Crossrail 2’s Tunnels Under London
Length And Stations Of The Tunnels In Crossrail And Crossrail 2
Crossrail has been designed with 42 km of rail tunnels under London., with seven new underground stations at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street Whitechapel and Woolwich. In addition there are new above ground stations at Canary Wharf and Custom House.
Crossrail 2 in contrast has according to this article in the Guardian has 35 km or as they say 22 miles of rail tunnels. According to this route shown on the Crossrail 2 web site, it will have underground stations at Alexandra Palace, Angel, Clapham Junction, Dalston Junction, Euston/St. Pancras, Kings Road/Chelsea, Seven Sisters, Tooting Broadway, Tottenham Court Road, Turnpike Lane and Victoria.
The Crossrail 2 Central Tunnel
I created this map from the one shown on the route page.
Crossrail 2 Central Tunnel
Note that there are three portals at Tottenham Hale, New Southgate and Wimbledon.
Thoughts About The Routes
Not much has been published about the finer details of the routes but some things stand out.
1. The two Northern branches to Tottenham Hale and New Southgate would appear to split around Coppermill Junction, which is close to a sizeable area of undeveloped land, that could probably serve the same purpose for Crossrail 2, as the Limmo Peninsular access shaft did for Crossrail.
2. The New Southgate branch, would appear to roughly follow underneath the route of the old Palace Gates Line. Logic says that if you tunnel along the line of an old raulway, which for much of its route, has not been built on, you can’t interfere with many buildings.
How Deep Will The Tunnel Be?
Crossrail is deep under London. This article on the Crossrail web site says that the construction shaft at the major tunnel junction at Stepney Green, has a depth of 34.5 metres. As at Tottenham Court Road station, they threaded the tunnels through within a few centimetres of the Northern Line, which is generally one of the deeper Underground lines, I suspect that there is a vast network of tunnels that have to be avoided., which in addition to the tube lines, include the Northern City line, HS1 and at least one newly-built electricity tunnel.
So would the designers of the tunnel make it deeper than all the others? The Wikipedia article on HS1 says this about the tunnels.
The depth of the tunnels varies from 24 metres to 50 metres.
As Crossrail 2 will cross HS1 in the Dalston area, it will have to go either above or below this line. I know very little about tunneling, but I do think that a deep tunnel under London at around or dseeper than 50 metres is possible.
The main problem with deep tunnels is connecting them to the stations above, so being able to do this in an affordable and acceptable manner to passengers, may limit the depth to which the tunnels go. I use Angel station with its long escalators that rise 27 metres regularly and I would prefer that an alternative solution was found, if stations on Crossrail 2 were deeper. Perhaps large modern and very fast lifts could be used, as these make the station totally step-free.
I don’t know whether this has been done on Crossrail, but when they built the Victoria Line they arranged that stations were hump-backed, so trains would slow down as they arrived in the station and accelerate away down the hill. Wikipedia says this.
Each platform constructed specifically for the Victoria line from new is 132.6 metres (435 ft) long. The line has hump-backed stations to allow trains to store gravitational potential energy as they slow down and release it when they leave a station, providing an energy saving of 5% and making the trains run 9% faster.
This sort of technique, which now is probably a lot easier using modern tunnel boring machines that can be precisely controlled, will probably be used on Crossrail 2 to in addition to the energy savings, bring the station platforms closer to the surface, which should make construction easier and more affordable.
The Tottenham Hale Portal
This Google Earth map shows the area south of Tottenham Hale station.
The Area South Of Tottenham Hale
Note :-
1. The West Anglia Main Line running in a north-south direction, from the red arrow that marks the station, which will be connected to Crossrail 2.
2. The blue line is the route of the Victoria Line.
3. The orange line is the Gospel Oak to Barking Line (GOBlin).
This is probably an ideal place to build a tunnel portal, as if it can’t be squeezed in alongside the West Anglia Main Line, there is a lot of open land in the area, that is only occupied by water, wildlife and illegally-dumped refuse.
There are plans to add extra tracks to the West Anglia Main Line as is detailed in Wikipedia. This is said.
It seems likely that two tracks will be built alongside the line to Cheshunt as part of Crossrail 2. Intermediate stations from Tottenham Hale will transfer to Crossrail 2 releasing capacity on the main line for additional trains.
A prudent Network Rail, would probably add these extra tracks, even if Crossrail 2 wasn’t to be built for say fifty years, as it would speed up services to Cambridge and Stansted.
