the journey will need a double change as there is no interchange between the Piccadilly Line and Crossrail.
I suspect that many will link to Crossrail by taking the Piccadilly Line to Wood Green, Turnpike Lane or Manor House and then get a 141 bus to Moorgate. It is a route, I use if I want to go to Southgate or Cockfosters from my house, which has a 141 stop opposite.
But then as a child to go to Harringay, where my father had an uncle, my mother would use a 641 trolley bus from Wood Green or Turnpike Lane.
Do people follow the public transport habits of their parents?
I know I do!
My father never went on a deep tube. As he several times mentioned the terrible Bank station bombing in the Blitz, which killed 56 people, I always thought that was his problem. But now living as I do along the Northern and Northern City Lines, I suspect it was more to do with air quality, as we were or are both bad breathers.
I suspect that when Crossrail opens, the 141 bus will be heavily used by travellers going between the Northern reaches of the Piccadilly Line and Crossrail at Moorgate.
The 141 bus goes between London Bridge station and Palmers Green and it has a route length of about nine miles.
Currently, buses run every fifteen minutes or so, but I doubt it will be enough in future as Transport for London are rerouting the closely-related 21 bus.
I suspect any route seen as an extension of Crossrail needs to have the following characteristics.
- High frequency of perhaps a bus every ten minutes.
- Interior finish on a par with the Class 345 trains.
- Wi-fi and phone charging.
I would also hope the buses were carbon-free. Given that some of these routes could be quite long, I would suspect hydrogen with its longer range could be better.
Other Routes
According to me, the 141 bus route needs improvement!
But how many other routes could need similar improvement?
Riding The Latest Alexander Dennis Electric Double-Decker Bus
This morning, I had a first ride in one of the latest Alexander Dennis electric double-decker buses.
Note.
- The bus is definitely an improvement on previous electric models, that I have ridden on routes 43 and 212.
- Bus route 63 goes between Kings Cross and Honor Oak.
- If you want to go South from King’s Cross, the bus is caught at Stop D in front of the station.
- I’ve never seen a bus before with a wooden floor. Was it real or fake?
- The stop buttons were in the back of the seat in front. I’ve never seen this before.
- The are charging points for mobile phones.
Overall the standard of finish seemed high, but then it was in the new Wrightbus hydrogen buses I’ve ridden lately.
Aberdeen’s Hydrogen Buses Taken Off The Road Due To Technical Issue
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Aberdeen’s fleet of hydrogen buses has been taken off the road due to a “technical issue”.
The technical issue appears not to be hydrogen-related, but with a mounting bracket.
Strange coming after CAF had bracket trouble with their trams and Hitachi had a similar problem with their trains.
Wrightbus, CAF and Hitachi haven’t been using the save dodgy Chinese supplier called El Cheapo Brackets have they?
The Anonymous Widower 