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31  All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion on: January 26, 2024, 19:24:27

[snip]

 I do not like the idea of trying to bribe me with my own money.

HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)) is being funded by borrowing money so cancelling it doesn't free up money for "bribes" or any other purpose......indeed this was one of the main arguments from the pro HS2 minority when others said that the money would be better spent on the NHS.

Absolutely correct, which makes it even worse. I am instead being bribed with money that doesn't exist.

Another interesting article, ran in todays Sunday Express:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1858019/HS2-revived-private-finance

It is interesting, and has been rumoured for a while. The various mayors with actual power oop t'north have been the most outraged by the cancellation, having spent the past 15 years working out transport and building plans on the assumption that HS2 was coming. It does rather give the government a crafty way out if they can broker a deal, because it could be spun as close working with the regional authorities. But wasn't it all going to be built by private contractors using money borrowed from institutions?
32  Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: MetroWest services begin on: January 26, 2024, 18:01:19
Line doubling between Montpelier and Filton - in which direction?
33  Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: New station at Ashley Down, Bristol on: January 22, 2024, 20:16:59
ASD it is! First unadvertised service stop shows on RTT» (Real Time Trains - website) for this coming Sunday.

34  All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion on: January 11, 2024, 10:16:07
None of the points made about the effects of cancellation are new, and none should be unexpected. I remember something by Andrew (now Lord) Adonis long ago, saying that the only alternatives were stagnation or no weekend railway on the WCML (West Coast Main Line) for a couple of decades. There wasn't a workable Plan B that didn't include lots more road traffic. I remember the previous WCML upgrade, which did a lot of good in terms of speed on some parts, but ended up costing double the estimates and caused serious inconvenience to travellers (me included) over a very long period. The spin doctors may say what a good service there will be between the centre of the political universe and Birmingham, but they don't mention how more freight will be carried by rail between the frozen unfriendly wastes north of Wolverhampton and the rest of the country.

As would be the case with building the line, the full effects of not building a lot of it will only become apparent a few years from now, when everyone starts trying to blame everyone else for the mess. I hope this cancellation turns out to be only a pause, but I don't expect to see resumption high up in any party's manifesto for the coming election. The present incumbents seem keen to use any money saved by cancelling HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)) north of Brum to make London a better place to drive around, and to fund a few last-minute tax cuts. I do not like the idea of trying to bribe me with my own money.
35  All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Q and A with boss of Bristol bus's on: January 01, 2024, 14:29:34
Good question. I’ve ridden a few electric buses and from the passenger viewpoint they’re much better than diesel - much quieter, and without the vibration. I was disappointed when Bristol plumped for gas-powered buses a few years ago.

To be honest, I think that may have been a lucky delay. Bus, battery, and charging technology all seem to have taken a leap forward in the past few years, and electric buses are not the niche product they were when First introduced their early virtue-signalling vehicles in 2016. Those were basically plug-in hybrids,, and had a half-hour charge stop at UWE after each gruelling 15-mile round trip. Newer electric buses are pure electric with a 200-mile range, making it a good thing that they waited. I would imagine that the financial side of buying 130 new buses to replace 130 perfectly serviceable buses takes a bit of doing too, probably involving talking to DfT» (Department for Transport - about) and lots of councils to try to get some cash and willing customers for cascaded kit.

The worst thing about the gas buses is the constant banging on about them being the "poo buses" running on gas from the sewage plant, as though the gas produced by said plant was being fed directly into the buses rather than pumped into the gas grid. It is good that the waste product of our collective waste product is being used, but it still would be if First didn't renew the contract when it expires. It's like those 100% renewable electricity contracts - an accounting trick, enabling power that would be used anyway to be sold at a premium in some cases. The other bad thing about the gas bus is that it still emits the dreaded CO2, although not so much of the other rubbish pumped out by diesel engines. At least they weren't gullible enough to buy hydrogen buses.
36  All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Very lucky escape... on: December 29, 2023, 20:39:12

Trying to think whether any of my contemporaries as children or teenagers were instructed how to use slam doors and what to avoid, either by parents or by railway staff. Apart from the safety advertisements, sort of not... they were just a feature of life that had always been present.

