Crossrail’s Class 345 Trains Are Not Suburban Trumdlers
Over the last couple of days, I’ve had several trips on Class 345 trains, running to Hayes & Harlington station.
- I found that I was able to time the trains at almost 80 mph in places.
- They don’t seem to go this fast to Shenfield.
- Wikipedia says the maximum speed of the trains are 90 mph.
I would not be surprised to see 90 mph cruising on some of the longer stretches between stations towards Reading.
This will surely mean that when Crossrail opens to Reading, the Crossrail service with all its stops might not be the slowest way to travel between Reading and London.
Consider.
- Some Class 800 trains do the trip in as fast as 26 minutes.
- Class 387 trains do the trip with eight stops in 56 minutes.
- Most Crossrail Class 345 trains from Reading To Paddington will have fourteen stops.
- In the Peak, two Class 345 trains in each hour, will take just five stops.
Although the Class 387 are modern trains, they probably don’t have the performance and certainly don’t have the digital signalling of the Class 345 trains.
I suspect that even with fourteen stops, the Class 345 trains will still do the journey in under an hour, when Crossrail is completed.
I suspect that many travellers between Reading and London will be changing their routes.
Crossrail To Reading In December 2019
It is rumoured that Crossrail will open to Reading in December 2019, with all services terminating at Paddington in Brunel’s station.
I believe that the Class 345 trains will be able to provide a high-capacity service between Paddington and Reading, which will complement the faster and mostly non-stop Great Western Railway services.
Hayes & Harlington Station – 19th April 2019
These pictures show Hayes & Harlington station.
It will be an important station.
- There is still a lot of work to do for the station to look like the picture on the hoarding.
- There are a lot of residential development in the area, including the conversion of an old office block, where I once worked to flats.
- It will be a step-free interchange for local passengers from the West to Heathrow.
The station and the new bay platform are already fully operational.
Crossrail To Reading In December 2019
As current rumours are that Crossrail will open in December to Reading, it looks like the station will be usable.
It is planned that Hayes & Harlington station will have a train every six minutes.
Southall Station – 19th April 2019
These pictures show Southall station.
The station still needs the new footbridge to be installed and lifts from the station buildings to the platforms.
It appears that there will be a Crossrail train every six minutes all day in both directions.
The Missing Footbridge
This picture was taken on July 4th, 2016.
Note the footbridge across the station, that doesn’t appear in the pictures I took today.
This picture, that I took today, clearly shows blue barriers around places where the footbridge might be installed on the two island platforms.
Is it a replacement bridge over the station being installed, or is it just a footbridge connecting the platforms?
Or could it be for both purposes?
Preparing For The Brentford Branch
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the layout of lines at Southall station.
Note.
- The pair of lines at the top in blue are Crossrail
- The pair of lines in the middle are the fast lines.
- The single line going off to the East is the Brentford Branch Line, which has been proposed for reopening.
It would appear that the layout of the footbridge and the lifts would give good access to the Southernmost platform, which is connected to the Brentford Branch line.
So it looks like, that after the station has been refurbished and made step-free, connecting the Brentford Branch line would not be difficult.
As the Brentford Branch is only four miles long, a modern train like a Class 230, Class 710 or a Class 321 Hydrogen train, could do two round trips per hour between Southall and Brentford stations.
Crossrail To Reading In December 2019
As current rumours are that Crossrail will open in December to Reading, it looks like the station will be usable.
It is planned that Southall station will have a train every six minutes.
Hanwell Station – 19th April 2019
These pictures show Hanwell station.
Hanwell station will be unlike any other station on Crossrail.
- It is Grade II Listed.
- It doesn’t have a high passenger usage.
- Platforms will be too short for the Class 345 trains and selected door opening will be used.
- The stairs up to the platforms must be some of the most Victorian in any station.
- To complete the station, two lifts are to be installed on the Crossrail platforms.
I do wonder if it could become a tourist attraction for those interests in modern metros and Victorian architecture.
Crossrail To Reading In December 2019
As current rumours are that Crossrail will open in December to Reading, it looks like the station will be ready in all its Victorian splendour..
It is planned that Hanwell station will have a train every ten minutes.
Ealing Broadway Station – 19th April 2019
These pictures show Ealing Broadway station.
There’s still a lot of work to be done, to make the station, look like Crossrail’s image on the hoarding.
