A Small Setback For Heathrow
Today, the Government will decide on their preferred option for another runway in the South-East.
So what happens on the M4 today? It has been blocked by a fuel-spillage.
Will all the cabinet members get to the meeting?
Chiltern Are Being Very Serious
This article in the Oxford Mail is entitled Train timetable released for new Oxford to London Marylebone route.
This is said.
The new timetable shows services running every 30 minutes, starting at 6.02am from Oxford and returning at 23.10pm.
The line will open on Monday, December 12.
That is certainly a passenger magnet of a timetable.
Looking at the timetable of both Chiltern and Great Western,
- Both services run at least two trains per hour (tph) all day.
- Both services run fairly late in the evening.
- Great Western has the fastest trains, with some doing the journey in under an hour.
It will certainly be interesting to see how these two heavyweights slug it out.
But this is only Round 1One.
Consider.
- In December 2018, Crossrail services between Paddington and Abbey Wood, via Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf start.
- In May 2019, Crossrail services between Paddington and Shenfield start.
- In December 2019, full Crossrail services start.
- The East West Rail Link will open.
- Oxford to Didcot should be electrified, allowing electric trains to Oxford.
These developments may appear to favour Great Western services over Chiltern, but I doubt that Chiltern will sit back and do nothing.
So what will Chiltern do?
Consider.
- Will the Marylebone to Oxford route be improved to allow services to run faster and more frequent services? There are certainly some possible plans for this on Wikipedia.
- Will the West Hampstead Interchange be created?
- I doubt that it would be easy to shoehorn more services between High Wycombe and Marylebone, so this route will probably be limited to 2 tph.
- The Oxford to Marylebone trains will go to Class 68 locomotives and rakes of Mark 3 coaches, as Chiltern use to Birmingham at the present time.
- Greater Anglia could be releasing some high-quality Mark 3 coaches in 2019-2020.
- There has been speculation that Chiltern could open a second London terminus at Old Oak Common for Crossrail. I wrote about it in Will Chiltern Railways Get A Second London Terminus At Old Oak Common?.
- Will electrification come to the Chiltern Line? Or at least enough to run modern bi-mode or battery-electreic trains.
- The Guardian says that Bicester Village is one of the top tourist destinations in the UK.
What is needed is a comprehensive plan for Chiltern’s future.
I can’t believe that they’re not working on one!
It could include the following.
- Line improvements to reduce journey times between Marylebone and Oxford.
- Improvements to allow the longest possible locomotive-hauled sets to run the route.
- Development of West Hampstead Interchange.
- Creation of a second terminus at Old Oak Common.
One or both of the last two options will have to be implemented, due to the lack of capacity at Marylebone and that station’s bad connectivity.
But what would I do?
The Southern end of the Chiltern Main Line needs better connectivity and the best way to do this would be to link it to Crossrail.
When Crossrail opens to Paddington in December 2018, the direct link I wrote about in Paddington Is Operational Again, will enable passengers taking the Bakerloo Line from Marylebone to change easily to Crossrail.
Together with line improvements and longer trains, this should handle the traffic for a few years.
It is interesting to look at a few journey times.
- Chiltern has trains scheduled between Marylebone and High Wycombe in around 24-28 minutes.
- Crossrail services from Paddington will take 27 minutes to Sloughbold step of creating a Crossrail .
- Crossrail services from Paddington will take 45 minutes to Reading.
I would take the bold step of creating a Crossrail branch to High Wycombe.
- High Wycombe would receive 4 tph from Crossrail.
- There could be cross-platform interchange between Crossrail and Chiltern services to Oxford and Birmingham.
- The Acton-Northolt Line would be double-tracked and electrified to connect Crossrail at Old Oak Common to the Chiltern Main Line at Northolt Junction.
- The Chiltern Main line would be electrified from Northolt Junction to High Wycombe.
- Chiltern’s Oxford and Birmingham services could use Class 88 electro-diesel locomotives, to take advantage of the limited electrification.
- Extra services could run from High Wycombe to Oxford and Birmingham, if traffic required more capacity.
Except for the electrification and some track layout changes, there is no substantial investment required in new lines and stations.
If this approach is taken, there will probably be eough eletrification on the Chiltern routes to use Aventra trains with an IPEMU-capability to provide the services out of Marylebone.
Did The Project Management Go Wrong On The Holloway Road Bridge?
It was originally planned that the bridge decking where Holloway Road crosses the Gospel Oak to Barking Line (GOBlin) at Upper Holloway station would be replaced over Christmas this year.
But plans were obviously changed.
This article in the Islington Gazette is entitled Holloway Road closures: Islington Council threatens to sue TfL over ‘last-minute’ plans.
This is said.
TfL says work to transfer underground pipes and cables from the old bridge to another specially-made bridge has proved problematic because of their “complex layout, poor condition and a leaking water main”.
