Improving The Wood Green And Moorgate Public Transport Corridor
This morning I went for coffee with an old school friend from Minchenden Grammar School at Southgate station.
Southgate is not a bad place to meet someone.
- There are a couple of good coffee shops.
- There are plenty of buses.
- It has a couple of the better chain restaurants including a Pizza Express.
- The area also has a lot of memories for me.
It also has one of London’s most iconic Underground stations.
It may look familiar, as it regularly crops up in film and television dramas.
- One station guy told me, that the ticket barriers have been designed to be easy to remove, so filming of an historic drama is possible.
- It was used in The End Of The Affair to portray a Central London station.
- As the escalators have the same bronze fittings as Moscow, they could be used in a story set in Russia.
As the Piccadilly Line doesn’t go anywhere near my house, to get to Southgate, I take a 141 bus to and from a convenient Piccadilly Line station.
- Going North, I changed at Manor House station.
- Coming South, I changed at Turnpike Lane station.
- I could have also have changed at Wood Green station.
The journey home had four major problems.
- The bus stop at Turnpike Lane station, is a few hundred yards from the station.
- I waited fifteen minutes for a 141 bus.
- When it did arrive, it was so packed, it didn’t have space for a miniature dachshund to squeeze in between the feet of the standing passengers.
- The traffic was very heavy, so the journey was slow.
How can this bus route cope in the Peak, if it can’t cope on a Sunday morning?
Various issues and actions and will make these capacity issues worse.
The Victoria Line Has No Direct Connection With The Elizabeth Line
In my view, this was a mistake, although not that serious, as the young or energetic can probably walk between Oxford Circus and the Hanover Square entrance to Bond Street station on the Elizabeth Line.
Will this connection develop with coffee and snack shops to ease passenger interchanges?
When and if Oxford Circus station is ever made step-free, I can imagine a tunnel, perhaps with a moving walkway being built between Oxford Circus station and he Hanover Square entrance to Bond Street station.
There is also the cross-platform interchange at Highbury & Islington station with the Northern City Line that links with Moorgate and the City of London.
The Piccadilly Line Has No Direct Connection With The Elizabeth Line
To get between the Northern stations on the Piccadilly Line and the Elizabeth Line is either a double-change at Finsbury Park and Highbury & Islington stations or a ride on the 141 bus.
I wrote about these issues in Extending The Elizabeth Line – Improving The Northern City Line.
The Elizabeth Line Will Attract Travellers To Moorgate
I notice that my own travelling patterns have changed from using the Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines to using the Elizabeth Line since it opened and I suspect, when the Elizabeth Line is fully joined up, that more passengers will travel to Moorgate to access the Elizabeth Line.
Transport for London and the Mayor Are Rerouting The 21 Bus
The 21 bus duplicates the 141 bus between Newington Green and Moorgate station.
But it is being rerouted next year, which will increase the loading on the 141 bus.
The 141 Bus Used To Be The 641 Trolleybus
When I was a child, London’s trolleybus network was extensive and to get between Wood Green and Moorgate, you would have used the 641 trolleybus.
Trolleybus Ascending Jolly Butchers Hill in Wood Green
Many like me, look back on trolleybuses with affection.
Does this historical connection encourage passengers to use the 141 bus, which is the 641 trolleybus’s successor on the route?
My parents certainly had lots of trolleybus stories.
So What Could Be Done?
There are a variety of actions that could be taken to strengthen public transport between Moorgate and Wood Green stations.
Improve The 141 Bus Route
In Does London Need High Capacity Bus Routes To Extend Crossrail?, I put forward ideas for using buses to link to the Elizabeth Line.
This was my suggestion.
I suspect any route seen as an extension of Crossrail needs to have the following characteristics.
- High frequency of perhaps a bus every ten minutes.
- Interior finish on a par with the Class 345 trains.
- Wi-fi and phone charging.
I would also hope the buses were carbon-free. Given that some of these routes could be quite long, I would suspect hydrogen with its longer range could be better.
I feel that a high-quality 141 bus running every ten minutes between London Bridge station and Palmers Green, would be just what the passengers would order.
- Palmers Green bus garage is at the Northern end of the route, so could be used for refuelling or recharging.
- London Bridge station is at the Southern end of the route and was designed with an efficient bus station.
- The 141 route connects London Bridge, Bank, Moorgate and Old Street stations in the City of London.
With the right buses, this could be a route with real quality and usefulness.
Increase The Frequency On The Northern City Line
The Northern City Line may have new Class 717 trains, but it still has a pathetic frequency of eight trains per hour (tph)
- I am sure it could be increased to at least 12 tph between Moorgate and Alexandra Palace stations.
