Where The City Of London Leads The Rest Will Follow!
The City of London is a unique Local Authotity, in that very few people live in its area.
C and I used to live in the Barbican with our three boys. It was a very different experience to living anywhere else I’ve lived.
It still functions today as housing and many have lived in the Estate for longer than forty years.
It was one of the first high-quality Local Authority housing schemes in London and it showed if you built quality it worked.
From what I’ve seen elsewhere, other Local Authorities and Housing Associations are building high quality homes for rent.
The City is now tacking another problem in a radical way.
This article on the BBC is entitled The Politics Of Pedestrianisation.
Read the article, of which this is an extract.
Next week, the local authority will take another step towards a bold, radical plan to change the streets in the Square Mile over the next 25 years.
Some streets could be closed to motor vehicles during rush hour and there could be zero emission zones.
There will also be a 15mph speed limit across the district.
The local authority wants to cut the number of vehicles by a quarter by 2030.
The City has consulted workers and residents.
The article says this about the survey.
It found 98% of people travel to the area by walking, cycling or public transport, while 84% think pavements are too crowded.
Four in five people think traffic levels in the City are too high, with 67% saying it contributes to poor air quality, while 59% said it creates an unpleasant street environment.
The authority said it listened to workers and businesses and has to deliver what they want to remain competitive – especially in a post-Brexit world.
It also said it must improve the area to appeal to business and wants to change the priority completely, giving more space to pedestrians and cyclists.
But black cab drivers don’t like it. Surprise! Surprise!
Steve McNamara of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) says pedestrianisation is being dreamt up by middle-class blokes who don’t realise how the milk for their caramel lattes is delivered.
“They are strangling the best city in the planet and they don’t realise people need to have goods and services delivered,” he said.
He thinks the march to pedestrianisation will kill The City.
But I do like it! Look at these pictures I took in the City at about two in the afternoon.
The banning of all vehicles except cyclists and buses has cleared the area around Bank, where it is now a pleasure to walk.
I was actually walking to and from Bank to Leadenhall Market, where I go sometimes for a pleasant lunch in Leon
A year ago, walking would have required a lot of traffic-dodging!
It looks to me, that in a few years time, the City of London will be a square mile of tower blocks and historic alleys and buildings.
- It will be criss-crossed by cycle and pedestrians routes.
- Two or three major routes, will survive for buses and taxis.
- Around the City will be the ring of stations; Aldgate, Bank, Barbican, Blackfriars, Cannon Street, City Thameslink, Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street, Monument, Moorgate, St. Pauls and Tower Hill.
- The massive Bank and Moorgate/Liverpool Street stations in the heart of the action, will be two of the largest Metro stations in the World.
The City of London will become the Gold Standard for historic cities.
Other UK cities and parts of London like Oxford Street will surely follow.
I do find it strange that the other two big cities in the UK, where walking is pleasant in the centre are Glasgow and Liverpool. Like the City of London, they have underground railways and a river
How Will Greater Anglia/London Overground Use The Third Track On The West Anglia Main Line?
This morning as I often do, I took the 11:00 train between Stratford and Enfield Lock stations.
I like to have a look at progress on STAR, which involves the following.
- A five and a half kilometre third track to the East of the current two tracks of the West Anglia Main Line between Lea Bridge and Angel Road stations.
- A third platform and station improvements at Tottenham Hale station.
- A third platform, removal of a level crossing and complete rebuilding of Northumberland Park station.
- Building of a completely new three-platform station at Meridian Water to replace the current inadequate Angel Road station.
This Google Map shows the location of Meridian Water station with respect to Tesco Extra and IKEA in Glover Drive.
You can just see the concrete foundations of the station and its platforms alongside the West Anglia Main Line to the West of the Tesco Extra.
In Meridian Water Station – 14th June 2018, I show pictures of the station just over two months ago.
There has been steady and worthwhile progess since.
- Meridian Water station now has platforms under construction.
- Northumberland Park station looks like it could be ready before Spurs’ new stadium.
- The lift towers for the footbridge at Tottenham Hale station are being erected.
- I estimate about seventy percent of the third track has been laid.
- All the electrification gantries seem to have been erected and there are even some overhead wires.
The target for finishing the works is said to be May 2019 and I suspect that is achievable.
Use Of The Third Track
It certainly looks like the third track will be ready, so how will it be used?
The Northern End
At the Northern end, the third track appears to finish in a bay platform at Meridian Water station.
Once Angel Road station is closed and reduced to rubble, there would be plenty of space to add a junction, so that trains going South towards Stratford, could use the third track.
This would surely ease operation of the West Anglia Main Line.
Meridian Water Station
Meridian Water station appears to be being built as a three-platform station with provision for a fourth.
From various drawings and notes on the Internet it looks like there will be two platforms on the West Anglia Main Line and a separate bay or through platform to the East.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the relationship of Angel oad and Meridian Water station.
The dotted line on the map is the third track.
I took these pictures from a slow train through the station.
It looks very much like a through platform is being created.
I feel that access to this platform will be in two ways.
- From the North via a junction with the Southbound track of the West Anglia Main Line. This junction could be to the North the current Angel Road station.
- From the South using the new third track.
This would mean that no trains will have to cross the West Anglia Main Line using a flat junction.
I don’t believe that trains can run bi-directionally on the third track, as there is not enough time in an hour for four trains to shuttle between Lea Bridge and Meridian Water.
So that means all services calling at Meridian Water will go further up the Lea Valley to turn back.
Using The Third Platform At Tottenham Hale Station
I think it is likely that the current two platforms will be used as follows.
- Platform 2 – Northbound trains
- Platform 1 – Southbound trains to Liverpool Street
It would be logical that the new third platform would handle Southbound trains to Stratford.
As Platform 1 and the new platform share an island, passengers will have a step-free cross-platform interchange, if they need to go to the alternative destination.
The following journey times should be noted.
- Tottenham Hale to Stratford currently takes 14 minutes
- Tottenham Hale to Liverpool Street currently takes between 14 and 17 minutes
- Liverpool Street to Stratford will take eight minutes on Crossrail
I suspect a lot of passengers will change to a direct train.
It could also mean that an ideal service would see the same frequency of trains at both platforms.
The Southern End
At the Southern end, the third track joins the West Anglia Main Line going towards Stratford, but there is also a crossover to allow trains coming from Stratford to use the third track.
Is The Third Track Going To Be Bi-Directional?
Loops like this third track are often signalled to be bi-directional, to ease operation. But as I said earlier, I think the third track is too long to operate in that way all the time with passenger services.
What Will Be The Operating Speed Of The Third Track?
I have watched the third track being constructed and it is totally new.
- All bridges have been replaced with new structures.
- The track is fully electrified.
- There appear to be no junctions, except at the two ends.
Everything certainly looks professional to my untrained eye.
The operating speed will probably be determined by the time set for the driver to take the train between stations on the line.
But the track has surely been designed to minimise the time between Meridian Water and Stratford.
Could The Third Track Be Extended Northwards?
The length of the third track is 5.5 km.
Could the third track be extended to the North?
If Crossrail 2 is built, there will be a need to make the route four tracks.