One issue was the number of doors on London suburban trains meaning that no one was very far from one - something that had both and up and a down side. An inappropriate exit was close at hand, but perhaps if a fellow passenger needed to intervene they, also, were close at hand.

But people tend not to intervene: a tale told to me of a somewhat inebriated passenger on a train off the North London Line that, in the winter dark, drew to a halt close to Richmond station, at a time when station lighting was not as it is now.

A former work colleague of mine, sadly now a late friend, had rather poor eyesight despite driving to work more often than not because of the then infrequent rail service. When not using the car, he came in on the train from Yatton to Bedminster. In those days, the trains were slam door. On the way home, it seems that everyone except him heard the announcement that because of engineering work on the down line, the train would stop on the opposite side at Yatton. While the others disembarked safely, my friend opened the door and suffered what physicists term a rapid decrease in potential energy. He wasn't badly hurt, and made his way to the rear of the train, to a point where he could get back onto the platform. I am told he made quite an entrance to the Firebox, covered in grease, cut by brambles, and trailing toilet paper from a shoe.
37  All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Very lucky escape... on: December 29, 2023, 20:22:12
A long but informative thread on Twitter about the HSTs (High Speed Train) and the cab.

It gives a more balanced account of what needs to be done but looks at the timescale needed for this.

https://x.com/reasonablescot1/status/1740415486842868215?s=61&t=VlafMC5gF9tidw36b1Y8JQ

Judging by the posts on Twitter it has stirred up a hornets nest!

One wonders why the Scottish Government haven't looked to procure replacements earlier?

A simple matter of priorities. There's no money left after the independence spending and court costs for arguments with the UK (United Kingdom) government.
38  All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Q and A with boss of Bristol bus's on: December 29, 2023, 20:11:04
A question I would have liked to have asked is what is the company's strategy for electric buses, given the recent planning application for Hengrove depot. Is that it, are buses on order, will other depots convert, plus when will the first First electric (proper, not the UWE trial) run.
39  All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Q and A with boss of Bristol bus's on: December 29, 2023, 11:57:51
Quote
St Anne’s has its own dedicated service, the number 36, which offers a journey in and out of the city centre every half hour, and hourly on Sundays.

I made the mistake once of using the number 36 to get to a hospital appointment in Hengrove, for which I was advised against using the car. I arrived 45 minutes late. They were very understanding - "Happens all the time". Going home, I took a bus to the centre then one back to Brislington, which was much quicker. Half-hourly isn't what I would think appropriate for a bus service within a city, and the question isn't answered. Unless the answer is "You get what you're given, so shut up."
40  All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Very lucky escape... on: December 29, 2023, 11:47:40

Once 4 car and 6 car networkers were available, then the old 8 car slam door units that has been used for decades were declared to be dangerous.


Slam door trains were safe, but far from idiot proof. I suspect they were not deemed unsafe, in spite of incidents, simply to hide the fact that the replacements had been postponed.
41  All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion on: December 27, 2023, 21:05:22

The Guardian / Observer have never really been cheerleaders for HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)), which makes it even more of an indictment. Network Rail is caught between a rock and a pile of ballast, as it has to get on with life under the new reality, and do what it can to keep the trains running, for now at least. It doesn't have a remit that allows it to say "No, Prime Minister", and now has to start a decades-long process of planning and doing things without HS2. It seems the PM is one of those who think it's a simple matter of putting more trains on. Meanwhile, the budget is going on things that should have been done anyway. Mending roads in London isn't going to solve the woes of transport in the wider UK (United Kingdom). It's akin to spending the money you set aside for mending the roof on more buckets to catch the rain, and replacement carpets every year. 
42  Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: New station at Ashley Down, Bristol on: December 27, 2023, 20:35:58
Suddenly, it looks like a railway station! Much to do yet, obviously, but the direction is now much clearer.
43  All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Aberthaw Power Station and Decarbonisation on: December 24, 2023, 14:23:42
This evening is one of wind's better times, at almost 17 GW (Great Western) output, or about half of the installed capacity. Gas is down to about 2.5 GW and we're not actually burning coal. I strongly suspect that jubilant press releases will be popping up in editors' inboxes, and the hydrogen lobby will not be slow to join in - even though the figures could be reversed by the time the papers hit the street.

