Battersea Power Station From The South
I took these pictures of Battersea Power Station, as I walked back to Battersea Power Station station.
It seems to be coming on!
But will it all end it tears? It’s already bankrupted a couple of companies to get this far!
The Swimming Pool In The Sky
This must be the most unusual swimming pool in London.
Not for me though, as I can’t swim!
It is just to the South of the United States Embassy.
From Nine Elms Station To The United States Embassy
From Nine Elms station, I walked to the United States Embassy through Arch 42 under the railway, taking these pictures on the way.
The route is as follows.
- Walk down the West side of the station.
- Continue through the coloured hoardings to wards the railway.
- Arch 42 is opposite the end of the walkway.
- Continue through Arch 42.
- The United States Embassy is a short walk from the other side of Arch 42.
It only took me a few minutes.
Nine Elms Station Opens
I took these pictures at Nine Elms station today, after it opened.
Note.
- The space is generous on the wide island platform.
- Access between platform and train is level.
- There is a set of three escalators and a lift connecting the platform to the surface.
The underground parts of the station feel very much like Canary Wharf station without the platform edge doors and fewer escalators.
Why Aren’t There Platform Edge Doors?
I was chatting to someone and they wondered how the station and Battersea Power Station station had been built without platform edge doors.
- The thought had occurred to me too and we both thought that EU regulations meant that new underground platforms had to have these doors.
- As the 1995 Stock on the Northern Line are very similar to the 1996 Stock on the Jubilee Line, it is unlikely to be a technical or design issue.
- I also think it would be unlikely to be a cost issue given the size of the budget for the two stations.
Look at this picture of a train in Nine Elms station.
Note.
- The platform is long and straight.
- The platform is generally wider than some of London’s older Underground platforms.
- The track is arranged, so that the door openings and carriage floors line up with the platform edge, so that wheelchair users, bugger pushers and case draggers can go safely across.
- There is only a small gap between the train side and the platform edge, between the doors on the train, which is probably too small for anybody capable of walking can fall through.
- There is no Mind The Gap written on the platform. There is just a yellow line.
- There are no obstructions on the platform.
This second picture shows the structure of the track.
Note.
- The four rail electrification system is clearly visible.
- The far rail is energised at +420 VDC.
- The centre rail is energised at -210 VDC.
- The two running rails don’t carry any current.
- There is a suicide pit between the running rails and under the centre rail to protect anybody or anything falling onto the tracks.
I do wonder if Transport for London have done an analysis and found that the number of serious accidents on stations with these characteristics is small enough, to build these two new stations without the doors.
Other factors could include.
- Stadler are the masters of step-free access and have built several innovative fleets of trains for safe step-free access without platform edge doors. Although they have nothing to do with this project, their statistics would be relevant.
- The UK has left the EU, so we’re ignoring the regulation.
- The Northern Line might get new trains.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see this philosophy of straight uncluttered platforms being applied across the Underground.
This picture shows the Southbound platform at Angel station.
Note.
- This platform was built in the early 1990s.
- It is wide and uncluttered.
Note that the trains were introduced after the station was opened, so that is perhaps, why the train floors are higher.
Battersea Power Station Station Opens
I took these pictures at Battersea Power Station station today, after it opened.
Note.
- Access between platform and train is level.
- There are a pair of up and down escalators between the platforms and the ticket hall level at both ends of the station.
- Three more escalators take you to and from the surface.
- There are lifts at both ends of the platforms.
- The tracks appear to have been laid with slab track.
Two things surprised me.
The first was the number of escalators and lifts, make me suspect, that the station has been designed as a high capacity station.
There is also probably space to put another set of three escalators pointing the other way, at the other end of the intermediate level, away from the current set of three escalators, that lead to the surface.
The position of the station on Battersea Park Road. I had got the impression, it would be nearer the power station and the river. another set of escalators would explain my confusion.
This Google Map shows the wider Battersea site.
Note.
- This map is certainly a few months or even years old.
- Battersea Power Station is in the top-left corner of the map.
- There is a grey arrow, which is labelled Battersea Power Station Underground pointing to a site on the North side of Battersea Park Road.
- There are also two more grey arrows, which are labelled Battersea Power Station. Are these future entrances?
- Between the three arrows, is the massive station box, which in this image, hasn’t received its roof.
It looks to me, that what I saw, will be just a small fraction of the completed station.
Moorgate To Battersea Power Station With A Change At Kennington
These pictures tell the story of my journey from Moorgate station to Battersea Power Station station, with a change at Kennington station.
Note.
A Memory Of Jimmy Greaves
I have many memories of seeing Greaves play, but i some ways one memory stands out, as I’ve never seen anybody else do anything similar.
As a game was approaching ninety minutes, Greaves was preparing to take an inswinging corner from the right, as he often did in his latter years at Tottenham.
But the referee blew for time.
Greaves then picked up the ball and bounced it in front of himself. He then kicked it in to the middle, hit the penalty spot and as he’d applied so much spin, the ball rolled into the goal.
I have never seen another player, who controlled the ball as well as Greaves.
No Trains To And From Battersea Power Station Station Yet!
Looking at the trains through Goodge Street station at 06:25 and they’re all turning at Kennington station.
It could just be the information as the BBC has said trains are running!
Will Some Word Processing Software Object To Someone Typing Battersea Power Station Station?
It is quite likely, that someone will need to type “Battersea Power Station Station” into a document.
I’ve just tried to type it into Word and it objects!
When Does The First Train Run To Battersea Power Station Tomorrow?
This paragraph from Wikipedia describes the opening of the Victoria Line.
The line opened from Walthamstow Central to Highbury & Islington on 1 September 1968. There was no opening ceremony; instead the normal timetable started. The first train left Walthamstow Central for Highbury & Islington at 7:32 a.m. The line proved to be popular; more than 1,000 tickets were purchased at Highbury & Islington within its first hour of opening.
When I went to the opening of Whitechapel station in August, it was very much a low-key opening that had been flagged-up on the Internet. I wrote about it in Whitechapel Station – 23rd August 2021. The only thing out of the ordinary was extra staff and cups of teas and biscuits, that could be purchased.
Surely, that is the way to do it! No fuss! No long boring political speeches and no keeping the plebs out of the way of the Great and Good!
Everybody just gets on with using the station or the line.
But I can’t find any information on what is happening tomorrow about the opening of the Northern Line Extension to Battery Power Station station.
Does this mean that there’s a big do with all the Great and Good?
As with the Victoria Line in 1968, there must be people who want to use the new extension.
The Anonymous Widower 