Did Plans For Crossrail Ever Include A Station At Holborn?
I have only one North-South bus route, where I live.
The 141 bus connects Palmers Green and London Bridge station.
- The 141 bus was the replacement for the 641 trolley bus, which was the main link between Wood Green, Turnpike Lane and Harringay, and the City of London, when I was a child.
- The vehicles are up to ten years old Wrightbus diesel hybrids.
- The route suffers badly from overcrowding as it connects, Bank and Moorgate stations in the City of London, with the outer reaches of the Piccadilly Line.
The overcrowding on the 141 bus route has got worse in the last couple of years because of the following.
- The rebuilding of London Bridge station brought more passengers to the 141 bus route.
- The opening of the new London Bridge bus station at London Bridge station has improved access to the buses at London Bridge station.
- The improvement of the connection of the buses to the Docklands Light Railway, Central Line and Northern Line at Bank station.
- The opening of the Battersea branch of the Northern Line, which brings more passengers to Bank station.
- The opening of the new Cannon Street entrance to Bank Underground station.
- The opening of the Elizabeth Line through Moorgate station.
- Recently, a new walking route between Moorgate and Liverpool Street was opened, which will bring more passengers to the buses on Moorgate.
- The rebuilding of Old Street station brought more passengers to the 141 bus route.
So what was the response of the Mayor and Transport for London, to all this increase of passenger numbers?
The 21 bus, which shadowed the 141 route, and doubled the number of buses through where I live, was moved to serve Holloway.
It was a big crime against mathematics and the wishes of our long-serving Labour MP; Meg Hillier.
So to handle many more passengers between London Bridge station and Newington Green through the City of London, the number of buses was halved.
I believe that the overcrowding will get worse because of the improvements, that Transport for London have planned.
- The Piccadilly Line will be getting new air-conditioned trains within a couple of years and these will inevitably attract more passengers to the line.
- On the other hand the air-conditioning may persuade passengers to use the Piccadilly Line more than they do now. Instead of changing to the 141 bus at Manor House station, passengers could change at Finsbury Park, King’s Cross St. Pancras or Holborn stations for other routes to the City of London.
- The third line to receive the new air-conditioned trains will probably be the Central Line, which would create another East-West air-conditioned line and bring more passengers to Bank station.
- The Central Line could give some relief for the buses through Bank, if an extra station was built on the Central Line to interchange with Shoreditch High Street station on the East London Line of the London Overground.
- The fourth line to receive the new air-conditioned trains will probably be the Waterloo and City Line, which would create another air-conditioned line and bring more passengers to Bank station.
- It is likely, that more services will be added to the Elizabeth Line, which will bring more passengers to Moorgate station.
- It is likely, that more services will be added to the Northern City Line, which will bring more passengers to Moorgate station.
- The Mayor is also planning to pedestrianise Oxford Street, which may fill up the Central Line with extra passengers.
It looks to me, that there will be a need for a large increase of bus capacity through the City of London on a North-South axis.
On the other hand, the City of London have stated that they will pedestrianise many of their streets.
So what can be done to avoid gridlock in the City of London?
Develop The Northern City Line At Moorgate
I use this route regularly to and from Moorgate station.
- It already has new Class 717 air-conditioned trains.
- The route is already digitally signalled in conjunction with the East Coast Digital Programme.
- It has two platforms at Moorgate station.
- Highbury & Islington station has interchanges with the Victoria Line and the North and East London Lines of the London Overground.
- Finsbury Park station has interchanges with the Victoria Line and National Rail services.
- Bowes Park station has an out of station interchange with Bounds Green station on the Piccadilly Line.
- Step-free access needs improving.
- The Victorians had plans to extend the line to Lothbury near Bank station.
If the Northern City Line could handle more passengers, would passengers get to all parts of the City of London by changing at Finsbury Park and walking from Moorgate or Old Street stations?
