"E27002" <e27...@gmail.com> wrote
>
>This is good to hear. It is a pity IMHO that the West London lines
>has to carry such a mix of local, transit, intercity, and freight
>traffic. From what I have read, there is little room for more
>traffic.
No intercity traffic any more. But LO will get a big increase in capacity
when it goes to 4tph of 4 coach trains.
Peter
(old enough to have travelled on the train to Clapham Junction when the
service was 2 trains per day, steam-hauled, on the Motorail to Fishguard,
and more recently Deltic-hauled from Bromley South).
It is a pity IMHO that the West London lines
> has to carry such a mix of local, transit, intercity, and freight
> traffic. From what I have read, there is little room for more
> traffic.
In its present form, yes, although increasing linespeed, replacing the
three-aspect signals with 4-aspect, reinstating the southbound loop at
Olympia (as has already been mentioned), relaying the points at
Olympia to allow higher-speed entry and exit to the loop (and ensuring
any new loop is also so fitted) and extending the AC electrification
to Shepherd's Bush (so that time need not be wasted stopped at North
Pole to do the changeover) could all help to increase capacity.
BTW, there are now no InterCity (or similar) trains on the line
following the December 2008 timetable change when the Cross Country
services to Brighton were withdrawn.
And Eurostars no longer use the line to access their former (North Pole)
depot.
London's costs, including transit fares, are a factor in making London
and unattractive metropolis in which to do business.
>Compared with other urban transit systems that I utilize, London's
>fares seem unreal. Journeys cost many times their equivalent in say
>Atlanta, Louisville, or Los Angeles.
But ignoring the "penalty" cash fares, they compare very favourably
with the rest of the UK.
>London's costs, including transit fares, are a factor in making London
>and unattractive metropolis in which to do business.
I'm not sure that those making such decisions for big business care
about the price of using buses and trains, as such people will tend to
use chauffeur-driven car services instead (or at the very least
taxis).
Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.
When I have worked in Edinburgh, the monthly, all routes, bus pass has
seemed reasonable. Although it has been several years since I have
had that pleasure.
> >London's costs, including transit fares, are a factor in making London
> >and unattractive metropolis in which to do business.
>
> I'm not sure that those making such decisions for big business care
> about the price of using buses and trains, as such people will tend to
> use chauffeur-driven car services instead (or at the very least
> taxis).
>
It certainly affects employees. I would think that employee
accommodation and transportation costs would at least be a
consideration. London scores badly on both.
>London's costs, including transit fares, are a factor in making London
>and unattractive metropolis in which to do business.
Really? People won't do business here because a bus fare costs about half
the price of a small coffee in Starbucks?
When we have people hiding in trucks at Dover, trying to escape the UK, as
opposed to hiding in trucks at Calais trying to get in, I'll accept that
we're no longer a good place to do business.
Chris
When I choose an IT contract there are certain cost that I take into
account, the rate, the cost of temporary accommodation, food and
transportation costs. I then factor in issues like safety and the
local environment.
London tends to be less attractive than Edinburgh, Los Angeles, or
Omaha. But, you needn't be concerned; you have plenty of folks
waiting in trucks at Calais. I am sure they will be able to install
and maintain software at your companies, financial institutions, etc.
--
As through this world I've rambled, I've met plenty of funny men,
Some rob you with a sixgun, some with a fountain pen.
Woody Guthrie
>
>>> London's costs, including transit fares, are a factor in making London
>>> and unattractive metropolis in which to do business.
>> I'm not sure that those making such decisions for big business care
>> about the price of using buses and trains, as such people will tend to
>> use chauffeur-driven car services instead (or at the very least
>> taxis).
>>
> It certainly affects employees. I would think that employee
> accommodation and transportation costs would at least be a
> consideration. London scores badly on both.
London is in the top two cities worldwide, with New York, according to
the Global Power City Index 2009, which tries to compare different
cities in a sort of objective manner. Tokyo and Paris form a pair just
behind, then you get the rest*. I'm not sure *fares* so much as
generally being able to get around the place matter more. Los Angeles
isn't a top ranking city by these measures and furthermore, all the top
ones are notable as having excellent dense public transportation, which
has to count for something, surely?