These are the proposed train frequencies at the station in the Off Peak, when Crossrail opens.
- Four trains per hour – Great Western Railway.
- Ten trains per hour – Crossrail.
- Six trains per hour – District Line
- Nine trains per hour – Central Line
There will be extra services in the Peak.
Crossrail To Reading In December 2019
As current rumours are that Crossrail will open in December to Reading, it looks like the station will be usable, if the architects have got the design right.
It is planned that Ealing Broadway station will have a Crossrail train every six minutes.
West Ealing Station – 16th April 2019
These pictures were taken at West Ealing station.
At last there appears to be some progress, with the footbridge now under construction.
The station certainly looks to be advanced enough, to fit in with Crossrail opening within a year, as I wrote about in Crossrail Service To Reading On Track For December Opening.
According to the Wikipedia entry for Crossrail, West EWaling station will have the following trains, when Crossrail opens.
- Two trains per hour (tph) between Reading and Abbey Wood
- Two tph between Maidenhead and Abbey Wood
- Four tph between Heathrow Terminal 4 and Abbey Wood.
- Two tph between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Abbey Wood.
What if you want to go to Shenfield?
If the Western section of Crossrail opens in December, would West Ealing station get the following service?
- Two tph between Reading and Paddington
- Two tph between Maidenhead and Paddington
- Four tph between Heathrow Terminal 4 and Paddington
- Two tph between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Paddington
That would surely be an excellent service!
If the frequency on the Greenford Branch could be doubled to four tph, there would also be an excellent interchange to the branch line.
Crossrail To Reading In December 2019
As current rumours are that Crossrail will open in December to Reading, it looks like the station will be usable.
It is planned that West Ealing station will have a Crossrail train every six minutes.
Acton Main Line Station – 16th April 2019
These pictures were taken at Acton Main Line station.
The station certainly looks to be advanced enough, to fit in with Crossrail opening within a year, as I wrote about in Crossrail Service To Reading On Track For December Opening.
According to the Wikipedia entry for Crossrail, Acton Main Line station will have four trains per hour (tph) between Heathrow Terminal 4 and Abbey Wood stations, when Crossrail opens.
If the Western section of Crossrail opens in December 2019, would Acton Main Line station get a service of four tph between Heathrow Terminal 4 and Paddington?
That would certainly meet the standard Transport for London/Merseyrail preferred frequency of at least four tph in a station!
Crossrail To Reading In December 2019
As current rumours are that Crossrail will open in December to Reading, it looks like the station will be usable.
It is planned that Acton Main Line station will have a train every fifteen minutes.
Are The Bakerloo Line Platforms At Paddington Ready For Step-Free Access And Crossrail?
I took these pictures on the Bakerloo Line platforms at Paddington station.
Note.
- The blue hoardings have gone.
- The decorations appear finished.
- There are a set of locked fire-doors in the centre of the platforms. Where do they lead?
- The signs by the doors, have big white spaces, which cry out for graffiti or direction signs.
It all fits with Crossrail opening within a year as I wrote about in Crossrail Service To Reading On Track For December Opening.
Many of the extra passengers will head for the Underground, so complete their journeys. So opening Crossrail to Reading with a step-free connection to the Bakerloo Line makes sense.
Crossrail Service To Reading On Track For December Opening
The title of this post is the same as this article on New Civil Engineer.
In Will Crossrail Open To Reading in 2019?, I analysed this possibility, after it was raised in the January 2019 Edition of Modern Railways.
I decided it would be a good idea, with the major benefit of making Paddington a station without any trains running on diesel.
Isleworth Station To Go Step-Free
This document on the Government web site is entitled Access for All: 73 Stations Set To Benefit From Additional Funding.
Isleworth station is on the list.
These pictures show the station.
It is a double track station on a viaduct with the platforms on either side.
Currently, services are four trains per hour (tph) in both directions. The trains, that I rode to and from the station were ten cars.
If the West London Orbital Railway should be created, then this would add another four tph in both directions.
With the extra services, step-free access could be important, as the West London Orbital Railway will link this station to both Crossrail and High Speed Two.
Installing The Lifts
Space is tight and Isleworth station is one without ticket barriers.
It should be possible to install Subway-to-Platform lifts, but if they can’t be fitted, then as the station doesn’t have barriers, outside lifts might be a solution.
The Anonymous Widower 