The Lack Of Information At Edinburgh Waverley Cost Me £55.10
The ongoing works at Edinburgh Waverley ruined my day. I had intended to come up to the city to take some photographs for this blog and see an old friend, who like me is widowed.
I also wanted to take a train to Leven to see the new stations.
I have a very unusual skin and on some days I can’t use ticket machines, so I need to use a human in a ticket office.
Today was one of those days and to complicate matters, I couldn’t find the ticket office.
I also wasted more time finding platform 17 for Leven.
Going back to London, where I live, my friend advised me to take the escalators from Princes Street to get into the station, which I have used many times before.
But they were shut and I missed the 16:13 Lumo to London by about a minute.
To get home, I had to buy another ticket on LNER for £55.10.
If there had been more information, perhaps in leaflets or from real people around the station, I would have had a much better day.
An Alternative Lift At Caledonian Road and Barnsbury Station
I went to look at something this morning, that might have made a post for this blog.
But as it wasn’t worth photographing, I decided to come home and decided to take a train home from Caledonian Road and Barnsbury station.
The station is of a slightly unusual design, which is described in Is Caledonian Road And Barnsbury An Ideal Four-Track Station?.
There is a wide island platform, where the Overground trains call on either side, which is connected to the station exit, by a half-bridge with lifts.
It was an affordable way to make the station accessible for all.
But today the lift on the island platform had failed.
- As I approached the bridge on entering the station, a London Overground station-man was waving at me from the island platform.
- He shouted at me, that the lift on the island platform had failed.
- So I took the working lift and then walked across to the central lift tower, with its failed lift.
- He met me at the top of the stairs and offered to escort me down.
- But I said, that if I could go down the right hand side, with my good arm on the rail, I’d be OK.
- He said that would be fine and he watched me descend, which I did safely.
- Whilst I was there, two mothers with young children in buggies arrived on a train. So after a quick chat, the mothers carried their children up the stairs and he carried the buggies.
London Overground had certainly setup an alternative approach, that should work well until the lift is repaired.
Getting Home From Caledonian Road and Barnsbury Station
The Balls Pond Road of Round The Horne and Beyond Our Ken fame in the 1950s and 1960s, runs between Highbury and Islington and Dalston Junction stations.
- I live about half way between the two stations and as, what would have been my nearest station; Mildmay Park closed in 1934, I have to get a bus from Dalston Junction to get home.
- Today, though, I took a slightly longer route, but one with minimal walking.
- I took a train four stops to Hackney Central station.
- I used the bridge with lifts to cross the tracks at Hackney Central station.
- I exited Hackney Central station through the second exit on Graham Road, that was opened in 2022.
- After crossing Graham Road on a light-controlled crossing, I was able to catch a 38 bus to within a hundred metres of my house.
There would be no case for reopening Mildmay Park station, but as I get older this route is the easiest.
Mushroom Management On TfL Buses
Transport for London or as all Londoners abuse them as TfL, are getting the masters at applying mushroom management to running the buses. Especially at the weekends.
For those of you not familiar with the last century term, it means keeping everybody in the dark and throwing in lots of manure. As in the 1970s, I used to live next door to a mushroom factory, I know it at least works with fungi, but I’m not sure of it’s effectiveness with fleets of buses about moving passengers.
Most Saturdays, I take a 141 bus to Moorgate and have a full English gluten-free breakfast in the Leon cafe there, as I like to set myself up for the weekend.
The 141 bus may be one of the least reliable buses in the capital, but last Saturday, I was dropped close to Liverpool Street station and yesterday, I was dropped under the Barbican.
No warning, advice or apology about the change of plan.
But then like the Mayor, TfL are never in the wrong.
Today was different!
After taking a 56 bus from near my house to the Angel I had another full English gluten-free breakfast in the Leon cafe there, before taking the Northern Line to Euston station.
I was hoping, I could take a trip somewhere, but there were extensive engineering works, so I just came home from Euston on the Overground via Willesden Junction station.
I ended up at Hackney Central station, where I did a bit of shopping in the excellent M & S Food shop.
Normally, I just get a 38 bus home from the side of the station, but there weren’t any around.
Again, there was no warning, advice or apology. Just loads of people looking for non-existent buses.
It was a full three hours before I completed my round trip.
