Oxbourne House Is A Mixed-Use Retail And Residential Project Located On Europe’s Busiest Shopping Street
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the Fletcher Priest web site.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The project includes high quality apartments and a prominent retail provision, as well as step-free access to Bond Street Underground and Crossrail Station below, where a new street-level station entrance has been constructed off Marylebone Lane.
Note that Fletcher Priest are the architects.
These pictures show the state of the building on December 29th, 2019.
This Google Map shows the location along Oxford Street.
Note.
- Oxbourne House is the building along Oxford street with the ribbed structure on its Western end.
- The pedestrianised Marylebone Lane, at the Eastern end of Oxbourne House, running down towards Oxford Street.
- The recently built entrance to Bond Street station is hidden by Oxbourne House.
- The Radisson Blu Edwardian Berkshire hotel on the other side of Marylebone Lane.
This second Google Map shows the wider picture.
Note.
- Marylebone Lane and the Radisson Blu hotel are to the left of this map.
- Cavendish Square is in the North-East corner of the map.
- Debenhams, House of Fraser, John Lewis are in a line to the East of the entrance.
It looks to be a well-placed entrance.
It Gives Rear Entry To The Department Stores
Will travellers for Debenhams, House of Fraser, John Lewis and Cavendish Square use the pedestrianised Marylebone Lane and Henrietta Place route, in preference to the crowded route along Oxford Street?
Perhaps if Henrietta Place were to be pedestrianised as well and the signage was clear, many savvy duck-and-divers may be tempted!
I describe the current walking route in Walking From Cavendish Square To The Marylebone Lane Entrance Of Bond Street Station.
Access To Harley Street
The Marylebone Lane/Henrietta Place route gives good access to Harley Street and all its consultants, clinics and facilities.
If as I suspect the route were to be pedestrianised or at least had the kerbs removed,, as the Marylebone Lane entrance to Bond Street station has step-free access to all platforms, Harley Street would have better step-free access to public transport, than many hospitals.
Access To The New Cavendish Square Development
This proposed Cavendish Square Development seems to be mainly upmarket shops and medical facilities like consulting rooms and probably expensive diagnostic equipment.
The access from Bond Street station will be better than to Harley Street.
- the route will be built step-free.
- There might only be one road to cross at most.
- It will be shorter.
- As an aside, I suspect taxis will be able to drop and collect visitors from inside the development.
I wonder how many consultants will move from Harley Street to the Cavendish Square development.
Conclusion
The new Marylebone Lane entrance to Bond Street station, gives step-free access to an area to the North of Oxford Street
The new entrance also acts as the foundation for Oxbourne House, whose development probably contributed to the creation of the new step-free entrance.
Greater Anglia Submits Bid to Improve Colchester Station
The title of this post is the same as that as this article on Rail Advent.
Colchester station is a busy station, that handles four and a half million passengers in a year.
The main stations on the Great Eastern Main Line have following passenger numbers in millions.
- Shenfield – 4 – Fully step-free
- Ingatestone – 0.8
- Chelmsford – 8.5 – Fully step-free
- Hatfield Peverel – 0.4
- Witham – 2.5 – Fully step-free
- Kelvedon – 0.8
- Marks Tey – 0.6
- Colchester – 4.5 – Partially step-free
- Manningtree – 1.2 – Fully step-free
- Ipswich 3.3 – Fully step-free
- Needham Market – 0.1
- Stowmarket – 1.0 – Going step-free
- Diss – 0.7
- Norwich – 4.4 – Fully step-free
I think it is fairly obvious, that the the very busy Great Eastern Main Line has not been high in the queue for full step-free access.
As the article says, Colchester has a lift on one side of the station, there is only a wheelchair stair lift on a staircase on the other side.
Why did one of the busiest stations on the line get only half a solution?
Probably, a civil servant who lives in leafy Surrey, said “Colchester has two entrances! Their driver can come round! And it’s only East Anglia!”
There are developments, that are happening, that make updated step-free access at Colchester station absolutely essential.
- Greater Anglia are replacing the train fleet and all those new trains will attrract more passengers.
