The Anonymous Widower

Sutton Station To Gatwick Airport By Hydrogen-Powered Bus

In Central London and Gatwick Airport For Free On A Freedom Pass, I indicated it was possible to go to Gatwick Airport for nothing, if you had a Freedom Pass, which is also a free bus pass for England.

This morning I took public transport to Gatwick Airport by this route.

  • I took a 43 bus to London Bridge station.
  • This bus terminates in the bus station in front of the train station, so it was a simple step-free entry into the part of the station, where Southern Trains terminate.
  • I took a Southern Train to Sutton station.
  • I then took a Metrobus 420 bus from Sutton station to Gatwick Airport.

These pictures show the journey.

Note.

  1. The bus stop is directly outside the entrance to Sutton station.
  2. Sutton station is step-free.
  3. The information on the Metrobus’s buses at Sutton station is poor.
  4. The bus had a 74 number plate, so was registered after September 1st, 2024.
  5. The bus said it was a hydrogen bus.
  6. The seats were comfortable with leather facings.
  7. The route was mainly through rural Surrey.
  8. There were sections of dual-carriageway road with continuous 40 mph running.
  9. There were a number of steep hills.
  10. Previously, I have been told by a Bradford Councillor, that the City of Bradford is going for hydrogen-powered buses , as the city has lots of steep hills.
  11. The unusual Reigate and Redhill War Memorial on the A25.
  12. The route goes past Hadworth, Reigate and Redhill stations.
  13. Just before Gatwick Airport, the bus called at East Surrey Hospital.

I have some thoughts.

Does This Hydrogen Bus Have Almost The Quality Passengers Would Expect From A Coach?

Consider.

  • I was very impressed with the quality of the bus and its fittings.
  • But its biggest assets were the ride and mouse-quiet noise and being vibration-free.
  • It was certainly up there, with the best British buses on UK roads.
  • Strangely, I never rode in any of London’s Green Line coaches of the 1950s and 1960s.

But as Wrightbus are selling hydrogen-powered single-decker buses to the Germans, the quality must be of a certain standard.

The Performance Of The Bus

I would sum up the bus as follows.

  • The bus didn’t hang around and it was well-driven.
  • On much of the dual-carriageway, the bus appeared to be at the maximum speed limit of 40 mph
  • Ride and seats were comfortable.
  • There was virtually no vibration.
  • At times, you almost felt you were in a top-of-the-range coach.
  • The running gear is from German company ZF, which certainly doesn’t hinder the ride.
  • The journey from Sutton to Gatwick Airport is twenty miles and took about ninety minutes.

I would feel that if Wrightbus design their CoachH2 chassis to the same standard of this bus, they’ll have a difficulty to meet sales demand.

Wrightbus Hydrogen Buses For My Local Bus Route 141

Consider.

  • The 141 bus route is my local bus, which gets me to Moorgate, Bank, London Bridge and Manor House.
  • The length of the full route is twenty miles and it takes about an hour to go from London Bridge station to Palmers Green.
  • The route is currently run by older Wrightbus hybrid diesel-electric buses.
  • I suspect that modern hydrogen buses could last almost all day on one fill of hydrogen, with perhaps a top-up at lunchtime.

They would have no difficulty handling the route  and would greatly increase the customers current rock-bottom satisfaction.

Hydrogen Buses In Leafy Suburbs

  • Where I live, is not particularly leafy or a suburb.
  • But I seems to remember, when I moved here, that some of my neighbours complained about the noise of the 76 bus route.
  • So Transport for London put on some quieter buses.

I would expect, that Metrobus might use the mouse quieter hydrogen buses in post areas, to avoid annoyance.

Hydrogen Buses As Route Extenders

Effectively, the Metrobus route 420 is acting as a route extender for Southern and Thameslink services coming South from London.

As it is a quality bus, that gets a move on, I suspect that some travellers, who previously  took a train to Sutton, Tadworth, Reigate, Redhill or other stations and were then picked up, may take a hydrogen bus to a more convenient bus stop.

