The Anonymous Widower

GC Applies For Manchester Paths

The title of this post, is the same as that of a short news item in the August 2026 Edition of Modern Railways.

This is the body of the news item.

Open Access Operator Grand Central has applied to operate five trains per day between St. Pancras International and Manchester Piccadilly from December 2029. These would operate via the Midland Main Line using GC’s five-car Class 180 DMU fleet currently employed on its East Coast Main Line operations. These are due to be replaced by a fleet of tri-mode Class 820s being constructed by Hitachi Rail, which were ordered last year and are being financed by Angel Trains.

Meanwhile, GC is also bidding to operate trains between London Waterloo and Bristol Temple Meads, running via the South West Main Line and Salisbury. The operator says that under these proposals, trains would begin operating from December 2027 with seven trains per day running using stock currently off lease.

These are my thoughts on the St. Pancras International and Manchester Piccadilly service.

The Route Between The Midland Main Line And Manchester Piccadilly

This OpenRailwayMap shows Dore Junction, where the Midland Main Line meets the Hope Valley Line between Chesterfield and Sheffield stations.

Note.

  1. Dore Junction is a triangular junction in the middle of the map.
  2. Dore and Totley station is on the North point of the junction, which leads to Sheffield station.
  3. Dore & Totley Station – 1st April 2025 shows the station before and after its rebuilding.
  4. The South-East point of the junction leads to Chesterfield station.
  5. The South-West point of the junction leads to the Hope Valley Line and eventually to Manchester Piccadilly station.

There are three routes that trains can take between the Midland Main Line at Chesterfield station and the Hope Valley Line.

  • They can take the Dore South Curve shown in the map.
  • They can go directly into Sheffield station and reverse.
  • They can go via Barrow Hill and enter Sheffield station from the East.

Note.

  1. The first route doesn’t call at Sheffield.
  2. The second route is taken by trains between Liverpool and Norwich.
  3. I wrote about the third route in Reinstatement Of The Barrow Hill Line Between Sheffield And Chesterfield.

The reinstatement of the Barrow Hill Line may ease operations in Sheffield and allow a new station or two.

The Current Hope Valley Service Between Manchester Piccadilly And Sheffield

There are two passenger services between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield stations.

  • A Northern Trains local train that stops everywhere.
  • An East Midlands Railway faster train, that only stops at Stockport.

Both trains are hourly.

The Northern End Of Grand Central’s St. Pancras International And Manchester Piccadilly Service

I would feel that the ideal route for Grand Central’s new service would call at Chesterfield, Sheffield, Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly.

Hopefully, it could use the Barrow Hill Line to avoid a reverse at Sheffield.

Where Would Grand Central’s St. Pancras International And Manchester Piccadilly Service Call On The Midland Main Line?

East Midlands Railway services to Sheffield call at Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton, Derby and Chesterfield.

I would expect Grand Central’s service would only call at a selection of those stations.

Would St. Pancras International Be Able To Handle The Extra Trains?

East Midlands Railway run the following services from St. Pancras International.

  • Nottingham
  • Sheffield
  • Corby

Note.

  1. All services are two trains per hour (tph)
  2. Nottingham and Sheffield services can be five- or ten-car trains.
  3. Corby services can be four- or eight-car trains.
  4. There are only four East Midlands Railway platforms at St. Pancras International, but they are 260 metres long.
  5. 260 metre platforms will take a pair of five-car Class 800/801/802 Hitachi trains, which have the standard Hitachi car length of 26 metres. The architects got that right,
  6. Each platform can take one ten-car train or two five-car trains.
  7. East Midlands Railway’s Class 810 trains are 120 metres long.
  8. East Midlands Railway’s Class 360 trains are 80 metres long.
  9. Grand Central Trains’s Class 180 trains are 116.52 metres long.
  10. The train length of Grand Central Trains’s Class 820 trains has not been disclosed, but if they had the standard Hitachi car length of 26 metres, they’d be 130 metres long.

I am fairly certain, that St. Pancras International can handle two Hitachi trains in the same platform.

This leads me to believe that Grand Central Trains Class 180 and Class 820 trains could also share a platform with an East Midlands Railway Class 810 train.

The Route And Electrification Between Manchester Piccadilly And Hazel Grove

This OpenRailwayMap shows the Manchester Piccadilly end of the route.

Note.

