Passengers Of Reduced Mobility And The Elizabeth Line
I took these pictures at Whitechapel station and they show the preferred wheelchair entry point to the Class 345 train and the central car of the train, which has four wheelchair spaces.
Note.
- The well-signed wheelchair entrance to the train.
- Thw four wheelchair spaces are in the middle car of the train.
- There is no step into the train.
- The roundels also have directions to other lines and the way out.
The car also has longitudinal seating and lots of vertical grab rails.
I do find it strange that London is very much alone in the UK in using this seating design.
Is This Normal Behaviour Of Lizzie Line Passengers?
Suppose I’m using the Lizzie Line to go between Moorgate and Brentwood, I might get on the first train, if the one I need is not the first.
I will then change to the train I need at an intermediate station.
It’s just that the seats in the trains are more comfortable than those on the stations. My journey time will be the same, but my bottom will be pleased!
These are typical hard steel station seats.
And these are upholstered ones on a train.
In today’s weather the trains were also a bit warmer!
Do other passengers do this?
Construction Has Started On The Silvertown Tunnel
These pictures show that construction has started on the Silverton Tunnel.
Note that New Civil Engineer is reporting that tunnelling has started.
My Current Thoughts On The Silvertown Tunnel
In 2015, I wrote No To Silvertown Tunnel, which I started with these two paragraphs.
My personal feelings about the Silvertown Tunnel are that it is irrelevant to me, except that it might help some trucks bring goods that I buy online or at a local shop. Although as a sixty-eight year-old-widower living alone, I don’t think my transport needs through the tunnel will be high.
I don’t drive after my stroke and I like that lifestyle, except when last night it took me three trains, a coach and a taxi to get back from watching football at Ipswich. But that tortuous late night journey was caused because NuLabor spent my tax money on pointless wars that will haunt us for generations, rather than in extending and renewing our rail system, that will nurture and enrich our future.
But my objections to the Silvertown Tunnel have changed and expanded.
New Transport Infrastructure Attracts Passengers
This may seem obvious, but there has been several cases recently in London to prove my point.
- The London Overground has been a success beyond Transport for London’s wildest dreams and as an example the North London Line, that started with three x three-car trains per hour (tph) is now running eight x five-car tph. This is a four time increase in capacity.
- New buses and contactless ticketing have encouraged more passengers to use the buses.
- Electrification and new trains has transformed the Gospel Oak to Barking Line.
- The expansion of Thameslink and new trains now carries a lot more North-South traffic through London.
- Every time, a new section of the Elizabeth Line opens more passengers are attracted to the new line.
- The remodelling of London Bridge station has increased passenger numbers. And shoppers!
On a personal note, I live on a bus corridor, that runs between North London and Moorgate for the Lizzie Line. Since the Lizzie Line has been fully connected, passenger numbers have risen by a big margin.
I don’t believe that the ability to attract more traffic of the Silvertown Tunnel will be any different.
More Traffic Means More Congestion And Pollution
I live close to the Balls Pond Road, which increasingly seems to be a truck route across North London.
The Silvertown Tunnel will be two lanes each way; one for trucks and buses, and one for smaller vehicles.
I can’t see that pollution and congestion around the Silvertown Tunnel and on the routes to the tunnel, will not increase.
There Is Little Or No Provision For Cyclists And Pedestrians
This will be a big problem. Especially, as the local traffic in the area will increase dramatically.
Does Central London Have Enough Parking For The Increased Traffic?
Parking in Central London is probably close to capacity now!
So What Would I Do?
Given that construction has already started, I feel it is too late to cancel.
Better Alternatives Than Driving
I feel measures should be adopted that provide better alternatives than driving.
Obviously, this won’t help with trucks, but it could reduce the total number of vehicles going through the tunnel.
These could include.
- Increase the frequency of trains on both the Lizzie Line and Thameslink.
- Increase the number of destinations on both the Lizzie Line and Thameslink.
- Add an extra car to Lizzie Line trains.
- Remove First Class on the shorter eight-car Thameslink trains.
- Add provision on some Lizzie Line and Thameslink routes for bicycles.
- Add a Silvertown station to the Elizabeth Line for London City Airport.
- Add one or more pedestrian and cycling bridges across the Thames.
- Expand of the Docklands Light Railway.
- Expand the Thames Clipper.
- Connect Barking Riverside station to Thamesmead and Abbey Wood station either by a rail or a fast ferry.
- Keep the cable-car.
I suspect there are other viable ideas.
Develop Incentives To Use Public Transport
Incentives could be in these areas.
- Better station and bus terminals encourage more to use trains and buses.
- Full free onboard wi-fi and phone charging.
- Special fares for some journeys.
An example of the latter could be a discount for certain cross-river journeys.
Make The Silvertown Tunnel Available For Zero Carbon Vehicles Only
This would surely cut pollution in London.
Conclusion
We should use the Silvertown Tunnel to improve London’s air quality.
Posh Adverts At Bond Street Station
The new Hanover Square entrance to the Lizzie Line is built to a high specification.
Today, when I went through, they even had posh adverts.
