Notable Newsworthy Nibbles (2)

A Centenary Challenge

A tease from Blackburn introduces Transdev's contribution to this year's major 100th Birthday. 1919 marked the origin of Ribble Motor Services.

Ribble Motor Services commenced operating in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching from Carlisle in Cumberland to southern Lancashire.

In 1961, the Scout Motor Services business was purchased, and absorbed into Ribble in 1968.

The W.C.Standerwick coaching business had been purchased in 1932 but was kept as a separate subsidiary of Ribble .

Ribble operated Cherry Red and Ivory liveried vehicles throughout its BET Group ownership eventually succumbing to National Bus floppy red.

There will be a whole range of "Knees-ups" throughout the year and, of course, heritage liveries. This one has been unveiled at Transdev, hence the tease at the top of this post.

Note the homage to Stagecoach's ownership of some of the ex Ribble empire as one of the pictures between the decks. Transdev (Blackburn etc.) has produced a jolly leaflet ...

... and a brand new Ribble book is due out in a few weeks. Watch out for it.

Modelling Skills

Most readers will realise that fbb struggles with his small outdoor model railway. Sometimes pictures pop up on line which make the old man cringe even more than usual. How about this:-

It is a FOUR-WAY point, presumably hand made with great skill and accuracy. You can buy 3-way points in OO, exemplified by Peco and in use on fbb's aforementioned model train in the rain.

Railway modellers use them far more than the real big railway does because they save space. fbb thinks that a three way point is less reliable that two "normal" points. But a FOUR WAY version? 

Wow.

On the subject of saving space, fbb was intrigued by this "interesting" layout - totally lacking in realism but full of crazy fun.

The uploader of the picture did not say whether this was a permanent "happening" in his garden or was it, perhaps, just cobbled together for the photo and a fun afternoon.

Neither is there any record of how many expensive models fell to a plastic-crunching death after an unexpected derailment. It could be a very expensive "toy"!

Metrobus Might Make It.

News in a South Gloucestershire local freebie paper suggests that a frustrating missing link in Bristol's Metrobus network is, possibly, made complete and useful.

In the early stages of planning, there were a wide range of options under discussion for the Parkway area; home you may remember to that well known "gentleman of the road" Harry Stoke.

The options were many.

The final plans clearly showed a pink line from main road to the station.

Bus watchers expected this link to be part of the First Bus M1 service, a quick zip along Hunts Ground Road ...

... which even has the unfinished posh bus stops in place. But Metrobus to Parkway simply faded from everybody's consciousness.

There are, currently, a few obstructions as you get nearer to the station ...

... but they would be easy to remove. Generally most observers thought that the problem would be the sharp corners round the multi storey car park. First there is a sharp right ...

... followed by a blind sharp left.

A shiny Metrobus would have to pull out into an oncoming vehicle, and altercations would seem inevitable.

But we are now told that the problem is with the station forecourt ...

... currently designed to accept buses from the west only (to the right of the picture above) and not from the wiggly Hunts Ground Road.

It is hard to see why that cannot also be sorted and even harder to understand why it will cost a whopping £600k. But they appear top have found the cash in an old biscuit tin at council HQ and it could actually happen soon.

Of course there is still another more intractable snag.

Buses will NOT be diverted from the M1 but Parkway will be a separate route, cross country, from Emersons Green current terminus of the M3.

So who is going to take the risk to operate any bus from largely empty fields to the busy station?

Of course, development is planned - and usage will grow IN TIME (may grow?) but who foots the bill until it does.

Don't hold your breath for a Metrobus service at Bristol Parkway!

Tomorrow we go in search of Park and Ride.

 Next Lyme Regis blog : Monday 15th April 

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Some weird things are recorded by the Gospel writers in the last week of Jesus' life; and Luke kicks off a good time before that last week started. Translations vary but Luke Chapter 9 verse 51 says, of Jesus ...

And it came to pass, when the time had come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.

Or, perhaps better for the modern reader:-

He was determined to go to Jerusalem.

Surely he new the risk he was taking. But his destiny was pre-programmed.

Then there was Palm Sunday as celebrated in many churches today, (words from Mark's Gospel).

