The Anonymous Widower

Will The Gospel Oak To Barking Line Be Extended To Hounslow?

The Modern Railways report on the Mayor’s Transport Infrastructure Plan for 2050 says this.

There may be a case for further orbital rail capacity, says the document – it shows an indicative, uncosted network to link Hounslow, Old Oak Common, Neasden, West Hampstead, Harringay, Walthamstow, Barking, Abbey Wood, Bexleyheath, Norwood Junction, Sutton and New Malden and back to Hounslow, with another route between Abbey Wood and New Malden via Lewisham, Peckham Rye and Wimbledon.

I did a brief piece of research on the route yesterday between West Hampstead and Harringay, and it would appear that there is a link off the Gospel Oak to Barking Line (Goblin), that enables trains to move to and from the Midland Main Line. I got a picture of the link just before my train from Gospel Oak arrived at Upper Holloway station.

I suspect freight trains use it to get from the Goblin to the Dudding Hill Line, which branches off the Midland Main Line, just north of Cricklewood station.

So an Overground train could run the same way stopping at West Hampstead and Cricklewood stations, before taking the Dudding Hill Line, through new Neasden and Old Oak Common stations on the way to Hounslow.

The Route

Perhaps it is a good idea to list the stations on the extended line in order from Harringay Green Lanes to Hounslow.

Harringay Green Lanes – My only observation, is that I use this station to pick up the Goblin, as I can get a 141 bus direct to and fom the station from within a hundred metres from my house.

Crouch Hill

Upper Holloway

Junction Road – This doesn’t exist at present, but is constantly being talked about to link the Goblin to the Northern Line.

West Hampstead – In a few years this will have grown into a full blown interchange, between Thameslink, Chiltern Railways, Jubilee and North London Lines. Having the new extended Goblin call here would improve the transport opportunities for those who live and work all across North London.

Neasden – This will probably be a new station, somewhere near the current Neasden station on the Jubilee line. I visited the area, when I was researching the Dudding Hill Line. It might be a place where some clever architect and developer could create a very useful interchange combined with some much-needed residential properties.

Harlesden – As the Dudding Hill Line runs virtually over the top of the current Harlesden station on the Bakerloo and Watford Overground Lines, like Neasden this could be a development opportunity.

Old Oak Common – I have seen in some reports Old Oak Common has been described as the Canary Wharf of the West. Also, every time I read about the area, more rail lines and ideas get thrown into the mix.

North Acton – The route has now joined the southern end of the North London Line. An interchange at North Acton has been talked about for years. There’s a discussion here.

Acton Central

South Acton

Brentford – In recent years, this station was on the London Crosslink between Norwich and Basingstoke.

Syon Lane

Isleworth

Hounslow

Points Raised

Listing the stations shows several important points.

1. Interchanges With Other Lines

This part of the line has interchanges to many other lines. You could put these on the list.

Central Line

Chiltern Main Line

Crossrail

Great Western Main Line

Heathrow Express

Hounslow Loop Line

HS2

Jubilee Line

Midland Main Line

Northern Line

North London Line

Thameslink

West Coast Main Line

West London Line

2. Development Opportunities

Many of the stations seem to have development opportunities. Perhaps not on the scale of West Hampstead and Old Oak Common, but there would to be scope at many stations.

3. Important Areas Served

The line effectively links Tottenham, which is one of the most deprived areas of London, through most of North London through Old Oak Common to Hounslow in the West. The western end point is close to Twickenham Stadium, which is not the easiest place to get to from North and East London.

I have not seen any figures, but surely this line would open up a lot of employment and leisure opportunities.

4. Freight

An electrified line, as it obviously will be, would also speed freight along the line, perhaps allowing more freight trains to between ports like Felixstowe and London Gateway and the lines to the North and West.

4. No New Rail Lines, Bridges Or Tunnels

In this brief look, it would appear that most of the infrastructure, except for station and the catenary, is already in existence. I can’t see too many protest groups and Nimbys objecting to what is being proposed.

6. Possible Objectors

Perhaps the biggest objectors will be other train companies objecting to London Overground encroaching on their territory.

Summing Up

So to sum up, I think that this part of the proposed line, might be developed in the near future, as it provides an important link without costing the multi-billions of a Crossrail.

 

 

 

 

 

August 2, 2014 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Construction, Electrification, Goblin Extension, London Overground, London Transport Plan 2050, Trains