The Anonymous Widower

A Four-Poster Station

When most railways in the world were built, no-one bothered about the disabled, the elderly and people pushing prams or trailing heavy cases, so station design was based around able-bodied people.

There were examples, like Caledonian Road, where the step-free access is up with the best of modern practice, but stations like that are a rarity.

In my visits around the country, I’m increasingly finding stations where there are several lifts, often made by the same company who made the stairlift advertised by Dame Thora Hird. I don’t know the cost of lifts but it strikes me that they must make all of these lift installations value for money.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve come across several places in this country, where two lines cross at an angle on different levels, where a connection might be of value to passengers.

The link between Hackney Downs and Hackney Central stations, is such a connection and it would appear to be successful. I’ve certainly not read any criticism in the media on either operational or aesthetic grounds. I’m sure if an incident as small as a child dropping and losing a ten pence piece had happened, there’d be  headlines all over the place blaming Boris.

In Birmingham, there is the Cross-City Line, which conveniently passes in a cutting under Birmingham Moor Street station after stopping at New Street station. But there is no connection.

Then today, I was at Brockley, where in their Transport Infrastructure Plan for 2050, Transport for London are proposing a Brockley High Level station.

Brockley station sits underneath and is crossed by the Bexleyheath Line and these pictures show the station and the line crossing above.

This Google Map shows the two lines crossing.

Brockley Station

There was a station called Brockley Lane on the Bexleyheath Line, but it closed in 1917.

I believe that modern structural engineering would allow the addition of two platforms to the sides of the rail bridge carrying the Bexleyheath Line. From the look of the bridge, it seems to be in very good condition.

In the case of Brockley station, the current platforms already reach under the bridge and to connect the two pairs of platforms. There would be four lifts with one in each corner.  So there would be a lift between both North-South platforms and both East-West platforms! At Brockley, because the height between the two levels isn’t too great, stairs could also be provided if it felt passenger traffic required it. Some form of alternative way of getting off the high level platforms would be needed for emergency reasons.

The advantages of this approach are.

1. There is no serious track changes necessary at Brockley, as the new platforms are built alongside an existing rail line, but obviously there would need to be some signalling work.

2. The lifts would be the standard structures we see all over the UK rail network, modified to fit the application.

2. All interchanges will be step free.

3. As much station infrastructure can be provided on each platform, as it felt the passengers would need, thus keeping costs to a minimum. At Brockley, perhaps a shelter and a refuge for the staff, would be sufficient.

4. If gated access was not provided to the two high-level platforms on the Bexleyhealth Line, a safe Emergency Exit would probably meet the needs of evacuation.

The only disadvantage I can see, is that the two high-level platforms would need to be well-sheltered, as I suspect, it could be very cold and blowy up there at times.

In all my travels, I’ve never seen a station designed like this. Although some of the stations on the Docklands Light Railway like Deptford Bridge feature platforms suspended alongside the railway with access at both ends. But the budget there didn’t stretch to four lifts! That station incidentally is suspended on a bridge across a major road.

August 3, 2015 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Architecture, Stations, Step-Free