ELL works at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace is one of the strangest stations on the network. It's built on the apex of a triangular junction with platforms on two sides of the triangle. While one side is perfectly normal, the other is, well... see for yourself:
That vast building is the station footbridge - and you can only see half of it in that picture. This is the platform area:

It once had six platforms and a twin-span overall roof. The roof has been gone for over a hundred years, there's nothing left of the two middle platforms, and only the through platforms are in use. So the current configuration looks like this:

Crystal Palace will be one of the termini of the extended East London Line, and they'll need a couple of terminating platforms. So given the choice between reinstating the existing side platforms, or rebuilding the centre platforms, they've chosen something completely different:
That's according to the latest planning application, which although not explicitly stated, will see the northern island taken out of use. I expect most East London Line trains will use platform 5, as getting out of platform 3 means crossing the other line.

I've marked the locations of the planned lifts as black squares, but I don't understand them. The one on the 3/4 island gets you to half way up the station's stairs, which is useless, and the one on the 5/6 island gets you to nowhere.

As for what's happening at the other new terminus, West Croydon, they're just putting in a siding beyond the station.

East London Line phase 2 works to go ahead

According to this planning application, "funding has been secured" for enabling works for the phase 2 extension of the East London Line (network map) to be done before the line reopens.

To be clear, this isn't the full scheme, but it does involve building a rather substantial grade separated junction, like so:
You can view a much larger version of that picture, and a reverse angle shot in this document (sans annotations), and an explanation in this one.

The junction is located at the northern tip of the Silwood triangle (near Surrey Quays station), which currently looks like this:
That's taken from the footbridge marked on the diagram above, with the East London Line on the left, and temporary works sidings on the right, on the path of the phase 2 extension.

The work proposed to do before phase 1 opens in 2010 (and before phase 2 is given the green light) includes building the underpass, replacing the footbridge, and building earthworks to take the phase 2 tracks down the side of Silwood Triangle, but no further.

Mayor's Question Time: July 2008

A few interesting items from the most recent Mayor's Question Time:

• Trains on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line will be lengthened to three cars by 2010. Electrification of the line is too expensive.
  
• Bus roofs are being painted white to help keep them cool.
  
• Boris likes Greenwich Waterfront Transit.
  
• This list of South London transport improvements includes things like Greenwich Waterfront Transport but conspicuously not Cross River Tram. Nail, coffin, etc.
  
• Croydon's tram system will be getting deep cleaned and refurbished, as well as a new livery and new seat moquettes.
  
• The first three bus routes to be unbendied will be the 38, 507 and 521, with "appropriate" capacity to be provided by the double deckers (note not "the same" capacity).
  
• The DLR is set to go back to normal  on August 25 (at least on the Lewisham route) , rather than there being a different set of closures.
  
• The redeveloped King's Cross may include a new footbridge to allow continued access from York Way.
  
• The Mayor has met with Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly to ask for money for the East London Line phase 2 extension.
  

Shoreditch High Street station box going up

As previously reported here, the East London Line extension's Shoreditch High Street station is to be enclosed on all sides by a massive windowless concrete box (i.e. walls and a roof). The primary aim of this is to protect the line so that it can stay open during the construction of skyscrapers alongside it.

Until now there was no sign of it, but this week they started erecting posts to support the structure:
It really is that big compared to the poxy humans.

Thanks to Antonio for the photo. Here's a panorama of the whole of Bishopsgate Goods Yard, using pictures taken by him today from the Tea Building on the north side of the site (click to enlarge):

The box will stretch at full height for the length of the platforms (which corresponds to the finished section of viaduct), and at a lower height all the way to Brick Lane on the left and Shoreditch High Street on the right (a map of Shoreditch, if you're lost).

East London Line progress: the official version

Reader Edward Betts has scanned in his copy of East London Line News, a newsletter delivered to local residents. The fourth page is the one with the interesting details on it, going over work for the next few months.

East London Line progress photos: July 2008

Construction of the East London Line extension continues apace. Since I haven't checked in on progress since May, so it's time for another look at how they're getting on.

