Ron Ron Ron

Home charging units can be timed to access off peak electricity. Also at least one car manufacturer's home charging station, is available with an optional solar roof array (for the garage or house obviously !!!! ). .

The $64 million question? Don't mix up wave with tidal generation though. I'm quite baffled as to why there has been so much wasted research effort on trying to develop wave generation though. At the same time so little effort put into tidal generation programmes. The tides are a 100% guaranteed, 24/7, 365 potential source of electricity generation. Unless some intergalactic space Gypsies, run off with the moon one night. .

Away from the more expensive cars. Ford Citreon DS Volkswagen Mercedes-Benz ...and here now. Hyundai Kona EV .

Indeed. Those early mass produced Hybrids from Toyota and Honda looked a bit wacky. Honda's efforts particularly. It was rather disappointing that BMW chose avant-garde styling for their i3, but their forthcoming projects are more in tune with their general future brand styling ideas. I do wonder why Toyota continue with the Prius, when the same Petrol Hybrid power train package is available in nearly all of their conventional car models, from the Yaris, all the up to to their premium Lexus models. Maybe because the Prius branding and styling has an appeal of its own, to certain people at least? .

More premium sector EV's on the way. Jaguars next XJ. Jaguar J-Pace ...will be available in hybrid and/or EV versions too, borrowings tech from the all-EV new i-Pace. BMW i4 BMW i5 Audi E-tron .

I know a chap who has always driven larger engined, sporty cars. He previously had an XK8 and now has an F-Type as a weekend car. They were looking at the idea of buying a BMW i3 for his wife. It was just out of curiosity and they had already been looking at several conventional ICE powered cars. Having test driven the i3, just out of curiosity and then getting a loan car for a weekend, they took the plunge and ordered one. But, instead of it being his wife's car, he uses it himself as his main weekly transport. He takes the i3 to work (his own business premises) and charges it on a Monday after the weekend and again on Thursday or Friday, before the next weekend. Just twice a week, as it's only used for getting to and from work and as a general run around. He does little or no charging at home, even though they've got plenty of space there. He doesn't directly pay for the electricity either, as it comes out of the company (Free fuel) and they chose the Range Extender version of the car, with its tiny petrol powered generator, for emergency use. Putting the car through the company helps too. Leasing the vehicle means he has no concerns whatsoever about the life of the battery or residual costs. The lease payments take care of that. Take a look at the growing size of the personal leasing market and the well established business leasing market. Add in tax incentives and the likelihood of increasing financial penalties for driving pure ICE powered cars and I can easily see where its all going. .

Tesla have shown to gain a foothold in the market and to influence trends, it's no use trying to enter at the foot of the market where competition is high and the initial returns on very high investment levels needs to be much higher. If a small family hatchback EV is going to need to be priced at premium levels, then it makes more sense to package the technology into premium priced models instead. Having said that, Renault (Zoe) and Nissan (Leaf 1 and now 2) have taken a different route to market. There is also the aspirational aspect of the premium brands product offerings. If all the first generation of mass produced EV's were small vehicles in the lower priced segments, not to mention some of the early examples looking like daft Noddy cars, then it would be a very steep uphill struggle to convince people to get out of their E-Classes and Range Rovers and into premium priced EV's. So yes, Tesla has become an aspirational purchase for the well healed and initially there has been a heavy dose of trendiness surrounding the new brand, but they've also created a credible and competent range of cars, that stand up on their own merits. Their game plan is to use that reputation to now deliver cars with wider mass market appeal. The Model 3 is the first of these, but most of us will be aware of the monumental difficulties the company are experiencing trying to establish themselves as mass market manufacturers. In the UK at least, the original Leaf (mk1) appears to be driven by mostly older members of society. The semi-Noddy car looks didn't help there. However, the new Leaf (mk2) is a much better offering, not only in looks, but technically and in its capabilities. Nissan do have a job to do with "image " though. The new Micra is a complete change of image and packaging from the awful Noddy car looks of previous generations, but unlike in certain mainland European countries, I imagine it'll be a hard work trying to sell it to a younger generation in the UK. I have a feeling the new Leaf (mk2) is going to be a tremendous success. Others have echoed this point. It's a real issue for very large numbers of car owners, but let's not forget that on the other hand, there are literally millions of households that do have off street parking, private drives and garages, where they can charge their EV's and Plug-in Hybrids. Other points to consider. I can't remember the figures without looking it up, but they say something like 80% of all car journeys are less than 25 or 30 miles. Many people who would have difficulty having access to charging points at or near home, may be able to charge their cars at a place of work, or at a public charging point. There are also Range Extender versions of some EV's. Also, what of the development of autonomous vehicles and the evolving concept of shared vehicles, Uber type models of transportation etc.? Electric and Hydrogen fuel-cell powered cars may lend themselves very well to these possible future trends. .

If the trains are overcrowded with no seats available, how is it going to be any different with LNER? Same service, same timetable, same trains.

Some car manufacturers are now moving away from EV versions of their regular petrol/diesel offerings. New platforms are in development for completely new ranges that will only support EV. Better packaging of the batteries and motors means that load space, for both passengers and luggage, isn't compromised, or compromised as much. There's a new thread for EV and Hybrid cars here.... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134352-electric-ev-hybrid-cars-news-and-discussion/ Ron

Previous discussion topics..... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/126593-dyson-to-make-electric-cars/?hl=%2Belectric+%2Bcar http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/124783-new-diesel-and-petrol-vehicles-to-be-banned-from-2040-in-uk/?hl=%2Belectric+%2Bcar&do=findComment&comment=2798293 .

