Corbyn calls for "Ladies Only" carriages

A curious side issue in the Labour Party's leadership campaign is his call for carriages for women only. "Ladies Only" compartments were usual on trains in Britain at least until the late 1950.

But why the fresh call for them? Could the real problem be that too many seats are being crammed into too small a space? And could that be due to the fact that a railway carriage in 1955 cost around £6000, compared to £2.6 million today - a real increase by a factor of nine, so every square inch of floor space costs that amount more?

Now there is a question that really does call for an answer, because the 1955 carriage wins hands down in terms of spaciousness, comfort and general ambience.

Gothenburgs "first" electric bus

It might be unfair to call this a vanity project, but the new route 55 which started last week is being promoted as Gothenburg's first electric bus. It is not, because there were a few trolleybus routes running until the early 1960s. It is a hybrid, with charging points at each end of the route, using an overhead supply and a pantograph on the roof of the bus. Charging takes about five minutes. It runs on electricity on the flat sections of the route in the centre of the city, which makes it quiet and emission-free when running on its batteries, but the engine starts up as soon as it hits a slope.

This probably takes battery power as far is it will go. The underlying problem with batteries is the poor energy density, both in terms of mass and volume - they are bulky and heavy and can not store enough energy. They are also expensive due to the use of materials which are relatively scarce. The technology will ultimately be seen as a dead-end.

Road transport fuels must have a high energy density. Hydrogen fails because it does not liquify at ambient temperatures and can only be stored under great pressure. The same applies to methane. Hydrogen also needs to be used in fuel cells which require costly platinum as a catalyst. This is why short-chain hydrocarbon fuels such as petrol and diesel have persisted.

One possibility which has been proposed is ammonia. It has a good energy density, though not as good as a hydrocarbon. Its great advantages are that it can be liquified no great pressure - less than 10 atmospheres, if I recall, at ambient temperatures and that  the waste products are harmless nitrogen and water. It can be used in fuel cells, and has been experimentally, but for some reason the technology seems to have been neglected.

Dublin trams are 7-car sets. That is too long. It is time to think about getting double-deckers.

Recycling London Underground stock

The desire for a standard fleet of stock on London Underground's surface lines has resulted in the premature withdrawal of the District Line D78 stock, despite the fact that it has another fifteen years of life left in it.

It is now to be converted to a fleet of Diesel Electric Multiple Units for use on branch lines, as a replacement for the 4-wheeled pacers. The proposal is controversial, and is being dismissed as a scheme for fobbing-off the north of England with London's cast-offs. That is unfair. If the engineering can be made to work reliably, and the passenger accommodation is good enough for the length of journeys, there is nothing wrong in principle with the scheme, which sounds like a good way of achieving value for money.

But looking at the drawings, one has to ask why anyone has thought is worth while covering up a perfectly neat and functional front end with a contrived and meaningless add-on? 
Article in Rail magazine

Mark 3 refurbishment for East Anglia services.

This refurbishment for Abellio seems sensible and economical. New seat covers, carpets, retention toilets and LED lighting are about all that is needed. Whilst mark 3 stock will always have its shortcomings, these minor improvements will put this stock streets ahead, in terms of comfort, of anything else on Britain's main lines, existing or proposed. The programme is for the upgrading of 119 mark 3 vehicles, mostly about thirty years old.
Article in Rail magazine

Congratulations to engineers working during holidays

The public are complaining about the near-total shutdown of Britain's railways over the holiday period. It is an inconvenience, but allows Network Rail to carry out major projects in one go which would otherwise take months and cost a lot more. It takes a lot of time to bring equipment to the site and clear up afterwards, so this makes sense. People would complain even more if the system was allowed to fall to pieces.

Congratulations to the people who have given up their holiday period to do this essential work.

The imagined inadequacies of Göteborg C

The key flaw in the argument for Västlänken is that Göteborg C is a terminal and consequently dysfunctional.

This needs to be looked at in proportion. Göteborg C occupies a larger area than London Waterloo, also a terminus. Waterloo has only four tracks running into it, and the line is in fact only four tracks all the way from Basingstoke, about 60 km away, carrying both long-distance and commuter services. The approach to the station, on a viaduct, cannot be widened as there are buildings on both sides. The length of the platforms, mostly 180 metres, means that trains have only 8 cars, and remember that these are only 20 metres long ie 8 x 20 metres. Yet the station successfully handles 96 million passengers a year.

Göteborg C also has the advantage of six approach tracks. So any suggestion that Göteborg C, possibly with some enlargement, cannot handle all the traffic that is likely to use it with the next 50 years is ludicrous. At present there are only about 20 arrivals within the peak-hour period 0700 to 0800.

And as mentioned in an earlier blog, of the five routes approaching the city, there is no obvious pair to join up.