The Mayor Rubs It In!
I took these pictures whilst waiting to get home this morning from Moorgate, whilst waiting for a 141 bus.
It’s one thing to reroute the buses, but quite another to send them up and down the old route, with plenty of space for passengers. Although, I don’t think this will help his reelection chances next year.
When the 141 bus did arrive, it was about ninety percent full.
I predicted in a letter to my MP. that this overcrowding would happen because the opening of the Elizabeth Line and the Bank Station Upgrade.
I also said similar things in Does London Need High Capacity Bus Routes To Extend Crossrail?, which I wrote in February 2022, before the Elizabeth Line opened in May.
But I didn’t get it all right, as it appeared the biggest increase in passenger numbers happened after the new escalators between the Docklands Light Railway and the Northern Line opened at Bank station. That puzzled me and I can only assume that there is a lot of traffic between the catchment area of the DLR and North East London.
Predicting the number of passengers, who will use a new railway, road or bus service is a difficult science, which very often results in a wrong answer.
In the Mysterious Case Of Rerouting The 21 Bus, it would have been better to have completed all the works at Bank, Moorgate and Old Street stations, before trying to solve the best way to deploy the buses.
- Bank and Moorgate stations are almost completed.
- The completion of Old Street station and the associated road works are still several months away, as I wrote in Is Old Street Roundabout A ‘Too Many Cooks’ Project?
In Does London Need High Capacity Bus Routes To Extend Crossrail?, I said this about the buses needed.
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.
Get the design of these buses correct and they could attract a large number of passengers from their cars to public transport.
- Ten year old buses, as on the 141 bus are unacceptable.
- Before the 21 bus was withdrawn, you noticed that some passengers wait an extra minute to get a 21 bus with its greater space and comfort.
- Because of the better design of the stairs on modern buses and New Routemasters, I will go upstairs on these buses. But I don’t chance it on an older bus.
- Wi-fi and phone charging would make up for the fact that the Class 345 trains don’t have it.
From experience of the 141 bus in recent days, a frequency of a bus every five minutes is probably needed now.
Ballymena: Wrightbus To Develop Hydrogen Production Facility
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Wrightbus is planning to develop a green hydrogen production facility at its factory in Ballymena.
And these first three paragraphs outline the project.
The proposal is being made in partnership with a sister company, Hygen Energy.
Part of the Wrightbus business is the manufacturing of hydrogen-powered buses, some of which are operated by Translink.
The new facility would help create a reliable source of fuel for those buses and other hydrogen-powered vehicles.
It seems a well-designed project and it appears Hygen are building a similar facility in Bradford.
Some months ago, I had a drink in my house, with three senior London bus company executives.
One has had problems with electric buses, as getting the required power to charge a fleet in some Central London garages is not easy.
I showed them these figures, from the Wrightbus web site.
- A Wrightbus electric double-decker takes 2.5 hours to charge for a 200 mile range.
- A hydrogen double-decker takes 8 minutes to refuel with up to a 280 miles range.
They were impressed. Especially, as a typical duty for a bus in London is almost 200 miles. A hydrogen bus seemed to make a lot more sense.
So why isn’t London preparing for scores of hydrogen buses?
Ask the Mayor!
Riding On Hydrogen-Powered Buses And Trains
These posts describe my trips on hydrogen-powered buses
Note.
- The first bus starts from Birmingham City Centre.
- The second bus runs between Paddington station and John Lewis in Oxford Street in London.
This post describes my first ride in a hydrogen-powered train.
My First Ride In An Alstom Coradia iLint
This was through the German countryside between Hamburg and Cuxhaven.
Should There Be Limits To The Type Of Vehicles Allowed In The Blackwall And Silvertown Tunnels?
When the Silvertown Tunnel opens in 2025, the tunnel and the nearby Blackwall Tunnel will be tolled.
But will there be any restrictions on the vehicles that can use the tunnels, other than those that apply to the Blackwall Tunnel at the present time, which are detailed in Wikipedia.
The tunnels are no longer open to pedestrians, cyclists or other non-motorised traffic, and the northbound tunnel has a 4.0-metre (13.1 ft) height limit.
Note.
- I suspect that pedestrians, cyclists or other non-motorised traffic will also be banned from the Silverton Tunnel.