The New Southgate Portal
This Google Earth map shows the area south of New Southgate station, which is the destination of the branch of Crossrail 2
The Area South Of New Southgate Station
Note :-
1. The station is indicated by the arrow at the top, with the East Coast Main Line running roughly north-west to south-east.
2. The blue line is the Piccadilly Line.
I know the area well and it is one of the worst sections of the North Circular Road, being restricted by a railway bridge with two-way traffic. This enlarged view shows the crossing of the East Coast Main Line and the North Circular Road better.
The East Coast Main Line Crossing The North Circular Road
In this view you can just see the platforms of New Southgate station at the top. The East Coast Main Line runs down the image, with the North Circular Road and the stalled traffic going across. The green area at the bottom is owned by the North London Waste Authority, who intended to build an incinerator there, But that idea seems to have been abandoned. I’m sure Transport for London can find a better use for it. This picture shows the bridge taking the Railway over the North Circular Road.
The Railway Bridge At New Southgate
I can’t imagine English Heritage rushing to save it, if Network Rail decided to replace it.
When I first heard that Crossrail 2 was being planned as going to New Southgate, I visited the station and wrote this post, in which I said this.
Looking at the map, as New Southgate station is close to the North Circular Road and is generally surrounded by industrial estates, although there is some housing, there would be scope to probably create a really good transport interchange with a large bus station and perhaps even a tram line along the North Circular Road from Brent Cross to Enfield or Southgate. If nothing else, all of the work should result in the notorious bottleneck on the road being eased.
I am still enthusiastic and very much feel that a very innovative station and transport interchange could be built here, especially if combined with putting the road in a concrete tunnel with development on top, as was done at Hatfield.
The Wimbledon Portal
This Google Earth map shows the railway line between Wimbledon station almost to Earlsfield station.
Wimbledon To Earlsfield
Note :-
1. Wimbledon station is at the bottom left and the South Western Main Line to Earlsfield runs at perhaps twenty degrees to the right of the vertical, with Earlsfield just off the image.
2. Near the top of the image level with Wimbledon Park station is Wimbledon Traincare Depot.
There would appear to be several places where the tunnels could emerge alongside the line, with somewhere around the Traincare Depot a prime candidate.
Thoughts About Stations
These are just a series of random thoughts about the stations and will be added to as time progresses.
1. Seven Sisters
As I was writing this I saw how the New Southgate branch followed the old Palace Gates Line between Alexandra Palace and Seven Sisters stations.
Look at this image showing the proximity of Seven Sisters and South Tottenham stations.
Seven Sisters And South Tottenham Stations
The blue line shows the route of the Victoria Line at Seven Sisters, which is a double-ended station of a unique and unusual design.
The orange line is the GOBlin and you can also see the curve that allows trains to pass between the GOBlin and the Lea Valley Line.
If I am correct that the junction between the two northern branches is close to Coppermill Junction, then the line of the tunnels will virtually pass under South Tottenham station in a south-east to north-west direction, probably perpendicular to the Victoria Line.
I think, if the tunnels were correctly aligned then a double-ended station could be created for Crossrail 2, where the south-eastern end could be connected by escalator and/or lifts into South Tottenham station and the north-western end could be connected into Seven Sisters station. I met an engineer who’d been in one of the new Crossrail stations and she said that to accomodate the 200 metre long Class 345 trains, the stations are massive. I can’t believe that Crossrail 2 stations will be any shorter, as they will surely use similar, if not identical trains.
One point to note, is as Crossrail 2 and the Victoria Line would cross at right-angles at Seven Sisters, the Crossrail 2 tunnels could be bored to be close underneath the bottom of the Victoria Line platforms, so that this connection, wouldn’t be a massive deep excavation, which required long escalators and lifts.
Only Transport for London would know if such a connection would be worthwhile. But I have a strong feeling that if the Gospel Oak to Barking Line was connected to Crossrail 2, the connection would be very beneficial.
2. Dalston Junction
If a double-ended station might be possible at Seven Sisters, it’s certainly possible to create one in Dalston, to connect Kingsland and Junction stations. Especially, as Dalston Kingsland station is going to be rebuilt in the next few years.
3. Euston/St. Pancras
This will be a large double-ended station and hopefully while they’re building the station, they sort out the dreadful maze of tunnels under Kings Cross and St. Pancras, which were obviously designed by an architect, who liked complicated knitting.
