Southall Station – 28th August 2021
Southall station is now another station, that is ready for Elizabeth!
I took these pictures this morning.
Note.
- It appears all four current platforms will be getting step-free access with lifts.
- The leg of the bridge to Platform 1 hasn’t been completed, although the lift tower is in place.
- The station signage is bi-lingual; English and Punjabi.
- A new modern station building has been added to the North of the original station building, which opened in 1839.
- A level walkway runs between the new station building and the footbridge.
This Google Map shows the station.
Note.
- This image was taken during building of the footbridge.
- The new station building and the walkway to the footbridge don’t appear to have been erected at the time of the image.
- The Southern pair of lines are the fast lines that go through Platforms 1 and 2.
- The Northern pair of lines are the slow lines that go through Platforms 3 and 4, which will be used by Crossrail.
- There is a fifth unused platform face, that shares the island and the stairs and future lift with Platform 1.
This map from cartometro.com shows the lines through the station in detail.
Note the single line coming in from the South-East is the freight-only Brentford Branch.
A Passenger Service On The Brentford Branch
It would appear that, when the builders complete the step-free footbridge at Southall station, that there will be a step-free interchange between Crossrail and any future passenger service on the Brentford Branch.
I feel that the Brentford Branch would be ideal for one of Adrian Shooter‘s Pop-Up-Metros, that would use Vivarail‘s Class 230 trains or similar.
In its simplest form a train would just shuttle between Brentford and the unnumbered fifth platform at Southall station.
Wimbledon Park Station – 27th August 2021
Wimbledon Park station has now gone step-free so I went to have a look.
Note how the lift has been squeezed in neatly alongside the staircase.
I suspect this lift layout can be copied at a lot of stations.
High Speed Two Trains Will Have A Moveable Step At Every Passenger Door
This document on the Government web site is the Train Technical Specification for High Speed Two trains.
There is a Section 7.15.2, which is entitled Moveable Step, which is labelled Mandatory.
This is said.
The Unit shall have a Moveable Step at every Exterior Door, which shall be automatically
deployed (unless inhibited) when the door is released, and fully retracted whenever the
Unit is in motion.
The rationale is also given.
A Moveable Step is considered necessary to provide an improvement in the PTI compared
with existing rolling stock and to meet HS2 goals for accessibility.
About time too!
If Stadler can do it, so can everybody else.
The picture shows a Class 755 train.
I think this step-free feature applies to all High Speed Two trains.
Level Boarding As A Policy
In his Informed Sources column in the August 2021 Edition of Modern Railways, Roger Ford says this.
GBR might, for example, set level boarding as a long-term policy.
By GBR, Roger means Great British Railways.
If vibrant Liverpool and sleepy East Anglia can do it, then surely all trains can be this way.
The pictures show the particularly bad example of a Class 395 train.
It is very surprising to me, that these trains didn’t have level boarding as many of the platforms they serve were new when the trains were introduced.
I blame the Treasury!
But this is what can be done.
The pictures show Greater Anglia’s Class 745 and Class 755 trains.
As I’m not getting any younger, I would like to see Roger’s suggestion made the standard.
Is King’s Cross Station Ready For Parcel Trains?
In Is This The Shape Of Freight To Come?, I wrote about the converting of redundant electrical multiple units into 100 mph freight and parcel trains.
A couple of days ago, I was walking through Kings Cross station and took these pictures.
Note.
- The wide platforms.
- The gates in the ticket barriers to allow vehicles through.
- The passenger entrances line up with the gates in the ticket barriers.
It does look like everything is setup to efficiently get cargo between the trains and the road network outside.
A collateral benefit, is that access to the trains for passengers is step-free.
The New Cameron Bridge Station On The Levenmouth Rail Link
The reinstated Levenmouth Rail Link, will have two stations; Leven and Cameron Bridge.
This Google Map shows the River Leven and the remains of the old railway as they run West from Leven.
Note.
The River Leven runs South-West to North-East across the map.
The track of the old rail link runs towards Leven along the North Bank of the river.
This Map from this page on the Network Rail web site, shows the location of the new Cameron Bridge station.
Note.
- The station will be to the East of the A915 road.
- Cameron Bridge station will have two platforms.station has two platforms.
- There will be 150 car parking spaces.
- There is space for a bus stop and turning area.
- There will be two waiting shelters.
- The platforms look like they could be extended if needed.
Unlike Leven station, there will be a bridge with lifts for passengers.