  1. Tracks shown in black are not electrified.
  2. Tracks shown in red are electrified  with 25 KVAC overhead.
  3. Tracks shown in mauve are the Manchester Metrolink.
  4. Manchester Piccadilly station is indicated by the blue arrow.
  5. Hazel Grove station is in the South-East corner of the map.
  6. Between Manchester Piccadilly and Hazel Grove stations is fully-electrified.
  7. The red knot of electrified tracks close to Manchester Piccadilly station is Longsight depot.
  8. The Southern red knot of electrified tracks is Stockport station.
  9. Manchester Piccadilly and Hazel Grove stations are 8.7 miles apart and local trains take about 15 minutes.

The Route And Electrification Between Hazel Grove And Sheffield

This OpenRailwayMap shows the route between Hazel Grove and Sheffield.

Note.

  1. Tracks shown in black are not electrified.
  2. Tracks shown in red are electrified  with 25 KVAC overhead.
  3. Tracks shown in mauve are the Manchester Metrolink and Sheffield Supertram.
  4. Stockport and Hazel Grove can be picked out on the electrified tracks in the North-East corner of the map
  5. Dore and Totley station is indicated by the blue arrow.
  6. Sheffield station is to the North-East of Dore and Totley station.
  7. The mauve tracks are the Sheffield Supertram.
  8. Leading West from Dore and Totley station is the Hope Valley Line which connects Sheffield and Hazel Grove stations.
  9. Dore and Totley and Hazel Grove stations are 29.7 miles apart.
  10. Leading South-East from Dore and Totley station is the Midland Main Line to Chesterfield, Derby and the South.
  11. The electrification from St. Pancras International finishes just North of Market Harborough station.

Dore and Totley and Market Harborough stations are 67.1 miles apart.

Will Tri-Mode Trains We Able To Go Between St. Pancras International And Manchester Piccadilly Stations

It would appear that the gap in the electrification between Market Harborough and Hazel Grove is a few miles under a hundred miles.

Both Hitachi Rail and CAF have said that their five-car trains should be able to handle up to 122 miles.

So there should be enough range to go via Barrow Hill, which would remove the reversal at Sheffield station.

 

These are my thoughts on the London Waterloo and Bristol Temple Meads service.

The Route Between Bristol Temple Meads And Salisbury

Currently, there are two Great Western Railway services between Bristol Temple Meads and Salisbury.

  • One  calls at Bath Spa, Bradford-on-Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury, Dilton Marsh and Warminster.
  • One calls at Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Bath Spa, Freshford, Avoncliff, Bradford-on-Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury and Warminster.

Note.

  1. Both services call at Bath Spa, Bradford-on-Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury and Warminster.
  2. Only Bath Spa and Westbury have a frequent service to London.
  3. There are five other stations, that are called at occasionally by Bristol Temple Meads and Salisbury services.

I do feel that Grand Central Trains have a lot of scope to create a very passenger-friendly timetable.

August 25, 2026 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tales Of Woe And Opportunity On The West Of England

The title of this post, is the same as that of the Railtalk editorial in the September 2027 Edition of Modern Railways.

These is the opening four paragraphs.

The West of England Line from London Waterloo to Exeter was once an important main line, the London & South Western Railway’s great rival to Brunel’s ‘billiard’ table, but its role is much diminished since the glory days.

Largely singled west of Salisbury in the 1960s, and with many of its coastal branches closed, a casual onlooker might conclude it has rather lost its purpose.

Yet recent journeys on the route suggest otherwise. Travelling from Waterloo on the way West one late afternoon was instructive.

On a baking hot day in London, the six-car South Western Railway Class 159 departed on time, full and standing. More passengers joined at Clapham Junction, and Woking.

The two problems of the line are mentioned in the text from the article.

  • The singling of the West of England Line, to the West of Salisbury was typical of many short-sighted acts of vandalism inflicted by the Treasury on British Rail.
  • The Class 159 diesel trains date from the early 1990s and probably need replacing.

 

This OpenRailwayMap shows middle part of the route between Basingstoke and Salisbury.

Note.

  1. Tracks shown in black are not electrified.
  2. Tracks shown in red are electrified  with 25 KVAC overhead,
  3. Tracks shown in dashed red and black are proposed to be electrified.
  4. Tracks shown in mauve are electrified with 750 VDC third rail.
  5. Reading station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  6. The Reading and Basingstoke Line runs South from Reading station and is shown dashed.
  7. Basingstoke station is on the third-rail electrified South West Main Line between London Waterloo and Southampton.
  8. Salisbury station is indicated by the blue arrow.
  9. Linking Basingstoke and Salisbury is the unelectrified West of England Main Line between London Waterloo and Exeter.
  10. The branch line going North from the West of England Main Line to the East of Salisbury is used by the Army to move tanks.
  11. Ludgershall Town Council want passenger trains on the branch line to support housing at Tidworth with trains to Andover on the West of England Main Line.
  12. I wrote about this branch line in A Branch Line For Ludgershall
  13. Across the top of the map is the Reading and Taunton Line, which is electrified as far as Newbury.