You have to remember that Euston to St. Pancras is not a short walk and at a rough measure it is not much short of 800 metres. So if you get in at the wrong end of the train, you’ve got a long walk.
It’s when I see messes like the Underground and Thameslink connections at Euston, St. Pancras and Kings Cross, that I feel we need to do something extremely radical.
I also feel that modern large capacity high speed lifts may be a solution to getting a simple and efficient solution, in getting up and down from a deep level railway.
4. Angel
I had a few thoughts about this station in this post.
I won’t repeat myself.
5. Tottenham Court Road
If Crossrail works out as the designers hope, we might be able to say more of the same here.
Tottenham Court Road is a bit like that trick when a magician folds a pretty young lady into a box and then puts several swords through the box without drawing blood.
Except that there are four train lines instead of swords.
6. Victoria
Victoria will be a tricky station to get right.
I also think that other developments in the next few years might make any speculation here redundant.
The lines south of the Thames are not very logical and were probably designed by the grandfather of the architect, who designed the pedestrian tunnels at Kings Cross/St. Pancras.
Hopefully Thameslink will make this better with the central stations from St.Pancras to London Bridge feeding passengers into a train every three minutes. If it does what it says on the tin, then Victoria might become a less busy station. But I doubt it!
What would help is to tie more and more services into cross-London services, where this was feasible. The East London Line could take fifty percent more trains and the West London Line is seriously underutilised.
Crossrail 2 itself might even help the situation at Victoria, as passengers will use it to get to Clapham Junction for their long distance train.
And I would also support Lord Adonis’s position of more orange trains.
7. Kings Road/Chelsea
Chelsea station or whatever it’s called is controversial. All the residents actually want is more space to park their tractors.
Seriously though, how about a station running under the Kings Road with lifts every fifty metres or so.
8. Clapham Junction
Clapham Junction will hopefully be served by the Northern Line Extension, by the time they start building Crossrail 2 and this might mean that some of the more desperate reasons for adding Clapham Junction to the tube network are partly satisfied.
As Clapham Junction is an immense station, a big underground station could be built that almost accesses all of the current platforms through individual connections.
Clapham Junction Station
This would be possible, if it could be arranged that Crossrail 2 passed under Clapham Junction station at right angles to the lines through the station, in the vague direction of the overbridge towards the left of this image.
In some ways it would be like an upside down version of the new Reading station.
Could Maiden Lane Station On The North London Line Be Reopened?
According to an entry in Wikipedia, Camden Council have proposed that Maiden Lane station on the North London Line be reopened, as it is just to the north of the extensive developments at Kings Cross Central.
This Google Earth view shows the area.
Kings Cross Central
The North London Line runs across the picture and the former station was just to the left of centre in this view, to the west of where the road crosses the railway line.
Some months ago, I walked to that area from Kings Cross station. I commented that it was not a short walk, so to build a station there to serve Kings Cross and St. Pancras stations may not be very worthwhile.
But take a look at this more detailed view of the area.
Railway Lines North Of Kings Cross
Note the distinctive acoustic cover over the Channel Tunnel Rail Link at the right, with the line sweeping across to turn towards St. Pancras.
But there does seem to be quite a bit of land in the area and it could fit that well-used cliché of development potential.
I’d also be intrigued to know if the Piccadilly Line could be reached from a station on the North London Line near here, by the use of modern construction techniques.
It probably won’t happen in the next few years, but I can’t help feeling that at some time, some very comprehensive property development in this area will incorporate a new station.
Brondesbury Station
Broundesbury station is one of the twenty-six to be given upgraded access.
It’s a pretty clean and tidy station, but the staircases are not the best.
However it is certainly better than Silver Street.
Walking From Harringay Station To Harringay Green Lanes Station
This is what Transport for London call an official out-of-station interchange and you can touch-out of one station and touch-in the other without getting charged.
So after visiting Palmers Green, I got on a train, which took me to Harringay station, from where I walked down the hill to Harringay Green Lanes station.
It was an easy walk and this could be a one-way interchange for some people, as the other way you’d walk up the hill.
Harringay is a typical hole-in-the-wall station of which there are many over the UK.
When I got onto Green Lanes, I saw the enormous mural on the bridge for the first time. It is promoting the Big Plan, which is all about improving the area.
As the Gospel Oak to Barking Line is being upgraded, do we have the classic stimulus for improvement of the area? The area has had all sorts of problems, that I can remember.
