Trains on the Western Curve
Yesterday, as I went to Stratford and was getting my train at Dalston Kingsland, I saw a train test running on the new Western Curve, which connects the East London Line to Highbury and Islington.
A Train on the Western Curve at Dalston
The train on the right is on the North London Line travelling towards Highbury and Islington and on to Willesden Junction and Richmond.
I think the only problem with these two London Overground lines, is that they are generating a lot of traffic and they might turn out to be victims of their own success.
Lorenzo’s Ristorante in Crystal Palace
On Friday night, I went out with friends to this restaurant in South London. They were very friendly, the owner checked everything and all in all it was a good meal.
So if you’re in that area, it’s worth trying out. They have a web site at www.lorenzo.uk.com. I think they’re within walking distance of the train station at Crystal Palace, which is now on the London Overground.
Exchange at Whitechapel
On Friday morning, I walked from the Raj Hotel in the Essex Road through de Beauvoir Town to Dalston Junction Station to catch the East London Line. It was a pleasant walk through one of the most unusual and pleasant parts of London and I was using the train to go to the Museum of London after a change at Whitechapel to the Hammersmith and City Line for Barbican.
The simple change took me longer than it should, as in the first place, signage from the East London line to the Hammersmith and City wasn’t good, a train indicator board was broken and then I had to wait some time for a train. I did talk to someone on the platform and he was helpful and acknowledged the problem. I hope it improves, as it will become an important link between the Overground and the Underground.
I should say that I’ve used Whitechapel for years and it really isn’t any worse than it was when my granddaughter was born in the London Hospital. I suspect there’s a lot of problems because the interchange is where it is, with pavements and a street market outside and limited space inside.
I would also suspect that as Whitechapel Station is going to be a major interchange on CrossRail, that the problems I encountered will be designed out in the years to come.
Liverpool Street to Shoreditch High Street
This is a walking connection between the main-line station and the East London Line. I did it today, by walking across to Broadgate and then down the side of the station. It’s still quite long, but it is a better walk than going along Bishopsgate. There is also a convenient light-controlled crossing.
You also get this back view of Liverpool Street Station.
Back View of Liverpool Street Station
Whatever they do in the future, some signs are needed now!
Thoughts on the East London Line
I’ve now had three trips on the East London Line and you can see how it is fitting into the fabric of society in East and South London.
Obviously, there are things still to be done, like the connection at Dalston to avoid the short walk between the two stations. Talking to a policeman at Norwood Junction after the Crystal Palace trip, he said that people aren’t sure yet which station to use for various places. So perhaps, Transport for London need to put up similar route finders on the Overground, as they have on bus stops. This would direct football fans going to Crystal Palace to Norwood Junction for example.
What happens too, if say people from say Liverpool or Manchester arriving at Euston station ask how they get to Crystal Palace for the football or somewhere else in the area served by the East London Line. You could walk to Euston Square and take the Circle Line to Liverpool Street and walk to Shoreditch High Street, the Metropolitan LIne to Whitechapel, or the Northern to London Bridge and the Jubilee to Canada Water. The choice is yours, but not easy for a non-expert. I think this illustrates the problem outlined by the policeman at Norwood Junction; the East London Line needs time for people to get used to how and where it runs.
If I take my example to its logical conclusion, you could ask why people from the north don’t use Watford Junction and possibly Willesden Junction to change to the Overground. You wouldn’t have changed to the old North London Line, but now it’s a very much better and a lot more comfortable than it used to be. So I would feel that we’ll see some developments and changes to make this easier. It would also effectively add capacity to Euston, by removing those, who perhaps wanted to go to Richmond, Islington or South East London from the station.
I’ll end this post by looking at the positives. Everything is clean, the staff seem competent and happy in their work, the trains seem to run to time and as at present there are always staff on the trains, there seems no sign of any trouble.
Perhaps, though my journey back from Norwood Junction on Saturday summed up the line. The train was fairly full, but there were still enough seats for those who wanted one and the train was cool and well-ventilated. It was much better than doing a similar journey on the Underground.
It will be interesting to see how it performs during the Olympics. But at least we know it will probably be there!
Towards The Olympic Park
When I left Dullingam, I had had the vague intention of taking the newly rebuilt North London Line, either to Richmond or Stratford to see the Olympic Park for 2012. Access to the line is just one stop away from King’s Cross at Highbury and Islington.
A few minutes later, I was on the platform there waiting for my brand-new train to Stratford.
What impressed me was the attention to detail. Look at this staircase for example.
Stairs at Highbury and Islington
Now I am not disabled, but the grip in my left hand is not good and I have some issues with my eyesight, in that I miss objects at a low level. But here the rails and step edges are in bright orange, so I had no difficulty negotiating them at all.
Have they also have decided that on an outdoor station, that flowers rather than art is the best way to decorate the stations. Note the hanging baskets shown here as the train arrives.
The Stratford Train arrives at Highbury and Islington
The trains are a far cry from the old stock that used to creep around the North London Line, when I used to take it from Broad Street to Willesden to get to Metier at Stonebridge Park. They were third rail electric trains then, but now they are fed from an overhead catenary. This is a first for London Underground or Overground, but it is so they can get freight trains from East London to the main West Coast Main Line.
Here a load of containers are trundelling towards Stratford and then probably up the Norwich line to the port of Felixstowe.
My train was on time and I took it all the way. The last part of the journey is through the Olympic Park.
Here the main stadium is rising towards completion.
The Olympic Stadium Rises
And this is the aquatic centre.
Aquatic Centre
It is all very different from when as a child, I used to go to Stratford to bunk the engine sheds to collect engine numbers. I don’t think kids do that any more!
At Stratford, you have several choices about how to continue your journey.
- North London Line – You could take the line across the city, with its superb views of central London, to have a walk in Hampstead Heath.Kew Gardens or along the river at Richmond.
- Central Line – This is the quickest way back to the City and central London.
- Jubilee Line – This will take you to Greenwich, Canary Wharf and the West End, through some of the most spectacular stations on the planet.
- Docklands Light Railway – This is the route for people, who like to explore. Get a good guide book and just go to a station and walk around what I say is the real London, with its markets, churches, canals and historic buildings. And of course, its rich tapestry of people!
I chose the last and took the driverless train to Canary Wharf.
The Anonymous Widower 