Ilford Station – 14th September 2020
I took these pictures today at Ilford station.
Note.
- The old station building seems to have been demolished and the main structural steel seems to have been erected.
- The Second Entrance was completed a long time ago.
- The Third Entrance is not far off completion.
- The coffee shop was well worth a visit.
The construction of the new station does seem to be getting there.
Plans For North Kensington Crossrail Station Back On Track
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on London News Online.
The first two paragraphs say it all.
Proposals for north Kensington to get its own station on the long-delayed Crossrail project have been put back on track.
Kensington and Chelsea council has confirmed it is in talks with Network Rail on producing a feasibility study that could lead to the “Kensal Portobello Station” being built.
According to Wikipedia, if this station is built it will be called Ladbroke Grove station. Wikipedia says this about its location.
In March 2017, it was announced TfL was considering a Crossrail station in Kensal on site of a former gasworks and would be between Old Oak Common and Paddington.
The article says this about the precise location and plans for the area.
Canal Way, near the Kensington Gas Works and a Sainsbury’s superstore, is being eyed up as a location for the station.
Meanwhile, the council’s 2019 Local Plan refers to the area as the ‘Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area’, and says 3,500 homes could eventually be built there.
This is a Google Map of the area.
Note.
- The Grand Union Canal curving East-West in the top half of the map.
- There looks to be a substantial amount of green algae in the canal.
- The Great Western Main Line passing East-West in the bottom half of the map.
- Kensington Gas Works, a cleared site and a Sainsbury’s superstore, lie between the canal and the railway.
- Canal Way threads itself through to the North of the railway.
Crossrail uses the Northern pair of tracks closest to Canal Way.
Access To The Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area
Consider.
- Canal Way doesn’t appear to have easy access at the Western end of the site.
- Canal Way connects at the Eastern end to a roundabout on Ladbroke Grove.
- How many vehicle journeys are 3,500 homes going to generate?
- I have walked along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal.
I would feel that a Crossrail station to serve the development would improve access by a substantial amount.
This Google Map shows Canal Way and the railway.
Note.
- The Southern part of Sainsbury’s car park is at the top of the map.
- It would appear that there is space for a station.
- There appears to be a development site on the other side of the railway. Would a foot-bridge over the railway be a good idea?
The station would probably be served by between six and ten trains per hour.
Exploring The North Side Of The Railway
These pictures were taken on the North Side of the Railway, as I walked up Ladbroke Grove and into the Sainsbury’s site.
Is the traffic congestion always this bad?
Ladbroke Grove Station Site From The Railway
I took these pictures from a Crossrail train, running towards Paddington.
There would appear to be space for a station.
Conclusion
Because of the number of homes proposed for the site and the limited access, I feel that a station at this location is essential. Especially, as cars and buses seemed to be taking fifteen minutes to enter and exit the site.
I also think, there needs to be a pedestrian bridge over the railway to separate the pedestrians from the traffic.
Long Train Runnin’
I went to Heathrow today, in a nine car Class 345 train.
Note.
- This service is the replacement for Heathrow Connect.
- My trains left from and returned to Platform 11 in Paddington station. But although perhaps eighty percent of Heathrow Terminal 5 services appear to use this platform, not all do!
At least something is at last going right for Crossrail!
Liverpool Street Station – New Entrance
These pictures show the new entrance taking shape in front of Broadgate and the original Liverpool Street station.
It looks like the entrance is going to be a large fosterito.
They seem to be cropping up all over London.
Judging by the fact, that bikes seem to be parked in front of the entrance, I would suspect that this entrance could be finished soon.
Paddington Station – New Western Entrance
I was alerted to the fact that this new entrance to the Paddington station, by one of Ian’s pieces on Ian Visits, so I had to go along and take a look.
It is a simple design, which looks more like an entrance to a museum, school or church, than to an important station.
Unusually, for a station entrance, it takes you right into the retail and food area of the station, but there are several ways to get to the platforms.
Crossrail Parts Company With Costain Skanska At Bond Street
The title of this post, is the same as that on this article on Construction Enquirer.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Costain/Skanska joint venture’s troubled Crossrail contract at Bond Street Station has been ended early.
It appears to be a mutual decision and in my opinion such a decision is very rare, especially as Costain/Skanska’s other project at Paddington station seems to be progressing as expected.
Could it be that the architects designed a project that was unbuildable? Or one where the architects didn’t think about the project management needed to build it?
Coronavirus: How Realistic Is Crossrail Opening Next Year?
The title of thispost, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
The article takes the form of the BBC’s Transport Correspondent; Tom Edwards interviewing Crossrail’s Chief Executive; Mark Wild.
This is an extract.
But the big challenge is the 40% of work left to do on the safety checks known as “assurances”.
The management team say it is working to the opening date of the summer 2021 for the Paddington to Abbey Wood section under central London.
To make up for lost time, Crossrail wants to carry out blitz testing in August and September.
I asked Mr Wild if he could guarantee 100% if Crossrail will open in summer 2021.
He said: “I guarantee that this project team and myself, will do everything humanly possible to do it.
“I must say we are working pretty effectively – 2,500 people working off-site and we are making great progress on the assurance work.
“Clearly we have to do that safely but there’s no doubt Covid has had an effect and we are working now on a plan to recover lost ground.”
Having watched many projects, that were in dire straits, being recovered by top class project management, I feel that there is a good chance that if Mark Wild and his team, are up to scratch that Summer 2021 could be a realistic possibility.
I remember the tale of British Leyland’s MiniMetro plant, that was recalled in Michael Ewardes‘s book.
- The complicated machine, that assembled the bodies wasn’t working.
- It was then found out, that it had hit a motorway bridge on the journey from Germany.
- Good project management saved the day, by reorganising and accelerating the commissioning of the second line, so that it came into production early enough to save the day.
As British Leyland were Artemis customers, I do wonder how much the software, I wrote in a Suffolk attic, played a part in that episode.
Let’s hope that Mark Wild and his team have some good project management software on their team.
Three New Step-Free Crossrail Stations – 15th June 2020
I first took a train from Paddington to Langley station, where I took these pictures.
At Langley, I had eight minutes before I caught a train to Iver station, where I took these pictures.
At Iver, I had fifteen minutes before I caught a train to Taplow station, where I took these pictures.
After Taplow, I took the train to West Drayton station, where I took these pictures.
Note the extreme length of the new Platform 5. I can’t find any references to any proposed or possible services terminating at West Drayton, so is Platform 5 for emergency use, if there are problems on the Heathrow Branch and it allows the station to be used as an alternative for Heathrow.A bus would take you to the Airport!
West Ealing Station – 12th June 2020
I took these pictures from a passing train of West Ealing station.
It looks like it will be a lot of steel and glass.
Nothing seems to have been said about improving the trains on the Greenford Branch.
Hanwell Station – 12th June 2020
These pictures show the current state of Hanwell station.
Note.
- Two lifts have now been installed to Platforms 1/2 and 3.
- The station is a Grade II Listed building.
- In Will Crossrail Open To Reading in 2019?, I worked it out that Hanwell station, will have a train every ten minutes all day.
Compare the pictures with these I took in 2014 and posted in Before Crossrail – Hanwell.
The Anonymous Widower 