We may be used to the narrative, so we forget (if we ever knew!) how utterly provocative Jesus' visual attack on the moribund temple-based religion of the day was.

This was no "Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild" ...

This was a man with a huge message which threatened the very heart of Jewish religion.

There would be trouble ahead ...

... and "the last and fiercest strife" starts, in earnest, tomorrow!

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Headline Writers Revision Course

fbb offers advice, perhaps?

More people are using buses in Rotherham, with 100,000 more passengers reported since the same time last year. The increase in passenger numbers is being attributed to improvements in the area's bus services following the introduction of the Rotherham Bus Partnership in July 2014.

Representatives from the voluntary Partnership between Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, and bus operators Stagecoach, First and TM Travel marked the six-month milestone at Rotherham Minster Gardens

Rotherham Bus Partnership Group Pic: Left - Right: Phil Stockley, TM Travel; John Young, Stagecoach; Cllr Maggie Godfrey, Rotherham Borough Council; David Young, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive; Ben Gilligan, First South Yorkshire; Ian Ashmore, Rotherham Borough Council

Fare-paying passengers have risen sharply by 240,000 since its launch (timetbale and route changes from July 2014 - fbb), an increase of 6%, and child passengers by 20,000 (2.7%). Latest records show improvements in punctuality and reliability, with 92% of buses running on time and 98.6% as scheduled. The introduction of the multi-operator Rotherham Connect tickets that can be used across different buses have also seen some fares fall.

The partnership monitors and identifies locations and causes of bus delays that affect the punctuality and reliability of services. Timetable and service changes have been made in January 2015 to further improve services.

Rotherham Borough Council's Cabinet member for Safe and Attractive Neighbourhoods, Cllr Maggie Godfrey, said: "Our bus service plays a major role in making sure Rotherham has an efficient transport network which all helps to contribute to a stronger, local economy."

Managing Director at Stagecoach Yorkshire, Paul Lynch, said: "Rotherham's bus network offers a convenient, stress free and friendly way to get around. The Partnership has achieved clear improvements to buses in the town, making it an attractive alternative to the car. I hope that people in the area continue to see the improvements that the Partnership has brought so far, and continue to use the bus whenever it?s the best travel option."

Managing Director for First South Yorkshire, Ben Gilligan said: "By working together in a single united approach for our customers the Bus Partnership is delivering real benefits for Rotherham. Value for money bus services helping connect communities with places of education, work and leisure are providing a real alternative to the car and I'm sure these strong results will give us the platform to continue this improvement."

Sheffield City Region Combined Authority Transport Committee Chair, Cllr Bill Mordue, said: "We are delighted that more people are travelling on Rotherham's buses. We have tried very hard to listen to customers and local communities to provide a bus network that is designed around their needs, and which people can depend on. Together with a flexible network, value-for-money tickets, and figures showing improvements in punctuality and reliability, the passenger numbers at this six-month milestone highlights the potential of Rotherham Bus Partnership and the difference it continues to make."

Phil Stockley, Development Director of TM Travel, added: "This success in Rotherham proves that the best route to better bus services is partnership between innovative bus companies and forward thinking local authorities."

Here endeth the press release.

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Events such as this, staged entirely to create a press release, are pretty standard stuff. Someone will have written the quotes and staged the picture. An increase in passenger numbers is worth shouting about; but there are some other hidden agendas.

The heavyweight punch-up in Tyne and Wear (Nexus), with operators threatening death by a thousand oil leaks to the politicians if they go ahead with with their take-over of the buses, calls for a whole range of responses; but the message of growth through partnership is a positive alternative. Take note in geordie-land!

What is strange is that, although the Sheffield partnership involved some signifcant changes of route and operator, the Rotherham cosiness changed very little. So perhaps (say it quietly on Tyneside) the growth has nothing to do with partnership at all!

And then there is UDI from the PTE (partnership? really?) dramatically reducing the amount of printed timetable information available in the county by not producing any! Will that have any effect on future passenger numbers?

But what really caught fbb's eye and caused him to revert to pedantc ex-schoolteacher mode was the press release headine.

Rotherham Bus Users Continue to Rise

The thought of Rotherham folk zooming heavenward is frightening, challanging and wholly illiterate. What they should have written is "Rotherham Passenger Numbers Continue to Rise"! So that is a detenshun for whoever writ the press releese.

