Could The Pantograph Make A Return To London’s Buses?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
Reading Ian’s article, the plan is for the 358 bus route to be converted into an electric bus route, where the buses are charged at both ends of the route during the turn round.
The Feasibility Of A Battery-Electric Route 358
This morning, I took a train to Crystal Palace station and then took a 358 bus to Orpington station before coming home.
These were my thoughts.
Crystal Palace Parade
The buses actually leave from Crystal Palace Parade where there are several bus stops in a bus station.
This Google Map shows the bus station.
I also took these pictures.
Note.
- There is certainly a lot of space to put a charger.
- As there is the main Crystal Palace television transmitter close by, I suspect that power is not a problem.
There didn’t appear to be any sign of work relating to a charger.
Orpington Station
This Google Map shows Orpington station.
Note.
- The bus station is on the East side of the station.
- Buses are lined up at the Northern end of the bus station.
- Orpington station is step-free.
I took these pictures.
As at Crystal Palace there appeared to be no work in progress to install a charger.
The Route
The route is mainly flat with hills or inclines at the following places.
- There is a steep hill up to Crystal Palace Parade.
- There are hills at Bromley and Farnborough.
- There is a steep incline up to Orpington station.
At times, the bus was running at just under forty mph.
I suspect that Transport for London will have to be careful with specifying the battery size.
The Buses
This is the ie tram product page on the Irizar web site.
This is a video of the twelve metre ie tram.
It looks rather smart and purposeful.
The Charger
The image on Ian Visits could be one of Furrer + Frey’s chargers shown in this doocument on their web site.
Conclusion
It looks a viable zero-carbon bus route, but as no work is visible, has it been cancelled because of TfL’s financial problems?
TfL To Ban Private e-Scooters and e-Unicycles From Its Premises
The title of this post, is the same as this article on City AM.
I am no fan of these devices, especially, when they are ridden on pavements at speed, as they are very often in London.
I have also seen several instances of Darwinian behaviour, which would increase the quality of the gene pool.
The sooner the riders of these devices are made to obey the law the better.
Manchester Arena Attack: Families ‘Disgusted’ By Memorial Trespassing
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the introductory paragraphs,
Families of people killed in the Manchester Arena attack have said they were “disgusted” after a memorial site for the 22 victims was trespassed on.
The Glade of Light memorial in the city centre remains a building site and does not officially open until the new year.
Two bereaved families said they were appalled to find the security fences pulled down on Sunday.
The article also said this.
Ms Curry said she found hundreds of people were walking through the area, which is supposed to be closed to the public.
She said one man stood on a memorial stone and was abusive when challenged, another woman vomited all over the area, and groups of youths were openly smoking drugs.
I can’t understand what led to this aggressive trespass.
When, I am in certain cities, there does seem to be more low life on the streets than you habitually see in London.
I do wonder, if it is partly because of London’s transport regulations and actions as laid down by the Mayor and Transport for London.
London has an extensive CCTV network and after the London bombings of July the seventh and the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, I’m sure it was improved.
Did the improved CCTV and the police action in the shooting the unfortunate Brazilian, deter a lot of low life from going to the centre?
Ken Livingstone or was it Boris, introduced a policy of banning alcohol on London’s transport system.
The precise details are given in this recent article on the Sun.
I have a feeling it had a positive effect, but did it mean that less drunks found their way to the centre?
In 2011, I sat next to a guy on a Manchester bus going from Piccadilly Gardens to Bury. I noticed that about a dozen youths were harassing the driver, trying to get his fare money and remarked on this to my companion.
My companion on hearing my London accent, said you don’t get that in London because of the contactless ticketing, as there is no fare money on the bus.
I was surprised at his reply and asked him to explain. It turned out he was a Trade Union Official, who looked after bus workers in Manchester. He told me his Union wanted a London-style contactless ticketing system, as it had drastically cut the number of attacks on staff in London.
Having worked with the Metropolitan Police on the analysis of data, they have also found that contactless ticketing helps in the tracing of people through London’s transport network and has solved several serious crimes.
Conclusion
I feel that terrorism and London’s reaction to it, banning of alcohol on public transport, contactless ticketing and other measures have helped keep drunks and those up to no good out of the centre.
TfL May Need To Close An Entire Tube Line Due To Funding Crunch
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian’s Visits.
This is the first paragraph.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has issued a warning that an entire Tube line could close if the Government does not grant TfL the emergency and long-term funding it needs to maintain the capital’s transport services.
