Southbound Thameslink To Eastbound Elizabeth Line At Farringdon Station
I travelled today from St. Pancras International station to Whitechapel station, using the following route.
- Southbound Thameslink service to Farringdon station.
- Eastbound Elizabeth Line service to Whitechapel station.
These pictures show my walk at Farringdon station.
Note.
- I was riding at the back of the train, so I had a long walk to the lifts.
- It would be better to travel in the Southern end of the Thameslink train, as the lifts are at the Southern end of the Southbound Thameslink platform.
- I used the lifts to descend to the Elizabeth Line platforms.
- It is only a short walk between the lifts and the Elizabeth Line trains.
As the last picture indicates, the connecting lifts that I used, can also be used to go from the Southbound Thameslink to the Westbound Elizabeth Line at Farringdon Station.
These connecting lifts can also be used in the reverse direction to go from all Elizabeth Line services to Southbound Thameslink services to London Bridge, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Brighton and all the other Southern Thameslink destinations!
If you want to avoid the lifts, as it appears they can busy, you have to climb the stairs to get to the concourse and then descend to get the escalator down to the Elizabeth Line, that I wrote about in Westbound Elizabeth Line To Northbound Thameslink At Farringdon Station.
Conclusion
There would appear to be an imbalance of quality between the connections between the Elizabeth Line and the two Thameslink platforms.
- Those going between the Elizabeth Line and the Northbound Thameslink platform will find it easy, as most of the route is on an escalator.
- On the other hand, those using the Southbound Thameslink platform at busy times could find it congested and slow.
I suspect that regular users of the station, will develop their own routes through the station.
It’s A Tough Job, But Someone’s Got To Do It!
For a couple of stops today, on the Elizabeth Line, I shared my section of the carriage, with a party of four Japanese tourists, who I took to be mother, father and son, with an older man, who was probably one of the boy’s grandfathers. The father had his camera out and was photographing his family and the train. As I passed him to leave the train, he said “Good train!” He also pointed to himself and said. “Japanese railway engineer!”
I wonder how many other professional railway engineers will visit London and run their eyes over the Elizabeth Line?
Wheelchair Provision On Elizabeth Line Trains And Platforms
These pictures show the provision for wheelchairs on trains and platforms of the Elizabeth Line.
Note.
- The generous spaces for a wheelchair. There are four spaces in the middle carriage of the nine-car trains.
- There is a blue wheelchair symbol, that marks where wheelchair entry to the trains is easiest.
- There are blue wheelchair symbols on the floor at doors closest to the wheelchair spaces.
- There are a lot of wheelchair signposts on all platforms.
- There are no steps to negotiate taking a wheelchair in or out of the train.
- At Canary Wharf there was a small screen showing the next five trains in each direction, which appeared to be positioned at the right height for a self-propelled wheelchair user.
Whilst I was coming back from Canary Wharf, the wheelchair space opposite was occupied by a very elderly lady in a wheelchair, who was accompanied, by a couple I took to be her daughter and son-in-law.
Judging by the smiles and compliments all round, they all seemed well satisfied with the provision.
Elizabeth Line To Northern Line At Moorgate Station
In Elizabeth Line – Moorgate Station – 27th May 2022, I took the recommended step-free route at Moorgate station between the Northern Line and the new entrance to the station.
It is a rather underwhelming and long route and this was my conclusion.
The rat-up-the-drainpipe route is acceptable to me, but I don’t feel the step-free route via the long tunnel will be acceptable for all those, who need to use it.
It’s just too long to walk for many!
Perhaps the addition of seats for a rest would help.
I wrote about the rat-up-the-drainpipe route to the surface, in Up From The Depths At Moorgate Station and in my view, if you can manage an escalator it is a better route between the Northern and Elizabeth Lines. Once at the surface, there are lifts and stairs to the new entrance, where there are escalators and a lift to the Elizabeth Line.
This morning, I was coming the other way, as I’d just off an Elizabeth Line train from Canary Wharf. These pictures show my route to the Northern Line.
Note.
- The signing at the start of the route, which is shown in the first picture is dreadful.
- I suspect, it leads to some of those in wheel-chairs ending up at the main escalators to Moorgate.
- The main route to the Northern Line includes a double set of stairs, but there is a by-pass lift.
- The connecting tunnel is overly long.
- At the end of the tunnel, there is a choice of a lift or long stairs.
- At least the tunnel is fully air-conditioned.
