The Anonymous Widower

TfL Advances Plans For DLR And Overground Extensions

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on New Civil Engineer.

This is the first paragraph.

Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that it is moving ahead with plans to extend the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and the West London Orbital (WLO), part of the London Overground.

So it appears that despite all their financial problems, some progress is being made.

The Docklands Light Railway Extension To Thamesmead

I first wrote about this project in TfL Considering Extending DLR As Far As Abbey Wood.

Now it appears that TfL has been working with Homes England and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on a feasibility study for the extension.

I would like to see this extension incorporation the following.

  • A signature bridge over the Thames with good views of the river.
  • A station with a convenient connection to Crossness, which could become one of major London’s tourist attractions with better transport links.
  • A connection to the Elizabeth Line at Abbey Wood station.

It could help to level up Thamesmead, whose main claim to fame is that it was where the violent film Clockwork Orange was made.

The West London Orbital Railway

I have written extensively about this railway and you can see my posts here.

This map from the Mayor’s Transport Strategy shows the route.

I believe this railway could do the following.

  • Level-up much of North-West London.
  • Provide better access to Heathrow.
  • Link West London to High Speed Two and the Elizabeth Line.

It would also provide better links to Brentford’s new stadium.

The New Civil Engineer says this about funding.

TfL now confirms that the West London Alliance has commissioned feasibility work for the scheme. Meanwhile, TfL is considering options for a Borough Community Infrastructure Levy to help pay for it and has been investigating development opportunities on the route that could unlock funds via Section 106 planning obligations and Carbon Offset funding.

Conclusion

It does appear there are ways and means to fund these schemes, without expecting the rest of the UK to fund London’s transport network.

June 18, 2022 Posted by | Finance, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Using The Elizabeth Line Between London City And Heathrow Airports

Today, I went from London City Airport to Heathrow using the Docklands Light Railway, the underground section of the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express.

London City Airport And Poplar Stations

I took these pictures on this section of the route using the Docklands Light Railway.

Note.

  1. I started my journey at 13:15.
  2. I arrived at Poplar at 13:27.
  3. The journey took twelve minutes, which agrees with the timetable.

This is a route, that gives a view of London’s rebuilding in the East.

Poplar And Canary Wharf Stations

I walked this section.

Note.

  1. I started my walk from Poplar station at 13:27.
  2. I was on the platform at Canary Wharf station at 13:39.
  3. I used a lift at Poplar station and the escalators at Canary Wharf station.
  4. The walk took twelve minutes, but it was a roundabout route.
  5. It looks like a level walkway is to be built between the two stations.

This Google Map shows the are between the two stations.

Note.

  1. Poplar station in the North-East of the map.
  2. The bridge at Poplar station, that provides the route I took over Aspen Way.
  3. After crossing the bridge and using the lift, I walked along the South side of Aspen Way.
  4. I then walked South down the path at the East side of the site, where it appears from the hoardings, flats will be built.
  5. Finally, I turned left to walk along the dock and then right to cross into Canary Wharf station.

Work appears to have started at Canary Wharf on the Southern end of an extended walkway, that will link to the bridge over Aspen Way.

This direct route could be nearly two hundred metres shorter and would shorten the connection by several minutes.

Canary Wharf And Paddington Stations

This section of the journey took nineteen minutes and I arrived at Paddington at 13:58, as this picture shows.

It had taken forty-three minutes between London City Airport and Paddington stations.

Paddington And Heathrow Airport By Heathrow Express

I took the 14:10 Heathrow Express to the Airport and took these pictures.

Note.

  1. It took about six minutes to walk between the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express.
  2. This was my first ride on Heathrow Express, since the service has started using Class 387 trains.
  3. The trains are fine, but where are the tables, that I like so much in the other Class 387 trains?
  4. The train arrived at Heathrow Central at 14:29.

This meant my journey between the two airports had taken an hour and fourteen minutes.

Canary Wharf to Heathrow using Heathrow Express and the Elizabeth Line had taken thirty-four minutes.

