Passing The Ordsall Chord Site
The first set of pictures were taken on Friday between Deansgate and Salford Cresent stations show the current state of the bridge across the River Irwell.
I took these pictures were taken on the Saturday, as my train from Liverpool went between Eccles and Manchester Victoria stations and then from a second train from Manchester Victoria on its way to Wigan via Salford Central and Salford C resent stations.
Note.
- The first train was the 11:20 from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Victoria.
- The second train was from Manchester Victoria to Wigan Wallgate.
- The biggest crane on the site has a capacity of 1,350 tinnes and is the largest mobile crane in the country.
I’ll be going back, when it all reopens to have a look.
Probably the best way to get the pictures is to go to Manchester on a sunny day, buy a Lancashire Day Ranger ticket and constatntly shuttle back and forwards across the various lines.
Bidston Station And The Borderlands Line
Whilst in Liverpool, I took the Wirral Line to Bidston station, where the Borderlands Line to Wrexham Central station connects to the Merseyrail third-rail network.
This Google Map shows the location of the station.
Bidston Station
Some things surprised me at Bidston station.
- The station had the feeling of a rural junction in deepest Lincolnshire or Devon, rather than one a few miles from the centre of one of the UK’s biggest cities.
- When the train arrived from Wrexham it was much busier than I expected.
- The junction between the two lines was laid out in lots of space.
- The state of the station, which considering its location was very good with a large waiting room.
I could also understand, why various bodies say that the Borderlans Line could be run by trains with an IPEMU capability or to put it simply – on-board energy storage or batteries. Wikipedia says this under Proposed Battery Trains for the line.
A trial of a converted Electrostar train using energy from overhead wires and batteries when on non-electrified sections of track was undertaken in January and February 2015 on the Mayflower line. The train can travel up to 60 miles on energy stored in the batteries also recharging the batteries via the overhead-wires when on electrified track, at stations and via brake regeneration. A month later in March 2015, the introduction of battery powered trains was proposed for the Borderlands line by Network Rail.
The document suggested that consideration had been given to electrification and to running services further into Birkenhead ceasing termination at Bidston for greater connectivity. However these options were expressed as offering low value for money. They proposed that using battery powered rolling stock precluding full electrification of the line, providing a cheaper method of increasing connectivity into the electrified Birkenhead and Liverpool sections of the Wirral line. From the document:
“In the longer term, potential deployment of rolling stock with the ability to operate on battery power for part of their journey may provide the ability in an affordable manner to improve the service offering between the Wrexham – Bidston route and Liverpool.
Trains could operate on batteries on unelectrified sections of the track and take power from an electric pick-up on the electrified sections. Adoption of these types of trains would preclude full line electrification.
My thoughts on this are as follows.
New Infrastructure
Obviously, I only looked at Bidston station, but it would appear that except for perhaps signalling and electrificastion changes, that the station could accept trains with an IPEMU-capability tomorrow.
For instance, there would need to be electrification for some distance down the Borderlands Line, so that a train arriving from that direction with low batteries, wou;dn’t get stalled, if another train had failed in the station.
I don’t know the answer, but as Merseyrail is an island of third-rail electrification, Merseyrail are probably capable of calling on competent third-rail experts, either in-house or from a regional contractor.
New Stations
Plans exist for new stations on the line.
Whether the line is fully-electrified or served by trains with an IPEMU-capability is irrelevant, with stations probably being designed to be suitable for either.
One suggestion is for a new station at Woodchurch close to Junction 3 of the M53.
This Google Map shows the motorway junction.
Junction 3 Of The M53
Note how, the Motorway and the Borderlands Line go either side of the North Cheshire Trading Estate.
There is also plans for a station at Deeside Industrial Park, which looks like it could have a railway line already.
Another possibility would be to improve Shotton station, so that it was a genuine interchange between the Borderlands Line and the North Wales Coast Line.
This Google Map shows the area.
Shotton Stations
Note Hawarden Bridge station on the other side of the River Dee, which is also on the Borderlands Line.