I will now look at replacing the Class 159 trains.

Consider.

  • Between Exeter St. David’s and Basingstoke stations is not electrified and is 124.3 miles.
  • I believe that both Hitachi and CAF have the capability to produce a zero-carbon train with a range of 125 miles.
  • The Office of Rail and Road will not allow any more third-rail electrification.
  • Trains could have a generous turnround time at Exeter St. David’s which could allow trains to be charged, before returning to London.
  • Basingstoke and Salisbury is only 35.8 miles, so a train terminating at Salisbury from London, should be able to return to London.
  • Trains could be charged using short length of overhead electrification.
  • Five-car trains, which could run in pairs might be ideal.
  • I believe several manufacturers could make trains capable of running the route.

I also believe that once the charging strategy is known and any infrastructure has been installed, the new trains can be introduced into service to run alongside the Class 159 trains.

This would hopefully avoid, the current problems of the Class 820 trains on the Midland Main Line.

August 24, 2026 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Quick Visit To Okehampton Interchange Station – 4th August 2026

Today, I went to the new Okehampton Interchange station and took these pictures, between Exeter St. Davids and the new station.

Note.

  1. Exeter St. Davids station has some interesting artwork and some less than ideal stairs.
  2. Have you ever seen accident hotspot signs in a station before? I haven’t!
  3. Crediton station is shared with trains to Barnstaple.
  4. The bridge at Okehampton Interchange is an unusual cost-saving design, that only uses one lift.
  5. The car park is generous with 200 spaces.
  6. All-day parking is available for £2.
  7. There is storage for cycles.
  8. There is a defibrillator on the platform.
  9. The platform is 100 metres long.
  10. I suspect that with selective door opening a five-car Class 800 or 802 train could use the station.
  11. The Class 158 train was in excellent condition and was rattling along at a good speed without too much fuss.

I caught the same Class 158 train back to Exeter St. David’s on its return from Okehampton station.

I have some further thoughts.

Buses From Okehampton Interchange Station

Google AI gave me this information.

Bus services connecting directly to the newly opened Okehampton Interchange station include local and regional routes linking to Tavistock, Bude, Exeter, and Launceston.

Active Bus Routes

Service 6: Runs between Bude, Holsworthy, and Okehampton (Stagecoach South West).

Service 66: Connects Okehampton, Cheriton Bishop, and Exeter (Dartline / Stagecoach).

Service 118: Links Tavistock, Brentor, and Bridestowe to the new Interchange station instead of the older town station (Stagecoach).

Service 306: Connects Launceston and Okehampton via Lifton and Lewdown (Go Cornwall Bus).

Okehampton Interchange station appears not to be for just trains only.

The Location Of Okehampton Interchange Station

This Google Map shows the location of Okehampton Interchange station.

Note.

  1. This map was created before the station opened.
  2. Okehampton Interchange station is towards the North-West corner of the map and is indicated by three red dots and
  3. The distinctive roundabout by the station, that is shown in the pictures, can clearly be seen.
  4. The station is to the East of the town.
  5. Running across the bottom half of the map is the Okehampton by-pass.
  6. The B 3260 appears to connect the town and Okehampton Interchange station to the Okehampton by-pass in the South-East corner of the map, at a comprehensive interchange.

This opening paragraph from the Wikipedia entry for the route, gives a brief description of the road.

The A30 is a major road in England, running 284 miles (457 km) WSW from London to Land’s End.

These towns and cities are served.

  • Heathrow Airport
  • Staines-upon-Thames
  • Basingstoke
  • Salisbury
  • Shaftesbury
  • Yeovil
  • Honiton
  • Exeter
  • Okehampton
  • Launceston
  • Bodmin
  • Newquay
  • Truro
  • Redruth
  • Penzance

Note.

  1. A good proportion of the route is dual-carriageway.
  2. It is dual-carriageway between Exeter and Cambourne.
  3. I suspect some people in North Cornwall may find it more convenient to drive to Okehampton Interchange station for access to trains.
  4. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the new generation of mouse-quiet hydrogen coaches connecting Okehampton Interchange station and the far South-West.

I believe that the usage of the station will exceed the predictions, by a large margin.

Could Okehampton Interchange Station Have Trains To And From London?

This OpenRailwayMap show how the various lines connect at Exeter St. David’s station.

Note.

