The Marlow Branch
After my exploration yesterday of Twyford Station And The Henley Branch, I felt I had to explore one of the other branches today.
So I took the Great Western Railway to Maidenhead station and went up and down the Marlow Branch Line.
Unlike at Twyford, where you have several minutes to make the connection, at Maidenhead, I only had a couple, so pictures of Maidenhead station are a bit sparse in the gallery. However, I did take some others in Before Crossrail Maidenhead Station.
Much of what was said about the Henley Branch applies to the Maidenhead Branch.
- It is a short branch of just over seven miles with a change of direction in the middle at Bourne End station.
- An IPEMU would appear to be more than capable of providing a service on the line.
- At a quick look, it would appear that the platforms at Bourne End, Cookham, Furze Platt and Marlow stations could easily be made long enough for a four car train.
- The line has several level crossings and a couple of low bridges, that could cause problems with traditional electrification.
- Bourne End Railway Bridge is an historic bridge and I doubt that the heritage lobby would allow it to be electrified using overhead wires.
Operation
One almost unique quirk of the line is that the reversal of direction at Bourne End, where the driver has to walk to the other end of the train.
The Class 165 train is over twenty years old and was built before trains had modern control and wi-fi systems. Surely, a modern train could be driven from the rear, using CCTV for forward vision between Bourne End and Marlow.
Extending From Bourne End To High Wycombe
I think that it is true to say, that a lot of people would be very pleased if the branch line still continued past Bourne End and on to High Wycombe station.
This Google Map shows Bourne End station.
Bourne End Station
Note how the line from Maidenhead comes in from the South West and the line continues to Marlow along the river after the change of direction. The former line to High Wycombe is visible as a green scar going off to the North East.
I certainly think that the ambitious natures of Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway and Crossrail/Transport for London will mean that this extension to effectively make High Wycombe one change away from Crossrail will be seriously looked at by the train companies.
Work Starts At Ealing Broadway Station
Ealing Broadway station is the latest Crossrail station to call in the builders.
At present, they appear to be closing everything off and clearing out the old buildings.
The page on Crossrail gives more details. This is a visualisation.
Ealing Broadway Station
I used to use Ealing Broadway station a lot in the past and it certainly looks much better.
Twyford Station And The Henley Branch
I went for lunch in Henley-on-Thames today taking the Great Western Railway to Twyford station for the Henley Branch Line to Henley-on-Thames station.
These pictures document the journey between my two train changes at Twyford station.
The branch is a typical single-track rural branch line that trundles its way through the countryside, over the River Thames to a single platform, that can take eight car trains.
It is currently served by a single two car Class 165 train, that goes up and down every fifty minutes or so all day, which is augmented by a couple of direct trains in the peak.
I feel that the Henley Branch Line could easily by worked by an IPEMU train. This could be either one of Class 387 trains ordered by Great Western Railway and converted to the technology or a new Aventra train.
Consider the following about the Henley Branch.
- It is only four and a half miles long.
- The speed limit of the line is fifty miles per hour.
- The bridge over the Thames has a lower speed limit and would probably be challenging to electrify.
- The two intermediate stations of Shiplake and Wargrave are built for eight car trains.
- There is at least one level crossing on the branch.
- The bay platform at Twyford station looks like it could take a five car train.
The Class 379 IPEMU test train with its sixty mile range could probably do six up-and-downs without a recharge. When an IPEMU train needed a recharge it would just pull into Platform 4 at Twyford station instead of the normal bay Platform 5, raise the pantograph and charge the batteries. Alternatively, Plstform 5 could have a short length of overhead wiring for recharging the battery.
This Google Map shows Twyford station.
Twyford Station
Note the two car train in Platform 5 and the Henley Branch Line leading away to the north from the Great Western Main Line..
If Class 387 trains modified with IPEMU technology were to be used, Henley could receive four car electric trains as soon as the power was switched on as far as Twyford, with no major works on the Branch.
Two Class 387 trains could be coupled together to make an eight car train, that could also be run to and from Paddington during the peak and the Henley Regatta.
