The Future Of The Emirates Air Line
I’ve always liked the Emirates Air Line, but I hadn’t used it for some time until today.
As I was in the area, I used it to cross the river, this morning.
I can make these observations.
The Weather Could Have Been Better
The cable-car needs sunny weather, although I did once go across in the snow.
The Cable-Car Wasn’t Busy
Compare today’s pictures wit this one taken in February 2014.
The Cable Car Was Busy
One of the attendants said it was becoming more of a tourist attraction rather than a means of transport.
This meant today, I had a car to myself and didn’t have to share it with several excited kids.
I think too, that the weather was against visitors and tourists now know the best times to use the cable car.
In my view, when the sun is setting is by far the best.
There Are A Lot More Skyscrapers
The last time I rode across was in March 2016, after which I wrote Riding The Cable Car.
There has been a lot of high rise building in the intervening years.
I suspect that as more and more skyscrapers are built, a ride between them all across the river will become more popular.
The Line
The Line is a sculpture trail, that runs from Greenwich to the Olympic Park. The cable-car has to be used by non-swimmers to cross the river.
The Line is connected OR or close to London’s railways as follows.
- Stratford – Central Line, Jubilee Line, DLR, London Overground, National Rail and in the future; Crossrail.
- Stratford High Street – DLR
- Pudding Mill Lane – DLR
- Bromley-by-Bow – District and Hammersmith & City Lines
- Star Lane – DLR
- Canning Town – Jubilee Line and DLR
- Royal Victoria – DLR
- North Greenwich – Jubilee Line
All these connections mean that it can be done in sections.
The Tide
The Tide is an partly elevated five km route, that will be linked to the cable-car, that will be fully-open in two years.
Crossrail
Crossrail will affect all travel in East London and it connects at Stratford stayion to The Line.
I don’t know the route of the Tide, but it may make walking from the O2 to Woolwich sttion for Crossrail much more relaxing.
Although it doesn’t serve Greenwich directly, I believe Crossrail will draw more tourists to the cable-car.
Docklands Light Railway
The DLR is getting new trains in the next few years and an extension to Thamesmead.
As with Crossrail it will draw more tourists to the area and the cable-car.
Thames Clippers
These are expanding and they will bring more tourists to the cable-car.
Conclusion
These and other factors, such as tourists venturing out of the centre of London, will mean that more vistors will explore the East and use the cable-car.
Could London Get A New Tube Line Between Canary Wharf And Euston?
The title of this post is the same as that as this article on CityMetric.
The article makes some interesting points.
- The line has been proposed by the owners of Canary Wharf.
- Getting to Canary Wharf from Euston, Kings Cross and St. Pancras is difficult.
- Property developers have always decided where London’s railways go.
- The plan would seem to have just one intermediate stop at Blackfriars station.
These new or improved services will be happening in the next ten years.
- More and faster services to/from the Midlands and the North West at Euston.
- High Speed Two services at Euston
- More and faster services to/from the East Midlands and Sheffield at St. Pancras.
- More Continental services at St. Pancras
- More and faster services to/from Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland at Kings Cross.
These lead me to the conclusion, that a new rail link is needed across London.
A Possible Western Extension To The Docklands Light Railway
In A Connection Between City Thameslink Station And The Docklands Light Railway, I wrote about a possible Western extension of the Docklands Light Railway.
his map from Transport for London, shows this possible Western extension of the DLR.
This was my analysis.
With all the problems of the funding of Crossrail 2, that I wrote about in Crossrail 2 Review Prompts Fresh Delays, could this extension of the DLR, be a good idea?
Consider,
- Victoria, Euston and St. Pancras are prosposed Crossrail 2 stations.
- It would link Canary Wharf and the City of London to Eurostar, Northern and Scottish services and High Speed 2.
- It would give all of the Docklands Light Railway network access to Thameslink.
- A pair of well-designed termini at Euston and St. Panras would probably increase frequency and capacity on the Bank branch of the system.
- The DLR is getting new higher capacity trains.
- Bank station is being upgraded with forty percent more passenger capacity.
- Holborn station is being upgraded and hopefully will be future-proofed for this extension.
- One big advantage at City Thameslink, is that Thameslink and the proposed DLR extension will cross at right-angles, thus probably making designing a good step-free interchange easier.
- The Bank Branch of the DLR currently handles 15 tph, but could probably handle more, if they went on to two terminal stations at St Pancras and Victoria..