Transport for London has no respect for its passengers.
Normal businesses would go bust, if they treated their customers like this.
Hull Trains Open Access Model Drives £185m-380m Economic Boost To Region, New Report Reveals
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the first paragraph.
Open Access rail operator Hull Trains has announced the launch of a report by Arup, highlighting the significant economic, social, and environmental benefits its services have brought to the Hull and Humberside region.
The key findings of the report are as follows.
- Economic benefits: Since it launched in 2000, Hull Trains estimates that it has delivered between £185m-380m since launch. It also projects those benefits will reach an estimated £325m-700m by 2032.
- Increased connectivity: Frequency between Hull and London has grown to seven trains per day (tpd) from just a single train.
- Enhanced capacity: 10-car trains and additional Sunday services doubled seating capacity compared to 2000.
- Sustainability: Modal shift from road to rail has reduced carbon emissions and air pollution.
- Employment: £35m-£70m (2023 prices) generated in direct employment since launch.
As the report is by respected consultancy Arup, I would put a high level of confidence in the findings.
I have a few thoughts.
Did Hull’s Rail Service Help Hull Become UK City Of Culture In 2017?
In the shortlist, the cities were Dundee, Hull, Leicester and Swansea Bay.
If Hull had had just a single tpd from London, would it have been chosen?
Do Hull Trains Make It More Likely That Companies from Outside Will Develop There?
Hull and Humberside in general has GWs of wind energy, several gas-fired power stations and uniquely plenty of storage for natural gas and/or hydrogen.
So if your company uses a lot of energy, Hull would probably be on your short list.
A good well-respected train service to London could help with your choice.
Hullensians Seem Proud Of Their Train Company
In First Class Gluten-Free Food, I described some good service of a gluten-free meal on Hull Trains.
I praised the steward and her mother-in-law said thanks.
Perhaps Other Independent Cities Need Their Own Open-Access Operator?
Hull Trains seems to have been a success and according to the Arup report, Hull has benefitted.
LNER Are Developing Services To Bradford, Cleethorpes/Grimsby Harrogate, Lincoln And Middlesbrough.
Will LNER run services that are tied to the destination, as if they were an open access operator?
Conclusion
Pairing an independent city with its own train company seems a good business practice.
Perhaps it should be done more often?
Lost In The Purple
In Whitechapel Station Is The Preferred Interchange, I said this.
It certainly appeared to me from some staff, I spoke to, that some passengers were getting rather lost.
It was also confirmed by a member of Elizabeth Line staff at Moorgate station.
In A Look At Bond Street Station, I showed this image and said the following.
Bond Street station is double-ended.
This visualisation shows the knitting that connects it to the current Bond Street station.
Note.
- The station has two entrances; Davies Street and Hanover Square.
- The length of the Crossrail platforms.
- It looks like the Western interchange between Crossrail and Jubilee Line is easy.
- It could be quite a walk between Crossrail and the Central Line at Davies Street.
- If you’re a strong walker, some will use the Hanover Square entrance to access the Central and Victoria Lines.
On this quick look, I have a feeling that at Bond Street station, it will pay to know your entrances and make sure you’re at the right place on the train.
I could have added, that it will pay to know your entrances on any of the large stations.
At the Moorgate end of Liverpool Street station, yesterday passengers were turning up, who really wanted the Liverpool Street end.
The subterranean information needs to be better.
As an example, there are a few modestly-priced hotels, that include a Premier Inn, clustered around the Elizabeth Line station at Woolwich.
- Woolwich station is a simple single-ended station with the entrance at the Western end of the platforms.
- So passengers for Woolwich should always get in the Western end of the Elizabeth Line trains.
- That would be the front going West.
- That would be the back going East.
If staying at a hotel near an Elizabeth Line station make sure you know your entrance and train position.
Is Lumo The Ryanair Of Rail?
Someone had to draw the comparison between Lumo and Ryanair and it was The Times, that used a headline of Lumo, The Ryanair Of Rail, Gets The Green Light On East Coast, for their article about the new London and Edinburgh rail service in their article today.
But how alike are the two business models?
Standard Planes And Trains
The Boeing 737 and the Airbus A 320, as used by Ryanair and easyJet are the two workhorses of short haul airlines.