Capacity In Liverpool On The Wirral Line
The single-track loop of the Wirral Line under Liverpool, that serves James Street, Moorfields, Lime Street, Central and James Street agin, is soon to be relaid with new track to go along with its recently-refurbished station, that can handle two three-car Class 508 trains, running as a six-car unit.
With modern signalling, it would probably have a limit of upwards of twenty trains per hour (tph), giving a train under the Mersey in both directions at least every three minutes.
Currently, the service on the Wirral Line includes.
- 4 tph to Chester
- 2 tph to Ellesmere Port
- 4 tph to New Brighton
- 4 tph to West Kirby
Capacity seems to be adjusted to that needed by running a mixture of three and six-car trains.
But there is undoubtedly spare capacity in Liverpool’s loop of stations.
And if more capacity is needed between Birkenhead and Liverpool, then running extra trains to new destinations on the West side of the Mersey is a simple way to increase it.
Wrexham would be an ideal destination, especially if at least two tph were provided on the route.
Freight Issues
There would appear to be a few freight trains, but none of a high frequency.
Wrexham to Liverpool Timings
Currently Wrexham Central to Bidston takes a couple of minutes over the hour. West Kirby trains, also take 34 minutes to go from Bidston round the loop under Liverpool
So this would probably mean that if you got the timings right, you could get from Wrexham Central to Liverpool Lime Street in about eighty minutes.
As Chester to Liverpool Central takes forty-one minutes, eighty minutes is rather slow between Wrexham and Liverpool.
So could electric trains do the route in under the hour?
If the line was fully electrified, judging on the Chester timings, that this is certainly the case.
Trains Needed Between Liverpool And Wrexham
As the round trip to and from Liverpool would probably take two hours, it would appear that two trains would be needed to provide an hourly service, with four trains nbeeded for 2 tph.
As there is a short platform at Wrexham Central station, trains would probably have a maximum length of three-cars.
IPEMU Range
Wrexham Central to Bidston stations, is about thirty miles, so based on Bombardier’s rumoured figures of sixty kilometres a charge, going out and back to Wrexham might be a bit on the long side.
So I wouldn’t be surprised to see the single-track line between Wrexham General and Wrexham Central stations given third-rail electrification, to make sure that trains with an IPEMU-capability can work the line.
If extra stations are added to the Borderlands Line and Shotton station is rebuilt as an interchange with North Wales, I could see that the extra cost of third-rail electrification to Shotton would have a high value.
As Shotton is only about twenty miles from Wrexham, it might be possible to bridge the gap between Shotton and Wrexham using onboard power.
Costs
This is said about electrification costs of the Borderlands Line in Wikipedia.
Network Rail’s conclusion was that full line electrification is only feasible if it could be delivered for less than £100,000 for each km per single track. The twin track line would be £200,000 per line km, giving a total figure of £8.7 million, which is far below the estimate of full line electrification of £66 million. Another consideration is whether a new pattern of service delivers significant net benefits.
The new Stadler trains being purchased for MerseyRail are costing £460 million for 52 trains, according to this article in the Railway Gazette, which works out at about nine million pounds a train.
So if two trains are needed to provide an hourly service to Wrexham, the cost of the extra trains will be significant.
The Railway Gazette article also says this about the trains.
At 99 tonnes, the EMUs will be lighter than the current 105 tonne trains, and energy consumption is expected to be 20% lower, including regenerative braking; options for energy storage are to be studied.
The 750 V DC third-rail EMUs will be capable of conversion to dual-voltage operation for use on 25 kV 50 Hz lines with a view to serving Skelmersdale, Warrington and Wrexham in the longer term.
So I suspect, it’s put up the money and take your choice.
Conclusion
It would certainly be possible to electrify the Borderlands Line either using third-rail or overhead and I’m certain that any prudent transport authority would go for an optimal solution, especially as extending to Wrexhan will need extra trains.
I could see an holistic solution being applied to the Boasderlands Line.
- At least two tph to Wrexham Central station.
