The Price Of Freedom
I had a tidy up this morning and found a lot of orange rail tickets.
Orange Rail Tickets
These tickets are some Singles, but mainly Returns to places on the fringes of London.
- Aylesbbury Vale Parkway £9.65 ReturnBedford £12.00 Single
- Cambridge £10.25 Single
- Dorking £3.25 Return
- Gerrards Cross £4.05 Single
- Gillingham £6.25 Return
- Henley-on-Thames £6.85 Return
- Leatherhead £2.65 Return
- Maidstone £7.20 Return
- Marlow £5.70 Return
- Milton Keynes 12.60 Return
- Oxford £11.90 Return
- Oxted £2.80 Return
- Rochester £5.55 Single
- Seaford £14.15 Return
- Slough £2.85 Return
- Swanley £2.45 Return
- Tilbury £2.45 Single
- Uckfield £8.85 Return
- Windsor and Eton Riverside £5.20 Single
- Working £5.15 Return
Some of these journeys may seem better value than you can get.
But then as I live in London and have a Freedom Pass, which gives me free travel to the Zone 6 Boundary of London’s travel system, so I’m buying a ticket from that boundary to my destination, which I then buy with a discount, as I have a Senior Railcard.
I also live close to Dalston Junction station, which is one of an increasing number of stations, where you can purchase a ticket from the Zone 6 boundary to a large number of stations, in a ring around London, in a ticket machine without resource to either the Internet or a Ticket Office.
What would be better, would be able to associate a bank card with my Freedom Pass and Senior Railcard. So if I used the bank card as a ticket, like millions do across London every day, it would deduct the cost of my travel to the Zone 6 boundary, that I get free with my Freedom Pass, and then charge me accordingly.
An Estate Agent, who I meet on the street by my house and with whom I often have a quick chat, believes that inward migration of older people into London is driven by the following factors.
- Availability of quality housing, that is comparable in price to a large residence in a good location in the countryside.
- Free public transport for most over sixty-five. Even if you weren’t born in the UK
- Lots of free museums and galleries.
- Lots of paid for events, culture and attractions.
- World-class free healthcare.
- The ability to live without a car.
The last time we met, he told me how he’d just sold a French couple a quality two-bedroom house round the corner to help get round some of France’s tax and inheritance rules.
Who’d have thought that London would be a place where people retire?
But then since about 2000, my late wife, C and myself had planned to sell-up in Suffolk at some time and move to somewhere like Hampstead.
Sadly, she didn’t make it, so I came by myself to the more edgy and plebian Hackney.
But I don’t regret the change of location one iota.
Where will I explore today?
The Old Rochester Station
The old Rochester station closed a few months ago.
But you can still see it from the train, as it goes through.
A station man at Gillingham station told me, that the platforms at the old station are sometimes used to turn trains back to London.
When the site is fully cleared, there would probably be some space for sidings to store and reverse trains.
Chatham Station
Chatham station is one of the stations, that could be important to a proposed South London Outer Orbital .
The proposal says that two trains per hour (tph) could go to the Medway Towns.
These are pictures I took of the station, as I passed through.
As I said in Gillingham Station, up to nine trains per hour (tph), could call at all three Medway towns of Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham, so all Chatham station needs to be is a quality two-platform station able to handle twelve-car trains every six or so minutes.
I’m certain Chatham station is up to that!
Gillingham Station
Gillingham station is one of the stations, that could be important to a proposed South London Outer Orbital .
The proposal says that two trains per hour (tph) could go to the Medway Towns. As Gillingham has a new station building and a bay platform 1, which is capable of taking twelve-car trains, it must be a possible terminus.
These are pictures I took of the station, as I passed through.
This Google Map shows Gillingham station.
Gillingham Station
Gillingham would certainly do as a terminal of the South London Orbital Route.
In fact there is tremendous scope for an efficient turning of trains for both the South London Orbital Route and Crossrail in the Medway Towns.
Currently London-bound trains from Gillingham go to the following stations.