- Two fast tracks for the expresses between London, Stansted and Cambridge.
- Two slow tracks for Crossrail 2 as far as the terninus at Broxbourne.
These are my observations
- Looking from both a train and on Google Map, it appears that it will be a tight fit to squeeze in two tracks.
- There is the serious problems of the two level crossings at Brimsdown and Enfield Lock stations.
- Waltham Cross station seems very tight too.
But I do think, that with a clever redesign at the three troublesome stations, that a third track, but not necessarily a fourth can be squeezed in as far as North as Broxbourne, which would be another 11.2 miles.
Although in places, like these pictures taken just South of Tottenham Hale station show, there may be plenty of space for two tracks.
I suspect that to put in the fourth track will mean that the bridge at Ferry Lane will need to be rebuilt.
But it does appear that in building the third track, the builders are making sue there is space for a fourth track to be added in a few years.
Currently, How Many Calls Are There At Each Station?
These figures are calculated from the current timetable.
Lea Bridge
- Two trains per hour (tph) – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Two tph stop in both platforms.
Tottenham Hale
- Two tph – Liverpool Street to Hertford East
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge North
- Four tph – Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport
- Two tph – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Ten tph stop in both platforms.
Northumberland Park
- Two tph – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Two tph stop in both platforms.
In addition, eight tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
Meridian Water
- Two tph – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Two tph stop in both platforms.
In addition, eight tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
Ponders End
- Two tph – Liverpool Street to Hertford East
Two tph stop in both platforms.
In addition, eight tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
Brimsdown
- Two tph – Liverpool Street to Hertford East
Two tph stop in both platforms.
In addition, eight tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
Enfield Lock
- Two tph – Liverpool Street to Hertford East
- One tph – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Three tph stop in both platforms.
In addition, seven tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
Waltham Cross
- Two tph – Liverpool Street to Hertford East
- Two tph – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Four tph stop in both platforms.
In addition, six tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
Cheshunt
- Two tph – Liverpool Street to Hertford East
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge North
- Two tph – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Six tph stop in both platforms.
In addition, four tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
Broxbourne
- Two tph – Liverpool Street to Hertford East
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge North
- Two tph – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Six tph stop in both platforms.
In addition, four tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
Harlow Town
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge North
- Two tph – Liverpool Street to Stansted
- Two tph – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Six tph stop in both platforms.
In addition, two tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
Bishop’s Stortford
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge
- One tph – Liverpool Street to Cambridge North
- Two tph – Liverpool Street to Stansted
- Two tph – Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
Four tph stop in both platforms.
Two tph would terminate at the station.
In addition, two tph pass through both platforms without stopping.
A Summary Of Current Services
This is summary of stops at the selected stations.
- Lea Bridge – 2 tph
- Tottenham Hale – 10 tph
- Northumberland Park – 2 tph
- Meridian Water – 2 tph
- Ponders End – 2 tph
- Brimsdown – 2 tph
- Enfield Lock – 3 tph
- Waltham Cross – 4 tph
- Cheshunt – 6 tph
- Broxbourne – 6 tph
- Harlow Town – 6 tph
- Bishop’s Stortford – 6 tph
Note.
- To say the least service is a bit patchy, with some stations getting a much better service than others.
- London Overround, Merseyrail and others feel that a service of four tph is highly desirable and attracts passengers.
The service definitely needs improvement.
STAR Services
It is certainly intended that four tph, will be run between Stratford and Meridian Water stations calling at Lea Bridge, Tottenham Hale and Northumberland Park stations.
Current Services
Currently, this service is provided at a frequency of two tph by Greater Anglia, who extend the service to Bishop’s Strortford station.
There are various ways that this could be increased to four tph
Possible Northern Terminals
As I said earlier to avoid train-slowing flat junctions, STAR services must terminate North of Meridian Water station.
I think there are these possibilities.
- Bishop’s Stortford, which currently handles two tph in the bay platform 3.
- Broxbourne which is a large station with 8 platforms and has been earmarked as the terminal for Crossrail 2.
- Hertford East has platform space, but there may not be the capacity for the trains on the Hertford East Branch.
Passenger numbers will drive the choice, but I suspect all three terminals have their merits.
In the following sub-sections I’ll look at each terminus.
Two Extra Trains To Bishop’s Stortford
I will assume these services will call at the same stations as the current two trains.
This is summary of stops at the selected stations.
- Lea Bridge – 4 tph
- Tottenham Hale – 12 tph
- Northumberland Park – 4 tph
- Meridian Water – 4 tph
- Ponders End – 2 tph
- Brimsdown – 2 tph
- Enfield Lock – 4 tph
- Waltham Cross – 8 tph
- Cheshunt – 8 tph
- Broxbourne – 8 tph
- Harlow Town – 8 tph
- Bishop’s Stortford – 8 tph
Note.
- Enfield Lock now has the preferred four tph.
- Ponders End and Brimsdown probably need more services.
- Are there too many services at Harlow Town and Bishop’s Stortford?
But generally, it is a better distribution than now!
Two Extra Trains To Broxbourne Or Hertford East
I will assume these services will call at the same stations as the current two trains, that run between Stratford and Bishop’s Stortford.
This is summary of stops at the selected stations, which will be the same for both destinations.
- Lea Bridge – 4 tph
- Tottenham Hale – 12 tph
- Northumberland Park – 4 tph
- Meridian Water – 4 tph
- Ponders End – 2 tph
- Brimsdown – 2 tph
- Enfield Lock – 4 tph
- Waltham Cross – 8 tph
- Cheshunt – 8 tph
- Broxbourne – 8 tph
Note.
- Enfield Lock now has the preferred four tph.
- Ponders End and Brimsdown probably need more services.
- There will be no increase in frequencies North of Broxbourne.
Operational needs and passenger numbers will decide if these are better destinations.
Use Of The High Meads Loop At Stratford
The High Meads loop under the Eastfield Shopping Centre was designed to turn trains.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the loop.
On the map it is the horeshoe-shaped double track shown in black.
- , It goes through Platforms 11 and 12 in Stratford station.
- Currently, Platform 11 is used exclusively as a terminal for the two tph between Stratford and Bishop’s Stortford.
- Currently, Platform 12 is not used and the track is used to take trains to and from the Orient Way sidings
- Both ends of the loop join together just to the South of the Orient Way sidings and Lea Bridge station.
- In the past it has been used to turn Stansted Expresses, which used Platform 12 according to the signs still in place.
- I believe it would be possible to build a platform on the loop to serve Stratford International station and the Northern part of the Olympic Park.
In my view it is wasted fully-working infrastructure.
The Wirral Line Loop Under Liverpool
The most important rail loop in the UK is the loop of the Wirral Line under Central Liverpool.
- The loop is single-track with three single-platform stations
- This loop handles fourteen tph.
- The loop is built for full-size trains.
- Trains take eight minutes to go round the loop from Liverpool James Street station and fourteen minutes from Birkenhead Hamilton Square station on the other side of the Mersey.
It was built in the early 1970s and I’m sure the designers of the High Meads Loop were influenced strongly by the track layout in Liverpool.
