Custom House Station – 20th March 2016
Progress at Custom House station.
It’s certainly going to be an impressive entrance to Crosrail from the Excel.
Crossrail In Docklands
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the route of Crossrail through Docklands.
Crossrail In Docklands
Cossrail is shown in a blue-purple colour and it goes horizonrally across the map.
The Crossrail stations in the area are as follows from West to East.
Whitechapel
Whitechapel station is off the map to the west.
I have included it, as it will be Crossrail’s Jewel In The East and the most important interchange for the line in East London.
- It links both eastern branches of Crossrail to the Metropolitan and District Lines.
- It provides an interchange to London’s important but sometimes forgotten East London Line.
- An extended Whitechapel station would provide much better access to the East of the City of London.
But perhaps more importantly, Whitechapel is the reversal station for passengers travelling between one Eastern branch of Crossrail and the other.
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf station is Lord Foster’s architectural set piece for the line, which is probably more about showing off, shopping and leisure, than transport.
I have my worries about this station, in that interchange between Crossrail and the Jubilee Line and the DLR, may turn out to be long walks interspersed with a couple of long escalators.
I also think that many passengers for Canary Wharf will prefer to come to the area on the light and airy Docklands Light Railway, rather than on a deep, dark line with no views. Cinderella always comes out on top, as that’s where she belongs.
But then this station wasn’t designed for the needs of normal passengers.
I think that when Trip Advisor and other sites, start to rate Crossrail that this station will not be liked, except by those who live and work in the area.
Custom House
Custom House station is being built primarily to serve the Excel Exhibition Centre and the surrounding area.
But it will also provide a valuable easy connection to the Docklands Light Railway, which is lacking at Canary Wharf
Silvertown
Silvertown station is not planned, but the site has been safeguarded, so that it can be built when required.
I think it will be built in the next few years.
- It would link Crossrail to the London City Airport.
- It would give London City Airport a direct connection to Heathrow and a one-change connection to Gatwick.
- It would link Crossrail to the Southern branches of the DLR.
- Hopefully connections would be better than at Canary Wharf.
But the building of this station, will be mainly driven by the developments to the south of the Royal Docks.
This is a Google Map of the area, which shows the North and South entrances to the Connaught Tunnel, which takes Crossrail under the Docks.
The Route Of The Connaught Tunnel
This second Google Map, shows the Southern entrance to the Tunnel in detail.
Silvertown Station Site
The proposed Silvertown station would be in this area. As to the precise location, I can’t find any information.
Woolwich
Woolwich station is to the east of Docklands on the South bank of the Thames.
It has been built solely to serve the new housing on the Royal Arsenal site and has very poor connectivity with other rail lines.
This is a Google Map of the area.
Woolwich Stations
Note Woolwich Arsenal station and the co-located DLR connection to the South West of the map.
Woolwich station is somewhere underneath the blocks to the North.
There is certainly a need to create a decent walking route in the area.
Conclusion
Looking at these stations, it strikes me that although connectivity between Crossrail and other lines is there, it is not of the best at some stations.
Scoring them out of ten, I would give scores as follows.
- Whitechapel – 10
- Canary Wharf – 4
- Custom House – 8
- Silvertown – 7
- Woolwich – 3
Obviously, when the line opens, good design may improve matters.
But I do feel that building Silvertown station would make the whole line a lot better.
Does London Need To Get A Grip On Rail Connectivity?
This article in the Standard has a title of Old Oak Common regeneration scheme ‘risks being London’s worst cock-up in 50 years’. This is the first three paragraphs.
Boris Johnson’s flagship regeneration scheme at Old Oak Common is in danger of turning into London’s “worst cock-up in 50 years”, a leading government adviser warned today.
Urban planner Sir Terry Farrell said the £10 billion development, the biggest in Britain, is heading for disaster because of the rush to finish Crossrail.
He blamed politicians for ducking key decisions and said the Mayor was partly responsible for a shortsighted “pass the parcel” approach. Sir Terry said: “If a tenth of the energy he put into the Boris island airport idea had gone into Old Oak Common I feel sure it would have happened without a problem.”
Old Oak Common is going to be a major development of 25,000 homes and 55,000 jobs created over the next fifteen years. A major transport hub will be created at Old Oak Common station will be created, linking some or all of the following lines together.
- Bakerloo Line
- Central Line
- Crossrail
- Dudding Hill Line
- Great Western Main Line
- HS2
- North London Line
- Watford DC Line
- West Coast Main Line
- West London Line
This map shows the plans for Option C of TRfL’s Old Oak Common proposals.
Option C Proposal At Old Oak Common
I wrote about this option in Should An Overground Station Be Built At Hythe Road?