It can also be said, that Hitachi’s AT-300 train is becoming the workhorse of long-distance rail services in the UK.
Customised Interiors
Ryanair and easyJet do customise the interiors of their aircraft to a certain extent and from pictures on the Internet Lumo appear to have done the same.
If you look at the widths of the planes and trains on Wikipedia, you find these values.
- Airbus A 320 – 3.95 metres
- Boeing 737 – 3.8 metres
- Class AT-300 train – 2.7 metres
Dividing by the number of seats across, which is six for the planes and four for the train gives these figures.
- Airbus A 320 – 0.66 metres
- Boeing 737 – 0.63 metres
- Class AT-300 train – 0.67 metres
I know there is an aisle down the middle, so let’s say that it is 0.60 metres. This gives these spaces for each seat.
- Airbus A 320 – 0.56 metres
- Boeing 737 – 0.53 metres
- Class AT-300 train – 0.53 metres
I think that is adequate space for a designer to do a good job.
This picture shows the interior of a Great Western Railway Class 802 train, which use a similar body shell to the trains used by Lumo.
Note.
- The aisle looks to be similar in width to a seat.
- There is a bag shelf above the windows and lots of coat hooks.
As both Lumo and Great Western Railway are both First Group companies, is it likely that the interior dimensions are similar, so that standard trolleys could be used and training could be eased and shared between companies in the group.
This picture shows a trolley fitting in between the tables on a Great Western Railway service.
I suspect, if they design everything together, Lumo could make best use of a narrow aisle to give the seats a bit more width.
This last picture shows TransPennine Express Class 802 train at Willesden Junction station.
Note how the lower part of the side of the train is curved. Is this to get a bit more room for the seat squab?
Passengers Per Metre
This is only a rough calculation and shows typical passengers, fuselage or car length and passengers per metre.
- Airbus A 320 – 164 passengers – 37.57 metres – 4.4 px/metre
- Boeing 737 – 160 passengers – 37.0 metres – 4.3 px/metre
- Class AT-300 train – 96 passengers – 26 metres – 3.7 px/metre
Passenger density in the train is about fourteen percent less.
Toilets
In The Definitive Seating Layout Of Lumo’s Class 803 Trains, I said this.
This article on Economy Class and Beyond is entitled Enter Lumo – The New East Coast Railway Competitor.
It contains a drawing from Lumo, which shows the layouts of the seats on the train.
-
- Coach A – 44 Standard seats – 8 Priority seats – 2 Wheelchair spaces – 2 Tip up seats – Accessible toilet – 56 Total seats
- Coach B – 84 Standard seats – 12 Priority seats – Bike store – Toilet – 96 Total seats
- Coach C – 84 Standard seats – 12 Priority seats – 96 Total seats
- Coach D – 84 Standard seats – 12 Priority seats – Bike store – Toilet – 96 Total seats
- Coach E – 52 Standard seats – 8 Priority seats – 2 Tip up seats – Accessible toilet – 62 Total seats
Note.
-
- This is a total of 406 seats.
- Judging by the position of the tip-up seats they are for staff and perhaps emergency use, if say a coffee gets spilled on a seat.
- Each car has a pair of tables, where four can sit. As Lumo’s business model allows early booking, if you and your partner want to take the kids to see granny on her birthday, you should be able to get a table, by booking early.
- There are two bike stores in Coaches B and D.
These are some further thoughts.
Toilet Provision
I was on an LNER Class 800 train earlier this week and needed to go to the toilet.
-
- I wasn’t sure which way I needed to go, as I couldn’t see a sign pointing me to the toilet, but in the end I struck lucky.
- You don’t have that problem with Lumo’s trains, as there appears to be a toilet at both ends of the three middle coaches, either in your car or the next.
- If you’re in one of the driver cars, there is an accessible toilet at the blunt end.
I don’t think anybody will argue with the toilet provision on Lumo’s trains.
Typically a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320 will have two toilets for about 160 passengers.
Lumo’s trains have two accessible toilets and two ordinary ones for 406 passengers.
Ease Of Boarding
If you want to catch a train at virtually any station in the UK, in most cases, you just turn up something like fifteen minutes before the departure time, present your ticket and get on the train.
Planes used to be like that in the UK, but they aren’t any more.
