The Second Entrance At Battersea Power Station Station
In Battersea Power Station Station Opens, I said this.
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.
So I went back today and had another look.
I was told by a member of the station staff, that a second entrance, where the posters are on the wall will lead to the power station, the shops and the river.
Could Access Between Platform And Train Be Improved At Kennington Station?
Before I look at the solutions, I will look at passenger flows around Kennington station, now that the extension to Battersea has opened.
- Passengers will enter the station and take a train.
- Passengers will arrive at the station and leave.
- Passengers will change trains going between say Morden and Battersea Power Station stations.
- Passengers will change between the two Northbound services through the station, by walking between Platforms 1 and 3.
- Passengers will change between the two Southbound services through the station, by walking between Platforms 2 and 4.
Kennington station has two major access problems for those of restricted mobility.
- Getting between street and platform
- Getting between platform and train
There used to be a third problem, which was that there wasn’t enough cross-platform access between Platforms 2 and 4 and Platforms 1 and 3, which has now been improved.
The pictures show the passage between Platforms 2 and 4, which seems to have been built to a high quality.
How will these access problems affect passengers and especially those with reduces mobility?
- Passengers with reduced mobility may avoid Kennington station, if they are using Routes 1 and 2, as the stairs are difficult.
- Passengers using Route 3 may find it easier to change at Waterloo, London Bridge or another convenient station.
- There are lots of buses, which may offer a convenient alternative.
Operating experience will give the correct answer, but I feel that passengers using the station will contain a large proportion, who are using Routes 4 or 5 and just changing from one train to another going in the same direction.
Access Between Street And Platform
These pictures show the stairs that give access to the platforms from the passageway leading to the lifts.
Note.
- The stairs are steep and not very wheelchair or buggy friendly.
- They are not all the same length.
Unless it is possible to sneak a lift down into the new cross-passages, I suspect that providing step-free access to the platforms will be a long time coming at Kennington station.
It will also probably need passengers to use two lifts between street and platform, which could encourage them to find a better route.
Access Between Platform And Train
These pictures show trains in Kennington station.
Note that a Harrington Hump is fitted to the platform to ease boarding for those in wheelchairs.
The map from cartometro.com shows the platform layout at Kennington station.
Note that in the pictures and this map the platforms are almost straight.
I wonder, if as at Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms stations, the platforms could be arranged so that there is step-free access between train and platform.
These pictures show level access at the two stations on the new extension.
This would surely help those changing trains by walking between Platforms 2 and 4 or 1 and 3.
Conclusion
I am very doubtful, that large numbers of passengers with reduced mobility will use Kennington station, except to change from one train to another going in the same direction.
For that reason, I suspect Transport for London have not gone for full step-free access at Kennington station.
But I do think, that level access could be installed between the trains and all four platforms to make it easier for passengers with reduced mobility to change trains.
Passenger Flows If The Northern Line Is Split Into Two Lines
The Northern Line could be split into two.
- The Western Line (Charing Cross Line) would run between Edgware and Battersea Power Station via Camden Town, Euston, Charing Cross and Kennington.
- The Eastern Line (Bank Line) would run between High Barnet and Morden via Camden Town, Euston, Bank and Kennington.
Northbound routes through Kennington station would be as follows.
- Passengers between Battersea Power Station and a Bank Line station would change between Platforms 1 and 3 at Kennington.
- Passengers between Morden and a Charing Cross Line station would change between Platforms 3 and 1 at Kennington.
Southbound routes through Kennington station would be as follows.
- Passengers between a Bank Line station and Battersea Power Station would change between Platforms 4 and 2 at Kennington.
- Passengers between A Charing Cross Line station and Morden would change between Platforms 2 and 4 at Kennington.
All of these Northbound and Southbound changes are a level walk of perhaps ten metres.
Passengers between Morden and Battersea Power Station would change at Kennington, if they can manage the stairs.
Otherwise, they will need to do two cross-platform interchanges at Kennington and Waterloo.
The rule would appear to be if you’re on one line and are going to a station on the other, you change at Kennington station.
Staff would need to be on the platform to help those, who were changing direction.
But I do think changing can be made to work well with step-free access between train and platform on all four platforms at Kennington station.
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.
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.
Northern line Extension’s Opening Date Announced
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
Services will start on Monday, September 20th.
This sentence from Ian describes the service levels.
There will be an initial peak time service of six trains per hour on the extension, increasing to 12 trains per hour by mid-2022. There will be five trains per hour during off-peak times, doubling to 10 trains per hour next year.
