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?
Are Rail Passengers Enthusiastic About High Speed Rail?
I ask this question, as in some ways it is a continuation of a conversation I had with a fellow First Class passenger, whilst we were waiting for our Manchester train on Saturday in the Lounge at Euston.
He asked if I’d ever flown to Manchester from London. I said no and he said he wouldn’t either, as the trains were good enough. So we were two satisfied Virgin riders.
But we were both travelling on a Saturday and I bought my ticket some weeks ago on-line.
So what if I needed to go urgently to see someone tomorrow, how much would it cost?
Looking on the Virgin web site this morning, I can get a ticket to Manchester from Euston for £67.50, if I leave on the 10:00. The cheapest flight available on British Airways in the morning is £211. But there is one big difference, with Virgin the ticket is a First Class Advance, which includes an unlimited baggage allowance and free drinks and snacks. I’d also get a third off the £67.50 as I have a Senior Railcard.
The conversation was typical of many, I’ve had with savvy passengers on British trains, not always in First Class. Moans include the overcrowding and the quality of on train snacks and drinks. But with most passengers going a distance, there is generally no problems with the price. Obviously, passengers would like to get there quicker, but in the UK in recent years, I’ve never heard anybody complain about the length of the journey, on trips to and from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cornwall and Wales.
You might get the odd comment, about looking forward to a slight speed-up, but no-one has ever mentioned that they can’t wait for a High Speed train to whisk them to say Edinburgh at 200 mph.
I think that passengers choose a train that meets certain criteria. It must be convenient and comfortable, at a keen price and so long as it is fast enough no-one seems to care. I remember, once being told by a one of First Great Western’s Customer Service Agents, that one of the common question they get asked is “Is the train going to be an InterCity125?”
I must admit, that one of the reasons, I travel on Chiltern to Birmingham, is that the trains are comfortable and spacious, Mark 3 coaches, rather than the cramped Pendelinos. My only problem, is that Euston is easier for me to get to, than Marylebone.
So you pays your money and takes your choice.
Obviously, we’d all like to get there a few minutes sooner and to illustrate this, at Bolton, I had a long chat with a fellow Ipswich fan, who like me was looking forward to the implementation of the Norwich in Ninety improvements.
When HS2 is built to Birmingham, I do wonder if I’ll use it! A lot will depend on the trains, being comfortable and spacious, and I’m not going to pay a silly price to save a few minutes. I’d also be more likely to use the line, if I could just hop on the Overground at one of the Dalston stations and then change across the platforms at say Old Oak Common.
Convenience is everything! Especially, when there is a comfortable, affordable alternative! Which there will be!
If you look at the only high speed link we have, that to Paris and Brussels, through the Channel Tunnel, it obviously meets a lot of passengers’ criteria. But it did take some time to get popular, as I believe it will with HS2.
The interesting thing, will be how successful, the new electrified line to Bristol and South Wales, is in attracting passengers, after it opens hopefully in 2017. There will be new Class 800/801 trains, but I have my doubts, they will be liked as much by passengers as the forty-year-old InterCity125s.
The Great Western Main Line, like the West and East Coast Main Lines, will be a genuine 200 kph plus line, that because of signalling developments will be able to run faster than current services.
All three lines by the end of this decade will share some characteristics.
1. Fast, frequent services in modern trains at speeds up to 140 mph.
2. Services will stop at a convenient intermediate stations, like Crewe, Doncaster, Swindon, Newport and many others.
3. If the current trend continues its upward curve, on-board service will be better.
4. All classes will have free on-board wi-fi.
These services will set a very high bar for services on HS2 to achieve.
The more, I read about HS2, the more I’m convinced that it is needed more on capacity grounds than anything else. And especially, the capacity the line will release for freight! It will certainly find it difficult to offer some of the reasons we use the trains we do today.
So to answer my original question, I think the current answer is no. But in a few years time, there may be a different answer. Unless of course all of the negative publicity about HS2 convinces a government, that it is not worth the trouble.
The Proposed Ordsall Chord
The Ordsall Chord is going to allow trains to call at both Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria stations as they pass through the city. This map from Network Rail shows the layout of rail lines in Manchester and the position of the proposed Ordsall Chord.
Rail Lines Around The Ordsall Chord
There is also this image from Google Earth.
The Area Of The Ordsall Chord
The two lines that will be connected meet at the left or West of this image. The Ordsall Chord will make a triangle with the existing lines and will connect the line going to the top of the picture towards Victoria, with the one going to the bottom towards Piccadilly.
The project is not without controversy. A lot of the arguments are laid out in this article in the Manchester Evening News. This is said.
