Let’s All Push Together
This story shows how teamwork and lots of people can do things that many would think impossible.
God Has Taste
The BBC has just shown a dramatic picture of a lightning strike on Manchester Piccadilly station.
She couldn’t have chosen a better target!
How Not To Plan A High Speed Railway
The farce that is Fyra might have got a bit better as there are now going to be some extra Thalys trains on the line soon, as is reported here.
But this will only partially compensate for the loss of the Fyra V250 trains and capacity will be nowhere near that needed.
It will also do nothing to get round one of the major design faults of the line; the lack of a branch to the Dutch capital, The Hague. A city incidentally, which doesn’t have an airport well-connected to the city centre, unless you count Schipol.
In some ways the design of the line, would be like the UK, creating a high speed line to Scotland, that bypassed Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.
The Dutch also have a problem in that their tracks aren’t to the European standard of trains on the left, electrified to 25,000 volts AC, so it makes it difficult for high speed trains to run on secondary lines, as they do in most other European countries, The suburban Class 395 run in rural Kent and on HS1. Like the Thalys, they have a multi-voltage capability.
Another problem is that there aren’t enough Thalys trains and you can’t just rustle up some new ones quickly. In fact I suspect there is a large shortage of rolling stock across Europe and I suppose the real problem, is that because every country seems to work to different standards and local politics, manufacturers rely too much on living on the scraps politicians give them. So say if we need say some extra stock on the East Coast Main Line, we can’t generally borrow from the Germans. Saying that though, but for a few years Regional Eurostar trains did run to Leeds. But then that train was designed to run in the UK, France and Belgium.
We also complain in this country about orders for trains going to foreign manufacturers, but this is a Europe wide problem.
What we need is standards for railways that apply across most of Europe. When you have travelled on trains as much as I have you realise what a disconnected design it all is.
Underneath East London
This article about Crossrail is worth reading.
I think the article fits the pattern where Crossrail are doing their utmost to be good neighbours.
After all, bad publicity or even protests in the middle of a projectr, is the easiest way to make it late.
The Queues In The Underground At Kings Cross St. Pancras
I came through Kings Cross St. Pancras Underground station on Friday afternoon and the queues at the ticket office, were enormous, as they often are at that time of the week.
The Queues In The Underground At Kings Cross St. Pancras
I suppose one problem is that many people off the Eurostar from Paris or Brussels don’t have any British money or an Oyster card. But as this page says, you can buy Oyster cards on Eurostar.
The BBC’s Gloomy Reporting
Despite the good news of the near £10 billion boost the Olympics gave the UK, BBC London is leading with two negative stories.
In one they are saying local business in London are moaning about loss of business because of the games.
And in the other, we have the residents of Surrey complaining that they have more road closures this weekend because of another cycling event. I suppose that it does make it difficult to drive the 4×4. I did hear once that you need a degree in moaning to live in Surrey.
Of course for balance the BBC is also reporting that too much of the Olympic benefit came to London.
In some ways the best legacy from the Olympics in this weather, are the new air-conditioned Class 378 trains on the London Overground and the S Stock on the sub-surface lines of the London Underground. It can also be said, that the place which has benefited most from these trains, is Derby, where they were built or are still being built in the case of the S Stock. It can also be argued that these trains would have been ordered anyway. The value of the orders is approaching two billion pounds.
You Can’t Miss Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
I went to Portsmouth yesterday to look at the Historic Dockyard and in particular to see the Mary Rose.
I took the train from Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour station and when you walk out of the station, you can’t exactly miss the dockyard.
You Can’t Miss Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
The ship is HMS Warrior.
I do have a couple of issues with South West Trains though.
I travelled First Glass and on trains like Virgin, East Coast and Greater Anglia, you get complimentary drinks. But not on South West Trains.
The Class 444 trains, seem to have an absence of litter bins in First Class. Perhaps First Class passengers throw everything on the floor.
The station also seems to have a lack of any sort of map. Not that I needed one, as I could see my destination from the station entrance.
Crossrail Again Shows How To Be A Good Neighbour
Let’s face it, Crossrail is a large project and in some ways it’s as disruptive as letting several herds of elephants roam Central London unchecked.
I myself don’t get much aggro, except as I indicated here to the various bus routes I sometimes use.
This story though, shows how they are minimising bad publicity, by doing positive things in the community. How many of the kids talked to in this story, will get a better University place or job, because of the experience?
PR often gets a bad press, but used properly it can bring positive benefits to everyone.
GreaterAnglia’s Awful Colour Scheme
I took this picture last night on the way to Walthamstow.
GreaterAnglia’s Awful Colour Scheme
The pink just clashes with everything. But then they also make the mistake of having red doors on their trains.
As with many trains on the Lea Valley Lines, it looks like the windows need a clean.
I think it can probably be said that when these lines come under the control of Transport for London in 2015, the colour scheme will be better. Especially, as these Class 317 trains, will be given a refurbishment, so that they can last another twenty years.
Is It Potters Bar All Over Again?
When I first read the reports of the French train crash at Bretigny-sur-Orge, it struck me there were some similarities between the crash that happened at Potters Bar in the UK in 2002.
In that accident faulty points were the cause of the train coming off the track just before Potters Bar station, with one coach getting wedged on the platform.
Now this morning the BBC is carrying a report, which says that in France, there are reports saying that a loose rail connector caused the crash.
Poor track checking and maintenance was definitely a cause of the crash at Potter Bar and it is stated in the BBC report, that this could be the cause in France. The BBC quotes this from the respected French newspaper; Le Figaro.
Bertille Bayart in Le Figaro says the accident, which comes days after the government announced investments in the railways, will spark controversy over infrastructure that is “characterised by ‘serious degradation’, in the words of the transport minister”.
I think the moral is that you cut down on checking and maintenance on the railways at your peril.
But just as at Potters Bar, the French train managed to protect a lot of the passengers despite the extremely violent crash. Trains are a lot stronger than you might think.
The Anonymous Widower 