- But the height limit will be relaxed for the Silverton Tunnel to allow large trucks and double-deck buses to use the tunnel.
According to this web page, which is entitled the Silvertown Tunnel Bus Network Proposals, the planned buses through the tunnel include.
- 108 – As now, with a minor route change.
- 129 – As now, but extended from North Greenwich station to Great Eastern Quay.
- X329 – An express bus from Grove Park station to Canary Wharf, which runs non-stop through the Silvertown Tunnel.
Note.
- The 108 goes through Blackwall and is a single decker bus.
- The 129 and the X329 will go through Silvertown and could be double decker buses.
- There appears to be no mention of any provision for cycles.
- I would assume wheelchairs, buggies and cases will be accommodated as they are on current London buses.
I also think, that the buses must be zero-carbon, which would mean battery-electric or hydrogen.
In Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles And Trains In Tunnels, I looked at the feasibility of running hydrogen buses through the tunnel and came to this conclusion.
I am confident, that we will achieve a safety regime, that allows hydrogen-powered vehicles and trains to be certified to pass through tunnels.
The great advantage of hydrogen buses on the three routes would be that they would probably only need to be filled up once a day, but electric buses might need constant charging.
Provision For Cycles
I think it is essential to have provision for cycles across the river.
- Folded cycles can be taken almost anywhere on London’s transport system.
- Non-folding cycles can be taken most places on London’s transport system, but the hours are restricted.
- There’s always the Woolwich Ferry.
- Given that the 108 bus seems to weave its way through the East End, I suspect that this bus couldn’t be longer to carry cycles.
I have seen double-deck buses, with provision for cycles at the back of the lower deck in Europe.
- Perhaps buses like these, could be used on the 129 and X329 routes.
- A search of the Internet found some buses in East Yorkshire with provision for two standard cycles.
- The 129 bus could ferry bikes between North Greenwich station and a convenient stop on the North side of the river.
- The X329 bus could ferry bikes over the non-stop section of the route between the Sun in the Sands and Leamouth roundabouts.
There could be shorter routes adding extra capacity between the stops, where bikes are loaded and unloaded.
Large Trucks Through The Tunnel
If buses become zero-carbon through the Blackwall and Silverton Tunnels, then why shouldn’t large trucks be zero-carbon?
I think this could be the carrot combined with free passage for zero-carbon vehicles that could clean up Central London’s polluted air.
Smaller Vehicles
Why not gradually reduce the size of vehicles going through the tunnels that must be zero-carbon?
Conclusion
The Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnels can be used as the drivers to clean up Central London’s air.
Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles And Trains In Tunnels
In writing about the Silvertown Tunnel, I started to wonder, if hydrogen vehicles will be allowed in the tunnel.
Consider.
- I don’t think diesel-powered trains are allowed in the Channel Tunnel and the tunnels of the link to London.
- Some tunnels don’t seem to allow hydrogen-powered vehicles.
- In a few years, hydrogen-powered buses, cars, locomotives, trains, trucks and vans will be more common, than they are today.
But help is at hand, with a co-operation between UK and EU agencies called HyTunnel-CS.
It is over fifty years now, since I worked as an instrument engineer in an ICI hydrogen factory at Runcorn. Truckloads of hydrogen were filled and despatched all over the UK. I may be wrong, but in all those intervening years, I can’t remember a hydrogen emergency on the UK’s roads.
I am confident, that we will achieve a safety regime, that allows hydrogen-powered vehicles and trains to be certified to pass through tunnels.
Wrightbus Hydrogen Fleet Cover 1,5 Million Miles
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Leading bus manufacturer Wrightbus’s fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell buses have travelled a staggering 1.5 million miles since first entering service.
This latest milestone from the Ballymena-based firm means the hydrogen fuel-cell fleet has prevented 2,366 tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions entering the atmosphere compared to journeys made by an equivalent diesel bus.
It does appear that the company is on the road to a much needed recovery.
Government Boosts Hydrogen Buses With £26m
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Live ~News.
These are the first two paragraphs.
A Northern Irish bus company is receiving £26 million in funding to build electric and hydrogen buses.
Wrightbus built the world’s first hydrogen double-decker bus in 2020 and is now looking to export its zero-emission buses worldwide to Australia, Germany, Italy, France and Spain.