- Something like six tph would go to Welwyn Garden City, four tph to Hertford East station and two to Stevenage.
- Large areas of the Northern suburbs would get a much better connection to the Elizabeth Line.
Once the digital signalling is installed and commissioned, no new infrastructure will be needed.
I am sure, that this would be the easiest way to improve public transport in North London.
Add Step-Free Access To As Many Stations As Possible
Moorgate, Finsbury Park, Oakwood and Cockfosters are step-free with lifts.
As many stations as budgetary constraints allow, should be made step-free.
Thoughts On Step-Free Access At Manor House Station
I use Manor House station regularly, as I have a bus-stop by my house, that is perhaps fifty metres from my front door, that connects to the station.
- There is also a zebra crossing to get to the other side of the road.
- The 141 bus actually connects me to Manor House, Turnpike Lane and Wood Green stations on the Piccadilly Line.
- This is because it was a replacement for the 641 trolley-bus route that used to run between Winchmore Hill and Moorgate via. Milmay Park.
- I also use the station as a convenient station to go West on the Piccadilly Line.
- As it connects step-free at Finsbury Park station to the Victoria Line, it certainly has its uses.
Click this link to see an excellent photo of a 641 trolley-bus at Manor House station.
The pub in the photo was the Manor House, where I saw such performers as John Mayall and Eric Clapton amongst others.
I took these pictures today
The station has an unusual layout.
-
-
- Two major roads; the Seven Sisters Road (A503) and Green Lanes (A 105) cross at the station.
- The four major roads are all controlled by traffic lights, which also allow pedestrians to cross the major roads safely on the surface.
- There are a couple of staircases at each corner of the junction and these lead down to a maze of passages that connect these entrances to the escalators that lead up and down to the platforms.
- The former Manor House pub and a new Travel Lodge sit opposite each other on the junction.
- The Travel Lodge sits on the South-West corner.
- The North-West corner leads directly into Finsbury Park., which is not a bad place to go for a walk or a jog.
-
The below ground subways in the station are all level.
The staircases between subway and street level are very reminiscent of those at Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square stations.
The staircases also have some excellent period details.
But then they tend to do things as they should in my part of North London.
This picture was taken after a World Cup Third!
What will happen, if England win the Euros?
Manor House station’s design can best be summed up as two level areas connected by a series of staircases.
- Central London stations with this layout include Bank, Cockfosters, Kings Cross St. Pancras,Leicester Square, Manor House, Piccadilly Circus. Tottenham Court Road and Victoria.
- At least Cockfosters, Kings Cross St. Pancras, Tottenham Court Road and Victoria have lifts between the two levels.
- Bank station will have more lifts than Oti Mabusi in a dance routine, after the rebuild.
- Old Street was similar, but Transport for London (TfL) are rebuilding the station.
Cockfosters has level access at both the surface and the platform level and they have sneaked in a lift in a corner of the station.
Grandparents in a wheel-chair or Louis or Lilibet in a pushchair can easily be taken easily between train and the car-park.I am certain, that if there are a number of lifts at the four corners of the road junction at Manor House, then access both to the station and across the junction will be substantially eased.
That just leaves us with the problem of getting between subway and platform levels.
This map from cartometro.com shows the platform layout.
Note that as at Turnpike Lane station in this platform layout, there is also a generous space between the platforms.
The two escalators and a set of stairs face North.
Wood Green station is a bit different, as it has a turnback siding
The two escalators and a set of stairs also face South.
When I used to use the Piccadilly Line in the 1960s, it tended to be pain, if a Wood Green train turned up, when you wanted to go to Oakwood or Cockfosters.
Bounds Green station is shown in this map.
Again the tracks appear to have been curved to allow generous space.
The two escalators and a set of stairs face North.
Arnos Grove station is a station with sidings and four platforms on the surface.
The car parks are likely to be developed for housing, so there will be major changes at the station.
Southgate station is the last station, that doesn’t have step-free access.
But again there is some space between the tracks.
The two escalators and a set of stairs face North.
So did the designers of the Northern Extension of the Piccadilly Line leave space to put in more equipment or even lifts?
After all they didn’t stint themselves on the design of the stations.
Designing Step-Free Access
This is not easy and various considerations must be taken into account.
Revenue Protection
At Cockfosters station, the new lift goes between two areas that are outside the ticket barriers.
If as I have proposed at Manor House station, where there would be lifts between the surface and the subway level, both areas are outside the ticket barriers.
At Tottenham Hale station, there several lifts all of which are inside the ticket barrier.
Staff At The Barrier
Nearly all ticket barriers in London are watched by staff to sort out problems like passengers, who don’t know how to use the system.
Costs
It is unlikely, that large sums of money will be available to add step-free access to all stations on the Underground.
