Free Device Charging On The Overground
This picture, that I took at Shoreditch High Street station, says it all.
There were a selection of leads for all the different devices.
A Design Crime – Charging Devices On Swiss Trains
I didn’t find a Swiss train with well-designed designed charging points.
I did find a few and they seemed to be for three-pin plugs and high-up above the window.
My adapter has only two pins and kept falling out, as my phone cable wasn’t long enough to place the phone on the table or the seat.
In the end, I put it in my top pocket to get it charged.
It was a bit difficult to use, as there wasn’t enough space for me in the pocket.
I didn’t see a USB port on any train.
In my view these are the way to go, as they will work for all users, from every country.
£250m Bypass Will Destroy Woodland
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in today’s copy of The Times.
This is the first paragraph.
A four-mile bypass will be built partly in the South Downs National Park under a plan that conservation groups fear will set a precedent for development in other protected areas.
This map shows the route of the proposed bypass.
The route may be the best solution, but I believe we need to be more radical.
Overcrowded and inadequate roads exist all along the South Coast of England and in many other scenic places in the UK.
I think we need to develop a philosophy to solve the problems of roads in these crowded places.
Building a four-mile bypass at Arundel, may be needed, but we should do many other things to ease traffic congestion and improve transport capacity.
So what do I believe we should do?
We could introduce negative measures like road pricing or other restrictions, but I believe there are positive things we could do.
Broadband
You might think, what has broadband got to do with reducing the need to build roads.
I believe that as more houses and businesses get very high speed broadband, this will reduce the number of journeys taken.
Mobile Phone Coverage
I am not sure, what effect excellent mobile phone coverage will have on traffic, but it certainly will have one.
Cycling
We will all be cycling more and one of the consequences of excellent mobile phone coverage will be the growth of park-it-anywhere bike schemes like ofo and Mobike.
I think a few years time, many short distance journeys will be done by bicycle.
But expect some Luddite councils to legislate against ofo, Mobike and their ilk!
Rail
Fast forward five years and a train journey in an area like along the South Coast or in East Anglia or the West Country, will be very different.
- Digital signalling will increase the capacity of all lines and mean that most stations will have at least four trains per hour (tph) in both directions.
- Digital signalling will also allow more routes.
- Advances in train design will mean that journeys are faster.
- Ticketing will use contactless bank cards or mobile phone payment systems.
- Trains will be a much more comfortable and work-friendly experience, with wi-fi, 4G and power sockets.
- Track layouts will be improved and level crossings will be removed., to allow trains to operate more efficiently.
- Improved information on trains and stations.
- The improved dwell times of modern trains, will allow new stations to be added without degrading services.
The biggest development along the South Coast, will be an improved service between Ashford and Portsmouth/Southampton/Bournemouth.
- Existing tracks will be used, with the addition of short stretches of new track at possibly Brighton and Eastbourne.
- Line speeds will be at least 100 mph.
- Most stations will have a Turn-Up-And-Go four tph service.
There will also be other improved routes to and from London and Gatwick Airport for many of the coastal towns.
This improvement in rail services will be impossible with a rail company like Govia Thameslink Railway providing services.
- They are more conservative, than the RMT.
- They look after their core commuter traffic, at the expense of other passengers.
- The franchise is just too big.
However, digital signalling will allow Open Access Operators to compete and create new services geared to customers needs.
Thameslink
The current Thameslink service will have the following characteristics, when it is completed in December 2019.
- Twenty-four tph through London.
- A well-designed track layout at Bermondsey that unlocks London’s North-South railway.
- Services at a level of at least two tph to many stations in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
- A set of uncomfortable Class 700 trains, designed by a moronic civil servant in the Department of Transport.
The major Thameslink upgrade was designed totally without vision and charisma.
However, the basics and possibilities are there to do the following.
- Increase the frequency to thirty tph through the Central London core.
- Increase the frequency on the Brighton Main Line through Gatwick, substantially, by using digital signalling.
- Rebuild the trains, with what passengers need.
- Add extra services all along the South Coast.
- Develop a massive rail-air interchange station at Gatwick.
I believe that Gatwick could develop into the busiest station in the UK.
I also think, that anybody going between London and the South Coast, will have a frequency of at least four tph from their local station, using either a direct service or a single change at Gatwick.
Freight
This Google Map shows the A27 through Arundel.
Note the number of trucks on the roads.
Where are they going?
The bypass would get the trucks out of Arundel, but would it just encourage more to use the South Coast route as a bypass for the crowded M25?
We need a proper philosophy for freight in this country.
- As much freight as possible should be by rail.
- Trucks should be for short distance or specialist needs only.
Does Southampton Docks have good enough access to the UK rail network?
I think not, especially as it would be very difficult to increase freight traffic through Southampton Central station, due to the restriction of the double-track Southampton Tunnel.
Conclusion
There is a lot to do, before we spend £250million n a bypass.
Does Talk Radio Make Telephone Fraudsters Go Away?
At the moment, I’m being plagued by telephone fraudsters. What they are up to, I don’t know, but I get around five a day, if I’m sitting by my computer writing.