Other points from the article include.
- Wrightbus are aiming to build 3,000 zero-emission buses.
- Jobs could increase by 300.
- They would like to increase exports by 40 %.
It looks like there’s a future in zero-emission buses.
My First Ride In A Refurbished New Routemaster
When I went to see the Queen’s flowers, that I wrote about in The Queen’s Flowers In Green Park, the 38 bus, I rode to Green Park, was a refurbished New Routemaster.
Note.
- It appears to have scrubbed up well.
- There is a new fabric and all the gold metal parts have been re-anodised.
- The priority seats for those with limited mobility are now labelled.
- As they are now up to eleven years old, will they now be good for at least another ten?
This article on Key Buses is entitled New Routemaster Refurbishment Underway, where this is said.
Despite coming under threat as a result of Tf L’s funding crisis the first New Routemasters have now returned from refurbishment. These include buses in the Abellio London, Metroline and London United fleets. The latter now carry RATPDev Transit London fleetnames. The first 200 vehicles are expected to be refurbished by March 31, 2023.
With 200 buses, I should get a lot of chances to add some more pictures.
In Could London’s New Routemaster Buses Be Converted To Hydrogen Power?, I came to this conclusion.
I believe from my knowledge of Cummins and the way they work, that they will come up with a hydrogen-based solution, that will replace the Cummins diesel in these buses with a zero-carbon engine.
If Cummins don’t then someone else will.
Whoever solves the problem of converting London’s new Routemasters to hydrogen will have one of the best adverts for their product, there has ever been.
After converting London’s thousand Routemasters, the engineers could move on to anything powered by a Cummins engine.
Since then I’ve written Werner Enterprises Signs Letter Of Intent Planning To Secure 500 X15H Engines From Cummins, which describes the application of Cummins technology to convert heavy trucks to hydrogen power.
Werner Enterprises Signs Letter Of Intent Planning To Secure 500 X15H Engines From Cummins
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Cummins.
This is the first paragraph.
Werner Enterprises, a premier transportation and logistics provider, and Cummins Inc., a global power solutions provider, announced today Werner signed a letter of intent to purchase 500 Cummins’ 15-liter hydrogen internal combustion engines upon availability. The two companies announced earlier this year, Werner Enterprises plans to validate and integrate Cummins’15-liter natural gas and Cummins’ X15H hydrogen engines, both part of Cummins’ fuel agnostic platform, into their fleet.
More details of the X15H engine are given in this earlier press release, which is entitled Cummins Inc. Debuts 15-Litre Hydrogen Engine At ACT Expo, which has this first paragraph.
Today, Cummins Inc. debuted its 15-liter hydrogen engine at ACT Expo in Long Beach, California. This engine is built on Cummins’ new fuel-agnostic platform, where below the head gasket each fuel type’s engine has largely similar components, and above the head gasket, each has different components for different fuel types. This version, with expected full production in 2027, pairs with clean, zero-carbon hydrogen fuel, a key enabler of Cummins’ strategy to go further faster to help customers reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
I certainly like the concept of a fuel-agnostic platform, where below the head gasket, everything is similar, and above the head gasket, there are appropriate components.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find that Rolls-Royce mtu and JCB have used a similar concept for their hydrogen internal combustion engines.
Cummins have also developed a 6.7 litre engine.
This is a paragraph from the press release.
Hydrogen internal combustion engines use zero-carbon fuel at a lower initial price of a fuel cell or battery electric vehicle with little modification to today’s vehicles. Accelerated market adoption of hydrogen engine powered vehicles is driven by the technology’s high technology maturity, low initial cost, extended vehicle range, fast fueling, powertrain installation commonality, and end-user familiarity.
I certainly feel it is the way to go technically.
Take London’s New Routemaster buses.
- These buses are powered by a Cummins B-series engine, which has four cylinders and a capacity of 4.5 litres.
- This engine powers large numbers of trucks and pick-ups.
- For the UK, they are manufactured in Darlington.
- It appears that Cummins 6.7 litre engine is a six cylinder B-series engine.
It would certainly be more affordable to change the cylinder heads of these buses and power them by hydrogen, than purchase a new fleet.
Cummins have an excellent tutorial on hydrogen internal combustion engines on their web site.
The Anonymous Widower 