The Wirral Line Loop showcases the major examples of this type of track layout.
- The driver just keeps driving and doesn’t have to change ends.
- A single terminal platform can handle a maximum of perhaps 4-6 tph, whereas a single platform on a loop can handle at least 14 tph.
- Stations can be provided at several places on the loop, where they are needed.
A loop is a very fast and simple way to turn trains.
Time Saving At Stratford Using The High Meads Loop
The 06:34 from Bishop’s Stortford stops at Tottenham Hale at 07:29, Lea Bridge at 07:33 and Stratford at 07:43.
The train then forms the 08:04 from Stratford, which stops at Lea Bridge at 08:10, Tottenham Hale at 08:18 and terminates at Bishop’s Stortford at 09:02.
So the train has taken thirty-seven minutes between the two calls at Lea Bridge station on a modern double track railway.
If the train loaded and unloaded passengers at Platform 11 at Stratford, I suspect that this time could be reduced to under twenty minutes, if the train continued round the High Meads Loop.
Even if there was an extra station on the loop to serve Stratford International station and the Northern part of the Olympic Park, I suspect that a saving on twenty minutes could be made.
Greater Anglia would be a big beneficiary. Currently the train leaves Bishop’s Stortford at 06:34 and arrives back at 09:02, which means a total trip time of 148 minutes for an out-and-back journey with ten intermediate stops both ways.
With a bit of time saving and the new Class 720 trains, I suspect that with the turnround time at Bishop’s Stortford added in, that a train could do the full trip within two and a half hours.
This would mean that ten trains would be needed for a four tph service between Stratford and Bishop’s Stortford.
Take off the twenty minutes saved by the High Meads Loop and the minutes saved by the new trains and I believe that well-driven trains could do the full trip in two hours
This would mean that eight trains would be needed for a four tph service between Stratford and Bishop’s Stortford.
Stansted Airport To Stratford
How much time would be saved if Stansted Airport trains went to Stratford and used the High Meads Loop?
The fastest trains take forty-seven minutes between Liverpool Street and Stansted, with about fourteen minutes needed for the short stretch between Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale.
Using the High Meads Loop at Stratford would probably mean a similar journey time, as from Liverpool Street, but there would be other advantages, disadvantages and score draws.
- Both platforms used by Stansted Expresses would be step-free.
- Train tracks to Stratford are probably less likely to delay.
- Walking routes at Stratford might be shorter.
- Both Liverpool Street and Stratford will be served by Crossrail.
- Stratford could have links to Highspeed services to Kent.
Greater Anglia would be a big winner, as they would have a better train utilisation.
What Length Of Trains Could Use The High Meads Loop?
The only restriction will be the length of platforms at Stratford, Lea Bridge and Tottenham Hale.
Without getting my tape measure out, I suspect they are all capable of taking a twelve-car Class 317 train, which is around 240 metres long.
Ten-car versions of Greater Anglia’s new Class 720 trains are 243 metres long.
I would be very surprised if the platforms couldn’t accept these long trains.
What Would Be The Ultimate Capacity Of The High Meads Loop?
Consider.
- The Wirral Line Loop under Liverpool handles fourteen tph.
- More complicated tunnels under London like Crossrail, the East London Line and Thameslink are planned to handle 24 tph.
- Modern digital signalling will be applied in the next couple of decades to the West Anglia Main Line.
Consider.
- The Southbound third track and the route to Stratford from Lea Bridge can probably easily handle fifteen tph or a train every four minutes.
- Platform 11 at Stratford with perhaps some escalators, could probably handle fifteen or even twenty tph, as do stations like Canada Water and several stations on Thameslink and the Wirral Line.
- Northwards from Stratford, there is probably a total limit of twelve tph along the Lea Valley, that could be increased by removing level crossing and modern signalling.
I suspect that the ultimate capacity is way in excess of the number of services that need to be run from Stratford up the West Anglia Main Line.
Using The High Meads Loop To Take Pressure From Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street is crowded.
- Some platforms can’t accept full length trains.
- West Anglia services crawk between Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale at a speed of not much more than 40 mph at times.
- The two operators; London Overground and Greater Anglia want to add additional services to the station.
- c2c also want to serve the station, as they have capacity problems at Fenchurch Street.
However, future developments will make Stratford a viable alternative to Liverpool Street.
- Crossrail will provide a high-capacity service linking both stations to the Canary Wharf, Heathrow and the West End.
- Better access to the Central Line will happen.
- Stratford has access to the important Jubilee Line.
- Stratford will be able to take advantage of Docklands Light Railway developments.
- Tottenham Hale station will have better interchange to the Victoria Line.
So why not move some services from the West Anglia Main Line to the High Meads Loop?
What Services Could Be Transferred From Liverpool Street To The High Meads Loop?
At present, all stopping trains between London and Bishop’s Stortford, start from Stratford and I can see this continuing after the third track opens.
I could also see extra services on this route to deliver the promised four tph to Meridian Water and Nothumberland Park.
Four tph can probably use Platform 11 st Stratford, but looking at the smooth unhurried operation of the Wirral Line Loop at Liverpool, I suspect that the High Meads Loop will be used.
Looking at all the other services between Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale, only the two tph between Liverpool Street and Hertford East, stop at another station, which is South of Tottenham Hale.
So it would probably not be sensible to transfer theseHertford East services to the High Meads Loop, but it might be a good idea to add two tph all day between Stratford and Hertford East, to create a four tph service to Hertford East with two tph from both Southern terminals.
Some services between Liverpool Street and Cambridge and between Liverpool Street and Stansted might be augmented with more services or moving the services to the High Meads Loop at Stratford.
I would suggest that about half the services went to Liverpool Street and terminated as they do now and the rest used the High Meads Loop.
This would mean that those, who’d caught the wrong train or changed their destination, could just change at Tottenham Hale by walking across the island platform.
I was on a train going South to Liverpool Street recently, when I changed my mind and transferred to a Stratford train. As I inew a Stratford train was close behind, I only had to wait a few minutes.
Note that, if there are six trains on both branches, then the maximum wait would be ten minutes.
Examining A Possible Timetable
This is definitely my speculation, but I am trying to show what is possible!
I also very much believe that Network Rail, Greater Anglia and London Overground will come up with something much better.
A Few Rules
I am using these rules to guide me in my thinking.
- All trains going to Stratford use the High Meads Loop and Platform 11 at Stratford.
- No station gets an inferior service to that it gets at the present time.
- All Southbound trains for Stratford use the new third track between Meridian Water and Lea Bridge Junction.
I think that this could be a good mix of services.
- One tph Liverpool Street to Cambridge
- One tph Liverpool Street to Cambridge North
- Two tph Liverpool Street to Hertford East
- Four tph Liverpool Street to Stansted
- Four tph Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford
- Two tph Stratford to Hertford East
- Two tph Stratford to Stansted
Note.
- Greater Anglia have said they will run a Stratford to Stansted service from 2019.
- The two extra Stratford to Bishop’s Stortford and Hertford East services will have similar calling patterns to the existing services.
- Eight tph goes to and from both Liverpool Street and Stratford.
