Advent Quiz ...

[whole diary]

[grahame]

[ellendune]

Cambridge? The guided busway

[grahame]

Cambridge? The guided busway

Cambridge, yes.   But this is the unguided guided busway extension which isn't open yet.

[Tim]

I assume that the photo is of the guided/unguided changeover point?

[grahame]

I assume that the photo is of the guided/unguided changeover point?

The extension from Milton Road to the new Cambridge North railway station (site) is just a normal road; there's a very short guide section just at the beginning with car traps, presumably to ensure that the normal road can't be used by anything except guided buses although they won't be running in guided mode.

Some of the transport things in Cambridge appear to me to be a bit odd, but then what would I know??

[eightf48544]

The guided bit doesn't look very level or tha the picture.

I gather that the main St Ives to Cambridge bit is now very rough and that two double deckers touched in passing!

[grahame]

The science and business park area of Cambridge is a massive employment magnet - so much so that I'm a regular visitor and have work at somewhere over six locations in the area over recent years - far more concentrated than any other such area in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

The park is located about 2 miles to the North of the City Centre and the railway station's about a mile out of town to the South.  And it can take longer to get from the workplace to the station than from the Station to London.   On Tuesday, I left the place I was working at around 17:00 and caught a train that left at 18:25, for example.

A number of bus routes come together near the park.

From stop X, route 2 runs every 10 minutes (every 20 minutes near the peak, as the outbound services from the City take a longer route that spreads out the service). It's a slow bus, taking in the little residential streets, and as it gets towards the station is continues to use the back street so that there's still a significnat walk to the station.

From stop Y, route A runs every 15 minutes in the peak, and every 30 minutes outside the peak.  At the changeover from peak to offpeak, there's a gap of nearly 45 minutes.  Route C also runs every hour from this stop.  Route A does serve the city centre and then the station; Route C runs to the City Centre only.  Route A has very limited stops; route C limited stops, but not as limited as A.

From stop Z, routes 9 and X9 combine to run every half hour to the city centre, on the direct road but stopping on the way at all stops required. Route PR5, every 10 minues, goes to the City Centre with a couple of stops then on to the station ... but in times of near-gridlock it's turned back at the city centre and the route split there.  Or so it was until a fortnight ago; at that point, the route has been permanently split and it no longer even pretends to be a through route to the railway station.

Routes from X, Y and Z all merge on the outskirts of the science park prior to stop W which the all pass - however, only 2, 9 and C will stop there.  You can't see stops X Y and Z from one another, nor dash between them as a bus becomes visible.   There is a lack (complete lack?) of advise / infomation at most stops - especially if your geography of the area is poor.

So on Tuesday I caught the PR5, asked for the station to be informed that the route only goes to the City Centre and that I needed to change onto a 1 there.  As we approached the city centre, we could clearly see the 1 just ahead of us, but at the bus area it pulled up at the front, we pulled up at the back, and by the time the (several) of us changing to the 1 stop he had closed his doors and pulled out. Bit of confusion about the ongoing bus; ended up on a number 3 about 10 minutes later which said "Railway Station" in the list of places he was going on the front, and on asking the driver we learned that we was indeed going via the station, rather than reporting where he had already been.

Roll on Cambridge North Station ... down that unguided guided busway.   I won't need to bother with the bus as it will just be a few hundred yards walk and even if the trains aren't very frequent it will be a darned site better than what I've described above!

[grahame]

A small error on my part lining up two pictures for today ... and I've included them both as a celebration of the 17:36 Swindon to Westbury turning up as a two car rather than a one car yesterday.   Plans are for this to become a regular thing - and it's something really needed as the service is now slowing in growth - with some people explicitly stating that they avoid this train.    To any readers who are wondering about trying it ... (a) it is being fixed though not as quick as would be ideal and (b) it's very much in the heart of the user as to whether it's at a point where you'll be put off.  There remains - at the moment - room to get on even on "153" days.

[eightf48544]

First one looks like somewhere between Westbourne Park and OOC^▸ (Old Oak Common (depot)).

[SandTEngineer]

The second one somewhere in France (Paris) or Belgium.  Can only guess by looking at the signals above the station canopy.

[stuving]

The second one somewhere in France (Paris) or Belgium.  Can only guess by looking at the signals above the station canopy.

I'd suggest it's Toulouse Matabiau - and only partly because of the proportions of the name on the sign.

[SandTEngineer]

...and the first one: London Bridge

[IndustryInsider]

First one is Paddington in think.  Platforms 13/14 at the far end.

With regard to the 17:36 becoming a two car, do you mean before the Turbo cascade, Graham?

[SandTEngineer]

First one is Paddington in think.  Platforms 13/14 at the far end.

With regard to the 17:36 becoming a two car, do you mean before the Turbo cascade, Graham?

.....just beat me to it.  I was struggling to find signal 031 as shown on the GSM-R^▸ (Global System for Mobile communications - Railway.) plate.  As II has stated its Paddington Platform No.14 taken from the H&C line.

[grahame]

First one is Paddington in think.  Platforms 13/14 at the far end.

With regard to the 17:36 becoming a two car, do you mean before the Turbo cascade, Graham?

My understanding is that the turbos are most needed on "The Beach", where additional capacity and shorter dwells will be a big help over 150s (and especially over end-loaders such as 153 and 158).  There's also a logic (don't know if it's the plan, though) for the 150/0 units to move from Reading to St Phillip's Marsh quite early rather than moving just one or two turbos very early on - more standard fleet at each depot.

Initial plans are / were to add an extra carriage to the TransWilts prior to it becoming a turbo at a later date,  being one of the multiple carriages headed west as a result of the above.  And it's really needed if growth is to continue; "Full and standing" reports don't surprise me for the peak trains, nor for the trains that run either side of the peak or for certain Saturday services, and some of those reports are moving on to "uncomfortably full and cosily standing".

Yes, Paddington.

Yes, France.