Ministers have been asked to step in over fears a new £85m bridge will sever the world’s oldest train station from the rail network. Bosses at Network Rail are consulting on plans to build the new bridge over the River Irwell in Castlefield to link Victoria and Piccadilly stations for the first time.
I’m all for looking after historic sites, but in some cases economic necessity will mean, that things have to be done that can’t please everybody.
It would appear that the chord has not been approved yet.
So does this mean that the completion of the Northern Hub is going to be delayed?
An Idea For A New Station At Shoreditch High Street
I read today in The Sunday Times, that Network Rail are looking to create some new terminal platforms for Liverpool Street.
One of the ideas was the obvious one to add some extra platforms at Liverpool Street. but I know the station well and can’t think where they would be fitted in, unless they were do away with the taxi ramp or put the platforms in tunnels underneath the current ones.
Another idea mentioned in the Sunday Times, is to build a station at Shoreditch High Street on a site owned by Network Rail, next to the current Overground station. The idea is described in the Architect’s Journal.
Terry Farrell’s contentious proposals for Bishopsgate Goodsyard could be sent back to the drawing board after plans emerged for a major new station on the east London site
A report by Network Rail outlining options for rail upgrades on the Anglian Route suggests the City fringe plot could house the first new rail terminus in the capital since the completion of Marylebone in 1899.
The currently uncosted option – part of a document prepared by Network Rail for its future railway investment period CP6 – explores the ‘creation of an additional terminus to the north of London Liverpool Street’ on Network Rail-owned land next to Shoreditch High Street station.
It strikes me that this could be a good idea. Although, it won’t be plain sailing, as there was so much aggravation, when they wanted to demolish the Braithwaite Arches to build the East London Line through the area. This article from Spitalfields Life gives some of the history of the area.
I think if a station gets built alongside or under Shoreditch High Street station, it will be nothing like any ideas, thatr might get talked about in the media now. One of the Foster/Farrell/Rogers fraternity could probably do something extraordinary here.
This map shows the site.
Shoreditch High Street Station
The orange line defines the route of the East London Line and the red line is where the Central line goes underneath. The site itself is the green area between these lines. It would appear that there is quite a bit of space to put in a decent sized station with perhaps four main line platforms, which would be linked to the East London and Central lines.
But it would be a lot of work and money for a station, that would only have limited connection to the Underground/Overground compared to Liverpool Street.
However, look at this wider map of the area.
Old Street To Shoreditch
The first thing to notice is the size of the site, when compared to Liverpool Street station, which lies to the West of Spitalfields Market.
Also note the black line going North-South, which is the Northern line, fom Moorgate to Old Street. The latter is highlighted. Somewhere in the same direction from Moorgate northwards is that relic of previous expansion plans for the Underground; the Northern City line.
I think that if a main line station is built at Shoreditch High Street, it might also connect some of the lines into Liverpool Street to the Moorgate suburban services.
Consider.
1. Railways hate terminal platforms with all their restrictions and much prefer two lines linked end-to-end as Thameslink links Brighton and Bedford via St. Pancras.
2. So could say some of the Lea Valley services be diverted from Liverpool Street to the new station and then onto the Moorgate suburban lines? Not only would it link Silicon Fen with Silicon Roundabout, but also it could be used for the Stansted Express. At the new station, there could be cross-platform interchange between the through lines and the Central line.
3. Original plans showed Crossrail 2 stopping at Essex Road station, which is on Northern City line.
I have only listed three of any number of possibilities, but a new main line station at Shoreditch High Street providing extra capacity for Liverpool Street might be feasible.
On the other hand, it might annoy a lot of the passengers, by giving them inferior onward connections. Remember that many who commute into Liverppol Street, just walk to their place of work.
Something will happen, as Liverpool Street doesn’t have enough capacity, but in my view the first thing to do would be to see how Crossrail affects traffic.
To take one example in a frivolous manner, think of all those Essex boys going to their desks in Canary Wharf, How much will all the other routes possible after Crossrail opens, take the pressure off Liverpool Street?
I think the most likely scenario will be a mixture of all current ideas and proposals together with some no-one has thought of yet.
At a minimum, the addition of two platforms in the cab rank at Liverpool Street .will happen.
I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple of platforms on the Lea Valley lines at Shoreditch High Street giving an easy and quick interchange to the East London and Central lines. If nothing else it would link the curremt Overground to the Lea Valley lines and give it a much-needed connection to the Central line.