For the record, London scored very highly on the culture and
accessibility (transport, basically) categories, high on economy and
poor on livability (including cost of living) and environment, which is
about right, having lived here long enough - yes, it's expensive to get
around but the system is excellent and works well. This is actually
true of New York as well, and no one's claiming that's not an attractive
metropolis to do business, surely?
The point about being attractive/unattractive is that it's across a
range of factors, and overall London's good points more than outweigh
the bad. For the record the three most livable cities according to this
report are Paris, Berlin and Vancouver and the most environmental ones
are Geneva, Zurich and Vienna.
t
* Singapore, Berlin, Vienna, Amsterdam, Zurich, Hong Kong... - the 'goo
city has good public transport' aspect holds true, I suggest. LA is 13th.
A couple of years ago there was a survey that claimed Buenos Aires was the
most expensive city in the world to live in relative to the local cost of
living. I doubt it would rate anywhere in the list of good places to do
business but the public transport provision is cheap and plentiful.
--
Graeme Wall
This address not read, substitute trains for rail
Transport Miscellany at <www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail>
You didn't see Evan Davies' doc on Warren Buffet, then?
While all the top brass at Salomon Bros had their own cars and drivers,
Buffet - who put his neck on the line to save them all - travelled on the NY
Subway.
--
Tim
http://tim-fenton.fotopic.net/
http://zelo-street.blogspot.com/
That sort of work for British companies is now normally done in Mumbai
or Bangalore. They're a lot cheaper than Edinburgh, Los Angeles, or
Omaha.
<grin> and OT: but if you're gonna write "Mumbai" for Bombay, please
be consistent and use "Bengaluru" for Bangalore...
Or "Chennai" for "Madras". This could get complicated.
Last year, I was doing an assignment with a large services company which is,
as they say, headquartered in the USA.
They had identified a number of low (or lower) cost locations, some of which
were *inside* the US. From memory, the Carolinas was one - not all of the
country is prosperous.
I suspect Omaha isn't exactly bank breakingly expensive either.
>>
>> <grin> and OT: but if you're gonna write "Mumbai" for Bombay, please
>> be consistent and use "Bengaluru" for Bangalore...
>
> Or "Chennai" for "Madras". This could get complicated.
>
I work with a bloke from Madras, and he's very annoyed about the whole
Chennai thing, which he sees as a vain politician jumping on a
bandwagon. According to him it makes about as much sense as renaming
London, 'Kensington'.
Tom
[snip]
>
> I suspect Omaha isn't exactly bank breakingly expensive either.
>
Got a good beach I've heard...
Probably not, even though Warren Buffet, one of the world's richest men
lives there.
Yes, I did think of that, but felt that the former had caught on a lot
more than the latter. The latter is also not as cheap as it used to be.
They have been less expensive. I have heard the India is now enjoying
wage inflation in the IT sector.
My son, and I, have done rather well over the years correcting and
implementing some of the product of these off-shore facilities.
Rather than build a new tunnel from Kings Cross to Bermondsy, would it
not be easier to extend the GN Electric tunnel from Moorgate?
> In message <7kt64bF...@mid.individual.net>
> "Tim Fenton" <timf...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
> [snip]
>>
>> I suspect Omaha isn't exactly bank breakingly expensive either.
>>
>
> Got a good beach I've heard...
Covered in towels, though...
--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p13309778.html
(50 050 and 73 111 at Basingstoke, 1992)
What food does it serve? Balti? Tandoori? Pizza and Pasta?
It seems odd that there should be such a thing as a "British
Restaurant" when British cuisine has largely vanished.
> Omaha is also home of the headquarters of the Union Pacific
> Railroad. The town has much of railway interest. It is also Gerald
> Ford�s birthplace.
Lyndon Johnson said of him: "That Gerald Ford. He can't fart and chew gum at
the same time".
For one year I worked in Omaha doing a major reconfiguration of an
accounting package. I found a very inexpensive apartment ten minutes
walk from my client's campus.
My rate was slightly lower than my previous assignment which had been
in the San Francisco Bay area. However, because my costs were much
lower it was an entirely more profitable venture.
Moreover, the folks living in Douglas County, Nebraska where, by and
large, very friendly. The work environment was more than pleasant.
An unexpected bonus was a British restaurant in nearby Bellevue, NE.
See http://tinyurl.com/yj7drwy
Omaha is also home of the headquarters of the Union Pacific
Railroad. The town has much of railway interest. It is also Gerald
Ford’s birthplace.