  1. Exeter St. David’s station is indicated by the blue arrow.
  2. The yellow track going North-West leads to the Tarka Line for Barnstaple station and the Dartmoor Line to the Okehampton stations.
  3. The orange track going North-East is the Great Western Main Line to Taunton, Swindon, Reading and London Paddington.
  4. The orange track going East is the West of England Main Line to Salisbury, Basingstoke and London Waterloo.
  5. The yellow track going South-East is the Avocet Line to Exmouth station.
  6. The orange track going South is the South Devon Main Line to Dawlish, Newton Abbot, Plymouth and ultimately to Penzance.

To access the Dartmoor Line and Okehampton Parkway station.

  • Trains from the Great Western Main Line would need to reverse in Exeter St. David’s station.
  • Trains from the West of England Main Line would go straight through Exeter St. David’s station.

Note.

  1. Currently, some trains go between the Tarka Line and Exmouth, by going straight through Exeter St. David’s station.
  2. I said earlier in this post, that trains serving Okehampton Parkway station would need to be short or use selective door opening.
  3. South Western Railway have an hourly service between Exeter St. David’s and London Waterloo, that starts from Exeter St. David’s station and could be occasionally extended to Okehampton Parkway station.
  4. Great Western Railway have a two-hourly service between Exeter St. David’s and London Waterloo, that starts from Exeter St. David’s station and could be occasionally extended to Okehampton Parkway station.

I believe it would be possible to run occasional services between London and Okehampton Parkway station.

 

August 5, 2026 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Riding The Bakerloop BL1 – 28th September 2025

The Bakerloop BL1 is a new express bus route in London, that runs between Waterloo station and Lewisham Town Centre.

This article on the BBC, which is entitled New Bus Route Launches With Free Fares In Week One, announced the route.

This is the sub heading.

A new bus route that links parts of south-east London has launched with free fares for its first week of operation

These two paragraphs describe the service in more detail.

The Bakerloop will run between Waterloo station and Lewisham every 12 minutes during the day from Monday to Saturday and every 15 minutes in the evenings and on Sundays.

Electric double-decker BL1 services will operate between 05:00 BST and 00:30 along the proposed Bakerloo Tube line extension route, stopping at Elephant and Castle, New Cross Gate and Lewisham stations.

I took these pictures as I rode from Waterloo station to Lewisham Town Centre.

Note.

  1. The route starts at Stop D in Waterloo Road on the East side of Waterloo station.
  2. If you leave the station by Exit 2 and then cross Waterloo Road on the light-controlled crossing, then Stop D is less than thirty metres to your right.
  3. Pictures 15-24 were taken as the bus went over Bricklayers Arms flyover.
  4. Picture 23 is a close up of one of the trees along the route. Is it a London Plane.
  5. Despite the Summer, most trees seem to be in a reasonable condition.
  6. Crossing the roads and the information could be better in Lewisham Town Centre.

I have some further thoughts.

Trains And Bakerloop BL1 Compared

Consider.

  • The bus takes a few minutes over half-an-hour.
  • The train takes 19 minutes.
  • The train runs twice an hour.
  • The bus runs at least four times per hour.

The bus is probably the more affordable option, but the train is faster.

Is The Bakerloop BL1 Fast Enough?

Consider.

  • The bus certainly takes almost twice as long as the trains.
  • But then it is more frequent.
  • The route doesn’t seem particularly hilly.
  • The Alexander-Dennis bus didn’t seem slow.
  • The bus would probably attract more passengers, if it was faster.

It will be interesting to see how this route develops.

Would Hydrogen Buses Help?

Two of the hydrogen buses, I have ridden have been on longer routes and they have used their undoubted extra power to accelerate and climb hills faster.

Their longer range probably allows them to work for much of a day, without refuelling.

So I wouldn’t rule out hydrogen buses on this route, at some point in the future, because of the route’s length.

Is Bakerloop The Right Name?

I don’t think so, as a certain class of tourist, will assume the bus goes to Baker Street and the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

Perhaps, it should have been called something descriptive like the Waterloo-Lewisham Express.

Is Bakerloop BL1 Being Used As A Pathfinder For The Bakerloo Line Extension To Lewisham?

I’ve read somewhere that it is.

It wouldn’t be a new idea and a properly structured trial could give valuable information about how many people would use the new rail route.

Surely, a similar approach could be taken to provide projections for passenger usage on the West London Orbital Railway.

Could Other Routes Use A Similar Philosophy?

In Riding Birmingham’s New Hydrogen-Powered Buses, I rode a route across Birmingham, that was run to a similar philosophy to the Bakerloop BL1 route, except thast it used hydrogen buses.

So I’m pretty sure the answer is in the affirmative.

