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Sense seen on Crossrail at last?
"Tim Fenton" wrote in message
My feeling is that Dave and his jolly good chums are set to visit on us the same horrors that Thatcher did, having learned nothing from the post 1979 record. They won't be the ones that have to go without. They enjoyed 18 years of power after 1979, so maybe their post-179 record wasn't so unpopular after all. |
Sense seen on Crossrail at last?
"Recliner" wrote:
"Tim Fenton" wrote in message My feeling is that Dave and his jolly good chums are set to visit on us the same horrors that Thatcher did, having learned nothing from the post 1979 record. They won't be the ones that have to go without. They enjoyed 18 years of power after 1979, so maybe their post-179 record wasn't so unpopular after all. I wonder how the alleged "horrors" of Thatcher's Tories compare with the "achievements" of NuLabour? Notably, the latter's two illegal wars, the near-destruction of the British financial services industry thanks to inept regulation (or a lack of it) and the massive and apparently uncontrolled rises in public spending and taxation that show no kind of return. Not to mention the control freakery, the sleaze of individual MPs and the corruption of the Labour Party as a whole. It was the latter that caused me to leave Labour, starting with the Ecclestone affair allowing continuation of tobacco advertising in Formula 1 motor racing in return for a bribe of £1 million paid to the Labour Party. John Major's Tory government was accused of sleaze and incompetence but nothing they did bears more than the slightest resemblance to the institutionalised gross corruption and negligence of this NuLabour lot. |
Sense seen on Crossrail at last?
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Sense seen on Crossrail at last?
"Peter Masson" wrote in message ... wrote Exactly what service would they propose to Gravesend? Would they squeeze in the Crossrail stoppers between the North Kent trains? Would they remodel Dartford? It all seems a bit vague. I haven't yet seen anything in the Kent RUS or S London RUS to suggest what they would plan on doing. Maybe I missed it.. It is vague - as there is no current intention to extend Crossrail to Gravesend. The safeguarding seems to include more land than was envisaged in the original Crossrail proposals, suggesting that there will be more track, especially in the Slade Green - Dartford area, and it is clear that a terminus at Ebbsfleet has been dropped in favour of Gravesend. Peter 1. Safeguarding is a planning tool, a smart one. But can lead to "planning blight" so there is a downside. 2. Crossrail's scope is clearly constrained by economics. 3. Earlier proposals probably inform us of the potential scope of Crossrail operation longer term. 4. NO-ONE has mentioned the plethora of hybrid battery-equipped rollingstock currently prototyped, on trial, in low volume production etc around the world. Given Crossrail's gestation, can I assert with some confidence that by then it will be quite normal for trains to extend a moderate distance beyond the wires or juice rail. 25kV to Reading would not necessarily be a pre-requisite to CrossRail service by the mid-10s. 5. Also absent from discussion so far has been AirTrack. In some other forums, we hear that BAA are firmly behind AirTrack. AIUI, provision has been made in the Heathrow 5 station box for them. The discussion suggests that HConn/Crossrail will run through to Reading via H5 and AirTrack. Those with local route knowledge can fill me in here, but once the link is made, basically would dual-voltage stock (one assumes Bombardier will have recovered from their supply line and quality management difficulties by then -;) ) provide a through Crossrail all-electric service? From http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2...runway_ plans we read January 23, 2009 Greener trains and a direct rail-air link from Reading are among a raft of transport improvements being outlined alongside confirmed plans for Heathrow's third runway. Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon confirmed work would be undertaken to consider electrifying the Great Western Mainline (GWML) as he gave the go-ahead for the airport's expansion last week. Network Rail has welcomed the proposals which would mean quieter and smoother journeys for passengers on eco-friendly trains and "a sustainable form of travel". Electric trains are cheaper and easier to maintain and cause less wear and tear on the track, which rail bosses say would lead to an increase in reliability. Last year also saw Network Rail start a significant piece of work on potential further electrification of key rail routes which is expected to be completed in the spring. The enhancements of the track at Reading as part of the £425 million station redevelopment would also pave the way for Airtrack trains to use the station. Network Rail is also working with the Department for Transport and British Airports Association (BAA) on the scheme to connect passengers directly to Terminal 5. Network Rail is carrying out ongoing work looking at the need for new railway lines which will feed into the work of the Government's new company High Speed 2. This company will consider fast rail-links between London and Scotland and could include plans for an interchange station on the GWML to do be determined later this year. Rupert Walker, scheme sponsor for Reading re-modelling scheme, said: "The announcements show that the plan to upgrade the capacity of the railway at Reading plays an important part in the future of transport in Britain. Network Rail welcomes Mr Hoon's comments and awaits further announcements about whether electrification and the Airtrack service to Heathrow will become a reality." 