West Anglia Route Improvement – Northumberland Park Station – 22nd February 2017
I took these pictures at Northumberland Park station.
This Google Map shows the station.
Note.
The station is alongside London Underground’s Northumberland Park Depot.
Work is well underway to clear the space for the new tracks.
The level crossing wasn’t very busy.
West Anglia Route Improvement – Waltham Cross Station – 22nd February 2017
I took these pictures at Waltham Cross station.
This Google Map shows Waltham Cross station.
Waltham Cross Station
Note.
- The railway goes under both the M25 where provision has been msade for the extra tracks.
- There is no future proofing under the A121 to the North of the station. So the bridge needs extensive remodelling.
- Housing has been built on the North side of the A121, which may need to be demolished for the four-tracking.
- The space is a bit tight alongside the station, but the property is commercial.
- The recently built step-free footbridge at Waltham Cross station will need to be replaced or at least extensively modified.
Considering that Waltham Cross station was rebuilt for the 2012 Olympics, it is a supreme example of not paying attention to the future.
This Google Map shows the station in detail.
Waltham Cross Station – Enlarged
I hope Network Rail own a big shoehorn and have a big budget for both doing the work and compensation.
To be fair to Network Rail, it’s probably not totally their fault.
Surely when the A121 was improved through Waltham Cross, provision for four-tracking the railway should have been made. Earlier, this had been done, when the M25 , which opened i n 1986, was built.
On the other hand, Network Rail must have known that their bridge could be in the way of four-tracking.
If you look at the fifth picture in the gallery, there might just be space for the two tracks to fit between the offices and lifts for the footbridge.
I don’t think I’d like to have one of those offices by the railway.
But even if the tracks could be installed, there would then be the need to do the following.
- Tunnel through the bridge.
- Lower the track to make enough space for the trains and catenary.
- Use slab-track to ensure train stability.
- Put in lots of acoustic barriers.
You get a lot of fun in the construction industry.
It will be interesting to see how Network Rail design themselves out of this one.
West Anglia Route Improvement – Broxbourne Station – 22nd February 2017
I took these pictures at Broxbourne station.
This Google Map shows the layout of the station.
broxbourne Station
It is almost as if when the station was moved to its current site in 1959, that it was designed to be the Northern terminal of a line like Crossrail 2.
- The site is generous with lots of space for stabling sidings and parking for cars.
- The fast trains stop in the middle two platforms giving cross-platform access with the local services on the two outside lines.
- The station has full step-free access with a waiting area, a cafe and toilets on the massive bridge over the lines.
- Platforms appear to be ready for 12-car trains.
- It is a Grade 2 Listed building with a prominent water feature, built in the early-1600s.
Greater Anglia And Broxbourne Station
I don’t think the potential has been lost on Greater Anglia.
- They have been very vocal about about getting Broxbourne to Yottenham Hale four-tracked as soon as is practically possible. And it appears to be starting.
- With the splitting of fast and slow services onto separate lines, it must be possible to run say 10 tph on the slow lines.
- Fast trains to and from Cambridge, Ely and Stansted could probably interchange better with local services.
- The station is virtually mid-way between the scientific powerhouse of Cambridge and the financial powerhouse of London.
- Could the station have new a North-facing platform to accept new services from Cambridge, Norwich, Peterborough and perhaps even Lincoln?
Broxbourne must be one of the best mid-line interchanges anywhere in the UK.
It would not need a massive amount of money to be spent at Broxbourne to make the station a superb Northern terminus for Crossrail 2. It makes Shenfield and Abbey Wood look decidedly second-class now.
Greater Anglia’s Plans For Fast Broxbourne Services
But Crossrail 2 is some years away, so how will Greater Anglia maximise the use of this priceless asset?
Greater Anglia have ordered a fleet of 12-car Stadler electric multiple units for Cambridge and Stansted services. After the four-tracking of Broxbourne to Tottenham Hale, you can imagine these trains stopping in the middle two platforms, before or after a fast uninterrupted run to either Liverpool Street or Stratford.
As there are ten of these expresses, I suspect that will see five Stadler trains per hour (tph) to and from London. But we’ll also be seeing some Aventras with a similar performance taking the fast lines.