I usually have my television switched to Radio 5 or something like the News on BBC1, when they call and I find it strange that if I don’t switch the sound on the television off, by the time I get the phone to my ear, the line is dead.
The fraudster seems to hear the noise of the talking and feels they may be wasting their time.
But it never seems to fail!
It reminds me of a story told me by a farmer, who was breeding free-range organic chickens for one of the major supermarket groups.
The local foxes were a problem, until someone suggested that he wire an old radio up to a car battery and put it on Radio 5 all night at a lowish level. It appeared the calm voices of Doton Adebayo and Rhod Sharp convinced the foxes there were people around and he was losing fewer chickens to the foxes.
Unwanted Image Messages On My Mobile Phone
I have started getting unwanted messages from Google and an American company called Peel Remote on my phone. I seem to get at least two every hour.
If they don’t stop, my mobile phone usage will go to emergency only and I’ll switch it on once a week or so!
I am allergic to two things; gluten and advertising!
I also have started getting a TV remote for my Samsung television on the phone. That is really wierd as the TV hasn’t been unpacked from its box and all my other televisions are old Sonys.
Successful Trial Means Tube On Track For 4G Coverage By 2019
The title of this post is the same as this article on Rail Technology Magazine. This is said.
The Tube network will see 4G connectivity arrive in 2019, TfL has confirmed, meaning mayor Sadiq Khan’s original ambitions will be able to go ahead.
The news comes following a successful trial of the technology on the Waterloo & City line, where 4G technology was tested in tunnels and stations along the line in the summer.
I wonder how long it will be before all trains, trams and buses have 4G connectivity.
In some ways, I think providing 4G connectivity outside stations, bus stops and other important places is more important.
Suppose you are stuck in an area with no signal and perhaps you have fallen over and seriously cut your leg and need help or just a lift home.
Wouldn’t it be so much better, if you could find somewhere, where you know you could summon assistance or a lift?
I have two questions.
- Will 4G connectivity be added to the Overground?
- Will 4G connectivity be switch on station-by-station and line-by-line or in one go in 2019?
In some posts about this, it is suggested that a driving force behind the connectivity, is that the emeergency services are moving to mobile phone technology. So if that is the case, then the answers to these questions must be in the affirmative!
Why Did You Cancel Your BT Direct Debit?
I picked up the phone and a believable voice asked the title of this post.
As there was no number visible on the phone display, I said that I hadn’t cancelled it and said, that I’ll check with my bank, before I put the phone back in its cradle.
It rang immediately, so I picked it up and told the caller to Fuck Off, as no company like BT would react like that, after I’d told them, I would check with my bank.
The phone rang about four more times and I suspect they had control of it, so I didn’t use it, but conteacted my bank on my mobile. The BT Direct Debit was still there.
An hour or so later, I rang a couple of friends to check my phone and the phone appeared to be working fine.
On checking with BT, they told me it was a well known scam.
The strange thing was that the call came on the day before my BT bill was due to be paid.
So as the scammer, had my phone number, name and billing date, it sounds like someone had read my details in a BT database.
One thing though the helpful girl from BT told me, was that if you cancel your Direct Debit to BT for any reason, you’ll get an e-mail.
So if you haven’t received an e-mail saying you’ve cancelled, it would appear that you haven’t cancelled.
Bloodly scammers!
Is Wi-Fi Becoming A Curse?
I usually only switch wi-fi on when I need it, on my Samsung phone. And when I don’t, I switch it off immediately.
Yesterday, I forgot to switch it off and this morning as the bus went through the Angel, the phone had switched itself to an O2 advert and it was trying to get me to install fourteen copies of updated apps.
I immediately, switched wi-fi off and didn’t install any updated apps, as in fact, I only use one app and that never seems to update itself.
How many people just update all the apps, they’re asked to do and inadvertently load a piece of malware, that empties their bank account?
Remember, it is in your phone service provider’s interest that you keep updating, as this generally increases your bill.
I also have no financial details on my mobile phone. Anybody who does, deserves to lose all their money!
Mobile Signals
When I was on the excursion on Gran Canaria, that I wrote about in A Tour Of Gran Canaria, I was getting an excellent mobile signal all the way, despite at times being amongst mountains that were nearly two thousand metres high.
Yesterday, I was in Victoria station and I was trying to use the Internet to find out, where my train left. The Internet signal was like one of Donald Trump’s speeches – utter tripe!
I think for reasons of safety, that all train stations and bus stops, should have a top-rated mobile signal.
Some years ago, the office at my stud in Newmarket had a dreadful signal. So I pointed a parabolic aerial at the nearest mast and rebroadcast it in the office.
Problem solved!
If I was an MP, who won the right to put a Private Members Bill through Parliament, I would make it the law, that all bus stops and train stations had a mobile signal, of the same quality, I was receiving high up in the mountains of Gran Canaria.
Or are the Elite waiting until a fourteen-year-old girl is raped and murdered because she couldn’t phone her parents for a lift, after getting lost on her bicycle?
The Anonymous Widower 