Because of the long range of a hydrogen bus or coach, zero-carbon performance, should be achieved without any range anxiety for passengers, driver or bus company.

Onward From Oakhampton Parkway Station

Consider.

  • In 2014, storms destroyed the railway at Dawlish in Devon.
  • As there was no alternative route, the storms cut everything west of Dawlish off from the rest of the UK.
  • It is now likely, that a Park-and-Ride station will be built close to Okehanpton, which commuters would use for travel to Exeter.
  • The main road to the South-West ; the A 30 will pass nearby.

It  would appear, that Okehampton Interchange station could be used, if Nepture decided to show his power again.

Hopefully, the emergency plan will scare Nepture away.

Lumo To The Scottish Borders

Consider.

  • Lumo have applied to extend some of their Edinburgh services to Glasgow.
  • Talking to a friend in the Scottish Borders, they said, that travelers drive to Newcastle or Morpeth to catch Lumo for London.
  • Four or five Lumo services every day stop in each direction at Morpeth station.
  • So would it be sensible to run  a bus or coach through the Scottish Borders to connect with the Lumo services?

This Google Map shows Morpeth in relation to the Border towns.

Note.

  1. Morpeth is marked by the red arrow in the South-East corner of the map.
  2. Galashiels, Galashiels, Hawick, Jedburgh, Peebles, Saint Boswells and Selkirk can be picked out on the map.
  4. The coach service would probably terminate at Galashiels, as it has a large bus terminal and and a railway station.
  5. Click the map to show it to a larger scale.

Morpeth to Galashiels is 69 miles and it should take about an hour and a half.

Hydrogen Buses As Rail Replacement Buses

Consider.

  • I have had Rail Replacement Coaches as opposed to buses a few times in the UK.
  • Once on the East Coast Main Line but usually on the Great Eastern Main Line to Ipswich or Norwich.
  • They are generally more suited to their task. as they are faster and more luxurious.
  • Many of our major rail lines run alongside trunk roads or motorways or fast dual carriageways.

So because hydrogen buses and coaches a have superior performance, than their diesel cousins, will hydrogen be the better fuel for a Rail Replacement Bus.

Metrobus’s Hydrogen Buses

This press release on the Metrobus web site is entitled Hydrogen Buses.

This is the sub-heading.

Our commitment to Zero Emissions

As part of our commitment to reducing emissions, twenty new hydrogen fuelled buses will operate on Fastway routes 10 & 20. These new buses demonstrate an ongoing commitment to reducing our local emissions. They deliver against science-based targets set by Metrobus and its parent company, The Go-Ahead Group, of becoming a net zero business by 2045 and decarbonising our bus fleet by 2035.

Conclusion

This bus is the best I’ve ridden in.

February 22, 2025 Posted by | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Central London and Gatwick Airport For Free On A Freedom Pass

I have always found it odd, that I can get to Heathrow Airport for free on my Freedom Pass, but for Gatwick Airport, I must buy a ticket.

Not that I’m bothered about the price of the ticket, but for some it might mean that they can’t get to their preferred holiday destination, as planes only fly from Heathrow.

The different treatment of the two airports must also annoy some airport and airline owners and bosses.

But recently, a free route for London’s Freedom Pass holders has opened.

This article on Inside Croydon is entitled Metrobus Rolls Out Zero-Emission Hydrogen Fleet Into Sutton.

These are the first two paragraphs.

Metrobus has been rolling out a fleet of hydrogen-powered buses, and last week its first double deckers, operating the 420 route from Sutton town centre to Gatwick Airport and Crawley, were brought into service.

Metrobus is planning on having more than 40 hydrogen-powered buses, in a partnership with West Sussex, Surrey and Kent county councils and Gatwick, in a £24million investment by the partners including a £10 million grant from the Department for Transport.

Note.

  1. The range of a Wrightbus Hydroliner is 280 miles on a full tank of hydrogen.
  2. It looks like as Crawley to Sutton station is a 42.2 miles round trip, so that means six round trips are possible on a tank of hydrogen.
  3. The Hydroliners may have the speed to use the M23 between Sutton and Crawley.

