Surrey Quays could go back to being Surrey Docks

TfL are considering demands to rename Surrey Quays station on the East London Line back to Surrey Docks:

A TfL spokesman said: "TfL London Rail has been asked by local residents to consider reverting the name of Surrey Quays station to the original name of Surrey Docks while the East London Line is being extended for conversion to London Overground.

"In response to this request, we will consult with the local community this summer to get a wider range of opinions and views on the name of the station," he added.

It's hard to tell if this is just empty placating, but the combination of it being a reversion to an old name, the extended closure and the offer of a consultation gives it more chance than the average renaming campaign.

Sent in by diamondgeezer

AirTrack consultation

BAA have opened their consultation on AirTrack, the plan to link Heathrow into the South West Trains network, with services to Reading, Guildford and London Waterloo. I'd always had it down as a "we'll build it one day" type project, but it's starting to look like they might be serious.

The elements of this scheme are:

• fitting out two platforms at the Terminal 5 station which has already been built tunnelling between Terminal 5 and Hithermoor
• constructing a new alignment across Stanwell moor and Staines moor
• forming a junction with the Windsor line
• building a new station at Staines High Street
• linking the Windsor line to the Virginia Water line in Staines Town Centre (the chord)
• remodelling the existing Staines station

Once this new rail infrastructure is in place, two trains per hour will operate in each direction to London Waterloo, Guildford and Reading. It is currently proposed that services will stop at: Clapham Junction, Richmond, Twickenham, Feltham, Woking, Chertsey, Wokingham, Bracknell, Staines Central and the new Staines High Street station.

There are all sorts of options and details in the brochure. The biggest surprise is BAA's "aspiration" to extend Heathrow Express services to Staines. The area is currently only served by stopping services to London, so this could be a big improvement if through journeys are allowed. They also say they're going to make the Airtrack tunnel overhead electrified, which will require dual voltage trains as the SWT network is all third rail.

Apart from the branch to Heathrow, the main bit of infrastructure needed is a new curve in Staines. Currently the line from Waterloo forks just west of Staines station into two branches, to Reading/Guildford and Windsow/Heathrow. The curve is needed for trains to get between those two branches. Here's a panorama of the area where it will be built, taken from the middle of the fork. The branches on the embankments either side.
Although this is right in the middle of Staines, the only thing that'll be overshadowed by the new line is the back of a shopping centre. This area is already cut off by the two existing embankments, so there are no pedestrians passing through. Although there are no buildings in the way, the line will cut through the car park ramp, and there are various options for how to replace it discussed in the consultation.

Waterloo & City Line at Bank to get new entrance

TfL have announced plans to build a new entrance to the Waterloo & City Line platforms at Bank station:

The new street level entrance in Walbrook Square will provide step-free access with lifts, as well as escalators and stairs to the Waterloo & City Line platforms.

Legal & General is redeveloping Bucklersbury House [...] As part of the construction programme a new station box will be constructed in the basement of the building for London Underground.

The new entrance will open in 2013. Walbrook Square, which is a redevelopment of several buildings on the south side of Queen Victoria Street, a little to the west of Bank station.

East London Line progress photos: March 2008

Another month, another walk through the untamed pastures of E2. As an accompaniment to these pictures you should take a look at this set of notes from a recent lecture on construction progess. Last month's photos are here.


Dalston Junction, this time from the north end. This was all still bare earth at the beginning of the year.


Haggerston station. Moulds for the concrete have been put up, ready for pouring. The lecture notes mention that they were forced to demolish the viaduct here, as it was structurally unsound.


Hoxton station. I'm no idea what this is the foundation of, as the station is meant to be entirely under the arches, but they seem to be making good progress whatever. On the right, the arches have been cleaned out.


This is part of the curve from the end of the Broad Street viaduct to the crossing of Shoreditch High Street (see map). Since my last visit they've closed off Holywell Lane, creating one continuous building site for the length of the new viaduct. The pillars have been there a couple of months, so the closure and the scaffolding going up suggest they're about to do the deck.


