Extending The Elizabeth Line – London Crosslink
In the Wikipedia entry for the London Crosslink, this is the introduction.
London Crosslink was a passenger train service operated by Anglia Railways between Norwich and Basingstoke, using the North London Line to bypass central London. Class 170 Turbostar diesel multiple units were used, and the service operated between 22 May 2000 and 28 September 2002, supported by funding from the Strategic Rail Authority through its Rail Passenger Partnership fund.
As it was discontinued and it doesn’t seem to be sadly missed, I’m not advocating its reinstatement, but just looking how it might be run after the full opening of the Elizabeth Line.
But surely, there were good reasons, why the service was run in the first place and there might be a need in the future.
These are some characteristics of the service.
- There were about half-a-dozen services in both directions every day.
- At its full length it ran between Norwich and Basingstoke.
- Stops included Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Colchester, Witham, Chelmsford, Ingatestone, Romford, Stratford, Highbury & Islington, Camden Road, West Hampstead, Brentford, Feltham, Staines, Woking and Farnborough (Main).
- Each service seemed to have a different stopping pattern.
- The timetable wasn’t very regular.
- The route wasn’t fully electrified.
It appears that it may have been a difficult service to timetable.
A London Crosslink Based On The Elizabeth Line
Consider.
- The route between Norwich and Stratford is possible and is fully-electrified.
- Trains could use the Central Tunnel of the Elizabeth Line between Stratford and Paddington.
- There is no connection between the Central Tunnel and Brentford, Feltham, Staines, Woking and Farnborough (Main).
I suspect that the service would go to Basingstoke via Reading.
An alternative route might be serve Heathrow Terminal 5 and then connect to the Windsor and Staines Line.
Note.
- In Extending The Elizabeth Line – Connecting Great Eastern Main Line Services To The Central Tunnel, I showed that I thought it was possible for Great Eastern Main Line service to use the Central Tunnel of the Elizabeth Line.
- Reading and Basingstoke is not electrified.
Would it be worthwhile?
Old Street Station – 24th August 2022
The new entrance to Old Street station is now open in the middle of the former roundabout.
There will also be lifts.
Extending The Elizabeth Line – Thoughts On The Maximum Frequency In The Central Tunnel
The Wikipedia entry for the Elizabeth Line, says this about the indicative timetable after the 6th November 2022.
The indicative timetable consists of the following services on the Elizabeth line during peak hours: there will be 24 trains per hour (tph) in each direction in the central section (Paddington to Whitechapel): of these, 12 will run between Shenfield and Paddington, 6 will run between Abbey Wood and Heathrow, and 6 between Abbey Wood and either Reading or Maidenhead. Some trains on the Reading branch will not stop at all stations. Passengers travelling between stations west of Paddington and those on the north-eastern branch will need to change trains in the central section. Changing trains at Hayes & Harlington will be required for travel between Hanwell, West Ealing or Acton Main Line and other stations on the Reading branch.
The north-eastern section via Stratford is expected to see an additional four trains per hour during peak times between Gidea Park and the existing main line Liverpool Street station’s high level terminating platforms. Since these trains run over existing above-ground lines from Liverpool Street to Stratford, they will not call at Whitechapel.
When you consider, that Dear Old Vicky can handle 36 tph in the Peak, I feel that at some point in the future, the Elizabeth Line will handle more trains in the Central Tunnel.
This article on London Reconnections, which is entitled The Ninety Second Railway: Making the Victoria The Most Frequent Metro In The World, gives a history of increasing the frequency on the Victoria Line.
This is a paragraph from the article.
Of course, having the trains is only one part of the requirement. As our editor John Bull is prone to point out, there comes a point where frequency is not about how many trains you can squeeze through the tunnels, but about how quickly you can get passengers onto and clear of, the platforms.
As a regular passenger on the Victoria Line, there are times, when you notice that there are queues for the escalators and in the passageways at certain stations.
The Victoria Line probably can’t go to forty tph without substantial work on several stations.
But as these pictures show, the Elizabeth Line has space.