- New stations at Beechwood, Deeside Industrial Park and Woodchurch.
- A rebuilt Shotton station.
- Partial third-rail electrification.
- Use of onboard energy storage to power trains on lines without electrification.
As it would be a project, where benefits were to both Merseyside and North Wales, funding would probably have several options.
Undergound Stations In Liverpool
I took these pictures so I would have a record of the underground stations, as they are at the present time.
They are all clean, modern stations, that can handle two Class 507/508 trains, working as a six-car.
The pictures give a good idea of the size of the tunnels, which are 4.70 metres in diameter.
Compare this to other underground railways.
- Crossrail – 6.20 metres.
- Victoria Line – 3.81 metres.
- Northern City Line – 4.90 metres.
- Waterloo and City Line – 3.89 metres.
I would think that like the Northern City Line in London, that they may have the problem that trains need to be specially built for the tunnels.
So would this rule out a train like an Aventra, which has been designed to work in the larger tunnels of Crossrail?
On Liverpool’s Northern Line
I took these pictures on Merseyrail’s Northern Line.
Note.
- Merseyrail have been updating the platforms and step-free access, but usually there is a small step up into the train.
- There are several stations with wide island platforms.
- Compared to the London Overground, there don’t appear to be many coffee stalls on the platforms. Transport for London encourages independent stalls.
- All platforms, that I saw, could handle two three-car Class 507/508 trains, working as a six-car train.
- The Northern Line has various branches and it seemed that the system has been designed to go down one branch and then do a quick change to go up another.
The only thing the line needs is new faster trains.
Currently, journey times are as follows.
- Southport- Hunts Cross – 64 minutes
- Kirkby – Hunts Cross – 44 minutes with a change.
- Ormskirk – Hunts Cross – 72 minutes with a change.
It strikes me,that if trains could get Southport to Hunts Cross in under an hour, this might have knock-on effects, as to the number of trains needed.
The Victoria Line in London has now simplified its diagrams, by removing a few bottlenecks and the outcome is increased frequencies on the line.
I suspect that Merseyrail engineers have been following the Victoria Line works with interest.
At present four trains per hour (tph) go to each of the Northern terminals, with 8 tph terminating at Liverpool Central station and four tph at Hunts Cross station.
Could Liverpool be seeing a Thameslink style service where perhaps twelve or perhaps more tph ran on the core route between Sandhills and Hunts Cross stations?
Twelve tph would need twenty four three-car trains if all round trips could be within an hour, with popular services perhaps run with six-car trains.
Modern trains with a lot of driven axles can do so many more round trips in a day.
Deansgate Station
I took these pictures of Deansgate station as I passed through.
Deansgate station needs a lot of improvement.
This Google Map shows the area.
Around Deansgate Station
I don’t think, I’ve seen an area of a UK city, with so many parked cars. Why aren’t people coming into the City by using the trains and the trams?
All that wasted land could be used for something useful like housing or commecial developments.
I walked to the station and I used the lift to get to the platform, but even so, I still had to climb quite a few steps. I wonder that it is station that many avoid because, the access is better at other stations.
On the other hand it is an interchange to the Manchester Metrolink at Deansgate-Castlefield.
Also when the Ordsall Chord is completed and when a full timetable is implemented, surely there will be many more services through the station.
So hopefully, improvements are planned.
Walking Between Manchester Piccadilly And Deansgate Stations
I took these pictures as I walked between Manchester Piccadilly and Deansgate stations.
The viaduct is certainly substantial.
I find walking difficult in Manchester, as there are virtually no maps. In London there are walking maps everywhere; on bus stops, at tube and rail stations and free standing.
One of the strange things, is that in all the pictures I took on this walk, there is no evidence of Oxford Road station, which is between Piccadilly and Deansgate. There were so signs either.
Perhaps, it’s been knocked down, since I visited a few weeks ago?
Others would say that I should use the map on my phone, but that is not easy, as my left hand is dodgy and to use a phone, I prefer to lay it flat somewhere and use it with my right hand.