Or that's how it seemed until fbb came across this picture on-line ...

... of a Rotherham passenger rising to leap over a service 19 bus whilst clutching  copies of the above text.

And it isn't even April 1st.

 Next (model) rail blog : Sunday 1st February 

Underground, Overgound : The New Map [1]

Underground, Overground, wombling free,

The Wombles of Transport for London are we;

Making things better for all those that ride,

Making new rail links, growing with pride!

Wombles are organised, Boris in charge

Seeking the Overground routes to enlarge;

Underground, Overground, doffing our cap,

Consulting commuters with a new map

Underground, Overground, Crossrail makes three.

Extending the network; that's what we be.

Adding complexity? Making things clear?

We must wait and see - for many a year!

A week or so ago, Transport for London released a new map, part of a consultation project, showing the vision for the Overground in 2026. Whern you are as old as fbb, such dates become highly speculative!

Following the completion of the current Overground network in December 2012, TfL expressed its intention to operate several other suburban lines within the London area. In late June 2013, as part of the 2013 Spending Review, the Greater London Authority confirmed that Chancellor George Osborne gave the commitment for the West Anglian Suburban Lines to be taken over by TfL by the end of 2015.

In fact, scheduled takeover is 31st May 2015.

On the Chingford line, trains run every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday ...

... with a 15 minute service also offered as far as Edmonton Green on the other route. Here the service splits, half hourly from Enfield Town and half hourly from Cheshunt.

The two 15 minute services remain on separate double track which is why trains leave just a minute apart from Hackney Downs.

The map shows an interchange between Downs and Central stations at Hackney. This is only for for the adventurous as it involves leaving Downs, walking under the bridge ...

... turning right to walk down Amhurst Road. Here, if you are unlucky, you might see a "Borismaster" bulbous monstrosity in all-over black advertising livery.

You can see the North London Line overbridge up ahead. The web site for Central station shows the old entrance, via a creepy passageway alongside the old station buildings ...

... and is less than inviting, especially at night!

Fortunately a new entrance is now open which you meet first, thus depriving the back-passage loving passenger of the grotty route.

Hackney Central re-opened in 1980, having closed formally in 1944 as a result of enemy action. There is an excellent and thorough history of the station (here)

Who might wish to interchange there? If you were coming from the (future) Overground north eastern suburbs and aiming to get to the Westfield shopping centre at Stratford it might a useful option.

One of the benefits of the Overgound take-over might be better signs for this link. A planning application has been submitted to re-create a direct walkway between the two, almost on the site of a long-since demolished link. The estimated cost is £5 million. Read more (here). Will it be a high priority?

old link on old map

The other interchange is equally dodgy. It would appear from Google Maps and/or Streetview that there is a footpath linking Central and Queens Road stations at Walthamstow (the darker grey on the map).

From Edison Close (bottom left) there is an entrance via Exeter Road. Streetview shows a blank fence ...

... but a new access was opened earlier this year.

fbb suspects that direction signs are conspicuous by their absence; streetview currently shows building work and off-putting barriers at Central. Again with overgroundisation at Central we can expect better.

In April this year, Transport for London [TfL] announce the start of the process to acquire new trains.

The base order set out in the OJEU Notice is for 39 trains:
A full fleet of 30 new London Overground trains on the existing West Anglia route from 2017 (replacing the 28 currently operating)
Eight new four-car trains for the electrification of the existing Overground route between Gospel Oak and Barking (GOB)
The introduction of the new train fleet on the existing West Anglia route is expected to be complete by 2018

Keen mathematicians will spot that fbb's extract from the TfL press release omits one train from the 39. That train will figure in tomorrow's blog.

As an aside, we now know that the DaFT (Department Transport) is switching off Transport Defunct (sorry, Direct) at the end of this month, leaving us with the even-less-useful Google Transit. Can the latter cope with these interchanges?

Of course not. More research is under way and may well form the basis for an "odd interchanges" blog in the future. Before fbb commits to blog, however, he wants to visit these links and try them out for himself. Brave man!

 Next Overgound blog : Tuesday 30th September