Theresa May Is On The Right Track
This article on the Maidenhead Advertiser entitled Theresa May discusses need for more parking at Maidenhead and Twyford stations with Crossrail chief, caught my eye! It says this.
Home Secretary Theresa May has met with the chief executive of Crossrail to discuss concerns about the need for sufficient car parking spaces at Maidenhead and Twyford stations.
She is right to bring this up.
Obviously, the Central London stations have very little car parking or even a need for it, but get into the outer reaches of the line as in Theresa May’s constituency and car parking is thin on the ground.
In my view each of the branches of the line need a decent Park-and-Ride site.
If nothing more, than to take the pressure off the M25.
Tottenham Court Road Station Gains A Giant Fosterito
The second new entrance to Tottenham Court Road station opened today.
The entrance under the shadow of Centre Point, is a giant British version of the fosteritos on the Bilbao Metro.
Tottenham Court Road station, is probably one of first stations to be designed since London adopted contactless ticketing.
In my view, the design has certainly benefited, with its vast ticket hall, wide gate line and uncluttered area, where people can pass through quickly.
Simple is certainly efficient!
Crossrail Extension To Gravesend
A possible Crossrail Extension to Gravesend has been safeguarded, although because Crossrail doesn’t call at St. Pancras for Eurostar, I feel that extending Crossrail to Ebbsfleet International station to catch Continental trains there, would be part of any extension to Gravesend.
This Google Map shows both Ebbsfleet International and Gravesend stations.
Ebbsfleet International And Gravesend Stations
Ebbsfleet International is to the West and Gravesend is to the East.
There would have to be some major construction work, but it would probably be feasible.
However this Google Map of Gravesend Station shows a serious problem.
Gravesend Station
As can be seen, it is a very cramped site. These pictures show the station.
I doubt any extension to Gravesend will terminate at Gravesend station.
There is a page on the Crossrail web site, which is entitled Safeguarding. This is said.
An additional extension from Abbey Wood to Gravesend and Hoo Junction, has been safeguarded however there are no current plans to extend the railway beyond the route currently identified.
This is a Google Map of the Hoo Junction area to the East of Gravesend.
Hoo Junction
Currently, it is occupied by a freight yard. It certainly could be used as the terminus, but it is about ten kilometres East of Ebbsfleet International station.
So could a train on the North Kent Line that runs from the current Crossrail terminus at Abbey Wood to Gravesend, do a detour to Ebbsfleet International?
This Google Map shows the lines in the Ebbsfleet International area.
Lines Around Ebbsfleet
The North Kent Line starts in the top left at Swanscombe station, crosses over the lines into Ebbsfleet International. It then goes through Northfleet station, before going off in a South-Easterly direction to Gravesend.
A connection could surely be built so that after passing Swanscombe station, the trains on the North Kent Line could pass through Ebbsfleet International, rather than through Northfleet station.
An alternative would be to provide a proper connection perhaps using a travelator between Northfleet and Ebbsfleet International stations.
One problem to sort out would be the level of services through Abbey Wood, that continue on to Ebbsfleet International and Gravesend.
More Thoughts On Dalston Junction To Hayes
In February this year, I wrote Should Trains Run From Dalston Junction To Hayes?
I finished the post like this.
So is New Cross the least used direct southern destination on the East London Line? Also, was it only included in the East London Line for historic reasons, as it had been a Metropolitan Line destination?
If so, it might be an idea to see if extension of the four trains per hour services terminating at the station is possible. Perhaps two could go Hayes and two to Orpington, which would double the frequency to both places from New Cross.
I could also have said in the summing up, that this would give four trains per hour from Dalston Junction to Lewisham, with all its connections to South East London and Kent.
This morning, I was reading an article on London Reconnections about extending the Bakerloo Line, entitled Death, Taxes and Lewisham: Extending the Bakerloo.
So it got me thinking!
I returned to my original article and had the following blasphemous thought.
Is Transport for London, so obsessed with using the supposed spare capacity on the Bakerloo Line, that it doesn’t think straight about what to do with this line?
Consider the following points.
- Passengers like the Overground model and many rate it higher than the Underground.