I regularly go between my house and Moorgate, by taking a bus to Essex Road station and using the Northern City Line.
I believe that with improvements on the Northern City Line, the line could be turned into a very valuable part of London’s rail infrastructure.
Connect The Central Line And The East London Line At Shoreditch High Street Station
I wrote about this proposal in Will Shoreditch High Street Be Connected To The Central Line?
The Elizabeth Line needed to be completed before this could be started.
Build The Western Extension Of The Docklands Light Railway
I wrote about this proposal in The Bank Station Upgrade And The Western Extension Of The DLR.
Rebuild Holborn Station
The interchange between Piccadilly and Central Line at Holborn station is difficult to say the least.
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, the Elizabeth Line, which is shown by dotted lines passes to the North of the station.
Conclusion
Not all these improvements need to be done, but each would improve transport in the City of London.
You Don’t Get Many Eleven Coach Trains
Apart from some Class 390 trains and perhaps a few others, that were built that way, eleven coach trains are fairly unusual in the UK.
So I was surprised to see this image of the 10:00 train from Liverpool Street to Norwich.
Note.
- I wrote about travelling in a pair of four-car Class 755 trains in A Pair Of Class 755 Trains At Liverpool Street Station.
- The normal trains on this route are twelve-car Class 745 trains, so they should fit all the stations.
- Both trains are 100 mph trains and Liverpool Street and Norwich is fully electrified, so this service will be zero-carbon.
It would appear that somebody is up to something.
Moorgate Is Getting A Light-Controlled Crossing
Whilst, the building of 101 Moorgate was ongoing, crossing Moorgate has been a bit of a nightmare.
But now, as this picture shows a light-controlled crossing is being installed.
The gap in the building behind the traffic lights on the far side of Moorgate leads through to Finsbury Square.
This Google Map shows the City of London between Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations.
Note.
- Finsbury Square Gardens is in the centre of the map.
- Moorgate station is to the West of the gardens with Moorgate and its North-South buses in between.
- There is a Marks and Spencer department store on Moorgate to the North of the gardens.
- The shops and offices of Broadgate and Liverpool Street station are to the East of the gardens.
Especially, when it is good weather, there is a pleasant East-West walking route across the map.
More Mushroom Management On TfL Buses
After my experience in Mushroom Management On TfL Buses, I’ve changed my weekend breakfast routine at weekends, to one where on Saturdays and Sundays, I eat breakfast in London’s poshest Leon at Hanover Square, which I wrote about in A Quality Takeaway With A Station And A Large Garden.
It is a large restaurant.
It has comfortable seating.
It is within my not very long walking distance of the Bakerloo, Central, Elizabeth, Jubilee and Victoria Lines, and Oxford Street with all its buses.
There is a garden with seating in the square.
This picture shows the frontage of the building.
It’s certainly not your average takeaway or fast food outlet.
Normally, Hanover Square is a very easy location for me to travel to.
- I walk round the corner to the stop for the 38 bus.
- The 38 buses are usually every 3-4 minutes and I travel to Tottenham Court Road station.
- I go one stop on the Elizabeth Line, travelling in the rear of the train to Bond Street station.
- I’m then at the right end of the station to exit directly into Hanover Square, after riding up from the depths on a long escalator.
Leon is just a fifty metre walk away.
Today, there were no problems, although I did cut it a bit tight.
But all was fine in the end and I had a good full-English breakfast.
A Difficult Journey Home!
When, I set off from home, I wasn’t sure which way, I would come home.
In the end, I decided to come home the simple way of taking the Elizabeth Line to Moorgate station and then getting the 141 bus from there, as it stops close to my home.
But this route has the Elizabeth Line end-changing problem, in that the Hanover Square entrance at Bond Street station is at the Eastern end of the train and the Moorgate entrance at Liverpool Street station is at the Western end of the train.