I still think that the reason London is so well-mapped, is that because it is so large, the average Londoner find themselves in a strange area quite often and need immediate help. But in smaller cities, the city is small enough for all the locals to memorise the city, so they object if sums of money are spent on maps.
The only other city in the UK with good maps is Glasgow, which in terms of area is the second largest.
With this walk from Piccadilly to Deansgate, I just followed the viaduct. But it wasn’t easy at times, as there were various dead-ends, too much unnecessary traffic and parked vehicles and difficult road crossings.
Perhaps Manchester needs some combined Cycling and Walking Superhighways! And perhaps a Congestion Charge, to discourage people from bringing cars into the centre, as it did in London.
I wonder if anybody, has done an analysis of the number of visitors and tourists a city gets against the usability of its public transport and walking routes. My personal scores out of five for various UK cities would be.
- Birmingham – 3
- Brighton – 4
- Bristol – 2
- Cardiff – 4
- Edinburgh – 3
- Glasgow – 4
- Leeds – 3
- Liverpool – 4
- Manchester – 2
- Newcastle – 3
- Nottingham – 4
- Sheffield – 3
This is all very personal, as obviously I know Liverpool well. But in fairness you can give brief instructions on how to spend a day or two in Liverpool, as the centre is extensively pedestrianised and this gives the visitor a linear focus on which to explore the City.
Brighton has the seafront and once you know how to get back to the station, on foot or by bus, it has this focus on which to base your visit.
Does Manchester City Centre have a linear focus?
Manchester doesn’t draw you in with a welcoming station, as do Liverpool, Sheffield or Newcastle, and I suspect, it doesn’t make the most of casual visitors passing through.
The Back Side Of Manchester Piccadilly Station
These pictures show the back side of Manchester Piccadilly station.
Note.
- It wasn’t easy to get out to that side of the station.
- The two platforms outside the station on the viaduct are the dreaded Platforms 13 and 14, with their serious overcrowding, lack of facilities and lots of draughts and cold.
- Platforms 13 and 14 must be the worst pair of platforms in the UK.
- I nearly got run over three times trying to cross the road.
I doubt that I’ll ever see Manchester Piccadilly station improved.
Thoughts On The Train Strikes
These strikes have all the qualities of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object.
The latest headline on an article on the BBC is Southern rail strike enters second day as Acas talks start.
I doubt the talks will be very productive.
Here are my thoughts about various issues.
London
I have been running around in driver-only-operated (DOO) trains for quite a few decades now. Especially, as I have always travelled frequently on the London Underground.
Wikipedia has a comprehensive section on One Man Operation in London.
This is said about the Underground.
All trains on the London Underground are single-manned.Conversion to one-man operation began in 1984 and was completed in 2000.
In some ways though the Underground, is not full DOO, in that on nearly all stations, there are staff on the station, who assist the driver to safely dispatch the trains.
Assistance From Staff
The staff on the platform are also there to assist passengers, who need help. This page on the Transport for London web site describes the role of staff.
This is said under Assistance To And From Trains.
On the Tube, TfL Rail and Overground, station staff will also accompany you to the train and help you on board and, if needed, can arrange for you to be met at your destination. Anyone can use this service, but it is particularly used by blind and visually impaired passengers and people using boarding ramps onto trains.
If you would like to use this service, ask a member of staff when you arrive at the station.
That is very much turn-up-and-go for everybody!
So what happens on Southern?
This page on the Southern web site gives full details of what they offer.
This is said.
When should I ask for help?
If you want to book ‘help’ try to call us at least one day before you travel.
That is not acceptable.
So there’s one job for the redundant guards on Southern – They could help on the platform, as they do on the London Underground and Overground.
The Gospel Oak To Barking Line
London hasn’t been without trouble though, as this from Wikipedia shows.