- All the new trains are step-free between train and platform.
- Greater Anglia will be increasing the frequency of trains between Colchester and Stowmarket and probably in other sections of the route as well.
- Greater Anglia are introducing a new service between Sudbury and Colchester Town. Wheelchair passengers between London and Sudbury will need to change at Colchester, as Marks Tey is not step-free.
- Greater Anglia is extending the Peterborough and Ipswich service to Colchester. This will surely increase the number of passengers wanting to cross over at Colchester.
The current system will work until three people turn up in wheelchairs at the same time.
Greater Anglia will get it in the neck, when the fault lies with the civil servants’ belief that East Anglia is a backwater that doesn’t need good facilities.
Other Stations
These stations on the Great Eastern Main Line has no step-free access or plans to install it.
- Ingatestone
- Hatfield Peverel
- Kelvedon
- Marks Tey
- Needham Market
- Diss
Note.
- Strangely, Ingatestone is probably the most important, as when the line is closed for engineering works, it is used as a bus interchange.
- Marks Tey is also important, because of interchange between Sudbury and London. Watch this one as Pritti Patel is the MP.
- Diss has had serious disabled access problems in the past.
- Needham Market could be difficult, but Stowmarket is an alternative.
All the stations between Liverpool Street and Shenfield will be fully step-free, when Crossrail is completed.
Conclusion
Personally, I feel that the whole Great Eastern Main Line should be made step-free.
Class 755 Train Details
These pictures are a collection of some of the details of Class 755 trains.
I shall add to this collection of pictures.
If you give me a credit, feel free to use them in anything you write.
Truro Station – 19th November 2019
I took these pictures as I changed trains at Truro station yesterday.
Note.
- The station has two footbridges, neither of which are step-free.
- There are two through platforms and a bay platform for the Maritime Line service to Falmouth Docks.
- The frequency of the main lines is two trains per hour (tph).
- As the frequency of the Maritime Line is rge same services should connect.
But I had to wait thirty minutes on both my changes at the station.
In some ways for people like me, the lack of a step-free bridge at Truro station is a pain.
In one of my waits, at the station, I was on a cold platform with the coffee shop on the other.
So I skipped coffee, as I didn’t want to spill it getting back over the footbridge.
This Google Map shows Truro station.
Note the level crossing at the Eastern end.
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at Truro station?
There could be possibilities at the Eastern end, especially, if the level crossing were to be improved.
Syon Lane Station – 28th October 2019
Work seems to be progressing slowing on the footbridge at Syon Lane station.
The foundations seem substantial, which perhaps indicates that the bridge won’t be a simple prefabricated one, but more one with brick towers and a heavy steel bridge.
Could this bridge be being built in the same style as the new bridge at Ewell West station, which I described in Ewell West Station Has A New Step-Free Footbridge?
Ewell West Station Has A New Step-Free Footbridge
Ewell West station has a new step-free footbridge.
As the pictures show it is a high-quality structure.
There are some pictures of the station in Before Crossrail 2 – Ewell West, which is dated as 23rd July, 2015.
I finished that post, with this statement.
It is not a station, that needs much work for Crossrail 2 except for a modern enclosed footbridge with lifts and a refurbishment.
I don’t think the station building has been refurbished yet, but the platforms and their accessories are high quality and a new posh bike facility has been built.
Is Ewell West station now ready for Crossrail 2?
Conclusion
Should the first phase of Crossrail 2 or any other rail project for that matter, be to refurbish all existing stations and track, that will be used in the project?
- Existing passengers get some benefit early and are perhaps more amenable to the disruption caused by some later phases of the new project.
- If the main project gets delayed, at least something has been delivered.
- The cash flow of the project is spread over a more manageable time-scale.
- Ridership might be increased.
If other Crossrail 2 stations or suburban stations in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield are refurbished to this standard, I’m sure that few will complain.
Expansion At Southall Station (?)
This Google Map shows Southall station.
Note
- Southall station with one side and two island platforms towards the top of the map.
- Two fast and two slow railway lines going East towards Paddington station.