So at some point in the journey, I would have to take a two-hundred metre walk, either on the platform or inside the train. The latter is not easy on a train to and from Heathrow, as it is often stuffed full with cases in the aisle. Why do people want to take all the contents of their house on holiday?
So I decided to go via a reverse at Whitechapel, where I positioned myself at the Western end of the train for exit at Moorgate.
It really was necessary to install travellators at Liverpool Street station on the Elizabeth Line, as between the two entrances is a long walk, as this graphic shows.
Note.
- Moorgate is to the left
- Liverpool Street is to the right.
But then Transport for London wanted a spectacular line with spectacular stations, that would win awards. Which it has!
I alighted from the train at the Moorgate end of the station, which meant that after two escalator rides and a short walk, I was at the 141 bus stop on the surface.
But there were no buses of any numbers calling at the stop.
This was because of the Lord Mayor’s Show, which meant there were no buses through the City.
But.
- There were no posters at stations saying that the show was taking place and buses would be diverted.
- Displays on bus stops were not saying anything about the show.
- The BBC hadn’t mentioned the Lord Mayor’s Show on the TV this morning.
- The BBC doesn’t have a local news at weekends, which would surely have mentioned the show and its effects on public transport.
- The display on the bus stop at Moorgate was still broken, as it has been for six months.
- There was a small information poster on the bus stop, but it was positioned too high for me to see.
- Taxis seemed to be avoiding the City.
There were a few stewards about and one suggested, that I walked to Old Street, which would not be easy on my legs.
In the end, I decoded that a retreat via Whitechapel and Dalston Junction was probably the best way to get home, as the Overground would be unlikely to be effected.
But I made the mistake of getting on a Circle Line train at Moorgate, so I didn’t get to Whitechapel.
Instead, I walked to the 141 and 21 bus stop at Monument station and caught a 21 bus North. I hoped that I would be able to connect to the 141 bus, that I needed to get home.
I did get safely home, but only after two long waits at bus stops, where I changed bus routes twice.
Conclusion
Transport for London need to devise bus plans for all major events and publicise them well in advance.
In London’s New 733 Bus Route, I described how Transport for London put in a temporary bus route between Finsbury Square and Oval stations to replace the Northern Line during the upgrade of Bank station.
As the Lord Mayor’s Show happens every year, surely the same plan can be rolled out each year, with any appropriate changes.
I’d be interested to know whether other large cities have plans for big celebrations in city centres.
Mushroom Management On TfL Buses
Transport for London or as all Londoners abuse them as TfL, are getting the masters at applying mushroom management to running the buses. Especially at the weekends.
For those of you not familiar with the last century term, it means keeping everybody in the dark and throwing in lots of manure. As in the 1970s, I used to live next door to a mushroom factory, I know it at least works with fungi, but I’m not sure of it’s effectiveness with fleets of buses about moving passengers.
Most Saturdays, I take a 141 bus to Moorgate and have a full English gluten-free breakfast in the Leon cafe there, as I like to set myself up for the weekend.
The 141 bus may be one of the least reliable buses in the capital, but last Saturday, I was dropped close to Liverpool Street station and yesterday, I was dropped under the Barbican.
No warning, advice or apology about the change of plan.
But then like the Mayor, TfL are never in the wrong.
Today was different!
After taking a 56 bus from near my house to the Angel I had another full English gluten-free breakfast in the Leon cafe there, before taking the Northern Line to Euston station.
I was hoping, I could take a trip somewhere, but there were extensive engineering works, so I just came home from Euston on the Overground via Willesden Junction station.
I ended up at Hackney Central station, where I did a bit of shopping in the excellent M & S Food shop.
Normally, I just get a 38 bus home from the side of the station, but there weren’t any around.
Again, there was no warning, advice or apology. Just loads of people looking for non-existent buses.
It was a full three hours before I completed my round trip.
Transport for London has no respect for its passengers.
Normal businesses would go bust, if they treated their customers like this.