- When Crossrail and Thameslink and the East London Lines are up to capacity of twenty-four trains per hour, the increase in capacity will change London’s transport system dramatically, as there will be an H-shaped network with interchanges at Farringdon, Whitechapel and possibly some other places.
- Most trains going to Kent and South East London start from Victoria, which is not well placed for some of the important parts of Central London. Would extra connections to a twenty-four trains per hour East London Line at Penge and Brockley be a better route for many passengers?
- I feel that there would be a backlash, if the Hayes Line became part of the Bakerloo Line, just like there was when Thameslink wanted to stop all Sutton Loop Line trains at Blackfriars! If you’ve been commuting for years in First Class from Hayes into Cannon Street for the City, I don’t think you’d be happy if your train was a smaller one-class, crowded Underground train. But you might accept an Overground train to Canada Water for the Jubilee Line or Whitechapel for Crossrail and the Metropolitan/Circle/District Lines.
- Thameslink together with the Bakerloo Line and an upgraded Jubilee Line will create a resilient North-West to East routing, that could withstand the occasional serious failure. The East London Line provides that resilient link in the East.
- Thameslink doesn’t connect with the Central Line, but the East London Line could at Shoreditch High Street.
I’m coming more to the conclusion that there is no way that a long extension to the Bakerloo Line would be needed. Perhaps it should be extended in a loop down the Old Kent Road to Camberwell, to get high-quality rail services into that area.
Should East London Line Services To New Cross Go Further?
Four services per hour on the East London Line have their Southern terminus at New Cross station and could these venture further into South London?
At the moment these services terminate in a bay Platform D, which is just a walk across from the trains going South. But when coming North, you have to go over the step-free bridge to get from Platform A to Platform D.
In the next few years, various developments will happen, that will affect travel in the area bordered by New Cross, Cannon Street and Whitechapel.
- London Bridge and Thameslink will be improved, so interchange between Cannon Street services and Thameslink will be much easier.
- Hopefully, access to the Underground at London Bridge will be eased by the redevelopment of the station.
- Will the Thameslink improvements increase the capacity into Cannon Street?
- Crossrail will open.
- The Metropolitan/District and Circle Lines will have been fully upgraded with bigger trains and new signalling.
- The Jubilee Line will have been upgraded.
- Bank station will have been upgraded.
- There will be large numbers of office developments around the City, increasing the numbers of needed final destinations.
I believe that the increasing flexibility will mean passengers will be less likely to use the same route.
I also believe that passengers will switch between London Bridge/CannonStreet and the East London Line destinations of Canada Water, Whitechapel and Shoreditch High Street.
Many more will want to change at New Cross!
If the East London Line services started South of New Cross and just called at Platform A on their way North, just as London Bridge/Cannon Street services do, this would this give a simple change for Northbound passengers.
If you were on a Tunbridge Wells to Cannon Street train and wanted to go to Whitechapel for Crossrail, you would get off at New Cross and wait for an East London Line train on the same Platform A.
This interchangeability of Northern destinations, is unlocked by sending East London Line trains past New Cross.
Can East London Line Services To New Cross Go Further?
After Crossrail and an upgraded Thameslink opens, it will take some time for passenger numbers to stabilise.
These figures will decide if it is worthwhile to extend the services past New Cross.
The other constraint will be whether paths are available to continue to Lewisham and beyond.
The simplest plan would be to run the four trains per hour to Lewisham and then run two trains to both of Orpington and Hayes.
Extra Interfaces On The East London Line
I would also build the following interchanges on the East London Line.
- Central Line at Shoreditch High Street. This can’t be done until Crossrail opens.
- A New Penge station to connect to the Chatham Main Line
- A high-level Brockley station to link to the Nunhead to Lewisham Line.
There may also be scope for linking the East London Line to Thameslink. It is probably a pity, that the East London Line serves West Croydon rather than East Croydon, as the latter station has so much better connectivity.
Today, I visited South East London and I can make these observations.
New Cross Station
I wrote Changing At New Cross, when I looked at New Cross station.
I can’t see any obvious reason, why East London Line trains have to terminate at New Cross. I suspect, that it’s only for historic reasons, as that’s what the Metropolitan Line did many years ago.