Return To Paddington On The Elizabeth Line

I came back from Heathrow on an Elizabeth Line train, which took 29 minutes.

That would mean that today using the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow.

  • Heathrow and Canary Wharf will take 48 minutes.
  • Heathrow and London City Airport will take one hour and twenty-nine minutes.

The difference in time between the two trains is solely down to the times of the Heathrow Express and the Elizabeth Line trains between Paddington and Heathrow.

What Difference Will A Direct Elizabeth Line Connection Make?

Canary Wharf are giving a figure of thirty-nine minutes between Canary Wharf and Heathrow, when the Elizabeth Line fully opens.

This would appear to indicate that fully opening the Elizabeth Line connection at Paddington will save nine minutes and the Elizabeth Line will only be a few minutes slower than Heathrow Express, if you can cut out the change at Paddington.

This table compares times between Canary Wharf and Heathrow.

  • Elizabeth Line with a change at Paddington – 48 minutes
  • Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express with a change at Paddington – 34 minutes
  • Elizabeth Line direct – 39 minutes

How many passengers will swap from Heathrow Express to a complete Elizabeth Line?

Is There Going To Be A Pedestrian Bridge Between Poplar And Canary Wharf Stations?

This Google Map shows the bridge that leads South from Canary Wharf station.

Note how the bridge could have been designed to go through the station to the housing to the North and perhaps ultimately to Poplar DLR station.

These pictures show the complete bridge on the South side and what could be the start of construction on the North side.

Note.

  1. This pictures were taken on two dates.
  2. A full bridge would connect the new housing to the shopping centre and the Jubilee Line station.
  3. Between Poplar and Canary Wharf stations would be around 120 metres.
  4. There would be a straight and level walking route between Poplar DLR station and the two Canary Wharf Jubilee and Elizabeth Line stations.
  5. A short branch would lead to Canary Wharf DLR station.
  6. Stairs would lead to the buses that run through Canary Wharf.

It does appear that the North and South bridges will form a continuous straight route.

The bridge would create a comprehensive transport interchange for East London.

 

 

 

 

June 16, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thoughts On London City Airport And The Elizabeth Line

One of the reasons for going to Woolwich today, which I wrote about in A Walk Around Woolwich – 15th June 2022, was to get a feel on what is the best way to go between London City and Heathrow airports.

There are three routes, where only a single change is needed.

  • DLR – Change at Stratford – Elizabeth Line – Will be available later in 2022.
  • DLR – Change at Woolwich Arsenal – Elizabeth Line
  • DLR – Change at Poplar/Canary Wharf – Elizabeth Line – Will be improved.

Note.

  1. All are easy step-free interchanges, with the change at Stratford probably the easiest.
  2. The change at Woolwich is probably the longest walk.

All trains from London City Airport station, have a single change for Heathrow.

  • Bank – Change at Poplar/Canary Wharf
  • Stratford – Change at Stratford
  • Woolwich Arsenal – Change at Woolwich Arsenal

It would appear that those not afraid of a moderate walk, should take the first train from London City Airport, if they want to go to Heathrow.

This table shows routes to common destinations from London City Airport.

  • Bank – DLR
  • Battersea Power Station – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Canary Wharf – DLR – Change at Poplar – DLR
  • Clapham Junction – DLR – Change at Shadwell – East London Line
  • Croydon – DLR – Change at Shadwell – East London Line
  • Crystal Palace – DLR – Change at Shadwell – East London Line
  • Euston – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Heathrow – DLR – Change at Custom House – Elizabeth Line
  • King’s Cross – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Liverpool Street – DLR – Change at Bank – Central Line
  • London Bridge – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Moorgate – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Paddington – DLR – Change at Custom House – Elizabeth Line
  • St. Pancras – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Victoria – DLR – Change at Bank – District/Circle Line
  • Waterloo – DLR – Change at Bank – Waterloo and City Line

Note.

  1. The interchange improvements at Bank station, will open up new routes to and from London City Airport.
  2. If the walking route from Poplar and Canary Wharf station is improved, this will be a valuable upgrade.
  3. The Elizabeth Line will run at frequencies of at least twelve trains per hour (tph) on all sections, so you won’t have to wait more than five minutes for a train.