I shall certainly try it when it opens, but I doubt I’ll be a regular user, as the Charing Cross Branch of the Northern Line can be difficult to access from Dalston. My best way is probably to use a 73 bus to Goodge Street station.
How Do I Use The Northern Line to Go Between The new Battersea Power Station Station and Bank or Moorgate Stations?
This map from cartometro.com shows, the track layout of the extension.
Note.
- The extension to Battersea links to the loop that turns trains that have come South through London on the Charing Cross Branch of the Northern Line, which runs North-Westerly from Kennington station.
- The Bank Branch of the Northern Line is the pair of tracks that runs North-Easterly from Kennington station.
- The Victorian builders of the Northern Line didn’t dig the tunnels and add the track, so that the loop could turn trains coming South through London on the Bank Branch of the Northern Line.
So passengers will have to change, with these possible routes.
- For London Bridge, Bank, Moorgate and Old Street change at Kennington for the Bank Branch of the Northern Line.
- For Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus and Paddington change at Waterloo for the Bakerloo Line.
- For Canary Wharf, London Bridge, Westminster, Green Park, Bond Street, Baker Street and Paddington change at Waterloo for the Jubilee Line.
- For Tower Hill, Monument, Westminster, Victoria and South Kensington change at Embankment for the Circle or District Lines.
- For Holborn and Kings Cross St. Pancras and Harrods change at Leicester Square for the Piccadilly Line.
- For Liverpool Street, Bank, St. Paul’s, Holborn, Bond Street and Marble Arch change at Tottenham Court Road for the Central Line.
- For Canary Wharf, Liverpool Street, Moorgate, , Bond Street, Paddington and Heathrow change at Tottenham Court Road for Crossrail.
Note.
- These are a selection of the possible routes available.
- I have included some of the possible routes to London’s important transport, tourism and business hubs.
- I suspect many will change at Tottenham Court Road station for the City, as the station has been completely rebuilt for Crossrail with full step-free access.
Residents and visitors to the large amounts of new residential properties around Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms stations, will probably find their best routes fairly quickly, but there are a large number of routes to try to most important hubs.
Will Battersea Become An Area, Where Visitors To London Stay?
Consider.
- The Northern Line Extension has connections to to Central London’s important transport, tourism and business hubs.
- The Thames Clippers give access to the Thames.
- There appears to be several good hotels open in the area.
- For Gatwick Airport, it’s Gatwick Express and a taxi from Victoria station, at around a tenner.
- For Heathrow Airport, it’s an easy journey from Heathrow on Crossrail with a change at Tottenham Court Road.
- For City Airport, it’s a direct journey on a Thames Clipper from Royal Wharf to Battersea Power Station pier.
- For Eurostar, it’s probably a £25 taxi from St. Pancras, but if you know the Underground there are several one-change routes via Euston, Kennington, Leicester Square and Warren Street.
I feel that if they get the hotels and the hospitality right, that the area could become an important one for visitors to London.
Battersea Power Station’s Glass Elevator To Open Next Year
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
It sounds like it will give a reason for some tourists to visit the area and it will be a balance to the cable-car in the London Docks.
Ian gives more details about what could be a new experience for Londoners and tourists.
London Underground Upgrades To Northern Line and Bank Station Gather Pace
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on New Civil Engineer.
It all sounds like good progress and these are some points from the article.
- The Northern Line Extension to Battersea is scheduled for completion this autumn.
- At Battersea Power Station station, equipment, gateline, tiling and finishes are being installed.
- Nine Elms station is getting there, as I said in Nine Elms Underground Station – 14th February 2021.
- Work continues at the two ventilation shafts at Kennington Park and Kennington Green.
- All the major contracts at Bank station have been awarded.
- It appears that the new track in the new Southbound tunnel at Bank is getting ready to be installed.
Note that no date is given for the Bank station blockade to connect the new tunnels or completion of the works.
Under Future Station Upgrade And Expansion, in the Wikipedia entry for the station, this is said.
Before the project can be completed, the Northern line Bank branch will have to close for several months to allow the existing line to be connected to the new running tunnels. As of October 2020, this closure is planned to occur in late 2021/early 2022.
As I suspect other works like those in the new passenger tunnels can go on unhindered by the track works, I would suspect that a few months after the new tracks are connected, the station upgrade will be substantially finished.
I certainly, think that the full upgrade could open complete with the new entrance on Cannon Street sometime in 2022 or if not early in 2023.
It has been reported that the oversite development on the new Cannon Street entrance will be done after the station is complete.
The Anonymous Widower 