The 38 Bus And The Lizzie Line
London’s 38 bus is very convenient for me.
- It is a frequent route, running most times every few minutes.
- The stops are about a hundred metres from my house just round the corner.
- To the East it goes through Hackney to the romantic Clapton Pond.
- To the West it goes to Angel and across Central London to Victoria station.
- The route connects to the new entrance at Hackney Central station, which makes it easy coming home from the East with heavy shopping.
Yesterday, I used the 38 bus to go to and from the Lizzie Line for a trip to Paddington station.
The Outrun
These pictures show the change to the Lizzie Line at Tottenham Court Road station.
Note.
- It was a walk of about a hundred metres.
- I took pictures of the entrance to the new @sohoplace theatre, which is still behind barriers.
- The walk could improve, once the works around Centre Point are finished.
It’s certainly a viable route from where I live and the Angel to the Lizzie Line, if you’re going West.
The Return
I took these pictures on my return.
Note.
- It was a walk of about a hundred metres.
- The two stops for the 38 bus are opposite each other.
- The walk could improve, once the works around Centre Point are finished.
It would certainly be a viable route to get from the Lizzie Line to the Angel, if you’re coming from the West.
It would also be a viable route for me to get to my house.
Although taking a 21 or 141 bus from Moorgate is a better route, as I suspect it is quicker.
Unfortunately, that route won’t be viable if Transport for London have their way and execute The Great Bus Robbery.
Which Route Does Transport for London’s Journey Planner Recommend?
Whoever wrote the current version of this is not a Londoner, as it recommends a route with three changes and doesn’t use the Lizzie Line.
If I type in my home address, it does recommend going via Dalston Junction and Whitechapel, which is better, but the walk is too much for me on some days.
I Wouldn’t Be Surprised To See Improvements To The Positions Of Bus Stops
They are not best placed at the moment, but the construction in the area is still going on.
So after construction finishes, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some stops moved to better places.
Elizabeth Line To Open On 24 May 2022
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release on Crossrail.
This is the sub-title.
Trains to run every five minutes 06:30 – 23:00 Monday to Saturday between Paddington and Abbey Wood.
And these are the first two paragraphs describe what will open.
Transport for London (TfL) has today confirmed that, subject to final safety approvals, the Elizabeth line will open on Tuesday 24 May 2022. The Elizabeth line will transform travel across London and the South East by dramatically improving transport links, cutting journey times, providing additional capacity, and transforming accessibility with spacious new stations and walk-through trains. The Elizabeth line will initially operate as three separate railways, with services from Reading, Heathrow and Shenfield connecting with the central tunnels from autumn this year.
In the coming weeks, Elizabeth line signage will continue to be uncovered across the network in preparation for the start of customer service. The updated Tube and Rail map will also be released later showing the new central section stations connected with the rest of the TfL network for the first time.
These are some points from the rest of the press release.
- Work will continue in engineering hours and on Sundays to allow a series of testing and software updates in preparation for more intensive services from the autumn.
- All services between Reading and Heathrow to Paddington and Shenfield to Liverpool Street, currently operating as TfL Rail, will be rebranded to the Elizabeth line.
- Passengers wanting to do longer journeys may need to change at Paddington or Liverpool Street stations.
- Services from Reading, Heathrow and Shenfield will connect with the central tunnels in autumn when frequencies will also be increased to 22 trains per hour in the peak between Paddington and Whitechapel.
- Paddington and Canary Wharf will have a journey time of only 17 minutes. It takes thirty minutes by the Underground.
- All Elizabeth line stations will be staffed from first to the last train, with a ‘turn up and go’ service offered to anyone needing assistance.
- Step-free access is in place from street to train across all Elizabeth line stations between Paddington and Woolwich.
- Work is ongoing at Bond Street Elizabeth line station, which means that it will not open with the other stations on 24 May. It will open later in the year.