With these upgrades London City Airport will be a more accessible airport.

 

 

June 16, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Walk Around Woolwich – 15th June 2022

I went to Woolwich station on the Elizabeth Line today and had a walk around.

Note.

  1. Woolwich station is a simple station with only three escalators at one end direct to the platforms, which are in a tunnel.
  2. Both platforms have platform edge doors and a similar decor to some platforms on the Jubilee Line Extension.
  3. The escalator shaft and the booking hall are lined in brick.
  4. Next to the station is a very large Marks & Spencer Food store.
  5. Outside the station is large green with a pub on one side.
  6. Over the top of the station are a lot of flats.

Is this the way that modern housing developments should be designed? It’s certainly better than some I’ve seen.

It’s certainly come on a lot, since I wrote Exploring The Woolwich Station Box, which has a gallery of what the station looked like in February 2013.

The Woolwich Foot Tunnel

My walk continued under the Thames, through the Woolwich foot tunnel.

It was the first time I’d used this tunnel.

On the other side, I got a bus to London City Airport, from where I got the Docklands Light Railway back to Woolwich Arsenal and then walked back to the Elizabeth Line station to come home.

I Doubt I’ll Use The Marks & Spencer At Woolwich Much!

The store was not designed in a way I liked.

  • Many of the goods, were behind glass doors, which meant I needed three hands to put items in my basket.
  • There weren’t many staff in the store.
  • It was difficult finding the goods I needed.
  • It was all self-service tills of the type I didn’t like.

These may be only personal preferences, but then there must be many like me who have a gammy hand for some reason.

It’s a pity really, as it is such a convenient location for a store. The only other M & S store close to the Elizabeth Line is the one at Paddington, which I use regularly.

June 15, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Changing Trains At Canary Wharf Station – 13th June 2022

I took these pictures around the new Canary Wharf station on the Elizabeth Line.

Note.

  1. The station appears to follow, a very similar design to some of stations on the Jubilee Line.
  2. Changing to various lines at Canary Wharf would appear to be a bit of a walk, that is very much in line with say a connection between the Jubilee Line and the Docklands Light Railway.
  3. The connection to the Jubilee Line appears to be a tunnel under the offices.
  4. For West India Quay DLR station, you walk along the dock.

These are some of the routes that you would use from Canary Wharf.

  • Bank – DLR
  • Battersea Power Station – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Clapham Junction – Elizabeth Line – Change at Whitechapel – East London Line
  • Croydon – Elizabeth Line – Change at Whitechapel – East London Line
  • Crystal Palace – Elizabeth Line – Change at Whitechapel – East London Line
  • Enfield – Elizabeth Line – Change at Liverpool Street – Enfield Town or Cheshunt Line
  • Euston – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Heathrow Airport – Elizabeth Line
  • King’s Cross – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Liverpool Street – Elizabeth Line
  • London Bridge – Jubilee Line
  • London City Airport – Jubilee Line – Change at Canning Town – DLR
  • Marylebone – Elizabeth Line – Change at Paddington – Bakerloo Line
  • Moorgate – Elizabeth Line
  • Paddington – Elizabeth Line
  • St. Pancras – DLR – Change at Bank – Northern Line
  • Victoria – DLR – Change at Bank – District/Circle Line
  • Walthamstow – Elizabeth Line – Change at Liverpool Street – Chingford Line
  • Waterloo – Jubilee Line

Note.

  1. The new escalator connection between the DLR and the Northern Line at Bank station will enable easier journeys to Euston, King’s Cross, St. Pancras and many other Northern Line stations.
  2. The excellent connection between the Elizabeth Line and the East London Line at Whitechapel station, will get a lot of use.
  3. The DLR features in several routes, including the important one to London City Airport.

In A Short Cruise At Greenwich, I said this about the DLR.

The Docklands Light Railway is often thought by Londoners, commuters and visitors as a bit of a Cinderella.

