Carlisle Station Gets A Makeover
In If Manchester Victoria And Birmingham New Street Were The First Two Courses, Is Carlisle The Third?, I wrote how Carlisle station was going to get a £14.7 million upgrade including a new ETFE roof.
These pictures show the progress.
Note.
- There are two through lines in the station for freight and other trains that don’t stop.
- The four bay platforms at Carlisle are all electrified to some extent and it wouldn’t be the biggest task to make the station fully-electrified.
- It looked to me like a lot of the magnificent station building, isn’t being used to its full potential.
- The welcoming square outside the station needs an upgrade to become a real gateway to Carlisle.
I think that after the makeover, it will be a second very high-class station to mark the border between England and Scotland.
Carlisle could be in a unique position in a few years.
- It is already the best connected city in the Borderlands.
- Published plans mean that electric express trains will serve Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Manchester Airport, at least once an hour, with some places getting at least double.
- As I wrote in Arriva Rail North’s New Trains, new CAF Civity trains will be arriving, in both electric and diesel variants.
- After the current landslide at Armathwaite is cleared up on the Settle-Carlisle Line, these new trains will surely be running at least an hourly service to Leeds.
- The new trains will be providing an improvement in comfort, speed and possibly frequency on the hourly service to Newcastle, on the Tyne Valley Line.
- The new trains, would surely work their magic on the Cumbrian Coast Line around the Lake District.
- Scotrail is getting new trains too, and will some be used to provide a better service to Glasgow via Dumfries and Kilmarnock, using the Glasgow South Western Line.
If this doesn’t increase the numbers of tourists taking a rail-based exploration holiday of the Borderlands and the Lake District, I would be extremely surprised.
I’m not the only person, who thinks this way, as in the July 2016 Edition of Modern Railways, Theo Steel discusses options for the increase in traffic on the Settle to Carlisle Line.
In addition, other developments may happen, that will also increase Carlisle’s importance to the Anglo-Scottish railway system.
- The events of this winter, where the West Coast Main Line was closed because of bad weather, could see the Glasgow South Western Line improved and electrified to provide a valuable diversion route for train services between England and Glasgow.
- There could be a need for more Anglo-Scottish freight trains, but the West Coast Main Line is very busy. So will this mean that freight trains will increasingly use secondary routes like Settle-Carlisle and the Glasgow South Western Line.
- Carstairs station sits between Carlisle, Edinburgh and Glasgow and I can’t believe that Scotrail won’t use their new trains to improve services through the town. As ever, the improvements in services around Carstairs, will probably be driven by the need for new housing and commuting to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The big question though, is whether the Borders Railway will ever get to Carlisle. If it does, then Carlisle will be ready with a refurbished and electrified platform, alongside the one currently used for services on the Glasgow South Western Line.
Network Rail seem to deserve a few plaudits for their foresight in preparing Carlisle station for the future.
Who Parked This Bus Here?
Yesterday, I needed to go between Waterloo and Victoria stations.
According to my mother’s ready reckoner that is four stations; Embankment, Westminster, St. James’s Park and Victoria and one interchange at Embankment.
So at two minutes a station and one interchange at five minutes that is a total of thirteen minutes.
But after a bit of difficulty locating a bus spider map for Waterloo, I found that I could get 507 bus direct to Victoria station, from the Cab Road, which is a very short level walk from the main station concourse.
I waited perhaps two minutes for the bus and it took fifteen minutes for the journey.
So my bus journey probably took just four minutes longer than the Underground, but there were no steps, escalators or changing trains.
The 507 bus also stopped in the forecourt of Victoria station, just a short level walk from the trains.
The forecourt at Victoria station is rather small, so why do they allow buses like these to take up valuable space?
Who Parked This Bus Here?
I think that tourist buses are an unnecessary curse on London’s traffic and they are part of a big industry that rips off visitors and puts them off the greatest city in the universe!
Hopefully, someone will write a guide and an app, which will mean that all the Routemasters can be used as tourist buses, which explore all parts of the City.
I live on the Routemaster-equipped 38 route from Victoria to the romantically-named Clapton Pond and know a lot of the interesting history you pass through from end-to-end of the route.
One decent audio-guide app, would help to consign tourist buses to the dustbin of stupid and unnecessary ideas.
The 2017 UK City Of Culture
Hull is going to be the 2017 UK City of Culture
I walked across Hull twice from my supposedly City Centre hotel, which seemed to be almost closer to Grimsby than the railway station.
The first time was in the dark and there were no signs or maps, so I had to climb up on a dual-carriageway bridge, as the direct route across the footbridge was blocked due to demolition. The taxi-driver who brought me to the hotel said that all other routes were dangerous.
Despite the hotel saying it would take twenty minutes to get to football at the KC Stadium, It took me over an hour.
The pictures were taken in the morning and it was very wet, as they show.
I had hoped to find a paper shop to buy my copy of The Times, but in the forty minute walk, I didn’t pass one open shop selling newspapers. They was also no nice cafe for breakfast.