Ian, then speculates about which line would close.
I questioned his fare freeze before he was elected in Has Sadiq Khan Got His Sums Right? and very much feel that the politicians handling of Crossrail has caused its late opening.
Khan should realise you reap what you sow!
The Great Bus Robbery
Transport for London (TfL) obviously don’t like people where I live in the Northern part of De Beauvoir Town in the London Borough of Hackney.
When I moved here, ten years ago there were six bus routes that passed through the traffic lights where the Balls Pond Road (It is not a made-up-name from Round The Horne) and Southgate Road/Mildmay Park meet.
- 21 – Newington Green and Lewisham Shopping Centre
- 30 – Marble Arch and Hackney Wick (From the sublime to the ridiculous?)
- 38 – Victoria station and the romantic Clapton Pond
- 56 – Bart’s Hospital and Whipps Cross (You’d be cross, if you’d been whipped!)
- 141 – London Bridge Station and Palmers Green North Circular Road (Surely, another romantic destination!)
- 277 – Highbury & Islington Station and Crossharbour
Note.
- We had two bus routes to and from Highbury & Islington station for Dear Old Vicky!
- We had two bus routes to and from Moorgate, Bank and the City of London.
- We had four bus routes to and from Dalston Junction station and the cultural attractions of Hackney Central.
- We had a direct bus to Canary Wharf.
TfL looked at the name of the district and thought the posh French name, meant we were all had expensive vehicles or Hackney carriages and said we had too many buses.
So in June 2018, the 277 bus was cut back to Dalston Junction station and TfL promised that the frequency of the 30 bus would be increased. We’re still waiting for extra services.
Now, if you want to go to Highbury & Islington station, according to TfL’s Journey Planner, it’s often quicker to take a 38 or 56 bus to Essex Road station and take a train.
To make matters worse the 30 bus route now has cheap and nasty Egyptian-built buses with more steps than Russia. All buses should have flat floors like the New Routemasters.
What is TfL’s latest crime?
The 21 and 271 buses are going to be combined into a new route between Lewisham and Highgate, which will go nowhere near the Balls Pond Road.
So we’ll just have the one bus route to the City of London.
On past form, if TfL say they will increase the frequency, I wouldn’t believe them.
I think that TfL have ignored some problems.
The Elderly And Disabled
Between Newington Green and Englefield Road, a higher proportion of the passengers getting on the 21 and 141 buses seem to be in these groups.
- As it’s a nice place to live, I suspect many elderly people have just stayed on.
- I believe that North of the Balls Pond Road, there are some care homes and sheltered housing.
Have TfL analysed their passengers?
Not Everybody Has Cars
There are several blocks of social housing on the Newington Green and Englefield Road stretch and you see a lot of passengers who don’t look like car owners.
The lack of parking and the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods don’t help.
Access To Waterloo
My quickest way to Waterloo, which is London’s busiest rail terminal, is to take a bus to Bank and then get the Drain.
A halved service to Bank station will probably force me to take longer routes.
Tradition
When I was a child in the 1950s, the 141 was the 641 trolley bus, which ran between Winchmore Hill and Moorgate.
People, who live in Wood Green, Turnpike Lane and Manor House still commute to the City by bus, as people have done for over a hundred years.
I suspect a lot of commuters change from the Piccadilly Line to the 141 bus at Manor House station. I certainly use that route if I’m going to Southgate or Cockfosters.
The 21 bus starts at Newington Green, which means if you want to go from Balls Pond Road to Bank, you’ll usually get on a 21 bus, as the 141 buses are full with passengers from further North.
So it looks like to get to Moorgate, we’ll need to get a bus to Angel and then get the Northern Line, after the rerouting of the 21 bus.
Crossrail
This will have a big effect.
Suppose you live in Wood Green and want to get to Crossrail.
There is no obvious connection, but tradition will mean your preferred route will be to take a 141 bus between Manor House and Moorgate.
There will also be a quick route between Moorgate and Liverpool Street station, that I wrote about in London’s First Underground Roller Coaster.
Conclusion
We will need the 21 bus to provide us with a route to Crossrail, as the 141 buses will be full.
The 21 bus is needed where it is and mustn’t be stolen.
TfL Considering Extending DLR As Far As Abbey Wood
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on New Civil Engineer,
I am ambivalent about whether the Docklands Light Railway is extended from Beckton to Thamesmead or Abbey Wood.
This map from Ian Visits shows the area.
I’ve always preferred a high bridge from Barking Riverside to Thamesmead.