However, like Cinderella she works hard all day and provides reliable and efficient transport, where the only alternatives are buses, bicycles, taxis and Shank’s pony.

Just after the 2012 Olympics, I met a big cheese in Transport for London on a DLR train. He felt that the DLR had been the star in getting everybody to the games.

It must be one of the most successful light railways in the world!

And yet, no-one has ever thought to build another running on the same principles.

So why does it work so well?

This article on Intelligent Transport is entitled Celebrating 30 years Of The DLR, where this is said, under a heading of Customer Satisfaction.

One of the biggest successes of the DLR over the last 30 years has been its high levels of reliability, with over 99% of its trains departing on time.

The DLR has also had consistently good feedback and engagement with its customers, with high satisfaction ratings averaging at 89 out of 100.

Do these numbers mean that people trust Cinderella  and will trust her to get through even in the most difficult of circumstances?

Conclusion

Canary Wharf station could develop into a very important interchange.

June 13, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Does The Elizabeth Line Offer Similar Benefits To The Bakerloo Line Extension?

This map shows the proposed Bakerloo Line extension.

Note.

  1. There are new or improved stations at Old Kent Road 1, Old Kent Road 2, New Cross Gate and Lewisham.
  2. New Cross Gate station has Overground and Southern services.
  3. Lewisham station has Docklands Light Railway and Southern services.
  4. The future potential option going South is to take over the Hayes Line.

Could we provide improvements along the line of the Bakerloo Line Extension in a less disruptive and more affordable manner?

I will look at the various stations.

New Cross Gate

New Cross Gate station is a fully-accessible station, as these pictures show.

The station, currently has the following services.

  • Overground – Highbury & Islington and Crystal Palace – 4 tph
  • Overground – Highbury & Islington and West Croydon – 4 tph
  • Southern – London Bridge and Victoria via Sydenham – 2 tph
  • Southern – London Bridge and Coulsdon Town via Sydenham – 2 tph

Note.

  1. tph is trains per hour.
  2. The Overground services provide an 8 tph service to the Elizabeth Line at Whitechapel station.
  3. TfL may well increase the frequency of the two Overground services to 5 tph.

I suspect that the easiest way between New Cross Gate and Harrow & Wealdstone will be with changes at Whitechapel and Paddington.

  • New Cross Gate and Whitechapel – Overground – 13 minutes.
  • Whitechapel and Paddington – Elizabeth Line – 14 minutes.
  • Paddington Interchange – 15 minutes
  • Paddington and Harrow & Wealdstone – Bakerloo Line – 29 minutes

This gives a total time of 71 minutes.

As Bakerloo Line trains go between Elephant & Castle and Harrow & Wealdstone, which is 24 stations and the journey takes 48 minutes, this gives a figure of two minutes per station.

  • This seems to fit Irene’s Law, which I wrote about in Irene’s Law – Estimating Tube Journey Times.
  • So it looks like a direct train on the extension would take 54 minutes.
  • That time fits well with the 71 minutes via the Elizabeth Line if fifteen minutes is allowed for the walk at Paddington.

I will do the trip for real today.

Lewisham

There are two ways to get between Lewisham and the Elizabeth Line.

  • Take the Dockland’s Light Railway to Canary Wharf. Estimated at 15 minutes.
  • Take a train to Whitechapel, which needs a change of train at New Cross station. Estimated at 17 minutes minimum.

Neither are perfect.

I will try out these two trips soon.

Hayes

The Hayes Line is often talked about as the final destination of the Bakerloo Line.

In More Frequent Trains And A New Station For The London Overground, I put forward a plan for connecting the Hayes Line to the New Cross branch of the London Overground.

This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines at New Cross station.

Note.

  1. The double-track East London Line, shown in orange, arrives from Surrey Quays station arrives in the North-Western corner of the map, becomes a single-track and then goes under the main lines before going into the bay platform D.
  2. Hayes Line services use Platform C going South and Platform A going North.
  3. Could the Overground going South divert into Platform C for Hayes?
  4. It would appear there used to be a line connecting Platform A to the East London Line of the Overground. Could this line be reinstated?

