New Tram-Like Bus Involved In Crash On Launch Day
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Transport for London (TfL) has said it is investigating after one of its new electric “tram-like” buses collided with a car on the day the new fleet was launched.
These are the three paragraphs of the article.
The Go-Ahead London bus was reportedly involved in the crash on Sevenoaks Road in Orpington, south-east London, on 20 November, when the new 358 buses came into service.
During a Bromley Council meeting, Labour councillor Kathy Bance said the bus collided with a car belonging to a Bromley Labour councillor’s wife.
A TfL spokesperson said no-one was injured and it was understood the collision was minor.
It appears to be very embarrassing, but not as serious, as it might have been.
If you go back to Edwardian times, there are tales of horses being startled by new-fangled motor-cars and charabancs, so could the councillor’s wife have been confused by this unusual looking bus?
I think it best to keep a watching brief, as to whether the bus did confuse the lady.
My First Ride In An Irizar ie tram
I took these pictures as we travelled from Orpington station to Crystal Palace.
These are my thoughts. In My Second Ride In A Wrightbus Single-Decker Hydrogen Bus, I talk about the Wrightbus single-decker hydrogen bus. Both buses are going for the single-decker zero-carbon market.
Design And Build Quality
The design and build quality of both buses is excellent, but then I suspect Irizar and Wrightbus are giving the bus companies, what they feel they need, within the various regulations.
Both buses had USB charging for phones and I particularly liked the seats in the Spanish bus for being very comfortable.
Road Holding
None of my rides in these two buses were at a particularly fast speed, but both vehicles handled the roads in and South of South London with very little difficulty.
Both vehicles felt much more like mini-coaches, rather than small buses, which is probably a good thing.
Battery Charging Of The ie Tram
I watched this at Crystal Palace. But for some reason my camera wasn’t recording the time. So I don’t know how long it took.
Hydrogen Or Battery Power
When you are in the bus, you don’t have any idea, what the fuel is. Both buses are mouse quiet, but I do feel that hydrgen’s longer range and greater power may mean it is better on some routes.
So some bus companies will go hydrogen and some will go battery.
London’s New Tram-Like Buses Come Into Service
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
I went to Orpington station and all I saw was several small diesel single-decker buses running around in the awful cold.
So I retreated on a warm train after a couple of hours.
One driver said that the reams were running and she looked genuinely disappointed, that they hadn’t turned up.
But from my knowledge of electric vehicles, although not Irizar ie Trams, I do wonder if the single-figure temperatures in Orpington had drained the batteries.
But I can’t imagine a company like Irizar making a mistake like that.
Although one of the station men said that Orpington can get to be a very cold station. Now that is something I’ll agree with!
In the other hand the 358 route takes an hour from end to end, so in my opinion, it might have been better to use hydrogen-powered buses.
Orpington Station And The 358 Bus
This morning, I went to Orpington station, to look at the preparations for the 358 bus and took these pictures.
Note.
- Orpington station is a eight -platform station with full step-free access.
- There are three bay platforms.
- The platforms are long.
- There was no sign of the new Irizar ie Trams, that will be used on the 358 route.
- The charger had been installed.
Transport for London have said the new vehicles will be running in Summer 2024.
But then TfL’s promises, must be taken with a large pinch of salt.
The Crystal Palace Bus Charger – 19th September 2023
I went to see the new charger at Crystal Palace for the new Irizar ie trams that will be introduced on route 358.
I took these pictures.
Note.
- It is not finished yet or someone has nicked the pantograph.
- Irizar seem to make their own chargers.
- It looks a well-designed installation.
This Spanish video shows the bus inside and outside.
I have a few thoughts.
The Specification Of The Bus
This document on the Irizar web site is the specification of the ie trams, that London are buying.
Passenger Capacity
According to the specification, these twelve metre long buses have a capacity of 97-99 passengers, with 21-28 seated, depending on layout.
Is that a bit tight? Especially, if people are carrying large cases.
Climbing Anerley Hill
I wonder how these buses will manage to climb Anerley Hill.
- This page on a cycling blog, rates the hill as the fourth stiffest in London.
- A typical Wrightbus or AlexanderDennis single-decker diesel bus has a kerb weight of 13-14 tonnes.
- The ie tram gives maximum front and rear axle loadings which total 21.2 tonnes. But that includes the passengers, which at 60 Kg each account for a lot of the difference in weight with the diesel buses.
- Anerley Hill has a rise of upwards of 30 metres.
Using Omni’s Potential Energy Calculator gives a figure of less than 2 KWh of energy needed to get up the hill.
That should be possible!
News Of The Bus
But there has been very little news on the Internet of these buses and their chargers, with the last story dated a year ago. Given Sadiq Khan’s love of publicity, does that mean anything?
Conclusion
It seems that Irizar have pulled out all the stops in the design of this bus.
Could The Pantograph Make A Return To London’s Buses?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
Reading Ian’s article, the plan is for the 358 bus route to be converted into an electric bus route, where the buses are charged at both ends of the route during the turn round.
The Feasibility Of A Battery-Electric Route 358
This morning, I took a train to Crystal Palace station and then took a 358 bus to Orpington station before coming home.
These were my thoughts.
Crystal Palace Parade
The buses actually leave from Crystal Palace Parade where there are several bus stops in a bus station.
This Google Map shows the bus station.
I also took these pictures.
Note.
- There is certainly a lot of space to put a charger.
- As there is the main Crystal Palace television transmitter close by, I suspect that power is not a problem.
There didn’t appear to be any sign of work relating to a charger.
Orpington Station
This Google Map shows Orpington station.
Note.
- The bus station is on the East side of the station.
- Buses are lined up at the Northern end of the bus station.
- Orpington station is step-free.
I took these pictures.
As at Crystal Palace there appeared to be no work in progress to install a charger.
The Route
The route is mainly flat with hills or inclines at the following places.
- There is a steep hill up to Crystal Palace Parade.
- There are hills at Bromley and Farnborough.
- There is a steep incline up to Orpington station.
At times, the bus was running at just under forty mph.
I suspect that Transport for London will have to be careful with specifying the battery size.
The Buses
This is the ie tram product page on the Irizar web site.
This is a video of the twelve metre ie tram.
It looks rather smart and purposeful.
The Charger
The image on Ian Visits could be one of Furrer + Frey’s chargers shown in this doocument on their web site.
Conclusion
It looks a viable zero-carbon bus route, but as no work is visible, has it been cancelled because of TfL’s financial problems?
The Anonymous Widower 