St. Johns Station
I wrote Investigating St. Johns Station, when I looked at St. Johns station.
My only feeling about this station is that if it were to be upgraded to the standard passengers expect, it could be a valuable step-free interchange station between an extended East London Line and the services into and out of Cannon Street.
Lewisham Station
I wrote Changing At Lewisham, when I visited Lewisham station
If it were to be served by four trains per hour on the East London Line, with two trains per hour going to Hayes and the other two to Orpington, Lewisham would be an important interchange to increase the connectivity between South East and North East London.
Catford and Catford Bridge Stations
I wrote An Opportunity At Catford, when I looked at the twin stations of Catford and Catford Bridge and can say this.
- Currently, all trains through Catford Bridge station are going to and from Hayes.
- All trains through Catford are Thameslink ones between Blackfriars and Sevenoaks.
- Track exists to send trains between Catford Bridge to and from Orpington.
If cross-platform interchange could somehow be provided between the two northbound and the two southbound lines at Catford/Catford Bridge, this would give passengers from Hayes and Orpington a big choice of Northern destinations.
Effect On Dalston Junction
If the four trains per hour shuttle service between Dalston Junction and New Cross was replaced by two trains per hour to each of Orpington or Hayes, it probably wouldn’t have much overall effect on the Dalston Junction to New Cross section of the line, but what would the timings look like?
Currently trains leave Dalston Junction in the Off Peak at 04, 19, 34 and 49 past the hour taking twenty-two minutes to get to New Cross. They then return at 07, 22, 37 and 52.
So the 04 train gets to New Cross at 26, returns at 37 and gets back to Dalston Junction at 59, which means it waits eleven minutes at New Cross and six at Dalston Junction.
New Cross to Hayes takes thirty minutes, so that would be fifty two minutes from Dalston Junction to Hayes.
Would that be fast enough for each train to do one trip each hour?
I suspect that one of Transport for London’s timetabling experts could devise a pattern.
More Trains Through The Thames Tunnel
At present there are sixteen trains per hour through the Thames Tunnel.
- 4 – Dalston Junction to New Cross
- 4 – Dalston Junction to West Croydon
- 4 – Highbury and Islington to Crystal Palace
- 4 – Highbury and Islington to Clapham Junction
Which means that as there is a theoretical limit of twenty-four trains per hour, there are another eight paths available.
In Increased Frequencies On The East London Line, I wrote that London Overground have plans to introduce the following extra services.
- From 2018, there will be an extra two trains per hour between Dalston Junction and Crystal Palace.
- From 2019, there will be two additional trains between Dalston Junction and Clapham Junction.
So that would mean that there are still possibly another four paths available.
I would assume that the extra trains would be accommodated at the Northern end by just tightening the turn-round times.
I can’t believe that it won’t be long before Transport for London come up with ways of using the remaining four paths.
If they are planning to turn back two extra trains from Crystal Palace and two from Clapham Junction at Highbury and Islington, I can’t believe that they couldn’t turn back another four services at Dalston Junction. Assuming the extra trains to Crystal Palace and Clapham Junction, this would give the following frequencies.
- 12 tph between Highbury and Islington and Dalston Junction.
- 24 tph between Dalston Junction and Surrey Quays.
The core section of the East London Line will interface in 2020 with the following lines.
- Crossrail at Whitechapel will be 24 tph
- The Jubilee Line at Canada Water will be 36 tph
- The Victoria Line at Highbury and Islington will be 36 tph by 2016.
Father and son, Marc and Isambard Brunel, will be spinning in their graves, to see what their Nineteenth Century engineering curiosity-turned-marvel has become.
The Emergence Of Overground Transport Hubs
More trains on the East London Line between Dalston and Clapham Junctions is to be welcomed.
I use the well-connected Clapham Junction, if say I’m going to Southampton, Portsmouth or many other places, as it means I can avoid the difficulty of getting to Waterloo or Victoria.
The one problem with Clapham Junction in my view is that Thameslink or the Gatwick Express doesn’t call at the station.
Even so, Clapham Junction, Dalston Junction and Stratord are evolving as the major hubs on the Overground Network.
In the next few years, the following stations will become major hubs.
