A Taste Of The Future
On Friday, I went to Chester and took a train home from Crewe to Euston.
It was a new Hitachi Class 805, that sped me to London, with just a stop at Milton Keynes.
This picture shows the train arriving at Crewe.
Note.
- High Speed Two it is not, but it went most of the way to Euston at 125 mph in an hour and 50 minutes.
- High Speed Two will take 56 minutes, although that is not cast in stone and steel yet.
- Crewe is one of the towns and cities, that will benefit most from High Speed Two.
But whether High Speed Two is delivered or or not, Crewe’s train service should improve in Spring 2026, as the first Lumo service on the West Coast Main Line service will be starting.
I describe the service in Lumo To Expand Scotland’s Rail Network With New London-Stirling Rail Route From Spring 2026.
This paragraph from the linked post, describes the route.
Lumo’s new route will link London Euston directly to Stirling, also calling at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet (serving Coatbridge), Greenfaulds (serving Cumbernauld) and Larbert.
It is fully-electrified and can support 125 mph running most, if not all, of the way.
It will certainly give knowledgeable travellers options on how they travel on the West Coast Main Line.
Lumo are also proposing another open access service on the West Coast Main Line to Rochdale, which will increase travel options.
My only worry is that Heidi Alexander will cancel it, on the grounds that open access services abstract the revenue of Great British Railways.
But then after announcing the service in a reception in Holyrood, she surely couldn’t cancel it now.
On the other hand, it could be that this Labour Government has discovered that open access trains are a more affordable way of developing rail services to and from London and over longer distances.
Consider.
- Recently, Lumo has proposed open access services from London to Carmarthen, Paignton, Rochdale and Stirling.
- Recently, Arriva has proposed open access services from London to Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Scunthorpe and between Newcastle and Brighton.
- Recently, Alsthom has proposed open access services from London to Shewsbury and Wrexham.
Not one of these services will cost the government a lot of money, but Network Rail will pick up access charges.
So has Heidi Alexander seen sense and feels that it is better to allow more open access services?
Could Any Other Open Access Services Be Opened On The West Coast Main Line?
London Euston and Rochdale is planned by Lumo and I wrote about it in FirstGroup’s Lumo Seeks To Launch Rochdale – London Open Access Service.
This sentence from the linked post, gives the route.
The trains would call at Warrington Bank Quay, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Manchester Victoria.
Other possibilities would surely be Blackpool and Barrow-in-Furness, but Blackpool gets a three trains per day (tpd) service from Euston and frequent trains from Preston.
Barrow-in-Furness could be a very useful destination.
With increased defence spending, the shipyards will be busy.
It could be another gateway to the Lake District.
Services could be extended to Sellafield, Whitehaven and Workington.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Cumbrian Coast Line between the West Coast Main Line and Barrow-in-Furness.
Note.
- The red tracks on the Eastern side of the map is the electrified West Coast Main Line.
- At the bottom of the map on the West Coast Main Line is Lancaster, with its station.
- The black track going West from Lancaster is the Morecambe and Heysham branch.
- The black track going West across the top of the map is the Cumbrian Coast Line.
- Barrow-in-Furness station is indicated by the blue arrow.
- The length of track without electrification on the route is less than thirty miles.
One of Lumo’s battery-electric trains would easily handle a London Euston and Barrow-in-Furness route.
Conclusion
There is obviously scope for new railway routes in the UK and some will be suitable for open access operators.
Perhaps, we need the Office of Road and Rail to be more proactive in deciding, when a route is to be served and then select an operator.
It would need to be an unbiased apolitical process, to stop an incumbent political party running trains to marginal seats, they hoped to win.
Equinor May Ditch Empire Wind 1 ‘In Coming Days’ Unless Stop-Work Order Lifted – Reports
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Equinor could abandon the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project “in the coming days” if the stop-work order, issued by the US government soon after the project started offshore construction work, is not lifted, president of Equinor Renewables Americas, Molly Morris, recently shared in an interview.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Morris told Politico that the standstill was costing the company millions each day and USD 50 million (around EUR 45 million) per week but that a lawsuit would take too long as the work offshore needs to get off the ground again soon.
Last month, Anders Opedal, CEO and President of Equinor, called the US government’s order to stop construction activities on Empire Wind 1 “unlawful” and said the company was seeking to engage directly with the US administration to clarify the matter and was considering its legal options.
AP reports that Morris said the project was now at risk of missing the summer construction window as it began this month and would be set back a year if that happens. This is why the company is pushing for the order to be lifted by the government as that would allow for the work to be resumed while legal action could get the project tied up in courts, according to AP’s report.
When this project is late and inevitably loses money, it will be Trump’s fault.
I’ve seen it all before with housing and railway projects in the UK and other countries.
But Trump is bringing pointless political interference for a whole new stupid level.
How
New York Governor: ‘I Will Not Allow This Federal Overreach To Stand’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Following the order of the US Department of the Interior (DOI) to halt all construction activities on the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she would fight the federal decision.
This fight could get very nasty.
In the green corner, we have the New York governor; Kathy Hochul, Østed, Denmark and probably a lot of workers who thought they’d retrained for a new growing industry.
And in the orange corner, we have Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and all the other useful idiots.
Interestingly, I may have met one of referees to this spat.
In The Lady On The Train, I describe a meeting with one of the most powerful justices in the United States.
As she either sat on the US Supreme Court or the New York State Supreme Court, it will be interesting how she would judge this case, given the liberal scientifically-correct conversation we had a few years ago.
The fight in the Courts would be very hard against a whole bench of formidable adversaries like this lady.
