Hello to all my readers
First of all, I do apologise for the lack of articles of late which has been due to personal circumstances that have prevented me from writing new articles. I should however be able to maintain my usual output from now on.
So let us have a look at some of the transport news from press releases of the transport authorities and companies.
From Crossrail
The Elizabeth line, which will redefine transport in London with quicker, easier and more accessible journeys, will open through central London in autumn 2019, Crossrail Limited announced today. The revised schedule is needed to complete the final infrastructure and extensive testing required to ensure the Elizabeth line opens as a safe and reliable railway.
The hugely complex ten-year project, delivered by Crossrail Limited, brings together multiple infrastructure contracts, new trains and three different signalling systems. The Elizabeth line will add 10 per cent to central London’s rail capacity, and the project will boost the economy by an estimated £42bn.
Crossrail Limited has been working hard to maintain the programme and sufficient testing time is required to introduce the next phase of the railway – the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood – in a way that can be guaranteed to be safe and reliable.
So this means the Crossrail Elizabeth Line has been delayed until autumn 2019 because they need more time with the testing of the Crossrail system to deliver a reliable service. It’s quite disappointing as originally we expected it to start in late 2018.
From TfL press release
TfL will this week mark the date when the Victoria line first began service 50 years ago. The line, which was extended further south in the following two years before being completed at Pimlico in 1972, has been providing vital transport access to residents, visitors and businesses ever since.
At the time it opened, the Victoria line was London's first new line since the Central line in 1907. The construction of the line started in 1960 following Parliament approving the construction in 1955. Most of the tunnels had been finished by 1966, and the first stations opened in 1968.
Today, the Victoria line operates 36 trains per hour at the busiest times, with 100 seconds between trains. This means that over 250 million passengers each year are served by the most frequent train service in the UK and second most frequent in the world. Pay as you go fares along the line start from £2.40 for journeys through Zone 1, and are just £1.50 for journeys outside Zone 1 during off-peak hours. The Victoria line also operates Night Tube services on a Friday and Saturday, providing a quick and affordable way to travel across London at night.
I guess I’m a bit late in saying this but Happy Birthday to the Victoria Line. It’s amazing just how fast time seems to pass.
From the Department for Transport
Clean cars, vans, and taxis could be equipped with green number plates under new plans to promote awareness of ultra-low emission vehicles.
The special plates, which are already used by countries like Norway, Canada, and China, could be available on green vehicles like electric and hydrogen cars, and are thought to encourage take-up among drivers.
As well as promoting zero emission vehicles, green number plates could help support local incentives for electric vehicles such as access to bus or low emission vehicle lanes, electric charging bays or ultra-low-emission-zones.
The plans are part of a forthcoming government consultation announced today (9 September 2018) which will seek views on whether green plates could work in the UK, and if so, what they should look like.
The consultation could pave the way for the addition of the eye-catching plates to UK vehicles in the next few years.
Once the proposal for green number plates is approved, it will be interesting to see electric buses using these plates to show the bus is zero-emission battery-electric.
From the National Transport Authority Ireland
Customer Notice about new bus service 175 from Citywest to UCD.
As 24 Public Service Obligation (PSO) bus services, operated by Go-Ahead Ireland are rolled out between now and January 2019, we wanted to let you know what will be different about these services compared to those operated by Dublin Bus, and what will be the same. The first of these routes, the 175, will become operational next week.
Go-Ahead Ireland vehicles and Dublin Bus vehicles will operate with their own colour scheme, although both will be similar at the front which is yellow in both cases.
Inside the bus, the seats will be a different colour, although poles are yellow in both Go-Ahead Ireland vehicles and Dublin Bus vehicles.
Bus stop poles and information carousels will look different depending on the operator. Over the coming months as Go Ahead Ireland begins operation of their routes, customers will notice new bus stops being installed. This will be done in advance of the switch over and they will have stages, routes and timetables clearly marked on them.
Taken from Go-Ahead Dublin - here’s the list of routes which are set to be taken over by Go-Ahead Ireland.
· 9th September 2018:
· Introduction of the new 175 from Citywest to UCD
· 7th October 2018:
· 45A, 75, 184, 63, 185, 111 & 59
· 18th November 2018:
· 17A, 102, 33A, 220, 33B & 104
· 20th January 2019:
· 18, 76, 239, 270, 238, 76A,236, 17, 114 & 161
The buses will serve communities from Balbriggan in North County Dublin to Newcastle in Co Wicklow; drop off and collect from 1,721 bus stops and travel hundreds of thousands of kilometres annually.
Fleet information
· 61 buses will transfer for use by Go-Ahead Ireland with a variety of ages ranging from 1-4 years old
· All will be rebranded in the new Transport for Ireland* (TFI) livery
· 40 Single deck Euro 6 buses
· 24 Double Deck Euro 6 buses
· All will be operated by Go-Ahead Ireland and driven by Go-Ahead Ireland bus drivers
*TfI is the National Transport Authority brand.
From Stagecoach Group
The first of the planned 105 new zero emissions double-decker buses and associated infrastructure is hoped to go live from summer 2019, delivering a massive boost to local air quality and UK manufacturing, with the new fleet fully in place by early 2020.
Stagecoach, Britain's biggest bus and coach operator, has pledged to invest £34.6m in the ground-breaking project, which is backed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Transport for Greater Manchester and other key organisations
The plans are dependent on a bid for £21.5m in support from the Government's recently announced Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, which is aimed at cutting emissions and ensuring cleaner and greener journeys.
New Enviro400 EV City vehicles, each with a range of up to 190 miles and capacity to carry around 80 passengers, would be built by the UK's leading electric bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis using battery and power electronics expertise from automotive company BYD.
Stagecoach is already the UK's biggest investor in hybrid-electric bus technology and has invested more than £1billion in new greener buses over the past decade. The new e-bus fleet for Manchester would significantly outstrip plans recently announced by London Mayor Sadiq Khan for 68 new electric double-decker buses in the capital.
Around 15-20 buses would be introduced a month from summer 2019, with full roll out achieved by early 2020. Infrastructure works would begin in the autumn of 2018 and be fully completed by spring 2019.
Stagecoach's ground-breaking initiative would also help accelerate the introduction of e-buses across Europe. There are currently around 725,000 buses in operation across Europe, but only an estimated 2,500 of those are fully electric.
As my regular readers will know, I always like to point out that the Enviro400 City bodywork is set to become a new icon of Britain because of the design cues taken from the New Routemaster, such as the glazed stairwell. This is the first time that Stagecoach has finally made orders for the Enviro400 City bus. I also believe Stagecoach should purchase more of the Enviro400 EV City for the new London bus route contracts.
As for the new hybrid tri-axle bus which supposedly runs on London Buses route 12 alongside the three-door, two-staircase New Routemaster bus, according to the London Vehicle Finder , they still haven’t even entered service on route 12.
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