Could There Be An Elizabeth Line Extension To Grays?
This article on My London is entitled London Underground Tube Map: The Towns That Could Be Added To The Elizabeth Line As New Giant Loop Through London, Essex And Kent Is Proposed.
This paragraph described the proposal.
The proposal, which is part of its Vision 2050 local transport plan, would see the current Elizabeth line service from Romford take over the Overground branch to Emerson Park and Upminster, then join c2c services continuing via Chafford Hundred Lakeside to Tilbury. It would then head under a new tunnel beneath the Thames to Gravesend, connecting with the reintroduced Eurostar at Ebbsfleet International/Northfleet.
It’s certainly a bold idea and you can view the report to Thurrock Council here.
These are my thoughts.
The Frequency Of Trains
Currently, these services have a frequency of two trains per hour (tph) in both directions.
- Romford and Upminster.
- Upminster and Tilbury Town.
It would seem sensible that this frequency is preserved, thus giving every station on the loop four tph to and from the Eastern End of the Central Tunnel at Whitechapel station. Two tph would go via Romford and Stratford and two tph would go via Ebbsfleet and Abbey Wood.
What Would Be The Western Terminal?
It would probably be the two busiest terminals in the West.
I suspect that these will be Heathrow Terminal 4 and Heathrow Terminal 5
- Two tph would go between Heathrow Terminal 4 and Heathrow Terminal 5 via the loop.
- Two tph would go between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Heathrow Terminal4 via the loop.
- Two tph would go clockwise.
- Two tph would go anticlockwise.
I suspect the digital signalling can sort it out, just as it does the loop in Thameslink.
The Connection At Romford To The Romford and Upminster Line
Consider.
- The Romford and Upminster Line is single-track.
- A well-signalled single-track railway can handle two tph in both directions in an hour.
- Trains take five minutes to go between Romford and Emerson Park stations.
- Trains between Romford and Upminster will use Platform 5 at Romford station.
- Trains between Upminster and Romford will use Platform 4 at Romford station.
This map from cartometro shows the track layout at Romford station.
Note.
- The orange lines are the Overground tracks of the Romford and Upminster Line, which connects to Platform 1 in Romford station.
- The black and purple lines are the Elizabeth Line, which go through Platforms 4 and 5 at Romford station.
- The black lines are the fast lines of the Great Eastern Main Line, which go through Platforms 2 and 3 at Romford station.
- There is no connection between the Elizabeth Line and the Romford and Upminster Line.
I believe it is possible to build a single-track flyover or dive-under that connects both Platforms 4 and 5 at Romford station to the Romford and Upminster Line.
A similar double track flyover was built to connect the Barking Riverside branch to the main lines through Barking.
- But this track layout would only need to be single-track.
- I also suspect that there may not be enough space to put in a full double-track flyover.
- It would avoid the inconvenience and danger of using flat junctions to cross the fast lines of the Great Eastern Main Line.
As it only takes five minutes to go between Romford and Emerson Park stations, there is plenty of time to fit two tph in both directions in an hour.
Platform Extension In Platform 1 At Romford Station
Platforms 4 and 5 at Romford regularly take nine-car Class 345 trains, but I think that Platform 1 should be lengthened, to provide a bay platform on the route to help out when the service needs to recover.
Platform Extension At Emerson Park Station
The platform at Emerson Park station will need to be lengthened to take nine-car Class 345 trains.
Some commentators claim, that the passing loop at the station needs to be rebuilt. But I suspect, this isn’t needed as the expanded layout at Romford station effectively creates a passing loop.
The Connection At Upminster Between The Romford and Upminster Line And The Upminster And Tilbury Town Line
Consider.
- Both lines are single-track.
- But there is a passing loop at Ockenden station.
- There are three tracks between West Thurrock junction and Grays.
- Trains take five minutes to go between Emerson Park and Upminster stations.
- Trains take ten minutes to go between Upminster and Chafford Hundred stations.
- Trains take four minutes to go between Chafford Hundred and Grays stations.
- Trains take thirteen minutes to go between Upminster station and West Thurrock junction.