- Waterloo and City Line can run at twenty-four tph.
Cinderella she may be, but then she always delivers, when there is a desperate need, just as she did magnificently at the 2012 Olympics.
The only problem with this extension of the DLR, is that compared to the rest of the system, the views will be terrible.
For myself and all the others living along the East London Line, with a step-free change at Shadwell, we would get excellent access to Euston, Saint Pancras and Victoria
But could the line still be called the Docklands Light Railway, as it spreads its tentacles further?
Will Cinderella come to the help of Canary Wharf for a second time?
I remember, when the Lewisham extension of the DLR was built without fuss, fanfare and cost and time overruns a couple of decades ago.
It was a triumph of sensible engineering.
Royal Mint Gardens
Royal Mint Gardens is a housing development to the East of Fenchurch Street and Tower Gateway stations.
These are a few pictures of the development.
But this doesn’t tell the full story.
This Google Map shows the position of the development.
Note.
- Fenchurch Street station is towards the top-left corner of the map.
- The c2c tracks running to the East from Fencurch Street station.
- Tower Gateway DLR station is just to the right of the centre, just above the green space.
- The tracks of the Docklands Light Railway running to the East from Tower Gateway DLR station.
The three concrete towers at the right of the map, lying to the South of the railway tracks, are the three structural towers of Royal Mint Gardens.
This Google Map shows a close up of Royal Mint Gardens.
Note how the Docklands Light Railway splits into two to the East of the development.
- The Northern pair of tracks skirt the development to the North to go to Tower Gatewat DLR station.
- The Southern pair of tracks go underneath the development to go to Bank DLR station.
The new development has put the Bank branch in a concrete tunnel.
So in an area of the world, where land is a very expensive commodity, this area is being used twice at the same time.
Royal Mint Gardens On The BBC
BBC London television has been covering various aspects of the building of Royal Mint Gadens in local news for most of the day.
The developer, the architect, Network Rail and the reporter, all seemed very positive about what is being created.
The architect felt up to 250,000 houses could be created on similar sites across London.
How many houses could be built over rail lines in the rest of the UK?
Conclusion
Building over rail lines like this, will increasingly be seen as a way of adding new housing in densely populated cities.
The New Escalators At Limehouse Station
Limehouse station now has a smart pair of escalators on the Westbound platform.
Are escalators going to be added to the Eastbound platform and the c2c platforms?
Automated Shuttle Trains With A Train Captain
There are various short routes on the UK rail network, where shuttle trains work a frequency of perhaps two or three trains per hour (tph), that is generally felt by passengers and train operators to be inadequate.
Examples include the following.
Could the frequency on these lines be increased using automation?
The Automated Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is not a simple railway, but it is fully automated.
- Trains are driverless
- A Train Captain is responsible for patrolling the train, checking tickets, making announcements and controlling the doors.
- The Train Captain can take control of the train if required.
It is a system that seems to have worked well for many years.
An Automated Shuttle With A Train Captain
Could a similar principle be applied to a shuttle train?
As an example, I’ll use the Bromley North Line.
Consider.
- The line is two miles long and trains take five minutes each way.
- The current frequency is three tph.
- There are problems at Grove Park station with connections in the Peak.
- The route is double-track.
- The current service is operated by a single train, manned only by a driver.
It would appear if the Bromley North Line could be run at four tph, this would be a welcome improvement.
One of the problems of driver-operated shuttle services like this, is that at each end of the route, the driver must change ends, which takes a couple of valuable minutes.
To operate a frequency of four tph, the round-trip must be performed in fifteen minutes.
- Each leg takes five minutes.
- There are four stops in a round trip; one at Grove Park, one at Bromley North and two at Sundridge Park.
I believe that a single automated train, with a Train Captain on board to look after safety, open and close the doors and start the train after each stop, should be able to handle the much-needed four tph on the Bromley North Line.
How Would The Automation Work?
Many years ago, a Central Line driver explained to me how the original automation of the Victoria Line worked.
- A train would arrive in the station and stop in the correct place automatically with high precision.
- The doors would be opened.
- After passengers had unloaded and loaded, the doors would be closed.
When the doors were closed and everything was safe, the driver would push a button to ask the automation to take the train to the next station.
Automation has moved on since the 1960s, and I believe that some form of on-train automation would be able to handle a simple shuttle.
- Only one track would probably be need to used to remove the complication of points.
