The Casablanca Tram
I was about to go back to the boat, when I saw a tram, with the destination of Plage on the front.
It was a trip worth taking on the Casatram, that was only a few months old.
If the tram has a problem for cruise visitors, it is that although it goes fairly near to where the Oriana was docked, there is no walking route to the tramway, as there is a lot of dock-related buildings in the way.
It was however very easy to use, provided you had a few coins in the Morrocan currency. Instructions were in French, Arabic and English.
Manchester’s Disorganised Public Transport
Coming from London, you get to know, what properly connected and information-rich public transport can do for you.
Arrive at any Underground station and they’ll be staff to speed you on your way, with proper ticket information booths at many mainline stations like Euston. Nearly every bus stop, in the capital, also has a local map and a spider map for buses in the area. And of course every bus stop now has a full text message information system.
Yesterday, I went to Blackburn to see Ipswich play. I chose to go the direct but slower route via Manchester, as this would allow me to have a decent lunch in Carluccio’s in Manchester Piccadilly station.
I arrived at the station courtesy of a Virgin Train’s Pendolino just before twelve and without any difficulty, bought myself an Off Peak Return from any Manchester station to Blackburn for the princely sum of £6.15, from a well-staffed Virgin Trains ticket office. At least I didn’t have the ticket problem, that I had at Liverpool on this day, where staff seemed to be non-existent.
I had an excellent brunch in Carluccio’s before setting off to Manchester Victoria by tram to get the direct train to Blackburn. Piccadilly to Victoria is a standard tram journey across the city, if you’re going onward like I was, after coming up from London, but as seems to be common on all Manchester transport, the system assumes everybody knows where they are going. There was no staff on the tram station to ask either.
Some might object, that there was no specific Senior ticket and you have to pay the full fare. I could afford the £1.10, so what does it matter. But other visitors might not be so affluent. After all, Sheffield allows me on their trams with my Freedom Pass, which of course doubles as an England-wide bus pass. But not on Manchester trams!
The train to Blackburn was one of the clapped out Pacers and Sprinters like these.
Two Clapped Out Trains
It was clean and worked reasonably well, but the passenger information system was very nineteenth century. It was a new line to me and I was no idea, where I was and which was the next station. As it was Blackburn was obvious.
Blackburn station has had a bit of a makeover, but this does not apply to anything to do with the buses. I was thinking about getting a taxi, when I saw a 1 bus, which said it went to Darwen via Ewood Park. Again, there was no-one to ask about which bus to take and where to get it.
It was then the usual rigmarole of getting a ticket issued on the bus, which I felt like promptly dropping amongst the litter on the floor of the bus. Why can’t we have a UK-wide system for bus ticketing based on London’s successful Oyster? I hate to use the term no-brainer, but if ever there was one, this is it. But I suppose cities, like Manchester, wouldn’t want to use a London-developed system, just as they won’t use two-door buses or fit good on-board information systems.
I’ll deal with the match later and then it was repeating the process on the bus to get back to the station. There was just a list on the shelter of times and no text message information system, to know how long we’d have to wait in the cold.
Luckily, I just caught a train to Manchester Victoria and the helpful inspector, said it would be easier to change at Bolton station. I did change, there but there was no chance of a cup of tea, whilst I waited.
The Closed Buffet At Bolton Station
Finally, I ended back at Manchester Piccadilly, in the little satellite station at the back. I knew where to get the London train and made it with perhaps two minutes to spare. I paid the £15 upgrade to First Class and was one of four in the carriage. I suppose the television presenter, Garth Crooks, was pleased, as he could just fall asleep for most of the way, without being bothered by large numbers of football experts. I did laugh though, as he pulled a cap low over his face and would a thick scarf round his neck, as he walked through a fairly deserted Euston station.
So if I was the Mayor of Manchester what would I do?
1. Put a proper Manchester Transport information booth in Manchester Piccadilly station. After all, the main bus interchange in Manchester is in Piccadilly Gardens, ehich is not a short walk away.
2. Make sure, it’s obvious how you get a tram from Piccadilly to Victoria.
3 Bring Senior Tickets on the trams into line with the rest of the country. I would also like to see the ability to use Oyster and bank cards as payment on the buses and trams, so that it is easier for visitors.
4. How about moving to London’s two-door disabled and passenger-friendly information-rich buses? This one might even get more people out of their cars, as I believe they have in London.
5. Manchester needs maps everywhere! Or at least somewhere!
6. A few more staff would help too!
I know Blackburn is outside of the Greater Manchester area, but a lot of the same things apply.
I suppose the problem, is that if you use public transport in large parts of the north, you’re a loser, so you should get lost and not be a drain on car-owning tax-payers!
Manchester public transport, must be a nightmare for the blind. Or don’t people go blind in the north?