- Currently, eight tph run between Tottenham Hale and Liverpool Street.
- Based on the my observations of the relaxed operation of the Wirral Line Loop under Liverpool, I feel the capacity of the High Meads Loop could be as high as sixteen tph.
- Calling patterns will be adjusted to improve frequencies at Ponders End and Brimsdown stations
- The only other passenger trains on the route are two tph between Stansted Airport and Cambridge.
The number of trains running on each section of track would be as follows.
- Eight tph – Liverpool Street to Tottenham Hale
- Eight tph – Stratford to Tottenham Hale – Southbound trains use the third track where is has been added.
- Sixteen tph – Tottenham Hale to Broxbourne – Southbound trains use the third track where is has been added.
- Twelve tph – Broxbourne to Bishop’s Stortford
- Eight tph – Bishop’s Stortford to Stansted Airport
- Six tph – Stansted Airport to Cambridge
I’m not sure if this would be achievable, but there are several double-track main lines in the country, that handle at least sixteen tph.
Extra Services On The Lea Valley Routes Of The London Overground
The London Overground services from Liverpool Street to Cheshunt and Enfield Town have the following characteristics.
- A frequency of two tph.
- Extra peak hour services.
- Both services pass through Hackney Downs and Seven Sisters stations.
London Overgriound probably want to add two extra tph to both routes to increase the frequency to four tph. Unfortunately, the crowded lines South of Seven Sisters and a full Liverpool Street station, probably make this difficult.
Look at this map from carto.metro.free.fr, which shows the lines South of Tottenham Hale and Seven Sisters stations.
South Tottenham station is on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line, with the following connections.
- At the Western end of the station, the Seven Sisters Chord connects the station to the Lea Valley Line to Cheshunt and Enfield Town.
- At the Eastern end of the Tottenham South Curve connects the station to the line to the High Meads Loop at Stratford.
Would it be possible to run the extra two tph from both Cheshunt and Enfield Town to the High Meads Loop?
If it is possible, then the following frequencies will be achieved.
- Four tph between Cheshunt and Edmonton Green
- Four tph between Enfield Town and Edmonton Green
- Eight tph between Edmonton Green and Seven Sisters.
- Four tph between Seven Sisters and Stratford.
But more importantly, it will create more routes for East London’s Duckers-and-Divers to challenge the clock.
- Large parts of Enfield and Haringey now get a direct connection to Stratford.
- The new White Hart Lane station will have a direct connection to Stratford.
- Stratford to stations on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line is now just a step-free change at South Tottenham station.
I also wonder how many new sites for housing will become viable because of all the new transport links.
Future Developments
There are several developments planned or proposed, that will affect traffic on the West Anglia Main Line.
Track Improvements
The mainly two-track West Anglia Main Line has a maximum operating speed of 100 mph, but travelling the line over the last few days, at times we were only travelling at about 50 mph for long periods.
So I suspect that the average operating speed could be increased.
There are also several level crossings, including those at Brimsdown, Enfield Lock and Cheshunt on the busiest Southern section of the route..
Digital Signalling
Modern digital signalling on the West Anglia Main Line must allow more trains to be squeezed into the timetable.
New Trains
The current trains that work the West Anglia Main Line are Class 379 and Class 317 trains.
Both trains are 100 mph trains although the Class 317 trains are now nearly forty years old.
They are being replaced with Class 720 and Class 745 trains, which although they are also 100 mph trains, may offer advantages, because they are newer designs.
- Better acceleration and smoother regenerative braking.
- Easier passenger entry and exit.
- Shorter dwell times at stations.
- Better passenger comfort and facilities.
But crucially, they will be able to take advantage of the modern digital signalling.
I think it is very likely that the new trains will speed up services on the West Anglia Main Line.
I also think that the combination of digital signalling and new trains, that are capable of using it, will allow higher frequencies of trains to be run on the West Anglia Main Line.
A Possible Pattern Of West Anglia Line Services
Could we see the following in the future?
- London Overground services on the Lea Valley Lines use Liverpool Street, as they do now.
- Greater Anglia services on the West Anglia Main Line to Bishop’s Stortford, Cambridge, Hertford East and Stansted Airport are split between Liverpool Street and Stratford.
- Stratford services use the High Meads Loop and stop at either Platform 11 or 12 at Stratford.
It would certainly increase terminal capacity at the Southern end of the West Anglia Main Line and free up platform space in Liverpool Street.2 ru
.Conclusion
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the following.
- Twenty tph up and down the West Anglia Main Line.
- Direct services up the West Anglia Main Line to Norwich via Cambridge using bi-mode Class 755 trains.
- Extra services between Stratford and Cambridge, Hertford East and Stansted.
- Services are adjusted so that each station South of Broxbourne gets four tph or more.
Note that I haven’t mentioned adding a fourth track.
I believe that my calculations show it might not be needed to achieve the required intensive service on the West Anglia Main Line.
Constipation At Liverpool Street Station
My bus got struck in traffic at Liverpool Street station yesterday. So I walked.
Crossrail construction is the problem, so hopefully time will cure it.
London’s First Underground Roller Coaster
This picture shows a cross-section of the massive Liverpool Street Crossrail station, which will connect Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations when it opens in December 2018.
Note.
- Moorgate station is on the left.
- Liverpool Street station is on the right.
- In the middle looking like a giant juicer is the ventilation shaft in Finsbury Circus.
- The Crossrail tunnels, which consist of two running tunnels and a pedestrian walkway between them are at the deepest level.
- There are escalators and lifts all over the place.
Suppose you are walking from street level at Liverpool Street station to street level at Moorgate station in heavy rain and you don’t want to get wet.
You would take the following route.
- Enter Liverpool Street Underground station.
- Take the escalators down from street level to the intermediate level.
- Walk along the passage and take the escalators down to the Crossrail level.
- Walk along the central pedestrian walkway between the two Crossrail running tunnels.
- Take the escalators up to the Intermediate level.
- Take the escalators up to street level in Moorgate Underground station.
You would actually walk a shorter distance, than you do now, as the four escalators would carry you forward.
In Liverpool Street Crossrail Station Disentangled, I showed this schematic of the station complex.
Note how the Northern Line passes through Moorgate station and the Central Line passes through Liverpool Street station, both at right-angles to Crossrail.
This image enlarged from the first shows a cross-section of Moorgate station.
Note the two circles under the escalator, which I suspect are the tunnels for the Northern Line.
There is probably some intricate spaghetti at this end of the station connecting the Bank branch of the Northern Line to Crossrail, in addition to the escalators.
But it means that if you want to go from Liverpool Street station to the Northern Line, you’ll descend to Crossrail and then ascend to the Northern Line.
This will be probably easier than the current long walk and the escalator descent at Moorgate station.
This image enlarged from the first shows a cross-section of Liverpool Street station end of the Crossrail station.
Note.
- The glazed entrance to the station.
- The Central Line tunnels.
Again, I suspect the spaghetti is intricate.
But from the schematic it would appear there’s a good link from the central tunnel to the Central Line.
Conclusion
I hope the signage and information will be good.