Education Secretary Suggests End Of Free School Meals For Some Infants
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Bridget Phillipson has put forward a £500m package of savings in negotiations with the Treasury
Welcome to the Summer of Discontent.
We’re Taking Money Out Of Government, Says Starmer As Cuts Loom
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Rachel Reeves faces a showdown with unions over plans to slash government running costs, which may mean the loss of five times more Whitehall jobs than previously planned
Welcome to the Summer of Discontent.
Thousands Of Jobs To Be Axed In Great Rail Shake-Up
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Most of the cuts are expected to be in back-office roles where staff are not members of the most active transport trade unions
Welcome to the Summer of Discontent.
Thoughts On The Washington National Air Tragedy
I flew light aircraft for over twenty years as a hobby and to get about on business. I flew mainly in the UK, but flew for perhaps fifty to a hundred hours in Australia, France, Ireland, Italy and the United States. I flew planes on to islands like the Scillies in the UK, the Lido in Venice and the Barrier Reef in Australia. It was great fun and I enjoyed it immensely.
I had a friend, who had been an RAF Air Traffic Controller, who would be horrified at Trump’s remarks on diversity, as although he was white, he had been born in Tobago and had many ATC colleagues who were not white.
Flying around the world, most ATC personnel, try to smooth you on your way, even in France and Italy. But American ATC seems to work under unnecessary pressure because they allow planes to where British, French and Australian ATC wouldn’t.
I was told in the 1970s, that aviation experts, wanted to close National Airport, but the politicians wouldn’t allow it.
If I was Trump, I would bring in outside experts from somewhere like Australia, where in my opinion, they do ATC so much better than the Americans.
The Borough Of Islington Has Increased Residents Parking By 43 %
boroughSocial Media alive with the message, that the Borough of Islington has put up Residents Parking from £ 175 this year to £ 250 in 2025.
That is an increase of 43 %. Although the good mathematicians of Islington say it’s 70 %.
The politicians obviously know the residents can’t do maths, so they can get away with fleecing them.
Trump Will Fix It
I can’t believe that I’ve just seen the title of this post, emblazoned across Trump’s stage.
The phrase doesn’t have the same connotations and odious ring, that it does in the UK, but because of its associations with Jimmy Saville, it is probably better not used.
All the world can now do, is wait for the result.
- It does appear that in the US, female voters have a high turnout.
- According to the Guardian, nearly a third of voters are black.
Certainly, if I were black or female, I wouldn’t feel, I could vote for Trump.
Robertsbridge Station – 25th September 2024
I went to Robertsbridge station, today and took these pictures of the station.
Note.
The tracks are electrified.
- The platforms can accommodate eight-car trains and probably ten-car trains.
- There is a level-crossing at the South end of the station.
- The bridge is not step-free.
- Passengers may be able to use the level-crossing to cross the tracks
- The station has a good collection of books for passengers.
- The London trains are in good conditiopn.
- There is an adequate amount of car parking.
It is a small workmanlike country station typical of many in the UK.
This Google Map shows the station.
Note.
The London and Hastings Line runs down the West side of the map.
The station buildings are marked by the usual sign and are on the East side of the tracks.
Also on the East side of the tracks is a siding used by Network Rail to store machinery and a car park and then the premises of the Rother Valley Railway.
Station Road with its level crossing runs across the bottom of the map.
These are my thoughts.
The Aim Of The Rother Valley Railway
This is the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the Rother Valley Railway.
The Rother Valley Railway (RVR) is a heritage railway project based at Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It takes its name from the original name for what later became the Kent and East Sussex Railway, running from Robertsbridge through to Headcorn in Kent, via Tenterden. The project is to replace the “missing link” between Robertsbridge, a station on the Tonbridge to Hastings mainline, and Bodiam on the Kent and East Sussex Railway, a heritage railway which operates from Bodiam to Tenterden.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the route of the railway between Robertsbridge and Tenterden Town.
Note.
- Robertsbridge Junction is in the South-West corner of the map.
- Tenterten Town is in the North-East corner of the map.
- Bodiam, Northiam, Wittersham Road and Rolverden are the intermediate stops.
This second OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks at Rotherfield.
Note.
- Robertsbridge station is on the West.
- Robertsbridge Junction station of the Rother Valley Railway is on the East.
- Network Rail’s siding runs between the stations.
It appears that the Robertsbridge Junction station has a turnback for a locomotive.
Progress On The Rother Valley Railway
This is the second paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the Rother Valley Railway.
Following a public inquiry in 2021, the government approved the project in May 2023 and granted the RVR’s application for a Transport and Works Act Order. This came into force on 2 August, allowing the reinstatement scheme to be completed. There will be then an end-on link with the Kent and East Sussex at Bodiam enabling through-running of passenger trains between Tenterden and Robertsbridge for the first time since 1954. Heritage trains will make use of the Rother Valley Railway’s own new station at Robertsbridge Junction, a short walk from the mainline station. Work is expected to begin on the final phase of reinstatement in 2024, following detailed surveys.
It certainly looks like progress is being made.
Tenterden Is The Largest Town In Kent Without A Railway Station
Although compared to some towns, that have recently got stations, it is somewhat smaller.
But it is larger than Okehampton, which has successfully opened a National Rail station.
Perhaps, a supermarket car park can be found big enough for a single platform station?
Starmer May Give Tenterden Some New Development
A few more houses could generate commuter traffic.
Will VAT On School Fees Encourage train Travel To School?
But train travel may be cheaper than a car to say Tonbridge by car! Every little helps!
More Trains At Robertsbridge Could Draw Traffic
Two trains per hour would surely help.
Conclusion
A Tenterden branch could be viable for a shuttle between Robertsbridge and Tenterden.
The Anonymous Widower 