- Only one train would be used for the shuttle, as this increases safety.
- Sensors would determine the exact position of the train.
- CCTV cameras, including ones looking forwards and backwards, would be relayed to the Train Captain and their Control Station in the middle of the train.
- The Train Captain would have an Emergency Stop Button.
If something goes wrong or the train is being taken to and from the depot, the Train Captain would go to the forward cab, switch off the automation and drive the train in the normal manner.
I am sure, that it would not only be a very safe system, but if it made full use of the capabilities of modern trains, it would speed up services sufficiently, so that frequencies could be increased.
What Trains Would Be Suitable?
I think that the choice of trains would be wide, but I think they must have the following characteristics.
- An ability to perform a station stop and restart quickly.
- Fast acceleration and deceleration.
- Level access between platform and train.
- Walk-through interior, to help the Train Captain perform their duties.
- Lots of wide double doors and large lobbies.
All these characteristics would enable the train to save time on the route.
Power would be anything that could be used on the route. For the Bromley North Line, that would be either third-rail electrification or battery power.
Battery power, though on this route, would have a problem.
If the train is running an intense shuttle service, with stops taking a minute or even less, the train never stops long enough to charge the batteries. As the route is electrified with 750 VDC using third-rail, this would need to be used on the Bromley North Line.
Although, I have used the word train in this section, I suspect trams, tram-trains or light rail vehicles could be used.
All vehicles would retain their driving cabs for the following reasons.
- If there is a problem, the Train Captain can drive the train, as happens on the Docklands Light Railway.
- If the train needs to be positioned to and from a depot, the train could be driven manually.
I also feel that for these reasons, the Train Captain would be a fully qualified driver.
Examples of vehicles that could be used, if appropriate automation were to be fitted include.
Class 399 Tram-Train
Class399 tram-trains are working successfully in Sheffield and they have been ordered for the South Wales Metro, where they will run under both overhead and battery power.
As an Electrical Engineer, I believe that it would not be the most difficult piece of engineering to fit these tram-trains with the ability to run under third-rail power.
The tram-trains would have similar capacities, cross-section and performance to the current Class 466 trains.
The only modifications that would be needed to the route, would be to adjust the platforms used by the tram-train to give level access between tram-train and platform.
A Three-Car Aventra Or Similar
Three-car Class 730 Aventra trains, have been ordered by West Midlands Railway and Aventras have also been ordered to run using third-rail power.
As with the Class 399 tram-train, these trains could probably work the route successfully, subject to suitable platform modification.
How Fast Could Stops Be Performed?
I have timed stops on the London Overground and the London Tramlink rarely do you find a time from brakes on to brakes off in excess of a minute, without a red signal being involved.
I have measured some London Overground stops are at thirty seconds some London Tramlink stops at twenty seconds.
If a shuttle had the track to itself and the train was a modern design, I could see maximum timings on the Bromley North Line as follows.
- Bromley North – One minute
- Sundridge Park – Thirty seconds
- Grove Park – One minute
Surely, with station stop times like these and perhaps faster running than the current 30 mph, the goal of four tph could be comfortably achieved.
What Happens With Delays?
Suppose, an incident occurs, and the train is delayed.
After the incident is successfully sorted, the train could just carry on or wait until it was on schedule for the next train.
Within a few minutes, the train would be running to time.
Some Other Selected Routes
Over the next few days, I will be adding calculations for other routes.
Slough And Windsor & Eton Central
Extra routes will be added here.
Conclusion
On the Bromley North Line, selective automation should be able to enable a four tph service using one train or tramtrain.
TfL Mulls DLR And Overground Extensions To Thamesmead
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on IanVisits.
Overground
TfL’s plan for the Overground would appear to be an extension under or over the River Thames to a single station at Thamesmead and a possible connection to the North Kent Line at Plumstead, Abbey Wood or Belvedere stations.
DLR
The plan for the DLR involves more stations, including a possible one on the North Bank of the Thames. It also serves a proposed massive Peabody housing development, which will provide up to 11,500 new homes.
What Goes East Must Go West
Nothing is said in Ian’s report about train services to Thamesmead.
Overground
On the Overground, there will be four trains per hour (tph) between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside stations.
There are problems with increasing frequency and capacity, which could be necessary.
- The terminus at Gospel Oak station is only a single platform.
- The Gospel Oak to Barking Line is used by an increasing amount of electrically-haled freight trains.
