Has COVID-19 destroyed the travel Business?

 Airlines Recovering!

It would seem after the past two years of this Pandemic the airline industry has suffered, but now it is coming back since we cannot live without global travel?

Freight was the mainstay of aviation with the parcel carriers and even Amazon getting on into their own aircraft in Europe and joining the movers and shakers perhaps some of this investment has made its way into developing space tourism?

Social distancing remains a key factor in flying, with the restrictions coming down it has caused a uptake once more on COVID infections to rise, only time will tell!

Class 66 Lives on!

The American/Canadian Class 66 lives on?

At this time there remains no real replacement to the British class 66 locomotive, there are some newer classes but no substantial orders have been made for them in relation to freight haulage!

In fact many European engines are being returned to the U.K. to replace the early first introduction 6600-20 and there looks like no other engine is to replace it in the near future?

Like the Class 43 (Intercity 125) in passenger travel, it has seen a rebuild and over forty years of service. Many countries do not let go of their locomotion so quickly and hold on in reserve what might come in handy at a later date!

The price of fuels is one key factor the other be reliability and also ease of use to the existing drivers! None of these 66's were ever as far as ones knows ever employed in passenger services, apart from recovery of preservation trains?

Electric Locomotion!

Lack of investment?

Electricity costs and the infrastructure needed to build and maintain is not affordable to many countries around the world, in some cases even in the U.K. money is being held back in Wales to undercut the future of business and trade for unknown reasons?

Meanwhile the Diesel engine continues to rule the roost in the haulage of freight world-wide, because it is cheap and easy to work. Locomotive engines are improving all the time and the data on pollution varies from region to region worldwide, leaving one to wonder what is the real truth to the whole global warming situation!

Perhaps the taking off the road of trucks on to rail might cut the burning of fuel and relieve road traffic in towns and cities, but it is unknown if this is viable as it would logically seem to be?

Battery and Electrics?

New Technology not for Everyone!

The British capital London is introducing charges to cars entering the city that are over fifteen years old or are powered by diesel! But nothing has been mentioned as yet about rail freight that daily passes through the capital power by mighty fuel guzzling locomotives?

Much work is being done to introduce more battery powered trains and improve the electrification of the capital, but this will not be for everywhere and outside London some areas will remain as they are!

Electric power 3rd rail is extensive in urban areas of the U.K., while 4th rail is part of the underground systems in London and Glasgow! Cost was originally the problem, but since the electrification of the Channel Tunnel work is continuing to improve a smoother cleaner train travel!

But most freight locomotion remains operated by diesel, rather than electric and one does not know what or when this will be changed or if it will ever be changed?

Trains new Stocks?

Another fare Hike!

Is it because we need new signalling, new track alignment or are the operators just getting their arm in? Many nations from time to time change their fleets and improve their traction, but this is done over years and the colour schemes also gradually change with the upgrade of the fleet?

But the private fleets in the U.K. do this on a regular basis and one understands why but then has to ask at what cost to the season ticket holder? We cannot do without the train today, most of the operations are freight in and out of the U.K. The cross channel link now means trains from China can make the journeys without relying on the seas and all the problems of piracy around the world!

Many improvements have been made, but shorter trains do not help with overcrowding, while at other time trains run empty on a new timetable that remains controversial. New stock is coming into service and older engines moved on to Wales, and Scotland, but this is not the real problems?

Transport for Wales!

Teething Problems?

The take over of the Arriva contract does not seem to have solved much for rail in Wales, and neither has the weather? Flooding and landslides with the recent and more expected heavy rains will cause more problems, on top of lack of new stocks and bad management?

Wales has always had the backend of British Rail and now into privatization little has changed!

Cheaper fares in competition with the bus services will make for a cleaner faster journeys between the big cities of the capital Cardiff and Swansea. 

But the valleys and further afield will continue to suffer from lack of stock allocation and overcrowding, much is promised by the Welsh government and one has just to wait and see and hope that not all will be disappointed again?

Management and the past removal of track to the major ports of Pembroke and Fishguard for freight was unwise, putting more of a strain on the roads? The lack of vision is another issue to do with the bottlenecks of the M4 between Cardiff and the Servern crossing?

'Thats another fine Mess?

Govia and the Great British rails muck-up!

Britain is suffering not only with rail union strikes, but also with the mess-up of a failed time-table on passenger routes and it not being thought out for freight also! Money will be lost if freight is delayed and one has to wonder about yesterdays incident at Loughborough Junction in SE-London in which three young men were killed by a freight train?

Many locomotive allocations are now in the wrong place and multiple-movements are to be seen across the network, one expects that Govia and Network rail with government help will get it right? The early trains for the cities are to short, causing packing and too much standing, while through the day they are long and empty!