More Trouble With AnsaldoBreda Trains
In an article eighteen months ago entitled; A Train Builder With Form, I talked about the poor performance of Denmark’s IC4 Trains.
It would seem that according to this article in Global RailNews, that the situation might be improving, although it is still not sorted.
The only relief for the UK, is that none of the trains on order are from AnsaldoBreda.
Incidentally, as the performance of the IC4 trains are pretty similar to InterCity125s, if Denmark still needs some high speed diesel units in a few years, perhaps we could lease them a few nearly fifty-year-old InterCity125s to get them through until the date, that the lines are electrified.
On the other hand, we could use them on longer cross-country trips all over the UK network.
Refurbishing A Northern Rail Class 319
There has been a bit of disquiet up North, about the new Liverpool to Manchester electrified service being run by late-1980s vintage Class 319 trains. I took a few pictures in October and they can be seen on this post.
I think it is best to charitably describe the interiors as something designed by a committee of accountants, with a love of pink!
I would use the word dreadful liberally! Now look at this page on the Northern Rail web site and in particular this image.
Inside A Northern Rail Class 319
Where’s all the pink gone? Or are Northern Rail applying a liberal use of Photoshop?
I doubt it’s the latter, but it does show how British Rail got the engineering right with the Mark 3 coach, on which the Class 319 is based.
On the page on the Northern Rail website, there’s a time-lapse video of the refurbishment, if you still think it’s all fake.
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating and I can’t wait to ride between Liverpool and Manchester on an electric train.
To be fair to the Class 319, it must be one of the ugliest trains on the UK network and I bet everybody wishes they’d got someone like Kenneth Grange to upsex the front end, as he did for the InterCity 125. But as an old Suffolk horseman said to me.
A good horse is never a bad colour.
The Class 319 is a good train, but the old colour isn’t the best.
Could The East London Line Be Extended To Ebbsfleet?
A few months ago, I speculated in a post called Can We Extend Overground Connectivity In North London, about what to do for northern termini if the number of trains through the core of the East London Line (ELL) is increased from 16 to 24 tph. This capsacity increase is one of Transport for London’s objectives for the line, which would create a second high-capacity link between North and South London, fanning out to several termini at both ends, just as Thameslink does.
There is probably not the problem of finding termini south of the river, as there is an intricate network of lines, where the extra trains could go.
But after looking looking at taking Crossrail to Dartford and Gravesham, I think that it might be better to send some of the ELL trains past New Cross, which of all the southern terminals is probably the less likely to be able to turn round many more extra trains an hour.
Trains would go to Ebbsfleet from New Cross by way of the following stations.
St. Johns
Lewisham – for DLR
Blackheath
Charlton
Woolwich Dockyard
Woolwich Arsenal – for DLR
Plumstead
Abbey Wood
Dartford
Greenhithe – for Bluewater
If it had a Reading-style bridge connection to Eurostar and Highspeed services at Ebbsfleet, this would give much needed connectivity in getting passengers to and from South and Central London and Crossrail.
The only disadvantage is that you would be swapping a fast train for a slow one.
I estimate that Ebbsfleet to Abbey Wood would take about twenty minutes. By comparison Abbey Wood to Heathrow on Crossrail will take fifty-three minutes. Going from Ebbsfleet to Heathrow via St. Pancras will probably take just under the hour, but you’ll have to negotiate A Fur Coat And No Knickers Station, that is St. Pancras.
But there are several advantages.
1. As was pointed out here, Crossrail going past Abbey Wood will need third-rail capable trains. The East London Line is third-rail like most of the lines south of the Thames and I think it is unlikely that it could ever be powered by overhead electrification, due to the size limitations of the Thames Tunnel.
2. As these trains would go through the Thames Tunnel to destinations in the North, this would effectively add more much needed terminal capacity to the terminals serving South of London.
3. There is plenty of space at Ebbsfleet to build a proper terminal platform for the East London Line.
4. Ebbsfleet could also be given the capability of accepting third-rail through trains to and from the South.
5. There is no new infrastructure, except for building the extra platforms at Ebbsfleet.
6. The large new garden city at Ebbsfleet gets much better connections to South and East London.
7. Hopefully, the improved connectivity of Ebbsfleet will improve ridership on Southeastern’s Highspeed services and possibly get more services from both the South East and Europe.
8. There could be a connection to Gatwick on the Redhill to Tonbridge line.
9. Ebbsfleet will become another transport interchange on the outskirts of London to go with Ealing Broadway, Cheshunt, Clapham Junction, East Croydon, Reading, Shenfield, Stratford, Tottenham Hale and Watford. Where will the next one be created?