At Dalston Junction, the station is going to be in the basement of a massive development, and they've now put in the floor above the station. Trains arriving from Highbury & Islington will go through the hole on the right:

Via the magic of the telephoto lens, here's a glimpse of Haggerston station from Richmond Road. The white vertical line is the Regent's Canal bridge even further in the distance:

And here's Haggerston station from ground level:

At Hoxton station they've been digging out the viaduct arches and laying a concrete slab, and in the foreground are the fundations for the stairs and/or lifts alongside the viaduct:

That mysterious building alongside the site is huge, and could possibly be a ticket office. It has a large opening in the side roughly at viaduct level:

Here are a couple of glimpses of the top of the viaduct from a nearby tower block. It looks like they're starting to prepare the ground for tracklaying:


The viaduct ends in Shoreditch, and it looks like they're deliberately not connecting it up so they can keep this access ramp. Note the massive concrete support column where the viaduct will eventually be:

Turning the camera slightly to the right, they've finished this section of the viaduct and are working on the next section that connects it to the Shoreditch High Street bridge:

On the other side of Shoreditch High Street the viaduct linking the bridge to the already-finished Shoreditch High Street station viaduct is also taking shape:

They're also working on the viaduct between the station and Brick Lane, but it's very hard to see or photograph.

At Brick Lane they've put in this little walkway so they can build the viaduct across the top, although there's no sign yet of them doing so yet:


Just to the left is the notorious GE19 bridge. Reader Steven Gee sends in this picture of the missing slab:
Going by the known measurements of the bridge, I estimate the weight of the slab that fell on the bridge at around half a ton.

This is the ramp down from the bridge. It looked pretty much like this at the time the bridge collapsed, so I'm not certain they've been able to work on it:

Conversely, here's the nearby ramp down into the East London Line cutting:

Just west of Valance Road there was a brick arched bridge, which has been demolished and replaced:
This is to provide clearance so that trains coming up the ramp from the cutting can get under it.

Just north of Whitechapel there's not a lot happening:


At the north end of the East London Line platforms at Whitechapel they've been busy digging out Crossrail interchange subways:

Just south of Whitechapel they've busy laying new track:

And south of the river, they've completed replacing the track on the New Cross branch, though they seem to have forgotten the conductor rail:
There's no sign of any connection to the main line here for works trains to get in, which was once rumoured.

As always, it's just about impossible to get a decent photo of anything at the New Cross Gate depot site, but they appear to have finished the concrete shell of the control centre buildings; finished the ramps up to the flyover; put in the second, smaller span of the flyover; and are in the very early stages of laying track.

Another East London Line bus disappears

London Underground are thinning out the East London Line replacement bus service again:

From Saturday 19 July 2008, bus service ELS, between Whitechapel and Shoreditch (Bethnal Green Road) will be permanently withdrawn. Route ELW will be extended to serve Shoreditch on Sunday mornings and during Monday to Friday peak hours.

From Monday 21 July the ELC frequency will be reduced to every 10 minutes in peak times.

Member Dstock7080 on the District Dave forum reports the ELW will also be downgraded from double to single deckers.

The cuts are probably due to the small number of people using the services (which is puzzling, given they do not collect fares). ELS is the oldest of the routes, having started in June 2006 when Shoreditch tube station closed, and I've never seen anyone on it. The ELC runs between Canada Water and New Cross, and likewise seems to be poorly patronised.

This follows the withdrawal of route ELP in February, probably because it was duplicated by the more frequent Route 381, which became the official replacement bus. Tube ticket acceptance on the 381 has now been extended to Surrey Quays, along the route of the ELC.

(there's a map of the new routes on the last page of the brochure linked above)

GE19 bridge collapse: New details emerge

New Civil Engineer has a write-up (reg. req'd) of the latest information regarding the GE19 bridge collapse:

Packing supporting the bridge failed at one support point, causing a second temporary support to fail. The bridge slipped to its final resting position at both points. As the steel warren truss structure fell, one of the precast concrete slabs forming the bridge's deck came loose and dropped onto railway lines below.

