The Anonymous Widower

London’s Freight Problem

I have hinted in my ramblings around the North London and Gospel Oak to Barking lines, that London has a rail freight problem, which mainly concerns getting large numbers of long heavy freight trains,  to and from London Gateway and the Haven Ports in the east and the West Coast and Great Western Main lines in the north and west.

Without repeating what London Reconnections have done, I would suggest, that before you pontificate down the pub, you read their three part analysis.

Part 1: Reshaping the Network

Part 2:The Freight Must Flow

Part 3: A Quart Into A Pint Pot

The title of part 3 sums up the problem so well.

At the present, all I can see that more and more freight traffic is going to pass through London.

For my own part, I would never buy any house, that was anywhere need the North London or Gospel Oak to Barking lines, as the noise problem is going to get horrific.

The following should also be done as soon as possible.

There should be electrification of the Felixstowe to Nuneaton rail line , so that freight trains from the Haven Ports to the Midlands and the North don’t have to go via London. This would have the benefit of opening up paths on the Great Eastern Main line and also making services from East Anglia to the Midlands electric-hauled.

The Gospel Oak to Barking line should be electrified.  There are always good environmental reasons for electrification, but here the main reason is that replacing noisy diesel engines with quieter electric ones will reduce the noise substantially.

But these will only be stop gap measures and surely in around 2020, the problem of getting the freight through is going to get worse.

Something radical will need to be done.

September 24, 2012 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Freight, Gospel Oak And Barking Line, London, London Gateway, North London Line, Trains