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.
There Are Only Three Large Offshore Wind Farms In Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 6
This document from the Department of Business, Industry and Industrial Strategy lists all the Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 6 results for the supply of zero-carbon electricity.
The wind farms are.
- Green Volt – 400 MW – Floating – Claims to be “The first commercial-scale floating offshore windfarm in Europe”.
- Hornsea Four – 2,400 MW – Fixed – Ørsted
- East Anglia Two – 963 MW – Fixed – Iberdrola
Is this what misgovernment expected, when they raised the budget in July 2024, as I wrote about in UK Boosts Sixth CfD Auction Budget, Earmarks GBP 1.1 Billion For Offshore Wind.
Perhaps, some developers held back until government policy is clearer?
Sunak’s Terrible Decision To Call The Election
As a control engineer and mathematical modeller, whose software planned many of the world’s major projects in the last thirty years of the last century, I feel that Rishi Sunak’s decision to call the election, when he did, was one of the worst political decisions of a UK Prime Minister in the last century.
Consider.
- Inflation was coming down and it was likely interest rates could fall soon.
- The Rwanda plan could have started to work.
- A new round of wind farm Contracts for Difference for wind farms are due to be announced soon and signs, that there could be a large amount of wind to add to the future pipeline could be a record. I wrote about it in UK Can Secure Record Number Of Offshore Wind Farms In This Year’s Auction For New Projects.
- There is 4 GW of new offshore wind to be commissioned in the next eighteen months.
When, he called the election, I believed Sunak had a very large rabbit to pull out of a hat. But there was none!
I wrote Where’s The Plan, Rishi?, because I felt these must be something more to come.
Conclusion
Now Starmer and the Labour Party, will reap all the benefits of selling Europe and principally, the Germans, the electricity and hydrogen they need.
Reform UK leader Richard Tice To Stand In Boston And Skegness
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC,
This is the sub-heading.
The leader of Reform UK has announced he is to stand as a candidate in Boston and Skegness at the general election.
Anr this is the first paragraph.
Richard Tice announced his intention to stand in the Lincolnshire constituency on social media on Thursday morning.
This article on The Times is entitled What are Reform UK’s Policies — And How Is The Party Polling?
The article has these two paragraphs on energy, decarbonisation and net-zero.
Energy and net zero is another major area of focus. Tice has referred to net zero as “net stupid” and wants to accelerate the granting of oil and gas licences in the North Sea.
Reform has said all existing carbon emissions targets should be abandoned, due to what it says is an unfair burden being placed on taxpayers and consumers.
I shall do some arithmetic to give a few pointers to the constituency he hopes to win.
The Boston and Skegness constituency is a large green energy hub, where in a few years electricity from various source will be collected for distribution to East Anglia and the South of England.
Currently, in operation, under construction or in planning, are the following sources of green electricity.
- Viking Link is a 1.4 GW interconnector between Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire and Denmark.
- EGL3 is a 2 GW interconnector between Lincolnshire and Peterhead in Scotland.
- EGL4 is a 2 GW interconnector between Lincolnshire and Westfield in Scotland.
- Lincs is a 270 MW wind farm.
- Lynn and Inner Dowsing is a 194 MW wind farm.
- Outer Dowsing is a 1500 MW wind farm.
- Triton Knoll is a 857 MW wind farm.
- Race Bank is a 573 MW wind farm.
Note.
- The three interconnectors can send electricity in both directions.
- The wind farms are in North-South order.
- There would appear to be space in the sea for more wind farms.
- The 950 MW Spalding gas-fired power station is available locally, when the wind is on strike.
- The owners of Spalding power station are rumoured to be putting a large battery alongside the power station.
The totals are as follows.
- 1.4 GW – Interconnector to Denmark
- 4 GW – Interconnector to Scotland
- 3.4 GW – Wind farms
- 1 GW – Gas-fired power station.
These total up to 9.8 GW of power.
Conclusion
Consider.
- It would appear that Richard Tice of Reform UK, has decided to stand in a constancy with one of the highest levels of green energy and energy security in the UK.
- It is also likely to be a constituency, which in the future will benefit from investment and employment, as more wind farms are developed in the North Sea.
It looks to me, that he’s a politician with very little mathematical ability.
An Early General Election
One thing that worries me about an early election, is it gives Putin less time to plan and execute his dirty work.
So he might do something a lot more extreme!
So make sure your cybersecurity is up to date!
A Manifesto For Liverpool City Region
The title of this post is the same as that of this document from the Heseltine Institute of Public Policy, Practice and Place.
The Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place. describes itself like this on its home page on the University of Liverpool web site.
An interdisciplinary research institute focusing on the development of sustainable and inclusive cities and city regions.
The main sections of the document are as follows.
- How Can We Reduce Health Inequalities?
- How Do We Meet Our Net Zero Goals?
- How Can We Address The Cost Of Living Crisis?
- How Can We Deliver Sustainable Mobility?
- How Can We Address The Challenges And Meet The Opportunities Of Artificial Intelligence?
- How Do We Build Enough New Homes In The Right Places?
- How Should We Care For The Most Vulnerable In Society?
- How Can We Maintain A Vibrant And Inclusive Cultural Life?
- How Do We Restore Trust In Democracy?
These are nine very important questions and the document is worth a good read.