In There’s A Lot Happening Around Tilbury And Gravesend, I said this.
My personal preference for another connection would be to build a bridge between Barking Riverside and Thamesmead, to take the Gospel Oak to Barking Line over rather than under the Thames, if this was possible. I would use tram-trains on the railway, that if required did a walkabout around the estates as trams on both sides of the river. The bridge would also be open to cyclists and pedestrians.
Properly designed, the bridge could be a visitor attraction in its own right!
But could the bridge taking the DLR over the river become an attraction?
Bakerloo Line Extension | TfL Instructs Consultants To Work Up Tunnel Designs
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on New Civil Engineer.
This project is the Mayor’s pet, as it is good for those that vote for him in South London.
But I believe that the West London Orbital Railway should have a higher priority as it serves an area that is in massive need of improvement in public transport and can be delivered quickly and for a lot less money.
Why Do 21 And 141 Buses Always Come Together?
To get between my house and Moorgate station, I use either a 21 or a 141 bus.
During the day, both buses run at a frequency of about one bus every ten minutes.
As the buses take exactly the same route between Bank station and Newington Green, surely it would be logical, if the buses were timed on this section, so that the buses ran every five minutes.
But inevitably, a 21 and a 141 bus always turn up together, which generally means if you miss both, you have to wait ten minutes until another pair come along.
Surely, a bus every file minutes might encourage more people to use the buses.
Nine Elms Station Opens
I took these pictures at Nine Elms station today, after it opened.
Note.
- The space is generous on the wide island platform.
- Access between platform and train is level.
- There is a set of three escalators and a lift connecting the platform to the surface.
The underground parts of the station feel very much like Canary Wharf station without the platform edge doors and fewer escalators.
Why Aren’t There Platform Edge Doors?
I was chatting to someone and they wondered how the station and Battersea Power Station station had been built without platform edge doors.
- The thought had occurred to me too and we both thought that EU regulations meant that new underground platforms had to have these doors.
- As the 1995 Stock on the Northern Line are very similar to the 1996 Stock on the Jubilee Line, it is unlikely to be a technical or design issue.
- I also think it would be unlikely to be a cost issue given the size of the budget for the two stations.
Look at this picture of a train in Nine Elms station.
Note.
- The platform is long and straight.
- The platform is generally wider than some of London’s older Underground platforms.
- The track is arranged, so that the door openings and carriage floors line up with the platform edge, so that wheelchair users, bugger pushers and case draggers can go safely across.
- There is only a small gap between the train side and the platform edge, between the doors on the train, which is probably too small for anybody capable of walking can fall through.
- There is no Mind The Gap written on the platform. There is just a yellow line.
- There are no obstructions on the platform.
This second picture shows the structure of the track.
Note.
- The four rail electrification system is clearly visible.
- The far rail is energised at +420 VDC.
- The centre rail is energised at -210 VDC.
- The two running rails don’t carry any current.
- There is a suicide pit between the running rails and under the centre rail to protect anybody or anything falling onto the tracks.
I do wonder if Transport for London have done an analysis and found that the number of serious accidents on stations with these characteristics is small enough, to build these two new stations without the doors.
Other factors could include.
- Stadler are the masters of step-free access and have built several innovative fleets of trains for safe step-free access without platform edge doors. Although they have nothing to do with this project, their statistics would be relevant.
- The UK has left the EU, so we’re ignoring the regulation.
- The Northern Line might get new trains.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see this philosophy of straight uncluttered platforms being applied across the Underground.
This picture shows the Southbound platform at Angel station.
Note.
- This platform was built in the early 1990s.
- It is wide and uncluttered.
Note that the trains were introduced after the station was opened, so that is perhaps, why the train floors are higher.
Crossrail: Report Finds Not Enough Money To Finish Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the first two paragraphs.
The cost of completing Crossrail exceeds available funding, the government spending watchdog has found.
The National Audit Office (NAO) estimates the cost of the new rail link will be between £30m and £218m above the current funding.
After such a good start with the tunneling and surface line going well, how did we get here?
My main business for nearly forty years was writing project management software and that gave me a deep insight into the dynamics and mathematics of large projects.
The software, I created in the 1970s; Artemis was deeply involved in the most important project of the time; North Sea Oil.
But then more by luck, than any judgement on my part, it was well suited to solving the management problems of North Sea Oil.
The software ran on a small Hewlett-Packard mini-computer with an attached display and a printer, whose footprint, gave Artemis an advantage over competitors who needed a mainframe, for which there was no office space in Aberdeen.