- A large commercial and residential development called The West Works to the South of the map.
And this map from varto.metro.free.fr shows a map of the railway lines in the area.
Note.
- The two East-West fast lines, that are shown in black are used for Great Western Railway expresses and Heathrow Express services.
- The two East-West railway lines, that are shown in blue, will be used for Crossrail and other slow services into Paddington.
- Platforms and numbers South to North, with 1 and 2 serving the fast lines and 3 and 4 serving the slower services.
- The line going off to the South-East is the Brentford Branch Line.
These are pictures I took of a new step-free bridge that will link the platforms at Southall station.
Note.
- The bridge will definitely have access to platforms 1 and 2 and 3, and I would assume it will also serve platform 4.
- The bridge will have lifts.
- The West Works can be seen in the last picture.
Even now it looks to be a comprehensive scheme.
Access Between Southall Station And The West Works
Thjs picture was taken from the islans platform 2 and 3 in July 2015 and clearly shows a rusty footbridge, that has since been demolished.
I would assume the bridge used to provide access across the railway.
Has the new bridge been designed so that, it can be extended at both ends to give full step-free access across the railway and provide a step-free route between The West Works and Southall station?
Serving A Future Brentford Branch
Hounslow Council is keen to reopen the Brentford Branch Line, to link Btrntfprd to Southall station for Crossrail.
I wrote about it in Plans To Reopen The Brentford To Southall Railway.
This recent Google Map shows the Southernmost of the two island plsatforms at Southall station.
The island platform seems to have a few blue safety hoardings.
- The Down Fast line from Paddington is on the North side.
- It is likely, that the platform for the Brentford Branch Line will be on the South side.
For safety reasons, there will probably be a safety fence down the middle of the platform.
Passengers needing to change between Crossrail and the Brentford Branch Line will have to use the bridge.
I would assume that the step-free bridge will only need minor improvements to accommodate the Brentford Branch Line.
Southall’s Suicide Problem
I suspect that safety fences will be put on platforms 1 and 2, which will be only used occasionally and under strict supervision, to minimise the suicide problem at the station.
Southall Gasworks Site
Whilst at Southall, I’ll take a look at the massive Southall Gas Works site.
It is shown on this Google Wap to the West of Southall station.
It is likely to be over three thousand houses and flats.
- So that will surely mean a similar number of cars.
- Can the roads in the area cope?
- What about the air quality?
Are there any plans for an innovative rail connection to the station? And cycleways through the site?
Conclusion
It does seem that the bridge will allow limited expansion of the station.
I feel very strongly, that the type of housing developments being built around Southall station, must be built with step-free access to a rail station or tram stop.
Progress At Syon Lane Station – 18th September 2019
The builders are now digging on both platforms at Syon Lane station.
The posters at the station give the impression that brick towers might be built.
But it looks to my untrained eye, that the foundations being dug don’t appear to be deep enough.
Waiting at the station for my train, I wondered, if they are going to put a set of stairs and a life on both platforms to give step-free access to the existing road bridge.
- The towers would be shorter and height costs money.
- There would be no need to build and lift in an additional bridge, as pedestrians would use the existing pavement.
- It might be possible to do all the work without closing the railway.
- This would meet all the step-free regulations.
There certainly seems to be no work going on further down the platform, where it appeared some trees were cleared.
It’ll all come clear in a few weeks and I suspect it will meet the generally high standards of Network Rail.
Progress At Syon Lane Station – 8th September 2019
It looks like the builders have started to dig the foundations for the step-free footbridge at Syon Lane station.
I wonder, if the digging further down the platform indicates that there has been a change of design.
Acton Main Line Station – 2nd September 2019
These pictures show Acton Main Line station.
These improvements are promised in Wikipedia.
- New station building with a larger ticket hall with level access from Horn Lane
- Step-free access between street level and all platforms via a new footbridge with stairs and two lifts
- Platforms 2–4 extended to enable 10-car trains to stop
- Improved passenger facilities including a new canopy on platform 4, along with information and security systems.
There is still work to do.
The Anonymous Widower 