So instead of looking around Hull, I made an executive decision to go to Meadowhall to get some breakfast.
I know it was eight o’clock, but round here in East London, most things start at seven. Even my local Carluccio’s opens at eight in the week and nine at the weekends.
I got lost both times and I couldn’t even find a taxi to take me to the station.
I have never seen a city so badly signposted in my life.
But then to many of these towns and cities, maps are a waste of money, as everybody uses smart phones.
I don’t as my left hand isn’t good enough to hold it steady enough. Also as it was raining, the screen doesn’t appear to be too readable underwater.
UK Capital of Culture 2017?
They’re having a laugh or are they trying to lure visitors into those unsavoury areas my taxi driver warned me about?
I shan’t be going back to Hull again.
The place is an absolute disgrace as regards welcoming visitors, who don’t have cars and prefer or have to walk.
Vivarail D-Trains And The Heart Of Wales Line
I’d never really heard of the Heart of Wales Line until it was mentioned in this paragraph in this article on Wales Online about D-Trains running in Wales.
Vivarail spokesman Alice Gillman says the firm’s engineers believe the refurbished rolling stock would be suitable for lines in Wales including the Heart of Wales Line.
It certainly looks like a forgotten line that could certainly use some new rolling stock.
Reading the Wikipedia entry for the line, I come to the following conclusions.
- The line is mainly single track, but has been upgraded with four modern passing loops and can take freight trains that fir a loading guage of W5.
- The line is thought to be scenic.
- The passenger service is only a few trains a day and is mainly run by single coach Class 153 trains.
- It must have some horrendous operating problems, which could be expensive to handle.
It sounds to me, that this line is a very much underused asset, that if it was given a better train service could help to improve the lives of those in some of the most remotest parts of Wales. It might even bring more tourists to the area.
I must take a trip on the line.
In 2010, I took a train ride from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh and after that trip, I came to the conclusion, that that very scenic line needed more capacity.
But five years on there is still not enough diesel multiple units to give these lines an upgraded service.
So as reports are suggesting, could one or more D-Trains be used on the Heart of Wales line?
The journey takes just over three hours with a Class 153 Train, which has a top speed of 75 mph.
So a D-Train would unlikely be faster along the route, as it only has a top speed of sixty. Although, as there are 29 stations on the line, the D-train which has been designed for easy loading and unloading in London, may actually not be much slower overall.
Imagine a train service with these characteristics.
- A train with seats arranged in fours around tables by the window.
- Lots of space for bicycles.
- Fully-accessible for everyone!
- Something like Vivarail’s proposed catering system.
- A clock-face hourly service from Craven Arms to Llanelli.
All is possible with the right number of D-trains.
D-trains offer other advantages.
- As the D-trains don’t need the sort of specialist depot that most trains need, this must ease maintenance of the trains.
- More than one train, probably eases the problems of what to do if a train has a serious breakdown or hits a flock of sheep or a snow drift in the middle of nowhere.
- Don’t forget the novelty value of riding a refurbished London Underground train in some of the most rural parts of Wales.
- D-trains will be available by the end of 2016.
D-trains may never run on the Heart of Wales Line, but I can certainly see the reasons why Vivarail have thought seriously about the possibility.
Transport for London’s Visitor Centre At Liverpool Street
One of the things that Transport for London said it would do, when it closed Ticket Offices, was to open Visitor Centres at major stations.
This one at Liverpool Street station has been rebranded. It is one of several at main line stations and airports.
I know it was early on a Saturday, but I was the only person looking at what was on offer.
Looking at the London Pass, I think it could be something that a serious visitor would buy.
I can’t help feeling though, that as time progresses, the Visitor Centres in Central London will see fewer and fewer visitors, as London’s contactless ticketing system, will make travel advice something that can be handled easily by the station staff.
I may be wrong, but I think only Liverpool and Edinburgh have proper Visitor Centres. The one in Liverpool is placed on the platform where Virgins arrive from London and the one in Edinburgh is on Princes Street at the top of the escalators from the station.
Every large destination should have a comprehensive Visitor Centre, especially if they are a major interchange to other trains, trams and buses. The oferinmgs in some places is certainly not good enough.
Crossrail As A Tourist Attraction
Today, I took the Docklands Light Railway to Custom House station to see progress and then came back to see the works at Canary Wharf station.
In one of the pictures of Custom House station, you can just see the portals for the Conaught Tunnel. This was a particularly challenging rebuild of an old Victorian tunnel, which was one of the subjects covered in the BBC documentary; Fifteen Billion Pound Railway.
One thing I was trying to see, was one of the trees they are planting in the gardens on top of the station, that are mentioned in this article in the Wharf.
There seemed to be others looking around and now that you can walk from Poplar DLR station over the bridge at Bank Street, there are better opportunities for looking at the sites.
Could Transport for London Run A Tourist Train On The East London Line?
The East London Line of the London Overground is a railway line with lots of history, that runs through the Thames Tunnel, which was built my the father and son, Marc and Isambard Brunel.