TFL now operates 100% of its overground network as driver-only trains. The latest conversion was announced in July 2013 on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) challenged the move, claiming passenger safety would be compromised. Transport for London replied that at the time the East London Line, already one-man operated, has one door-related incident for every 7 million passengers, while the section of the network which currently uses conductors has one door-related incident for every 4 million passengers.[10] On 16 August 2013, the RMT called a 48-hour strike over the August Bank holiday weekend. According to the RMT, the proposal set forth by Transport for London would imply Driver Only Operations on the whole of the London Overground network and make 130 guards redundant London Overground Rail Operations stated in response that they had given “the RMT assurances on employing conductors in alternative customer service roles and offering a generous voluntary redundancy package to those who want it.” According to RMT, the proposals to implement driver only operations are in response to the 12.5% reduction in Transport for London’s funding announced in Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s Comprehensive Spending Review
I certainly don’t remember that strike. So it must have been really significant!
Overground And Underground
You should always remember that when the Overground started, every train had a second man, but gradually they have been moved to the platforms.
The Overground works a different system to the Underground on doors in that the driver enables the doors for opening and they are actually opened by the passengers individually. On the Underground, the driver just opens and closes all doors.
Crossrail
It will be interesting to see, what system the new Class 345 trains for Crossrail use.
It’s an Overground train in the outer reaches and an Underground train in the centre.
The Class 345 trains also appear to be very hi-tech with various innovative features.
Automatic Train Operation
The Victoria Line in London has always run with automatic train operation (ATO). The Wikipedia entry has two entries about London.
On the London Underground, the Central, Northern, Jubilee, and Victoria lines run with ATO.
ATO was introduced on the London Underground’s Northern line in 2013 and will be introduced on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines by 2022. Although ATO will be used on Crossrail and Thameslink, it has not yet been implemented on UK mainline railways
Lines like the Victoria Line, Crossrail and Thameslink, will not be completely automatic, but the driver will be an intelligent monitor to what the train is doing. It could be compared to auto-land on an aircraft, where the plane is actually controlled, by the autopilot and the pilots monitor.
As a Control Engineer, I believe we’ll be seeing large increases in the use of ATO in the UK in the next few years. Many intensively used lines could probably handle more trains, with a controlling ATO system.
Will the Unions object to ATO?
They haven’t seemed to yet, as ATO generally seems to see an increase in the number of trains, which means more staff.
More Automation On Trains
This is happening, but then this is only following the lead of more automation in planes and road vehicles.
Crossrail trains will set a new standard in automation.
This is a snippet from the an article in the Derby Telegraph
Unlike today’s commuter trains, Aventra can shut down fully at night and can be “woken up” by remote control before the driver arrives for the first shift.
I described this to a driver for Northern and a big smile came over his face.
Perhaps more contentious is the autoreverse system fitted to Crossrail trains, that I wrote about and explained fully in Crossrail Trains Will Have Auto-Reverse.
The system will work at a Crossrail terminal like Paddington or Abbey Wood.
- The driver selects auto-reverse in the terminal platform.
- The train then drives itself into the reversing siding.
- The driver starts to walk back through the train towards the other cab.
- When the train reaches the end of the reversing siding, it reverses back into the return platform.
- By the time the driver has walked the length of the train and installed himself in the cab, the train will have arrived in the platform and will be ready to depart.
I suspect that there will be a high-level of safety systems, with the driver probably carrying a dead man’s handle, that connects to the train by radio.
It will be interesting to see how the Unions react to such a system.
- One of the reasons for the auto-reverse is that it is needed to get 30 trains per hour, through the tunnel.
- Drivers will avoid a 200 metre walk.
- No passengers will be on the train, when the driver is out of the cab.
But it will mean more staff being employed, to drive and service the extra trains and handle the extra passengers.
Conclusion
I am drawn to the conclusion, that lots of automation and driver aids are coming to the railways.
DOO is the first of many issues, where there will be a fight.
If the Unions don’t like it, they will reap the wrath of the passengers, train companies and most politicians.
Is The Croxley Rail Link To Be Given Lower Priority?
Although, I have covered the Croxley Rail Link or Metropolitan Line Extension, on this blog, including in Looking For The Croxley Rail Link, which I wrote after walking the route in November 2014, it is not a project that will have a great deal of affect on my life.