The new Shoreditch High Street bridge is taking shape in Bishopsgate Goods Yard - it's gained arches but is missing its vertical tension bars. The concrete has been cast for the eastern abutment, and it's now wrapped in black plastic (above the red van). The western abutment (just out of shot to the right) is still bare rebar. Allegedly it'll be moved into place this month.

The bridge is bigger than it looks here - a diagram I have shows the arch as 11m high and 36m across (shorter than the similar 45m Regent's Canal bridge), and it will be positioned around 6m above road level.


At Shoreditch High Street station, they're busy pouring the slab for the viaduct deck.


The replacement GE19 bridge is now fully assembled - the bench in front of the hoarding gives a sense of its epic scale. The bridge will be pushed into place at the beginning of May.


Part of the huge depot construction site at New Cross Gate. This was taken from a moving train - there's a lot more going on than was captured in this picture.


Northbound trains heading for the ELL will cross the mainline on a flyover, descending this ramp within the depot site.

I didn't get a picture of the activity on the west side of the tracks, where a similar ramp is being built and the bridge itself is being assembled. The bridge is similar in design to the GE19 bridge above, though only the deck and a couple of uprights are in place. Also like the GE19 bridge, it will be moved into place in May.


The old ELL platform at New Cross Gate, which has lost its conductor rails and buffer stop. This track will become the through line for southbound ELL trains by connecting it to the main line south of the station.

Next installment (April 2008) »

Shepherd's Bush (Central Line) update

Blimey, that was quick. They've got they've got the frame for the enormous new station up already.


It's only the east half of the frame, as most of the original station is still standing (visible on the left). It looks like they're proceeding with the original plan to build half of the new station while keeping the original one open, which would have meant only closing it to build the rest. They've just replaced the keeping-it-open phase with an escalator-replacement phase.

East Coast Main Line RUS published

Network Rail have published their East Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy. The recommended work affecting London includes:

• Six-car trains will be used on all shoulder-peak First Capital Connect inner-suburban services as soon as trains are available from London Overground (four are needed).
• Off-peak inner-suburban services will be increased from 3tph to 4tph on each branch, including weekday evenings and Saturdays.
• Extension of hours on the Moorgate branch is unlikely.
• The Up Goods line (the easternmost track) from Alexandra Palace to Finsbury Park will be converted into a third southbound passenger usage. The four stations it passes will get extra platforms on the line, and may also get them on the equivalent northbound line, the Down Slow 2 (the westernmost track). This will improve flexibility and capacity.
• Extra trains will run from the Hertford Loop to Moorgate in the morning peak.
• Outer suburban platforms will be extended to 12-car length progressively, in advance of when they're needed by the Thameslink Porgramme.
• Finsbury Park and Harringay are candidates for the National Station Improvement Programme, which seeks to improve station ambience.
• Finsbury Park and Highbury & Islington will be getting lifts to the National Rail platforms (and the tube platforms).
• A speculative section at the end mentions the [somewhat unlikely] possibility of inner-suburban trains going to Thameslink, with outer suburban trains being Intercity Express Programme trains to King's Cross
• Also speculatively, insufficient capacity at Moorgate could in the long term lead to some inner-suburban trains using the Canonbury tunnel to the North London Line.

If any of this sounds familiar, it's because most of it appeared in the draft document, published last June.

As an aside, both this document and the West Hampstead Interchange info mention that, come 2015, the split of Thameslink services between the Midland Main Line and the East Coast Main Line will be 16 vs 8 each hour, rather than the 14 vs 10 that appeared in previous documents. There'll still be two trains per hour into King's Cross (possibly peak-only), rising to six per hour in the longer term.