17 Tube Stations That Face Chronic Overcrowding If Crossrail 2 Is Stopped
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in today’s Standard.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Hundreds of thousands more Londoners will suffer chronic overcrowding on the Tube if Crossrail 2 does not go ahead, it was claimed today.
Transport for London released a list of 17 Underground stations that could buckle under the strain of too many commuters within a few years.
It then lists the stations.
- Euston
- King’s Cross St. Pancras
- Liverpool Street
- London Bridge
- Victoria
- Waterloo
- Finsbury Park
- Stockwell
- Stratford
- Oxford Circus
- Highbury & Islington
- Clapham Common
- Clapham North
- Clapham South
- Holborn
- Warren Street
- Leicester Square
It then quotes Caroline Pidgeon, who obtained the list, as follows.
Overcrowding on the Underground is already a daily battle, with many passengers facing regular delays to simply get through barriers at stations.
Unless Crossrail 2 is built these delays will increasingly build up until drastic measures are necessary at 17 key Tube stations, not to mention Clapham Junction railway station.
“Planning ahead for Crossrail 2 is not an optional extra for London’s transport network but of vital importance to keep London moving.
She has certainly highlighted a serious problem.
Call For Crossrail 2
Two years ago to the day, I wrote a post called Call For Crossrail 2 in response to a letter in The Times, from a wide cross section of business leaders calling for a start to be made on the line.
In the post, I talked about improving various stations, just by building Crossrail 2, so in the following notes on the list of crowded stations, I will refer to this post several times in the following.
Euston
Euston tube station is a particular problem in that in the next decade or so, the following will or could happen.
- HS2 will arrive at the station.
- Euston main line station will be rebuilt.
- Crossrail 2 will pass under the station.
- A connection will be created to Euston Square station for the Circle and Metropolitan Lines.
- There might even be an extension of the Docklands Light Railway to Euston.
- Step-free access must be added for all platforms.
Hopefully, the rebuilding for whichever comes first of HS2 or Crossrail 2, will make provision for even the most fanciful of expansions.
One Transport for London engineer told me that one of the main reasons for building HS2 and terminating it at Euston, is to be able to sort out the dreadful Euston tube station.
Kings Cross St. Pancras
Kings Cross St. Pancras tube station had a pretty good makeover around the time of the 2012 London Olympics, but it does suffer congestion and travellers have to walk long distances.
The Wikipedia entry for Kings Cross St. Pancras tube station has a section for Crossrail 2. This is said.
Since 1991, a route for a potential Crossrail 2 has been safeguarded, including a connection at King’s Cross St Pancras and Euston, forming the station Euston King’s Cross St Pancras. The proposed scheme would offer a second rail link between King’s Cross and Victoria in addition to the Victoria line. The locations for any new stations on the route will depend on the loading gauge of the final scheme. In the 2007 safeguarded route, the next stations would be Tottenham Court Road and Angel.
There is also a proposal to reopen the closed York Road tube station. In the Wikipedia entry for York Road station under Proposed Reopening, this is said.
One of London’s largest redevelopment projects, King’s Cross Central, began construction in 2008 across the road from the station. Islington council and Transport for London commissioned a study in 2005 to consider the possible reopening of the station. At the same time, however, it was recognised that other transport priorities reduced the likelihood of such a project moving forward in the near future. The site would need extensive overhauls to bring the station up to modern day standards, at a cost estimated at £21 million in 2005. Local political groups have been keen to see the station reopened in order to reduce passenger congestion at King’s Cross St. Pancras and to encourage development in the surrounding community. The Islington Liberal Democrats advocated the reopening of the station in their 2006 local election manifesto, and at least one candidate for the Islington Conservative Party similarly campaigned for the station to be reopened. However, to date, the reopening proposal has not been taken forward.
I wonder if York Road tube station will ever be reopened.
Liverpool Street
The Liverpool Street station complex will be even bigger and busier after Crossrail opens.
The main difference will be that the current Shenfield Metro will now disappear into the ground at Stratford and go under Central London to Heathrow and Reading.
Crossrail 2 will effectively channel the Lea Valley services, that current go into Liverpool Street station under London to emerge in the Wimbledon area.
Effectively, Crossrail and Crossrail 2 major effect on Liverpool Street station are to free up capacity in both tracks and platforms, thuis allowing more longer distance services to use the station.
London Bridge
London Bridge station is being rebuilt and expanded, but little seems to be planned for London Bridge tube station to cope with more passengers.
In Call For Crossrail 2, I said this about Crossrail 2 and the Northern Line.
Crossrail 2 will have interchanges with the Northern Line at Angel, Kings Cross St. Pancras, Euston, Tottenham Court Road, Tooting Broadway and possibly Clapham Junction. So it looks like that Crossrail 2 will certainly make journeys easier for users of the Northern Line.
This should mean that travellers on the Northern Line will be able to avoid a congested London Bridge tube station.
Victoria
Victoria tube station is being extended and rebuilt, which should result in sufficient capacity for more than a few years.
In Call For Crossrail 2, I said this about Crossrail 2 and the Victoria Line.
Crossrail 2 will effectively by-pass the central part of the Victoria Line as the two lines connect at Tottenham Hale, Seven Sisters, Kings Cross, Euston and Victoria.
This should take some of the pressure from Victoria tube station.
Waterloo
Waterloo tube station is a very busy tube station, as it has to cope with all the passengers using Waterloo station.
Crossrail 2 will allow passengers to bypass Waterloo, when travelling to and from Central London.
However, three major improvements will be delivered this year.
- The old Eurostar platforms are being brought back into use.
- Extra capacity is being added to the Underground station.
- I also think that when they have completed the improvements at the Bank end of the Waterloo and City Line.
- Will improvements follow at the Waterloo end?
I think Waterloo shouldn’t be judged until the current round of work is completed.
Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park station is a station that suffered badly when the Victoria Line was tunnelled through in the 1960s.
Lifts are being installed, but extra services will be added.
- Thameslink will call regularly at the station.
- The services on the Northern City Line will become the Great Northern Metro with an increased frequency.
Crossrail 2 will provide relief for Finsbury Park, as it provides a by-pass for the Victoria Line.
But the station needs to have quite a bit of rebuilding.
Stockwell
Stockwell tube station is where the Victoria and Northern Lines meet South of Victoria.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines at Stockwell station.
I’m not sure how Crossrail 2 helps here, but I suspect Transport for London hope that the new line will divert passengers away from Stockwell.
Stratford
Stratford station is another station that will be partially bypassed by Crossrail 2.
I do think that after Crossrail opens, that changes will be made at Stratford station to perhaps move some Liverpool Street services to Stansted and Cambridge.
This would bring more services to some not very busy platforms.
In West Anglia Route Improvement – The High Meads Loop, I described how it might all work.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines in this area.
Trains from Cambridge and Stansted would arrive at Temple Mills East Junction and would go round the High Meads Loop dropping and picking up passengers in Platforms 11 and 12 bwfore returning North.
An extra platform could even be added to serve services in Stratford International station.
The tunnels under the platforms at Stratford station would probably need improvement, but who knows how Eastenders will duck and dive after Crossrail opens.
