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?
The Anonymous Widower 
Seems to me the ‘privately-funded’ Southern Rail Link to Heathrow Airport (SRLtH) is a no brainer and would give you your ‘crosslink’ … it would allow crossrail trains to run on further [such terminating capacity will be needed in the near future] and give direct links to the airport for the main towns in the south-west [suburban belt and beyond] the emphasis being on ‘privately-funded’…
Comment by PJS | September 5, 2022 |
I only put this post in to see what sort of reaction I got. It seems to have been positive. If an Ipswich-Basingstoke service via Terminal 5 had a large park and ride at Beaulieu, I suspect it would see a lot of traffic.
Comment by AnonW | September 5, 2022 |
The DfT promised us an update on the prospects for the project both in Spring 2021 and earlier this year. Neither the selection of a partner nor an update to the intended pipeline of rail projects has been forthcoming.
It has now been more than 1,100 days since the publication of the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP), which the Department for Transport (DfT) promised to update annually.
As much as SAtH is a no-brainer I’m not going to hold my breath.
Comment by fammorris | September 5, 2022 |
Hello I was going to travel from Stratford to Richmond but when I got to the station I found the service ceased the week before .It would have been a better for us ,we had a Pram.
Comment by Alan | September 13, 2022 |