Before Crossrail – Hanwell
A Relic From The Past – Rating 3/10
Hanwell station is very much a relic of a time long passed. With a sympathetic refurbishment, it would have a style not unlike that of Birmingham Moor Street.
The station like Slough is a Grade 2 Listed building, but as the pictures show, except for the flowers, very little is what passengers expect these days.
It must have the worst staircases on any station in the UK.
On the other hand a fellow passenger, who was speaking what sounded like an East European language into his phone and to his child, thought it was rather a nice station with lots of heritage.
Finding the station was also difficult and on their web site Crossrail feels Hanwell is very much a station, where a good job can be done. They say this.
Hanwell station is a smaller and comparatively lightly-used station located in a predominantly residential area on a quiet street some distance away from the nearest major road. Despite the attractiveness of the Grade II listed station and the nearby houses, the streetscape generally suffers from inconsistent paving quality and a lack of step-free pedestrian crossings.
It will be a challenge to get this station fit for the twenty-first century.
Ealing Borough Council are also pushing to open up the station on the other side of the tracks. It would certainly make it easier to find the station.
Before Crossrail – East Is East And West Is West
I have now seen a good proportion of the Crossrail stations and they range from the spectacular new stations like Reading and Stratford to some much simpler ones like Taplow and Goodmayes.
But there is an East-West divide with the former Great Western stations being generally better designed and in a superior state of repair to those that were built by the Great Eastern.
Crossrail has a section on its web site called Urban Realm, which details their plans for all the stations.
Some of the more ambitious schemes involve virtually new stations like Hayes and Harlington and Southall, but they tend to be in the west.
So are we seeing another manifestation of the policy of not giving rail lines to the east, the investment they deserve?
Surely, if Southall needs a new station, then so does Manor Park?
Manor Park may well get a substantially rebuilt station, as the future development of the station is described like this in Wikipedia.
Manor Park station will be served by Crossrail from 2018. The platforms will not be lengthened so selective door operation will be used instead, allowing the freight loop to remain in use. Due to the narrow platforms, and the layout of the station, fitting lifts for disabled access would be difficult and expensive, requiring the walkways to be rebuilt and closing the station for several months. Like all the other Crossrail stations, this station will be made accessible.
As full step-free access has been promised, we may see more development at Manor Park.
Before Crossrail – Southall
The Manor Park Of The West – Rating 2/10
Southall is not quite as much of a ruin as Manor Park, but it has a great air of demolition about it.
A lot of these pictures are irrelevant as Southall will be replaced completely according to Crossrail. They say this.
A new Crossrail station will be built just to the north of the existing building on the South Road railway bridge. The wider Southall area is likely to change substantially in future years due to large scale redevelopment sites such as the Southall Gas Works site which has permission for 3,750 homes. There is enormous potential for improvement in the area around Southall station.
The plans look a darn sight better, than what is there today.
Before Crossrail – Slough
Not A Station That Needs Friendly Bombs – Rating 7/10
Slough station is actually Grade 2 Listed, although today I didn’t have time to venture outside.
This is the Google Map of the station.
Slough Station – Downloaded 6th July 2015
Crossrail has big plans for Slough station and say this.
In recent years the southern forecourt to the Grade II listed station has been improved. In contrast, the northern forecourt is somewhat neglected and is poorly utilised as a public space and arrival point to the town. Most of the space is given over to car parking and the forecourt surfaces are of poor quality with little footway space.
The traffic at Slough would also appear to be very similar to that at Shenfield, in that some long-distance services stop to pick-up and set down passengers.
So I do wonder that after Crossrail opens, the pattern of services between Paddington and the West will change and the station becomes a more important interchange.
Before Crossrail – Burnham
One Of The Simplest Stations -Rating 6/10
Burnham station has just one island platform, which will serve both lines for Crossrail.
This is a Google Map of the station, clearly showing the island layout.
Burnham Station – Downloaded 6th July 2015
It does appear that work has started at the station to make it fully Crossrail-ready.
So are the contractors starting with the easy stations first?
They still have to put in a lift and add a roof.
Before Crossrail – Taplow
Crossrail Meets The Countryside – Rating 7/10
Taplow station is possibly the remotest Crossrail station.
This is a Google Map of the station.
Taplow Station – Downloaded 6th July 2015
As it has car parks and because it is used for events at Dorney Lake, the station must be needed by commuters and other passengers.
But it is a station with a very different profile to all of the others on Crossrail.
Will a probable frequency of four Crossrail services an hour, in addition to other stopping trains on the Great Western Main Line generate extra passengers at this station?
But as with many other questions about Crossrail, we won’t know the answers until the line is fully open.
Before Crossrail – Hayes And Harlington
Another Work In Progress – Raring 7/10
Hayes and Harlington was busy with engineers, as they were dealing with the slow lines, that will be part of Crossrail.
This is a Google Map of the station.
Hayes And Harlington Station – Downloaded 7th July 2015
It was good to have a cabaret, whilst I waited for my train back to Paddington.
As with West Drayton, Crossrail have impressive plans for this station. They say this.
The existing Hayes and Harlington station building is located on the bridge over the railway tracks. A new larger Crossrail station will be built just north of the existing site. The local area is largely made up of low density, suburban housing, with the exception of the recent High Point Village residential development, the first of a number of developments set to substantially change the character of the station environs.
I have no reason to go to this station at the moment, but years ago in the days of Metier, we had our headquarters nearby for a time.
Looking at Crossrail’s plans, this could well be one of the better stations outside the centre of London.
Before Crossrail – West Drayton
This Will Be A Charming Station – Rating 6/10
West Drayton has definitely seen better days, but as the pictures show, creating a new station from a collection of pretty good buildings is well under way.
Crossrail’s plans for outside the station look impressive and link the station to the Grand Union Canal. This is said.
The urban realm proposals aim to achieve a high-quality gateway experience by creating a new canal-side pocket park next to the station with tree planting, public seating and steps down to the water’s edge.
At present the station has no lifts, but I would assume the current building works will include these.
I shall be looking forward to going back to an updated West Drayton, as I suspect it will be something of which to be proud.
In fact, my persona of a few years ago will be jealous, after the number of hours I’ve spent on terrible rural stations like Dullingham and Bury St. Edmunds.
Before Crossrail – Maidenhead
Another Station Almost Ready For Crossrail – Rating 7/10
According to Wikipedia, Maidenhead needs some updating for Crossrail.
The station will undergo significant modification, including the replacement of the existing passenger waiting facilities, a new ticket hall, lifts, a new platform for Marlow branch line services, the introduction of overhead line equipment and the construction of new stabling and turnback facilities to the west of the station.
The expensive lifts have already been installed into the subway.
The statue is of Sir Nicholas Winton and it is good to see a statue of the man. It is also good that it is displayed in such a public place, which is probably almost safe from metal thieves. I have long believed that more works of art should be placed on stations, as you’d generally need a train and a large crane to steal them. This Google Map shows the layout of the station.
Maidenhead Station – Downloaded 6th July
Note the Marlow Branch Line
Before Crossrail – Twyford
The Station Is Ready For Crossrail – Rating 9/10
Twyford is a well-equipped station, that only needs to be given the signage and information for Crossrail.
Obviously, work will have to be done to track and signalling, and probably to make sure the platform edges match the Class 345 trains.
This Google Map was downloaded on the 6th July, 2015
Twyford Station – Downloaded 6th July 2015
If all stations were as well-equipped as Twyford, we would all be getting around easier and quicker.
The Anonymous Widower 