- 2tph to London St Pancras via Chatham and Ebbsfleet International
- 3tph to London Victoria via Chatham and Bromley South (1tph calling at Denmark Hill)
- 2tph to London Charing Cross via Dartford and Woolwich Arsenal
I’m not sure, but most trains seem to stop at all three of Gillingham, Chatham and Rochester.The 2 tph from Charing Cross also return to London after terminating in the Bay Platform 1.
If the South London Orbital Route adds two tph to Gillingham from Swanley and Bromley South, then I suspect that the Bay Platform 1 could easily accommodate the current service and the South London Orbital Route.
That would give Gillingham, Chatham and Rochester, their own local 9 tph shuttle. Other places will get jealous.
Abbey Wood Station – 9th June 2016
I took these pictures at Abbey Wood station.
If you look at the various pictures I have taken over the past months of this station, the station is progressing and the builders seem to be managing to always have a working station amongst all the construction work.
Certain factors have helped in this important aim.
- The previous station was unloved by everyone and had absolutely no architectural merit.
- There are no heritage issues.
- Good design of a temporary step-free pedestrian bridge, that appears to be morphing into a permanent one, has aided passengers.
- There always seems to be cheery staff on hand for lost and puzzled passengers.
- Traffic is heavy in the area, but not unmanageably so.
But I think most importantly, the Crossrail portal is some distance away from the station, keeping the two projects effectively separate.
Compared to some station rebuilds, I’ve encountered in the past, so far it has been a textbook example of good project management.
Rochester Station
Rochester station is one of the stations, that could be important to a proposed South London Outer Orbital .
The proposal says that two trains per hour (tph) could go to the Medway Towns. As Rochester has a new station with a bay platform 3, which is capable of taking twelve-car trains, it must be a possible terminus.
These are pictures I took of the station, as I passed through.
The Huguenot Museum above the Tourist Office opposite the station is worth a visit. There is a proper cafe downstairs, where you can eat in the garden.
It does need a light-controlled crossing to aid people in crossing the road.
Crossrail has a safeguarded route to Gravesend. Wikipedia says this.
The route to Gravesend has been safeguarded by the Department for Transport, although it was made clear that as at February 2008 there was no plan to extend Crossrail beyond the then-current scheme. The following stations are on the protected route extension to Gravesend: Belvedere, Erith, Slade Green, Dartford, Stone Crossing, Greenhithe for Bluewater, Swanscombe, Northfleet, and Gravesend.
There two major major problems with this.
- The Crossrail proposal doesn’t call at Ebbsfleet International station.
- Gravesend station is very cramped and it would need major rebuilding to accommodate Crossrail.
As I showed in Crossrail Extension To Gravesend, connecting services on the North Kent Line to Ebbsfleet International station wouldn’t be the most difficult of jobs and could involve a some new track or a rebuilt Northfleet station and perhaps a travelator connection.
This Google Map shows the lines in the Ebbsfleet International area.
Lines Around Ebbsfleet
The North Kent Line starts in the top left at Swanscombe station, crosses over the lines into Ebbsfleet International. It then goes through Northfleet station, before going off in a South-Easterly direction to Gravesend.
These pictures were taken from a train going towards London on the North Kent Line.
I’m certain, that an acceptable and affordable solution can be made to connect Crossrail to Continental services.
If Crossrail were to terminate in Platform 3 at Rochester station, it would only need the intermediate stations to be capable of taking twelve-car Class 345 trains. These have already been designed for running on third-rail lines.
When it comes to linking to the South London Orbital, which will probably mean that there are 4 tph between Rochester and Swanley stations, it would probably mean that Crossrail would need to run with a similar frequency to Abbey Wood.
At present Rochester has services to and from Charing Cross, which go via Abbey Wood and Woolwich Arsenal. The question has to be asked if as Crossrail serves the same stations and then goes across Central London, if this service should be configured differently. As the service goes between Gillingham and Charing Cross stopping at all stations, it might even be possible to cut out the service completely, if Crossrail stopped at all stations to Abbey Wood and fast services stopped at all stations in the Medway Towns, as they seem to do now!
But then the commuters would object and try to keep the existing unnecessary service. Gillingham for example would have.