- Changes will be made to 14 bus routes to improve links to Elizabeth line stations in east and south-east London, where many customers will use buses to get to and from stations.
- Full services across the entire route introduced by May 2023.
I have some thoughts.
My Routes To Crossrail
Like many in London, I will have multiple routes to and from Crossrail.
- I could take a 21 or a 141 bus from the bus stop round the corner to the Moorgate end of Liverpool Street station on Crossrail.
- I could take a 38 bus from another bus stop round the corner to Tottenham Court Road station on Crossrail.
- I could also take a 38 or 56 bus from this stop to Angel station and get a Northern Line train to Liverpool Street station on Crossrail.
- I could also take a 38 or 56 bus from this stop to Essex Road station and get a Northern City Line train to Liverpool Street station on Crossrail.
- I could also take a 30 bus from this stop to Highbury & Islington station and get a Northern City Line train to Liverpool Street station on Crossrail.
- I could take a 30, 38 or 56 from yet another stop round the corner to Dalston Junction station and get an Overground train to Whitechapel on Crossrail.
- I could even walk a few hundred metres to take a 76 bus from the stop in the centre of de Beauvoir Town to the Moorgate end of Liverpool Street station on Crossrail.
One of the reasons, I bought my house, was that it would have good connections to Crossrail.
But there is a cloud on the horizon.
My easiest route will probably be to use a 21 or 141 bus direct to Moorgate.
But our South London Mayor in his wisdom is hoping to retire the 21 bus leaving us with just the 141 direct to Moorgate.
I am by training a mathematical modeller and I have lived much of my life at various points on the transport corridor from Cockfosters to Moorgate formed by the Piccadilly Line and the 141 bus. I can even remember using the predecessor of the 141 bus, which was the 641 trolley-bus to come up to London with my grandmother in the 1950s.
I’m certain that when Crossrail opens, that if you live in say Wood Green, Southgate and Oakwood, if you want to use Crossrail to get to Heathrow or Canary Wharf, you will be highly likely to take the Piccadilly Line to Manor House and then take a 141 bus to Moorgate to pick up Crossrail.
The only alternative will be to change at Finsbury Park for the Moorgate Line, which even after the improvements at Finsbury Park, would not be an easy change with a heavy bag or a baby in a buggy.
I talked about this problem before in Does London Need High Capacity Bus Routes To Extend Crossrail?, where I said this.
I suspect that when Crossrail opens, the 141 bus will be heavily used by travellers going between the Northern reaches of the Piccadilly Line and Crossrail at Moorgate.
The 141 bus goes between London Bridge station and Palmers Green and it has a route length of about nine miles.
Currently, buses run every fifteen minutes or so, but I doubt it will be enough in future as Transport for London are rerouting the closely-related 21 bus.
I suspect any route seen as an extension of Crossrail needs to have the following characteristics.
- High frequency of perhaps a bus every ten minutes.
- Interior finish on a par with the Class 345 trains.
- Wi-fi and phone charging.
I would also hope the buses were carbon-free. Given that some of these routes could be quite long, I would suspect hydrogen with its longer range could be better.
It should be noted that the 43 bus, that passes Moorgate, is already carbon-free.
I will be interested to see what action is taken by Transport for London.
I believe their current plan is lacking and will make it difficult for those where I live to get to Crossrail at Moorgate.
Feeder Bus Routes To Crossrail
I believe that there could be considerable scope for more high-capacity high-quality feeder routes to and from Crossrail.
Currently, there are four bus routes that pass Moorgate station, that come into this category.
- 21 – Lewisham Shopping Centre and Newington Green
- 43 – London Bridge Station and Friern Barnet
- 76 – Waterloo Station and Stoke Newington
- 141 – London Bridge Station and Palmers Green
How many other routes are there, that stop outside a Crossrail station?
I suspect that for many Londoners and visitors, a bus to Crossrail will be their fastest way to their ultimate destination.
