At Last, A Station For Crossrail With Style
With the exception of Canary Wharf and Custom House stations, a lot of the designs have been poorly-received by architectural critics.
So I was surprised and pleased to see this piece on the Crossrail web site describing the new West Ealing station. This picture of the new station building is shown.
West Ealing Station
It has style and I also believe that it is designed to fit the purpose for which station buildings are now needed. All a station building needs to be today is a shelter for the barriers, ticket machines, staff and perhaps a retail kiosk or two. Get the people flow through them correct and they can be even smaller and more affordable.
It is interesting to look at the layout of the lines. This Google Map shows the situation at present.
West Ealing Current Layout
Note the Greenford Branch curving away to the North. This branch is probably an operational headache for rail managers, as the trains currently have to join the line to get to their terminus at Paddington station. After West Ealing station has been rebuilt, there will be a bay platform for trains on the branch. It is shown in this drawing I found on the Internet.
West Ealing New Layout
You have to wonder if the Greenford Branch will be developed and Wikipedia has a section on the branch’s future. Should it be electrified and should as Ealing Council have suggested the line be extended to Clapham Junction via the West London Line?
Undoubtedly, it should be electrified and the published plan of four trains per hour would certainly improve matters. But as with many things, we’re waiting for Crossrail and the plans for Old Oak Common to be vcompleted.
It does seem to me that the design for West Ealing station has set a new standard for Crossrail stations.
But as the first comment received has shown, there is a problem with access to the station from the South. This Google Map shows an enlarged view of the current station.
An Enlarged View Of West Ealing Station
Note how the supermarket and the car parks, backed by the two fast lines of the Great Western Main Line create a barrier that is impenetrable to any access to the station. Even if access were possible, it would be a long walk between Alexandria Road and the new station.
It strikes me that the only way better southern access to the station could have been enabled, would have been if the new station had been designed in conjunction with the supermarket, when that was developed.
It should be noted that at present West Ealing station has no car parking and do many of the locals feel that this should be provided in the new station?
To sum up, West Ealing station has problems in resolving some design issues, as it was not properly designed, when the supermarket and the land south of the railway was developed.
In my view, it illustrates one of the problems of the surface sections of Crossrail, They have been left to rot for years, when they should have been upgraded well before construction of the line started.
The Anonymous Widower 