According to the article, refueling would be at Crawley.

A Zero-Carbon Extension To The Freedom Pass Zone

The free route for Freedom Pass holders to Gatwick Airport will be.

  • Southern or Thameslink Train to Sutton.
  • 420 bus to Gatwick Airport.

The article says this about the routes that are being planned.

The 420 route runs from Sutton town centre, through Belmont and Banstead, to Tadworth and then on to Reigate and Redhill, serving East Surrey Hospital before going on to the airport and Crawley. Metrobus is planning to use other hydrogen-powered buses on routes that will serve Caterham, Dorking, Tunbridge Wells, Haywards Heath and Brighton.

It appears that the hydrogen buses will add a large zero-carbon area to the Freedom Pass zone.

The only new infrastructure, would be the refueling equipment at Crawley.

I can also see the buses becoming an unusual tourist attraction for the area.

An Extension To An Electric Railway Or Tramway

They may also set a precedent for how a transport network can be extended in a zero-carbon manner from a tram or rail terminal served by an electric railway or tramway.

Battery electric buses could be used, but their range means that on anything but the shortest routes, they would constantly need recharging.

Okehampton Interchange Station

The first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for Okehampton Interchange station describes it like this.

Okehampton Interchange (formerly known as Okehampton Parkway) is a proposed railway station in Okehampton on the Dartmoor Line. The station would be part of the Devon Metro and has been described as a priority station. The station is to be sited off Exeter Road, by the Business Park and close to the junction with the A30, in the Stockley Hamlet area of Okehampton. It would also serve 900 new homes to be built nearby.

But I believe that Okehampton Interchange station also has another purpose.

If the sea should destroy the coastal railway, as it did a few years ago, then passengers for the South-West could be ferried to and from Okehampton Interchange station by high-speed hydrogen-powered coaches along the A30, to catch trains to Exeter and London.

So, I would build a hydrogen filling station at Okehampton Interchange station, so that if the sea destroys the coastal railway again, the alternative is ready.

Normally, the hydrogen filling station would refuel local hydrogen buses, trucks, cars and other vehicles and those passing on the A30 to  and from Cornwall.

Okehampton Interchange station would be the ultimate extension to an electric railway. Even if the Dartmoor Railway was worked by electro-diesel trains.

 

February 18, 2025 Posted by | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Frederick Snow & Partners, The Severn Barrage And Harold Wilson’s Government

In the 1970s, for a few weeks, I did a project management consultancy on the new Belfast international Airport.

I am sure they felt I was more experienced than I was, because they gave me a report on their proposal to barrage the River Severn and asked me to comment.

As consultant engineers, who had designed Gatwick Airport, the main feature of the barrage, was a central spine in the River with a major two-runway airport on top.

  • The runways would have pointed into the prevailing wind, which would have made take-offs and landings, efficient and safe.
  • A few minutes and perhaps five percent of fuel would have been saved on flights to the West.
  • The central spine would have divided the river into two parallel lakes; a high lake and a low one.
  • I seem to remember, that the high lake was on the Welsh side.

At the Western end of the lake and the spine, there would have been a barrage.

  • Sluice gates would have controlled the water flows into and out of the two lakes.
  • The barrage would have also served as the Second Severn Crossing.
  • The barrage would have been designed to reduce flooding along the River Severn.
  • There would have been a lock on the English side, to allow ships to pass through the barrage.

The turbines would have been under the airport.

  • They would have generated power by transferring water from the high to the low lake.
  • About ten percent of England’s power could have been generated.
  • I feel, that if the system were to be built now, pumped storage could be incorporated.

The sequence of operation of the power station would have been as follows.

  • On an incoming tide, the sluices in the barrage to the high lake would be opened.
  • Water would flow into the high lake.
  • So long as the water level in the high lake was high enough and the water level in the low lake was low enough, electricity would be generated.
  • On an outgoing tide, the sluices in the barrage to the low lake would be opened.
  • Water would flow out from the low lake.

I believe that because the water levels can be precisely controlled, this tidal power station, would have been able to provide the power needed.