As an example, passengers from Shenfield to Canary Wharf will probably use the cross-platform change at Whitechapel station, rather than pick up the Jubilee Line or the DLR at Stratford.
Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus tube station has needed improvement for years.
Crossrail will give some relief, as there will be new additional entrances to Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street stations closer to Oxford Circus.
I did look at what might happen in What Will The Elizabeth Line Do For Oxford Street?.
I came to this conclusion about Crossrail 2 and Oxford Street.
Crossrail 2 has just one interchange in the Oxford Street area at Tottenham Court Road station.
I would be very surprised in that in the massive rebuilding of the current station for Crossrail, that provision hasn’t been made to connect to Crossrail 2.
There have been surface issues around the station concerned with Crossrail 2, but given good planning of the project, I feel that the building of Crossrail 2 would only effect the area in a similar way to the replacement of a major block on Oxford Street.
Crossrail 2 will have two major effects.
- It will bring large numbers of visitors to the Oxford Street area.
- Just as Crossrail and the Central Line will work as a high-capacity pair, it will work closely with the Victoria Line to relieve that line.
This leads me to the conclusion, that the wider Oxford Street area needs to be and will be pedestrianised.
In some ways preparation for the pedestrianisation has already started by reorganising the buses.
Oxford Circus tube station is also high on Transport for London’s improvement list.
This map from carto.metro,free.fr shows the lines through the station.
I suspect that if developers were interested in rebuilding any of the buildings on the South side of Oxford Street or perhaps even around the BBC to the North, that there could be arm-twisting and deal-making to sneak new entrances into Oxford Circus tube station.
Highbury & Islington
Highbury & Islington station, is one of my local ones and it is getting some much-needed improvement.
- The Northern City Line will be getting frequent new Class 717 trains to create the Great Northern Metro.
- Highbury Corner will be remodelled to improve pedestrian access to the station.
- Bus and taxi access is being improved..
But nothing has been announced about improving the chronic access to the two deep-level lines at the station.
Speaking to staff at the station, they feel that a solution is possible, using the second entrance on the other side of the road.
In some ways the Great Northern Metro with its cross-platform interchange with the Victoria Line could be the saviour of this station, as it gives direct access to the City and to Crossrail at Moorgate station.
One of London’s forgotten lines could be riding to the rescue.
Clapham Common
Clapham Common tube station is one of my least favourite. This picture shows why.
It’s downright dangerous now, so when the Northern Line frequency is increased will the station cope?
Clapham North
Clapham North tube station is another dangerous island platform.
But at least the station has escalators.
In A Journey Round The Clapham Stations, a post I wrote in December 2015, I said this.
Having seen Clapham North and Clapham Common stations today, I do wonder if a diversion could be dug as at Angel, Bank and London Bridge, to create safe new stations. This new tunnel could surely be part of the works to add step-free access to one or both stations and connect the tunnels to Clapham High Street station.
What with the Northern Line Extension to Battersea, the rebuilding of Bank and Camden Town stations and all the resignalling of the past few years, the Northern Line could at last be fulfilling its potential.
This could go a long way to sorting the problem of the Clapham stations.
Clapham South
Clapham South tube station is not as bad as the other two Clapham stations discussed earlier.
Crossrail 2 may reduce the level of overcrowding on the Northern Line trains through the three Clapham stations, as passengers could change at Balham or Tooting Broadway stations to and from the new high-capacity line.
However, nothing short of some serious building work will solve the island platform problems at Clapham Common and Clapham North stations.
Holborn
Holborn tube station is very busy, but is one that could benefit from Crossrail, due to that line’s relationship with the Cerntral Line.
Crossrail 2 will certainly benefit the station, as it will relieve the pressure on the Piccadilly Line.
But Transport for London have published plans to add a second entrance and full step-free access. This is a 3-Dview of the plans.
Note the second entrance will be in Procter Street.
The only problem is that it could be 2021 before a decision is made.
However as a Piccadilly Line station, Holborn will benefit from the New Tube For London, before the upgrade.
Warren Street
Warren Street tube station is another Central London station on the Victoria Line, that could benefit from Crossrail 2’s duplication of the Victoria Line.
Leicester Square
Leicester Square tube station is just one stop on the Northern Line from the major new interchange of Tottenham Court Road station, which will be served by both Crossrail and Crossrail 2.
The station has needed more capacity since I first used it in the 1950s.
It needs step-free access.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines around Leicester Square station.
There is quite a tight knot of stations, of which only Tottenham Court Road has both escalators and lifts, although Goodge Street and Covent Garden have lifts only.
Leicester Square is an unusual station in that both the Northern and Piccadilly Lines are accessed by short passages and a short staircase from a fair-sized lobby at the bottom of a long set of escalators.
Clapham Junction
Clapham Junction station is the only non-Underground station in the seventeen stations named, where overcrowding could become chronic if Crossrail 2 is not built.
It is the busiest station by number of trains in Europe, so it must be difficult to keep on top of increasing numbers of passengers.
In the Wikipedia entry for the station under Future Proposals, this is said.
In 2007 the alignment of one of the two variants of Crossrail 2, that via the station rather than Putney and Wimbledon, was safeguarded. The Department for Transport and Transport for London continue to discuss proposal for a Clapham Junction Northern Line extension and its London Underground alignment has been legally reserved through Battersea Park, and would connect Clapham Junction to the London Underground for the first time.
Government and Network Rail funding for in the early 2010s of £50 million of improvements was granted. This comprised an upgrade to the main interchange: new entrances and more retail.
Surely something needs to be done, if Crossrail 2 is not built.
My proposals would include.
- Developing the West London Line services.
- Extending the Northern Line from Battersea Power Station station.
- Improving the frequency of trains into Waterloo.
- Make the station subway step-free.
There may be a need for more platforms, but the London Overground found this difficult.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the platforms in the station.
Simple it isn’t!
Conclusions
It surprised me how many of these stations will need substantial building work to cure the overcrowding.
Note.
- Every Victoria Line station between Oxford Circus and Finsbury Park is on the list.
- Four Northern Line stations between Stockwell to Clapham South is on the list.
- I think this shows how the designers of the Northern and Victoria Lines didn’t expect the traffic the lines now handle.
But overall, I think it shows how when you design a station, you don’t cut corners.
I also think to blame all these problems on the uncertainty about Crossrail 2, is probably a bit strong.
Consider.
- Liverpool Street will probably have enough capacity when Crossrail opens, especially as the station will incorporate Moorgate and be substantially step-free.
- The new London Bridge effectively adds high-frequency rail lines to Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Charing Cross and St. Pancras and when Thameslink and Southeastern are fully developed, the station will cope.
- Victoria shouldn’t be judged until the current upgrade is complete.
- Waterloo shouldn’t be judged until the current upgrade is complete.
- Finsbury Park shouldn’t be judged until the current upgrade is complete.
- Stratford will probably have enough capacity when Crossrail opens, especially as the station is substantially step-free.
- Oxford Circus should see improvement when Crossrail opens, especially as there’ll be new step-free entrances to Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street, that will be closer to Oxford Circus, than the current stations.
- Highbury & Islington should see marginal improvement, when the Northern City Line is updated.