Terry Farrell has said that there is no space between the rail lines to put the piling to support the homes, offices and other developments that will built over the top.
I also believe that the walking routes between the various stations will be far to long and tortuous.
The developers, Transport for London and the rail companies involved all seem to be planning their own parts in isolation.
It seems to echo what I documented in Searching For What Is Going To Happen On The East London Line After The Thameslink Programme Opens, where I was trying to find out how Thameslink will improve my journeys from Dalston Junction using the East London Line.
My correspondence on that issue, would seem to indicate that Thameslink and Transport for London don’t talk to each other and calmly go their own ways.
Someone needs to get a grip on all these big projects at a high level.
How Will Crossrail Fit Into Heathrow?
With all the unnecessary arguments going on about Crossrail and access to Heathrow Airport, that I wrote about in Heathrow Express And Crossrail, I thought it would be an idea to look at the layout of the rail lines at the airport. This rail map from carto.metro.free.fr, shows the lines as they are now.
Heathrow Rail Lines
Look at the Crossrail web site page for Heathrow and this is said.
Crossrail will provide four trains per hour in each direction between central London and Heathrow Airport (Terminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 4), replacing the two trains per hour Heathrow Connect. Crossrail services to and from the airport will call at local stations into central London.
To match the train service with passenger demand at particular stations, and to achieve shorter journey times for longer distance passengers, trains will not usually call at all stations.
The Heathrow Express will continue to operate as prior to the construction of Crossrail but we will replace the Heathrow Connect overground service with a more frequent service that stops at other stations on the way to Paddington.
So it would appear that Crossrail will use the two platforms at the Terminal Four station, as a terminus. Is that enough platforms?
Passengers for Terminal Five will have to change trains at Heathrow Central station.
It’s certainly not the best way to design a railway.
In a real world where passengers come first, Heathrow Express would be confined to history and two Crossrail trains per hour would go to each of Terminal Four and Terminal Five.
As I write this post, this article on Global Rail News has just been published. It has a title of Heathrow Express fleet out of service for “foreseeable future”.
So perhaps the trains are imposing a solution to the problem and leaving the paths open for a sensible Crossrail-only solution.
Many would pay serious money to be a fly on the wall at the meeting between Heathrow Airport, Transport for London, the Mayor of London, the Office of Rail Regulation and perhaps a couple of heavyweight government ministers, when the solution to Crossrail’s access to Heathrow is sorted.
The Piccadilly Line And Heathrow
I’ve just looked at the map again and it prompted me to look at the Piccadilly Line At Heathrow.
Note how the Piccadilly Line starts from Hatton Cross station calls at the single platform Terminal Four station and then curves in a single-track loop before it arrives at the station for Terminals 1, 2 and 3.
This must be the simplest way to create a the end of an Underground line, if you can just keep digging.
A few years earlier, a similar tunnel was dug in Liverpool to link the Wirral Line to the city centre, when Merseyrail was created.
Both tunnels are single unidirectional lines running clockwise.
A similar layout could be used to take the Victoria Line to Herne Hill, as I wrote about in Will The Victoria Line Go To Herne Hill?
The Piccadilly Line And Heathrow After Crossrail
Some might question if it is still necessary to have the Piccadilly Line run to Heathrow after Crossrail has been built.
But consider the following.
- The upgrade of the Piccadilly Line with new signalling and new trains, will bring an increase in capacity and faster times from Central London to the Airport.
- For large numbers of people living along the route of the Piccadilly Line or just one change away from it, it will still be the easiest way to get to Heathrow.
- The Piccadilly Line will be the only line other than Heathrow Express, that serves all five terminals.
- There will certainly be contactless ticketing to Heathrow, if you use the Piccadilly Line.
- If politics stop the use of Freedom Passes to Heathrow on Crossrail, it will probably be available on the Piccadilly Line.
I also think, that there is scope for sorting out the western ends of the Piccadilly Line to improve connectivity in the area.
Slough Borough Council have already proposed extending the Piccadilly Line from Terminal 5 to Slough.
If you look at the route of the Piccadilly Line westward from South Kensington station, the line seems to cross several important rail lines without any interchange.
As an example this is the area centred on the old Earls Court Exhibition Centre, which is now being developed as housing.
Around Earl’s Court
I think there’s scope for a better station at Earl’s Court on the Piccadilly Line, that connects with the West London Line.
Unless of course, the development is so upmarket, the residents wouldn’t be seen dead in trains. But developers have told me that in London, good stations improve marketability.
An improved station here would give good connections between Heathrow and South London and especially to Clapham Junction and East Croydon stations.
Other possibilities would be to connect the Piccadilly Line to the North London Line and a reinstated Brentford Branch.
