The Anonymous Widower

Birkbeck Tramlink Stop

Birkbeck is a stop on the Croydon Tramlink and I took these pictures this morning.

It is a rather unusual stop in that a double-track Crystal Palace Line has been turned into a bi-directional single track  railway and a bi-directional tram line. Both lines have stops on the outside.

Note the wire fences to stop people and animals straying onto the electrified railway line.

The tram stop is very much a typical tram stop for Tramlink, with a platform the right height for entry to and exit from the low-floor trams that run on the line, a rudimentary shelter, information and maps and a well-presented ticket machine.

Because of the bi-directional nature of the line, passengers use it to go to  either Croydon or Beckenham Junction. Provided they know where they intend to go, I suspect passengers don’t have too much trouble getting on the right tram.

This Google Earth image shows the layout of the lines between the junction where the lines join and Beckenham Junction station.

Birkbeck To Beckenham Junction

Beckenham Junction is shown by the red arrow and the green line is the rough direction of Tramlink Line 2. Note the sharp cyrve at the far left of the image, where Tramlink joins the Crystal Palace Line.

This second Google Earth image shows an enlarged view of the rail station and tram stop.

Birkbeck Station

Note the two platforms and two single-track lines with a fence between them.

I think it is true to say, that if the Tramlink was being designed today, they would seriously look at using tram-trains on this branch, as these could just join the main lines at the junction and then proceed to the station at Beckenham Junction, where there is even a bay platform, that could be used to turn the trams back to Croydon,

But the system they use at Beckenham has been proved to be very safe.

March 8, 2015 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Tram-Train, Trams