MYSTIC VALLEY RAILWAY SOCIETY
MYSTIC VALLEY RAILWAY SOCIETY
News from Britain –
James Scannell
November 2019 to January 2020
On December 15th Transport for London (TfL) rail commenced operating
services from London Paddington and Reading as part of the delivery of the
Elizabeth line. Passengers at Iver and Taplow stations will now enjoy Sunday
service of two trains per hour to London.
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TfL to Trial New Bus Sound
to Improve Road Safety
In January 2020 an innovative new bus sound will be trialed on London’s electric
buses on route 100. It will be played through special speakers inside the front
of the bus to ensure that all road users are aware of the presence of electric
and hybrid buses. When moving at slow speeds without this sound, these vehicles
are almost completely silent and pose a safety risk especially to those who are
blind or partially sighted. The trial comes ahead of an artificial sound
becoming a regulatory requirement for all new ‘quiet’ running vehicles from
2021. (In the Republic of Ireland from 2020 onwards, all electric vehicles must
emit an audible sound and all electric vehicles sold prior to 2020 must be
retrofitted by the end of 2021).
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TfL Fares Frozen for 2020
All fares set by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will remain frozen for 2020 to
encourage more people to use public transport. Bus and tram fares remain at
£1.50 (about US$2) with the Lord Mayor’s Hopper Fair allowing unlimited journeys
within 60-minutes. Adult off-peak fares for Tube journeys within Zones 2-6 cost
about US$2 using ‘pay as you go’. This is the fourth year in a row that all
fares set by the Mayor of London have remained unchanged.
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London Tube Station Renamed
PICARDilly Circus
On January 15th 2020, London’s Piccadilly Circus tube station was
renamed ‘PICARDilly Circus’ for 48-hours, in advance of the new Amazon Prime
Video original series ‘Star Trek’ being launched on January 24th in
more than 200 locations world-wide. Themed signs and posters were erected
throughout the station, though staff were on hand to direct passengers confused
by the promotional materials to tube trains and other station services.
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Decade of Progress for
Transport for Greater Manchester
In the decade since 2010 the number of annual passengers on the Metrolink
network has more than doubled, rising from 19.2m in 2010 to 45.5m in 2019. The
decade also saw a large-scale expansion of the network, known as Phase Three.
This boosted track length from 39km in 2010 to 97km in 2019, with the addition
of 55 new stops to the existing 38. The number of trams grew from 36 in 2010 to
120 in 2019 with more to come in 2020.
The network has expanded into seven of the Greater Manchester boroughs, serving
areas such as Wythenshawe, Didsbury, Oldham, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Droylsden,
Ashton, Rochdale, and MediaCity. There is also now a second city crossing with a
new stop in Exchange Square and fully refurbished stops at Deansgate-Castlefield
and St. Peter’s Square.
The expansion of Metrolink has been part of a wider development scheme of the
public transport system in Greater Manchester which has seen delivery of major
components such as the Bus Priority Package, the GM Electric Vehicle scheme, the
‘get-me-there’ smart ticketing scheme and the launch of cycle hubs, interchanges
and bus stations.
END