Liverpool Street Station Gets Polka Dot Sculpture
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A huge artwork made up of silver polka dots has been unveiled outside Britain’s busiest railway station.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Infinite Accumulation is Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s first permanent public artwork in the UK and her largest permanent public sculpture.
Funded by British Land and the City of London Corporation, it is the final artwork commissioned and installed by the Crossrail Art Programme for the Elizabeth line.
I took these pictures today.
Note.
- The area is getting to be a bit of a sculpture park, with other sculptures and plaques.
- All are protected by the City of London’s distinctive bollards. See The City Of London’s Soldiers for more pictures.
- The new sculpture, is probably worth nicking, with all that stainless steel.
- Liverpool Street station is a Grade Two Listed Building.
- I shall be adding extra pictures here. I shall be taking some at sunset.
I do like the new sculpture and the way it fits with the surrounding buildings.
Travelling Between London Stations
When I came home from Moorgate this morning, I took my usual 141 bus.
I sat next to a lady about forty, who from her bags looked like she’d just arrived by plane at Gatwick Airport.
After a couple of attempts at conversation, it became obvious, that we didn’t have a common language.
She then produced her phone and indicated that she needed Liverpool Street station.
The 141 bus doesn’t serve Liverpool Street station, but it does serve the Western entrance to Liverpool Street station on the Elizabeth Line.
It looks to me, that she had been told by a human being, an app or the Internet, that the easiest way from London Bridge bus station to Liverpool Street station was to take the 141 bus from in front of the station and walk across to Liverpool Street station from Moorgate.
But.
- The Western entrance to Liverpool Street station has no information to indicate, that it gives access to Liverpool Street station.
- The bus information system indicates Moorgate station.
- The bus information system does not announce, that for Liverpool Street station, you should alight at Moorgate station.
Perhaps, the bus information system should indicates Moorgate/Liverpool Street station.
Conclusion
How many other transfers between London stations are similarly confusing?
How Not To Organise A Piss-Up In A Brewery
This afternoon, I wanted to get some lunch and buy my food for the weekend.
I live close to the junction of Southgate Road, Mildmay Park and the Balls Pond Road.
From the four bus stops there, I can get buses to the stopping centres of Angel, Dalston Kingsland, Hackney Central and Moorgate.
But not today, as all the bus stops had been closed!
As my leg was playing up, there was no way, I could have walked to the next stop.
In the end I created a fuss and a kind driver let me on a 141 bus to get to Moorgate.
Coming back, I got another 141 bus, which got stuck in the traffic jam, that the part-closure of the junction was creating.
Note.
- The 141 bus took five minutes to pass through the junction.
- Luckily, the driver was sensible and he let a lot of us out.
- As I live South of the Balls Pond Road, it was very convenient.
Obviously, the driver knew more about customer service, that the idiots who organised this megashambles.
I have a few thoughts.
Where Was The Publicity?
I use the 141 bus most days and I didn’t see anything at the bus stops and didn’t get any leaflets through the door.
The Traffic Lights At Southgate And Balls Pond Roads Are Unreliable
They were even worse, when I moved here and Transport for London replaced them a few years ago.
But they seem to have got more unreliable.
Where is John Cleese to give them a good thrashing?
The Silvertown Tunnel Effect
Consider.
- I asked a regular delivery driver, what is the gossip about the Silvertown Tunnel and he felt that it will gum up East London.
- This is my feeling, as before my stroke, I had driven all over the East End trying to save time and knew it well.
- I also feel, that a lot of heavy traffic will end up on the Balls Pond Road, trying to get to and from the M1 and A1, especially, when the Dartford Crossing is closed.
I am fairly certain, that at certain times the junction at Southgate Road, Mildmay Park and the Balls Pond Road is going to get very congested.
The Non-Availability Of Taxis
One of the reasons, I chose to live where I do, is that I am just off the route which taxis use to go back to Liverpool Street station.
