London Banter - View Single Post

Basil Jet[_4_] · September 4th 15, 03:40 PM posted to uk.transport.london

On 2015\09\04 12:07, y wrote:
On Fri, 4 Sep 2015 02:08:26 -0700 (PDT)
wrote:
Canning Town to Stratford DLR (taken over from NLL) provides useful connect=
ions northwards, and Stratford has tons of connections to all kinds of plac=
es.

Personally I think that link would have been far more useful as part of the
upgraded Overground NLL. I don't really understand the reasoning behind making
it part of the DLR. Instead of some nice 378s you have to ride on rattly
uncomfortable DLR trains and change at stratford if you wish to continue
further around the NLL.

I agree.

It would use the DLR Beckton depot, if there's room, but the vehicles=20
would have both pantographs and DLR shoes.

That's a very long way for a tram, and I'm not sure how easy it would be to=
interface with the various railway and DLR platforms/power supplies/signal=

Poor old Basil Brush seem to have forgotten its DC 3rd rail south of the river.
Good luck getting 2 types of shoe to work reliably on one train. Aside from
that the DLR trains almost certainly wouldn't get a mainline safety
certificate for crash worthiness.

The present DLR stock wouldn't go anywhere it doesn't currently go. And
the proposed low floor trams from Harold Hill to Bromley South, with DLR
ATO and DLR shoes as well as human driver plus tram pantograph, would
not share track with anything but the DLR, and would not share platforms
with anything at all.

Having said that, having no pantograph and using battery power from
Harold Hill to Collier Row, from Newbury Park to King George V, from
Woolwich to Grove Park and from Bromley North to Bromley South would be
better than ruining street scenes with overhead. But that would put four
times as much power through the shoes when they were being used, and I
have no idea if that would even be possible. But DLR third rail with low
platforms is probably too dangerous, which would be an issue at
Sundridge Park. Although the DLR criss-crossing wire in the four foot
might be a trip hazard next to low platforms, so maybe high platforms
like those on Metrolink would be a necessity.

As for the distance, Bury to Altrincham seems to be about 18 miles, and
Harold Hill to Bromley North is about 22 miles. Although end-to end
distance is unimportant, because it is not designed to enable the entire
population of Harold Hill to commute to Bromley. The longest part anyone
might regularly use is Newbury Park to Bromley which is about 16 miles,
so 50% longer than Fleetwood to Blackpool.