In the last few days, after the publication of the London Mayor’s transport strategy, two newspaper reports have been published.
- This article in the Watford Observer entitled Have plans to extend the Metropolitan Line derailed?
- This article in Rail Technology Magazine entitled DfT refuses to provide extra funding for over-budget Croxley rail link
So is everybody getting more lukewarm about the project?
The Watford Observer article also contains these paragraphs.
Save Watford Met campaign group opposes the plans, which would see Watford underground close.
Speaking on their behalf, Lester Wagman said: “While it would be a shame if the [unconfirmed] inference that the Metropolitan Line Extension to Watford Junction may have been dropped as a business plan priority for TfL, we would not really be surprised if this is not such a priority for London and that its Mayor, Sadiq Khan, may have concluded this from reviewing the somewhat contrived and shaky business case.
So perhaps, there is a problem with finances and the people of Watford are not all in favour.
I think that it is time to take a short time of reflection to look at this project and see, if other developments in the future, can improve rail links to Watford sufficiently.
Maps Of The Croxley Rail Link
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the link.
The Croxley Rail Link
I don’t think that they are able to show anything more definitive.
This first Google Map shows the Western End of the Croxley Rail Link.
The Western End Of The Croxley Rail Link
Note.
- Croxley station in the bottom left corner and Watford station in the top right, with the Metropolitan Line between them.
- In the middle is the A412 with its two roundabouts.
- The scar of the old railway can be seen above the green space in the bottom right corner.
This second Google Map shows the Eastern End of the Croxley Rail Link.
The Eastern End Of The Croxley Rail Link
Note.
- Watford High Street station, where the Croxley Rail Link joins the Watford DC Line is in the top right corner of the map.
- The line goes in a wide curve South of Vicarage Road Stadium and the large Watford Hospital site.
This Google Map shows the area, where the Croxley Rail Link joins the Watford DC Line.
Croxley Rail Link And The Watford DC Line
Note.
- Watford High Street station is at the top right.
- It looks like the original junction was a full triangular one.
- The road being built is Thomas Sawyer Way, which is a link to open up the area. It opened on the 16th November 2016, as this article on the Watford Council web site announces.
This map shows the site of the proposed Watford Vicarage Road station.
The Site Of Watford Vicarage Road Station
This description of the station is from Wikipedia.
Watford Vicarage Road is to be a newly constructed station on a re-opened section of the former LNWR Watford and Rickmansworth Railway line which was closed by British Rail in 1996. The station is to be located to the west of Vicarage Road, adjacent to Holywell allotments, with the platforms in the railway cutting below the road
The hospital and stadium are to the North on Vicarage Road.
This Google Map shows the site of the proposed Cassiobridge station.
The Site Of Cassiobridge Station
Note.
- The Grand Union Canal running down the left hand side of the map, with the route of the old railway across it clearly visible.
- The station is on the single-carriageway branch of Ascot Road.
Wikipedia says it will be a fairly simple station.
Reasons For The Croxley Rail Link.
The Croxley Rail Link or the Metropolitan line Extension has a page on the Transport for London web site.
This is their summary.
The Metropolitan Line extension will re-route and extend the Metropolitan line to Watford Junction. The aim is for the project (formerly the Croxley Rail Link) to be completed in 2020.
The extension will divert Metropolitan line trains to serve the existing Watford Junction and Watford High Street stations.Two new stations will be created at Cassiobridge and Watford Vicarage Road. The existing Watford station will close after the new stations open.
TfL list the benefits as follows.
- Improve access to public transport for local residents
- Create new links to Watford General Hospital, Croxley Business Park and Cardiff Road Industrial Estate, increasing employment opportunities
- Provide access for Metropolitan line passengers to West Coast mainline National Rail links from Watford Junction station
The case for the line was obviously good enough to raise the finance for the line, but now it appears that the Department for Transport are having second thoughts.
Perhaps some of the other projects are influencing their decision.