- There is little space on the line for an additional bay platform to turn trains.
- Trains can’t continue along the North London Line at Gospel Oak, as that line is busy as well.
The only alternative Western terminals are.
- Barking – A bay platform could possibly be squeezed in.
- Enfield Town – Sounds crazy, but there is a chord between Seven Sisters and South Tottenham stations.
- Fenchurch Street – Busy and possibly could be made larger with redevelopment.
- Liverpool Street – Busy and only a slight possibility.
There would also need to be platform lengthening to incorporate trains that are longer than four cars.
Although, it might be possible to run five-car trains using selective door opening on the last car.
DLR
Currently, the DLR has a Peak service of 7.5 tph between Tower Gateway and Becton calling at Shadwell, Limehouse, Westferry, Poplar, Blackwall, East India, Canning Town, Royal Victoria, Custom House, Prince Regent, Royal Albert, Beckton Park, Cyprus, Gallions Reach.
The extension to Thamesmead would branch off around Gallions Reach and the current service has the following connections.
- Shadwell – London Overground
- Canning Town – Jubilee Line
- Royal Victoria – Emirates Air-Line
- Custom House – Crossrail
Will there be enough capacity on this section of the DLR?
- Tower Gateway is a single-platform station and would need to be upgraded to handle more than 7.5 tph.
- Thirty tph run through Shadwell, Limeshouse and Westferry station in the Peak.
- Can stations be lengthened to use longer trains?
It does look to me that the only way to increase capacity would be to extend the DLR to the West, as I outlined in The Bank Station Upgrade And The Western Extension Of The DLR.
This map from TfL shows the possible extension.
What would be the cost of this extension?
Conclusion
The logic and economics of extending either the Overground or the DLR to Thamesmead are sound for that area of South-East London, but does The Mayor have the budget to complete the other end of the transport links?
The Bank Station Upgrade And The Western Extension Of The DLR
This map from Transport for London (TfL), shows the possible Western extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).
With all the problems of the funding of Crossrail 2, that I wrote about in Crossrail 2 Review Prompts Fresh Delays, could this extension of the DLR, be a good idea?
If you look at the Bank Station Upgrade in detail, the DLR gets a much needed boost in the upgrade.
The two DLR platforms underneath the Northern Line get a triple-escalator connection to the Northern Line level, from where they have the following.
- Level access to the Northern Line.
- Escalator access to the Cannon Street entrance.
- Travelator/escalator access to the Central Line.
- Access to the current escalators and lifts to the various entrances around Bank Junction.
There will also be lifts everywhere.
According to Services in the Wikipedia entry for the DLR, the following services turn at Bank station.
- 22.5 trains per hour (tph) in the Peak.
- 18 tph in the Off Peak.
So the turnback is handling a train around every three minutes.
I have no idea, what is the maximum frequency of the DLR, but as it is an automated system, with new trains to be delivered in the next few years, I suspect the frequency will be pushed higher in the future.
The Bank Station Upgrade has been designed to handle more passengers using the DLR, so there should be no problem about handling more passengers in the two platforms deep in Bank station.
The limiting factor would more likely be in the turnback.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr, shows the DLR lines at Bank station.
Note the turnback for the DLR, under the Central Line platforms 5/6, running alongside the Northern Line.
- Trains stop in the arrivals platform 10 at Bank station and unload all passengers.
- They then move to the turnback and the automation then switches to the other end.
- They then move to the departures platform 9 to pick up passengers.
It is an inefficient way to turn trains. A through station at Bank would have a much greater capacity.
If you look at the map of the proposed Western extension, it has two branches which join and split at City Thameslink station.
- Charing Cross, Green Park and Victoria.
- Holborn, Euston and St. Pancras
It should be noted that the two-platform terminal station at Lewisham currently handles upwards of 20 tph in the Peak.
This would mean that if both Western branches had a two-platform terminus, then there could be a theoretical total of forty tph through Bank station.
If Dear Old Vicky can manage thirty-six tph with ten year-old-trains and less automation, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the DLR manage the magic forty tph, with twenty tph on each branch.
Obviously, though there would be other considerations and capacity limits, but I can see a big increase in the numbers of passengers using the DLR.
I would expect that the improvement to the DLR access being added in the Bank Station Upgrade must have been designed to handle the highest number of DLR trains and passengers that anybody can practically envisage.