However, nothing short of substantial construction will sort Euston, Clapham Common, Clapham North, Holborn, Leicester Square and Clapham Junction.
Close Up To A Class 345 Train At Liverpool Street Station
These pictures of a Class 345 train, were taken in Liverpool Street station.
I also had a chat with a group of drivers.
- The drivers find the trains well-built, quiet and fast.
- One driver said they were effectively two half trains.
- Drivers seemed enthusiastic or jealous depending if they’ve driven one.
- Greater Anglia’s drivers were crawling all over the cab!
- There is masses of space under the trains.
- They are virtually silent as they move off!
The services start on Tuesday, the 23rd of May.
Will The Broadgate Reconstruction Remove The Smoking Shelter?
Broadgate is reconstructing the building on the South side, which will face the new piazza in front of Liverpool Street station.
This visualisation shows what the entrance to Crossrail will look like in front of Broadgate.
But what are they going to do with the smoking shelter, that sits in the entrance to the main-line station?
The shelter would be shown on the left of the visualisation, if the image had a wider format.
Greater Anglia’s Ten Point Wish List
This article in Rail Technology Magazine is entitled Greater Anglia to lobby government for investment in 10-point upgrade plea.
So what do they want?
- Haughley Junction upgrade.
- Ely area upgrade.
- Ely to Soham track doubling
- Trowse swing bridge replacement with a double track fixed link.
- Long loops at Colchester and Witham to allow fast trains to pass slow ones.
- Digital re-signalling between Colchester and London.
- Capacity upgrade to allow four trains between Angel Road and Stratford.
- Four-tracking between Coppermill Junction and Broxbourne.
- Wider level-crossing upgrade program.
- Platform and concourse upgrade at Liverspool Street station.
Should we call it ambitious, greedy or sensible?
1. Haughley Junction Upgrade
This has been requested for years, so I suspect it has been thought about for a long time.
But the new East Anglia Franchise has plans that will affect the traffic through Haughley Junction.
- Three express trains per hour (tph) between Ipswich and Norwich – Up from 2 tph.
- Two tph between Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds – Up from three trains per two hours.
To make matters worse, an increasing number of freight trains between Felixstowe and Peterborough will be going through the junction.
This Google Map shows the junction.
Note.
- Stowmarket, Felixstowe and Ipswich are to the South.
- There is a handy level crossing where station road crosses the tracks.
- Diss and Norwich is to the North.
- Bury St. Edmunds, Cambridge and Peterborough are to the North West.
You could naively think, that around the junction is nothing but farmland and a few trees, but the owners of |Tiptree Fram probably have lived three for decades.
You are the driver of one of Greater Anglia’s new crack Stadler express electric multiple units scheduled to reach Norwich in ninety minutes from London
Going North, you have just stopped at Stowmarket station. But you can’t leave as Haughley Junction is blocked by one of the many long freight trains crossing the flat junction from the line to Peterborough to go South to Felixstowe.
So bang goes your schedule!
Going South, you have a similar problem, in that freight trains could delay progress, whilst they cross from the Peterborough Line.
Freight trains and passenger trains joining the Peterborough line from the South, would appear to not cause such a large problem, as they just turn left without crossing any lines.
In an ideal world, there probably needs to be a single-track flyover, so that trains from Peterborough to Stowmarket can cross the Norwich lines without delaying trains. A similar flyover at Hitchin cost £47million.
So it wouldn’t be cheap and would the locals fight the construction of such a structure in the midst of Suffolk countryside to benefit commuters from Norfolk?
A complete scheme would also add a loop line just to the West of Haugthley Junction, so that long freight trains could wait without getting in the way, until there was a suitable time to cross.
I suspect, that to keep costs down and avoid annoying the natives, all that will happen at Haughley Junction is a limited scheme so that trains can wait before crossing.
Over the last few years, Network Rail have developed some innovative junctions and crossings, so let’s hope that they come up with a scheme that’s efficient, affordable and can be built without closing either of the important routes through the area.
But whatever is done here will certainlt help Greater Anglia achieve their objective of three tph between London and Norwich in ninety minutes.
Knowing the area well, I suspect that there will also be an enormous fight over if Network Rail decided to close the level crossing shown on the map.
2. Ely Area Upgrade
I looked at this in Are The Trains In Ely Finally To Be Sorted?
Whatever is proposed here will not be just a few millions and probably very disruptive to implement, but it is essential to acommodate the planned extra services through the area.
3. Ely To Soham Track Doubling
Upgrading this six miles of single track might appear to be easy across the flat lands of Cambridgeshire, but the line does include a couple of level crossings and a couple of bridges.
This Google Map shows the ely end of the route at Ely Dock Junction.
Ely Dock Junction And Hawk Bridge
Note the single-track Hawk Bridge over the Great Ouse.
Luckily, a freight train derailed on the original single-track bridge and virtually demolished it. The new bridge may be only single-track, but provision was made for a second track.
A few times, I’ve passed Ely Dock Junction on a train or stood on the platform at Ely and seen a freight train waiting at the Dock Junction to pass through the spaghetti at Ely.
Double-tracking would mean waiting freight trains wouldn’t delay Eastbound services on the Ipswich to Ely Line.
But will a chord be built so services can go directly between Cambridge North station and the Ipswich line?
This could enable Colchester Peterborough services to take a route of Bury St. Edmunds-Cambridge North
The Google Map shows the site of the original Soham station.
The Site Of The Former Soham Station
Note that the line reverts back to double-track, just South of the former station site.
So will doubling of line include provision for building a new station at Soham, as Cambridgeshire Council have proposed?
You can certainly see, why Greater Anglia want this section of line to be doubled.
4. Trowse Swing Bridge Replacement
The Trowse Swing Bridge is a major bottleneck on the Great vEastern Main Line, as not only does it restrict operations into Norwich station, but it makes access to Crown Point Depot difficult.
It’s definitely the railway equivalent of having a single-lane section for both directions on a motorway.
In Is This The Worst Bottleneck On The UK Rail Network?, I proposed the following under An Affordable Alternative.
It has to be said, that perhaps the most affordable solution would be to build a stylish fixed link, probably with a double-track railway and foot and cycle bridges.
As to the boat users, all boats that need to go under the bridge regularly would be modified so their masts could be lowered at no cost to their owners.
Other bribes could be given to occasional users.
There will be many bridges to cross, before Trowse bridge is replaced with a modern structure, more suited to a modern railway.
Unless of course, the rusting and decrepit bridge decides to do the honourable thing and falls down of its own volition.
It’s probably too much to hope, that a freight train derails on the bridge, as one fortunately did on the Hawk Bridge at Ely.
5. Long Loops At Colchester And Witham
Colchester station is not a station that would win awards for efficiency.
This description of the platforms is from Wikipedia.