Given the oportunity I would not hesitate to work in Omaha again.
It might seem so, but things to consider:
a) It's size cannot handle OHLE, which any new infrastructure should
be built to support (one day the southern network will be brought into
line ;))
b) It has metro station-spacing, unsuitable for a service serving an
area as wide as Thameslink (Cambridge to Essex Road, anyone?).
c) Said station are too short, and would be expensive to extend.
d) Closing said stations to remedy b&c would be unpopular with
existing users.
...and finally, e) Extending the tunnel from Moorgate means cutting
through both the planned Crossrail station's escalators, as well as
the Northern line tunnels.
Ergo, I think a new Crossrail-gauge tunnel from either Finsbury or
Ally Pally would be best, with stations at Finsbury Park, Moorgate-
Bank, Cannon Street-London Bridge, and Surrey Canal Junction. However,
either tunnel option would miss out on interchanging with KXSP,
forcing an interchange at Liverpool St. and a trip back along the
Circle.
My preference for the NC tunnels would still have to deal with e), but
covering the other considerations, would be to link it to the W&C, and
from Finsbury up to Highgate, then along back to Ally Pally, before
taking over the majority of the Hertford loop. Plans for the other end
of the W&C take it down to Clapham and off elsewhere...but that's
another thing entirely.
IIRC because of the way it is configured, extending the W&C from
Waterloo would be very difficult. There was once talk of adding a W&C
station at Blackfriars. That idea may have merrit. But there would
be little return for the very high investement.
Quite.
This conversation's been done to death elsewhere before, but IIRC,
it's only an end-on junction at Waterloo that's problematic. Diverging
just before should be relatively trouble-free compared to the hell of
what awaits at the Bank end. I must say though, I am fond of the
concept of a Blackfriars W&C station. The current-ish alternatives
from Waterloo are a 16 minute walk, a trip to Embankment then (once it
reopens!) along to Blackfriars, or amusingly...a trip to London
Bridge, then a clipper to Blackfriars. Certainly not worth it as an
isolated project on such a short line, but as part of a wider
extension, it would stop passengers from Waterloo clogging up both
Waterloo station and the Circle line's capacity (there's ample
capacity between Waterloo and Embankment for that bit not to be an
issue though).
Hadn't really seen anything elsewhere, but, I do not follow every
thread. If it can be done extending the W&C may make more sense that
the westward Northern Line extension discussed here recently.
A frequent tube service continuing to, and replacing, Vauxhall
station, and both Battersea stations (at a new central location
convenient for the new US embassy), would be useful and free up the SW
mainline approach to Waterloo. It could continue to Wimbledon by
surfacing before Clapham junction and using the outside pair to reach
Putney, and then on to Wimbledon by sharing the District tracks.
> What food does it serve? Balti? Tandoori? Pizza and Pasta?
> It seems odd that there should be such a thing as a "British
> Restaurant" when British cuisine has largely vanished.
My local pub has stopped displaying its Curry Board because the demand
for that style of cooking has dropped. On the other hand, they keep a
rather nice gammon which is very popular, as is their home-made
steak-and-ale pie.
--
Dave,
Frodsham
http://dave-jackson.fotopic.net
My local pub became a Thai Restaurant, still with a bar. Many
hostelries around Aylesbury have become Indian restaurants, some with,
and some without bars.
> http://www.jrfielding.com/live/viewstory.cfm?StoryIndex=288
Thanks for the link. It's about time that USians had "proper" food
available. The bloke who trims the remains of my hair has relatives in
Transpondia, and he seems to spend his whole holiday over there in the
kitchen, cooking enough real food to fill their freezer so that they'll
be OK until his next visit.
When I first worked in the US in 1982 I would go crazy for a cup of
real tea. Eventually I would have family members send it over.
>Fortunately World Market now stocks a number of useful British items.
>So I needn't forgo PG Tips, or Typhoo. I can make birds custard for
>my American apple pie. Branston Pickle is available to give my salads
>a slight UK touch. Walker Shortbread and McVities Biscuits Biscuits
>(now there is an ambiguous word) are occasional treats.
Must be a very lucrative contract if you can afford World Market
ex-pat prices! ;)
Tea is sixty three percent more than the UK price according to a very
quick calculation still less than paying postage from the UK. And, I
do not have to inconvenience family members.