The Bakerloo Line Extension
The Bakerloo Line Extension is mainly about South of the Thames, but if the line is running the proposed 27 trains per hour (tph) , these trains will have to terminate somewhere in the North.
There have been various proposals for the Bakerloo Line to take over the Watford DC Line and trains to terminate at Watford Junction station.
Some trains would probably terminate at Queen’s Park, Stonebridge Park and Harrow and Wealdstone stations, but perhaps eight to ten tph might go all the way, calling at both Watford High Street and Watford Junction stations.
The London Overground
Currently, the London Overground runs three tph to Watford Junction from Euston via the Watford DC Line.
The trains are currently five-car Class 378 trains and in a couple of years, they will be replaced by four-car Class 710 trains.
It is rare that the capacity of a route is ever decreased.
So do Transport for London have a cunning plan?
In Platform Height Issues On The Watford DC Line I suggested that the shorter Class 710 trains, might fit better with the 1972 Stock of the Bakerloo Line, thus allowing the current stations on the line to be converted to very customer-friendly step-free stations.
So working an extended Bakerloo Line to Watford Junction station with an appropriate number of Euston to Watford Junction services on the Watford DC Line could be an easier way of increasing capacity to Watford’s main station, without degrading the service of any other passengers.
Crossrail
It has been suggested that Crossrail with its herds of jumbo Class 345 trains should be extended to the West Coast Main Line. Wikipedia says this.
In August 2014, a statement by the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin indicated that the government was actively evaluating the extension of Crossrail as far as Tring, with potential Crossrail stops at Wembley Central, Harrow & Wealdstone, Bushey, Watford Junction, Kings Langley, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted.
Plans change, but if Crossrail goes up the West Coast Main Line, it would surely stop at Watford Junction station.
If it stopped at the stations listed above, it would have good connections to the Bakerloo Line and London Overground, in addition to all the connections at Old Oak Common.
Southern
With all Southern‘s current troubles, I don’t think that their Milton Keynes to East Croydon service is a priority.
It is also a route that in a few years time will be a route, where there could be better alternatives.
Once Old Oak Common station is a reality, passengers from Milton Keynes to South London, would possibly use this type of route.
- London Midland to Old Oak Common
- Crossrail to Farringdon
- Thameslink to East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Wimbledon.
As an alternative, they could also take the West London Line from Old Oak Common to Clapham Junction for all the connections there.
If Crossrail extends up the West Coast Main Line from a fully-developed Old Oak Common station, the reasons for Southern’s service will diminish.
It might be a good idea to replace this service with more London Overground services between Stratford and Clapham Junction via the North and West London Lines!
After all, London Overground will have several five-car Class 378 trains from the Watford DC Line.
London Midland
London Midland‘s franchise comes to an end soon and what goodies will companies propose to keep it?
I think the only new service we will see from London Midland or its successor, is trains calling at the new hub at Old Oak Common.
Metropolitan Line Upgrade
Transport for London are implementing, what they call the Four Lines Modernisation, on the Circle, District, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan Lines.
TfL give these benefits.
- A new fleet of air-conditioned trains, with brighter more spacious interiors, low floors and dedicated spaces for wheelchair users, CCTV and other improved features
- Space for more customers
- Faster journeys and reduced waiting times
- Fewer delays as safe but obsolete equipment – dating back to the 1920s in some places – is replaced with modern, computerised signalling and control systems
- Better live customer information on platforms and to smart devices
It will all be finished by 2023, when 32 tph could be running in the Peak.
The Croxley Rail Link is not mentioned in connection with this modernisation.
This upgrade must benefit services to and from existing Metropolitan Line stations to the West of Watford, but it does nothing to meet the benefits stated for the Croxley Rail Link.
- Improve access to public transport for local residents
- Create new links to Watford General Hospital, Croxley Business Park and Cardiff Road Industrial Estate, increasing employment opportunities
- Provide access for Metropolitan line passengers to West Coast mainline National Rail links from Watford Junction station.
Two additional benefits could be added.