Is This The World’s Smallest Hydrogen Car?
I typed “World’s smallest hydrogen car” into Google and found this web page.
This is the first paragraph of the product description.
The smallest hydrogen fuel-cell car ever commercialized. A small-scale model of a hydrogen fuel-cell application. A funny didactical toy for kids and… adults too!
But it only costs € 99 with the VAT included.
For something more useful, this web page details a ride-on hydrogen fuel-cell lawnmower.
When I find products, like these that can be bought on-line, it strengthens my belief, that at some time in the next few years, someone will demonstrate an Issigonis Mini-sized car that will run on hydrogen.
We must all remember, that engineering is the science of the possible, whereas politics is dreams of the impossible.
Thousands Pay More Tax In ‘Chaotic’ Yousaf Budget
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
It has this sub-heading.
Efforts to plug £1.5bn funding hole put Scotland at a disadvantage, say business leaders
I have a feeling that the rise in income tax will have unintended consequences.
The UK’s Current Hydrogen Plans
Last week, the UK Government announced grants for eleven big hydrogen projects, around the UK, with two in Scotland. The new Scottish electrolysers will be playing a large part in decarbonising the Scotch whisky industry and HGVs.
I wrote Major Boost For Hydrogen As UK Unlocks New Investment And Jobs to describe the investments scope and benefits.
The Government estimated that these grants will create 700 jobs, across the UK.
How many quality high-paid jobs will this funding create in Scotland? As two of the eleven projects are based in Scotland, it could be around 127 quality jobs.
More UK Hydrogen Plans Are On The Way
The Government also indicated that this was only the first stage of bringing hydrogen production to the UK, so I will expect more high-paid quality jobs will be created.
Projected UK Offshore Wind Power
This Wikipedia entry is a list of all installed, under-construction and proposed offshore wind farms in the UK.
Aggregating the new unbuilt wind farms says the following capacity will very likely be installed in the UK in the next few years.
- Scotland – 32, 750 MW.
- England – 25,558 MW
- Wales – 700 MW
As more proposals have been called for, particularly in the Celtic Sea, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to add perhaps another 10,000 MW.
Wind farms are also proposed for around the island of Ireland and in the waters of the Channel Islands.
Upgrading Of The National Grid
These three posts could well be forerunners of other posts, I will write in the next few months.
- National Grid Fast-Tracks Overhead Line Upgrade Project To Help Accelerate Connection Dates Of 175 Clean Energy Projects
- National Grid To Accelerate Up To 20GW Of Grid Connections Across Its Transmission And Distribution Networks
- National Grid’s London Power Tunnels Breakthrough Completes £1 Billion Project’s Tunnelling Activity
National Grid is increasing its capacity at a fast pace and will need a large number of quality engineers.
Crossrail And Electrical Engineers/Electricians
I suspect we’ll find, that when a report on the late delivery of Crossrail is published, an electrician shortage will get some of the blame.
I have friends, who are electricians. Because of the shortage of trained electricians, they were offered fortunes to work on Crossrail.
Do We Have Enough Engineers?
For all the reasons I have outlined, our path to net-zero will need a lot of trained electrical engineers and electricians and just as Crossrail showed, when there is a shortage of labour in a particular area, remuneration rises.
Electrical engineers and electricians in the British Isles will be able to pick and choose the jobs they take, just as they did with Crossrail and the other major projects being built at the same time.
Effects On Scotland
If you were an engineer, who had skills and could work on these projects, would you prefer to work on a project, where the tax rate was lower?
Scotland’s tax rise will harm their decarbonisation ambitions.
Surely, the Greens should have vetoed a tax increase, which will inevitably slow their progress to net-zero?
Or are Greens a tad short of the grey matter?
Conclusion
I believe the Scottish government has shot itself in the foot.
Maverick Clean Air Candidate Who Ran For Mayor Of London Is Back In Politics
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Air Quality News.
This is the sub-heading.
One of the most enthusiastic political advocates of clean air is once again throwing his hat into the electoral ring by announcing that he will stand in both the forthcoming Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election and the Mid Bedfordshire by-election.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India* may not be the best known political figure, but he’s certainly a persistent one. Representing the One Love Party, he was the youngest candidate in the 2016 London Mayoral election, where his policies focussed on London’s housing crisis and air pollution.
I didn’t know you could stand in two by-elections at the same time! What if you won both?
Support For Offshore Wind In New Jersey Drops, Industry Points To Effect Of Misinformation
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The number of New Jersey residents who support offshore wind fell by more than 20 per cent since 2019, from 76 per cent four years ago to just over half (54 per cent) now, and the number of those opposing offshore wind has climbed from 15 per cent to 40 per cent since 2019.
These are the first two paragraphs.
This is according to the results of a poll performed earlier this month by the Monmouth University Polling Institute, which found that 40 per cent of New Jerseyans think offshore wind farms could hurt the state’s summer tourism economy and 45 per cent see a connection between wind energy development and the recent beached whale phenomenon in New Jersey.
Furthermore, only 22 per cent expect the offshore wind industry to create a lot of jobs for the state, with most (55 per cent) saying that a few new jobs would be created and 15 per cent expecting that the industry would not create any new jobs.
It would appear that much of the drop in support has been down to Republicans.
The article is definitely a must-read.
The Anonymous Widower 