Still thanks for the thought provoking post. Next time I work a UK
assignment I will be sure to add plenty of tea to "bring back"
list. :-)
>I do wish he'd said "British restaurant", not "British Restaurant".
>Horrible memories of 1939-1945.
I think at least one may have been still running in the early/mid
sixties. The Councillor's family may remember. It was probably near
the middle of <http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocod
e=&q=cambridge&sll=51.407017,-0.260955&sspn=0.008486,0.015256&ie=UTF8&hq
=&hnear=Cambridge,+United+Kingdom&ll=52.205401,0.121434&spn=0.002084,0.0
05858&z=18&layer=c&cbll=52.205452,0.121306&panoid=PnmB3cj0TCP3vyjL76Mfsg
&cbp=12,187.87,,0,7.47>
--
(c) John Stockton, nr London, UK. ?@merlyn.demon.co.uk Turnpike v6.05.
Web <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/> - w. FAQish topics, links, acronyms
PAS EXE etc : <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/programs/> - see 00index.htm
Dates - miscdate.htm estrdate.htm js-dates.htm pas-time.htm critdate.htm etc.
When I was living in New York in 1991/2 I used the following establishment
on about 1 out of every 6 Sundays to get a fix of home cuisine:
http://www.teaandsympathynewyork.com/home.php
Nearby is
http://www.myersofkeswick.com/
With the odd wedge of (unpasteurised) Colston Bassett Stilton and other
European cheeses from
http://www.deandeluca.com/Default.aspx [1]
+ visitors from the UK wedging their baggage allowance with Heinz Baked
Beans one could just about survive.
D A Stocks
[1] it looks like Dean & Deluca might have given up on British cheeses - I
wonder why?
Well, given the small selection on that web site, it's probably only a
fraction of what they actually sell in the stores.
[It seems very unlikely they wouldn't carry at least Stilton and some
English Cheddar, given how famous they are.]
-Miles
--
"I distrust a research person who is always obviously busy on a task."
--Robert Frosch, VP, GM Research
My goodness: how did you "trip" over that gem?!
According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Karnataka
State Cricket Association play cricket at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium,
Bangalore. I think until the Indians start using Bengaluru there
should be no compulsion on the rest of the world.
John
Thanks for that. I am endlessly fascinated by the subcon. George
Harrison was responsible.
--
As through this world I've rambled, I've met plenty of funny men,
Some rob you with a sixgun, some with a fountain pen.
Woody Guthrie
They are perhaps more likely to sell Canadian and/or Israeli Cheddar.
;-)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
On a par with Earl's Court Aussies and Vegemite (axle grease to the average
Yank).
Managed to survive 10 years without it. Sainsbury's Yeast Extract was pretty
darn close. :)
DW downunder
Nowadays when I have to spend an extended period in the UK I find
myself wanting: A1 Sauce (Easy have some brung over), American Beef,
and Texas Barbecue. As regards the latter two, the gratification is
that much greater when I return to these US.
There is a slight issue here in Reno, where I am most of the time
these days. We do not have a good Indian restaurant. So that treat
has to wait for my occasional trips to Anaheim.
<chortle>
Egzacly my point.
We Anglo-whatevers are being beaten over Our Noggins, being told to
"correct" our geographical notions as the Newly Freed Poor Downtrodden
try to exert Their Puffiness.
Don't hear Bruxelles/Brussels... Kobenhavn/Copenhagen...
Wien/Vienna... al-Kahira/Cairo... al-Damask/Damascus... bitching!
How would one describe Buenos Aires... Rio de Janeiro... en Ingles?
Fresh Airs and January River? The Summer Olympics of whenever should
be fun, if we survive the nonsense of the 2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver.
Should you sense a touch of sporting cynicism, congratulations!
Vive Pekin! (As even China Radio International from, er, Beijing,
still refers to its hometown in French.)
Don't laugh, but I saw in a newspaper somewhere recently that our
Canadian Cheddar label is about to be attacked.
A quick web search couldn't pull up any reference...
[snip]
>
> How would one describe Buenos Aires... Rio de Janeiro... en Ingles?
>
For most of the 19th century the capital of the River Plate states was known
to the English as Buenos Ayres.