I also think, that step-free access at stations will be funded by developments close to stations.
A London-Wide Solution
It is for these and other reasons, that I think London needs to look in detail at all stations and see if a series of solutions can be developed for all stations.
In this section of the Piccadilly Line, there are five stations with three escalators or two escalators and a staircase.
But there are others on the other deep tube lines.
So should a standard solution be developed for all stations like this? And for all groups of similar stations.
Could An Inclined Lift Be Used At This Group Of Stations?
This picture shows the first inclined lift, I ever saw, which was on the Stockholm Metro.
Looking at the picture shows it was installed on a very long set of escalators.
At present, there is only one inclined lift on the London Underground and that one is at Greenford station.
It is a very neat and compact installation, that incorporates a double-staircase, an up escalator and an inclined lift in a confined space.
I think we’ll see similar solutions to Greenford employed in some stations on the Underground. In Is This A Simple And Affordable Solution To Providing Step-Free Access At Essex Road Station?, I outline how an inclined lift could be used at Essex Road station.
These pictures show the three escalators at Manor House station.
Note.
- The middle escalator was switched off.
- There is a spacious lobby at the bottom of the escalators.
The other four below-ground stations North of Finsbury Park; Turnpike Lane, Wood Green, Bounds Green and Southgate all have two escalators and a central staircase
These pictures show Bounds Green station.
Note that the stairs are in the middle.
It looks to me, that all five escalator systems to the North of Finsbury Park are more or less identical.
- Only Manor House has a third escalator.
- There is a large lobby at the bottom.
- All stairs are in the middle escalator slot.
- Are the stairs designed to be replaced with a third escalator?
So would it be possible to design an inclined escalator solution for all stations, that fitted all of the stations?
I think it might be very much a possibility.
- The central staircase would be replaced by a third escalator.
- One of the outside escalators would be replaced with an inclined lift.
Note
- Many of these escalators were probably installed in the early 1990s, a few years after the Kings Cross Fire.
- Escalators are replaced regularly every ten or twenty years.
So could the installation of the inclined lifts, be worked into the schedule of escalator maintenance and replacement?
I believe with good project management it could be arranged.
- At no time during the works would any station have less than two escalators.
- If there were to be an escalator failure, all of the stations are connected by frequent buses and some are even within walking distance.
The works could also be arranged to fit in with available cash-flow.
I believe that eventually all these stations will need to be provided with full step-free access.
Conclusion
I believe that a sensible program of works can be developed to make all deep-level stations North of Finsbury Park step-free on the Piccadilly Line.
- The deep-level platforms would be served by two escalators and an inclined lift.
- The works would be performed alongside the regular maintenance and replacement of the current escalators.
- There would be no substantial tunneling.
- The works could also be arranged to fit in with available cash-flow.
The technique would be applicable to other stations on the Underground network.
Turnpike Lane Station
In Is Turnpike Lane Tube Station Going Step-Free?, I tried to explain the puzzling works going on at Turnpike Lane station.
Could those works be digging a lift-shaft or something in a more engineering line, like installing more ventilation or new power cables?
There’s certainly no clues on the Internet.
This table shows step-free status and 2019 passenger numbers at the Piccadilly Line stations to the North of Kings Cross St. Pancras station.
- Cockfosters – Step-Free – 1.86 million
- Oakwood – Step-free – 2.78 million
- Southgate – 5.43 million
- Arnos Grove – 4.44 million
- Bounds Green – 5.99 million
- Wood Green – 12.13 million
- Turnpike Lane – 10.6 million
- Manor House – 8.55 million
- Finsbury Park – Step-free – 33.40 million
- Arsenal – 2.77 million
- Holloway Road – 6.69 million
- Caledonian Road – Step-free – 5.60 million
- Kings Cross St. Pancras – Step-free – 88.27 million
Note.
- The high passenger numbers at Finsbury Park and Kings Cross St. Pancras, where there is interchange with lots of other services.
- The long gap of step-free access between Oakwood and Finsbury Park.
- Arnos Grove could be an easier station to make step-free.
I just wonder, if a lift at Turnpike Lane station could be the interim solution, until inclined lifts are installed in the distant future.
Gareth Southgate Station
I just had to visit Southgate station and take a few pictures.
Although the signage will come down tonight, I do think there should be perhaps a picture display at the station.
It would appear that the signage has been funded by Visa, who are a World Cup sponsor.
Transport for London seem willing to change the roundels on stations for various events.
So will we see others in future?
Going Back To My Childhood
Well, not really! But this afternoon, I did go back to the northern reaches of the Piccadilly line. The aim was to look at the escalator layout of the stations to see how difficult they would be to upgrade to step-free access, possibly using inclined lifts, as I outlined here.