Could it be turned into a tourist attraction for East London, without interfering with its main function as a valuable cross-river railway line?
In Berlin, they used to run a specially-converted panorama train on the S-bahn, but I couldn’t find it on my last visit.
Obviously, to have a non-standard train or two would be expensive, but small modifications might be possible to enhance its value to visitors, when all the other modifications that will happen are taken into account.
For example, I think that in a few years time, a substantial number of London’s buses and trains will have free or more likely sponsored wi-fi. So could a tourist commentary be broadcast through this to passengers? As I detailed in this post, you can already download audio guides for the Docklands Light Railway.
The East London Line is covered by four services to four destinations in the south and two in the north. All go through the Thames Tunnel, but one between Dalston Junction and New Cross stations is a fair bit shorter than the others and the service is scheduled with just two trains, shuttling north and south every fifteen minutes with a wait time at each end of the line of eleven minutes.
So how could these trains and stations be improved to provide a better service for visitors?
1. I don’t know about New Cross, but Dalston Junction doesn’t have a café, although I think at both stations, there is space on the platforms for a quality coffee stall.
2. If the trains were wi-fi enabled, the trains could have video cameras giving forward and backward views as the train progressed.
3. I would also put sideways facing lights on the two trains, so that, when passing through the Thames Tunnel, the Victorian structure could be illuminated. One of the good features on the Class 378 is that they have fairly wide windows, that give a good view.
4. On the Overground, many trains used to have a conductor. But could a trained tourist guide/conductor be provided on these trains? I suspect they could.
The East London Line is a railway line unique in London and probably in the UK and the wider world, as where else do you pass through such an important Victorian tunnel, that is so rich in history and engineering, and is in such a superb state?
Assets should be made to sweat! Especially, where they have the potential to create jobs.
A Maritime Tour Of England
My trip to Portsmouth yesterday, got me thinking.
As I waited for my train to return to London, there was a First Great Western train waiting in Portsmouth Harbour station waiting to depart to Cardiff via Bristol.
So why if you are thinking of visiting England and you’re interested in the sea and ships, why not visit England’s three western maritime cities; Portsmouth, Bristol and Liverpool? All have their main attractions close to the city centres and with the exception of Bristol, the stations are too!
Trains between Portsmouth and Bristol are every hour and take about two and a half hours and those between Bristol and Liverpool have the same frequency but take just over three hours.
So it is feasible to perhaps start your trip in London and then spend say two or three days in each city. Remember that Portsmouth and Bristol are near to excellent beaches for swimming and sunbathing and Liverpool is near to the amazing beach at Formby with its statues by Antony Gormley.
After Liverpool, you might carry on to Newcastle or Glasgow for a maritime theme or take the flight home from either Liverpool or Manchester airports.
As all cities are to the west, the weather is more likely to be sunny and warm, than some other places I could mention. The weather in Portsmouth yesterday was supposed to be of cloud and rain, but I ended in the sun all day.
Two things would improve your trip.
Some rail companies allow you to break your journey, provided you keep going in the same direction. So for instance, between Portsmouth and Bristol, you might like to break your journey at Salisbury for lunch.
But if you do, I suspect there’s no Left Luggage facilities at the station.
As to hotels, you would obviously pay your money and take your choice. I think that in each city, there are ones at all prices in the city centres or by the stations.
Remember if you’re over sixty, you can buy a Senior Railcard for a third off rail fares. If you are someone, who can stick to a timetable, the three tickets linking London, Portsmouth, Bristol and Liverpool, booked in advance over the Internet will probably cost around £30 each leg or £20 with a Railcard.
Judging by the number of foreign tourists, that I meet on trains, this type of holiday is getting much more common.
Come In Number 38, Your Time Has Come!
I saw several New Buses for London or Routemasters today, as I travelled the other way on a 38 to and through Hackney.
But they weren’t the remnants of the original Hackney Eight, but pristine ones, just off the boat from Northern Ireland.
Coming back from the Angel, I got one of the new buses and the driver said with a big beaming smile on his face, that from Monday all buses on the 38 will be New Routemasters.
So now visitors to the capital and those that live here for that matter, will be able to take their partner, boyfriend or girlfriend to romantic Clapton Pond, as I surmised here.
On a serious note, If you were thinking of opening a cafe, then Clapton Pond surely is the place!
Also if I was Hackney’s Tourism Officer, I’d be making sure everything was ready.
Rumour also has it too, that a well known estate agent has jacked up the prices of all properties near to a 38 bus stop by two percent.
Berlin’s Pseudo-Tourist Buses
Berlin has a short bus route numbered 100 across the centre using double-deck buses, that doubles as both a tourist and a general route. It passes a lot of the main tourist sites in a similar way to London’s route 11.
Use of this route is included in the Berlin Day Transport Ticket. I caught the bus from the Zoological Garden.
Like New Buses for London, they have two staircases.
The Anonymous Widower 