The Hackney Downs/Central Link Is Now Open
The Hackney Downs/Central Link opened at 11:00 this morning.
I’d thought something was finally happening, as there was a group of suits with clipboards about when I had passed through earlier. So after my trip to Surrey, I popped back to get my supper at the Hackney Marks and Spencer. As the link was now open, I took these pictures.
I shall certainly use the walkway regularly, as I often come from Walthamstow or on one the other Lea Valley Lines and either need to go West on the North London Line or like today, get some food at Marks. The walkway will of course be dry in the rain and some might feel safer at night!
I suspect that London Overground might get some ticketing issues with this link.
Take a little old lady with a Freedom Pass, who lives near the current Hackney Downs entrance to what is now a large double-station complex, who perhaps wants to go to the shops on Mare Street in the rain. Being as she’s from Hackney, she would be streetwise and would therefore use her Freedom Pass to work the barrier at the Hackney Downs entrance and then climb up the stairs to Platform 1. She’d then walk down the platform and take the walkway to Central, where she would exit into Mare Street using her Freedom Pass. In other words, she would have done the long walk substantially out of the rain, at no cost to herself.
So what do Transport for London do with someone, who uses an Oyster or contactless card to do the same trip? Will they be charged?
An engineer on Crossrail, who has walked some of the enormous stations, said to me, that in the rain, some of Crossrail stations are so comprehensive, she would use them to keep out of the rain. So we could have the same problem here?
If Transport for London charges, are we discriminating against those who pay for their transport?
Surely, if you come out of the same station complex within the time it takes to walk from one end to the other, you shouldn’t be charged!
What do you get charged now, if you enter a station through the barriers and then you realise you perhaps didn’t pick up your paper or coffee before you did and you return through the barriers virtually immediately?
Remember that if there’s a walking short-cut, Londoners and especially East Enders will find it!
Before Crossrail 2 – Raynes Park
Raynes Park station will be an important station on Crossrail 2, as it will be the first station, after all the south western branches hsve joined together.
As this Google Map shows it is a station with an unusual layout.
Raynes Park Station
The South Western Main Line runs through the middle of the station and there are two London-bound platforms on the north side of the main line and one platform for trains going towards Guildford via Epsom and to the Crossrail 2 destination of Chessington South and another for those going down the South Western Main Line to Surbiton and then to the Crossrail 2 destinations of Twickenham, Shepperton and Hampton Court.
There has been nothing to indicate how many trains go to each branch, but I would assume it is four trains per hour to each terminus or twenty trains per hour in total. As Crossrail and Thameslink are both planned to handle 24 tph in each direction, then this should be within the capability of the line. Currently, there are just twelve trains per hour to and from Waterloo.
These pictures show more of the unusual layout of the station.
It does appear that Crossrail 2 has the capacity to handle more trains through Raynes Park, but there will have to be some rebuilding to make the station a friendly place fit all passengers and the staff that work there.
One problem that needs to be solved at Raynes Park, is what happens if a passenger comes towards London on one branch and then wants to go down another. The same problem exists on Crossrail, where say you are travelling between Canary Wharf and Gidea Park. As the Central London stations have island platforms, you just go to the most convenient station on the central tunnel, which in the example is Whitechapel, and walk across to get the first train on the required branch.
Raynes Park would be the ideal station for a change, as all branches come together here. So the pattern of lines and plstforms will probably need a substantial remodelling.
Or you could always go to Wimbledon, which is the next station towards Central London and change there.
Before Crossrail 2 – Chessington South
Chessington South station is rather an oddity, in that it wasn’t designed as a terminus, but ended up that way as the Chessington Branch was foreshortened by the Second World War and didn’t reach Leatherhead.
This Google Map clearly shows the abandoned line continuing southwards.
Chessington South Station
The station has an extra platform that has never been used, so at least as a Crossrail 2 terminus, it could easily have two platforms.
All of the other stations on the branch, share the same concrete Art Deco design, which could probably be easily brought up to a standard very acceptable for Crossrail 2.
I don’t get Theme Parks, as cities are reality rather than fantasy and offer so much more, but I accept that others find them enjoyable places to visit.
So look at this Google Map showing Chessington South station, the route of the unbuilt branch and Chessington World of Adventures.
Chessington South Station And Chessington World Of Adventures
If I was the Managing Director of the Theme Park, I’d be doing everything I could to get a short extension of the railway to a station alongside the park, so that I could boost the green credentials of my business and hopefully attract more punters.
Before Crossrail 2 – Motspur Park
Motspur Park station has an island layout, with all the facilities between the two lines and it is also close to a level crossing.
The station is also the last before the Chessington Branch splits from the line to Epsom and Guildford. So it is an easy interchange if you’re going up one branch and then down the other, as this Google Map shows.
Motspur Park Station
Obviously, a new bridge with lifts could be added to this station, but I have a feeling that there might be a more imaginative design that might be better and more affordable.
Before Crossrail 2 – Worcester Park
Worcester Park station is on the proposed Epsom branch of Crossrail 2.
It is a station, that has recently been upgraded with a fully-accessible footbridge.
Before Crossrail 2 – Stoneleigh
Stoneleigh station is on the proposed Epsom branch of Crossrail 2.
It is certainly an unusual design of station, with an absolutely hideous concrete bridge.
Before Crossrail 2 – Ewell West
Ewell West is the furthest south station on the Crossrail 2 branch to Epsom, that is still in the Freedom Pass area (Zone 6)
I took these pictures when I visited the station.
This Google Map doesn’t add much except show the car park.
Ewell West Station
It is not a station, that needs much work for Crossrail 2 except for a modern enclosed footbridge with lifts and a refurbishment.
Tramlink Works At Wimbledon
I came back from Wimbledon by using the Tramlink to West Croydon station and then the East London Line. It’s a bit chaotic at Wimbledon as they’re updating the tram terminus with a second platform and you have to walk to Dundonald Road.
When the works are hopefully completed in October, this will allow four new trams to be introduced on the route to Wimbledon, which will result in an increase in service. Read about it here on the TfL web site.
The South London Workhorse
The 137 sets of Class 455 trains are the workhorses of the electric routes South of the Thames. These are some pictures of those run by South West Trains.
They may have been built in the 1980s, but they scrub up well. They are also built to withstand the heaviest accidents. Is there any other train in the world that can protect the occupants, if an idiot drops a twenty-four tonne cement mixer on top? The Class 455 and their sisters the Class 317 can, as this actually happened at Oxshott to a Class 455. No-one was killed and the train later returned to service a couple of years later.
Perhaps the greatest complement to these trains, is that South West Tains are fitting them with new traction motors, as is detailed in Wikipedia. Would you put a new engine in your 1980s-built car?
There’s an old phrase about horses – Handsome Is As Handsome Does
These Class 455 trains may not look the most beautiful and sexy trains from the outside, but they are the living proof of the phrase.
It is interesting to note, that South West Trains converted their Class 455 trains from 2+3 to 2+2 seating, as happened to many of the Class 317s in North London. However, Southern have kept the cramped 3+2 seating, as have Northern with their Class 319 trains.
Although, I’m only slim and don’t occupy much seat space, I do feel we should endeavour to make 2+2 seating the rule for Standard Class.
The Anonymous Widower 