Did Plans For Crossrail Ever Include A Station At Holborn?
I have only one North-South bus route, where I live.
The 141 bus connects Palmers Green and London Bridge station.
- The 141 bus was the replacement for the 641 trolley bus, which was the main link between Wood Green, Turnpike Lane and Harringay, and the City of London, when I was a child.
- The vehicles are up to ten years old Wrightbus diesel hybrids.
- The route suffers badly from overcrowding as it connects, Bank and Moorgate stations in the City of London, with the outer reaches of the Piccadilly Line.
The overcrowding on the 141 bus route has got worse in the last couple of years because of the following.
- The rebuilding of London Bridge station brought more passengers to the 141 bus route.
- The opening of the new London Bridge bus station at London Bridge station has improved access to the buses at London Bridge station.
- The improvement of the connection of the buses to the Docklands Light Railway, Central Line and Northern Line at Bank station.
- The opening of the Battersea branch of the Northern Line, which brings more passengers to Bank station.
- The opening of the new Cannon Street entrance to Bank Underground station.
- The opening of the Elizabeth Line through Moorgate station.
- Recently, a new walking route between Moorgate and Liverpool Street was opened, which will bring more passengers to the buses on Moorgate.
- The rebuilding of Old Street station brought more passengers to the 141 bus route.
So what was the response of the Mayor and Transport for London, to all this increase of passenger numbers?
The 21 bus, which shadowed the 141 route, and doubled the number of buses through where I live, was moved to serve Holloway.
It was a big crime against mathematics and the wishes of our long-serving Labour MP; Meg Hillier.
So to handle many more passengers between London Bridge station and Newington Green through the City of London, the number of buses was halved.
I believe that the overcrowding will get worse because of the improvements, that Transport for London have planned.
- The Piccadilly Line will be getting new air-conditioned trains within a couple of years and these will inevitably attract more passengers to the line.
- On the other hand the air-conditioning may persuade passengers to use the Piccadilly Line more than they do now. Instead of changing to the 141 bus at Manor House station, passengers could change at Finsbury Park, King’s Cross St. Pancras or Holborn stations for other routes to the City of London.
- The third line to receive the new air-conditioned trains will probably be the Central Line, which would create another East-West air-conditioned line and bring more passengers to Bank station.
- The Central Line could give some relief for the buses through Bank, if an extra station was built on the Central Line to interchange with Shoreditch High Street station on the East London Line of the London Overground.
- The fourth line to receive the new air-conditioned trains will probably be the Waterloo and City Line, which would create another air-conditioned line and bring more passengers to Bank station.
- It is likely, that more services will be added to the Elizabeth Line, which will bring more passengers to Moorgate station.
- It is likely, that more services will be added to the Northern City Line, which will bring more passengers to Moorgate station.
- The Mayor is also planning to pedestrianise Oxford Street, which may fill up the Central Line with extra passengers.
It looks to me, that there will be a need for a large increase of bus capacity through the City of London on a North-South axis.
On the other hand, the City of London have stated that they will pedestrianise many of their streets.
So what can be done to avoid gridlock in the City of London?
Develop The Northern City Line At Moorgate
I use this route regularly to and from Moorgate station.
- It already has new Class 717 air-conditioned trains.
- The route is already digitally signalled in conjunction with the East Coast Digital Programme.
- It has two platforms at Moorgate station.
- Highbury & Islington station has interchanges with the Victoria Line and the North and East London Lines of the London Overground.
- Finsbury Park station has interchanges with the Victoria Line and National Rail services.
- Bowes Park station has an out of station interchange with Bounds Green station on the Piccadilly Line.
- Step-free access needs improving.
- The Victorians had plans to extend the line to Lothbury near Bank station.
If the Northern City Line could handle more passengers, would passengers get to all parts of the City of London by changing at Finsbury Park and walking from Moorgate or Old Street stations?
I regularly go between my house and Moorgate, by taking a bus to Essex Road station and using the Northern City Line.
I believe that with improvements on the Northern City Line, the line could be turned into a very valuable part of London’s rail infrastructure.
Connect The Central Line And The East London Line At Shoreditch High Street Station
I wrote about this proposal in Will Shoreditch High Street Be Connected To The Central Line?
The Elizabeth Line needed to be completed before this could be started.
Build The Western Extension Of The Docklands Light Railway
I wrote about this proposal in The Bank Station Upgrade And The Western Extension Of The DLR.
Rebuild Holborn Station
The interchange between Piccadilly and Central Line at Holborn station is difficult to say the least.
Holborn station is being extended with a new entrance. As with Euston, I suspect it has been designed with a feasible place for DLR platforms to be added.
This document on the TfL web site, gives more details of what is proposed at Holborn station.
I extracted this visualisation of the proposed station.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines in the through and around the station.