I joined the line at Manor House station, but didn’t go all the way to Cockfosters, as the last two stations, don’t have escalators. Starting from the end of the line, here’s what I found.
Cockfosters – This station could probably be made step-free by fitting conventional lifts into the structure to access the tunnel under Cockfosters Road. Once in the tunnel, the station is then step-free to the platforms.
Oakwood – Looking at the ends of the various Underground lines, the end station is more often than not step-free. But in the case of the northern end of the Piccadilly line, Oakwood was made step-free rather than Cockfosters.
Southgate – When I mused about fitting an inclined lift at this station in this post, I said it would be a challenging design problem. Southgate is one of the architectural jewels of the line and this picture shows why.
Escalators and Uplighters At Southgate Station
It is a gem of 1930s design and architecture with all that bronze, even if the yellow paint on the stairs in the middle for health and safety reasons, is out of place. The station may not have the original wooden escalators, but someone had the sense to fit modern treads in the old casing, rather than a complete modern escalator.
Escalator At Southgate Station
This station could take an inclined lift in the central space, but it would have to be done with enormous sympathy using similar materials to the original Charles Holden design.
There would be two other problems with an inclined lift.
As the station is now, it could easily be converted into an Underground station of several decades ago for making a film, as it was for The End of The Affair. I remember it was strange seeing a film, that had been shot in a place I knew so well.
The heritage lobby would have a field day trying to stop the installation. After all the station has won awards for its restoration over the last few years and it is a Grade II* Listed Building.
But all that adds to making it the sort of challenge, that a good designer would relish.
Arnos Grove – This is a surface station and could be made step-free with the addition of lifts in the same manner used on several stations on the Undergound and Overground network.
Bounds Green – Like Southgate, this station is a two escalator and one staircase station, where the staircase could be replaced with an inclined lift. But it doesn’t have the heritage problems of Southgate, as the station has modern escalators.
Wood Green – This is a three escalator station and step-free access would probably have to be installed, by digging a traditional lift shaft. I say shaft, as I suspect because the running tunnels are fairly wide apart, there is probably somewhere to slot in a shaft that served both platforms by descending into the platform level lobby or a cross tunnel, as was done at Tottenham Hale station.
Turnpike Lane – The problems here are similar to Wood Green, as it is another three escalator station, where a traditional lift would have to be sunk from the booking office to the platform levels. But another problem is that some form of lift would be needed to descend to the booking office level, which is below ground.
Manor House – This is very similar in layout to Turnpike Lane, but it would need lifts at seven exits to the surface to be fully step-free.
Finsbury Park – This is almost a low-level station with steps up to a pedestrian tunnel. Conventional lifts could probably be added without too much difficulty. There is a lot of development going on at this station and it will be interesting to see if the step-free access improves. The last time I visited access wasn’t good.
I think that the difficulty of making some of these stations completely step-free, shows how much our attitudes to those with difficulties getting about has changed since the stations were built in the 1930s. Charles Holden’s stations either had escalators or a short flight of steps, like Cockfosters or Arnos Grove. Compare the equipment at these stations with those on the Jubilee line extension, where all stations are fully step-free. But to be fair to Charles Holden, the Victoria line built thirty years after the Piccadilly line even now has only three step-free stations, Tottenham Hale, Green Park and Brixton stations. The Victoria line station, that I use the most; Highbury and Islington is a maze of tunnels and little short of a complete rebuild will improve matters.
Having looked at Southgate and Bounds Green, I think that an inclined lift could be a excellent idea at these two stations. You wouldn’t rip out the central escalator at Wood Green, Turnpike Lane and Manor House, as it was put in because the number of passengers needed it. But at least these three stations have larger platform tunnels, which must help the installation of a conventional lift.
However, putting in an inclined lift would not only make it easier for those in wheelchairs, with babies in buggies or heavy cases, but it would add to the station’s capacity. One point about an inclined lift, is parties where some need the lift and others don’t, can effectively travel up and down together at the same time, with those who can walk on the adjoining escalator. So the size of an inclined lift, may actually be smaller for the same capacity. It would probably also go up and down almost continuously.
Arnos Grove, Southgate and Oakwood
Arnos Grove, Southgate and Oakwood are three London Underground stations at the top end of the Piccadilly line.
I’ve put these in as a gallery, so that I can properly caption all the pictures
-
- The Entrance To Oakwood Station
I used to live near Oakwood and probably used the station around a thousand times, mainly to get to Southgate for school.
They have all been recently restored.
There seems to be no sign of the plaque at Oakwood saying that the station is the highest point until you meet the Urals.
The Anonymous Widower 