It should also be noted that the DLR station is below the Northern Line and the turnback siding, which is shown in the map of the lines, will be well out of the way of the new Northern Line and travelator tunnels.
The map of the Western DLR Western Extension, also shows the extension going West away from the Northern Line tunnels. This would mean it would comfortably pass underneath the new Southbound Northern Line tunnel.
It therefor looks to me, that the Bank Station Upgrade is very much preparing Bank station for the DLR Western Extension to be built.
So will the DLR Western Extension be constructed?
Why Is It Needed?
Various reasons Have been given.
Better Connection To The Docklands Light Railway for Commuters From The South
The DLR Western Extension will connect to commuter routes at the following stations.
- Charing Cross
- City Thameslink
- Victoria
This should help commuters get to the City and the business areas of East London.
Another Direct Connection Between East London And West Central London
It will also help travellers get betweenEast London and West Cerntral London without changing or using the overcrowded Victoria Line.
A few points.
- c2c commuters would also be able to change at Limehouse station to trains going further than Bank station.
- It would help me get to places South of Crossrail and Victoria becomes much easier.
- Access to Thameslink from the East will be improved, if you’re not near a Crossrail station.
- New housing in the East will get the transport links it needs.
East London has a great need for the DLR Western Extension.
Increase The Number Of Trains Serving Bank Station
The Mayor wants to extend the DLR to Abbey Wood and Thamesmead in the South East.
This will mean that extra capacity is needed in the West to turn the trains.
The DLR Western Extension and the Bank Station Upgrade seems a pretty good way to obtain this much-needed capacity.
The People Mover Between High Speed One, High Speed Two, West Coast Main Line And The East Coast Main Line
Proposals exist for a high capacity people mover between High Speed One at St. Pancras and High Speed Two at Euston.
The DLR Western Extension will accept this challenge and do it superbly and could even have connections to the East Coast Main Line.
Take The Pressure Off The Northern Line
Consider.
- The Northern Line connects Euston and Bank stations via Kings Cross St. Pancras.
- The Northern Line is supposed to take ten minutes.
- The route is overcrowded and it is impossible to get a seat, for most of the day.
- When High Speed Two opens in 2026, more travellers will want to travel to and from the City.
The DLR Western Extension could give as many as twenty tph on the following route.
- St. Pancras
- Euston
- Holborn
- City Thameslink
- Bank
With the new DLR trains and the full automation of the DLR, the route will certainly outperform the Northern Line and possibly a black cab, driven by Lewis Hamilton.
Improve Capacity Between Victoria And The City
Just as the DLR Western Extension will improve the route between Euston and the City of London, the other branch will improve the route between Victoria and the City
I’ve taken a District Line train from .Whitechapel to Victoria station and there are better ways to enjoy yourself.
It’s The Poor People’s Crossrail 2
Crossrail 2 with its mega station at Euston/Kings Cross/St. Pancras will give North-East London much better access to National Rail services going North.
To get to any of these stations now, I have to take a bus to either Angel or Moorgate stations and then get a tube.
I used to be able to get a bus to Highbury & Islington station, but the Mayor from South London has halved the service, so I don’t bother to wait fifteen minutes for a bus and go via Angel.
If the DLR Western Extension were to be opened, I’d get an Overground train to Shadwell station and change to the required route.
Agility – The DLR Advantage
I must say something about the big advantage of the DLR.
The trains have the ability to twist, turn and climb gradients, that a conventional train would find impossible.
This means that the tracks can be threaded through places, where heavy rail just can’t go!
Tunnels
The DLR tunnels and platforms at Bank station are the deepest in London. This article in the Telegraph says this about the deepest station in Central London.
It is the DLR concourse at Bank, which is 41.4 metres below.
Crossrail’s depth by comparison is described in this page on the Crossrail web site like this.
A network of new rail tunnels have been built by eight giant tunnel boring machines, to carry Crossrail’s trains eastbound and westbound. Each tunnel is 21 kilometres/13 miles long, 6.2 metres in diameter and up to 40 metres below ground.
The DLR Western Extension tunnels would cross Crossrail close to Holborn station, so they would probably need to go below Crossrail at this point.
Designing the route of the tunnels is probably the easy part, as construction will be much harder and will take a lot of planning.
Consider, the places for construction sites, where a tunnel boring machine (TBM) could be inserted or the spoil could be taken out.
- Bank, St. Pancras and Victoria stations are very crowded places, with most of the land already built on.