I can’t believe that if Transport for London spend millions on new signalling and trains on the line, that they won’t do some other improvements.
Small-Scale Connectivity To Crossrail
I live about twenty-five minutes from my nearest Crossrail station at Moorgate on a 141 bus and as I walked around today, I just wondered what will be the best way to access London’s new East-West rail line when it opens in a few years time.
So what do I mean by small-scale connectivity?
I think it is best defined as any method that isn’t more than perhaps ten stations on heavy rail, light rail, the Underground or trams.
And of course, you might substitute Thameslink for Crossrail! Or if you don’t live in London, it could be your major cross-city line.
So in my case, the following would be small-scale connectivity to Crossrail.
- Walking
- Cycling
- Car
- Taxi
- Bus
I do have a heavy rail link to Crossrail in the form of the East London Line between Dalston Junction and Whitechapel, so that will be included as it is only a short stretch of line of four stations.
These are the methods available to me in Dalston.
Walking
For good connectivity, the walking routes around a station should be properly mapped and signposted on a physical wayfinding system, like Legible London used all over the capital.
I also think it is essential that a common format is used, along a line.
So this probably means that London will decide how walking maps and signposts at Crossrail stations in Essex and Berkshire will look.
Will that be acceptable to towns and cities, that have called in consultants to design their ideal wayfinding system?
One problem with wayfinding systems, is that in some places the locals who know the city or area well, say they don’t need the system and think it a waste of money.
You also have the problem in areas with more than one local authority, that each go their own way, rather than agree on a common system.
Remember too, that London is so large, that the average resident finds themselves regularly in an area of the city they don’t know. So Londoners on the whole are very pro-Legible London.
I feel that we need to impose the same wayfinding system all over the UK.
Cycling
Just as there should be good walking routes to a station, the cycling routes should be obvious and well-signposted.
And if bikes are provided for hire at the station, the payment system must be compatible with London’s.
Perhaps we need a nationwide bike hire system?
Car
Many people will want to drive to their local Crossrail station and park their car before they get the train.
i have a feeling that when Crossrail opens, the biggest complaint will be the lack of car parking at stations.
Taxi
For about the last three months, I’ve been suffering badly from plantar fasciitis and because of the limited mobility, it gives me at times, I now feel very strongly that every Crossrail station, should have a proper black taxi rank.
Recently Transport for London have announced that one of my local stations; Highbury and Islington, is going to have a taxi rank. I have yet to find a taxi driver who is against the idea and I believe this could be a winner for both passengers and black cab drivers.
Bus
Every London rail and tube station is a bus hub with its own spider map, which details all of the buses and their routes from the area. This is my lovcal bus spider map for Dalston.
Dalston Bus Spider Map
Venture outside of London and in many places, bus mapping is often missing or very bad to give it the benefit of the doubt.
As with walking maps, local authorities outside of London with a Crossrail station, will have to adopt London’s system.
Other Rail Lines
Crossrail does connect to quite a number of heavy rail, Underground and Overground Lines.
- Bakerloo Line
- Central Line
- Circle Line
- District Line
- East London Line
- Great Eastern Main Line
- Great Western Main Line
- HS1 – After extension to Gravesend
- HS2 – After Old Oak Common
- Jubilee Line
- Metropolitan Line
- North Kent Line
- Northern Line
- Northern City Line
- North London Line
- Thameslink
- West Anglia Main Line
- West Coast Main Line – After extension to West Coast Main Line
- West London Line
I have included links to extensions to Gravesend and the West Coast Main Line and Old Oak Common in this list.
Small Branch Lines
But it also connects with several smaller branch lines or perhaps in the future, some tram and light rail lines.
- Abbey Line – After extension to West Coast Main Line
- Brentford Branch Line
- Croxley Rail Link – After extension to West Coast Main Line
- Greenford Branch Line
- Henley Branch Line
- Marlow Branch Line
- New North Main Line
- Reading to Basingstoke Line
- Romford to Upminster Line
- Shenfield to Southend Line
- Slough to Windsor and Eton Line
- Staines and West Drayton Railway
- Waterloo to Reading Line
I believe that Local Authorities will develop these smaller lines and create others to maximise their benefit from Crossrail,
A Metro In The East
The two lines that I think have the most likely chance of being developed, are the Romford to Upminster and Shenfield to Southend Lines.
- The main line rail company; c2c, is very ambitious.
- In the next couple of decades, South East Essex will be an important economic growth area.
- Better links are needed to Southend Airport and the London Gateway.
- There is substantial development of jobs, housing and leisure opportunities in the areas the lines serve.
- Give the people of Essex an opportunity and they embrace it fully.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a substantial metro network created in the area, based on Billericay, Shenfield, Southend and Thurrock.
