Could Anglia Railways’ London Crosslink Be Recreated As Part Of The London Overground?
This is the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the original London Crosslink.
London Crosslink was a passenger train service operated by Anglia Railways between Norwich and Basingstoke, using the North London Line to bypass central London. Class 170 Turbostar diesel multiple units were used, and the service operated between 22 May 2000 and 28 September 2002, supported by funding from the Strategic Rail Authority through its Rail Passenger Partnership fund.
Note.
- The service called at Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Colchester, Whitham, Chelmsford, Ingatestone, Romford, Stratford, Highbury & Islington, Camden Road, Willesden Junction, West Hampstead Thameslink, Brentford, Feltham, Staines, Woking, and Farnborough (Main)
- It ran six times on Monday to Friday and five times on Sunday.
- Feltham and Woking stations have a coach link to Heathrow.
- Journeys took around 3 hours and 44 minutes.
Over the years, attractions and other rail lines and stations served by the route have changed. improved and been added.
- In 2006, the Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium opened within walking distance of Highbury & Islington station.
- In 2012, the Olympic Stadium opened at Stratford and is now used by West Ham United.
- In 2020, Brentford Stadium opened within walking distance of Brentford station.
- In 2022, Romford and Stratford stations were connected to the Elizabeth Line.
- In 2025, Beaulieu Park station was added to the Greater Anglia Main Line.
At some point in the future, Old Oak Common Lane station will open to link the route to High Speed Two.
In Can The Signalling Of The London Overground Be Improved?, I looked in detail at the signalling of the London Overground and if it could handle more trains.
My conclusion was that on the East and North London Lines, another three trains per hour (tph) could probably be accommodated, which over an average day was probably around sixty trains.
As a restored London Crosslink would need just six paths per day, I would suspect the service could be restored, if it were thought to be a good idea.
I certainly feel that capacity would not be a problem.
These are a few other thoughts.
Would It Be Sensible To Use Lumo Branding And Trains?
Consider.
- Lumo is trusted branding.
- A five-car Lumo Class 803 train is 132 metres long and a pair of four-car London Overground Class 710 trains is 166 metres long, so I suspect platform length problems will be minimal.
- I doubt there will be problems on the Greater Anglia network.
- Stratford and Norwich is mainly a 100 mph network.
- Not all parts of the route have 25 KVAC overhead electrification, but batteries can be fitted to the Class 803 trains, that will cover any gaps.
- My calculations show that the modern trains will be twenty-two minutes quicker, than Anglia Railways Class 170 diesel trains.
- At one point Anglia Railways was owned by First Group, so FirstGroup may have knowledge of the problems of the route.
I believe it would be sensible to use Lumo branding and trains.
Could The Route Be Extended?
Consider.
- It could probably be extended to Winchester, Southampton and Bournemouth in the South.
- If the offshore hydrogen takes off at Great Yarmouth, it might be worth extending with a reverse to Yarmouth in the North.
- Yarmouth has a direct service from London in the past.
The service could also develop days out by the sea.
Diss Station – 19th May 2022
I went to Diss station for the first time today on a train, although I have caught a train from the station a couple of times.
These are my thoughts.
Long Platforms
Consider.
- The platforms are long enough to take two full-length twelve-car Class 745 trains, which are nearly 240 metres long.
- I suspect the platforms can also accept a pair of five-car Class 720 trains, which would be 244 metres long.
If this is true at all Inter-City stations, this must mean that Greater Anglia can still run a full service, if they are short of Class 745 trains.
Car Parking
This Google Map shows the extensive car parking at Diss station.
Note.
- There are two tracks and two platforms, with the London-bound platform on the Eastern side.
- There is parking on both sides of the tracks.
- According to the National Rail web site, there appears to be 316 parking bays on the London-bound side.
- A sign in the tenth picture shows a £2.50 All-Day parking deal on the Norwich-bound platform.
- The Internet shows a lot of competitively-priced parking around the station.
Commuters to London, Ipswich or Norwich will have to cross the line in the morning or evening and there are no lifts to make that easy.
A Step-Free Bridge At Diss
Network Rail had a competition a few years ago in conjunction with RIBA to design a stylish, affordable and easy-to-install footbridge and this was the winner.
This design is also under development.
I think one of these bridges could possibly be installed at Diss station at the Northern end of the station.
- Both bridges would appear to have small footprints.
- They are designed to clear 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- Both bridges appear to be able to be built to a flexible width. I suspect this might allow one end of the bridge could be in a car park and the other on the opposite platform.
- Both are fully step-free.
- The composite bridge might be better because of a lower weight.
- The first bridge appears to be enclosed, so would work better in Manchester.
- I suspect that both could be installed after creating an appropriately-sized concrete base on either side of the tracks, by lifting in the bridge by means of a rail-mounted crane.
It is now over three years since the first design won the Network Rail/RIBA competition. That is just too long to get a prototype bridge built and installed.
Toilets
The toilets at the station were of an excellent standard. But this is getting increasingly common these days.
The Anonymous Widower 