- There are the Royal Parks and London’s leafy squares, on the route.
- This article on IanVisits describes the railway sidings under Smithfield Meat Market, which could be somewhere to start digging. Could spoil be taken out at night by train on Thameslink?
- As Holborn station is getting a second entrance, this could also be a key site in the construction of the tunnels.
The tunnellers might use the techniques employed in the Bank Station Upgrade, where the tunnel was dug without a TBM and spoil was taken out by truck. But the tunnels for the DLR Western Extension will be much larger.
Stations
It is worth looking at the stations on the route.
Charing Cross
Charing Cross station has been rebuilt in recent decades and still has the two former Jubilee Line platforms in working order, that might be able to be reused.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines around Charing Cross station.
Note.
- The old Jubilee Line tunnels go through the platforms.
- They are long enough to hold two trains.
- The tunnels would have to be enlarged to fit the larger DLR trains.
As these platforms and tunnels were built to be extended on a route not unlike that of the DLR extension, I suspect TfL have ideas about how this station could be rebuilt to be part of the Western DLR extension.
City Thameslink
– City Thameslink station is a reasonably-modern, one-line double-ended step-free station.
The DLR Extension would cross the station at right-angles, deep below Thameslink.
Euston
Euston station is being rebuilt for HS2 and the Underground station will be extensively improved.
I would be very surprised, if the new station, has been designed without a feasible place for DLR platforms to be added.
Green Park
Green Park station has been updated several times and I suspect that TfL have ideas about how the station could be served by the extension.
Holborn
Holborn station is being extended with a new entrance. As with Euston, I suspect it has been designed with a feasible place for DLR platforms to be added.
This document on the TfL web site, gives more details of what is proposed at Holborn station.
I extracted this visualisation of the proposed station.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines in the through and around the station.
.Note, Crossrail, which is shown by dotted lines passes to the North of the station.
This diagram from Crossrail shows a depth profile of the tunnels between Farringdon and Bond Street stations.
Note.
- The blue dot indicating the Piccadilly Line.
- The red dot indicating the Central Line
These two lines are close to Holborn station.
I would feel that the DLR Western Extension could be accommodated in the lower level of the updated station. If required, it could use the DLR’s agility to use a route, no normal railway could.
St. Pancras
St. Pancras station is virtually a new station, so at least, the surveys and drawings are up-to-date. This might make designing two platforms below the current complex a bit easier.
Although, actually building them might be more difficult.
Victoria
The Underground station has been substantially remodelled and rebuilding of the National Rail station is in the pipeline.
Plans are also being drawn up, as to how this station will connect to Crossrail 2.
Hopefully, they’ve taken the DLR Extension into account.
Should There Be Any Other Stations?
The DLR Western Extension must be built, so that if required, the two new branches can be extended.
Extending From St. Pancras
One article, I’ve read, says that this branch should be extended to Camden Town.
In Maiden Lane And York Road Stations, I suggested that it should be extended to these two former stations. I said this.
But why stop at S. Pancras? The DLR could be extended under Kings Cross station, stopping where required to finish at York Road station.
- Only the building would be used.
- There would be no connection to the Piccadilly Line.
- The Docklands Light Railway tunnels would be several metres down to travel under buildings and the stations.
- An underground passage could be built to a reopened Maiden Lane station.
A worthwhile use would have been found for an iconic building and Kings Cross Central would have much better public transport connections.
Given that over the next few years, there will be a large increase in capacity on the North London Line through Maiden Lane station, this could be a very important extension.
Extending further in the future from York Road would be enabled. Next stop Finsbury Park?
Or would it be better to create a connection to the Piccadilly Line at the combined York Road/Maiden Lane station complex?
Extending From Victoria
Obviously, if the Victoria Branch could be extended to Waterloo, this would be an ideal solution.
I would look at the possibility of having a very easy interchange between the Victoria Line and the DLR at Victoria.
Cross-platform interchange would probably be difficult, but if the DLR platforms were under those of the Victoria Line, I would feel a fast step-free interchange could be designed.
This would effectively mean that the Victoria Line would be a virtual extension to the Victoria Branch of the DLR Western Extension.
A Connection To Crossrail
Surely, the DLR Western Extension should connect to Crossrail. Especially, as it connects to Thameslink!
Conclusion
Build the DLR Western Extension!
Why?
- It will add capacity between Euston and the City.