- 2 tph to St. Pancras
- 3 tph to Victoria
- 2 tph to Swanley and Woking
Crossrail could even be extended to Gillingham.
There are an awful lot of ways to organise the train services.
By the way, can anybody tell me what is the point of Charing Cross station?
From Victoria To Bromley South
I took this sequence of pictures to show the route of trains from Victoria down the Chatham Main Line to the first important station of Bromley South.
The route goes past or through these stations.
- Wandsworth Road
- Clapham High Street
- Brixton
- Herne Hill
- West Dulwich
- Sydenham Hill
- Penge East
- Kent House
- Beckenham Junction
- Shortlands
- Bromley South
The Brixton Tunnel proposed by the Centre for London report called Turning South London Orange, would start in the Battersea area and emerge before West Dulwich station.
This journey illustrates one of the benefits of the Brixton Tunnel.
Fast trains from Victoria to Bromley South and on to Kent down the Chatham Main Line, would have their own private express tunnel to keep them clear of all the lines through Battersea, Wandsworth, Clapham, Brixton and Herne Hill.
Note.
- Kent services will probably be a few minutes faster.
- There will be capacity for more trains between Victoria and Kent.
- Thameslink and other services that cross the Chatham Main Line will not have to wait for the fast trains to go through.
- There would appear to be plenty of space for a tunnel portal at Battersea on railway land.
- After West Dulwich station, the trains will run as now.
It will also have major positive affects on the lines across South London.
Swanley Station
Swanley station is where the two Eastern branches of the proposed South London Outer Orbital, join together.
This Google Map shows the station.
Swanley Station
Note how the lines divide at the East of the station.
- The Northern line is the Chatham Main Line to the Medway Towns.
- The Southern line is the Maidstone East Line, to Maidstone East station, with the Sevenoaks Line branching off.
Under the South London Orbital proposals, both branches would get two trains per hour (tph)
This would make services from Swanley towards London at least.
- 3 tph to Victoria via Bromley South
- 4 tph to Working across South London via Bromley South, West Croydon and Sutton.
- 2 tph to Thameslink via Catford.
These are pictures I took of the station as I passed through.
Note that the pictures were taken on two days.
If Swanley station has one problem, it is that it doesn’t have a direct rail connection to Ebbsfleet International station. You have to change at Rochester.
This Google Map shows the area.
Swanley Station To Ebbsfleet International Station
Swanley station is in the South-West cornet of the map and Ebbsfleet is in the North-East.
I think a direct connection will be more important than most people think.
In ten or twenty years or so.
- Crossrail will have been extended to Gravesend and will call at Ebbsfleet International.
- More and more people will be travelling to Europe by train.
- Saint Pancras International will be full to capacity.
- Some Continental trains will terminate at Ebbsfleet International and/or Stratford International.
A direct link along the M25 would tie everything together.
Maidstone East Station
Maidstone East station is one of the two Eastern terminal stations on a proposed South London Outer Orbital
These are pictures I took of the station as I passed through.
This Google Map shows the station layout.
Maidstone East Station
It’s certainly a station, with a lot of land wasted for car parking.
Unlike the new Rochester station, which I wrote about in Rochester’s New Station, it is still very much as it has been for years. However development is promised.
At least the station is well connected according to Services in Wikipedia.
Under the South London Orbital plans, it would get two trains per hour (tph) to Swanley, Bromley South and across to Woking to go with the current 2 tph services to Victoria and Thameslink in the Peak.
So the South London Orbital would give at least 4 tph or a turn-up-and-go service to Swanley and Bromley South.
I think that whatever happens at Maidstone East station, in ten years time, the station will have been transformed in terms of buildings, facilities and train services.
I have just run Google Maps over the route between Maidstone East and the next major station towards London; Swanley. Although only two tracks with eight stations in between, it looks the sort of line, where some speed improvement would be possible.
Bromley South Station
Bromley South station is one of the stations on a proposed South London Outer Orbital
These are pictures I took of the station, as I passed through.
It is a typical South London station, that is step-free with reasonable facilities.
It is well-placed for Bromley town centre and offers a fair range of train services.
The Anonymous Widower 