Catering
In the article in The Times, Matt Lee, who is Lumo’s customer experience director, said they have been free to develop their own systems. He says this about the catering.
Catering will be a Deliveroo-style service: passengers can order M&S or Pret sandwiches in advance and have them delivered to their seat. “We are a testbed for other FirstGroup train operators.
Will they do gluten-free?
Luggage
Lumo have a luggage courier service called LumoLuggage.
Service Expansion
Suppose an airline or a train operating company wants to run additional services to add capacity to a route.
With an airline, they will need to obtain additional take-off and landing slots to fly the route.
But Lumo are running five-car trains on a route, where all the stations can handle nine-car trains and possibly a pair of five-car trains.
So Lumo just add extra cars to the fleet, so that they match the number of cars running on the route to the demand.
The only costs to increase the capacity are those of the extra cars and a proportionate number of extra staff.
Conclusion
I can see this service model being copied by other train operators in other countries.
I’m looking forward to going North on Wednesday.
RMT Threatens Strikes Over ‘Guardian Angels’ Plan
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The RMT has warned of possible industrial action in protest at a government plan for unpaid volunteers to help guide railway passengers and prevent overcrowding at stations.
They don’t seem to be in favour.
This was a statement from the Department of Transport.
These volunteers will play a crucial supporting role in keeping people moving by easing crowding and providing advice to help maintain social distancing, protecting passengers and tackling the spread of the virus.
‘We are clear these volunteers will not be performing any tasks or roles that vital frontline staff are trained to carry out, and they will be deployed at key stations in the short term when the easing of lockdown restrictions could see the increased use of public transport.
It puzzles me, why the RMT didn’t strike during the Olympics, as we had all those charming volunteers, helping visitors with their needs.
Top Class Service With A Smile
I only went into this busy Leon on Tottenham Court Road for a hot chocolate and a gluten-free cake.
As it takes a minute to make a hot chocolate, the young lady at the counter, suggested I sit down and she’d bring it over.
Which she did with a smile.
A Hotel That Loves To Say No!
Last night I stayed in the easyHotel in Ipswich.
It was convenient for after the match. affordable and I wanted to see what the low cost chain was like.,
I took these pictures.
Note all these Noes!
- No Space
- No Two-Ply Toilet Paper
- No window.
- No Space For Two People To Hang Clothes
- No Glass For Water
- No Bottles Of Water In The Vending Machine. This made worse the fact that there is no late-night shop in the centre of Ipswich.
- No automated check-in system.
- No free wi-fi
- No free television. The need to enter a code each time you switched it on, was a total pain.
- No free room cleaning
- No space to put a large suitcase.
- No space to put a cot for a baby.
- No flat space to change a baby’s nappy! A real one, I hope!
- No bottle opener.
- No food to buy except chocolate or even a good nearby cafe.
I know it’s designed down to a price, but I’ve been in sleeper trains, caravans and boats that do it much better.
Note that I’m only one metre seventy and sixty kilos and C was a little bit smaller. We could just about have managed, as we always travelled light.
I don’t think, I’ll use it again, but if I do, I’ll use it this way.
- No case bigger than a brief-case.
- Bring a bottle!
- Bring a plastic glass.
- Make sure, I arrived as late as possible and left as early as possible.
- Expect to leave in the same clothes I arrived in.
- Ask how to get radio on the TV.
But at least, I slept reasonably well!
Rumours about the possible Ryanair hotels include.
- Pay-As-You-Go use of the bathroom.
- Corkage charges for any wine or beer taken into the room.
- Extra charges for those not checking in online.
- Extra charges to put your large cases in a secure separate room.
- Shielded room, so you get no mobile signal and have to pay to use wi-fi.
I do wonder, if there is to be a race to the cheapest, whether Governments will legislate on room size and various charges.
On The Caledonian Sleeper To Glasgow
I started this post on the Caledonian Sleeper to Glasgow.
It’s one of the new Mark 5 trains and they are a great improvement, although one Scottish hard man, preferred the old Mark 3s.
Out of Euston we were doing 80 mph and the ride in the Lounge Car is good. At least up to the standard of a Greater Anglia Mark 3, which are some of the best!
These are some pictures of my train.
I don’t think I could fault the train.
But the service was rather sub-standard, due to a strike and I got a partial refund.
The Anonymous Widower 