A few years ago the 2 miles or so of the A12 Colchester Road linking Junction 28 of the M25 with Gallows Corner got about 10 days notoriety when it was announced to be the most dangerous road in England. I say 10 days because that’s how long it took someone to revise the statistics and give that doubtful title to a moorland road, somewhere up north This section of the A12 runs through Harold Park and then between Harold Hill and Harold Wood. It is a Red Route 24/7.
In Greater London it is a rare section of the A12 that still follows the alignment that the Romans laid down – most of the other sections of the Roman road pass through town centres, so have been by-passed. It’s also forms part of the route of William Kempe‘s original “Nine Days Wonder” in 1600; this was an Elizabethan publicity stunt where Kempe danced from London to Norwich. About 30 years ago a troupe of morris men re-enacted it. Their first day took them from London to the Morris Dancer pub in Harold Hill. Early on the Sunday morning, warned by the radio, I came out to the Gubbins Lane traffic lights to watch the morris men dance out of Gooshays Drive and, in single file, eastwards along the A12.
But back to 2019. Living in Harold Wood, we drive up or down that stretch of the A12 quite a lot, and a couple of weeks ago I caught sight of a largish cabinet, not quite as big as a vending machine, just west of the Petersfield Avenue eastbound bus stop. My reaction was ‘Rapid Charger for Electric cars’, but how could I get close to it to see what it was? Firstly I went very late at night and confirmed my first impression. Then I went back in daylight, parking in a nearby suburban street.
Tfl Rapid Charger for Taxis only, A12 Colchester Road, Romford, near Petersfield Avenue
It is indeed a Rapid charger and has leads for the two 50 kW DC rapid systems (Chademo – a Japanese standard and CCS, a European standard). It does NOT have the AC rapid system – a blank plate suggests that other versions of it could have that fitted. It has lots of ventilation grills.
TfL have arranged it for use by electric taxis ONLY and a notice tied to it directs the users of other electric vehicles to consult Zap-Map to find chargers they can use. The Red Route redline goes around the bay for a taxi to stand while charging, just as they bypass the adjacent bus stop.
As it is Rapid a full charge should be done in less than an hour, and a quick top-up in much less.
Well done, Transport for London! Now to look out to see if I can spot a taxi using it.
Harold Wood citizen's Blog 
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