This map from cartometro shows the track layout at Upminster station.
Note.
- The orange lines are the Overground tracks of the Romford and Upminster Line, which connects to Platform 6 in Upminster station.
- The green lines are the District Line tracks that handle the services that terminate at Upminster station.
- The black lines are the c2c tracks between Fenchurch Street and Southend Central stations go through Platforms 1 and 2 at Upminster station.
- The Upminster and Tilbury Town Line leaves Upminster station in a South-Easterly direction.
- The Upminster and Tilbury Town Line connects to Platforms 1 and 2 at Upminster station.
I believe it is possible to build a single-track flyover or dive-under that connects both Platforms 1 and 2 at Upminster station to the Romford and Upminster Line.
This would connect the following.
- The Romford and Upminster Line to the the Upminster and Tilbury Town Line.
- The Romford and Upminster Line to the the Fenchurch Street and Southend Central Line.
Upminster station would be a much improved interchange.
Two tph Between Tilbury Town and Romford Stations
Consider.
- The route is fully electrified.
- The route is a mixture of single and double-track.
- There is a passing loop at Ockendon station.
- The platform at Emerson Park and possibly others may need to be extended to take nine-car Class 345 trains.
I believe single-track flyovers or dive-unders at Romford and Upminster stations would enable two tph on the route.
The only downside I can see, is that passengers going between Fenchurch Street and Chafford Hundred or Ockendon stations would need to change at Grays or Upminster stations.
Alternatively, they could take the Elizabeth Line, which would have a 4 tph direct service between the Central Tunnel of the line and Chafford Hundred and Ockendon stations.
Under The Thames
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the lines on the North bank of the Thames.
Note.
- The orange line is the double-track Tilbury Loop Line between Fenchurch Street and Southend Central stations.
- Tilbury Town station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- There is a proposal for a Tilbury Fort station in the North-East corner of the map.
- The blue arrow at the bottom of the map indicates the former Tilbury Riverside station, which is next to the London International Cruise Terminal.
I believe the North portal of the tunnel under the river could be at the site of the former Tilbury Riverside station.
Would it be an idea to rebuild the station and connect it to the cruise terminal, so that passengers on the cruise ships would have excellent access to Central London, Ebbsfleet International station for High Speed One and Heathrow Airport?
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the lines on the South bank of the Thames.
Note.
- Tilbury Town station, the former Tilbury Riverside Riverside station and the Tilbury Loop Line are in the North-East corner of the map.
- Gravesend station is in the South-East corner of the map.
- The wide orange line going vaguely North-South at the Western side of the map is High Speed One going through Ebbsfleet International station.
- Connecting Gravesend and Ebbsfleet International stations is the North Kent Line.
I suspect it would be possible to bore a tunnel from Tilbury Riverside, that passed under Gravesend station and joined the North Kent Line to the West of the station.
How Would The River Crossing Connect To Gravesend Station?
The platform or platforms on the Elizabeth Line Loop would have to be underground, as there is not much space at Gravesend station as these pictures show.
Note.
- Gravesend has SouthEastern HighSpeed services to St. Pancras International station and North-East Kent.
- The route to Gravesend has been safeguarded for the Elizabeth Line.
- The railway under the Thames could replace the Tilbury and Gravesend Ferry.
There also could be operational advantages in not terminating Elizabeth Line services at Gravesend.
Abbey Wood And Gravesend
In Elizabeth Line To Ebbsfleet Extension Could Cost £3.2 Billion, I looked at the Transport for the South East proposal for extending the Elizabeth Line to Kent.
This image from the Abbeywood2Ebbsfleet consultation, shows the proposal.
Note, that there doesn’t appear to be too much new infrastructure, except for a proper connection between Northfleet and Ebbsfleet stations. References on the Internet, say that the similar-sized Luton DART connection at Luton Airport, cost around £225 million, but we now know it was well upwards of that.
The TfSE proposal says that trains would terminate as follows.
