Wise Words for You

On November 13th two LNER trains crashed into each other whilst approaching Neville Hill depot in Leeds resulting in significant delays to services for almost 24 hours An investigation into a train collision in Leeds has revealed more details about the major incident that cancelled services and caused travel disruption for thousands of passengers. Services were disrupted between Leeds and London Kings Cross after two London North Eastern Railway (LNER) trains collided in east Leeds on Wednesday, November 13. No passengers were travelling on either of the trains at the time of the crash, which "shook houses" near the tracks . The government's Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has conducted an extensive investigation into the crash, which caused significant damage to two trains. Worryingly, as a result of the low speed collision, the trailing bogie of the second and third coaches and the trailing axle of the fourth coach on the class 800 train derail...

Derby’s Bombardier has finally unveiled the new train it is building for South Western Railway as part of a deal worth almost £900 million. The firm has launched the Class 701 Aventra, a train designed, developed and now built at its Litchurch Lane factory. South Western Railway placed the £895 million order with Bombardier two years ago. The deal will see the manufacturer deliver a total of 750 carriages, which will make up 90 trains. Sixty of the trains will have 10 carriages, while 30 will have five carriages. The first trains are due to enter service by the middle of next year. It had been hoped that the Class 701 trains would have started on passenger routes this year - but Bombardier needed more time to complete software development.  Pictures of the new 701 trains above and under construction below kindly provided by South Western Railway ‘The new Bombardier Class 701 trains will transform journeys for our customers with benefits including on-board wi-fi, at-s...

Do not try to be great, try to be good, for being good is great.

Hull Trains have welcomed the arrival of the first of the brand-new Hitachi Rail Paragon trains. It comes as part of a £60m investment into five state-of-the- art, bi-mode intercity trains, known as Class 802s, bringing a transformed service from Hull to London. Hull trains, which currently operates 92 services and employs 127 people, recently  appointed a new  customer experience director. Built using Japanese bullet train technology, the new fleet will provide more space and seating from longer carriages, a sleek, modern design and faster acceleration. The trains will offer 5,500 additional seats per week, a quieter and smoother rise and better reliability for passengers. The full roll out will be staggered, with the full fleet expected to be in service by early 2020. Managing director, Louise Cheeseman, said: “We have made a significant investment in these hi-tech trains which will completely overhaul the current service as our customers know it” “Not only wil...

Bristol could be the first city in the UK to introduce a Clean Air Zone which bans all diesel vehicles in the centre and sees a wider charge zone for non-compliant commercial vehicles. The delayed plans have been published by Bristol City Council following threat of legal action by the Government after the council missed deadlines to tackle air pollution. The council cabinet is being asked to approve the plans which would come into force in March 2021. The plans revealed radical proposals to introduce a zone which bans all diesel cars from 7am to 3pm. The wider zone will also see a high charge for non-compliant commercial vehicles like HGVs, Buses and Coaches. Bristol Mayor, Marvin Rees says the plans would give the 'fastest possible improvement to the city's air pollution problem'. The radical proposals to cut air pollution include charging the most polluting vehicles like buses and lorries £100 a day to enter the city centre. During the consultation period, there we...

Alexander Dennis Limited has announced that it has supplied ten Enviro200 buses to Nottingham City Transport (NCT) which will complete the operator’s upgrade to a fully Euro 6 fleet in accordance with Nottingham City Council’s clean air plan. The new single deck vehicles began service this week on the busy urban Bridgford to Nottingham Bus routes. The light,  spacious buses feature on-board Wi-Fi, USB chargers, comfortable seating and double  passenger information screens which NCT have on trial. NCT will operate a fully Euro 6 environment-friendly fleet from January 2020, which is no mean feat, given the company didn’t own any Euro 6 vehicles in May 2017. The new buses also reduce the average age of the fleet from six years to four and a half years which brings with it the benefit of reliability, easier maintenance, increased uptime and higher passenger satisfaction. Recently crowned UK Bus Operator of the Year at the UK Bus Awards, NCT enjoys an excellent r...