6. Given the time frames for Crossrail, and the rather modest scope of AirTrack in comparison, could it be that AirTrack is up, and through electric services running Paddington - Reading before Crossrail starts? 7. While HConn only goes to H123 (old H Central, made more sense!), AIUI that's a commercial decision. The AirTrack scheme clearly envisages HConn/Crossrail coming into the H5 box and extending west out of it. What happens to HEx and links to H123 then would be influenced by the commercial imperitives of the day. 8. The discussion about what will happen to this local or that once Crossrail is extended to Reading via GWML is, IMHO, a tad premature. I'd suggest that in the perhaps 8 years or so before the earliest that might happen, the shape of the world as we know it might alter somewhat. If we look back 8 years, or even more instructive, 15 - how recognisable are the service patterns and timetables now compared to then? The players involved? Government policies? That part of the thread seemed to me, at my safe and comfortable distance down under in Perth, Western Australia as having a discernable whiff of NIMBYism about it. 9. I am one who was surprised that Crossrail wasn't more firmly tied in with the Kent HS1 - at Stratford and further out. The safeguarding excercises give a future Government the opportunity to take some new risks :) My 2p for now ... David down under |
Sense seen on Crossrail at last?
In message
"DW downunder" noname wrote: [snip] 4. NO-ONE has mentioned the plethora of hybrid battery-equipped rollingstock currently prototyped, on trial, in low volume production etc around the world. Given Crossrail's gestation, can I assert with some confidence that by then it will be quite normal for trains to extend a moderate distance beyond the wires or juice rail. 25kV to Reading would not necessarily be a pre-requisite to CrossRail service by the mid-10s. Not mentioned for a very simple reason, battery technology is just not up to the job, nor is it likely to be in the forseeable future. While it is a feasable option for low density occasional traffic, eg the battery luggage vans that used to be used at Dover docks, it just can't cope with the sort of service that Crossrail will be operating. -- Graeme Wall This address not read, substitute trains for rail Transport Miscellany at www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail |
Sense seen on Crossrail at last?
On May 6, 11:38*pm, Tony Polson wrote:
My feeling is that Dave and his jolly good chums are set to visit on us the same horrors that Thatcher did, having learned nothing from the post 1979 record. They won't be the ones that have to go without. They enjoyed 18 years of power after 1979, so maybe their post-179 record wasn't so unpopular after all. I wonder how the alleged "horrors" of Thatcher's Tories compare with the "achievements" of NuLabour? *Notably, the latter's two illegal wars, the near-destruction of the British financial services industry thanks to inept regulation (or a lack of it) and the massive and apparently uncontrolled rises in public spending and taxation that show no kind of return. *Two* illegal wars? Are you a Taliban fan or a Milosevic fan, Mr P? Financial services regulation was modelled on the Major and Thatcher governments' policy, and notably the *actual*, *real-life* Tory opposition only ever criticised the regime on the grounds that it was too onerous on the poor banks (see: Daniel 'we should be more like Iceland' Hannan) John Major's Tory government was accused of sleaze and incompetence but nothing they did bears more than the slightest resemblance to the institutionalised gross corruption and negligence of this NuLabour lot. No, *everything* they did is *almost exactly identical*. -- John Band john at johnband dot org www.johnband.org |
Sense seen on Crossrail at last?
On May 7, 9:05*am, "DW downunder" noname wrote:
4. NO-ONE has mentioned the plethora of hybrid battery-equipped rollingstock currently prototyped, on trial, in low volume production etc around the world. Given Crossrail's gestation, can I assert with some confidence that by then it will be quite normal for trains to extend a moderate distance beyond the wires or juice rail. 25kV to Reading would not necessarily be a pre-requisite to CrossRail service by the mid-10s. No, you can't. Batteries are a crap way of storing energy. Making batteries not be a crap way of storing energy has been a major preoccupation among engineers and physicists and - even more importantly - the people who fund them for decades. They've made batteries be a slightly less crap way of storing energy. They haven't made them not be a crap way of storing energy. None of the current trials do anything to reverse that. At absolute best, a battery train might just about be a solution for Henley. It would be an insane solution for 6ish tph on the GWML. -- John Band john at johnband dot org www.johnband.org |
Sense seen on Crossrail at last?
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Sense seen on Crossrail at last?
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