One of their engineers told me, that Harold Wilson’s government had turned the project down, as the Government believed that large coal power stations were the future.

Can you imagine, Canada, Japan, Korea, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland or many other companies even in the 1970s, taking such a short-sighted decision?

Over the years of this blog, I make no apology about returning to the subject of the Severn Barrage, with these posts.

I still feel strongly, that it was a tragedy for this country, that the Severn Barrage was never built in the last century.

Conclusion

Any engineer, who trained in the 1960s after the Aberfan Disaster knew that coal had no future.

But nobody had seemed to have convinced Harold Wilson of this fact.

So instead of the clean power from the Severn Barrage, we got more polluting coal-fired power stations.

May 21, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Gatwick Airport – 23rd November 2023

I went to Gatwick Airport to see the new railway station.

Note.

  1. As at Reading and Leeds stations, space has been created by building a wide concourse over the tracks.
  2. The experience certainly seemed better.
  3. Most platforms have up and down escalators and lifts.
  4. There were still a few things  that needed to be finished.

But for me, as a man with a Freedom Pass and a Senior Railcard, the ticketing to Gatwick is still a pain.

  • If I go to Heathrow or London City, I use my Freedom Pass to get to the Airport.
  • If I go to Eurostar, I use my Freedom Pass to get to St. Pancras station.
  • If I go to Stansted, I use my Freedom Pass to get to Liverpool Street station and buy a ticket for Stanstead Express.

If I go to Gatwick, Luton or Southend airports, I use my Freedom Pass to get to a station with a Booking Office and then buy an extension ticket from the Zone 6 boundary to the airport.

I believe there are three solutions.

Make It Possible To Link A Bank Card To A Freedom Pass

It should be possible to do something like the following.

  • Touch in at Moorgate.
  • Take the Elizabeth Line to Farringdon.
  • Take Thames to Gatwick Airport.
  • Check out at Gatwick Airport.

The credit card associated with the Freedom Pass would then be charged the fee for between the Zone 6 boundary and Gatwick Airport.

The credit card would be entered through the Freedom Pass web site.

On a related matter I believe that the Freedom Pass web site could be a nice little earner for Transport for London, by doing the following.

  • Selling rail tickets on a best-priced basis. Savings are to be had by selling tickets for Freedom Pass holders from the Zone 6 boundary.
  • Managing Railcards.
  • Selling Transport for London merchandise.

Nobody would pay more than they do now, but Transport for London would pick up some commission from selling tickets.

Develop A Flexible App That Works With A Freedom Pass And Phone Payments

Similar to the first option, but the app charges accordingly.

Put Gatwick Airport In Zone 6

The management of Gatwick Airport might like to attract more travellers, so they would pay from the Zone 6 boundary for Freedom Farm users.

Conclusion

I would find the first two options acceptable, providing the charges were no more than now!

November 24, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Could A Mega-Station Be Built For The Channel Tunnel?

This article on Railway Gazette International, is entitled Start-Up Announces Amsterdam To London And Paris High Speed Train Ambitions.

It talks about how Dutch start-up; Heuro wants to run fifteen trains per day (tpg) between London and Amsterdam.

The article then has this paragraph, which details other operators, who are wanting to run services between London and the near Continent.

Heuro’s announcement comes after Spanish start-up Evolyn announced plans in October for a Paris – London service, while on November 11 British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that Sir Richard Branson and Phil Whittingham, former head of Virgin Trains and Avanti West Coast, were also drawing up plans to compete with Eurostar and had held discussions with infrastructure managers.

This leads me to the conclusion, that there will be a need for more capacity for trains and/or passengers at some time in the future.

  • There are six International platforms at St. Panvcras International station, which can each probably handle four trains per hour (tph), so I suspect the station could handle 24 International tph.
  • As a modern high speed train can carry over 500 passengers, that is 12000 passengers per hour.
  • Visit St. Pancras station in the morning and it is often crammed with travellers coming from and going to Europe.

I suspect that the number of trains may not be a problem, but the number of passengers will.

We could always join Shengen, but then that would be an open door to all the would-be migrants to the UK.