- Abbey Wood – 4 tph
- Northfleet – 4 tph
- Gravesend – 4 tph
As space is limited at Gravesend and there is money for extending a railway service to a new Hoo station, I feel that proposing a two tph service to Hoo station would be a prudent action to take.
This would leave a handy two tph to take the loop back to Central London.
Could A Large Parkway Station Be Built Between Romford and Tilbury Riverside Stations?
Ebbsfleet International station, which is to the South-East of London, has 5,000 parking spaces and is the only large Park-and-Ride site around the capital.
Could another large Park-and-Ride site be opened on the Elizabeth Line North of the Thames?
One place could be at Chafford Hundred station and the nearby Lakeside Shopping Centre.
This Google Map shows the area.
Note.
- The M25 runs North-South up the Western side of the map.
- Chafford Hundred station is in the South-East corner of the map.
- The shopping centre is next to the station.
Last time I went, Lakeside was looking tired.
Timings To And From Whitechapel
These are estimated timings to and from Whitechapel.
- Romford – 26 mins – 81 mins
- Emerson Park – 31 mins – 76 mins
- Upminster – 35 mins – 72 mins
- Ockendon – 41 mins – 66 mins
- Chafford Hundred – 45 mins – 62 mins
- Grays – 49 mins – 58 mins
- Tilbury Town – 52 mins – 55 mins
- Tilbury Riverside – 58 mins – 49 mins
- Gravesend – 62 mins – 45 mins
- Northfleet – 65 mins – 42 mins
- Swanscombe – 68 mins – 39 mins
- Greenhithe for Bluewater – 71 mins – 36 mins
- Stone Crossing – 73 mins – 34 mins
- Dartford – 81 mins – 26 mins
- Slade Green – 86 mins – 21 mins
- Erith – 88 mins – 19 mins
- Belvedere – 89 mins – 18 mins
- Abbey Wood – 92 mins – 15 mins
Note.
- The times between Tilbury Town and Gravesend are my best estimates.
- All other times are taken from current services.
- The first time is the time to Whitechapel via Romford.
- The second time is the time to Whitechapel via Abbey Wood.
It does appear that the best times from all stations are under an hour.
Batteries Are Beautiful – Silent Sailing Is An Eco-Winner
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Riviera Maritime Media.
It is a must-read article about the way, ships will be powered in the future.
Already, the Norwegian operator; Hurtigruten, has ordered two hybrid powered cruise ships, the first first of which is the MS Raold Amundsen.
Hybrid Selling
This picture shows a mini-brochure, that came in my copy of today’s Sunday Times.
Thecaption is World’s First Hybrid Powered Expedition Cruise Ships.
Cruising isn’t my scene, as it attracts too many Daily Mail readers.
But I must admit, that the H-word caught my eye and I read the brochure!
Falling Off A Cruise Ship
This story on the BBC is entitled British Woman Rescued 10 Hours After Falling Off Cruise Ship In Croatia.
Happily the lady survived.
I am reminded of a old story.
A consultant and his friend, after a busy winter decided to go on a cruise in the Caribbean, where they had been told, they would be able to liven up their boring sex lives.
They were not enjoying themselves, as there wren’t any spare ladies under the are of fifty.
So one night, after having a few too many rum punches, they were at the blunt end of the ship, moaning about their lives telling very rude jokes and smoking lots of cigarettes.
One joke involved the consultant gently tapping the other on the shoulder and he let go of his drink. In trying to catch it, he slipped and started to disappear into the sea. The other tried to catch him and the outcome was that both of them fell in the sea.
Luckily, the episode had been seen by a seaman, who immediately raised the alarm., as he knew the sharks in the area, were very quick to find a free meal.
Within ten minutes or so, the consultant had been pulled unharmed from the water, but all they found of his friend was his left foot.
Back on board the ship, the consultant was summoned to see the Captain, as he needed to put a report in the log.
The Captain spoke to the consultant. “These waters are very dangerous! So how do you, as a consultant explain, why you didn’t get eaten by the sharks, like your friend?”
The consultant was uncharacteristically brief with his answer. “Professional Etiquette!”