Greater Anglia’s Plans For Slow Broxbourne Services
I feel that to maximise traffic at all the intermediate stations, there will be a regular service of something like 4 tph all the way between Broxbourne and Tottenham Hale.
The slower trains take about 20 minutes with typically five stops. But the trains are thirty-year-old Class 317 trains. and will be replaced by faster Aventras, which are optimised to minimise dwell times at stations.
A similar change is happening on Crossrail, which means that Romford to Liverpool Street stopping at eight stations will go from 31 to 17 minutes.
So I think we’ll see slow Broxbourne to Tottenham Hale services serveral minutes faster than they are now, despite stopping everywhere.
But 4 tph will increase ridership substantially.
Competition For Greater Anglia
It is between Cambridge and London, that Greater Anglia will face the greatest competition as they do now.
But the new trains may be able to almost match the fastest Cambridge to Kings Cross times.
Greater Anglia will also offer other sdvantages.
- Access to the City of London through Liverpool Street.
- Access to Crossrail at Liverpool Street and Stratford.
- Easy access to Canary Wharf, the West End and Heathrow.
The effects of the new Stadler trains shouldn’t be underestimated.
Stansted is a monopoly, so that will do well!
Changing at Broxbourne between fast and slow services may mean that they generate traffic for Stansted, as currently for many it’s easier to drive.
There is also competition from London Overground’s route from Cheshunt to Liverpool Street, especially as with new trains, this will be route with new Aventra trains.
I do wonder if Greater Anglia will invite London Overground to extend their Cheshunt service by one station to a dedicated platform at Broxbourne station, as this would mean that they would have less need to stop fast Cambridge trains at Cheshunt.
Also before Crossrail 2 is up and running, it would create an eight tph service to London on two separate routes from Broxbourne.
West Anglia Route Improvement – Brimsdown Station – 22nd February 2017
I took these pictures at Brimsdown station.
This Google Map shows a closeup of the station.
Brimsdown Station
Note.
- The level crossing is a real bottleneck and has been since the 1960s, when I used it to go to work.
- I was at the station for about thirty minutes and in that time around ten fast trains roared through, so the barriers were more closed than open.
- The space for the tracks is narrow, but there’s nothing of merit in the way.
- There is a poor subway, but no footbridge.
Meridian Way was built to provide an alternative route, but drivers want to use the crossing.
It is another station and level crossing, that might be improved using a Level Crossing Replacement Station.
West Anglia Route Improvement – Ponders End Station – 22nd February 2017
I took these pictures at Ponders End station.
This Google Map shows a closeup of the station.
Ponders End Station
Note.
- Between the station and Meridian Way is an area that is wide enough for a twin-track railway or another carriageway for Meridian Way.
- There used to be a level crossing at Ponders |End, but the station was given reasonable pedestrian access and a decent road by-pass.
- The footbridge may be step free, but I wouldn’t like to see grandma pushing grandpa in a wheelchair over the tracks.
This station could need a Level Crossing Replscement Station, as I detailed earlier, to replace the current bridge and allow pedestrians an easier route across what will be a four-track railway.
West Anglia Route Improvement – Enfield Lock Station – 22nd February 2017
I took these pictures at Enfield Lock station.
This Google Map shows a closeup of the station.
Enfield Lock Station
Note.
- The level crossing.
- The Google Map shows an underpass so that pedestrians and cyclists can bypass the level crossing.
- The truly dreadful footbridge.
- The tired station facilities.
- Will the houses behind the London-bound platform like having 20 tph, thundering past their back gardens.
There isn’t much space to the West of the line, but with a bit of selective demolition and moving of line-side equipment, I suspect that two extra tracks could be squeezed through.
In a related post I’ve proposed a Level Crossing Replacement Station.
This might be a way of doing the following.
- Removing the level crossing.
- Building a new modern station.
- Providing easy level access across the railway at all times for pedestrians, cyclists and those in wheelchairs.
The good people of Enfield would get a modern station and the railways would get rid of a troublesome level crossing.
The Anonymous Widower 