Is Work Starting On The Hackney Downs/Central Link?
I took this picture today.
Is Work Starting On The Hackney Downs/Central Link?
It looks like something is finally happening to build the pedestrian link between the two stations.
It should all become clear in the coming weeks.
Hackney Goes Back To The Future
I’ve posted about rebuilding the footbridge connection between Hackney Downs and Hackney Central stations before.
TfL have decided to replace it after seventy years and Hackney Council has approved the proposal as reported here. It seems to be positively received.
Hackney Central ward cllr Vincent Stops welcomed the news. He said: “It is quite exciting that this proposal remakes an historic connection between Hackney Central and Hackney Downs stations that was lost in 1944. It will greatly benefit Hackney residents and those visiting Hackney Central town centre. Now permission has been obtained I am determined that Marcon and Aspland Estate benefits both in terms of the re-provision of play facilities and that the green wall and tree cover really improves the outlook of residents and reduces train noise, a long standing issue for the estate.”
I wonder how long it is before TfL decides that the two stations are one and renames them to either Hackney or Hackney Junction.
I suspect that the renaming will get more objections than the five who objected to the footbridge. One was objecting that it might mean to a loss of car parking spaces.
The Hackney Stations Link
The councillor involved in transport has replied that Network Rail and Transport for London are actively pursuing plans for a possible pedestrian link between the two Hackney stations, similar to that, that existed before the Second World War, with the aim of completion in 2014. They included this old photograph, taken in 1928.
The amount of steel in the bridge was probably the reason it was taken down. After all there was a war on!
This could be the same bridge today.
The Bridge Taking The West Anglia Main Line Over The Overground
The track layout is slightly different and there is no trace of the footbridge. Judging by the modern-looking support at the right, it could have been rebuilt.
More On Connecting Hackney Downs And Central Stations
The reason I went to the Hackney Records Office was to see if I could find any trace of the track level walkway between Hackney Downs and Hackney Central stations. I have talked about this before.
I didn’t find any pictures, but I did find a 1934 Ordnance Survey map showing the footpaths and two sets of steps to climb or descend from one level to the other. So it seemed that the link wasn’t some large piece of engineering, but a simple walkway alongside both tracks.
I’m no expert, so whether it could be easily reinstated, I wouldn’t know! But it might be possible to make it a London version of the High Line, as proposed here by the Londonist.
But unlike the High Line it would also have a proper transport purpose in connecting the North London line to the Lea Valley lines towards Tottenham, Walthamstowe, Enfield and Cheshunt.
The New Lifts At Hackney Central Station
The lifts at Hackney Central station are now complete and working.
As they are made by Stannah, I hope they’re not just for the elderly?
You’ll notice too, that it wasn’t raining this morning, when I took the pictures. Usually it rains hard, when I catch a train at this station.
Works At Hackney Central Station
Hackney Central station was one of the more elaborate stations on the old North London line, with a rather beautiful decorated station building on either side of the tracks.
The pictures show work on the building and the installation of a pair of lifts to cross the tracks.
For some time now, I’ve had the view that Hackney Downs and Central should be integrated, perhaps with a bus station nearby.It would help to revitalise Hackney and also allow passengers from Tottenham and Enfield to get to Stratford and Camden with a step-free change.
How To Improve A Station
Clapham Junction station is one of the busiest in Europe and on some measures the busiest station in the UK.
I had only been twice before. One was in the 1960s, when I was looking to see some of Bulleid ‘s steam engines, like the Merchant Navy class. The other was a few years ago, when I was going to Southampton from Suffolk.
Since those days, the station has had a makeover. The most impressive feature is the rebuilt bridge with lifts to all the platforms and the new south-eastern or Brighton Yard entrance to the station.
I’ve tried to annotate the pictures correctly, but if you have better captions please let me know.
I should say that in the future Clapham Junction will be important to me, as I will be able to get a direct train to the station from Dalston Junction using the Overground, which will mean, I can get to the south and south west without having to struggle to Waterloo or Victoria. Incidentally, the design of the Overground Platform 2, shows how with a bit of innovation, you can squeeze wide easy-to-navigate platforms into a small space. Once complete passengers arriving on the new East/South London line will just have to walk a few metres to catch the West London line and vice-versa.
Just like with Stratford, it shows how by using good design and a sensible amount of money you can create a good interchange to take the pressure off the main London termini.
I think it is true to say, that the new bridge is the most impressive feature of the redevelopment. If you are changing trains, at the station, it is the ideal place to wait with interesting views, cafes and shops. It is also well-provided with information and has lifts to all platforms.
How many other stations would benefit from a similar makeover?
West Hampstead – This has been proposed and probably will happen. I would certainly benefit, as I could take the North London line to pick up the Jubilee line or Chiltern line to Birmingham.
Hackney Central and Hackney Downs – This could be an important interchange in north-east London, as I indicated here.
Willesden Junction– Connected to both Stratford and Clapham Junction by the London Overground, it should be developed as a link to the north. Selected Virgin expresses should stop at the station.
West Croydon – This needs to be sorted and linked properly to East Croydon. At present it’s easy to go from West to East, but the other way is difficult.
Get these and other interfaces sorted and a lot of pressure could be taken off the main London termini.
