Last New Routemaster route conversion for year 2014 date confimed

Just a quick article, the London Bus Routes website has finally reported that the Route 137 conversion to New Routemaster will commence on 6th December 2014. It is reported to be a phased conversion instead of a complete overnight conversion and there will be no changes made to the timetable.

It is reported that they will use the last batch of the Euro V engined New Routemaster buses.

Video: Out of Service S Stock train at Barbican Station

During the afternoon of 12th November 2014, I have captured the out of service S Stock train going past Barbican station.

Hovercrafts for London River Services?

Short Lived London Regional Transport Logo

In 1984, the British government brought in the London Regional Transport Act 1984. I was scanning through the pages of the Act, over on Legislation.gov.uk and I stumbled upon the ‘Operating Powers of London Regional Transport’ page.

In paragraph one of the ‘carriage and storage’ section, it states that London Regional Transport can operate in any form of transport from land and water, which also includes 'hovercrafts'.

If you don’t believe me, here is the relevant text:

No more Heatherwick designed buses for London?

"Metroline bus LT25 (LTZ 1025), route 24, 23 June 2013" by R Sones - From geograph.org.uk. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Since TFL ordered another 200 New Routemasters to extend the fleet to 800 by 2016, TFL board have no plans to buy another 1,000 New Routemasters.

This is from their board paper released in October 2014.

New 2015 Transport fares for London

Some good news for the workers that work in Central London as the new fares for 2015 have been unveiled. In zones 1-6 the fares have been capped and are going down to £11.70. London Transport Buses are also frozen again and capped at £4.40.

Press release from TfL

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today set out a step change in Transport for London's (TfL's) fares for 2015, giving flexible and part-time workers, including those with unpredictable hours, access to lower fares.

TFL speeds the 'ultra low' emission bus rollout

"Environ400 on route 15 - London bus network" by Kevin.B - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

TFL is investing more into more environmentally friendly and cleaner buses for London streets.

From their press release

More than 300 buses with the latest Euro VI engines will be operating on London's roads by the end of this year, Transport for London (TfL) announced today.  

Over two thirds of these (215) will be hybrid diesel-electric double decker buses.  Under the ULEZ proposal, all buses driving in central London from 2020 will need to meet the Euro VI standard for NOx emissions.  

The effectiveness of Euro VI engines in reducing harmful emissions has been substantiated in testing by TfL that re-creates real world driving conditions in London. During this testing, a bus with a Euro VI Engine was found to have 95 per cent lower NOx emissions than a bus with a Euro V engine (down from 10 g/km to 0.5 g/km).  This test result correlates with testing conducted by manufacturers.

Video: Abellio Greater Anglia service From Ilford to Stratford

"Romford railway station MMB 15 315803" by mattbuck (category) - Own work by mattbuck.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

During the morning rush hour commute, the service goes past Manor Park, Forest Gate and Maryland stations from Ilford without stopping and go straight to Stratford station.

Fifth Carriage for London Overground services

"Shprdbush-overground-2011" by Senseiich - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

London Overground will have a 25% extra capacity by upgrading the trains from four to five cars as part of £320 million investment program.

From TFL's press release

Passengers on the London Overground network are set for more comfortable journeys as the first five-carriage train, which will increase passenger capacity by 25%, took to the rails today. An extra carriage is being introduced to London Overground trains to meet increasing demand for the highly popular rail service - providing more comfortable journeys and room for an extra 170 passengers per train.

The increase from four to five-carriage trains is part of Transport for London's (TfL) £320m programme to boost capacity on the London Overground network. The rollout of the longer trains will start on the East London Line followed by the North and West London lines and be completed by the end of 2015.  

Video: London Underground S Stock train in action

On 3rd November 2014, I have captured footage of the London Underground S Stock train at Barbican station. Then I boarded the S stock train Eastbound towards Liverpool Street.

Latest News for New Routemaster

Stagecoach has issued a press release regarding the operation of the TFL purchased New Routemaster buses on their Tayway 73 route in Scotland.

Stagecoach is to test alternative bus technology as two hybrid vehicles from London go into service in Dundee.

The new Routemaster double deck vehicles went into service today (Monday 3 November) on the Tayway 73 route which operates between Dundee and Arbroath.

A New Bus From Wrightbus

The Streetdeck by Wrightbus

I thought I would start off the 11^th month of the year by relaying a press release from Wrightbus, unveiling its new Double Deck model called The Streetdeck.

Wrightbus has unveiled its new integral double deck bus - the StreetDeck. Fully European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECVWTA) compliant and with class leading weight and capacity, unmatched serviceability and whole life costs, a stunning new exterior styling and excellent interior comfort for passengers and driver alike, StreetDeck is in every sense the complete double deck bus. The Wrightbus StreetDeck has been designed to deliver outstanding fuel economy and emissions through a combination of low weight, efficient driveline configuration and technology advances that reduce auxiliary power consumption.