Cardiff looks At A Tram Network
Cardiff appears to have various transport problems and a fair bit of congestion, so it is refreshing to see a well-thought out plan being proposed using trams to solve it. It all described here on the BBC’s web site as Cardiff Crossrail.
It may not be ideal and it may just stay in the planning stage, but at a proposed cost of £200 million it would appear to be affordable.
it also seems to make good use of existing infrastructure, which is obviously the way to go. The new London Overground showed that you get value-for-money by this approach and what money you do spend, can be concentrated on what the customers see, like the trains and the stations.
I shall be interested to see how the planning of this project progresses.
To Brighton via Cable Car And A Lot More
And a few other things too!
I had plenty of time yesterday to get to the Ipswich match at Brighton, so I thought, I’d see how many different forms of transport I could use.
1. A 21 Bus to Bank
I started the simple way by getting on this 21 bus to take me to Bank station for the DLR.
A 21 Bus To Bank
It didn’t actually go to Bank, as southbound buses have to take a detour at Moorgate because of Crossrail.
2. Docklands Light Railway to Royal Victoria Docks
I then took the DLR to Royal Victoria Dock station for the cable-car.
DLR Train At Bank
I did take a pause at Limehouse station to take pictures of the Hydraulic Accumulator Tower.
3. Emirates Air-Line To North Greenwich
I’d actually come this way to give me a good title to the post. But, as I had a gondola to myself, I was able to take good pictures of the Crossrail site at Limmo.
The Crossrail Site On The Limmo Peninsular
Work seems to be proceeding at speed and hopefully Elizabeth and Victoria will be dropped in the big hole soon.
4. Jubilee Line To Canada Water
This was the point, I realised I hadn’t got an SD card in the camera, so I purchased one by the O2.
Jubilee Line At Canada Water
At least the Jubilee line was working properly.
5.Lift To The Overground
This might seem like blatant cheating to get my count up. It is!
Lift To The Overground
Although it was a nice clean lift!
6. Overground To West Croydon
Those who know London’s transport system can argue that I should have taken the Jubilee line to London Bridge station and got a train from there. But hey! That would not be fun.
Arriving At West Croydon
But even the Overground takes you to wrong station at Croydon for Brighton. But at least, West Croydon station now has a quick exit to the tram.
7. Tram To East Croydon
At least when you’re going West to East in Croydon, the Tramlink is simple.
Tram at East Croydon
In fact, if say I’m coming from Brighton to my home, I will probably go direct to the London terminus. But going south, I tend to take the Overground from close by my house and then the tram to East Croydon station, as I did here.
8. Train To Brighton
I bought my first ticket of the day. a senior return to Brighton for £11.70.
My Train To Brighton Arrives
I arrived in Brighton on time.
I then walked down the hill to Carluccio’s for an early supper.
St. Pancras, Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley Stations
St. Pancras and Kings Cross stations sit above one of the biggest Underground stations in London; Kings Cross St. Pancras. Over the last few years, the moles have been burrowing deep under and between the stations to make the access between all three stations, accessible for those in wheel-chairs and with heavy cases. It’s not perfect, especially, if you want to make a quick transfer to an Underground line, but it’s a lot better than it was.
Edinburgh Waverley has always been difficult for passengers, unless you arrive and leave in a taxi, as walking up the famous Waverley Steps has not been easy for anybody with a mobility problem. Network Rail are improving the station, by glazing the enormous roof properly with clear glass to get more light into the station and installing lifts to improve disabled access. You’d think the installation of lifts would be welcomed, but I was surprised to read this article in the Edinburgh Guide. Here’s an extract.
Two 16-person lifts now descend to Waverley from the roof of the Princes Mall. Also, as part of the “Waverley Steps Improvement Project” a new covered step and escalator access has been put in between Princes Street and the north entrance to Waverley station.
“The ‘Windy Steps’ have been given a vital upgrade and are now accessible and convenient for all passengers,” said David Simpson, Network Rail route managing director for Scotland, of the “stylish and bright” new entrance.
Personally, I liked it the way things were. Trudging up and down the broad staircase of the well-worn stone slabs of Waverley Steps, there was a sense of walking in the footsteps of millions of travellers before me.
Lifts and escalators leave me cold. The building materials have little of the traditional quality or aesthetic of Edinburgh’s New Town and Old Town architecture. The machinery usually requires large amounts of energy (more CO2 emissions), seeing as they are running all day.
They are, frankly, utilitarian and ugly.
That gives me the impression, that they think things should have been left the way they are.
I travel extensively by train and if you look at Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Newcastle, Sheffield and London Paddington and Waterloo, all have been or are being upgraded to improve the passenger experience.
I suppose the writer would perhaps prefer Edinburgh Waverley to revert to diesel or even steam power for the trains, as they are more in keeping with the history of Edinburgh.