Will Three-Axle Double-Deck Buses Be Useful For Routes Like BakerLoop BL1?

I asked Google AI, if three axle electric and hydrogen double-deck buses were being developed and received this reply.

Yes, Wrightbus and Wisdom Motor have developed and are producing three-axle zero-emission double-decker buses, including both battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell models. Wrightbus recently unveiled its 6×2 Streetdeck prototype, and Wisdom Motor partnered with Citybus to develop a three-axle hydrogen double-decker (DD12) for Hong Kong’s bus fleet.

I believe that a three-axle bus may have a greater payload, so for routes like Bakerloop BL1, they may be very useful, if only to carry bigger batteries.

September 28, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

‘Bakerloop’ Bus Route launches In Autumn, TfL Says

The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

A new bus route named the Bakerloop is set to launch in autumn to connect stations and areas in south-east London.

This graphic clipped from the BBC article shows the route.

I don’t deny that South London doesn’t need more buses, but I am getting rather fed up with SadIQ showing he is a South Londoner by putting on more and more buses for his friends.

My regular bus to Moorgate is the 141 bus, which must be the worst bus route in London on an overall basis.

June 10, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Show Me The Way To Motspur Park

A few days ago, I saw on a web site, that Motspur Park station had been made step-free.

I tried to go yesterday, but I made a big mistake – I started from Moorgate station and intended to use the Waterloo and City Line to get to Waterloo station, from where I could get a direct train.

But after taking forever to walk between the Northern and Waterloo and City Line at Bank station, I arrived at Waterloo station, too late to get to Motspur Park station before dark.

Today, I looked up Transport for London’s Journey Planner and it told me to do the following.

  • Walk to Newington Green Road, which is rather a long walk for my 77-year-old legs.
  • Get a 341 bus to Manor House Station.
  • Get a Piccadilly Line train to Finsbury Park station.
  • Get a Victoria Line train to Vauxall station. This is a cross-platform interchange.
  • Walk to Vauxall National Rail station.
  • Get a South Western Railway train to Motspur Park station.

Note.

  1. Normally, I would use a variation of this route and take a 141 bus from the corner of my road to Manor House station.
  2. But due to road works, the 141 is not stopping near my house, so I have no easy way to get to Manor House station.
  3. But in some ways to start a journey to the South-West, by going North to Manor House station is a bit silly.
  4. This detour is caused because neither the Victoria or Piccadilly Lines have an exchange station with the Lizzie Line.

If the 141 bus were running, I’d take that to Moorgate, then take Lizzie to Bond Street and the Jubilee Line to Waterloo for a train to Motspur Park.

I would have taken this route yesterday from Moorgate, but I was advised otherwise by a station guy at Moorgate.

In the end today, I took a bus to King’s Cross and got the Victoria Line from there.

I took these pictures of the elderly Class 455 train en route.

Although at forty, it was still in good condition.

I took these pictures of the new bridge at Motspur Park station.

Note.

  1. The two-button lift controls. Would they be faster if single-button?
  2. I am surprised that solar roofs weren’t fitted as at Denmark Hill station.
  3. The station must be the only station in London with an island platform and three lifts. See Picture 6.
  4. PPicture 6 also clearly shows a ticket machine on the platform, which serves both entrances.

It certainly looks to be a comprehensive job well done.

February 6, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 2 Comments

‘No Constraints’ On Clapham Junction Tube Extension

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

There are no physical restrictions to extending the Northern line to Clapham Junction, an investigation has found.

These are the first three introductory paragraphs.

In a new report, Wandsworth council said there were “no engineering or geological constraints” that would prevent an extension.

The council is now carrying out a public consultation to see whether there is strong local support for the extension.

Clapham Junction, one of London’s busiest stations, is home to the Overground and National Rail services.

The Current State According To Wikipedia

This Wikipedia  section, says this about the current state of the extension to Clapham Junction station.

Provision has been made for a future extension of the Northern line to Clapham Junction station, with a reserved course underneath Battersea Park. During the public inquiry into the extension in 2014, the inspector noted that although an extension to Clapham Junction would be desirable, it was unnecessary to meet the needs of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea regeneration area. Additionally, it was noted that an extension to Clapham Junction could overwhelm the extension, due to the high demand.

As part of consultations into Crossrail 2 in 2014, the developer of the Battersea Power Station site suggested that Battersea could be the location of a station instead of at King’s Road Chelsea. This would provide a link between the area and Clapham Junction station. Despite the proposal for the future Crossrail 2 project to serve the station, local residents and politicians have continued to request a future extension of the Northern line to Clapham Junction. In March 2023, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan stated that the “case for an extension is not readily apparent, given Clapham Junction’s existing high levels of connectivity”.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the railways that lie between Battersea Power Station and Clapham Junction stations going via Battersea Park.