In some ways a lot of this speculation is unnecessary.
If the Channel Tunnel Rail Link had been built better, so that there was a simple interchange with Crossrail and the Underground at Stratford, then passengers would have the choice of using that station instead of St. Pancras. It was also designed as the bleakest and most unwelcoming station in the UK.
I do wonder though, if Transport for London are keen to get hold of the Dartford lines, so that they can sort out the mess.
Should Crossrail Go To Dartford And Gravesham?
here has been a call this week reported in the Kent News by local council leaders for Crossrail to be extended to Dartford and Gravesham.
Given that there is a garden city planned at Ebbsfleet, on the face of it, this could seem to be a good idea. This map taken from the Garden City web site, shows the layout of the new city.
Ebbsfleet Garden City
Note Ebbsfleet International station in the top right. The map below shows the area from Google Earth.
In addition to Ebbsfleet International, three stations are shown. From west (left) to east, they are Swanscombe, Northfleet and Gravesend on the North Kent Line.
Note how there is a loop on the North Kent line to serve Ebbsfleet.
Rail Lines At Ebbsfleet
I use the Southeastern HighSpeed service to get to places like Rochester, Dover and Broadstairs, generally joining the service at Stratford or St. Pancras. It is a good, fast service with modern Class 395 trains, but often when I travel the trains are run almost for my benefit alone.
I think that a general sorting out of train services in Kent, and particularly the Highspeed service will happen. Consider the following.
1. Hastings, Bexhill and Eastbourne could be added to the Highspeed network, by electrifying the Marshlink line. These trains will go straight through Ebbsfleet on HS1.
2. There is no easy connection between HS1 and Crossrail, unless you walk between Stratford International and Regional stations. In fact HS1 doesn’t connect easily to lots of places, due to not stopping at Stratford, where the interchange, except to the DLR is dreadful anyway.
3. Rochester, Strood and North Kent generally needs all the help it can get to lift the economy.
The obvious thing to improve things would be to have cross platform interchange between the North Kent Line, Crossrail and HS1, at Ebbsfleet International. Or if that is not possible, due to the design of the current station, they could apply the rules that have been so superbly demonstrated at Reading, Leeds and Derby.
London Connections has an article, where it discusses extending Crossrail to the east in Kent. It says this.
The original proposal was for Crossrail’s south-eastern arm to terminate at Ebbsfleet. Ebbsfleet seemed an obvious choice, but more thorough analysis showed some disadvantages. Curtailing it at Abbey Wood had distinct attractions to the planning team who would naturally would take a risk-adverse attitude to the project.
From an operational point of view, it would eliminate the need for Crossrail trains to run on third rail routes and therefore simplify train construction and add robustness to the plan. It would also leave this route self-contained and not at the mercy of trains on the south-eastern sector, which was already notorious for being vulnerable to problems anywhere on the crowded network affecting the whole service. It also had the added attraction of reducing the cost of a minimal-viable Crossrail project.
So yet again, Southern Railway’s third-rail electrification throws a spanner in the works.
It certainly needs a bit of planning to sort out the problems of the past.
I suspect that engineers, architects and real railwaymen, will sit round a table in a pub somewhere and get the special engineering fag packets and strong coffee out.
They do have some formidable resources at their disposal.
1. The dual-voltage Class 395 trains, which if more were needed could probably be built in the UK.
2. Acres of space at Ebbsfleet International.
3. A new cross-platform interchange between the Kent Lines and Crossrail at Abbey Wood.
4. In a few years time, ERTMS will have arrived to enable trains to go a lot more places on the comprehensive network south of the Thames.
5. Transport for London may well have succeeded in adding the lines to South East London to the London Overground, that they were refused this year. This would have enabled Dartford, Gravesend, Rochester or even Ebbsfleet to be the terminal of an extended New Cross branch of the East London Line.
6. Transport for London has all of the traffic statistics from payment cards, so they just need to analyse rather than speculate.
I have a feeling that there may be a better solution to getting better access to Dartford and Gravesham, than the simplistic one of extending Crossrail.
Wandering On The Valley Lines
I took some of the Valley Line trains from Cardiff.
The weather was good, as you could see. I first went up to Risca and then after returning to Cardiff, I took a train up to Bargoed.
On this trip and my previous one some weeks ago, I encountered typical Welsh scenery with lots of clean and tidy stations, many of which were being upgraded with lifts and decent access.
But although the train to Risca was a decent Class 158, the other journeys were done in Pacers with more rattles than a large nursery.
The lines are crying out for electrification and a fleet of much better trains.
The Anonymous Widower 