This Google Map shows Stratford International station.

Stratford International station is in a soulless concrete cavern, that lies across the middle of the map.

In Platforms 1 And 4 At Stratford International Station,  there are a lot of pictures of the station.

I think it would be extremely difficult to add extra platforms and passenger facilities to the station.

This Google Map shows Ebbsfleet International station.

Note.

  1. Ebbsfleet International station, with its two International and four domestic platforms is in the middle of the map.
  2. The station is surrounded by car parks with a total of 5,000 spaces.
  3. Northfleet station is in the North-East corner of the map.

There is a lot of land, without any buildings on it.

These are my thoughts.

Enough Extra Bay Platforms To Handle The Additional Trains

There would appear to be space for perhaps two bay platforms to terminate trains.

But would passengers we happy being dumped outside Central London?

Would An Elizabeth Line Extension To Ebbsfleet Be Needed?

There are various plans to link the Elizabeth Line tp Ebbsfleet International.

In Elizabeth Line To Ebbsfleet Extension Could Cost £3.2 Billion, I showed this map from the Abbeywood2Ebbsfleet consultation.

There doesn’t appear to be too much new infrastructure, except for a proper connection between Northfleet and Ebbsfleet stations. References on the Internet, say that the similar-sized Luton DART connection at Luton Airport, cost around £225 million.

The Elizabeth Line connects to the following.

  • Bond Street
  • Canary Wharf
  • City of London
  • Farringdon for Thameslink
  • Heathrow Airport
  • Old Oak Common for High Speed Two
  • Liverpool Street station
  • Oxford Street
  • Paddington station
  • Slough for Windsor
  • Tottenham Court Road for the British Museum, Oxford Street, Soho, Theatreland and the Underground.
  • West End of London
  • Whitechapel for the Overground and Underground

For many people like me, the Elizabeth Line at Ebbsfleet will provide one of the quickest ways to get to and from European trains.

Ebbsfleet Has Space For A Bus Station

A bus station with comprehensive routes could be built at Ebbsfleet station, which I don’t think will be possible at St. Pancras.

It would also be possible to provide an easy route to Gatwick Airport along the M25.

Hotel Accommodation

This is surely necessary.

It would make an ideal base for tourists and business people, who wanted to visit several of the large cities connected to Ebbsfleet.

A Very Large Car Park

Consider.

  • Heathrow Airport is looking at providing upwards of 50,000 car parking spaces.
  • Some travellers are seriously allergic to public transport and will always use their car.
  • Many travellers these days want to take a severely outside case with them, when they’re only having a weekend in Paris.

I feel that a mega-station for Europe will need upwards of 10,000 car parking spaces. All of them with vehicle-to-grid chargers.

A Very Large Storage Battery

According to this page on the E-on web site, the average size of the battery in an electric vehicle is 40 kWh.

If 5,000 car parking spaces were to be fitted with vehicle-to-grid charging (V2G), that would be 2 MWh of energy storage, that could be used by National Grid, to store surplus electricity.

Get V2G right and it could make a serious contribution to your parking costs.

Pictures Of Ebbsfleet Station

These are some pictures I took at Ebbsfleet station today.

Note.

  1. The station is a fairly boring concrete, glass and steel construction.
  2. The SouthEastern HighSpeed services also go to St. Pancras, so they don’t offer any different connectivity towards the capital.

In addition, the SouthEastern HighSpeed Class 395 trains aren’t step-free at the platforms, as these pictures shows.

As I came back into St. Pancras International station, staff were struggling to load a wheelchair onto a train using a ramp.

Would A Two-Station Solution Increase Capacity?

High Speed Rail lines have  high capacity trains and there are examples of more than one station at the end of a route.

  • The London end of High Speed Two will have stations at Old Oak Common and Euston.
  • The Manchester end of High Speed Two will have stations at Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.
  • The Edinburgh end of the East Coast Main Line has stations at Waverley and Haymarket.
  • The Amsterdam end of Eurostar and Thalys has stations at Rotterdam, Schipol Airport and Amsterdam.