- Whitechapel because of its important location on Crossrail
- Old Oak Common because of its connections to Crossrail and HS2
- Hackney Interchange (Central plus Downs) because it joins the North London Line to the West Anglia Lines.
Will Lewisham, Crystal Palace or other stations join this elite group?
Southeastern
Southeastern is the train operating company that operates most of the train services to South-East London. Kent and East Sussex.
The company has three sub brands.
- Highspeed operates high-speed service on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link using Class 395 trains.
- Mainline operates traditional long distance services to Kent and East Sussex.
- Metro runs services to South East and South London.
London Overground makes to secret of the fact that it would like to bring the Metro services under its control.
I would very much welcome this takeover for the following reasons.
- As a North Londoner, who grew up in the North, South London trains are very much a mystery to me and Southeastern’s information could be substantially improved.
- The East London Line and Southeastern services could be properly co-ordinated.
- When the Overground took over the West Anglia Lines, there was a definite improvement in stations and customer service.
- The whole of Southeastern’s Metro and Mainline network needs to be brought into Transport for London’s Oyster and contactless bank card ticketing.
Hopefully, the takeover will happen, when the franchise is up for renewal in 2018.
Crossrail Extension To Ebbsfleet International And Gravesend
I wrote Crossrail Extension to Gravesend after a visit to the area and I feel that it would be possible to extend Crossrail, so that it served both Ebbsfleet International and Gravesend stations.
This would enable a direct link between Heathrow Airport and Continental trains and you’d only need to change once if you were going to Gatwick, Luton or Stansted Airports.
Conclusions
On a brief look, there is a lot of potential to extend the New Cross branch of the East London Line to Lewisham, Hayes, Orpington and perhaps some more places.
Get it right and it might not be the best thing to have a long extension of the Bakerloo Line.
Changing At New Cross
If you get an East London Line Class 378 train and want to continue your journey South from New Cross station, you often just walk across the platform to catch your next train.
The pictures show how I changed at New Cross for St. John’s station.
There is no problem going South but coming North, you have to climb over the bridge from platforms A or B to get to platform D. The walk is step free, but modern station layouts would be designed, so that you walk across between trains or wait on the platform for a few minutes, until your train arrives.
In an ideal world Northbound East London Line services would start from Platform A, with Platform B being reserved for services to Cannon Street.
New Cross Gate station uses a layout with the East London Line trains calling at the outermost platforms.
This would not be possible at present with the trains terminating at New Cross in Platform D, as they have no means to get to Platform A, without reversing out and crossing the busy lines through the station.
But if the East London Line trains terminated South of New Cross, this would not be a problem.
The service frequency from New Cross to Dalston Junction would still be the same as now, but there would be differences.
- Passengers joining the railway at New Cross wanting to use the East London Line to go North would have to cross the step-free footbridge, just as passengers for Cannon Street do now.
- Usually, because the Northbound East London Line train is waiting, you can sit and wait in a warm train, rather than on a draughty platform.
- Passengers from St. John’s, Lewisham and other stations in the South might avoid at least one change of train, by using East London Line trains.
Remember too, that from 2019, Crossrail will run through Whitechapel, giving better access to the West End, Paddington. Heathrow and East London. Charing Cross and Cannon Street aren’t exactly connected well to Crossrail. This will surely see a lot of passengers going between New Cross and Whitechapel.
Whitechapel Station – Steelwork Against The Sky
I took these pictures of the structures above the East London Line at Whitechapel station, as it is being rebuilt for Crossrail.
I do hope that when the station is completed, that a lot of the roof is clear to let in the natural light.
This image from the Crossrail page for Witechapel station gives hope.
I once wrote Is Whitechapel Station Going To Be The Jewel In The East?
We’ll see in a couple of years!
Crossrail Works Around Pudding Mill Lane Station
I took these pictures as I went through the area on a TfL Rail train to Shenfield and then later, when I took a DLR train!
The Crossrail tunnel portal is now recognisable as two holes leading into the ground.
They appear to be building something over the top of the tunnel just before it goes under the water and on into London. Could this be a ventilation shaft?
The Anonymous Widower 