Crossrail Extension Work Has Started At Shenfield
I passed through Shenfield station this morning and took these pictures of the work that has started to create an additional Platform 6 at the station for Crossrail.
The work would appear to be not causing too many problems for rail passengers. This Google Earth image shows the station.
Shenfield Station
The platform will slot into the green area to the north of the current Platform 5, which is the odd platform of five, as 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 are all arranged on either side of an island platform. This is how the work is described in Wikipedia.
Ten-carriage Crossrail trains will run over the pair of ‘electric lines’, rather than the mainlines, replacing the existing eight-carriage “metro” trains and allowing Crossrail to serve all stations between Shenfield and Liverpool Street, continuing west towards Reading and London Heathrow Airport. At peak hours the frequency of service will increase from eight trains per hour to 12, necessitating the construction of a new 210-metre long platform 6, which will be built to the north of platform 5, replacing one of the existing three western sidings. The two remaining western sidings and three new eastern sidings will also be used by Crossrail. It is estimated that Crossrail will cut morning peak journey times by up to seven minutes although there will be no reduction to some journey times.
As the new Platform 6 will be paired with Platform 5, which is already step-free with a lift, this be one of the more simpler station upgrades for Crossrail.
I can’t help feeling that when Crossrail is open, that Shenfield will become a major interchange for passengers travelling between Crossrail stations in Central and West London and stations on the Great Eastern Main Line like Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.
Crossrail is not a high-speed line, but the increase in connectivity the line will bring, will change the lives of everybody who use it or live within a few miles.
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