Palmers Green Station To Get A Double Upgrade
After visiting Alexandra Palace station and the Yard Cafe, I took a Hertford North train through Bowes Park and on to Palmers Green station.
The station needs refurbishment and it is getting step-free access and a branch of the Yard Cafe.
The Yard Cafe At Alexandra Palace Station
My other reason to go to Alexandra Palace station was to look at the Yard Cafe inside the station.
It was certainly worth a visit and I agree with most of what has been said about the place in Trip Advisor.
Every cafe should have at least two different gluten-free dishes, as this one does; lasagne and cottage pie. I shall be going back to have some lunch.
If Modern Railways had an award for best small cafe in a station, this would be a contender.
Sixty Years On
I must have been about seven, when I went with my father to Earls Court to see the Printing Exhibition.
My father didn’t like deep tube lines, which I’d always put down to an experience during the Second World War.
So his route to Earls Court after parking his car outside his print works in Station Road, wasn’t to go the obvious one by Underground from Wood Green Tube station.
We walked up the hill to the train station that is now called Alexandra Palace station. In those days it was called Wood Green (Alexandra Park) and I still refer to it as Wood Green station, as the Underground one is Wood Green tube station.
From the station we took a local steam train, probably hauled by a Class N2 from the 1920s into Kings Cross. At Kings Cross it was onto a Metropolitan line train to Hammersmith and then it was back a couple of stops on the Piccadilly line to Barons Court for the exhibition.
A roundabout way compared to the way most would go. But it ewas an adventure for a seven-year-old, especially as you got to see lots of interesting machines at the exhibition.
I’d always though, as I said that something nasty in the war had put my father off the tube, but now I’m getting older, I find the older deep tube lines rather stuffy and usually plan my journeys to avoid them. As my father and I share several health problems like arthritis and catarrh, I now wonder if his avoidance of the deep lines, was because he didn’t like the atmosphere down there. You have to remember, that in the 1950s, smoking was allowed in the Underground, which certainly didn’t help matters.
Last night, I heard that Alexandra Palace was one of twenty-six stations that were going to get upgraded access. So I went to have a look.
What a change!
The pedestrian bridge across the lines will probably be fitted with lift towers and given a general upsprucing.
I particularly liked the architectural idea of the large window overlooking the tracks. There must be times when staff need to watch all platforms and this view sometimes must be better than sitting in the office watching screens.
In fact with its cafe and details, the station has the feel of a classy historic shopping arcade, all done with a modern feel. Whoever designed and rebuilt this station, has set a high bar for the hundreds of smaller stations all over the country.
So is it true to say that Crossrail 2 will be getting its first updated station in a few years and long before the new line is built?
Network Rail Publishes A List Of Stations To Be Given Updated Access
Network Rail has published a list of 26 stations, that it hopes to update by 2019.
I have visited some and I have added my thoughts.
Alexandra Palace – I know this station well and it has certainly improved in recent years. Lifts will probably be added to the existing footbridge.
Bexley – Lifts will probably be added to the existing subway.
Carshalton – Lifts will probably be added to the underbridge.
Crawley – I’ve been here once, but it was late after a football match and I can’t remember much.
Kilwinning – This station is also being developed.
Of the stations, fourteen are in London. I shall certainly visit them before and after they are upgraded.
Sneaking Onto The Metropolitan Line At Baker Street Station
I have used Baker Street station many times over the years, but I’d never found this way to sneak between the Metropolitan/Circle line platforms to and the Bakerloo/Jubilee line ones.
I wonder how many other quick routes there are on the London Underground
A Visit To Risca
Risca is one of those places that I remember from my childhood. But in an unusual way.
My father was a letterpress printer and one of the type founders he used were called Riscatype and based in Risca in Wales.
It was one of my jobs from about the age of seven or so, to unpack the new type and put it away in the appropriate cases.
So as I wandered up and down the Valleys I just had to stop at Risca and Pontymister station.
This was my first visit to the area.
The visit sums up the problems with some of the Valley Lines. I took a train to Risca, expecting to get the next one back to Cardiff. But due to the nature of the service of one train per hour and the single track north of the station, the two trains cross at the station. So the outcome was that I had an hour to wait for the next train. Luckily, the pub called the Mason’s Arms was welcoming and I spent forty minutes or so, drinking a glass of well-cared-for proper cider.
The Anonymous Widower 