Moorgate To Grosvenor Square On The Elizabeth Line
The Grosvenor Square area of Central London is shown by this Google Map.
Note.
- Grosvenor Square is the green square in the middle of the map, with the former US Embassy at its Western end.
- A block to the East of Grosvenor Square is Davies Street, which runs North-South to and from Oxford Street.
- It is mainly an area of expensive houses, some offices, embassies and luxury hotels.
- There are at least half-a-dozen four or five-star hotels on this map, with the former US Embassy being converted to another.
- So as most of its residents and visitors are well-heeled, there has generally been little need for public transport.
- But on the other hand luxury hotels, expensive houses and embassies are large employers of staff and services.
So do many travelling to the area, have to use a taxi or walk from public transport on Oxford Street or Park Lane?
At the top of this map, just on the West side of Davies Street is a building site, which is labelled Cavendish Buildings. This building site is now the Western or Davies Street Entrance to the Elizabeth Line at Bond Street station.
This morning I took an Elizabeth Line train between Moorgate and Davies Street and then walked to Grosvenor Square,
Note.
- There are two triple escalators and a lift at Moorgate station.
- Travel in the front of the train to be positioned correctly for a quick exit.
- There are two triple escalators and a lift at the Davies Street entrance to Bond Street station.
It took me twenty-two minutes for the whole journey.
Will The Elizabeth Line Have Any Effects On The Grosvenor Square Area?
This is a difficult question to answer, but I’m sure that there will be changes.
Staff Will Have An Easier Journey To And From Work
The manager of a luxury hotel in London told me that good staff is a problem, especially, where public transport is not good.
So I do feel that the new Bond Street station will widen the pool of employment for staff commuting to the area.
I would certainly feel, that if your hotel, restaurant or club was within walking distance of an Elizabeth Line, you might well find, that the quality of your staff improves.
Will Light Cargo And Services Use The Elizabeth Line?
Some years ago, I had handrails fitted by a company from Sheffield. The salesman/designer came by train and walking and only for the fitting did the company use a vehicle.
It was certainly a job done well and efficiently.
I can see all sorts of goods moved into Central London, using the step-free and level features of the Elizabeth Line.
If the other Underground lines had improved step-free access, there would be more opportunities for improved services for Central London businesses.
The Hotels In The Grosvenor Square Area Now Have A Fast Comfortable Connection To The City And Canary Wharf
Since the Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf station opened in the last years of the last century, there has been a reasonably fast Underground service to between Bond Street station, various stations in the City of London and Canary Wharf station.
But the Elizabeth Line brings this link to a much higher level.
- It is faster.
- It has much more comfortable trains.
- Access to trains is step-free and with level access.
- Soon, the trains will have wi-fi and 4G signals.
- The trains connect to Heathrow Airport and with a simple change to City, Stansted and Gatwick Airports.
I suspect that hotels on the Elizabeth Line will see an increase in business.
Conclusion
The Elizabeth Line is going to change London more than anyone would think.
Bond Street station will improve the Grosvenor Square area.
What will your local Elizabeth Line station, do for your area?
Elizabeth Line Bond Street Station And South Molton Street
South Molton Street is one of my favourite streets in London.
- It runs between Bond Street station on Oxford Street in the North and Fenwick’s department store on New Bond Street in the South.
- Many times, I bought my late wife; C’s Christmas or birthday present on that street, on New Bond Street or in Fenwick.
- One of her last purchases had been an Armani suit for work on New Bond Street.
- She also usually bought her shoes in Salvatore Ferragamo at the Southern end of New Bond Street.
- I would usually travel there by taking the Central Line to Bond Street station or the Victoria or Piccadilly Line to Green Park station.
C and I spent many hours happily shopping in that small area of the West End of London.
- We used to shop together for clothes, shoes and many other things.
- One day at a party in her barristers chambers in Cambridge, one of her colleagues expressed surprise that the following day, I was going clothes shopping with her in London.
- C replied to everyone’s amusement, that I was a transvestite-by-proxy. In other words, I am a man, who likes dressing ladies in appropriate clothes.
- I am also lucky, that my mother taught me to sew and in the early years of our marriage, I used to borrow my mother-in-law’s sewing machine and make some of C’s clothes.
- When long coats became fashionable in the 1960s, C had the first of any of her friends. Because I had made it!
So today, I just had to go and see how the new Elizabeth Line Bond Street station fitted in with my favourite shopping street.
I travelled to the new Davies Street entrance of the station.
- I walked through the tunnels to the original Underground station.
- I emerged onto Oxford Street.