The Central Tunnel stations also have step-free walk-across access to the trains.
On my many journeys on the Lizzie Line, I’ve yet to see any delays in boarding in the Central Tunnel.
Extra Terminals
At present, the Elizabeth Line has been designed to have these terminal stations.
- Abbey Wood
- Heathrow Terminal 4
- Heathrow Terminal 5
- Maidenhead
- Paddington
- Reading
- Shenfield
The capacity in the East must match the capacity in the West.
Possible terminals in the East could be.
- Beaulieu Park
- Gravesend
- Hoo
- Northfleet
- Southend Victoria
And in the West they could be.
- Bedwyn
- Newbury
- Oxford
- Swindon
The numbers must still match.
Extra services would probably best be added gradually with time, when a need was proven.
Conclusion
I feel that only three things will limit the frequency of Elizabeth Line trains through the Central Tunnel.
- A frequency that fits the passenger numbers and route preferences.
- The capacity of the terminals
- The ability for engineers to meet that frequency safely and at an affordable cost.
Given that at certain times of the day, the Elizabeth Line is busier than you would expect, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that frequency higher than that planned.
Ilford Station – 4th September 2022
Ilford station is now substantially complete.
Note.
- Because of testing, the Elizabeth Line was running through Platforms 1 and 2 at Ilford station.
- Platforms 3 and 4 are running a test service between Shenfield and Paddington.
- Train displays on Platform 3 are showing trains going to Paddington.
It would appear, that there’s still a bit of work to finish.
Extending The Elizabeth Line – Connecting North Kent Line Services To The Central Tunnel At Abbey Wood
This map from cartometro.com shows the track layout at Abbey Wood.
Note.
- The Elizabeth Line is shown in purple.
- The North Kent Line is shown in black.
- The North Kent Line platform to London is the Southernmost platform and is numbered 1.
- The North Kent Line platform from London is the other Southern platform and is numbered 2.
- The Elizabeth Line platforms are numbered 3 and 4.
- Platform 4 is the Northernmost platform.
At present the Elizabeth Line service to Abbey Wood station is twelve trains per hour (tph), with each platform handling six tph.
This picture shows trains in both Platform 3 and 4 looking towards the station buildings.
Note.
- Platform 3 is on the right.
- Platform 4 is on the left.
In Elizabeth Line To Ebbsfleet Extension Could Cost £3.2 Billion, I talk about this proposal as described in this article on Ian Visits.
One of the key features of Crossrail To Ebbsfleet (C2E) project is that instead of all trains terminating at Abbey Wood, trains will terminate as follows.
- Abbey Wood – 4 tph
- Northfleet – 4 tph
- Gravesend – 4 tph
This will mean that 8 tph would pass through Abbey Wood station.
- Platform 4 could certainly handle the four tph that terminated on the Elizabeth Line.
- Platform 3 would need to handle eight tph in both directions or sixteen tph to fulfil the proposed C2E service.
- This would be one train every 225 seconds.
I believe that digital signalling could handle this easily and safely.
I am fairly sure that the track layout at Abbey Wood allows eight tph to go both ways between the North Kent Line and the Elizabeth Line Central Tunnel.
The Maximum Capacity At Abbey Wood Station
Because of the current track layout at Abbey Wood, I believe that without track modifications, Abbey Wood station will not be able to handle more than 12 tph.
Energy Storage Will Deliver ‘Tens Of Billions Of Pounds A Year’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Live News.
This is the first paragraph.
This week’s Net Hero Podcast delves into how energy storage is being underappreciated as a key to cutting costs on our energy bills.
I have listened to the half-hour podcast and it is a fascinating interview with Rupert Pearce, who is the CEO of Highview Power.
He talks about.
- Green stability services
- Power stations in a box
- Vehicle-to-grid storage
- How Highview Power is location agnostic.
- And lots of other topics.
He also talks about the twenty Highview Power CRYOBatteries located around the country and financed traditionally, as there is money to be made.
Listen to what he has to say!
Conclusion
Rupert Pearce is a man with vision. And I like what he says!
The Anonymous Widower 