The Anonymous Widower

The Southern Entrance To London City Airport

I entered London City Airport by a different route today, taking these pictures as I walked.

Note.

  1. The route is level.
  2. It is on the Southern side of Hartmann Road, which is the main entrance road for the airport.
  3. There is a pedestrian tunnel under Hartmann Road into the airport.
  4. There are stairs and lifts into the Docklands Light Railway station at the airport.
  5. The lifts so all the way to the platforms of the DLR.
  6. The route is level from the lifts to the airport.

This Google Map shows the walk.

Note.

I walked along the path, that runs NW-SE on the Northern side of the various courts and playgrounds.

The entrance to the DLR station is at the South-East end of the path at the junction of Drew and Saville Roads.

This Google Map shows a 3D visualisation of the entrance.

Note.

  1. The path runs on the North side of the football pitch.
  2. The Southern entrance is to the right of blue play area.
  3. Drew Road runs across the entrance.
  4. It looks like there is a drop-off point for passengers, where the car is parked by the football pitch.

Would it be possible to create a waking route from this Southern entrance to a rebuilt Silvertown station on the Elizabeth Line?

This Google Map shows the area between the Southern entrance to the airport and the footbridge over the Elizabeth Line.

Note.

  1. The Southern entrance to the airport is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. The footbridge over the Elizabeth Line is in the South-West corner of the map.
  3. The large building in the middle is Drew Primary School.
  4. Whytes Road, Saville Road and Leonard Street lead between the Southern entrance to the airport and the A112.

I took these pictures of the A112 and the footbridge a few days ago.

I think it would be possible to run a fleet of small electric shuttle buses on the route.

Elizabeth Line Trains From Silvertown Station

Currently, the following trains pass through the site of the original Silvertown station.

  • Reading and Abbey Wood stopping at Twyford, Maidenhead, Taplow, Burnham, Slough, Langley, West Drayton, Hayes & Harlington, Southall, Ealing Broadway, Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich.
  • Maidenhead and Abbey Wood stopping at Taplow, Burnham, Slough, Langley, Iver, West Drayton, Hayes & Harlington, Southall, Ealing Broadway, Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich.
  • Heathrow Terminal 4 and Abbey Wood stopping at Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, Hayes & Harlington, Southall, Hanwell, West Ealing, Ealing Broadway, Acton Main Line, Paddington. Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich.
  • Heathrow Terminal 5 and Abbey Wood stopping at Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, Hayes & Harlington, Southall, Hanwell, West Ealing, Ealing Broadway, Acton Main Line, Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich.

Note.

  1. All four services have a frequency of two trains per hour (tph).
  2. Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich have a frequency of eight tph.
  3. Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 has a frequency of two tph and it has extra connections to Heathrow Terminal 4 and Heathrow Terminal 5.

The number of services will increase in May 2023.

 

December 30, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Walk From London City Airport Through Silvertown To The Elizabeth Line

I went for a walk from London City Airport, this morning.

This Google Map shows the area between London City Airport and the Elizabeth Line.

Note.

  1. The airport is just off the map at the top.
  2. A plane is partially visible in the middle.
  3. The Docklands Light Railway runs across the map from the top-left corner, through the station for the airport.
  4. The Elizabeth Line runs across the map from the middle of the left hand side.
  5. The blue dots alongside the Elizabeth Line are bus stops.
  6. The bus stop, that is shown in the third picture, is marked by the rightmost blue dot.
  7. I estimate it’s about a three-hundred metre walk between Railway and the airport.

This second map shows the footbridge over the Elizabeth Line from where I took some of the pictures.

Note.

  1. The bridge has been designed to have lifts added.
  2. Squeezing a station in here, appears to be just about possible, but it would need a precision design.
  3. For safety reasons platform-edge doors would be needed.
  4. I suspect, it would be the first station of its design ever built.

The biggest problem would be the actual building, as it would probably mean closing the railway for at least a few weeks.

Conclusion

This was a station, that should have been built in the first phase of the creation of the Elizabeth Line.