But Cllr Webbe was having none of it. She said: “This section of Holloway Road will be closed in at least one direction for nearly three months, including over half term, Christmas and New Year.
It looks like the water main is the problem and perhaps this didn’t show up until they started to move everything.
But whatever the problem was, it looks to me like there has been a cock-up by someone.
Was it the surveyor, who looked at the moving of the cables and the water main and didn’t quantify the task properly?
Surely though, the big problem now is that if this bridge problem delays the rebuilding of the trac for the GOBlink, which is needed for the electrification.
It’s a mess!
I took these pictures of the area today.
I walked down from Archway station and then caught a free bus to Holloway Road. At least TfL had got the buses right.
But except for Junction Road from Archway to Kentish Town, which was blocked solid, the traffic levels were very low.
Ducking And Diving Between Crossrail And The Central Line
There are stations that Crossrail and the Central Line have in common.
Ealing Broadway
Ealing Broadway station is one of the Western termini of the Central Line.
But is isn’t particularly well arranged to allow a fast interchange.
The change between an Eastbound Crossrail train and the Central Line is easy and is just a walk across of a few metres.
However, changing between a Westbound train and the Central Line involves a trip over a bridge.
Bond Street
Bond Street station links both lines to the Jubilee Line.
The change between Crossrail and the Jubilee Line looks to be easy, provided you are at the Western end of a Crossrail train.
The change between Crossrail and the Central Line, also has the Western end advice and also needs a lengththy walk underground.
A Look At Bond Street Station gives more details, of the various connections.
I do think that regular users of the new Bond Street station, with its three lines and multiple entrances spread over a wide area, will quickly learn that they will need to get off at the right end of a train and use the correct entrance.
This map from Westminster Council shows the station entrances.
Bond Street Station Entrances
The station entrances are as follows.
- A – Northern Underground entrance.
- B – Davies Street Crossrail entrance
- C – Hanover Square Crossrail entrance.
A few thoughts.
- As it looks like Hanover Square will be returned to its original state, it would appear that the Hanover Square entrance to Bond Street station, will be an entrance with a garden.
- Fenwicks, Hamleys, John Lewis and Libertys, which are in a ring around Hanover Square will probably be best reached using the Hanover Square entrance.
- Walking between Oxford Street station and the Hanover Square entrance isn’t too taxing, but it could be improved by wider pavements and more pedestrianisation.
The biggest change at the Eastern end will occur, when and if TfL decide to make Oxford Street station step-free.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the various lines from Bond Street to Tottenham Court Road.
Bond Street, Oxford Street And Tottenham Court Road Stations
It would appear that the Bakerloo Line goes under Regent Street with the Central Line under Oxford Street.
Consider.
- Could it be possible to dig a new entrance, with lifts and escalators down to the deep level lines from the South West corner of Oxford Circus?
- It it was feasible, it might even be possible to build the entrance, without disturbing the current station.
- The entrance would be a short walk to Hanover Square.
- Crossrail would gain the missing link to the Victoria Line.
The solution will depend heavily on the development in the area.
Tottenham Court Road
A lot of what is said for Bond Street, can also be said for Tottenham Court Road station..
- It is a double-ended station, with lots of entrances.
- It connects Crossrail and the Central Line to an important North-South line; the Charing Cross Branch of the Northern Line.
- It will bring hoards of shoppers to a hopefully pedestrianised Oxford Street.
I said more in The Double-Ended Tottenham Court Road Crossrail Station.
I’m not sure how difficult the interchange will be between the Crossrail and the Central Line will be at Tottenham Court Road, but I suspect that the unknowledgeable traveller, at the wrong end of a Crossrail train, might have a long walk.
Certainly, travellers changing to the Northern Line at Tottenham Court Road, will probably find they need to be at the Eastern end of the Crossrail train.
Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations share a massive Crossrail station, that I wrote about in Liverpool Street Station Disentagled.
When travelling on Crossrail and changing at this station, you’ll need the Western end of the train for.
- Moorgate Main Line Trains, which will become the Great Northern Metro.
- Northern Line
And the Eastern end for.
- Central Line
- Liverpool Street Main Line Trains
It would appear, that Circle, District and Metropolitan Lines will be easily accessible from both ends of the Crossrail train.
Get it wrong and you could have an unexpected two hundred metre walk.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the layout of lines at Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations.
Lines At Moorgate And Liverpool Street Stations
So many journeys from the complex will now be a lot easier.
- Liverpool Street to Canary Wharf
- Liverpool Street to Heathrow
- Liverpool Street to North London and South Hertfordshire
- Liverpool Street to South and South-East ~London.
Liverpool Street is going to be a very busy Crossrail station.
Stratford
Stratford station is a cross-plstform interchange of the highest quality between the Central Line and Crossrail.
I’m certain that passengers travelling from the East to stations like Holborn, Oxford Circus, Marble Arch and Shepherds Bush, will think about changing at Stratford from Crossrail, rather than at later stations.
The journey might be more convenient and you might get a seat.
Journey Times
But the factor that will decide, where a Crossrail passenger will get the Central Line or vice-versa will probably be decided by journey time.
Looking at a journeys, the following times are predicted by the various planning tools.
- Ealing Broadway to Stratford – Central Line – 46 minutes – Crossrail – 26 minutes
- Bond Street to Stratford – Central Line – 20 minutes – Crossrail – 15 minutes
- Ealing Broadway to Bond Street – Central Line – 23 minutes – Crossrail – 11 minutes
So it looks like Crossrail will be significantly quicker.
Conclusions
I think that Londoners will do what always do and duck and dive across London, finding the best route for their particular journey.
The ones who will have problems will be the irregular passengers, who don’t know the station layouts.
For this reason, TfL need to get the information on Crossrail to a much higher standard than today.
One thing on their side will be that Crossrail trains will be wi-fi and 4G enabled.
A Look At Bond Street Station
Bond Street station is double-ended.
This visualisation shows the knitting that connects it to the current Bond Street station.
Note.
- The station has two entrances; Davies Street and Hanover Square.
- The length of the Crossrail platforms.
- It looks like the Western interchange between Crossrail and Jubilee Line is easy.
- It could be quite a walk between Crossrail and the Central Line at Davies Street.
- If you’re a strong walker, some will use the Hanover Square entrance to access the Central and Victoria Lines.
On this quick look, I have a feeling that at Bond Street station, it will pay to know your entrances and make sure you’re at the right place on the train.
The Double-Ended Tottenham Court Road Crossrail Station
Tottenham Court Road station is being expanded for Crossrail.
I took these pictures as I walked along Oxford Street from Centrepoint to the new station entrance at Dean Street.
Note.
- The two new triangular glass entrances in front of Centrepoint.
- The new entrance on the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, that I wrote about inThe Shape Of Things To Come.
- The Dean Street entrance to Tottenham Court Road station surrounded by pink hoardings.
This visualisation shows the layout of the station.
Tottenham Court Road Station
Note.
It is shown from the South, with Centrepoint on the right.
I’ll only know when the station opens, but I do get the impression, that a lot of the walking routes between lines are step-free, unlike Oxford Circus station.
Where the Central and Northern Lines are shown, they are in appropriate colours and the thicker sections are the stations.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the arrangement of the lines between Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations.
Bond Street, Oxford Street And Tottenham Court Road Stations
I Hope it makes everything clearer.
Heathrow Bid To Duck ‘£40m’ Crossrail Bill
This is the title of a small article in the Business section of today’s Sunday Times
Heathrow is annoyed that the Office of Rail and Road rejected their plan to charge every train that uses the line to the Airport, £597, with a maintenance charge of £138,
So they are going for a judicial review.
This is the last sentence of the article.
It (Heathrow) argues that it is unfair to make air passengers – who may never use Crossrail – subsidise the new line.
Consider.
- If passengers use Crossrail, this will mean they won’t have to pay the high prices on the expensive Heathrow Express, which only takes you to the inaccessible-for-many Paddington.
- Crossrail will be the route of choice of many passengers to and from Heathrow. As an example, three out of four of my closest stations will be a single change via Crossrail to Heathrow.
- When Crossrail opens, I suspect only unknowing and the rich will use Heathrow Express.
- Did Crossrail pay for the new Stockley Viaduct, which will increase capacity on the route to Heathrow?
- Many passengers, who have Freedom Passes (As I do!), won’t put Heathrow on their list of London Airports, unless they get free travel to the Airport on Crossrail. Boris promised it!
- Will passengers be able to use contactless ticketing to Heathrow Airport, as they can to Gatwick?
With the decision on the next South East runway to be made this week, Heathrow seems to be reinforcing the view that many hold of the Airport – It operates in a selfish culture, that is more about profits, than passengers, the Airport’s many neighbours and the environment.
Meet Coventry’s Battery Boffin Taking On Tesla
This is the title on an article in the Business section of The Sunday Times.
Read it, but if you can’t here’s a quick summary.
- Professor David Greenwood at the Warwick Manufacturing Group is developing a battery for Jaguar and Land Rover.
- Plans are afoot to build a massive battery factory in Coventry.
- Greenwood and his team are working to give the Nissan Leaf more range and a more affordable battery.
I don’t believe that the team in Coventry are the only group in the world with similar aims.
Note that in How Big Would The Batteries Need To Be On A Train For Regenerative Braking?, I reckoned that one battery from a Nissan Leaf could handle the regenerative braking energy of a four-car Class 710 train, running between Gospel Oak and Barking.
We are approaching the era of battery transportation at a fast pace.
The Anonymous Widower 