A selection of stations gives choice and convenience for travellers.

Conclusion

I believe that selective development of Ebbsfleet International station could be used to take the pressure away from St. Pancras International station.

These developments could include.

  1. A comprehensive bus station
  2. Elizabeth Line to Northfleet
  3. Hotel Accommodation
  4. Lots Of Car Parking

 

 

 

November 21, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sussex Will Be Leader In Hydrogen Energy Production

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Argus.

These are the first three paragraphs.

The county is today launching its bid to become a pioneer for use and production of hydrogen energy.

Experts will unveil Brighton’s hydrogen strategy this morning showing how the city and surrounding areas are championing a clean energy infrastructure.

With plans for a Worthing crematorium to become the first in the world powered entirely by hydrogen, development of a green energy production facility in Shoreham, and a growing fleet of hydrogen-powered buses in Crawley, the region is already breaking ground in the hydrogen industry – and shows no sign of stopping.

These are my thoughts.

The Plan Is Comprehensive

This document of the Council website, is entitled the Greater Brighton Hydrogen Strategy.

It is very comprehensive and discusses hydrogen in Sussex from all angles.

Every Council in the UK needs to have their own comprehensive strategy like this.

The Report Cautions That Greater Brighton May Need More Renewable Energy

Consider.

  • The Rampion wind farm, with a capacity of 400 MW is already operating in the sea South of Brighton.
  • This should be joined by the 1200 GW rampion 2 wind farm in the next few years.

It is unlikely substantial onshore wind and solar farms will be built in the area.

Gatwick Airport Is Expected To Need A Hydrogen Supply

The strategy says this about Gatwick and the two Rampion wind farms.

The offshore wind farm Rampion is large enough to be considered nationally significant infrastructure. There
is a second development for this wind farm planned for 2025-6, which will connect into Bolney substation as
per the existing wind farm.

The GBEB energy plan suggested that an electrolyser could be sited there, although there are no identified demand locations nearby other than potential refuelling of passing traffic on the A23.

However, considering the relative distance to Gatwick airport, which is expected to be a significant future
demand, there may be an opportunity for a direct pipeline. This would be further into the future and requires
further analysis and bilateral engagement between Rampion and Gatwick. Engagement with Rampion found
that, given the large population supplied by the Rampion wind farms, and the relative lack of other large-scale
renewables locally, these wind farms are unlikely to face significant curtailment and will fully contribute to
decarbonising the local electricity grid. Therefore, using Rampion to produce hydrogen by electrolysis is not
seen as the best use case in the near term.

It looks to me, that because of the electricity demand in the Brighton and Gatwick area, that a big decision needs to be made to create some more renewable capacity.

Could this mean a Rampion 3 or perhaps a fleet of small modular nuclear reactors at Dungeness?

An Electrolyser At Bolney Substation

This Google map shows the position of Bolney substation.

Note.

  1. The A23 is the main London-Brighton road.
  2. Bolney substation is indicated by the red arrow.
  3. The substation doesn’t have very good road access.
  4. I also suspect that the locals wouldn’t like an electrolyser in their midst.

On a brief look, I suspect that an electrolyser at Bolney substation will be a non-starter.

Shoreham Port As A Hydrogen Hub

The strategy mentions Shoreham Port several times, but gives the impression that progress is slow.

This Google Map shows Shoreham Port.

Note.

  1. Shoreham is in the West.
  2. The port reaches a long way to the East.
  3. The 420 MW gas-fired Shoreham Power station, is at the Eastern end of the port, close to the sea.

There appears to be spaces along the water for developing hydrogen infrastructure.

This page on the H2Green web site is entitled Agreement to Develop Clean Energy Hub for Shoreham Port, Sussex, starts with this paragraph.

Getech, the geoscience and geospatial technology provider and data-led energy asset developer, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned hydrogen subsidiary, H2 Green, has signed a Collaboration Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Shoreham Port.

It lists these three highlights.