For instance, my fastest way to Bond Street, Canary Wharf, Ealing, Heathrow, Paddington and Reading will start with a bus to the Crossrail entrance at Moorgate station.
And it looks like Transport for London will be reducing my bus frequency to Moorgate, when it probably needs a slight increase.
Crossrail’s North-West Essex Extension
One of the elegant parts of Crossrail’s design is its interchange with the Central Line at Stratford station.
- The Eastbound Crossrail and Central Line platforms share an island platform.
- The Westbound Crossrail and Central Line platforms share an island platform.
This arrangement allows step-free cross-platform interchange between the two lines.
This map, which was clipped from Wikipedia, shows the North-Eastern end of the Central Line.
I am sure, that those who live to the North-East of Stratford station will be some of the residents of London, who benefit the most from Crossrail.
The following stations are step-free.
- Buckhurst Hill
- Debden
- Epping
- Hainault
- Newbury Park
- Roding Valley
- South Woodford
- Stratford
- Woodford
I suspect more stations will be made step-free.
Cross-Platform Interchanges
It was originally planned, that a similar cross-platform interchange would have been built at Walthamstow Central station, that would have allowed the Victoria Line to continue to Woodford.
As the Stratford interchange works so well, I’m surprised the track layout hasn’t been used at more places on London’s rail network.
The Whitechapel Reverse
In Is Whitechapel Station Going To Be A Jewel In The East?, I discussed the importance of Whitechapel station.
Whitechapel station solves the round-the-corner problem for passengers, who want to go between say Romford and Woolwich stations.
Passengers just walk the few metres between the two platforms at Whitechapel station and take the first train to their destination.
I will be interested to see if Crossrail has an effect on traffic over the Dartfood Crossing and through the tunnels. How many will use Crossrail instead, when they are visiting their team, clients or family on the other side of the river?
I call stations like Whitechapel reversal stations, as they allow passengers to easily reverse direction. There is more about reversal stations in Reversal Stations.
The New Tube Map
These pictures show the new tube map.
Note.
- Crossrail is shown as a double purple line.
- Thameslink is also shown as a double pink line.
- There are certainly some drawing gymnastics to fit it all in.
But Harry Beck’s design survives.
Abbey Wood Station
The more I look at the design of Abbey Wood station and compare it to the Crossrail/Central interchange at Stratford, the more I think it is a substandard station.
Would it have been better, if one island platform had been designed for Westbound services and the other had been designed for Eastbound services? Crossrail services might be on the outside with North Kent services between the two island platforms.
This would have enabled a journey between say Rochester and Bond Street to have been done with a simple cross-platform change at Abbey Wood station.
No Victoria Line Interchange
I was surprised by these omissions.
This article on London Reconnections is entitled Horrible Holborn: When Postponement Is Not An Option.
It is well worth a read.
One section is entitled The interchange that isn’t, where this is said.
Whilst modelling showed that Bond St and Tottenham Court Road would be capable of managing the expected passengers once the Elizabeth line opens, it was clear that a combined Oxford Circus/Bond St (Crossrail) east entrance could not. If you have ever wondered why the Elizabeth line has no sub-surface interchange with the Victoria line at Oxford Circus despite the eastern ends of the Bond Street platforms being tantalisingly close, this is your answer. As the Victoria line at Oxford Circus is never likely to be able to handle the expected numbers of people that would board if there were direct access from the Bond St Crossrail platforms, it appears the two stations will never be linked with publicly accessible passages below ground.
In other words, you would solve the problem of the interchange between the Elizabeth and Victoria Lines and create severe overcrowding on the Victoria Line.
When I have supper with my son at the Angel, he comes from his home in Walthamstow, via a cross-platform change at Euston.
Routes like this allow those that live on the Victoria Line to access the Elizabeth Line.
No Piccadilly Line Interchange
The article says this about an Elizabeth Line station at Holborn.
