Abington Supercharger/Driving North

[robbieduncan]

With Abington down for weeks it’s really revealing a lack of resiliency and depth in the Supercharger network driving North/South. I drove Harrogate to Aberdeen yesterday. I’ve done this journey before with Abington/Perth being the two stops that are well suited to the car and its occupants ranges. The car suggested stopping at Scotch corner. I’m sorry that’s way too early in the journey!

So we ended up at Gretna. Which as anyone who’s driven this route knows only has 4 superchargers. We arrived and all were in use with a further 5 cars waiting. Instead of waiting we used the backup Applegreen option. So from that point of view all was good (apart from the cost)

But what this really shows is one location on this key route goes down and the others are not scaled to cope. More investment is needed to have the capacity on the network to cover locations with problems

 

[Overworked]

It is just as bad going South!

Have a look at Eurocentral, it is only a slight diversion off that route.

 

[robbieduncan]

There are a few options but in terms of splitting the journey (and wee stops) they are less than ideal. On the way back down I’ll go Perth/Tebay as the diversion to Tebay is worth it as it’ll be about time to eat. On the way up it’s not

I should also note we were not the only Telsa to make the same decision. There were 4 of us using the Applegreen chargers rather than waiting

 

[Adopado]

Unfortunately no sign of the existing permissions for Annandale Water or Moffat being actioned.

 

[cezdoc]

We gave up on Abington and Gretna a few years ago in favour of Eurocentral and Tebay. At Gretna it is very difficult to queue due to the car park layout (I lost out once and that's put me off going back). Abington is also tight for space and isn't a particularly salubrious stop either IMO unless the sun's out and it's warm enough for a picnic. Both are likely to be slow due to sharing V2 pairs. If you have the range (our MS70 doesn't) I'd recommend Dundee even though it's only 8 stall and open to all - we've not had to queue there much, if at all.

There are third party rapid options, we've also used the Fastned at Hamilton which worked well (I used an Octopus Electroverse card). For occasional trips I think it's worth the few extra £ to look beyond the Supercharger network - and I speak as someone with lifetime free Supercharging.

There are more supercharger sites in the pipeline in this area; Larkhall is currently under construction. However, at time of writing I count 18 new UK supercharger sites under construction, the majority of which appear to be complete and awaiting a grid connection, so who knows how long it will be before any new ones go live along the M74.

 

[HaggisMan]

We gave up on Abington and Gretna a few years ago in favour of Eurocentral and Tebay. At Gretna it is very difficult to queue due to the car park layout (I lost out once and that's put me off going back). Abington is also tight for space and isn't a particularly salubrious stop either IMO unless the sun's out and it's warm enough for a picnic. Both are likely to be slow due to sharing V2 pairs. If you have the range (our MS70 doesn't) I'd recommend Dundee even though it's only 8 stall and open to all - we've not had to queue there much, if at all.

There are third party rapid options, we've also used the Fastned at Hamilton which worked well (I used an Octopus Electroverse card). For occasional trips I think it's worth the few extra £ to look beyond the Supercharger network - and I speak as someone with lifetime free Supercharging.

There are more supercharger sites in the pipeline in this area; Larkhall is currently under construction. However, at time of writing I count 18 new UK supercharger sites under construction, the majority of which appear to be complete and awaiting a grid connection, so who knows how long it will be before any new ones go live along the M74.

Shhh don’t tell anyone about Dundee . Coffee is always cold from the hotel though.

Last time I was at Perth they looked to be installing more non-Tesla chargers up round the back. It will be quite a charging hub once complete.

I think that A74 corridor needs more capacity otherwise the queueing scenes at Christmas will be a joke. Bit of a black eye for EVs, even if it is only once a year.

 

[robbieduncan]

We can do Eurocentral then Tebay on the way back. I think that’ll be the plan. Wife was not impressed with the cleanliness of the toilets at Perth (I’ve not used them before)

 

[Overworked]

Just remember that Eurocentral is another site where, like Scotch Corner and Washington, you have to check in with your registration at reception