The Anonymous Widower

Conclusions On The Dudding Hill Line

Except for taking a trip in the cab of one of the freight trains on the line, I think I’ve had a pretty good view of the length of the The Dudding Hill Line  from Cricklewood to Acton.

The line gives the impression of being well-built and well-maintained and probably except for the bridge-cum-tunnel at Craven Park would not be in the difficult and expensive category to open up to a loading gauge suitable for containerised freight trains and electrify, especially if you judge it against this post, which discusses the problems of electrification.

So I stick with my conclusion that the line should be electrified.

The main reason would of course be for the freight, but it of course opens up the possibilities for passenger services. How about?

Brighton-Gatwick-St.Pancras-Heathrow.

Southampton-Reading-Heathrow-Luton-Sheffield-Newcastle.

The list is pretty endless and depends very much on what passengers want and what an operator is prepared to try.

But did I get any answers to any of the other questions I had in this post?

1. I have found no information on how to get from the North London Line to the Midland Main Line. So it would appear that it will be a difficult rail journey from London Gateway to the new Radlett Freight Distribution Centre, unless you unload the containers onto trucks.  One or other of the two ends of the journey is in the wrong place.

2. I looked at the Acton area of the North London Line and its proximity to North Acton station and came to the conclusion, it might not be a good idea, as it has the Brixton problem with one line on a high bridge and the other in a cutting. It looks like politicians are trying to design a railway.

I’ll leave the other questions, as most aren’t concerned with the Dudding Hill Line.

My last conclusion is a bit of a cop-out! Because of the lack of a sensible connection between the Midland Main Line and the North London Line, is holding back full utilisation of the Dudding Hill Line.

As the more I investigated the Dudding Hill Line, the more it hit me, that we need a line around North East London.

Come back Palace Gates Line, all is forgiven!

May 11, 2014 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Dudding Hill Line, Freight, London Overground, Trains