Basques Want to Join an Independent Scotland
I can’t work out if this was a Spanish joke or not, but it is reported in today’s Times. The leader of one of their political parties has said it and has also waxed lyrical about kilts and said that Edinbrgh should replace Madrid as their capital.
Probably it’s just another way of stating the old adage – You don’t have to be mad to be the leader of a political party, but it helps.
I actually think on a day of such miserable foreign news, the story lightens everything up.
On the other hand it could be a large publicity stunt on behalf of Bilbao-based company CAF, who are building the trams for Edinburgh’s tram system and they want to get it finished and of course get paid. When it does get finished, I suspect that a mixture of Scots, Basques, paella and Scotch will be a good recipe for a party.
How To Draw An On-Board Map
I took this picture on the tram between Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
An Excellent Route Map
It shows how with a bit of thought, you can make maps on trains, trams and buses really useful. Note how all the destinations are annotated with what is near to the stop.
92 Clubs – Day 46 – Wolverhampton, Wycombe
I started just after lunchtime by taking the 13:23 Virgin Train to Wolverhampton. From there it wasn’t the longest walk to Molineux, where Wolverhampton Wanderers play.
Outside Molineux Stadium
After visiting the ground, I took the short walk to the city centre and then on to the tram for Birmingham.
The Tram Arrives at Snow Hill
From the tram stop at Snow Hill, I finally found the badly-signposted walking route to Moor Street, where I caught the direct train to High Wycombe.
Adam's Park in the Dark
It was dark by now and this was best picture I could get of Adam’s Park, where Wycombe play.
On the way home the train stopping at Wembley Stadium.
Wembley Stadium at Night
I could have probably gone to the England Sweden match.
92 Clubs – Day 42 – West Brom, West Ham
This should have been an easy day and it effectively was. But it could have been an absolute nightmare, due to signalling problems in the Wolverhampton area. Someone said it was cable theft, but I can’t find any reference on the web.
I’d taken the 10:23 from Euston and I knew I could change at either New Street or Sandwell and Dudley. I chose the first, which did mean a walk to Moor Street, but it was also a direct train to the station at The Hawthorns. The other route may well have been a couple of minutes quicker, but due to the signalling problems it might have been difficult.
West Brom ‘s ground is only a short walk from the station of the same name, with separately signposted routes for home and away fans.
West Brom's The Hawthorns Stadium
As with most grounds this week, because of the International break, it was all rather quiet, so I took a couple of photos and returned to the station.
The trains seemed to be running erratically, so I thought I’d take one of Birmingham’s trams back to the city centre. In some ways, these are the UK’s forgotten tram system and it could surely benefit with some limited expansion.
It was a wise move as the tram accepted my return ticket, due to the signalling problems and it was only about fifteen minutes walk to New Street for the train home. It would have been nice if the trams had connected to Birmingham’s main station.
I had plenty of the day left and I came home first before I took the Overground to Whitechapel before changing to the District line for Upton Park and West Ham‘s stadium of the same name as the station.
West Ham's Upton Park Stadium
The ground’s architecture is unusual to say the least. It seems to owe a lot to the Disneys of the world. I’d never seen this side before, as usuallyI’ve been to the stadium in the dark and the the away supporters are on the other side.
Does Sheffield’s Public Transport System Work For Visitors?
Of all the major cities I’ve visited; Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield, Sheffield seems to have the public transport system that is most understandable to visitors. I’ve left out Liverpool and Birmingham, where I didn’t have time to look at the systems. Although of course, Liverpool is different for me, as I know the city well.
In Sheffield, I was greeted by this walking map.
Walking Map at Sheffield Station
At the other side of the station, there was a proper information board explaining how the trams worked, with details on fares, routes and where all the places I needed to visit were located.
Sheffield station is also located closely to the major bus interchange.
Sheffield Transport Interchange
This picture shows the interchange with the station behind the buses.
If you arrived in Sheffield with just an address, you should be able to find your way very easy. One small point, is that if you need to walk to the bus interchange or the trams, it is generally under cover and pedestrian friendly.
I used the trams extensively on Day 31 and didn’t get lost once. The only thing they need is indicators at the tram stops to tell you how long you will have to wait. But all the stops do have good maps, which is very rare in the UK, except in London.
I didn’t actually use the buses, but then I didn’t need to as the trams covered everywhere I wanted to go and they had the maps to guide me from the stops.
Sheffield is unique in that it has two major train stations linked together; the main station and the one at Meadowhall Interchange. On Day 31, I arrived at the main station from Manchester and then when I returned from Scunthorpe, I arrived at Meadowhall. I left for London from the main station, but say if I’d been going to the north east, I could have left from either.
The Anonymous Widower 