  • H2 Green granted a two-year legally binding exclusive right to develop a renewable energy hub (the “Hub”) at the Port of Shoreham, West Sussex.
  • Under plans submitted by H2 Green to Shoreham Port, the Hub will initially focus on the provision of green hydrogen and renewable electricity to the Port’s fleet of 39 heavy forklift trucks and 12 heavy goods vehicles.
  • Green Hydrogen will be sourced by a scalable green hydrogen production, storage and refuelling facility – the economics of which will be optimised by its integration with new solar and wind electricity generation capacity.
  • The Hub will then be expanded to facilitate the decarbonisation of more than 800 heavy goods vehicles that enter Shoreham Port daily, and to provide fuel to port and coastal marine vessels.

That is all good stuff, but I do wonder, where the renewable electricity is going to come from.

In Further Thoughts On BP’s Successful INTOG Bid, I looked at BP’s plan for a 50 MW wind farm.

  • It will be about twenty miles offshore from Aberdeen.
  • With an appropriate electrolyser 50 MW of electricity would produce twenty tonnes of hydrogen per day.
  • The electrolyser could be onshore or even offshore.
  • The technology has all been developed.

Could H2Green be thinking of developing a similar hydrogen production facility?

 

July 25, 2023 Posted by | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Go-Ahead Adds 20 FC Buses To Gatwick Fleet

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on electrive.com.

I described my ride on these buses in My Second Ride In A Wrightbus Single-Decker Hydrogen Bus.

I am publishing this post for this key paragraph on the electrive.com article.

When the order was placed in 2021, Martin Harris, Managing Director of Brighton & Hove and Metrobus, already specified why hydrogen buses were now being used for the first time: “We run services 24 hours a day, with hilly terrain, heavy passenger loads and duty cycles well in excess of the national average at up to 370 miles per day. Those provide really challenging conditions for any technology but we concluded that hydrogen provides the most efficient replacement for our diesel buses.”

It is interesting to note, that the hydrogen buses in Birmingham, Dublin and Liverpool are used on longer routes.

July 4, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | 1 Comment

My Second Ride In A Wrightbus Single-Decker Hydrogen Bus

Or it might have been the third or fourth, but it was the first outside of London in a single-decker Wrightbus hydrogen bus. The earlier rides were in the RV1 route, which I wrote about in London’s Hydrogen Buses.

I took these pictures.

Note.

The trip was in Crawley and Go-Ahead are building a network of hydrogen buses to link the town and Gatwick Airport.

  1. It was a high quality bus.
  2. It was busy.
  3. It was the first bus, I’d seen in the UK, with a detailed route.

Someone had been thinking about how to design a bus route.

June 28, 2023 Posted by | Design, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , | 2 Comments

Britain’s Longest Road Tunnel Could Be Built Along A27

The title of this post is the same as that of this article in The Argus.

These three paragraphs outline the scheme.

The longest road tunnel in the UK could be built as a long-term solution to congestion along the A27.

The tunnel, which would cost around £2 billion, has been touted as a way of addressing traffic and a way to improve local quality of life.

A new report by Transport for the South East (TfSE) said investing in such schemes is the only way carbon emissions from congested road traffic can be seriously tackled and improve.

The article also states, that the project is unlikely to be started before 2050.

These are my thoughts.

Where Will The Tunnel Be Built?

This Google Map shows Worthing.

Note.

  1. The A27 road runs roughly across the top of the map.
  2. The A27 has sections of dual-carriageway.
  3. There are two roundabouts, where the A27 connects with the A24 road between London and Worthing via Sutton, Dorking and Horsham.
  4. The West Coastway Line runs across the middle of the map.
  5. Four of the five stations in Worthing are visible.
  6. From East to West the stations are East Worthing, Worthing, West Worthing and Durrington-on-Sea, with Goring-by-Sea off the map to the West.

This Google Map shows the section of the A27 to the West of the A24.

Note.

  1. The A27 goes all the way across the map.
  2. There is a large junction with the A280 at the Western edge of the map.
  3. There is a large roundabout at the junction with the A24, at the Eastern edge of the map.
  4. The Western half of the A27 between the two junctions, appears to be dual-carriageway.
  5. The A27 continues in the West as a dual-carriageway between the junction with the A280, almost as far as Arundel.