--
Graeme Wall
This address not read, substitute trains for rail
Transport Miscellany at <www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail>
Is that Noggin the Nog?
> birds custard for my American apple pie
I think I'd rather have Bird's Custard on my pie than "birds
custard".
> You can get Vegimite in the UK now too.
What's with the "now"? I've been buying it from Tesco for at least 10
years. Vegemite with an 'e' in the middle I mean.
I was able to buy Vegemite from my local Tesco in 1988.
>>>>>>>>>>
Returned to Oz in 87 - they were a tad slow to respond to the market!!
DW downunder
>>On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:49:47 +0900, Miles Bader <mi...@gnu.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>[It seems very unlikely they wouldn't carry at least Stilton and some
>>>English Cheddar, given how famous they are.]
>>
>>
>>They are perhaps more likely to sell Canadian and/or Israeli Cheddar.
>>
>>;-)
>
>Don't laugh, but I saw in a newspaper somewhere recently that our
>Canadian Cheddar label is about to be attacked.
No surprise, really, as it all makes no sense. But neither did
Danish, Dutch and Israeli cheddar, all of which I have bought over the
years. The Israeli cheddar was in a cheese spread, but the
manufacturer apparently also made hard cheddar cheese.
It's all rather a long way from Somerset. But Somerset gets its own
back by making "Brie". ;-)
and it is has no taste at all, I much prefer the original
Richard
But what is "the original"? If there was ever only one recipe, it has
been well and truly lost.
Very little now separates any kind of cheddar from a great many other
hard cheeses from all over the world. Wherever it comes from, it is a
almost always a mediocre and particularly undistinguished cheese.
> > For most of the 19th century the capital of the River Plate states was known
> > to the English as Buenos Ayres.
> Mar del Plata
I'm not sure what you are saying here.
AFAIK Mar del Plata was not a capital of anything. There was nothing
there until 1874, and had no port until 1916. It may now be
Argentinas' 7th largest city and exceeds half a million population,
but in the 19th century it was nothing.
Or are you answetring something further up thread,
> > >> How would one describe Buenos Aires... Rio de Janeiro... en Ingles?
Are you perhaps confusing things with Rio de la Plata ? Not only
location but translation: rio is river, mar is sea.
--
Nick
<sigh> Canada's Labelling Police apparently are responsible for the
disappearance of that Most Important Aussie treat from supermarket
shelves over the last year or so.
I have stumbled on a Indo-Fijian food store in the deep Vancouver
suburbs that brings Vegemite in through a back door, but they've
stopped importing the 454g jars and I'm left with grabbing 225g or in
a pinch the tiny 115g jars whch last only a few days...
Not quite sure why I'm bothering - but English is one of the most
prevalent languages in India (and is one of India's official
languages), so they have every right to choose what English names they
use for their cities.
It's an internal debate between local-nationalist and international-
elitist politicians, not an external one: so Bombay, where I'm writing
this from, was renamed for all local English-language purposes [*]
when the local council was dominated by a nasty bunch of BNP-like anti-
immigrant (from out-of-state, obviously) thugs called the Shiv Sena.
As a foreigner, you can refer to it however you like - however,
there's a fine line between "demonstrating your understanding of
history and your contempt for bigots" and "appearing to be an ignorant
prat", so I'd recommend using "Mumbai" unless you're aware of the
political views of the person you're talking to.
(quite why we indulge China, where English is neither official nor
widely spoken, in telling us how to transliterate their place names,
is less clear.)
--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org
Using "Mumbai" is hardly guaranteed to spare you the latter charge though...
-Miles
--
Ich bin ein Virus. Mach' mit und kopiere mich in Deine .signature.
IMX using "Mumbai" will at worst get you a "no, you don't need to call
it Mumbai to me, that's only what those saffron bastards call it",
whereas using "Bombay" can cause serious annoyance (not just with
saffron bastards but also with people with no particular loyalties on
the internal bunfight but who think Western Imperialism is bad).
I used to get Vegemite (at a price, same with Tim Tams!) From the
Australia Shop in Covent Garden. Then Sainsbury's started selling both
at more "reasonable" prices. (Although the Tim Tams seem to have
vanished lately.)
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK
Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk
Now blogging in "The World According to Ian Jelf" at
http://ianjelf.blogspot.com