This Google Map shows the same area.

Note.

  1. The London Overground track is clearly visible.
  2. The needed connection certainly looks possible, without too much heroic engineering.
  3. Although, I suspect it could need digital signalling to get everything to work smoothly. But that will happen anyway!

The big advantage of this approach, is that all stations between Whitechapel and Hayes, would have a direct connection to the Elizabeth Line.

Hayes Line services would still continue to Victoria and Cannon Street, although the frequency might be reduced, depending on how many Overground services used the route.

Old Kent Road 1 And Old Kent Road 2

I think there are two ways to serve this important area.

  • The first would be to run a high-frequency bus service between Elephant & Castle and the two stations at New Cross.
  • I also suspect, it would be possible to have a short extension of the Bakerloo Line to a double-ended station at New Cross Gate and New Cross stations.

I went into the second way in More Frequent Trains And A New Station For The London Overground, where I came to these conclusions.

I am drawn to these two conclusions.

  • The Bakerloo Line should be extended via two new Old Kent Road stations to a double-ended terminal station in New Cross with interchange to both New Cross Gate and New Cross stations.
  • The New Cross branch of the London Overground should be extended through Lewisham to Orpington and/or Hayes.

My preferred destination for the London Overground service could be Hayes, as this would surely help to free up paths through Lewisham and London Bridge.

I also feel, that the scheme would be much more affordable if high-specification buses were used between Elephant & Castle and the two stations at New Cross.

Conclusion

There are certainly possibilities to create an alternative route, with the same objectives as the Bakerloo Line Extension.

May 28, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bank Station – 16th May 2022

The new Northern Line platforms at Bank station are now open and I went this morning to have a quick look.

These are my thoughts.

The New Southbound Platform Is Wide

The new Southbound platform is wide and compares well with the wide platform at Angel station, that I wrote about in All Platforms Should Be Wide Like This.

This picture shows the Southbound platform at Angel., which dates from 1992.

And this the new Southbound platform at Bank.

Two similar designs, but thirty years apart.

Simple Decor

The two pictures also illustrate the simple decor used in the rebuilt station.

The New Southbound Platform Is A Sprayed Concrete Tunnel

These pictures show the far wall of the new Southbound platform.

It looks from my untrained eye to be lined with sprayed concrete. I learned more about the use of sprayed concrete in tunnels, when I visited TUCA in Ilford, during Open House in 2012, which I wrote about in Open House – TUCA.

The Existing Northbound Platform Is Narrow

The Northbound platform is effectively as before, but with large and small holes in the wall to access a wide parallel pedestrian tunnel behind the wall.

There is a lot of circulation space.

The Parallel Pedestrian Tunnel

The old Southbound platform has been turned into a parallel pedestrian tunnel separated from the Northbound platform, by a wall that has four small and eight larger pedestrian-sized holes through it.

These pictures show a selections of the holes in the wall.

In addition.

  • The tunnel has escalators at the Southern end connecting to Monument station.
  • The tunnel has stairs at the Northern end to the Central Line.
  • Further connections will be added.
  • It also has seats along its length. These will be mainly for Northbound passengers, waiting for trains, who can see the trains through the large holes.

It is an unusual layout and I’ve never seen anything like it before anywhere in London, the UK, Europe or the world.

Wot No More Marble?

The Northbound Northern Line used to have a platform with marble facings.

Some of marble is still there as these pictures show.

Note that the old rat-run to the DLR is still there between the platforms.

The Wide Cross Tunnels

The wide cross tunnels link the two sides of the station together and to the escalators and moving walkways in the middle of the station.

This visualisation shows the station.


Note.

  1. The only more-or-less completed bits are the two Northern Line tunnels and platforms and parallel pedestrian tunnel.
  2. The four cross tunnels can be picked out towards the far end of the station.
  3. Three of the cross tunnels can now be used by passengers.
  4. The moving walkway can be accessed from the two cross tunnels nearest to the Central Line.
  5. The escalators from the yet-to-open Cannon Street entrance appear to lead directly into a cross tunnel and a parallel tunnel to the moving walkway.

