Is Turnpike Lane Tube Station Going Step-Free?
I took these pictures as I passed through Turnpike Lane station today.
Note.
- The blue hoardings are at the London end of the Northbound platform.
- There are no other blue hoardings at platform level.
- The yellow gates are on the bus station side of the station.
- A lift on the surface behind the yellow gates would be convenient for the buses and just round the corner from a light-controlled crossing of the busy Green Lanes.
- I couldn’t find any other evidence of work.
This Google Map shows the station.
Note.
- The station block in the North-West corner of the map.
- Green Lanes runs North-South to the West of the station.
- There is a bus on Green Lanes by the station.
- The spine of the bus station to the East of the station.
- The pedestrian crossing between the Underground station and the bus station at the Northern end of the spine.
- The wide pavements to give access to the light-controlled crossing over Green Lanes and the bus stops on the road.
This second map from carto metro, shows the track layout through the station.
Note that the escalators to the platforms are to the North of the platforms and connect to a lobby between middle of the two platforms,
Could this mean that using traditional tunneling on the London-end of Platform 2 allows access to what appears to be a generous space between the two platforms and their associated tracks?
It looks to my untrained eye, that a lift shaft could be dug in this area.
But there is no reference to step-free access at Turnpike Lane station anywhere on the internet.
Conclusion
This could be a simple scheme to add step-free access to another of the stations on the Northern section of the Piccadilly Line.
- At present, Cockfosters, Oakwood, Finsbury Park and Caledonian Road stations are already step-free.
- Southgate station could be difficult, but it does have bus connections to some of the stations with step-free access.
- Arnos Grove station is a surface station, where there will be a major housing development on the car park. So I would expect, that this could be one of the next to be planned for step-free access.
- The track and escalator layout might make Wood Green station difficult to make step-free. But it does have lots of buses to Turnpike Lane station.
- I’ve never used Bounds Green station, but it does appear that a Turnpike Lane solution might be possible.
- Manor House station has so many exits, that full step-free access could be expensive. But if it were to be decided that it should be step-free, I feel there could be an innovative solution.
It should be noted that all these stations, with the exception of Manor House are Grade II or Grade II* Listed.
As all road crossings at Manor House are controlled by lights, perhaps the solution at the station, is to replace one or more of the many exits with a lift.
Thoughts On Train Times Between London Paddington And Cardiff Central
I went to Cardiff from Paddington on Tuesday.
These were the journey details.
- Distance – Paddington and Cardiff – 145.1 miles
- Time – Paddington and Cardiff – 110 minutes – 79.1 mph
- Time – Cardiff and Paddington- 114 minutes – 76.4 mph
There were four stops. Each seemed to take between two and three minutes.
I do feel though, that the trains are still running to a timetable, that could be run by an InterCity 125.
I watched the Speedview app on my phone for a lot of both journeys.
- There was quite an amount of 125 mph running on the route.
- Some stretches of the route seemed to be run at a line speed of around 90 mph.
- The Severn Tunnel appears to have a 90 mph speed.
- Coming back to London the train ran at 125 mph until the Wharncliffe Viaduct.
These are my thoughts.
Under Two Hour Service
The current service is under two hours, which is probably a good start.
Improving The Current Service
It does strike me that the current timetable doesn’t take full advantage of the performance of the new Hitachi Class 80x trains.
- Could a minute be saved at each of the four stops?
- Could more 125 mph running be introduced?
- Could the trains go faster through the Severn Tunnel?
- If two trains per hour (tph) were to be restored, would that allow a more efficient stopping pattern?
- The route has at least four tracks between Paddington and Didcot Parkway and the Severn Tunnel and Cardiff.
I would reckon that times of between one hour and forty minutes and one hour and forty-five minutes are possible.
These times correspond to average speeds of between 87 and 83 mph.
Application of In-Cab Digital Signalling
Currently, a typical train leaving Paddington completes the 45.7 miles between Hanwell and Didcot Parkway with a stop at Reading in 28 minutes, which is an average speed of 97.9 mph.
This busy section of the route is surely an obvious one for In-cab digital signalling., which would allow speeds of up to 140 mph.
- Services join and leave the route on branches to Bedwyn, Heathrow, Oxford and Taunton.
- The Heathrow services are run by 110 mph Class 387 trains.
- There are slow lines for local services and freight trains.
If an average speed of 125 mph could be attained between Hanwell and Didcot Parkway, this would save six minutes on the time.
Would any extra savings be possible on other sections of the route, by using in-cab digital signalling?
I suspect on the busy section between Bristol Parkway and Cardiff Central stations several minutes could be saved.
Would A Ninety Minute Time Between Paddington And Cardiff Be Possible?
To handle the 145.1 miles between Paddington and Cardiff Central would require an average speed including four stops of 96.7 mph.
This average speed is in line with the current time between Hanwell and Didcot Parkway with a stop at Reading, so I suspect that with improvements to the timetable, that a ninety minute service between Paddington and Cardiff Central is possible.
It may or may not need in-cab digital signalling.
My Control Engineer’s nose says that this signalling upgrade will be needed.
Would A Sixty Minute Time Between Paddington And Cardiff Be Possible?
A journey time of an hour between Paddington and Cardiff Central would surely be the dream of all politicians the Great Western Railway and many of those involved with trains.
To handle the 145.1 miles between Paddington and Cardiff Central would require an average speed including four stops of 145.1 mph.
It would probably be difficult to maintain a speed a few mph above the trains current maximum speed for an hour.
- How many minutes would be saved with perhaps a single intermediate stop at Bristol Parkway station?
- Perhaps the Cardiff service could be two tph in ninety minutes and one tph in sixty minutes.
- Full in-cab digital signalling would certainly be needed.
- Faster trains with a maximum speed of up to 155-160 mph would certainly be needed.
- There may be a need for some extra tracks in some places on the route.
A journey time of an hour will be a few years coming, but I feel it is an achievable objective.
The Extended Route To Swansea
Cardiff Central and Swansea is a distance of 45.7 miles
A typical service takes 55 minutes with three stops, at an average speed of 49.8 mph.
This would be an ideal route for a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.
It would probably be needed to be charged at Swansea station, to both enable return to Cardiff Central or extend the service to the West of Swansea.
Conclusion
Big improvements in journey times between Paddington and Cardiff Central are possible.
One Freight Train Overtaking Another In Cardiff Central Station
I took these pictures as one freight train overtook another, as they passed to the West, through Cardiff Central station.
You don’t see it often in the UK.
Especially in a station.
The Anonymous Widower 