West Hampstead Interchange: It's back

Following a tip-off from reader THC that First Capital Connect are reviving the West Hampstead Interchange plans, I've spent the last couple of weeks bugging First Capital Connect's press office, and today they came through with some details:

• West Hampstead station will be rebuilt with lifts, a new entrance, ticket gates and cycle parking. I'd think the entrance will be further south.
• The pavement on the west side of West End Lane will be widened and the road crossing to the Jubilee Line will be improved.
• The North London Line station will get a "modified entrance" and lifts.
• There will be two "associated mixed use developments" to pay for it, which they also say will "improve the public realm".

The timescale given is 2011. In the mean time, they plan platform canopy renewals, extra information screens and and canopies over the ticket machines (and one extra) during this year.

This is far less ambitious then the previous plans, which were championed by Chiltern Railways, and potentially included a rebuilt tube station with Chiltern and Metropolitan Line platforms, relocating the NLL and Thameslink stations to the east side of the road, and an off-street interchange bridge between them.

Oxford Street Tram

At a debate last night Ken repeated his ambition to replace the buses on Oxford Street with trams:

If re-elected I intend to start installing a tram running the length of Oxford Street. There are some factors which pose difficulties but we have thought about it and there are ways of overcoming them. It will either be a shuttle tram or will be linked to the Cross River Tram

We would demolish the gyratory system [at Marble Arch], handing part of it back to green land and building two developments on part of it which will fund the project. People getting a taxi would have to use the roads running north and south of Oxford Street. We would phase the buses out slowly and maybe run some along Wigmore Street.

You can find a few more details in this Evening Standard piece, which mentions a £200m cost and a 2012-18 timescale. The article quotes statistics from this New West End Company press release, who sponsored the debate, and are major backers of the proposal. Ken discussed much the same idea in 2006.

Replacement bus ELP gone after 63 days

I was passing through Canada Water today and saw this:

Sad news for fans of prog rock, white rap, and barely used shuttle buses for which it's quicker to walk or take the normal bus.

New DLR railcars part 2

I got a telephoto lens in the post this week, so I've been back to Beckton to try it out, and got a much better shot of what the front end of the new DLR cars looks like:

They must now have at least three delivered, as the one I saw last week was number 104, and the very first delivered was allegedly 105.

Imminent changes to Oyster PAYG

London Travelwatch have posted minutes from a meeting where TfL discussed how Oyster PAYG is working out on London Overground, and related matters. Highlights:

• The elimination of Cheap Day Returns is causing problems with fare anomalies at Richmond, Watford Junction, West Hampstead and others. They plan to reintroduce them from Richmond in February and do some unspecified fiddling in May (This should please diamondgeezer).
• First Class fares are to make a comeback for journeys where London Midland or Southern have it available.
• Richmond to Stratford on Oyster PAYG is still charged as via Z1, regardless of route. They plan to review anomalies like this in May, and "there are also likely to be two different fares depending on the route", though I've no idea how that will work.
• Oyster PAYG take-up and revenue in general has been much higher than expected.
• There's no Oyster ticket machine at Clapham Junction due to objections from South West Trains, so a local newsagent is doing a brisk trade (this was thought to be resolved in October, but apparently not).
• First Great Western's rollout of Oyster PAYG to all its London stations may happen "sooner than previously anticipated." Ealing Broadway to Paddington is due "shortly" ("Spring" according to this map)

[via uk.transport.london]

Even more new trains for London Overground

TfL have put out a press release discussing a change in the way the London Overground Electrostars will be financed - they've essentially sold them to a bank and are leasing them back, which improves their cashflow and gives them the option of walking away in 2027 and buying new ones. Anyway, hidden at the bottom is this note:

In its final configuration, it is intended the fleet will comprise 54 4-carriage trains

The original order was for 44 trains, a mix of 3 and 4 car trains and a total of 152 carriages. They then ordered three more whole trains plus extra cars to make the fleet all 4-car, taking the total to 188. The latest news adds an apparent 7 more trains and brings the total to 216.

A brief mention of a follow-on order did appear in the recent board papers, but this the first indication of its size.

The new DLR rolling stock

The first car of new DLR "B07 stock"* was delivered nearly two months ago, but unless my Google skills are failing me no pictures have appeared online yet. So I've been to Beckton to get some myself.