Many other areas have lost their connections and a unwanted bus services have been implemented, while many people are either trying to get different shift hours or are just getting a taxi! It is not clear how this real mix-up is effecting engineering trains and the various works on the rails, which are both needed and essential to keep everything safe and moving?

All new British Trains?

The Price Hike!

It is claimed by the various private companies, that it is their hope by 2020 to have a modern fleet of all new trains across the mainland U.K? Meanwhile they also say that the last batch of Class 66 locomotives with many newer types will mean the mass selling off of all other existing classes either to preservation or overseas buyers?

This perhaps explains the price hike in fairs for 2018, but it also means that regional governments such as Scotland and Wales may have their last opportunity to expand or re-build lines before Brexit?

London and the south-east will benefit from Cross-rail and the extension of the Bakerloo line from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, which in long overdue.

The government wants to build a high speed line from London to Pembroke dock, by passing Swansea, this will be via Carmarthen for freight? Meanwhile the proposed electrification may reach Cardiff, after it was cancelled?

All of this could just be another clever way of covering up raising the prices each year?

Engineering, Maintanance and Building. Part-Two.

Differing Requirements?

Because there are so many different gauges around the world and types of systems from mainline, to metro and tubes there is need for the same types doing the same jobs at differing scales. This has been tried on the London Underground, who purchased smaller Class 66 locomotives.

In days gone by steam cranes and open waggons carried material and crew gangs to build, but today a whole section can be laid by machine as we have already seen. It is the complex electrics overhead that cause expense and delays, computer systems have to be accurate with signal commands.

This new requirement when in place allows high-Speed travel and less point switching for passenger trains, but freight remains a different matter. Most recovery over the last forty years has been carried out by a second locomotive, but in the years to come this with under floor motors as on both tube and metro stock will overcome all of the old problems.

Much of the maintenance of the old days may be carried out more by robotic controlled vehicle based on the current stock with video equipment. Not every nation will be able to afford this so depending on where they are many older methods will remain.

North-American Railroads. Part-One.

La Fayette to Amtrak.

To cover the United States and Canada is one thing, but in this series we will also look at Mexico. Amtrak is currently the main civilian passenger company for long-haul rail travel, while a few companies remain in the freight business. 

America has a long history of the railroads, following on from the United Kingdom and France 10 years after they were first invented. American carriage design has found itself employed on the British London Underground from 1911. meanwhile many early smaller locomotives were sent to Ireland for various narrow gauge adaptions.

The firsts trains brought from the U.K and France were as basic as you could get them, with carriages being adopted from the wild west stagecoach.

The Class 66/1-9.

General Motors Locomotive.

The Class 66 Locomotive (12N-710G3B-EC) has been perhaps the best ever to have entered service in Britain. This Canadian built engine is the backbone of most freight operations in the UK. 

(Northern-Ireland Translink jointly owns their Class 201's with the Republic of Ireland. Thirty-four were delivered to Ireland from 1994-95, but most of these are now withdrawn apart from the Dublin to Belfast Enterprise service and the Dublin to Cork service. Ireland has replaced them with state of the art South-Korean DMU's).

Over four-hundred locomotives have been purchased since they were first introduced in 1998-2008. They have proved to be an invaluable asset, working all types of freight duties from coal trains to container freight. You will see them nearly in every part of the country, working day and night.

Two versions were built for the UK, the JT42CWR and JT42CWRM low emissions engines. Some of the British loco's were sent to France to work in the Channel tunnel crossings, but I think all these have now returned. Meanwhile the first delivered have been withdrawn for servicing and assigned to other workings. 

Speed and weights vary between the Irish and British versions. IR locos worked 90-100mph and weighed 112 tonnes. British version had a top speed of 87.5 mph, but were restricted to 60-75mph. their weight was heavier at 127 tonnes.

Trains.

Life Lines.

They say that nations without a coast are doomed, but you could say the same, if they have no railways either with laid track or none. Nearly every country on the planet has a railway of some kind, from a narrow gauge to wide track. 

The railways are an essential life line, especially in trade, wither it be cross border or not. The history and development of the locomotive is a backbone to any network. Trains of course come in all forms, some are used just for freight, while others for passengers. Trains can cover great distances such as in Russia, China, India, Australia, Canada, Brazil and the United States.

In these fore mentioned countries trains can be up to four miles in length for freight cars, some now double decked. While passenger trains can be 25+ carriages long. Some trains are built for speed, such as in Japan, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, where the rail lines have very few curves.  

So you kind of see the picture and their value. Later in 2014 we will get down to the ''nitty gritty'' of these starter blogs.