Walking To St. Mary’s
St. Mary’s Stadium is not ideally placed for the main Southampton Central station, as this Google Earth view shows.
Southampton Central To St. Mary’s Stadium
It took me about twenty minutes and what slows the walk is the initial hill. If I ever go again, I’ll leave a little bit earlier and then have a cup of tea or a drink on the top.
At least St. Mary’s is one of the few grounds, where the Away supporters’ stand is closest to the train station.
But look at this enlarged Google Earth view of the area around the stadium.
Rail Lines By St. Mary’s Stadium
The South Western Main Line from Basingstoke and London comes into this picture at the top to the left of the two gas holders. Note how the lines curve to the west to go through the Southampton Tunnel under the centre of the city. The portal of the tunnel is just at the edge of the picture.
The rail tracks to the left (west) of the stadium are the route to Southampton Docks and the now closed Southampton Terminus station. Before electrification to Southampton in the 1960s, this station was the main one for Southampton and there was also another station at Northam, which was somewhere in the area to the west of the stadium.
Plans have been put forward in recent years to put a station at the stadium and also one on Southampton Waterfront. Some have been grandiose, but the City Council has safeguarded a route from the Waterfront to Romsey, Halterworth and Chandler’s Ford.
If Southampton Football Club stay in the upper reaches of the Premier League and decide to increase the capacity of the ground, I would not be surprised to see a metro link running on the line, with an interchange at say Eastleigh.
The route would also mean that passengers for cruise ships could get closer to the Cruise Terminals by train, just as they used to in the days of RMS Titantic.
Venice Limits Cruise Ships
I love Venice and so did my late wife, C. We must have gone about five or six times and it was no surprise, that the first place abroad I visited after her death, was Venice, to see if I could holiday alone. This post contains a lot of how I feel about Venice.
So Venice to me is special and I’ll probably go again this winter. The winter to me is the best time to visit, as there are less tourists and day-trippers gumming up the city. I always stay in the same hotel close to St. Mark’s Square and even next week, prices are high. So I suspect that even in the winter now, it’s getting lots of visitors.
So to see that the city is to limit the number of cruise ships that visit, as reported on the BBC, is to me a very good thing.
Looking at prices and knowing the city as I do, I would recommend that if you want to visit Venice, you book the best hotel you can afford close to St. Mark’s Square, fly into the Marco Polo airport and then take the ferry to the centre. It looks like nights at the beginning of the week are best and as Venice is a city which is on the go all the time, Monday to Wednesday, aren’t the disasters some cities are. But go out of the city the back way, using the train to a contrasting city like Milan, Bologna or Verona and fly back from there. Remember, every sizeable city in Italy is worth visiting and there are very few, where you can’t enjoy yourself sightseeing, eating and drinking for a couple of days.
We must find better ways of visiting Venice, otherwise the city that I love, will be ruined by tourism.
The Cruise and Duty Free
I never bother with duty-free, as I don’t smoke and don’t want to carry heavy bottles of booze that I might break. I did once drop a bottle of Bell’s on the floor at Dulles Airport in Washington. And it broke!
But when duty-free sales were announced on the Tannoy on Oriana, I was very surprised at the rush.
Why Have I Gone All Tidy?
It’s strange, but over the last week or so, I’ve started to tidy where I work, cook and sleep.
I was particularly tidy on the Oriana. As this post shows.
I’ve never done this at any other time in my life.
Perhaps, it’s because I’d like a girl-friend and I don’t want to invite them home to a load of chaos and mess.
Blue Skies Over London
On Friday, back in London, I was out and about in the morning doing a bit of shopping.
I saw a lot more sun in those few hours, than I did on ten days of the cruise.
The Awareness Of Coeliac Disease
According to the Restaurant Manager, there were twenty-four people on a gluten-free diet out of a total of 1,800 passengers.
But what surprised me was the number of passengers, who on seeing my bread or asking, why I declined a roll and hearing the answer, said that they knew of a coeliac or had one in the family.
Without doubt, the awareness of coeliac disease is increasing and this can only be a good thing!
The Anonymous Widower 