Audi E-Tron https://electrek.co/2018/03/06/audi-e-tron-quattro-all-electric-prototype/

The Electric Vehicle Experience Centre - Milton Keynes

Over the last couple of years, the occasional topic has been discussed here in Wheeltappers, regarding EV's, Hybrids, future Diesel & Petrol bans etc. With a wave of next generation EV's shortly to hitting the car market, I thought it might be useful to have a focal point for discussion on such related topics. Whether we realise it or not, many of us will be buying, or contemplating buying one of these vehicles in future years. Most members of the public will be aware that modern day EV's exist and are around, but may not notice or come into contact with them very often. After all, despite the rapid growth in ownership, now getting into the tens of thousands, EV's still only make up a small proportion of the car market and total number of vehicles on our roads. That is soon going to change. Jaguar will soon be starting delivery of their i-Pace crossover SUV. Volkswagen/Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are all creating new, next generation ranges of EV's right across the size and price spectrum. Most of these are new, dedicated EV models and not EV versions of existing models in their ranges. At the more affordable end of the market, Nissan have recently launched their much improved Leaf 2, to very positive critical acclaim. Other car manufacturers are also developing their own "affordable" models. I'm sure there are many like me who have warmed to the idea of possibly owning an EV.....maybe one day! Battery development, waiting for milage ranges to be extended, charging networks, the practically of charging etc, etc. ....OK maybe one day! Could that day be coming sooner than many of us have realised? It probably will take a good few years, but consider this. They are shortly to start work on the construction of HS2 (preliminary works are springing up all over the phase one route). By the time phase one is due to open in 2026, how many EV's and Hybrids will be on our roads? Ron .

Most ringing in had travelled that morning.

Some of you may have been listening to BBC 5 Live this morning. They heavily featured the timetable changes on their breakfast news programme and had planned to devote the following phone-in and discussion hour from 0900 to 1000, to the subject. The problem was, that despite only 2 commuter callers being negative......plus two ill informed pensioners (one from Wales and the other from Yorkshire) phoning in to say it was all wonderful in the olden days and a cup ion tea was only 6 pence, .....the rest of the callers phoning in were positive or optimistic. Even saying that this morning's journey was faster, or on time for a change. The disappointment from the BBC team was palpable. Co-presenter Nicky Campbell seemed mildly bemused by it all. It was so funny that their hopes of a doom, gloom and disaster story were not coming to fruition. They basically wound down the story after half an hour and moved on to something else. The BBC had been winding up to a "major scandal" story all weekend, as had many of the other news media outlets. All they've got left now is the bleating of Mick Cash to report on. .

Aye! Demis Roussos. I've got his book of famous quotations. .

It's not their job to, either. The role of the unions is not to run the railway. The management should rightly take the blame if their plans are flawed, badly laid out or implemented. However the railway workers are there to make it work or try to make it work and their union shouldn't be trying to make political capital out of these events. In fairness, I haven't seen anyone here suggest otherwise. . .

I thought that was the plan all along. Very little change or disruption to the existing services, then the Crossrail (Elizabeth Line) service could be ramped up in stages towards full operation. It seems like a pragmatic approach. How many people noticed TfL taking over the running of most of the intermediate stations along the GWML, late last year? .

Although not employed or involved in the industry, I'm pretty certain Phil that 90%+ of your colleagues would agree with you.

It's a phased introduction. This is the start of phase 2. The new Class 345 trains were originally going to be running into Heathrow from yesterday, but will now replace the Class 360's once the new signalling is operational on the Heathrow branch. Phase 3 & 4 see's trains starting to run under the centre of London in the new Crossrail tunnels, but only between Paddington low level and the eastern branches. The TfL Rail services will be branded Elizabeth Line from December this year. The increase in services on the western section isn't scheduled to take place until phase 5 in December 2019 (18 months time, so not that far away). That's when the full service is due to commence, with trains running via the Crossrail tunnels to/from the GWML relief lines. Paddington main line station has't got the capacity to take the extra trains before then. ..

YouTube footage shows the Class 360's are branded with TfL logo's. Presumably they will continue operating on the Heathrow branch until the signalling work is sorted out and completed? As far as I know, this has been expected for a while. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/tfl-takes-over-heathrow-trains-in-major-crossrail-project-milestone-a3843951.html http://www.cityam.com/286012/key-milestone-crossrail-timeline-reached-tfl-takes-over .

I've just done an ECML return journey from London Kings Cross to York, this weekend with VTEC. No sign of the impending changes. A good service on clean well presented trains. The return late afternoon yesterday was 15 minutes late due to issues on the line further north, but that wasn't down to VTEC. It was also very busy, so I bought the on-board First Class upgrade and grabbed one of the few remaining seats. Overall no complaints, however the return was on an HST and I have to say that the ride was awful. The northbound journey in the IC225 mk4 was smooth and although not the best seats, it was quite a comfortable journey. In contrast, the return in the HST mk3 was one of the roughest riding rail journeys I've done in ages. Only the nice comfy First Class seat made up for it. Getting onto a SWR Class 444 from Waterloo to the south coast was a smooth magic carpet ride in comparison. On my only other recent HST journeys, on GWR, it was less than impressive, with bogie or wheel noises (it might have been a wheel flat on one trip?) and rattling panels. Summary. I've got no complaints about VTEC. Excellent service. On the other hand, replacement of the once excellent HST's can't come soon enough based on my recent experiences of these trains. Never thought I'd say that. .