Related Posts
The New Leven Station On The Levenmouth Rail Link
Service Provision On The Levenmouth Rail Link
Trains On The Levenmouth Rail Link
Down Into The Depths At Moorgate Station
This visualisation shows Moorgate station and mas of tunnels that will connect Crossrail to The Northern Line, the sub-surface lines and the Northern City Line.
Note.
- The Circle, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan Lines are shown in yellow.
- The Northern City Line is shown in purple.
- The Northern Line is shown in black and the two platforms are underneath the two platforms of the Northern City Line
- Older parts of the existing station are shown in white.
- New Crossrail infrastructure is shown in green.
There is a new pedestrian tunnel that links the far ends of the Northern and Northern City Lines to the main Crossrail station.
The tunnel is in the top left of image and has a right-angle bend in the middle.
This picture shows the lift between the Northern Line platforms and the tunnel.
Note.
- It is a standard Transport for London lift lobby.
- There is signage for the Circle, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan Lines and the Elizabeth Line above the lift doors.
- The lift appears to be showing floor -8, which is the floor where the lift is currently parked.
I know Moorgate station is deep, but are there eight underground levels?
- The escalator to the Northern City Line is probably about three floors and it starts in the current original booking hall, which is one floor below street level.
- So that would make the Northern City Line at level -4.
- As the Northern Line is one level below the Northern City Line, it must be at level -5.
This picture shows the stairs that go between the Northern Line and the pedestrian tunnel to Crossrail.
It really is a long way down.
For those, who can use escalators, there is still the rat-up-the-drainpipe route I described in Up From The Depths At Moorgate Station.
Ickenham Station Has Gone Step-Free
I wrote West London Stations To Be Made Step-Free in January 2018.
One of the stations on the list; Ickenham station, is now step-free.
These pictures showed the station, when I visited the station in early 2018.
And these show it, after the addition of step-free access.
It is a practical rather than architectural lift installation incorporating new walkways connecting the two lifts and the main entrance to the station.
- Unlike many Underground stations, Ickenham station, does not appear to be Listed.
- The cladding for the installation, appears to be in a slate-grey steel.
- The stairs are still there for the agile.
As the pictures show the walkways are open to the elements, but there is enough headroom to use an umbrella.
Is Caledonian Road And Barnsbury An Ideal Four-Track Station?
This Google Map shows Caledonian Road And Barnsbury station.
Note the island platform, with two tracks on either side.
These four pictures show each pair of tracks in both directions.
And these pictures show general views of the station.
I don’t know the layout of every station, but Caledonian Road And Barnsbury seems to be unusual.
- There is a spacious island platform in the middle of the four tracks.
- On either side of the island platform, there are the two lines for local passenger trains.
- Outside of the two local passenger lines, there are two lines for freight trains.
- Access to the island platform is via a simple half-bridge with only two lifts.
- Everybody enters the station from one side.
Does this layout have advantages?
Ease Of Construction
I think that this station was designed, so that it was quick and easy to build.
Once the tracks are aligned correctly, it shouldn’t be too complicated to build.
The bridge only has to span two tracks, so that must be half the work of crossing four tracks.
Passenger Safety
I have used real time trains to check the platform of freight trains passing through Caledonian Road And Barnsbury station.
It seems that only rarely do trains use the tracks in the two platforms.
This must surely be safer, when compared with the standard arrangement.
These pictures were taken at Highbury & Islington station.
The wide platform, also allows passengers to keep well out of the way of any trains that do pass through.
Would The Layout Work With High Speed Trains?
I don’t see why not!
The space between the outside lines and the platform, almost acts like a moat in a zoo, that keeps visitors away from dangerous animals.
Costs
It was probably not an expensive station to build.
Conclusion
Why are other four-track stations not built like this?
The main reason is probably, that most four-track main lines were laid out decades or even centuries ago and their builders used their own layouts.
Crossrail’s Inclined Lifts
This page on variably, shows the inclined lifts on Crossrail, at Liverpool Street station.
Take a look, as they are impressive. To my built-in video camera with an enormous instant-access store, they look like modern versions of the first inclined lift, I ever saw, which was on the Stockholm Metro.
If I remember correctly, the Swedish one was installed on if not an Angel-sized set of escalators, certainly one of a good length.
It looks like it was at Duvbo station.
Enjoy the video.
It’s not this set of escalators at Duvbo, as it is the other way round, but it certainly is very similar.
Are they available in bronze for the Northern reaches of the Piccadilly Line, where I suggested inclined lifts for step-free access in Thoughts On Step-Free Access At Manor House Station.
One could be built in like this short one at Greenford station.
I shall replace this picture with a better one.
The Anonymous Widower 