.Note, the Elizabeth Line, which is shown by dotted lines passes to the North of the station.
Conclusion
Not all these improvements need to be done, but each would improve transport in the City of London.
Nicholas Lane – 1st May 2023
Nicholas Lane is a lane in the City of London, that runs between Cannon Street in the South and Lombard Street in the North.
This Google Map shows the lane.
Note.
- Nicholas Lane tuns diagonally across King William Street.
- Cannon Street can be seen in the South-West corner of the map.
- The new entrance to Bank station is on Cannon Street.
- Nicholas Lane runs up the side of the new station entrance.
- There are two bus stops for the 21, 43 and 141 buses on King William Street.
The bus stops are within easy walking distance of the new station entrance, if you walk along the Southern section of Nicholas Lane.
These pictures show Nicholas Lane and King William Street.
Note.
- I suspect some coffee shops or a fast food joint will appear at the King William Street end of Nicholas Lane.
- The windows on the corner could be ready to be a shop.
- In Bank Station Upgrade – 6th January 2023, I described the eight storey building, that will sit on top of the station entrance.
The lane could also a preferred route for many, who are changing at Bank station to or from the buses.
Moorgate To Charlton Via Cannon Street
I needed to go to Charlton station this morning to take a couple of photographs for a possible blog post.
- I had had my usual breakfast in LEON on Moorgate, so I started from Moorgate station.
- I took the Northern Line one stop to Bank station.
- It was then straight up the double escalators.
- I followed this by a brisk walk along Cannon Street.
The total time between entering Moorgate station and sitting on my train at Cannon Street station was about ten minutes.
One of London’s more difficult stations to access now has a North-South Underground line, to go with its East-West line.
Is The Nightmare On The Buses Going To Get Worse?
This morning after photographing the finish of the Bank Station Upgrade, I walked down the side of the new Cannon Street entrance to catch a 141 bus from King William Street to my home.
Note.
- There are two bus stops for the 21, 43 and 141 buses on King William Street; one Northbound and one Southbound.
- The bus stops are a two minute level walk from the gate-line at the Cannon Street entrance.
- To go between the gate-line and the Northbound stop requires no crossing of any road, but the route to the Southbound stop requires the use of a light-controlled crossing.
- The Cannon Street entrance is step-free and only a short walk, between the street and the platforms of the Docklands Light Railway and the Northern Line.
- The access to the Central Line is also easy, but a longer walk.
This afternoon, I walked the other way from the Southbound bus stop on King William Street to the new Cannon Street entrance of Bank station.
Note.
- It is a totally level walk.
- There are lights to help the crossing of King William Street.
- The concrete building on the other side of King William Street is the other end of the new station entrance.
- It looked to me, that there was a retail unit in the corner of that building. This was confirmed by station staff and it would surely be an ideal place for an upmarket takeaway.
- The building on the corner of Cannon Street and King William Street is a set of shared offices. Again it is in a prime position.
- You can also walk from the bus stop to the main Monument station entrance.
I timed myself from the Southbound stop on King William Street to the various platforms.
- Central Line – Under five minutes
- Dockland Light Railway – Under four minutes
- Northern Line – Under three minutes
Will these times encourage passengers to use the new entrance and its buses to North London?
If I was looking for offices for a foreign company, that wanted to be in the City, as I do occasionally for an American attorney, I would start in this area.
Step-Free Access On The Northern Line Is Rather Variable
If you look at the step-free access on this section of the Northern Line, you find the following.
- Euston – Escalators – No Lifts until High Speed Two
- King’s Cross – Escalators – One Lift to platform
- Angel – Escalators – No Lifts – Medium walk to the buses
- Old Street – Escalators – No Lifts – Medium walk to the buses
- Moorgate – Escalators – Long Lift route – Medium walk to the buses
- Bank (North) – Escalators – Lots of Steps – Medium walk to the buses
- Bank (Cannon Street) – Escalators – Two Lifts to platforms – Short walk to buses
- London Bridge – Escalators – One Lift to platform – Steps to buses
Note.
- If I was going between My House and the Northern Line South of Bank station, I’d change between the 141 bus and the Northern Line at the Cannon Street entrance to Bank station.
- Alternatively, I can take a 38 bus to the Angel and join the route there. But that route can be very slow coming North, as there is a lot of walking. Going South, it’s also likely to be blocked by a Tesco truck at the Angel.
- Between My House and the Docklands Light Railway, I’d change from the 141 bus at the Cannon Street entrance to Bank station.
- I might even take that route, if I wanted the Central Line out of Bank.
It does appear that as the new Cannon Street entrance to Bank station has been well-designed with full step-free access and short walks to the bus stops, that it will be the interchange of choice for many travellers to and from the area, who are using the buses.