De Beers do have a shop close to the station at 46-50 Old Bond St, London W1S 4QT.
Consortium To Develop Low-Cost Operations To Revive France’s Local Lines
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This was the first paragraph.
Thales has joined forces with a group of companies and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council to develop innovative digital signalling and operations with a view to cutting the cost of running trains on lightly-used rural lines.
When I first read this article, I immediately thought, that the French problem is similar to problems we have in the UK, and I’ve also seen in other countries in Europe like Germany and The Netherlands.
The French consortium are looking at these technologies.
- Platform-agnostic, autonomous train positioning and odometry without trackside infrastructure.
- Cyber-secured data transmission via public telecommunications networks.
- High-density digital terrain mapping.
- Formal methods of generating safety data.
- A tablet-based supervision and operations interface for drivers.
- Integrated surveillance of level crossings.
- Network surveillance using sensors mounted on rail vehicles.
Thales says that the technology ‘will be fully interoperable with the core network and promises to reduce investment and operating costs by more than 30%’. Apart from reviving rural railways, it will improve safety, ‘especially at level crossings’, the company said.
As someone, who was designing and installing automation on heavy machinery nearly sixty years ago, I feel the French are on the right track.
I have a few thoughts.
Could Drone And/Or Missile Guidance Technology Be Used?
It should be noted that Thales Air Defence are a company who manufacture several successful missiles including the NLAW. They are also a subsidiary pf Thales Group, who are leading the French rural rail consortium.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find, that Thales have access to loads of applicable technology.
Could Drivers Use A Tablet To Drive The Train?
I don’t see why not!
The Elizabeth Line has been designed to use auto-reverse to speed up operations at Paddington, which I wrote about in Crossrail Trains Will Have Auto-Reverse.
I suspect that the driver has a simple controller to monitor the reversing train and stop it in an emergency.
Integrated Surveillance Of Level Crossings
Whoever solves this tricky problem will do the railways of the world a big service.
Network Surveillance Using Sensors Mounted On Rail Vehicles
This is starting to happen all over the world.
Conclusion
I think that the results of this French study will be felt worldwide.
Lost In The Purple
In Whitechapel Station Is The Preferred Interchange, I said this.
It certainly appeared to me from some staff, I spoke to, that some passengers were getting rather lost.
It was also confirmed by a member of Elizabeth Line staff at Moorgate station.
In A Look At Bond Street Station, I showed this image and said the following.
Bond Street station is double-ended.
This visualisation shows the knitting that connects it to the current Bond Street station.
Note.
- The station has two entrances; Davies Street and Hanover Square.
- The length of the Crossrail platforms.
- It looks like the Western interchange between Crossrail and Jubilee Line is easy.
- It could be quite a walk between Crossrail and the Central Line at Davies Street.
- If you’re a strong walker, some will use the Hanover Square entrance to access the Central and Victoria Lines.
On this quick look, I have a feeling that at Bond Street station, it will pay to know your entrances and make sure you’re at the right place on the train.
I could have added, that it will pay to know your entrances on any of the large stations.
At the Moorgate end of Liverpool Street station, yesterday passengers were turning up, who really wanted the Liverpool Street end.
The subterranean information needs to be better.
As an example, there are a few modestly-priced hotels, that include a Premier Inn, clustered around the Elizabeth Line station at Woolwich.
- Woolwich station is a simple single-ended station with the entrance at the Western end of the platforms.
- So passengers for Woolwich should always get in the Western end of the Elizabeth Line trains.
- That would be the front going West.
- That would be the back going East.
If staying at a hotel near an Elizabeth Line station make sure you know your entrance and train position.
So Many Cases On A Train!
This afternoon about three, I went to West Ealing station to see what it was like to transfer between the Elizabeth Line Central Tunnel and the Western Branch at Paddington.
Coming back, I took an Elizabeth Line service that had started from Heathrow Airport and it was one of the busiest Lizzies, I’d ever ridden!
To get on the train at West Ealing station, I got in to probably coach 4 of 9, as that was in the dry and the back end of the train I needed for Moorgate station was certainly in the wet.
I then had to walk half the length of the train to get to the back of the train.
It was not easy, as the train was full of scores of passengers with large wheelie cases.
This got me thinking.
Are Passengers Transferring To The Lizzie Line?
And especially those with large cases. that are the sort you could use for bringing in a pair of folded-up contortionists.
- These cases don’t fit well on the Piccadilly Line, which has only a few step-free stations.
- From what I’ve seen cases are easily wheeled to Elizabeth Line platforms at Heathrow.
- Many of these cases won’t fit in the average family car.
- All parking is expensive at Heathrow, whether it is short, medium or long.
- Valet parking at Heathrow has been devalued by all the scam artists.
- Taxis are the province of those that own oil wells, hedge funds or belong to the highest wunch of bankers.
- Pick-up and drop-off is now very expensive.
- There were a good proportion of couples, who were both dragging or pushing a massive case.
- The Elizabeth Line is cheaper than the Heathrow Express.
- The Elizabeth Line like the Piccadilly Line allows the use of a bank card as a ticket.