Note.

  1. Battersea Power Station station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. Clapham Junction station is in the South-West corner of the map.
  3. The rounded D-shape by the river is the Children’s Zoo in Battersea Park.

Going via Battersea Park is a rather roundabout and long route.

High Speed One and High Speed Two tunnels have and are being bored under existing railways.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the railways that lie between Battersea Power Station and Clapham Junction stations.

Note.

  1. Battersea Power Station station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. Clapham Junction station is in the South-West corner of the map.
  3. The main line between Waterloo and Clapham Junction stations runs diagonally across the map.
  4. Branching North from this line is the line between Victoria and Clapham Junction stations.

Could an Underground sized railway be bored between Battersea Power Station and Clapham Junction stations?

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the railways around Battersea Power Station station.

Note.

  1. Battersea Power Station station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. The orange line going North-South is the line between Victoria and Clapham Junction stations.

I suspect if they used the Irish Tunnelling Method or hand digging, as was used recently at Bank, twin tunnels could be dug from Battersea Power Station station to deep under the Waterloo and Clapham Junction line.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the railways around Clapham Junction station.

Note.

  1. Clapham Junction station is in the South-West corner of the map.
  2. Two deep underground platforms for the Northern Line would be built to the North-East of Clapham Junction station.
  3. Escalators and lifts would transfer passengers to and from the existing platforms.
  4. I suspect the Victorian infrastructure is fairly simple and elegant escalators can be threaded through, as they have been at London Bridge station.

I believe that a modern spectacular interchange can be built at Clapham Junction station to connect the National Rail lines with the Northern Line extension at Battersea Power Station station.

November 23, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Thoughts On Extending The Northern Line To Clapham Junction

As I wrote in Northern Line Could Be Extended To Clapham Junction In Regeneration Plans, the extension of the newly-built extension to Battersea Power Station station could be further extended to Clapham Junction station.

Railways Between Battersea And Clapham

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks that run between the two stations.

Note.

  1. Battersea Power Station station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. The orange and yellow lines going North from that corner go to Victoria station.
  3. The orange and yellow lines going North-East from that corner go to Waterloo station.
  4. The yellow line going West is the West London Line to Shepherds Bush and Willesden Junction stations.
  5. Clapham Junction station is in the South-West corner of the map.

I estimate that the distance between Battersea Power Station and Clapham Junction stations is about three kilometres.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows an enlargement of the tracks around Battersea.

Note.

  1. The tracks going North over the River to Victoria station.
  2. The tracks going East to Waterloo station.
  3. The tracks going South West to Clapham Junction station.
  4. The tracks from Victoria pass over and then join the tracks from Waterloo to continue to Clapham Junction station.

Battersea Power Station station can be seen to the North-East of the junction.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows an enlargement of the tracks around Battersea Power Station station.

Note how the tracks go through Battersea Power Station station and terminate just before the lines into Victoria station.

It should also be noted that the platforms at Battersea Power Station station are reached using two sets of escalators, so they could be over forty metres below the surface. This would surely make the construction of tower blocks with deep foundations easier over the Northern Line.

But the depth would also enable an extended Northern Line to be below any existing or future construction.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the approaches to Clapham Junction station.

There are certainly a lot of tracks through Clapham Junction station.

Reasons For The Extension Of The Northern Line To Clapham Junction

These reasons come to mind.

To Enable Development In The Area

This is always a good reason.

In Network Rail To Outline Business Case For Clapham Junction Redevelopment, I said this.

The Rail Technology Magazine article talks of decking over the whole station and putting two million square feet of development on top. But it also cautions, it would be very expensive.

With that amount of development, there would be a need for as many transport links as possible.

To Improve Access To The Elizabeth Line For Passengers On Trains To And From Victoria

Victoria station does not have an Underground Line, that connects to easily the Elizabeth Line.

The best route to use is described in The Lizzie Line And Circle/District Line Interchange At Paddington – 1st July 2022, where you use the Circle to Paddington.

  • To go to the West on the Elizabeth Line, take the Circle/District Line to Paddington.
  • To go to the East on the Elizabeth Line, take the District Line to Whitechapel.
  • To go to Liverpool Street take the Circle Line all the way.

Getting to the stations between Paddington and Liverpool Street means a change at either of those stations.

At Waterloo, you can use the Northern Line, which has a direct connection to Tottenham Court Road on the Elizabeth Line.

Connecting to the Northern Line at Clapham Junction will give Victoria-bound passengers, the advantages of those going to Waterloo.