This station has definitely been designed for rabbits.

Level Access To The Trains

This picture shows the level access on the new Southbound platform.

And this shows the step-up into the train on the old Northbound platform.

I wonder, if the platform can be raised to make the Northbound as good as the Southbound.

There Is Still A Lot To Do

At present the only sections of the project that are completed and visible to passengers are the following.

  • The new wide Southbound platform.
  • The refurbished Northbound platform, which is a similar width to before.
  • The wide passenger tunnel behind the Northbound platform, that was converted from the old Southbound tunnel.
  • The four new cross tunnels between the two platforms. Some still need finishing and there are spaces, where escalators will slot in.

It would appear that at least the following need to be done.

  • Open up the new Cannon Street entrance
  • Add the escalators and lifts.
  • Put in the moving walkways between the Northern and Central Lines.

But it looks that everything left to do is small compared to the tunnel work that needed the closure from January.

This page on the TfL web site gives these dates.

  • 16 May 2022: New southbound platform and concourse open
  • Autumn 2022: DLR escalator and Central line link open
  • Late 2022: Bank station capacity upgrade works due to be completed. New station with step-free access opens on Cannon Street.

It looks to me, that the project management has been done well and after hitting the first milestone, they appear to be on track.

 

 

 

May 16, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 3 Comments

Carry On Ducking And Diving

I have a Google Alert running on “bank station northern line closure” and it is only picking up factual reports generally based on the fact that the Northern Line will be closed for seventeen weeks between Moorgate and Kennington, like this report in The Sun.

I have been to Moorgate station a couple of times, and it actually seems rather quiet.

It would appear that Londoners are doing, what they do in times of trouble with public transport and go ducking and diving.

The weather hasn’t been too bad, so that probably explains why the likes of Disgusted from Tunbridge Wells have been silent.

Conclusion

Londoners will carry on ducking and diving!

January 21, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 2 Comments

TfL Considering Extending DLR As Far As Abbey Wood

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on New Civil Engineer,

I am ambivalent about whether the Docklands Light Railway is extended from Beckton to Thamesmead or Abbey Wood.

This map from Ian Visits shows the area.

I’ve always preferred a high bridge from Barking Riverside to Thamesmead.

In There’s A Lot Happening Around Tilbury And Gravesend, I said this.

My personal preference for another connection would be to build a bridge between Barking Riverside and Thamesmead, to take the Gospel Oak to Barking Line over rather than under the Thames, if this was possible. I would use tram-trains on the railway, that if required did a walkabout around the estates as trams on both sides of the river. The bridge would also be open to cyclists and pedestrians.

Properly designed, the bridge could be a visitor attraction in its own right!

But could the bridge taking the DLR over the river become an attraction?

November 6, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s Time To Detopsify Stratford Station

Stratford Station has grown like Topsy for too long and has several problems and possible future expansions.

Not least of these include.

  • The final arrival of Crossrail.
  • A direct connection to Chingford.
  • A Stansted Express service.
  • Massive housing developments in the area.
  • More hotels
  • New cultural developments like the branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
  • A new campus for University College London.

This article on IanVisits is entitled Stratford Station Set For Massive Transformation.

This is his opening paragraph.

Stratford station could be radically redeveloped under plans being worked on by the rail companies and local council.

That is rather understated!

The station will become several times busier and needs a complete rethink, many more services and deTopsification.

These are my thoughts.

The Development Of The High Meads Loop

The High Meads Loop exists and is a double-track loop that can turn trains arriving at Stratford station via Lea Bridge station.

  • It is underneath the Eastfield Shopping Centre – Westfield is in the West of London.
  • Each track of the loop has its own long platform in the station. – Platform 11 is for clockwise trains and Platform 12 is for anti-clockwise.
  • It has been used in the past for a Stansted Express service.

The Wirral Line in Liverpool like the High Meads Loop is now a modern loop for turning trains.