I suspect the Western portal of the tunnel would be close to the junction with the A280 and for much of the route, it could be bored under the A27 to minimise noise and vibration for those living along the route.

This third Google Map shows the section of the A27 to the East of the A24.

Note.

  1. The A27 goes all the way across the map.
  2. It shares a route with the A24 between the two roundabouts towards the West of the map.
  3. The Eastern section of the A27 appears to be dual-carriageway.
  4. T27 continues in the East to the North of Shoreham and Brighton and the South of Lewes.

I suspect the Eastern portal of the tunnel would be close to the Western end of the dual-carriageway section to Lewes and for much of the route, it could be bored under the A27 and A24 to minimise noise and vibration for those living along the route.

As we’re good at tunneling in the UK, I don’t think this will be a difficult tunnel to bore.

What Should We Do In The Interim?

The article in the Argus says this.

Should the plans go ahead, the tunnel could be ready for construction by 2050, with a range of other measures proposed to cut congestion in the short term.

2050 is a long time to wait.

I haven’t driven in the area much in the last twenty years, as even before I didn’t drive, I’ve tended to take the train to places like Brighton, Eastbourne, Portsmouth and Southampton.

In my experience the East and West Coastway Lines along the South Coast have reasons, why people drive for preference.

  • The trains are not frequent enough. There should be four trains per hour (tph) if possible.
  • There needs to be more direct train services to London and Gatwick Airport.
  • Some of the stations are not very passenger-friendly. More step-free access is needed.
  • Some of the stations can’t handle twelve-car trains.
  • The Class 313 trains, that are used to the West of Brighton, were built in the 1970s. Similar trains of that period in the rest of the UK, have either been replaced or will soon be.
  • Is there enough car parking?
  • Could some closed stations be reopened?
  • Could Park-and-Ride facilities be built, where the A27 crosses the railway?
  • Would it help, if the West and East Coastway Lines didn’t need a change at Brighton?
  • Would a high speed service between Eastbourne and London via Hastings and High Speed One attract leisure passengers.

An improved railway might reduce traffic on the A27.

Perhaps the easiest improvement would be to replace all the East and West Coastway fleet with new or refurbished trains with the following specification.

  • 100 mph operation.
  • High-class well-designed interior matched to the passenger mix.
  • Ability to handle the Marshlink Line and other sections without electrification.
  • Wi-fi and power sockets.
  • A refreshment trolley might be a good idea.

A marketing campaign might help.

September 20, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Southbound Thameslink To Eastbound Elizabeth Line At Farringdon Station

I travelled today from St. Pancras International station to Whitechapel station, using the following route.

These pictures show my walk at Farringdon station.

Note.

  1. I was riding at the back of the train, so I had a long walk to the lifts.
  2. It would be better to travel in the Southern end of the Thameslink train, as the lifts are at the Southern end of the Southbound Thameslink platform.
  3. I used the lifts to descend to the Elizabeth Line platforms.
  4. It is only a short walk between the lifts and the Elizabeth Line trains.

As the last picture indicates, the connecting lifts that I used, can also be used to go from the Southbound Thameslink to the Westbound Elizabeth Line at Farringdon Station.

These connecting lifts can also be used in the reverse direction to go from all Elizabeth Line services to Southbound Thameslink services to London Bridge, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Brighton and all the other Southern Thameslink destinations!

If you want to avoid the lifts, as it appears they can busy, you have to climb the stairs to get to the concourse and then descend to get the escalator down to the Elizabeth Line, that I wrote about in Westbound Elizabeth Line To Northbound Thameslink At Farringdon Station.

Conclusion

There would appear to be an imbalance of quality between the connections between the Elizabeth Line and the two Thameslink platforms.

  • Those going between the Elizabeth Line and the Northbound Thameslink platform will find it easy, as most of the route is on an escalator.
  • On the other hand, those using the Southbound Thameslink platform at busy times could find it congested and slow.

I suspect that regular users of the station, will develop their own routes through the station.

 

June 18, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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