It is pertinent to note that an early plan to have a Crossrail station at Holborn was abandoned. In reality, it would have been too close to Tottenham Court Road station to be really worthwhile. It would have restricted the alignment (bearing in mind that sub-surface Crossrail stations have to be straight and level). It would also have added considerable expense and may have put the entire project at risk. At the end of the day, it just wasn’t a good business case. Whilst a station on the scale of the Elizabeth line could not be justified, however, an improvement of the existing Holborn station could.
The article also says that upgrading Holborn station would not be easy, even without the connection to the Elizabeth Line.
Does London Need High Capacity Bus Routes To Extend Crossrail?
If Crossrail has a major problem, it is that some areas of the capital will find it difficult to access the new line.
Up to the age of sixteen, I used to live half-way between Oakwood and Cockfosters stations on the Piccadilly Line.
There are a large number of people who live along the Northern reaches of the Piccadilly Line, who might want to use Crossrail to perhaps go to Heathrow or places in East London.
But the journey will need a double change as there is no interchange between the Piccadilly Line and Crossrail.
I suspect that many will link to Crossrail by taking the Piccadilly Line to Wood Green, Turnpike Lane or Manor House and then get a 141 bus to Moorgate. It is a route, I use if I want to go to Southgate or Cockfosters from my house, which has a 141 stop opposite.
But then as a child to go to Harringay, where my father had an uncle, my mother would use a 641 trolley bus from Wood Green or Turnpike Lane.
Do people follow the public transport habits of their parents?
I know I do!
My father never went on a deep tube. As he several times mentioned the terrible Bank station bombing in the Blitz, which killed 56 people, I always thought that was his problem. But now living as I do along the Northern and Northern City Lines, I suspect it was more to do with air quality, as we were or are both bad breathers.
I suspect that when Crossrail opens, the 141 bus will be heavily used by travellers going between the Northern reaches of the Piccadilly Line and Crossrail at Moorgate.
The 141 bus goes between London Bridge station and Palmers Green and it has a route length of about nine miles.
Currently, buses run every fifteen minutes or so, but I doubt it will be enough in future as Transport for London are rerouting the closely-related 21 bus.
I suspect any route seen as an extension of Crossrail needs to have the following characteristics.
- High frequency of perhaps a bus every ten minutes.
- Interior finish on a par with the Class 345 trains.
- Wi-fi and phone charging.
I would also hope the buses were carbon-free. Given that some of these routes could be quite long, I would suspect hydrogen with its longer range could be better.
Other Routes
According to me, the 141 bus route needs improvement!
But how many other routes could need similar improvement?
The Great Bus Robbery
Transport for London (TfL) obviously don’t like people where I live in the Northern part of De Beauvoir Town in the London Borough of Hackney.
When I moved here, ten years ago there were six bus routes that passed through the traffic lights where the Balls Pond Road (It is not a made-up-name from Round The Horne) and Southgate Road/Mildmay Park meet.
- 21 – Newington Green and Lewisham Shopping Centre
- 30 – Marble Arch and Hackney Wick (From the sublime to the ridiculous?)
- 38 – Victoria station and the romantic Clapton Pond
- 56 – Bart’s Hospital and Whipps Cross (You’d be cross, if you’d been whipped!)
- 141 – London Bridge Station and Palmers Green North Circular Road (Surely, another romantic destination!)
- 277 – Highbury & Islington Station and Crossharbour
Note.
- We had two bus routes to and from Highbury & Islington station for Dear Old Vicky!
- We had two bus routes to and from Moorgate, Bank and the City of London.
- We had four bus routes to and from Dalston Junction station and the cultural attractions of Hackney Central.
- We had a direct bus to Canary Wharf.
TfL looked at the name of the district and thought the posh French name, meant we were all had expensive vehicles or Hackney carriages and said we had too many buses.
So in June 2018, the 277 bus was cut back to Dalston Junction station and TfL promised that the frequency of the 30 bus would be increased. We’re still waiting for extra services.