An Alternative Way Of Connecting Victoria To The Elizabeth Line

The lack of an easy connection between the Victoria and the Elizabeth Line is a pain and I believe that it was a major omission in the design of the Elizabeth Line.

  • Dear Old Vicky has a frequency of upwards of thirty trains per hour (tph)
  • With some improvements at stations like Oxford Circus, Highbury & Islington and Walthamstow Central, the line could handle some more passengers.
  • More step-free access would also help increase capacity.
  • Engineers are a competitive bunch and I could see the day, when Vicky is running at 40 tph.

If Vicky was running at forty full tph, it would be moving 45120 passengers per hour.

This would mean that to match the passenger capacity of the older line, the Elizabeth Line would have to be running at a frequency of thirty tph.

As passengers at the ends of the line have difficulty getting to places like Paddington and Heathrow, a connection between the two Queens would really help.

Vicky was universe-class in the 1960s and now she needs updating to the 21st Century.

This map from cartometro shows the Lines through Bond Street and Oxford Circus stations.

Note.

  1. The Bakerloo Line is shown in brown.
  2. The Central Line is shown in red.
  3. The Elizabeth Line is shown in purple.
  4. The Victoria Line is shown in light blue.
  5. The Elizabeth Line is the deepest line.

In addition, consider.

The Eastern exit of the Elizabeth Line at Bond Street station has three escalators and lifts. It also opens onto Hanover Square, so it won’t suffer from overcrowding problems outside.

  • Hanover Square is just a garden, with no car park underneath, so pedestrian tunnels could pass under it
  • I also suspect there are no existing or planned buildings between the two stations with deep foundations that would block a pedestrian tunnel.
  • With the capability and ingenuity of three-D design software, I can see wide tunnels being created that would link Oxford Circus and the two Bond Street stations.
  • The new wide tunnels at Bank station have opened up the station’s capacity and all the tunnels were dug traditionally.
  • If it was felt to be needed, moving walkways could be added, just as they have been at Bank station.

I am absolutely sure, that by using the ideas and methods, that have worked so well in the upgrade of Bank station, that Oxford Circus and Bond Street stations could be turned into a London Superhub Station, that connects all the Underground lines together and has entrances all over the area.

The benefits of such a station would be.

  • It would provide a high-capacity link between London’s two highest-capacity Underground Lines; Elizabeth and Victoria.
  • It would provide a high-capacity link between the Elizabeth Line and Euston, St. Pancras and King’s Cross.
  • It would provide a high-capacity link between the Elizabeth Line and Victoria.
  • It would provide a high-capacity link between the Elizabeth Line and High Speed Two.
  • Areas like Brixton, Haringey and Walthamstow would gain a much needed link to the Elizabeth Line for Heathrow and Paddington.

Wikipedia says this about the building of the Bank Station Upgrade.

As part of the development of the scheme, TfL worked with potential bidders to improve the design of the station from TfL’s original design. The design proposed in the winning bid by Dragados was 9.7% cheaper than the original design (saving TfL £60m), took 10 months less time to construct than the original design (the proposed closure of the Northern line was also 5 weeks shorter), and the layout of the station was more efficient. This substantially improved the benefit–cost ratio by 45% to 3.5:1.

The Mayor should be knocking on the door of Dragados and asking them for a price for a design and build for a West End Superhub station.

A Possible Route For The Extension Of The Northern Line To Clapham Junction

I suspect that the simplest route for the extension of the Northern Line would be to bore or dig a twin-track railway underneath the numerous other railways in the area.

It could terminate in two underground platforms at Clapham Junction station.

This is the first map of this post and it shows the tracks that run between the two stations.

Note.

  1. Battersea Power Station station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. Clapham Junction station is in the South-West corner of the map.

The Western of the pair of orange Lines going off the map in the North-East corner of the map is the Brighton Main Line.

It passes through Battersea Park station.

It passes over the South Western Main Line out of Waterloo.

It then loops to the West and joins the lines to Clapham Junction on the Southern side.

It serves four platforms at Clapham Junction; 12 and 14 are up platforms and 13 and 15 are down platforms.

This Google Map shows an overview of Clapham Junction station.

Note.

  1. Platforms 1 and 2 at the top of the map, handle London Overground services.
  2. Platforms 3 to 11 handle South Western Train services.
  3. Platforms 12 to 17 handle Southern services.
  4. Platforms 9 and 10 have a Delice de France cafe.
  5. Platforms 11 and 12 have a Cuppacino cafe.
  6. Platforms 13 and 14 have the logos.
  7. All platforms have full step-free access with lifts to the wide footbridge that connects all platforms.