- Access to the upgraded Vicarage Road Stadium
- The possibility of services between Amersham and Watford Junction.
Others could also surface, if say a substantial housing or commercial development is proposed.
Chiltern Railways
Never underestimate Chiltern Railways!
The Croxley Rail Link would connect to their Aylesbury Line, which is going to be extended to Milton Keynes.
Once the link is a reality, I’m sure Chiltern will find a way to make use of the line.
Even a well-thought out two tph shuttle to Amersham could probably provide valuable connectivity.
Chiltern will also have an effect on thinking, in that they have opened a similar railway to the Croxley Rail Link, in their extension to Bicester and Oxford.
The Opening Of HS2
HS2 will have one major effect on Watford, in that it will free up paths on the West Coast Main Line.
These could be used to improve services between Watford Junction and Euston.
Could A Lower-Cost Link Be Built?
I ask this question, specifically because of the report that TfL had said no, because the project is over-budget.
Ideally, the link would be built as a double track line from Watford High Street station, to where it joins the double-track branch to the current Watford station.
I have flown my helicopter over the route and there would appear to be a fair bit of space for a double -track line.
But there might be a couple of problems.
This picture, which I took going South, shows the bridge, where the Croxley Rail Link will join the Watford DC Line.
The A4178 Goes Over The Croxley Rail Link
It looks fairly sound, but is it large enough for two tracks? I could see the next bridge and that was a modern structure with a lot more space.
Note too, the evidence of clearing up decades of tree growth.
But look at this Google Map of where the Croxley Rail Link will connect to the branch to Watford station.
Over The A412 At Croxley Green
Note the branch to Watford station at the top left of the map and the remains of the old railway in the bottom-right, which can also be seen in the map of Cassiobridge station.
It could be difficult to thread a double-track viaduct through the area.
This visualisation from the Watford Observer shows current thinking.
Croxley Link Viaduct
So would money be saved and perhaps a better design be possible?
- Could the viaduct be built with only a single-track between its junction with the branch to Watford station and the proposed Cassiobridge station? The route could revert to double track just to the East of Cassiobridge station.
- A single-track design of Cassiobridge station could also save money, but it would probably rule out too many future options.
As most of the route will be double-track, I doubt that a few hundred metres of single-track would have much impact on the operation of the link. It’s not as if, the Croxley Rail Link will be handling 24 tph.
I suspect that engineers and architects are working hard both to cut costs and make the link better.
A Watford Junction To Amersham Service
I think that if there is a good service between Watford Junction and Amersham, this might offer an alternative solution.
It would connect to London trains as follows.
- Watford Junction – Bakerloo, London Midland, Southewrn, Watford DC and possible West Coast Main Line services.
- Watford High Street – Cross-platform connection to Watford DC services.
- Croxley – Same platform connection to Metropolitan services to the existing Watford station.
- Rickmanswoth – Chiltern for both London and all stations to Milton Keynes.
I believe that a train like London Overground’s new Class 710 train, which will be running on the Watford DC Line might be able to run the service without any new electrification, it it were to use onboard energy storage between say Watford High Street and Croxley stations.
Conclusion
I believe that Watford will get a better train service, whether the Croxley Rail Link is built or not.
Politics will decide the priority of the Croxley Rail Link, with the left-leaning South Londoner Sadiq Khan on one side and right-leaning Bucks-raised Chris Grayling on the other. In some ways, Watford is a piggy-in-the-middle.
My feeling is that on a Londonwide basis, that the Bakerloo Line Extension to Watford, solves or enables the solution of a lot of wider problems and the Croxley Rail Link is much more a local solution.
I think it could turn out to be.
- A mainly double-track route from Watford Junction to Amersham, but with portions of single track.
- No new electrification.
- Stations at Watford High Street, Watford Vicarage Road, Cassiobridge, Croxley and then all stations to Amersham.
- Four Class 710 trains per hour (tph), running on existing electrification and batteries between Watford Junction and Amersham.
- A redeveloped Watford station keeps its four tph to London.
It might even be simpler.
The Anonymous Widower 