Reading buses are operating a new route between Iver, Colnbrook and Heathrow Airport.  The company have been working in partnership with Slough Borough Council and Heathrow Airport to introduce the new route to help commuters and holiday makers from those areas have a sustainable link to the airport.  The new route will be implemented in three phases as different bus types are trialled. The new route is numbered 459 and runs through Poyle, Colnbrook, Langley and Iver to Heathrow Terminal 5. Initially, the service will be free until the full timetable is introduced in early 2020.  Phase one - electric power The first of the three phases of the new Reading Buses 459 service is up and running until December 20. The initial timetable will operate Monday to Friday between approximately 9.30am and 2.30pm – and will be completely free to use. This first phase will be trialled using a full electric bus. Phase two - using gas knowledge For phase two, one...

Unhealthy lifestyles are rooted in the mind and seeded in the soul. The spiritual exercise of the mind involves taking the mind out of the physical body and to the subtle, angelic body of light and then to our state of being a soul – a sentient point of light and power. As for diet control, pure thoughts are the healthy diet for the mind. Creative thoughts are like vitamins and positive thoughts provide proteins that build will power, while thoughts of serving others are like carbohydrates, which provide energy for the mind.

TfL has released its latest version of the tube map which includes several new stations. It's the first tube map to show Crossrail — officially known as the TfL Rail — branching out to Reading. Previously, the Heathrow branch of what will soon be Crossrail — and eventually the Elizabeth line — was on there, but the nine stations from West Drayton to Reading were absent. Does this mean Crossrail's opening is imminent? Unfortunately we're not going to travel the Elizabeth line until  at least 2021 . However, certain sections of the route are up and running, and are being managed as TfL Rail. The western Paddington to Heathrow and eastern Liverpool Street to Shenfield sections have been operating as TfL Rail for sometime now. It's the central section running underneath London that is incomplete.  Bond Street and Whitechapel stations are both still unfinished , a year after they were originally scheduled to open, and other issues such as signal testing have caused furt...

Photo by  Scott Broome  on  Unsplash I’ve had only one successful relationship in my life, but it has lasted for over 17 years. It began under the most unlikely and challenging circumstances. And I credit the  Golden Rule  of relationships for overcoming those odds. Our bond strengthens when we follow this rule and weakens when we stray from it. All other acts of love follow when you do this first. We danced around the border of friends and lovers but never crossed the threshold, despite the constant encouragement of our mutual friends. She was moving to Colorado in less than three months. My opportunity to make something happen was vanishing. I had one chance left. It was the night of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah in September of 2002. I went to my parents’ house in Long Island and would not be back in New York City until night time. “ I’ll be at American Trash ,” she said. “ Come by when you get back .” It was a bar, only a block fro...

Photo by  Bruno van der Kraan  on  Unsplash Our most traumatizing relationships often start at the opposite extreme. You meet someone and are absolutely certain that you are meant to be together. The stars have aligned, a series of mystical signs and signals have shown you that this is your soulmate, the person you’ve been waiting for all along. They fit every point on the checklist, you have too many things in common for it to be coincidental, and they are just as sure as you are that your love is one-of-a-kind and once-in-a-lifetime. Your relationship is instantaneous, explosive, and passionate. Until it isn’t. While chemistry for most people starts strong and then dims over time, trauma bond relationships work the opposite way. It starts strong and then becomes explosive. Instead of getting frustrated and tired of one another, your “perfect love” becomes peppered with soul-shattering fights, horrendous abuse of varying forms and ultimately culminates in ...

Eight glasses a day, right? That’s what we’ve always been told. But as it turns out, this widely-held belief isn’t as accurate as you might think. To really get an idea of how much water you need to drink to maintain your health, let’s look at the issue and come up with some answers. Eight glasses is a myth Credit: Svetlana-Cherruty / iStock Yes, unfortunately, this bit of wisdom that many of us go our whole lives believing is a myth. There’s no actual science behind the claim that six to eight glasses of water per day is necessary for good health, but nevertheless, the claim gets tossed around by the government, the media, and just about anyone who fancies him/herself as a nutrition expert. The original “eight glasses” claim purportedly comes from a recommendation by the  1945 U.S. Food and Nutrition Board , which stated that we should drink 2.5 liters of water every day for good health. There are two problems with this right off the bat: The recommendation wasn’t b...