I took the lift and then used the escalator to the Northern City Line opposite.
Step-Free Access To The Northern City Line
It hasn’t been added.
Conclusion
Routes between the Northern and Elizabeth Lines at Moorgate need to be improved.
London Now Has A Large Communal Cool Room For The Elderly And Disabled
I would suspect that most elderly and disabled people, who live in the London boroughs have a Freedom Pass entitling them to free public transport.
London’s new cool room is large and fully air-conditioned, and stretches eight miles right across the city between Paddington and Canary Wharf.
It is officially called the Elizabeth Line, but others call it Crossrail or the Lizzie Line.
Perhaps, the seats in the stations are hard, to discourage overstaying in the well-controlled cool atmosphere.
These seats are used on most stations.
I wonder how many passengers will choose the Elizabeth Line in this heat?
I certainly will!
Canary Wharf Boosts Its Science Ambitions
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This are the introductory paragraphs.
Genomics England is to move its headquarters to Canary Wharf in east London this year as the financial quarter aims to become a life sciences hub.
The government-run DNA sequencing group will move in the autumn into One Canada Place, where its neighbours will include Brookfield, a Canadian property fund, and Reach, publisher of the Daily Express and OK! magazine.
Owned by the Department of Health and Social Care, Genomics England sequences the genomes of people with rare diseases and cancers to help doctors to treat them more effectively. With consent, some of that data is passed to researchers trying to develop new drugs and treatments.
If you type “Canary Wharf Science Hub into Google”, you find some serious articles.
This article in the FT is entitled Canary Wharf Proposes £500mn Lab Project To Reinvent Financial Hub.
This is a good idea, as scientist friends are always complaining about a lack of lab space in Cambridge and Oxford. Because of the Elizabeth Line, both these cities are not much more than an hour from Canary Wharf.
It should also fill the cafes and shops with scientists and engineers, who would replace some of those working from home because of the pandemic.
I wonder whether this model will work elsewhere?
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.
- I started my journey at 13:15.
- I arrived at Poplar at 13:27.
- 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.
- I started my walk from Poplar station at 13:27.
- I was on the platform at Canary Wharf station at 13:39.
- I used a lift at Poplar station and the escalators at Canary Wharf station.
- The walk took twelve minutes, but it was a roundabout route.
- 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.
- Poplar station in the North-East of the map.
- The bridge at Poplar station, that provides the route I took over Aspen Way.
- After crossing the bridge and using the lift, I walked along the South side of Aspen Way.
- I then walked South down the path at the East side of the site, where it appears from the hoardings, flats will be built.
- 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.
- It took about six minutes to walk between the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express.
- This was my first ride on Heathrow Express, since the service has started using Class 387 trains.
- The trains are fine, but where are the tables, that I like so much in the other Class 387 trains?
- 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.
- This pictures were taken on two dates.
- A full bridge would connect the new housing to the shopping centre and the Jubilee Line station.
- Between Poplar and Canary Wharf stations would be around 120 metres.
- There would be a straight and level walking route between Poplar DLR station and the two Canary Wharf Jubilee and Elizabeth Line stations.
- A short branch would lead to Canary Wharf DLR station.
- 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.
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.
- All are easy step-free interchanges, with the change at Stratford probably the easiest.
- 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.
- The interchange improvements at Bank station, will open up new routes to and from London City Airport.
- If the walking route from Poplar and Canary Wharf station is improved, this will be a valuable upgrade.
- 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.
A Walk Around Woolwich – 15th June 2022
I went to Woolwich station on the Elizabeth Line today and had a walk around.
Note.
- Woolwich station is a simple station with only three escalators at one end direct to the platforms, which are in a tunnel.
- Both platforms have platform edge doors and a similar decor to some platforms on the Jubilee Line Extension.
- The escalator shaft and the booking hall are lined in brick.
- Next to the station is a large Marks & Spencer Simply Food store.
- Outside the station is large green with a pub on one side.
- 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.
Changing Trains At Canary Wharf Station – 13th June 2022
I took these pictures around the new Canary Wharf station on the Elizabeth Line.
Note.
- The station appears to follow, a very similar design to some of stations on the Jubilee Line.
- 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.
- The connection to the Jubilee Line appears to be a tunnel under the offices.
- 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.
- 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.
- The excellent connection between the Elizabeth Line and the East London Line at Whitechapel station, will get a lot of use.
- 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.
The Anonymous Widower 