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Royal Mail Zero Carbon - more trains?


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2 hours ago, MyRule1 said:

Good news but the use of hopper wagons for mail would not seem to be a good idea.

Perhaps the plan is for an updated version of mail-bag apparatus merged with merry-go-round operation, whereby mail is automatically dropped from hoppers into under-track chutes en route…. 😉

 

But seriously, glad to see them considering this. Long overdue.

 

Richard T

Edited by RichardT
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I'm always amused by the term "Using only renewable energy"

So many places are claiming that without any 'own generation', that there must be a surplus of non renewable energy sloshing around in the system

Edited by melmerby
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7 hours ago, melmerby said:

I'm always amused by the term "Using only renewable energy"

So many places are claiming that without any 'own generation', that there must be a surplus of non renewable energy sloshing around in the system

 

I must patent that device which examines electrons flowing down a wire and sorts out those generated by renewable infrastructure from the rest.

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11 minutes ago, DY444 said:

I must patent that device which examines electrons flowing down a wire and sorts out those generated by renewable infrastructure from the rest.

 

Maybe we can tell from the colour of the electrons?

Everyone knows "sustainable" electrons are green.

 

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In my opinion a lot of the claims made by many businesses about only using renewable energy, carbon neutral, etc, etc is basically flimsy marketing guff.  There is no way whatsoever you can have absolutely zero carbon, its just physically impossible as is claiming every electron of electricity you use is from renewable resources.  It's pretentious PR cobblers of the first water....

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14 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

In my opinion a lot of the claims made by many businesses about only using renewable energy, carbon neutral, etc, etc is basically flimsy marketing guff. There is no way whatsoever you can have absolutely zero carbon, its just physically impossible as is claiming every electron of electricity you use is from renewable resources

 

I concur. It might be possible for a small business based in a small part of the UK, that (incredibly) always had enough daylight and wind, and only consumed "local" electricity. But for a huge organisation (like the Royal Mail) that operates in every part of the UK and 24x7, it's physically impossible for 100% of their consumed electrons to be "Net Zero Green Sustainable" electrons.

 

Declaration of interest: M'Lady and I were buying our electricity from a "100% sustainable" supplier. It went bust four months ago.

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6 minutes ago, Trainshed Terry said:

Reinstate sorting of mail on trains.

I know a group that have a 6 coach Mk1 TPO set they could borrow ( at a price )  😀

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2 hours ago, Trainshed Terry said:

The first thing that RM should do is put the delivery officers back on to bicycles to do away with the many delivery diesel/petrol vans that do less than 2 miles in a day. …..


They have been placing orders for hundreds of electric vans to replace ICE powered vehicles for local deliveries/ collections.

They have a long way to go to roll this out across the whole country though.

 

RM are looking at more EV’s in a range of sizes.

 

image.jpeg.4fc1162cc4615cb8e25598f072f01fb2.jpeg

 

 

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It’s debatable how much Mail and parcels could practically be transferred to rail.

I think you’d only be looking at transfers between major regional sorting hubs, to replace much of the HGV traffic and some of the flights that currently link these.

Updating and improving the RM national network will more likely see a move towards  the hub and spoke type distribution systems of the parcel and courier companies.

The days of old style mail trains and throwing bags of mail onto passenger trains has long gone and will not be coming back.

 


 

 

 

 

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Edited by Ron Ron Ron
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2 hours ago, 73c said:

I know a group that have a 6 coach Mk1 TPO set they could borrow ( at a price )  😀

 

2 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

 

Is it this one?

 

 

2 hours ago, 73c said:

That'll be the one.

Didn't know Mk1s came in panelled versions............

Gresley TPO van in picture?

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14 hours ago, Wickham Green too said:

Isn't that exactly what they were doing before they gave up using rail ?

Yes.  here if I post a letter to someone else in the town (or they post one to me - which is more likely) the item goes 50 miles by road to a hub sorting office and is then returned by road over the same 50 miles.  Obviously mail to/from elsewhere also goes via that hub so it isn't just local post making the journey.

 

What is a real waste of energy/overuse of fossil fuel is that the round which does our round normally involves a van journey of something over half amile from, and back to , the local RM office.  But interestingly when there was someone who didn't have a Driving Licence covering our round she did it on foot with a small trolley.  I realise that using the van allows delivery of small parcels (many of which seem to come from a well known Cornish purveyor of model railways) so is a bit more productive and it takes less time than walking but it does create needless pollution when you see that somebody can do exactly the same job on foot.

 

As for RM using rail it will only be hub & spoke trunk hauls as the railway couldn't really handle anything else.  The facilities needed for mail handling no longer exist at passenger stations and there is no suitable (secure) accommodation for mail on most passenger trains. 

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18 hours ago, Trainshed Terry said:

The first thing that RM should do is put the delivery officers back on to bicycles to do away with the many delivery diesel/petrol vans that do less than 2 miles in a day.  Reinstate sorting of mail on trains.

 

Terry  

If they do that, they'll also have to make sure that Postman Pat doesn't cook himself the full English on a gas hob before he goes to work.

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19 hours ago, Trainshed Terry said:

The first thing that RM should do is put the delivery officers back on to bicycles to do away with the many delivery diesel/petrol vans that do less than 2 miles in a day.  Reinstate sorting of mail on trains.

 

Terry  

Where do you get the figure of 2 miles per day from? Bicycles are totally impractical for the amount of mail delivered today by one postman/woman

 

I don't thing I've ever lived anywhere where a postie does less than 2 miles whatever means of transport.

I can remember them carting a couple of stuffed mailbags on bus journeys of more than that.

 

Our current postie travels 2.5 miles to the start of their round and that's one of the shorter ones.

At our previous address the postie was from a delivery office more than 10 miles away.

 

You didn't put a smiley so I assume it was meant as a serious post (sic)

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