A Very Wet Hackney Central
I decided yesterday to go to Eastfield, as I needed some food from the Waitrose there. I also wanted to check the availability of some other goods in the shopping centre.
As I do, I took the 38 bus and changed to the North London Line at Hackney Central. This picture taken from the top deck of the bus shows the closeness of Hackney Downs and Central stations.
Looking Towards Hackney Central Station
The bridge in front is the line into Hackney Downs and you can just see Mare Street, where the entrance to Hackney Central is located in the distance about fifty metres to the left of the traffic lights.
In the sort of weather we were having yesterday, the station is inadequate, as this picture shows.
Hackney Central In The Wet
There really does need to be more shelter on the platform.
I think these two pictures illustrate how a properly built Hackney Junction would be of real benefit to the community.
Could A Hackney Junction Station Be Created?
Today, I was returning from Stratford station and did what I often do now and that is get off the Overground at Hackney Central station and get a 38 bus to just round the corner from my house. Ideally, I would like to take the disused Eastern Curve to walk from Dalston Junction station. But this would be a difficult route to reinstate. It would also be expensive, with not much change left from a million pounds.
The change at Hackney Central only takes a few minutes, but it involves using an overbridge to cross the North London line and a U-shaped walk to get to the bus stop on Graham Road.
The other problem at Hackney is getting between the two stations of Hackney Central and Hackney Downs. I walked it at ground level and it doesn’t take too long. There are some pictrures here.
But I wouldn’t like to do it in a few years or with a child in a buggy or in a wheelchair. There used to be a walkway at track level, but this was demolished, when the North London line was truncated to Dalston in 1944.
So could anything be done to improve the station? Let’s start by looking at an aerial view of the two stations and the surrounding roads coutesy of Google.
Map of Hackney Central and Downs Stations
The first thing you will notice is that there is a surprising amount of greenery and trees, especially along the line running westwards from Hackney Central station.
There is also car parking to the north of Hackney Central on Amhurst Road, which could be developed for something more worthwhile.
Returning to ground level, I took this picture of the old station building for Hackney Central, which sits on the corner of Mare Street and Graham Road.
The Old Hackney Central Station
This is surely worth preserving and using for something better than as a prop for the railway. Note the alleyway that leads to the new station buildings at the side.
This station is very similar to Camden Road station, also on the North London line, and like that station, I suspect Hackney Central also featured an underpass to get to the line on the other side. If this could be reinstated, this would remove one of the main problems of the station and that is having to use the overbridge to get to and from the westbound platform. I can manage it OK after a stroke, but I couldn’t if I was a young mother with twins in a double buggy.
I’m no architect, but I feel that a good one, with an understanding of structures could create an imposing station at the Hackney Central end of the combined station. As I said before there is space to the north of the station, which could be used as either a bus interchange, a square with cafes and other meeting places or niche retail. Or perhaps all three to create somewhere you might go to meet someone before walking the Lea Valley, going shopping at Eastfield or to the football at White Hart Lane.
The Hackney Downs end on the other hand doesn’t offer such a good collection of buildings on which to create a statement as you could at Central. So perhaps you just do something with the staircases and give it a good or as I said earlier, a wild coat of paint.
To connect the two stations you have three options.
- The simplest would probably be to signpost a preferred route, perhaps cutting the current distance slightly by sneaking in at the back of Hackney Downs.
- You could also put controlled crossing in at the two stations, so that the bus routes that served both stations could be used to bridge the gap.
- Or you could create a Hackney Skywalk alongside the two railways, above the streets below. Whether this could be done meeting all of the safety regulations, I do not know, but it would be a statement of intent of two rail lines and one station.
Finally, the buses in the area need a bit of reorganisation, especially if the North London Line continues to carry more and more passengers and the stations get full step-free access.
- Some buses for instance, like the 30 and the 277 almost parallel the line from Hackney Wick to Highbury and Islington, so perhaps some simplification could be envisaged.
- The 38 goes all the way to Victoria from Hackney, as does the 73 from Stoke Newington, so perhaps if Hackney had better connections to the Victoria line, some passengers might take that route.
- The new North London Line has shown that if you provide good east-west links in North London, they’ll get used. So perhaps, there is a need for a bus from somewhere like Archway to Walthamstow.
If nothing with this ramble, I’ve proved one thing. There are endless possibilities about what can be done to improve public transport in Hackney and up the Lea Valley.
To be fair to, to the Council, they have a lot of useful information and alternative plans on their web site.
Connecting Hackney Central and Hackney Downs Stations
It says this in Wikipedia under the entry for Hackney Downs station.
The station is a short walk from Hackney Central, on the North London Line. Until Hackney Central’s closure in 1944, a passenger connection linked the two stations. However, when Hackney Central reopened in 1985, the footway did not reopen, and passengers transferring between the two stations are obliged to leave the station and transfer at street level.
Last night, I took the Overground to Hackney Central and then walked to Hackney Downs station.
It was quite an easy walk, but not the most obvious.
These pictures show how close the lines are and some of the local area.
It may not be possible to reinstate the walkway, but surely something better can be done, incorporating sensible bus interchanges as well.
I see this very much as an opportunity for Hackney.
The Anonymous Widower 