  • The Wirral Loop is only single-track.
  • It gives connections for over thirty stations on the Wirral and in Cheshire and North Wales to Liverpool City Centre.
  • It is run by fifty-year-old Class 507 and Class 508 trains.
  • The loop has now been improved and can handle upwards of the fourteen trains per hour (tph) it currently does.

Merseyrail will soon be introducing new Class 777 trains on the Wirral Line in the near future and will be increasing services and the number of destinations.

British Rail’s vision for Liverpool, that was cruelly cut-short by Liverpool MP; Harold Wilson, is finally coming to fruition.

Newcastle also got its British Rail tunnel which is now being used by the Metro, but what would have happened in Manchester if British Rail had been allowed to build the Picc-Vic Tunnel?

I have a strong belief, that a Lea Valley Metro can be developed on the West Anglia Main Line.

  • It would have two Southern terminals – Liverpool Street station and the High Meads Loop at Stratford.
  • When it opens, Crossrail will mean that Liverpool Street and Stratford stations will be seven or eight minutes apart with a frequency of at least 12 tph.
  • Northern terminals would include Broxbourne, Cheshunt, Chingford, Enfield Town and Hertford East.
  • Crossrail 2 was planned to have a frequency of 10 and 15 tph between Tottenham Hale and Broxbourne stations.

I believe that if services in East London are thoroughly reorganised, that all the benefits of Crossrail 2 can be brought to East London by the use of the High Meads Loop and the upgrading of existing lines.

Stansted Express Services

Go to Stratford station and there is an out-of-date sign at the end of Platform 1 and 2, where the Overground trains terminate.

It directs passengers to Platform 12 for Stansted Airport.

The picture was taken in 2017, but there is still a walk-through to Platform 12, that I use regularly, if I’m changing between London Overground and Greater Anglia or TfL Rail services to destinations on both the West Anglia or Great Eastern Main Lines.

I believe that there is still a need for a Stansted Express services from Stratford, as for some people, including myself, it is easier to get to Stratford, than Liverpool Street.

From some places the connections to and from Stansted are not very good. Try going between London Bridge, Canterbury, Euston, Victoria or Waterloo and Stansted with a few mobility issues like a heavy suitcase and/or a baby, without a degree in Ducking-and-Diving!

An additional Stansted Express service from Stratford would make things a lot easier to get to the airport for many travellers, because of Stratford’s connections to the Central, Jubilee and North London Lines and SouthEastern’s Highspeed services.

Better Connection Between High Speed One And The High Meads Loop For Passengers

Some passenger connections are missing at Stratford.

This is indicated in the IanVisits article.

This map from cartometro.com shows the Topsy-like nature of the platforms at Stratford.

Note.

  1. The Docklands Light Railway is shown in turquoise.
  2. The DLR platforms in the North-West corner of the map are those of Stratford International station.
  3. High Speed One and the four platforms of Stratford International station are shown in black.
  4. The North London Line of the London Overground is shown in orange.
  5. The North London Line terminates in Platforms 1 and 2, which have a level link to Platform 12.
  6. Platform 12 is on the anti-clockwise platform for the High Meads Loop and has step-free access to the subway system underneath the station.
  7. Platform 11 is on the clockwise platform for the High Meads Loop and has level access to Platform 10a and full step-free access,
  8. Platform 10a is used by some services to East Anglia.
  9. Crossrail is shown in blue.
  10. The Central Line is shown in red.
  11. The Jubilee Line is shown in silver.

It is not the best passenger-friendly station layout.

  • Inevitability, you often find yourself trudging a long way at Stratford station.
  • Changing to or from any high speed services is supremely difficult.
  • Often you have to walk through the busy Eastfield Shopping Centre.

Particularly annoying for me is coming back from Kent on High Speed One and needing to take the North London Line, as I do several times a year.

As it involves a long walk through the Shopping Centre, I now take the easy way out and carry on to St. Pancras and get a taxi home.

As Stratford International is one of the draughtiest stations in England, the station is a real Design Crime and it needs a serious makeover.

Conclusion

Sort it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 16, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

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