A Metro In The West
If a metro network can be successfully developed at the eastern end of Crossrail, is there the potential of creating something similar at the western end?
Consider.
- Heathrow dominates thinking in West London and feels that everybody should jump to its tune.
- Heathrow should wake up to the fact that it will never get a third runway, as London’s electorate will always vote to block this.
- There will always be a Heathrow, but in time, it will cease to dominate the air travel market in the UK, as it does now!
- Heathrow has very limited rail connections to Basingstoke, Reading and the West.
- If you look at the list of small branch lines, several are clustered around the western end of Crossrail, with its two hub stations of Slough and Reading.
A metro in the west could be developed based on hubs at Basingstoke, Heathrow, Slough and Reading. The Windsor Link Railway is surely thinking along those lines.
A Metro In The South East
Of all the stations on Crossrail, Abbey Wood is one of the most disappointing.
As a terminus for Crossrail, that connects to the North Kent Line and to services to South East London and the Dartford area, four platforms doesn’t seem enough, when you compare the station to the other terminals of Reading and Shenfield.
Transport for London have proposed that the Gospel Oak to Barking Line could cross the river to serve Abbey Wood and if this should happen, there must be opportunities to create another metro system based on Abbey Wood.
A Metro In The North
There are proposals to extend Crossrail to Milton Keynes from Old Oak Common.
This would surely, bring in the possibility of a network of local lines based on Watford.
- The Abbey Line is one of those difficult-to-run lines, that needs substantial improvement.
- The Croxley Rail Link could be expanded to serve Amersham.
- Local services on the West Coast Main Line and the Watford DC Line are very crowded.
This will only be developed once Crossrail serves Watford.
Conclusion
Crossrail in 2030, will be an entirely different line to that being created today.
West Ealing Station – 28th February 2016
Work is also progressing at West Ealing station, as these pictures show.
The bay platform for the Greenford Branch is also obvious and I wonder , what the eventual form, timetable and opening date for that line will be. In a section on the Future of the Greenford Branch, Wikipedia says this.
In 2017 Crossrail is due to begin using two of the four tracks of the Great Western Main Line and the Greenford service will terminate at West Ealing, rather than continue to Paddington, to obviate interference with Crossrail, and to create track capacity for increased services to Heathrow. In compensation the branch line service will increase from two to four trains per hour. Ealing Council desires to have the line connected to the south west to Clapham Junction via the West London Line, and to the north west to West Ruislip.
Of the various things said in this little section on Wikipedia, I think some might happen.
- Transport for London like fifteen minute interval turn-up-and-go services, so an increase in frequency to four trains per hour would be a serious possibility and make the line a good feeder service for Crossrail.
- Some have said that the branch will become part of the London Overground.
- I doubt the service will go past West Ealing, as that would interfere too much with the Crossrail service pattern.
- I don’t rule out, arranging schedules, stairs and lifts, so that the interchange between the two lines is an easy one, with the minimum of waiting time.
- If the Greenford Branch were to be extended past Greenford, it could create a link between Crossrail and Chiltern.
It would appear that Transport for London won’t get control of West Ealing station until perhaps some time in 2017, so I think it is unlikely, that Greenford Branch services will be changed before this happens.
I also think, that on their past record, Transport for London, might come up with something that is a lot better than any speculation can propose.
Hayes And Harlington Station – 28th February 2016
Work on the new platform and the station building, seems to be going on at Hayes and Harlington station.
They certainly seem to be building the new bay platform 5 to take the heaviest of passengers and their cases and buggies.
West Drayton Station – 28th February 2016
This pictures show progress at West Drayton station.
It does appear that there has been significant progress in changing the tracks to the East of the station.
The track work will bring the disused Platform 5 into use. This is the most northerly platform.
Things Seem To Be Moving On Crossrail’s Western Section
Returning from Windsor, I took the route via Slough and took these pictures.
Note.
- Slough station has a new fully accessible footbridge and a new bay platform seems to be being created at the London end of Platform 6.
- The overhead gantries certainly seem massive. They appear to be from Furrer + Frey.
- There is a loop line to the North side of Iver station.
- Hayes and Harlington station is getting a new platform.
- The bay platform at West Ealing station appears to be being readied for electrification and the Greenford Branch Line.
I shall have to go back in the next few days and check on progress.
But it does seem that things are moving along apace.
The Hoardings Are Down At Royal Oak Station
I came past Royal Oak station and as the Crossrail hoardings had been removed, when I got to Paddington, I went back and took these pictures from the train and the platform at Royal Oak station.
It would appear that Crossrail are starting to clear the site and landscape it. This Google Map shows the area.
Westway, Crossrail And Royal Oak Station
I think that it is going to be some form of public space.
The Anonymous Widower 