As with everything it 'could' be done but a substantial cost both capital and on-going. For taxpayers.

Dorset Metro ... mentioned in today's webinar and this from the Swanage News


An extra hourly service across the Bournemouth Poole and Christchurch area - giving a rise from 1 to 2 trains per hour at the lesser stations - would make sense.  Brockenhust is actually just outside the BCP (and indeed Western Gateway) ares but makes sense as the eastern destination - for passenger flows, for connections, and operationally.  With batteries on the trains, at the western end it is logical for them to start / end at Swanage.

Although there were plans for an Empire State Building in the mid-20s, the newly built Chrysler building forced the architect to redesign the plans to ensure that the new building would be bigger/better.

Well you managed to use a photo of the wrong train, got the journey length wrong and the number of stops wrong.

Hmmm ...

I purchased an Interrail pass still to be used in the Black Friday Sale

I purchased my Penzance trip (and a couple of other shorter ones) a few days ago

Will my SO be happy with me if a purchase some in the rail sale? 
Negotiations have taken place  -- she has upgraded her iPhone ...

Also a rail scheme called the Dorset Metro features high up in the list which would see extra train services from Wareham to Poole and Bournemouth, as well as an hourly shuttle service to Brockenhurst.

Perhaps the most welcome mention for Swanage residents is a regular rail service between Swanage and Wareham which has been on the cards for years but has lacked the backing of long term government investment. It’s now in the document as one of the high priorities.

The journey takes 13 hours and 20 minutes, covers a whopping 785 miles, and has been in operation for more than a century

© January 2025, Greengauge 21. Some Rights Reserved: We actively encourage people to use our work, and simply request that the use of any of our material is credited toGreengauge 21 in the following way: Greengauge 21, Title, Date

Dear All,
This report should be of interest to all associated with the South West Main Line out of Waterloo.

BRTA would welcome for the South West Line a review, audit and study with options for the following:
1. Reinstate the direct curves at Yeovil, in particular the one allowing Weymouth-Exeter direct running for example.
2. Reopen the Lyme Regis Branch enabling commuting off the main line for resort and wider dynamic socio-economic and environmental appeal.
3. Upgrade electrification, double-tracking and signalling and
3. Have longer trains/upgrade stations and platforms
4. Satellite stations around Salisbury need studying as well.
5. What scope for more freight and line-born freight in particular?
If you agree write to your MP in support of the report (email!): https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons
This line has been allowed to be a back-water and vibrancy and a new engagement is required.
I also remind folks that our Westbury Forum can also discuss this and wider issues, date, place and times via my colleague Simon Barber, but May onwards is most likely and listing will be here: https://brtarail.com/events/
BRTA membership is open to all and ideally we need local area reps to help forward our agendas locally and convene pub sort of forums to join and come forward please. Local activism and campaigns often make a difference, but can be thankless tasks for getting the proverbial 'ball' rolling!
I am sure Simon is willing to table forums elsewhere providing costs or donations can be provided and offers of a speaker at a venue, if voluntary is welcome to entertain.

Yours sincerely,


Richard Pill
BRTA CEO
https://brtarailvolunteer.blogspot.com/

If you follow the link to Amazon's source text (and why wouldn't you do that before posting?) it actually says 20% to 80% charge in just over an hour. So I didn't remember that quite right - a full charge (which  would hardly ever happen) would take well over two hours, as above 80% the charge rate has to be progressively reduced.

Amazon also mention 360 kW chargers, which at 400V 3 phase implies well over 500A. That's above the normal range per cable (e.g. for final distribution circuits feeding multiple houses), so a feed at 11 kV would seem appropriate - and necessary for more than one charger on a site. I'd expect an Amazon warehouse or a logistics depot to have one of those already.

Mercedes-Bend Truck, however, say they have 50, 200, and 400 kW chargers. They have been promoting megawatt chargers (MCS) but those are not quite here yet. The specification of the vehicle itself is for LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries of 621 kWh total capacity, 600 kWh usable. The maximum charge rate of 400 kW is set by the connector and cable; 1 MW will be possible with MCS. The drive is rated at 400 kW continuous 600 kW peak.

And looking at what DNOs say they can do, it appears that the limit of 400 V supplies is nominally 276 kW. That's 400 A per phase, which is the most a single final circuit from a substation is expected to provide. So for that power, you need a whole new circuit per charger. Higher rated chargers will need to be fed at 11 kV, in which case the limit will have more to do with the handling of peak load levels, local network capacity, etc.

The (Basingstoke-) Salisbury-Exeter line would also benefit from a switch from diesel traction to electric, which is currently working its way through the rail sector planning processes. The diesel fleet is nearing life expiry (40 years). The replacements would be much newer and better equipped but surplus-to-requirements electric multiple units. These would be converted to dual-mode battery-electric operation, and would be deployed on the Exeter line which would need to be equipped with a low cost discontinuous dc electrification programme.

The report set out who needs to do what to bring this programme into being. Maybe other highway schemes that appear to be going nowhere such as the Lower Thames Crossing should be the subject of equivalent ‘A303’ reviews. You can read the full report here

The railway linking London and the South West of England is "sorely in need of investment" to offset the cancellation of major road projects, a new study has found.

The government halted a planned tunnel for the A303 past Stonehenge within weeks of winning the general election in 2024. It stated that the £2bn scheme was "poor value for money".

It also stopped other road improvements, ending a long-planned upgrade of the A303 to a dual carriageway "expressway" between the M3 at Basingstoke and the M5 at Taunton.

The new study recommends improving the parallel West of England railway line through Salisbury, "in the absence of a plan based on road widening".

It has been compiled by respected transport consultants Greengauge 21 on behalf of groups which opposed the Stonehenge tunnel.

This topic has now been moved to 'behind the scenes' on the Coffee Shop forum, simply because its work has been done. I have moved and merged all of your posts into other, hopefully more specific, ongoing live topics for ease of future reference - nothing has been deleted.

Chris.

Well, that was entertaining. Held at Oxford platform 4 for half an hour while a supposed signal failure at Wolvercot Junction was sorted out, only for the train crew to be told belatedly that the problem was actually at Norton Junction. Not Wolvercot.

Virtually all background music is irritating!
Unnecessary

All change! Why England’s public transport system could look very different very quickly

The UK’s public transport system has been in a state of flux since the arrival of COVID. Lockdowns, social distancing and working from home all made customer demand for buses and trains dramatically different from pre-pandemic days.

So-called “black swan” events (rare, unpredictable with huge impact) have a way of forcing industries to restructure, and transport is no exception.

For when the way that society functions changes, the way that transport operates has to change too. And despite continued calls for people to return to the office, there remains little appetite from workers to do so.

[Good long article continues]

20:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 23:13 will be terminated at Moreton-In-Marsh.
This is due to failure of the electricity supply.
Last Updated:16/01/2025 22:12

21:53 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill due 00:01 will be delayed at Oxford.
This is due to failure of the electricity supply.
Last Updated:16/01/2025 22:27

22:00 Hereford to London Paddington due 01:15 will be starting late from Hereford.
This is due to failure of the electricity supply.
Last Updated:16/01/2025 21:39