Conclusion
I feel that a lot of passengers from North London will use the 21, 43 and 141 buses to access the Central and Northern Lines, and the Docklands Light Railway using the new Cannon Street entrance to the Bank station complex.
I very much feel that all three bus routes will have a lot more passengers, so the Nightmare On The Buses, is likely to get worse.
Into The Realm Of The Rabbits
The completed Bank Station Upgrade opened today and I went and took these pictures of what is now a rabbit warren of a station.
Note.
- There are now three cross passages between the two Northern Line platforms.
- There are two lifts between Cannon Street and the Northern Line and one extends to the Docklands Light Railway.
- The Northern Line and Cannon Street are now connected by two sets of three very long escalators.
- I took a walk to Cannon Street, whilst taking this pictures and from leaving the new entrance to being on a train out of Cannon Street, took mt five minutes.
- After photographing the station, I walked to the bus stop for the 141 bus, which took me home. As there is now a new passage between the gate-line and the bus stop, it took just two minutes.
The new Cannon Street entrance is a practical, stylish and well designed and built addition to the Bank station complex.
I would let the same architects and builders loose on Camden Town, Holborn and Oxford Circus/Bond Street stations.
Another Door Opens At Bank Station
I took these pictures at Bank station this morning in the Southernmost tunnel between the Northern Line platforms.
You can just about see the lift doors through the windows in the steel fire doors.
It can’t be long now before the Cannon Street Entrance to Bank station opens.
Bank Station Upgrade – 11th February 2023
I took these pictures as I passed through Bank station this morning.
The central passageway between the two Northern Line platforms appears to be complete with the standard heavy steel fire-doors.
I also took these pictures of the new Cannon Street entrance.
Note the passage running up the side of the station to King William Street.
Chatting to staff I got two different stories about the opening.
- One said it will open on Friday.
- Another said there would be testing earlier in the week to decide when it opens.
But those two stories would fit.
How Many Entrances And Exits Does A Station Need?
I took a walk round the entrances of the combined Bank and Monument stations, this afternoon.
Note.
- There are a total of twenty entrances.
- Five are double entrances, with a pair of stairs leading to a single entrance tunnel.
- Only three are step-free entrances. Two are new; Bloomberg Building and Cannon Street, although the latter is yet to open.
- One entrance is currently closed.
This section of the tube map, that was clipped in January 2023, shows which connections at Bank and Monument are step-free.
Note.
- At Bank, only the Northern Line and the Docklands Light Railway are fully step-free.
- At Liverpool Street, only the Elizabeth Line is fully step-free.
- At Monument, nothing is shown step free
- At Moorgate, nothing is shown fully step free, although the Elizabeth Line is fully step-free, even if it is a bit tortuous.
Let’s hope some of the gaps are filled, when the Bank Station Upgrade is completed.
There is also no full step-free entrance to the Central Line at the Bank Junction.
Bank Station Upgrade – 23rd January 2023
The roundels are up on the new Cannon Street entrance to Bank station.
As the buses are changing on the 4th of February, could that be the opening weekend?
Bank Station Upgrade – 6th January 2023
I took these pictures this morning of the new Cannon Street entrance to Bank station.
There’s certainly space above the building for a substantial oversite development.
This article on Ian Visits is entitled TfL’s Office Development At Bank Tube Station Gets Taller.
These four paragraphs describes the scheme.
Transport for London (TfL) already had permission for a 7-storey building on the site but was structurally future-proofed for the possibility of an additional floor. They’ve now received permission to add the extra floor on top, and it’s further stepped back from the front of the building so that there’s space to create a large roof terrace as well.
Commercially, the previous top floor, the sixth floor lost about a third of the floorspace to plant room equipment, but will now be a full-width open plan office space, and while the new top floor still needs space for the plant equipment, but also has the new roof terrace and some additional office space. They’ve also flipped the plant room from the western side where it blocked the view of the church steeple and a lower-rise set of buildings, to the other side, which faces an office block, so the 6th-floor office users have a rather better view from the windows.
The revised scheme provides accommodation totalling 142,310 square feet across the ground and 7 upper floors plus over 7,600 square feet of terrace space over three floors.
The new scheme also changes the roof structure, which was to be covered in solar cells. However, that’s because the attic level above the offices was for traditional water boilers. The new scheme has removed the water boilers to replace them with a lower energy air source heating network, so the roof needs to be open to the air instead.
There’s also been a requirement from the City of London to reduce the number of vehicles allowed to make deliveries to the building from 54 per day to a maximum of 42, which considering that the building is also larger, is a meaningful change. Planning policy required at least 142 cycle racks, but another recent change to the building requested by the developer allowed them to put in space for 229 cycle spaces at the basement level, which is significantly higher than the minimum required.
The building certainly appears to have good environmental credentials.
The Anonymous Widower 