[ Update: A much better close up ]



From this distance at least it doesn't look as radical as in the artist's impression. The only obvious external differences are the curvier front end and full height windows in the doors. The livery has gained a black stripe along the windows and light blue bits on the swooshes. They have a mockup of new front end design at the London Transport Museum, which shows it better than I could.

A public exhibition of the new units is planned for "this month", and some of them should be in service during the first half of this year. The new units are to expand rather than replace the existing fleet, necessitated by the opening of the City Airport/Woolwich Arsenal branch and the plans for 3-car running. The latter is being partly paid for with Olympic funds.

[If you're determined to see this for yourself, it's currently parked towards the southwest corner of Beckton depot. Turn left (east) out of Gallions Reach DLR and follow Armada Way around the corner, and it should be right in front of you]

* Or B09 or C09, depending on who you believe.

North London Line upgrade track layout

A few months ago Modern Railways printed a diagram of the new track layout for the rebuilt North London Line, and it's made its way online here. It's a bit small but does the job. The top diagram is the current layout, the middle one shows the new layout, and the bottom is a rejected alternate option.

The four stations shown are Camden Road, Caledonian Road & Barnsbury, Highbury & Islington and Canonbury, with existing platforms shown in grey and new platforms in blue. The East London Line (yellow) will have dedicated tracks all the way to Highbury. Note there's little possibility of a regular service to further west. Camden Road will have a reversing platform in the middle, allowing extra trains to be run between there and Stratford, increasing frequency on the busiest part of the line.

The should all be done by January 2011. According to the latest TfL board papers, the construction contract will be advertised this month, and the budget is £326m, with £82m coming from the Olympic Delivery Authority.

[Thanks to Paul Scott for digging this up]

The Northern Line split

A TfL spokesman responds to the Hendon Times over claims by a Barnet council leader that the Northern Line will be split in future:

"At the moment, Camden Tube Station cannot cope with being a major interchange as it would need major remodelling. Regarding segregation, there are therefore absolutely no plans. No decision has been made and there is no funding in the current investment programme."

That's not a denial, is it? The current investment programme only covers spending until 2010, and they're on their way to getting planning permission for the remodelling of Camden Town.

The evidence isn't just circumstantial - the split of the Northern Line is explicitly included in TfL's transport vision for 2025:

A segregation of services would deliver simpler service patterns on the line. This will allow more trains to be run through both the West End and City branches – enabling 30tph services on the central London branches. This will provide roughly 25 per cent extra capacity and crowding relief on these busy sections.

Even now, the line is effectively split at Kennington and Mill Hill East, and only a couple of weeks ago they instituted a split at Camden Town (see picture) in the morning peak, though northbound only to get some of the benefits of segregation without sending too many commuters through the station's passageways.

Not that I'm trying to support the councillor's campaign. A split is the number one solution to the overcrowding and unreliability he complains about. Just as soon as the signalling is upgraded ca. 2011 and Camden Town is fixed sometime after that, a split is inevitable.

Gospel Oak to Barking plans

I attended the GOBLIN user group meeting last night to hear form the LOROL people (they pronounce it "laurel", charmingly enough). A few things were mentioned that I don't think have made it onto the internet before:

• They originally planned to obtain three car trains, but the short eastbound platform at South Tottenham nixed this
• They plan to rip out the end seat of the appalling 3+2 seating to make it 2+2 plus a wide aisle for standing. This will start as soon as they get approval that the trains can take the extra weight of standees.
• The new rolling stock will have "30% more capacity" per train. Each carriage is longer and doesn't have the big guard's area behind each cab.