I had first got involved in scheduling resources at ICI about five years earlier and because from previous experience I knew resources would be critical, I gave the program extensive resource aggregation and scheduling capabilities.
I have been told that the latter proved invaluable in successfully developing North Sea Oil. People may have been flattering me, but I do know that Shell used to ensure that all their suppliers used Artemis, so they could check easily if they were being told the truth.
I suspect that Shell and others used the aggregation capability to see that they weren’t overloading the pool of available labour.
Artemis definitely proved itself capable of handling the various projects in the North Sea.
We have now moved on forty years, but has project management moved on to cope with the advances in technology of the modern world?
As with North Sea Oil in Aberdeen, in the 1970s, Crossrail and other large projects like Berlin’s new Brandenburg Airport will always have a need for large numbers of resources, be they men, materiel or machines.
I have some questions.
- Do all contractors working on Crossrail use the same software?
- Does Crossrail have the right to inspect the contractors project management systems?
- Is the upward reporting what it needs to be?
- Does the software the contractors use, have an aggregation capability?
- Do Crossrail track and predict the resources needed?
Someone I respect told me, that a lot of modern project management software doesn’t even have an aggregation capability- Enough said!
I must admit, aggregation and scheduling software is difficult to write, so it might be easier to cut it out and let your clients muddle through!
But The Tunnels Were Built On Time And On Budget!
It all started so well, with the first part of the project, which was the boring of the tunnels being completed on time and on budget.
Observing the project, as I did and picking up information from engineers working on the tunnels and various magazines and television programs, I have to come to the conclusion, that the credit for the on time and budget completion must be down to excellent planning.
- I don’t remember any delays or problems reported in the tunneling. Was that good planning and surveying or luck?
- There were few if any articles on the BBC or in the Standard complaining about the problems the tunneling was inflicting on Londoners.
- The planners realised there could be a shortage of workers qualified to work underground, so they built the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy at Ilford, which I wrote about in Open House – TUCA.
Certainly, St Barbara, who is the patron saint of tunnellers looked after the project and its builders.
Worsening The Resource Problem
Crossrail, the Greater London Authority and the Boroughs should have been monitoring this growing resource problem, but I doubt they were in anything other than a perfunctory way!
Instead the politicians were giving planning permission to anybody with money, who wanted to build a shiny new development close to a station.
These projects would need more men, materiel or machines.
As many of these new developments are backed by companies or funds with bottomless pockets to get their developments finished they were prepared to pay more for their labour.
So labour has been deserting Crossrail in droves, thus further delaying the project.
Senior politicians in the Greater London Authority and the boroughs should accept some responsibility for Crossrail’s delay.
They didn’t need to withhold the planning permission, just say that construction of the other projects couldn’t commence until an appropriate phase of Crossrail was open.
In some parts of the world, brown envelopes will have changed hands, but it would be nice to know how many mayors and senior politicians have had holidays in places, they would not normally visit.
Senior project managers tell me, that they would not be surprised if developments along Crossrail had delayed the project.
The Covid Problem
No-one saw Covid coming, except possibly the Chinese.
But good project management is all about negotiating the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
There is the story of the miniMetro production line.
The first body shells coming out of the automated welder were crooked and it turned out that the machine had hit a motorway bridge in Germany. But by good project management using Artemis, British Leyland engineers were able to get the second line working correctly before the first and the car was launched on time.
With Covid, the Mayor shut construction, and it was some months before it restarted again.
I am certain, that with good project management we could have done better.
Covid is also a good excuse for lateness.
On the other hand good project management got the vaccines developed, manufactured and delivered into arms.
Covid also blew a big hole in Transport for London’s finances.
But then so did Sadiq Khan’s Fare Freeze, that brought him to office.
Could Crossrail Have Part-Opened Earlier?
I often ponder this and others ask me if it would be possible.
The Victoria Line was built with crossovers and it was able to open in phases.
Crossrail has crossovers in the following places.
- Either side of Custom House station
- To the West of Whitechapel station
- Between Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road stations
Note.
- It doesn’t appear to have been built for part opening.
- From media reports, it appears Whitechapel station is the basket case in the East.
The answer is probably that Crossrail can’t be part-opened, but there are good reasons, why it should be opened earlier.
- To generate a small amount of revenue.
- To give travellers and Londoners in general a lift.
The only practical service would be a few trains turning at Farringdon.
Conclusion
I blame politicians for Crossrail being late and over budget.
The Anonymous Widower 