Now, if you want to go to Highbury & Islington station, according to TfL’s Journey Planner, it’s often quicker to take a 38 or 56 bus to Essex Road station and take a train.
To make matters worse the 30 bus route now has cheap and nasty Egyptian-built buses with more steps than Russia. All buses should have flat floors like the New Routemasters.
What is TfL’s latest crime?
The 21 and 271 buses are going to be combined into a new route between Lewisham and Highgate, which will go nowhere near the Balls Pond Road.
So we’ll just have the one bus route to the City of London.
On past form, if TfL say they will increase the frequency, I wouldn’t believe them.
I think that TfL have ignored some problems.
The Elderly And Disabled
Between Newington Green and Englefield Road, a higher proportion of the passengers getting on the 21 and 141 buses seem to be in these groups.
- As it’s a nice place to live, I suspect many elderly people have just stayed on.
- I believe that North of the Balls Pond Road, there are some care homes and sheltered housing.
Have TfL analysed their passengers?
Not Everybody Has Cars
There are several blocks of social housing on the Newington Green and Englefield Road stretch and you see a lot of passengers who don’t look like car owners.
The lack of parking and the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods don’t help.
Access To Waterloo
My quickest way to Waterloo, which is London’s busiest rail terminal, is to take a bus to Bank and then get the Drain.
A halved service to Bank station will probably force me to take longer routes.
Tradition
When I was a child in the 1950s, the 141 was the 641 trolley bus, which ran between Winchmore Hill and Moorgate.
People, who live in Wood Green, Turnpike Lane and Manor House still commute to the City by bus, as people have done for over a hundred years.
I suspect a lot of commuters change from the Piccadilly Line to the 141 bus at Manor House station. I certainly use that route if I’m going to Southgate or Cockfosters.
The 21 bus starts at Newington Green, which means if you want to go from Balls Pond Road to Bank, you’ll usually get on a 21 bus, as the 141 buses are full with passengers from further North.
So it looks like to get to Moorgate, we’ll need to get a bus to Angel and then get the Northern Line, after the rerouting of the 21 bus.
Crossrail
This will have a big effect.
Suppose you live in Wood Green and want to get to Crossrail.
There is no obvious connection, but tradition will mean your preferred route will be to take a 141 bus between Manor House and Moorgate.
There will also be a quick route between Moorgate and Liverpool Street station, that I wrote about in London’s First Underground Roller Coaster.
Conclusion
We will need the 21 bus to provide us with a route to Crossrail, as the 141 buses will be full.
The 21 bus is needed where it is and mustn’t be stolen.
Why Do 21 And 141 Buses Always Come Together?
To get between my house and Moorgate station, I use either a 21 or a 141 bus.
During the day, both buses run at a frequency of about one bus every ten minutes.
As the buses take exactly the same route between Bank station and Newington Green, surely it would be logical, if the buses were timed on this section, so that the buses ran every five minutes.
But inevitably, a 21 and a 141 bus always turn up together, which generally means if you miss both, you have to wait ten minutes until another pair come along.
Surely, a bus every file minutes might encourage more people to use the buses.
My Bus Stop At Moorgate Has Been Reopened
The easiest way to get to my house is to get a 21, 76 or 141 bus from outside Moorgate station. All stop within a hundred metres of my house.
For several years the stop has been a temporary affair, whilst Moorgate station is rebuilt.
But now it’s a proper stop with a next bus display and a shelter.
Much of what I need in life, is available close to this stop.
- On the other side of the road is a Marks and Spencer store with both food and clothes.
- Within twenty metres of the stop, there are Boots, Hotel Chocolat, Pret a Manger and Leon.
- There’s a PC World and a Rymans around the corner.
And underneath it all is Crossrail!
I will have my own personal frequent bus route to London’s new rail line!
The Anonymous Widower 