The Anonymous Widower

Will Modern Construction Techniques Create New Stations For The London Underground/Overground?

London is under tremendous pressure to provide more and more housing and in some ways it seems we’re using up the obvious sites like Stratford, Barking Riverside and Old Oak Common. So we’re going to start building on perhaps less obvious and more cramped sites.

The area round Shoreditch High Street station is being developed more and more with tower blocks. I have talked about linking the station to the Central Line and also about a new main line station in the area, so what happens here in the next few years is going to be an experience that will be worth watching.

I also feel that the area to the east of Gospel Oak station could be opened up for development, which might involve a link to the Northern Line.

Yesterday, I mused about reopening Maiden Lane station, which would involve a lot of properly development and a possible link to the Piccadilly Line.

So all three of these developments could involve a connection to a deep level underground line, something which five years ago would have been very difficult.

A few months ago, I talked about using an uphill excavator at Whitechapel station to connect the deep level Crossrail tunnels to the other lines. I have also found this article on the New Civil Engineer website, which gives more details of the amazing construction going on at Whitechapel.

My only comment is – You ain’t seen nothing yet!

If I take the three examples above, they would all mean connecting to a working twin-bore deep Underground line between two stations. I suspect that some clever construction engineers will develop a methodology to do this, with the minimum of disruption to the working line. If the first time, they do it, it is on time and on budget, the engineers will have a job for life in adding connections to deep underground lines not just in London, but all over the wider world.

To return to London, I think we’ll be surprised at some of the seemingly crazy schemes put forward for new or extended stations in the future, that have become possible with the improvement of tunneling and other construction techniques.

January 7, 2015 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Crossrail, Development, Housing, London Underground, Tunnels