- It will add capacity between Victoria and the City
- It will unlock capacity at Bank and allow more services to the East.
It is the poor people’s Crossrail 2
It won’t be built though!
- East London isn’t a priority and it’s where the scum and great unwashed live.
- It doesn’t do much for South and West London, where important people live.
- The North of England will object, as it’s another London project!
But I’m hoping that it will be built, as it will transform the lives of many who live in the East and/or rely on the DLR.
In 2010, I wrote Cinderella Will Take You to the Ball!, where I was looking forward to the Olympics.
After the Olympics, I was told by a Senior Manager of the DLR, whilst riding on a DLR train, that the system had performed magnificently at the Games and carried more passengers than everybody expected it would!
There certainly weren’t any complaints.
But I did find this article on Rail Magazine, which is entitled The Secret Of Serco’s Success.
This is the first two paragraphs.
In January 2013 Serco was awarded an 18-month contract extension to operate the Docklands Light Railway, one of the most reliable train services in the UK.
This extension (to September 2014) to the original seven-year franchise rewarded a remarkable performance in 2012, a performance that was also a principal reason for National Rail Awards judges awarding Serco Docklands the City & Metro Operator of the Year accolade.
So they got a Gold Medal too!
This is said about their performance during the year.
Almost 12 million passengers were carried during the entire Games period, and during the busiest times, passenger numbers reached more than double the normal level. Numbers peaked at around 500,000 passengers in a single day, over 125,000 more than DLR’s previous record. And yet, despite all that extra pressure, 2012 was DLR’s most reliable year ever.
Sexy the DLR is not, but like the character I name her after, this light railway, works incredibly hard and to a high standard!
It is a true heavyweight amongst urban transport systems.
Perhaps we should abandon Crossrail 2 and just extend the Docklands Light Railway?
Ludgate Circus And Blackfriars Station
This morning, I had an excellent full English breakfast with a large mug of tea in Leon at Ludgate Circus.
It is unusual for a fast-food restaurant, in that it has acres of space, alcohol, including gluten-free beer, for those who want it, five or six large tables that seat ten and an outdoor area for a sunny and warm day.
So at ten in the morning, I can always find a place to lay out my copy of The Times and read it at leisure.
Others seemed to be having breakfast meetings or encounters.
The Wikipedia entry for Ludgate Circus has a section on Stations, which says this.
Had the Fleet line of the London Underground been built, it would have had a station at Ludgate Circus. However, the Fleet line’s proposed route evolved into what is now the Jubilee line, which went south of the River Thames before reaching Ludgate Circus. In 1990 however, St. Paul’s Thameslink (later renamed City Thameslink) was opened on the site of the proposed Ludgate Circus station.
North-South Thameslink services through the double-ended City Thameslink station, with its numerous escalators and lifts, will reach twenty-four trains per hour (tph), from the current sixteen tph by the end of next year.
I could have taken Thameslink to Blackfriars station, but I walked and took these pictures on the way.
It is not a pleasant walk with all the traffic.
Next time, I’ll take Thameslink!
The reason, I went to Blackfriars, was to catch a Circle or District Line train to Tower Hill station.
Where is the Fleet Line, when you need it?
Phase one of the line ran to Charing Cross station, where it was extended to become the Jubilee Line, we have today.
The original plan for the Fleet Line as given by Wikipedia was.
Phase 2: would have extended the line along Fleet Street to stations at Aldwych, Ludgate Circus, Cannon Street and Fenchurch Street. Parliamentary approval for this phase was granted on 27 July 1971.
Phase 3: would have seen the line continue under the river to Surrey Docks (now Surrey Quays) station on the East London Line, taking over both of the ELL’s branches to New Cross Gate and New Cross stations, with an extension to Lewisham.
Parliamentary approval for this phase as far as New Cross was granted on 5 August 1971 and the final section to Lewisham was granted approval on 9 August 1972.
Phase 2 would have whisked me to Fenchurch Street station and Phase 3 sounds a lot like the current proposal for the Bakerloo Line Extension.
I very much feel that there is a need for a line across London on the route of the Fleet Line and Transport for London have a plan to extend the Docklands Light Railway, that I wrote about in A Connection Between City Thameslink Station And The Docklands Light Railway.
This map from Transport for London, shows the possible Western extension of the DLR.
With all the problems of the funding of Crossrail 2, that I wrote about in Crossrail 2 Review Prompts Fresh Delays, could this extension of the DLR, be a good idea?