- Only the Elizabeth and Piccadilly Lines take you direct to dozens of stations with only same-platform interchanges.
- The Elizabeth Line has step-free interchanges with the Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee, and Metropolitan Lines, the Docklands Light Railway and the London Overground.
- Whitechapel has been turned into a major transport hub for the Easternmost part of London.
There seems to be quite a few reasons why a traveller going to or from Heathrow might at least try the Elizabeth Line.
And travellers seemed to be doing it in droves today!
Were Upmarket Passengers Using The Lizzie Line?
Take the couple next to me on the train from West Ealing.
- Around sixty.
- Very well-dressed.
- Possibly Mediterranean or South American.
- Matching medium-size wheelie-cases.
- She was wearing expensive glasses.
A couple of years ago, they would have probably used the Heathrow Express.
They certainly weren’t the only passengers, who looked like archetypal Heathrow Express passengers.
Will The Lizzie Line Take Passengers From The Piccadilly Line?
As the cost will be the same, I suspect the answer will be yes.
Although, there will be groups of travellers, who will probably remain loyal to the Piccadilly Line.
- If you were going to or from the step-free Cockfosters or Oakwood, with a heavy case, all the way on the Piccadilly Line could be a simple sensible option. I used to live near Oakwood station and remember several long trips on the Piccadilly Line, but not too Heathrow.
- The step-free Kings Cross St. Pancras, Green Park, Knightsbridge and Earls Court may well have reasons to keep their regular passengers.
- Those only travelling a few stops to or from Heathrow will probably stay with the Piccadilly Line for convenience.
- Transport for London have been adding step-free access to the Heathrow Branch and this will surely promote use.
The Piccadilly Line is also getting new trains in a few years.
In Extending The Elizabeth Line – Piccadilly Line To Ealing Broadway, I talked about a proposal to turnback some Piccadilly Line trains at Ealing Broadway station.
I think it is a good idea, as it could make it simpler for Piccadilly Line passengers to access Heathrow and reduce congestion on the Piccadilly Line.
Will The Lizzie Line Take Passengers From The Heathrow Express?
This is an extract from Extending The Elizabeth Line – Piccadilly Line To Ealing Broadway
It will be difficult to predict what will happen to Heathrow Express, but I suspect several groups of passengers will desert it.
- Passengers wanting to go anywhere East of Paddington without changing trains.
- Passengers wanting any Elizabeth Line station.
- Passengers, who don’t like the prices of Heathrow Express.
- Passengers using Oyster or contactless cards.
- Passengers who want to ride on London’s spectacular new Elizabeth Line.
After Old Oak Common station is opened for High Speed Two, the numbers could further decrease.
Will Heathrow Express survive?
Will The Lizzie Line Attract Passengers Who Usually Drive?
Large swathes of the country already have single-change step-free access to the Elizabeth Line.
- All services out of Liverpool Street and/or Stratford.
- All services out of Moorgate.
- All Thameslink services through Farringdon.
- All services out of Paddington.
- All services through Abbey Wood.
- When Crossrail to Ebbsfleet (C2E) opens, this will add all services through Gravesend and Ebbsfleet.
- When High Speed Two opens, this will add all services through Old Oak Common.
- When the Western Rail Approach To Heathrow is completed, this will add all services through Reading.
If you can get a train direct to the Elizabeth Line network and then a train direct to your terminal, would you seriously want all the hassle of parking after a two hour drive?
I can see parking at Heathrow suffering a severe lack of demand.
Conclusion
Lizzie will start a revolution in travel to and from Heathrow.
Whitechapel Station Is The Preferred Interchange
In this article on Ian Visits, which is entitled Elizabeth Line Links Up The Core Tunnels To Heathrow And Beyond, there is this extract.
On board, the trains, tannoy announcements when approaching Whitechapel station from the east now tell you to change there for trains to Reading and Heathrow, and when approaching Liverpool Street from the east no longer tell you to change for trains to Shenfield.
Whitechapel has been chosen as the station to recommend changing at, as it’s the more convenient one due to its layout and has more side passages to get between the two platforms.
Apart from the obvious timetable change, the biggest change, already noticeable is in how passengers use the line.
It certainly appeared to me from some staff, I spoke to, that some passengers were getting rather lost.
Taking A Train Between Abbey Wood And Ilford Stations On The Lizzie Line
The Elizabeth Line will open up a large number of new routes for Londoners, those who visit and those who live close to the tentacles of the new line.
One of these routes is between South East London and East London or South Essex.
You could take two trains in and out of central London, with the Underground in between, but the easiest way is to drive.
But then the Dartford Crossing hasn’t the needed capacity.
But the Elizabeth Line, which opened today, gives you an alternative with a simple cross-platform change at Whitechapel or Liverpool Street stations.
I took a trip today between Abbey Wood and Ilford stations, changing at Whitechapel to assess the feasibility of a route like this as a daily commute, taking these pictures along the route,
Note.
Between Abbey Wood And Ilford stations took 39 minutes.
Google says a car will take 45 minutes.
The Anonymous Widower 