December 27, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 2 Comments

Construction Has Started On The Silvertown Tunnel

These pictures show that construction has started on the Silverton Tunnel.

Note that New Civil Engineer is reporting that tunnelling has started.

My Current Thoughts On The Silvertown Tunnel

In 2015, I wrote No To Silvertown Tunnel, which I started with these two paragraphs.

My personal feelings about the Silvertown Tunnel are that it is irrelevant to me, except that it might help some trucks bring goods that I buy online or at a local shop. Although as a sixty-eight year-old-widower living alone, I don’t think my transport needs through the tunnel will be high.

I don’t drive after my stroke and I like that lifestyle, except when last night it took me three trains, a coach and a taxi to get back from watching football at Ipswich. But that tortuous late night journey was caused because NuLabor spent my tax money on pointless wars that will haunt us for generations, rather than in extending and renewing our rail system, that will nurture and enrich our future.

But my objections to the Silvertown Tunnel have changed and expanded.

New Transport Infrastructure Attracts Passengers

This may seem obvious, but there has been several cases recently in London to prove my point.

  • The London Overground has been a success beyond Transport for London’s wildest dreams and as an example the North London Line, that started with three x three-car trains per hour (tph) is now running eight x five-car tph. This is a four time increase in capacity.
  • New buses and contactless ticketing have encouraged more passengers to use the buses.
  • Electrification and new trains has transformed the Gospel Oak to Barking Line.
  • The expansion of Thameslink and new trains now carries a lot more North-South traffic through London.
  • Every time, a new section of the Elizabeth Line opens more passengers are attracted to the new line.
  • The remodelling of London Bridge station has increased passenger numbers. And shoppers!

On a personal note, I live on a bus corridor, that runs between North London and Moorgate for the Lizzie Line. Since the Lizzie Line has been fully connected, passenger numbers have risen by a big margin.

I don’t believe that the ability to attract more traffic of the Silvertown Tunnel will be any different.

More Traffic Means More Congestion And Pollution

I live close to the Balls Pond Road, which increasingly seems to be a truck route across North London.

The Silvertown Tunnel will be two lanes each way; one for trucks and buses, and one for smaller vehicles.

I can’t see that pollution and congestion around the Silvertown Tunnel and on the routes to the tunnel, will not increase.

There Is Little Or No Provision For Cyclists And Pedestrians

This will be a big problem. Especially, as the local traffic in the area will increase dramatically.

Does Central London Have Enough Parking For The Increased Traffic?

Parking in Central London is probably close to capacity now!

So What Would I Do?

Given that construction has already started, I feel it is too late to cancel.

Better Alternatives Than Driving

I feel measures should be adopted that provide better alternatives than driving.

Obviously, this won’t help with trucks, but it could reduce the total number of vehicles going through the tunnel.

These could include.

  • Increase the frequency of trains on both the Lizzie Line and Thameslink.
  • Increase the number of destinations on both the Lizzie Line and Thameslink.
  • Add an extra car to Lizzie Line trains.
  • Remove First Class on the shorter eight-car Thameslink trains.
  • Add provision on some Lizzie Line and Thameslink routes for bicycles.
  • Add a Silvertown station to the Elizabeth Line for London City Airport.
  • Add one or more pedestrian and cycling bridges across the Thames.
  • Expand of the Docklands Light Railway.
  • Expand the Thames Clipper.
  • Connect Barking Riverside station to Thamesmead and Abbey Wood station either by a rail or a fast ferry.
  • Keep the cable-car.

I suspect there are other viable ideas.

Develop Incentives To Use Public Transport

Incentives could be in these areas.

  • Better station and bus terminals encourage more to use trains and buses.
  • Full free onboard wi-fi and phone charging.
  • Special fares for some journeys.

An example of the latter could be a discount for certain cross-river journeys.

Make The Silvertown Tunnel Available For Zero Carbon Vehicles Only

This would surely cut pollution in London.

Conclusion

We should use the Silvertown Tunnel to improve London’s air quality.

November 23, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment