London Banter - View Single Post - So what's going wrong with the Jubilee line?

Roland Perry · April 27th 11, 02:28 PM posted to uk.transport.london

In message , at 10:39:49 on Wed, 27 Apr
2011, d remarked:

Even 3 HGVs only weigh the same as a single locomotive. A rail bridge
may have
to carry 2 locomotives plus their trains at the same time.

Huh? I thought you were arguing that a bridge built for a couple of 14
ton buses would be adequate for two 150 ton trains... and now you are
quibbling about a mere couple of hundred tons of loco as well

No , I was saying road bridges and viaducts are built far more robustly than
you'd expect given the max weight of traffic you'd expect on them at any one
time, possibly with a few exceptions such as suspension bridges.

I realise that, but a bridge designed to carry a 14 ton load is likely
to be much more robustly designed than one expected to carry 150 tons.

Actually, the proposal was for "railcars", terminating just west of the
Milton Road in Cambridge. The proposers then expected Network Rail's
tooth fairy to reopen and electrify the line across the Milton Road
(level crossing) and onwards towards Cambridge station, with passengers
changing trains to start with.

I have no idea if thats the case.

It is, I've read the proposals.

I'd assumed the natural project would be to re-open the route from
Cambridge station otherwise whats the point?

Correct. Many people have indeed said "what's the point" of a railway
running from a little outside St Ives [1] to a long way outside
Cambridge; expecting someone else to connect it to the Cambridge line;
with proposals for extension to Huntingdon that just don't stand up; and
planning to run a pair of single coach railcars much of the day (when
the original idea was to relieve a road carrying 5,000 vehicles an
hour).

[1] With no track remaining at all the last few miles.
--
Roland Perry