The “up” (London-bound) side comprises two platforms, numbers 3 and 4, which have an unusual layout: 3 is on the up main line and is served by intercity trains from Norwich, while 4 is on the up branch line which merges with the up main line where the two platforms join end-to-end. The junction is protected by a trap leading to friction buffer stops. There are also bay platforms at both ends of the up main platform. The London-end bay (platform 6) is used for peak trains to and from London. Previously this platform was used for frequent services for the Sudbury Branch Line. However, most of these services were truncated to terminate at Marks Tey from the mid-1990s. The other bay platform (platform 5) is used for services to Colchester Town and Walton-on-the-Naze. The “down” side platform is an island platform with two faces, one on the down main, and one on the down branch line. Platform 1 is mainly used for Clacton-on-Sea trains and occasionally for Norwich trains.
The new franchise has plans, that should make the station more efficient, but much busier.
- Norwich to London trains will have a frequency of three tph.
- A new one tph service will link Colchester and Peterborough, which would mean that Colchester to Stowmarket via Manningree and Ipswich would have a frequency of four tph.
But the interesting idea is to extend the service between Sudbury and Marks Tey stations to Colchester Town station via Colchester.
The service between Sudbury and Colchester Town could be two tph, as the trains could pass each other between Colchester and Marks Tey, if the track allowed.
This Press Release from Network Rail is entitled More Reliable Railway For Essex As £100M+ Upgrade Is Completed.
This is said.
The last piece of the jigsaw included the commissioning of new ‘bi-directional’ signalling on the Great Eastern main line between Colchester and Marks Tey – meaning trains can now travel in both directions on both lines. This allows them to bypass problems should they occur and will improve flexibility and help reduce delays.
I have just flown my helicopter over the junction at Marks Tey and it looks like there is a short loop line of about a kilometre on the South side of the main line, which is connected by a series of crossovers to the \Gainsborough Line. On the other side of the main line, there would also appear to be a connection between the two lines.
So a train from Colchester Town could do the following.
- Travel to Colchester station on the Sunshine Coast Line.
- Stop in Platform 4 at Colchester station.
- Travel on the main line towards Marks Tey.
- Switch to the loop North of Marks Tey.
- Cross over the main lines and enter the Gainsborough Line to stop in Marks Tey station.
- Travel to Sudbury and back.
- After stopping at Marks Tey station return via the main line to Colchester and then on to Colchester Town.
Currently, a train is scheduled to go from Colchester Town to Marks Tey in 13 minutes, with the round trip from Marks Tey to Sudbury taking about 45 minutes.
If the service between Colchester Town and Sudbury was to be two tph, the Marks Tey to Sudbury round trip must be under thirty minutes, so that only one train is on the branch line at a time.
The service is currently run using various trains like a Class 153 train, which have a top speed of 75 mph and acceleration to match, whereas the mosdern Class 170 train has a 100 mph capability. The Gainsborough Line also has a speed limit of just 50 mph.
So I suspect, that with some judicious engineering on the branch and modern trains, that a thirty minute round trip is possible, thus making two tph on the Gainsborough Line a distinct possibility.
All these service changes could simplify the pattern of trains through Colchester station.
- Most trains stop in the station and continue on their journey.
- Peterborough trains could use the bay platform 5 or a reversing siding to turn back.
- The bay platform 6 could be used as a terminus for trains from London as now.
So will the tracks be arranged so that there is an avoiding line between the platforms just as there is at Ipswich station and used to be at Chelmsford station?
The certainly would appear to be enough space.
This picture illustrates the problems at Witham station.
Note.
- The freight train was going towards London and was slowly going through the station.
- The two lines in the middle are the two main lines, where trains generally stop.
- When the new Stadler and Aventra trains enter service in a couple of years, there will be more trains going through the station.
- At times, trains could be separated by just a few minutes.
- As these trains are designed expedite stops, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more trains doing a Touch-and-Go.
This article on the EssexLive web site is entitled Witham loop could happen by 2024 with added faster trains to Liverpool Street.
It says that the loop will be built North of Witham station and would allow faster trains to pass slower ones by 2024, but that Simon Burns MP will be pushing to have it built sooner.
This Google Map shows Witham station and the line to the North.
Note the Braintree Branch Line going off to the North-West.
It does appear that there would be space for the necessary extra tracks to create passing loops North of Witham station.
These would mean that passing wouldn’t have to be dome with the slower train blocking a slow platform.
It certainly looks as if that both loops will be beneficial to all train operators and passengers.
6. Digital re-signalling between Colchester and London
Given the following on the Great Eastern Main Line South of Colchester.
- Increased numbers of trains.
- Speeds of 100 mph and possibly more.
- The need to do very fast stops and maintain headway of a few minutes.
- The trains will be new.
I suspect that digital signalling will be a necessity to maintain the required service frequency.
7. Capacity upgrade to allow four trains between Angel Road and Stratford
There is certainly pressure for this service from the local Councils in the area.
Would it include the preliminary works from the upgrade of Angel Road station?
8. Four-tracking between Coppermill Junction and Broxbourne
This is important both for Greater Anglia services to Stansted Airport and Cambridge and Crossrail 2.
I wrote about this in Crossrail 2 ‘Cannot Go Ahead’ Without Four-Tracking Of West Anglia Line.
But it will be a large and very disruptive project.
9. Wider level-crossing upgrade program
I have been held up so many times by level crossing incidents, this can’t happen to soon.
10. Platform and concourse upgrade at Liverpool Street station
I thought that this was going to happen, as soon as the Crossrail trains go into the tunnels.
Conclusion
Greater Anglia are not asking for the stars and it is a generally sensible wish list.
Possibly the most expensive projects are the following.
- Ely area upgrade.
- Trowse swing bridge replacement with a double track fixed link.
- Digital re-signalling between Colchester and London.
- Four-tracking between Coppermill Junction and Broxbourne.
But some like the four-tracking of the West Anglia Main Line are not urgent, until Crossrail 2 gets an opening date.
BT Gets Tough With Flying Rats
Flying rats or pigeons to the RSPB, are a problem in Liverpool Street station.
So BT has got tough!
BT Gets Tough With Flying Rats
It would probably help, if everybody dropping littler got sentence to sit on top of the phone-box for an hour.
Crossrail Will Be Making Noise On Moorgate
I received an e-mail from Crossrail today entitled Access Passage Under Moorgate.
This is said.
We are making progress with the tunnel connections between the Crossrail Moorgate ticket hall and the station platforms.
From the evening of Wednesday 9 November until Saturday 12 November 2016, we will break out the connection between the top of the escalator shaft and the access passage to Moorgate.
As we are breaking out concrete, there is likely to be some audible ground borne noise and vibration for occupants of nearby buildings and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.
Hopefully, I won’t hear it a couple of miles to the North.
Seriously, though, I don’t think you can get fairer than that, especially, as the works at Moorgate so far, don’t seem to have been particularly disruptive.
The e-mail also pointed me to this cross-section of the station and the works.
East-West Cross-Section Of Moorgate Crossrail Station
Note.
- Two banks of escalators are used to descend to Crossrail at Moorgate station.
- It is a similar arrangement at Liverpool Street station.
- If you’re walking between the two stations, a good proportion ofthe journet wil be on escalators.
- I think that the two smaller tunnels running under Moorgate and below the lower bank of escalators are the Northern Line tunnels.
It looks like the design has followed the rule of trying to keep to using only North-South and East-West routes for the tunnels.
The Anonymous Widower 