- I walked down South Molton Street to Fenwick, with a couple of diversions.
- I then walked through Medici Courtyard to the Hanover Square entrance to Bond Street station.
Finally, I took the Elizabeth Line back to Moorgate for a bus to my house.
Note.
- There are two banks of escalators to the surface at the Davies Street entrance at Bond Street station.
- The tunnel between the Davies Street entrance at Bond Street station and the original Underground station has a seat at halfway.
- South Molton Street connects to Oxford Street.
- South Molton Passage connects the Davies Street entrance at Bond Street station and South Molton Street.
- C had her unusual wedding dress made in Haunch of Venison Yard.
- The Medici Courtyard sign also says it leads to the Elizabeth Line.
- I couldn’t find a coffee shop selling a cappuccino and a gluten-free cake in Medici Courtyard. That is poor!
One of the station staff at Hanover Square indicated, that there may be additional passages to the West of New Bond Street, that will connect to the Davies Street entrance at Bond Street station.
I feel this could make the area even better.
Elizabeth Line – Tottenham Court Road Station – 24th May 2022
I took these pictures at the Dean Street entrance to the Elizabeth Line at Tottenham Court Road station.
Note.
- The Dean Street entrance is the one to the West at Tottenham Court Road station.
- It is perhaps a hundred metres to the East of the large Marks and Spencer at The Pantheon.
I took these pictures from Oxford Street on the 9th of May.
There will be flats on the top of the station, with retail in the front.
Buses On Oxford Street
There are some buses that go along Oxford Street.
- 55 – Between Walthamstow Central and Oxford Circus
- 73 – Between Stoke Newington and Oxford Circus
- 98 – Between Willesden Garage and Holborn
- 390 – Between Victoria Station and Archway
Note.
- I regularly use the 73 to come home from Oxford Street, as it goes close to my house.
- Having found how close the 73 bus stop is to the Dean Street entrance to the Elizabeth Line, this might be my easiest route to get to the Western reaches of the Elizabeth Line.
- The 73 and 390 buses go between Oxford Circus and Kings Cross stations via Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street, Warren Street, Euston Square and Euston stations.
- The 98 bus runs the full length of Oxford Street.
Step-free buses on Oxford Street are often the easiest way to get where you want to.
Walking Between Oxford Circus And Tottenham Court Road Stations – 19th February 2021
Today, I walked down Oxford Street from Oxford Circus station to Tottenham Court Road station.
Note the pictures in the middle of the walk of the new Western entrance to Tottenham Court Road station, which will be on Crossrail.
This article on Construction Enquirer is entitled Galliard To Start £55m London Soho Resi Job.
- 92 flats, a large store and smaller retail spaces.
- Look at the pictures in the Construction Enquirer article and it looks to be a building that is not out of scale.
- Ideal for Crossrail and the Northern and Central Line.
- A hundred metres from the flagship stores of Marks & Spencer and Primark on Oxford Street.
- All the colour and food of Soho at the back door.
- Buses outside the front door to Euston, Kings Cross, Paddington and St. Pancras.
Who was it said, that the three most important points about a property are location, location and location?
All Quiet On The Oxford Street Front!
These pictures were taken at about 16:00 on Friday this week.
There we’re many people about.
Shapps Supports Beeching Axe Reversals
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps says he supports the reopening of routes closed in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
In the article, which describes proceedings in the House of Commons, Grant Shapps, says he was very supportive of opening the Market Harborough Line.
I have now moved the rest of this article to a standalone article with a title of Reopening Milton Keynes And Market Harborough Via Northampton.
London To Get Three New Market Halls
This article in the Standard, describes the start of an interesting new venture.
This is the first few paragraphs.
Mannequins will make way for food stalls at the former BHS store in Oxford Street as it transforms into a bustling hub for foodies under plans to open as the UK’s largest food hall.
BHS ceased trading in 2016 and the site sat largely empty until Polish fashion label Reserved moved in last year. Now, the remaining space at the beleaguered department store chain will be the flagship branch of a new venture bringing three permanent food markets to the capital.
A disused Tube station ticket hall in Fulham and a former nightclub in Victoria will also be transformed.
Between them the markets will feature more than 50 bars and eateries, including outposts of well-known London restaurants and street food traders as well as a smaller number of start-ups.
The venue in Oxford Street will certainly be handy if I need a spot of lunch, when I’m in the area.
But will it make the streets more crowded? Or will Crossrail and pedestrianisation give everybody a lot more space?
Bond Street Station Gets A New Entrance
The new entrance to Bond Street tub station has now opened on the North side of Oxford Street.