It would certainly provide an East-West route at City Thameslink station.
Could A Platform Or Platforms Be Added To The High Meads Loop To Improve Connectivity At Stratford?
This Google Map shows Stratford International station..
The main station is obvious, but note the Stratford International DLR station to the North on the other side of Interbational Way.
- From the DLR station the tracks curve Southwards and cross the High Speed tracks towards St. Pancras.
- Alongside these tracks is the double-track High Meads Loop.
- On the Northern side of the DLR station, the loop enters a tunnel to connect the tracks to Lea Bridge and Tottenham Hale stations.
- At the Southern end, the loop connects to the tracks that go through platforms 11 and 12 of the domestic Stratford station, before joining with the other side of the High Meads Loop at Temple Meads East Junction to go North.
- Platform 11 would handle trains going clockwise round the loop and Platform 12 those going anti-clockwise.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the track layout in detail.
The loop has been used in the past to turn Stansted Expresses that ran to Stratford, where they called in Platform 12. The signs are still there, as this picture, which was taken at the Eastern end of the Overground plstforms 1 and 2, shows.
The capacity of the loop must be quite large.
- A similar single-track loop under Liverpool handles as many as fourteen trains per hour (tph).
- The double-track loop could probably handle upwards of sixteen tph.
The following is also planned, is happening or could happen.
- Crossrail should open in 2019 giving a direct connection between Stratford and Heathrow via Paddington, the West End and Liverpool Street.
- Four tph will run between Stratford and Meridian Water stations.
- A Stansted Express service between Stansted and Stratford could be reintroduced.
- Liverpool Street is getting increasingly crowded.
- London Overground might run services between Stratford and the Lea Valley.
Utilising the capacity of the existing High Meads Loop would probably be an easier option, than expanding Liverpool Street.
I arrived at Stratford International DLR station today and after using the Western entrance, I took these pictures.
The High Meads Loop is not that far from the DLR station and there would appear to be scope to create at least one platform.
This Google Map shows the Western end of the DLR station and the High Meads Loop.
I think there is scope in the area to create a link between the three stations at the Western end of the DLR station, which is the building with the blue roof.
It could also be a better walking route to the Internation station, as you won’t have to fight your way through Eastfields.
Conclusion
I think it will be tricky, but a better interchange will be created.
A Connection Between City Thameslink Station And The Docklands Light Railway
In the Wikipedia entry for the Docklands Light Railway, there is a section describing a proposed Euston/St. Pancras Extension.
This is said.
In 2011, strategy documents proposed a DLR extension to Euston and St Pancras. Transport for London have considered driving a line from City Thameslink via Holborn north to the rail termini. The main benefit of such an extension would be to broaden the available direct transport links to the Canary Wharf site. It would create a new artery in central London and help relieve the Northern and Circle lines and provide another metro line to serve the High Speed line into Euston.
This map from Transport for London, shows the possible Western extension of the DLR.
With all the problems of the funding of Crossrail 2, that I wrote about in Crossrail 2 Review Prompts Fresh Delays, could this extension of the DLR, be a good idea?
Consider,
- Victoria, Euston and St. Pancras are prosposed Crossrail 2 stations.
- It would link Canary Wharf and the City of London to Eurostar, Northern and Scottish services and High Speed 2.
- It would give all of the Docklands Light Railway network access to Thameslink.
- A pair of well-designed termini at Euston and St. Panras would probably increase frequency and capacity on the Bank branch of the system.
- The DLR is getting new higher capacity trains.
- Bank station is being upgraded with forty percent more passenger capacity.
- Holborn station is being upgraded and hopefully will be future-proofed for this extension.
- One big advantage at City Thameslink, is that Thameslink and the proposed DLR extension will cross at right-angles, thus probably making designing a good step-free interchange easier.
- The Bank Branch of the DLR currently handles 15 tph, but could probably handle more, if they went on to two terminal stations at St Pancras and Victoria..
- Waterloo and City Line can run at twenty-four tph.
Cinderella she may be, but then she always delivers, when there is a desperate need, just as she did magnificently at the 2012 Olympics.
The only problem with this extension of the DLR, is that compared to the rest of the system, the views will be terrible.
For myself and all the others living along the East London Line, with a step-free change at Shadwell, we would get excellent access to Euston, Saint Pancras and Victoria
But could the line still be called the Docklands Light Railway, as it spreads its tentacles further?