The platforms don’t seem to be very wide and putting stairs and escalators down to underground platforms could be a difficult proposition.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows shows the platforms at Clapham Junction station and the track layout to the West of the footbridge.

Note.

  1. The tracks through the platforms are shown in orange.
  2. The blue dots are platform numbers.
  3. The bridge connecting all the platforms is shown shaded in the middle of the map.
  4. To the West of the bridge are Clapham Junction Sidings and Clapham Traincare Depot.

These pictures were taken from the bridge.

Note.

  1. The top row of pictures were taken looking West.
  2. The bottom row of pictures were taken looking East.
  3. Many of the tracks are electrified.
  4. There is a lot of space to park trains.

Will all the space be needed now, that a new depot has been built at Feltham.

Could Two New Surface Platforms Be Built For The Extension Of The Northern Line To Clapham Junction?

Consider.

  • The step-free bridge across all the platforms at Clapham Junction station works well.
  • It is connected to the streets around the station at both ends.
  • Clapham Junction station will be redeveloped and surplus depot land could be used for housing.
  • As the maps show, there is a large gap in the platforms between the South Western Railway and the Southern sides of the station.
  • As Battersea Power Station station can turn services on the Northern Line with only two platforms, there would only need to be the same number of Northern Line platforms at Clapham Junction.

So could an extra pair of platforms be built under the bridge, with stairs and a lift similar to the existing platforms?

  • The platform would have full step-free access.
  • The platforms could be long enough for any future trains.
  • There could be sidings for a few trains.
  • The tunnels from Battersea Power Station would surface just outside the station.
  • There would need to be a crossover or a turnback siding for operational reasons.

I also think, that once the depot and sidings at Clapham Junction have released the space, the new platforms and tracks could be installed without interrupting main line services through the station.

Would The Extension Of The Northern Line Be Electrified?

Consider.

  • Merseyrail were not allowed to use third-rail electrification to Headbolt Lane station and had to use batteries.
  • The Northern Line was extended to Battersea Power Station station using London’s four-rail electrified system.
  • Clapham Junction station has third-rail electrification everywhere.

I think that the authorities would be very churlish not to allow electrification to Clapham Junction.

Conclusion

I believe it is possible to extend the Northern Line to two new surface platforms at Clapham Junction station.

But I also believe that using similar methods to those used in the Bank Station Upgrade, that a full interchange between the Elizabeth and Victoria Lines can be built at Oxford Circus and Bond Street.

 

 

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February 4, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Passenger Tunnel Linings At Waterloo Underground Station

This pictures show the cast-iron pedestrian tunnel linings at Waterloo tube station.

The Jubilee Line opened in 1999.

In the last few years, concrete has been able to be 3D-printed, so it can now be produced in different shapes.

All these wall and roof panels on the Elizabeth Line were made by 3D-printing of concrete.

Conclusion

Design has progressed in 25 years.

December 29, 2022 Posted by | Design, Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Grab-Handles In London Underground Train Entrances

I have been taking pictures of the grab-handles in the doors of London Underground trains.

Bakerloo Line

 

There are no grab-handles.

 

Central Line

The Central Line trains, which were built in 1991-4, probably set the original standard.

Hammersmith & City Line

These are probably similar to Circle, District and Metropolitan Line trains.

Jubilee Line

Note the long grab-handles tucked behind the doors.

Northern Line

Note the long grab-handles tucked behind the doors.

There is also a cheeky one behind the wheelchair space. Although you would get into a Northern Line train in a wheelchair is another matter.

Piccadilly Line

Despite their age, there is a full set of grab-handles.

Victoria Line

Note the long grab-handles tucked behind the doors.

Conclusion

I do find it strange that all the other Underground trains have vertical handles just inside the door, but the Bakerloo Line trains don’t have this valuable safety feature.

I think this could be dangerous.

I have a damaged left arm because the school bully broke my humerus. It can do most things, but some things are painful.

So when I get on a train, in case there is a step-up into the train, I position myself towards the right of the door. Then if there is a step-up, I reach forward and grab the handle and pull myself into the train.

Recently, I boarded a train on the Bakerloo Line platform at Waterloo. On finding there was no grab-handle I slipped slightly as I pulled back.

In the end I climbed into the train by holding on to the rubber edge of the door and got a very dirty hand.

Could this lack of grab-handles have contributed to a recent death at the station, that I wrote about in Death Of A Commuter At Waterloo?

I very much feel that grab-handles should be fitted to the doors on Bakerloo Line trains.

 

 

November 5, 2021 Posted by | Design, Transport/Travel | , , , | 7 Comments

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