But the number of taxis in the area has decreased substantially in the last few years.
- Islington’s Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are scaring taxis away.
- Many drivers are giving up.
- Taxis are expensive.
Consequently, I rarely use a taxi. I never saw one today, when it was needed.
The Junction Is Busy For Pedestrians
Crossing the junction is dangerous, as cyclists only consider the lights optional.
If I’d had a pound for every time, I’d nearly been hit by a cyclist or car on this junction, I could pay for a year’s electricity.
Mildmay Park Station
The area used to have its own station at Mildmay Park about 120 metres to the North of the junction.
This Google Map shows the site of the station.
Note.
- The railway is the North London Line.
- Highbury & Islington station is to the West.
- Dalston Kingsland station is to the East.
Mildmay Park station is marked by the blue arrow on the bridge over the railway.
It would be a very handy Coming-Home station, as its downhill all the way, from the station to my house.
Conclusion
Reopening Mildmay Park station would be good for the price of my house, by I doubt that anything will be done.
The Long Platforms At Liverpool Street Station
I was on Liverpool Street station today and I took these pictures.
It got me thinking.
- I was standing On Platform 1 and on Platform 2 was a pair of five-car Class 720 trains coupled together.
- The pair of five-car Class 720 trains would be 244 metres long, which mean that the platforms could handle nine-car Class 800 or Class 345 trains.
- There would appear to be plenty of platform space in Liverpool Street station.
- In Azuma Test Train Takes To The Tracks As LNER Trials Possible New Route, I talked about how LNER were checking an Azuma train could use the route to Cleethorpes.
- In London North Eastern Railway Runs Trial Train To Liverpool Street, I talked about how LNER had ran a train into Liverpool Street.
The general consensus seems to be, that points 3 and 4, are about several things.
Adding Grimsby and Cleethorpes to LNER’s list of destinations.
Possibly adding Spalding, Sleaford, Market Rasen and Barnetby to LNER’s list of destinations.
Providing a faster service between London and Grimsby/Cleethorpes.
Providing a diversion route because of engineering or blockades on the East Coast Main Line.
Nearly twenty years ago, I used to play real tennis, with a guy, who was on a committee, that planned the future of the Cambridge region.
- One of the things he said was that Cambridge was full and there is not enough lab space, factories and housing.
- He felt that Peterborough would make an excellent satellite for Cambridge.
- However, transport links and especially the trains are not the best between Cambridge and Peterborough.
- I wonder, if Cambridge’s overcrowding is spreading the Cambridge Effect into Lincolnshire and the number of rail passengers between Lincoln and Cambridge is growing.
So have LNER taken the bull by the horns and are planning to run a London Liverpool Street and Cleethorpes service via Cambridge?
- It might perhaps run at least six trains per day (tpd) in both directions.
- Stops could include Stratford, Cambridge South, Cambridge, Cambridge North, Ely, March, Peterborough, Spalding, Sleaford, Lincoln, Market Rasen, Barnetby and Grimsby Town.
- Trains could be a five-car Class 800 train.
- The route is fully-electrified between London and Ely.
Note.
- The London King’s Cross and Lincoln service could be discontinued.
- Connection between Cambridge and Lincolnshire is much improved.
- The developing energy powerhouse in North-East Lincolnshire gets a connection to Cambridge and London.
- There could be same-platform interchange at Peterborough for passengers between Cambridge and the North.
- By going via Cambridge, one less train needs to use the bottleneck over the Digswell viaduct.
LNER are trying to get the most out of the new December 2024 East Coast Main Line timetable and I do wonder if a London Liverpool Street and Cleethorpes servce is part of that exercise.
That Was Close!
I took this picture in Liverpool Street station on the Elizabeth Line.
Note.
- The timings of the first two trains.
- The Shenfield train did arrive before the one for Abbey Wood.
How did it manage that? It looks like a another Fujitsu moment in the display to me!
The Anonymous Widower 