As I predicted, so the Guardian produced on Thursday 21 December.



I'm not sure what the Guardian means by "generates 21.8 GW in half an hour", but it has never been my first option for science. There's a proverb that says something like "Good news arrives on horseback, bad news on foot", or if there isn't, there should be. You didn't see this sort of coverage at the beginning of the month, when wind power didn't get above 3 GW for three days.

I still see a need for more new large pumped storage schemes, modern society needs power 24/7 and how to supply this without pumped storage is a challenge.
A lot can be done by shifting industrial loads and battery charging to times of plentiful supply, but there will still be a substantial demand for power on demand when there is very little wind. Pumped storage is very useful for this.

How much more pumped storage is a moot point. Dinorwig will knock out 1.7 GW for about 6 hours. Coire Glas will add a bit more than that, but we get stalled high pressure systems with precious little wind every year that can last for days on end , including over a week last March, and nearly a fortnight in December 2022. Dinorwig, the existing other smaller pumped hydro plants and the putative Coire Gals would make little difference, representing as they do a mere fraction of the installed capacity of our wind fleet. Their biggest value is in reacting to short-term load variations to maintain frequency, like the million kettles after Eastenders. They do not regenerate during the day, so if used early remain empty. That role will continue when the country finally achieves an even load around the clock, but they are a form of back-up that still needs back-up. A true switch to net zero will entail doubling our electricity demand at the most conservative estimate, and we will need that load day and night, with more in winter. Pumped storage will help manage that, not provide backup at any meaningful level.
44  All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Aberthaw Power Station and Decarbonisation on: December 21, 2023, 12:52:18
Despite getting planning consent in 2010, the decision to go ahead is expected next year at the earliest. Good job there's no hurry, eh?

That period covers the tenure of three first ministers of Scotland, all of whom seem to the sassenach in the street to have been trying to establish the country as a deep-fried banana republic, financed by the onshore wind industry. The middle of the three was the first to complain about the waste of excess electricity because of the inadequate connection to the south, and the last to try to do anything about it. Options including paying to upgrade the link or stopping building more were ignored in favour of complaining about the Westminster government not sending more money. For some reason, industry seemed reluctant to establish industries north of the border to use this bonanza, and I suspect this may be influencing thinking on Coire Glas.

SSE(resolve) seems to be waiting for the UK (United Kingdom) government to stump up cash so that it can build something that will enable it to sell its own electricity to itself before waiting until the price is high, then selling it to the rest of us. But a few days ago, National Grid and Scottish Power announced contracts worth £1.8 billion to build a 2GW 525 kV HVDC link between Torness and County Durham, something that could see a significant reduction in excess power north of the border. At the same time, the growth of electric vehicles could introduce battery storage to households across the UK. Some models, including the Nissan Leaf but not, alas, mine, allow for bi-directional flow along the charging cable. Using the car battery to power the house when at home, then charging it cheaply after bedtime, could mean many of us evening out our own supply, with no need for another pumped storage facility. Maybe there was no hurry after all?
45  All across the Great Western territory / Looking forward - after Coronavirus to 2045 / Re: Project Churchward - Future regional fleet for the west on: December 20, 2023, 21:28:49
Some big decisions needed on electrification here. Surely, we can't have yet another stop-gap fleet of anything still needing diesel?
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