February Board Papers: Miscellaneous notes

I've already posted separately about ELL Phase 2, the Southern franchise takeover and Shepherd's Bush Overground but there are a lot of other things worth noting:

• Another follow-on order for new London Overground Electrostars is planned for this month.
• Roll out of Oyster PAYG to the whole London rail network is still pencilled in for next January.
• The renaming of Shepherd's Bush (H&C) to Shepherd's Bush Market will happen when Shepherd's Bush (Central Line) reopens, not when Wood Lane opens (which may be earlier) as previously announced. There's likely only weeks in it.
• The King's Cross St Pancras tmporary tunnel is known as the 'Hockey stick'.
• Royal assent for the Crossrail Bill is expected by the end of July. A Lords committee will consider petitions from 19 Feb until mid May.
• Purchase time at tube ticket machines is down to "0.28 minutes".
• The East London Line officially ceased to be a London Underground line on 22 January, when they finished clearing their things and handed it over to contractors.
• Replacement signalling (and ultimately Automatic Train Operation) is due on the Jubilee and Northern Lines by December 2009 and September 2011 respectively, with the first part of the Jubilee commissioned this October.
• A tender for new Piccadilly Line trains has just been issued.
• The first S-Stock train is due for delivery for testing in January 2009.
• The first new DLR train was delivered on 22 December. The whole first 'Woolwich Arsenal' batch is due in service by September, with a follow-on 'Olympic' batch coming next.
• They're still deciding how to progress the Cross River Tram scheme.
• They're pressing on with Greenwich Waterfront Transit and East London Transit, and are due to start October 2009 and July 2011 respectively,

You can read more in the board papers PDF.

ELL phase 2: TfL want DfT funding

December's board papers contained a suggestion TfL could get Phase 2 of the East London Line extension paid for to mitigate the effects of the Thameslink project. This month's board papers are a bit more aggressive about it:

The Thameslink Programme will result in fewer terminating platforms being available at London Bridge from the start of construction works in 2012. As a result, London Bridge will have less capacity. The current South London Line (SLL) service, which runs between London Bridge and Victoria, is very likely to be removed from London Bridge; this is most unsatisfactory and requires mitigation. ELL Phase 2b will provide a 4tph service along the SLL between Clapham Junction and Dalston Junction assisting delivery of the Thameslink Programme as a link to the Docklands (via Canada Water) and City (via Shoreditch High Street Station) is retained. A report detailing the benefits of ELL Phase 2 for the Thameslink Programme has been prepared and funding discussions have commenced with the DfT.

Phase 2 is the currently unfunded branch from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction, mostly along the South London Line. See the dotted orange line on this map.

Southern franchise takeover

A little while ago The Times published an article last year claiming the Mayor was planning to "take over most of Southern", and little has been heard since. The reality outlined in this month's board papers seems far less ambitious:

The Mayor and the Secretary of State have discussed the opportunity presented by the expiry of the Southern TOC franchise in 18-months time for TfL to take a greater role in its future. TfL and the DfT will now work on the extent to which the inner suburban services, trains and stations can be enhanced to the standard of Overground and how TfL can be given a greater role in the running of the future franchise. From the start of the new Overground services from West Croydon and Crystal Palace in June 2010, stations between these stations and New Cross Gate will be staffed and managed by London Overground. The South London Line (SLL) stations could also transfer when Overground services commence upon completion of East London Line Phase 2b to Clapham Junction, subject to agreement on funding.

So either they're keeping quiet about what their ambitions are, or there's not much serious change planned.

Shepherd's Bush Overground: Wall to be moved

This month's board papers contain the first ever direct discussion by TfL of what happened and Shepherd's Bush, and what they plan to do about it:

A new station at Shepherd’s Bush on the West London Line (WLL) has been constructed by Westfield together with Network Rail, prior to TfL taking over responsibility for Overground services. It was hoped that this would be opened in time for the start of London Overground services, launched by the Mayor on the 12 November. However, the north-bound platform has insufficient width, given projected passenger levels. Dialogue has taken place with Westfield and Network Rail with a view to rectifying this situation by moving the platform retaining wall and widening access to the platform. It is hoped to provide an opening date once the project plan has been completed. It is estimated that the work will take 4 months following agreement to provide.

That puts the earliest opening possible opening date as mid-Summer.