This makes it easier to enter and exit the station on the department store side of the street.
Transport for London have produced a video called Bond Street station redevelopment for 2017 – virtual tour walk-through – Tube improvements.
It illustrates several features of the enlarged station.
Oxford Street Could Be Pedestrianised By Next Christmas
The title of this post is the same as the sub-title of this article in the Independent.
The aim is to pedestrianise Oxford Street from Oxford Street to Orchard Street by December 2018, which is the date when the Elizabeth Line will open.
It is an ambitious plan and despite substantial backing from the Mayor, Westminster City Council, the West End Company and groups like the British Heart Foundation, I don’t think it will be plain sailing.
Walking Along Oxford Street
In Walking Along Oxford Street, I show various pictures I took this morning whilst walking between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road stations.
Oxford Street looked to have improved, since I last did this. But then it’s a long time since I’ve walked the streets without crowds.
My views are as follows.
Measuring Success Or Failure
The success or failure of the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street is very easy to gauge.
The rate of change of turnover is a direct measure.
The Buses
I regularly go shopping in Oxford Street and often used a bus to travel there and back.
I used to be able to get a 73 bus from either 200 metres from my house or by changing at the Angel. But since the 73 has been cut back to Oxford Circus, I’ve tended to use the Underground, often by taking a bus to Bank for the Central Line.
Under Sadiq Khan’s plan all buses will be removed from Oxford Street and only the 139 and the 390 will remain, being rerouted along Wigmore Street.
A lot of people who go to Oxford Street regularly by bus, will lose their direct bus route. How will they react?
Will they use the Underground or the Elizabeth Line or will they go shopping elsewhere?
Since the 73 has been cut back, I think I’ve also gone to Oxford Street a lot less.
Why? I’ve no idea.
But it could be, that regularly, I’d buy something in John Lewis,Selfridges or perhaps in Bond Street and get straight on a 73 bus to the Angel, where I just got off the bus and waited until a bus home arrived at the same stop. As the 73 buses are New Routemasters, they’re a real shoppers’ bus and a lot easier than the Underground.
The Underground And Crossrail
Oxford Street will have the following stations and entrances as you proceed from East to West.
- Holborn – Central and Piccadilly
- Tottenham Court Road (Current Entrance) – Central, Elizabeth and Northern
- Tottenham Court Road (Dean Street Entrance) – Central and Elizabeth
- Oxford Circus – Bakerloo, Central and Victoria
- Bond Street – Central, Elizabeth and Jubilee
- Marble Arch – Central
Between Oxford Circus and Orchard Street, which will be the first section to be pedestrianised, you’ll never be more than two hundred metres from a fully step-free Elizabeth Line station.
Will this be enough to do away with the buses on Oxford Street?
Holborn station is being expanded with a new entrance, so will Oxford Circus and Marble Arch be upgraded?
Cycling
This will be banned. Although the plan envisages alternative cycle routes to the North and South.
Taxis
These will be banned from Oxford Street. Taxi ranks will be provided.
Will this be acceptable to the taxi drivers?
Uber And Mini-Cabs
These will be banned from Oxford Street.
How will these effect the surrounding streets?
Deliveries
How will these be arranged? You can’t get behind all the shops!
The Stalls
There are lots of stalls selling various goods along Oxford Street.
Will the stallholders give up their pitches quietly, if necessary?
Security
I’m no security expert, but after the latest attacks in the UK and Europe, surely keeping out vehicles must remove the weapon of choice from a large group of terrorists.
Local Residents
There are quite a few residents in the area perhaps two hundred metres on either side of Oxford Street.
They could be the biggest losers with traffic cramming the side streets.
Timing
Crossrail opens in December 2018. Does this mean the 1st, 31st or some day in between?
How do you time the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street to fit in with Crossrail?
Especially, as December 2018 will probably contain Christmas!
Conclusion
There is going to be a lot of discussion about this scheme.
As to my view, I like pedestrianised streets and Oxford Street should have gone this way years ago.
The Crossrail Era Cometh
This title of this post comes from a comment on the Drapers Online web site.
It discusses the effect Crossrail is going to have on the shops in Oxford Street. This paragraph is typical of the bullish tone of the comment.
The Elizabeth Line is central to ushering in a new chapter for Oxford Street and the wider West End. The line is expected to bring an extra 60 million visits to the area each year, in addition to the current 200 million annual visits. Retailers in the West End will receive a huge boost from two new stations opening at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road.
I wonder when a railway got such a large comment in a magazine or web site, devoted to the fashion business.
The Anonymous Widower 