So it wasn't scaffolding or part of the support that fell down. The slab in question was part of a thin lightwight deck, probably designed to protect the line from workers above until the final deck was poured on top.

The article mentions that until the bridge is finished they can't bring materials from the Silwood Triangle worksite to the northern extension by rail, which means this cock-up could have delayed the whole East London Line project.

[via District Dave]

Einstürzende Neubrücke

The story of what happened to the GE19 bridge last night is starting to become clear. The bridge had been jacked up to remove its temporary support brackets and lower it onto its permanent ones. The jacks failed and the bridge dropped a few inches, causing concrete debris to fall onto the track below - either parts of the deck or of a damaged support column.

We don't know much more than that, but I can explain a bit about this bracket business. When the bridge was moved into place, it needed to slide easily, so they placed these metal runners atop the concrete columns:

These needed to be replaced with something that held the bridge more securely, and here's the same column today:
The bridge is secured directly to the column with a couple of metal plates.

What we've still to find out is what they were doing at the time the jack collapsed, and which corner of the bridge the accident occurred at.

In any case, Network Rail really aren't happy about this "fiasco":

Because of concerns over TfL's handling and management of both the project and its contractors, Network Rail has banned work on the bridge, effective immediately. This will remain in place until TfL has completed an investigation and reported back on the causes of the incident and what measures it will be putting in place to prevent a repetition.

What is it with Network Rail banning TfL from their new bridges?

GE19 bridge falling apart

Part of the East London Line extension's GE19 bridge has fallen off, closing Liverpool Street station:

Train services at Liverpool Street station have been suspended while structural engineers inspect a new bridge which has partially collapsed. [...] Around 300 passengers on three trains stopped before entering the station had to walk along tracks to Bethnal Green.

Off there to get pictures now.

Update: Couldn't see a thing wrong with it. This eyewitness report says it's the concrete decking that's fallen on the tracks, as does The Telegraph, implying the main structure is safe.

Update 2: Just remembered I had this photo that shows how the deck is supported, taken from a train a couple of weeks ago. Richard J has a clearer picture of the same thing.

Update 3: Construction News has what looks like a full explanation of what happened. The Ipswich Evening Star has a photo of the gaps in the deck.

East London Line progress photos: May 2008

Time for a look at bits of East London Line construction that don't involve moving bridges. Last month's is here.

A high rise development will be built above Dalston Junction, and the track layout for the station in the basement is now clearly visible:
This photo's taken from the north end, so the two gaps are for the curve around towards Highbury and Islington, with the terminus platforms behind the wall in the middle.

I still haven't been to get hold of detailed plans for the next two stations, but at Haggerston the concrete for the platforms is visible on the new section of viaduct:
The bridge over Lee Street (on the left) is only wide enough for the track, while the bridge over Arbutus Street (on the right) is clearly designed to carry platforms, so we can conclude pretty definitely that the platforms will start on the north side of Lee Street with the entrance likely to be between there and Arbutus Street.

At Hoxton they're building something on a corner of the station construction site, but I'm increasingly thinking it isn't railway related:
The wall on the right is the viaduct.

Continuing south to the Holywell Lane viaduct (Shoreditch map yadda yadda) they've built this nice chunky support column:

Speaking of chunky concrete, they've started taking down the scaffolding from Shoreditch High Street station:
Just wait for the walls to go up.

Remember that big extension on the front of the GE19 bridge? It's been taken off and dismantled:
(reduced to shoving my camera through a gap in the fence this time)

Last month there was a disused bridge over the line just west of Valance Road. Not any more:This will be the ramp up to the GE19 bridge.

Slightly further towards Whitechapel, there was some temporary track. Again, gone, replaced with a new concrete trackbed:

Jumping a long way south to the missing bridge over Surrey Canal Road. Last week I said it still needed to be replaced. They're way ahead of me:
Way off in the distance above the van is the light blue footbridge that marks the future site of Surrey Canal Road station on the ELL phase 2 route.

At the New Cross Gate flyover, the north ramp looks fairly complete:

While the south one doesn't:

Of course there's a bridge between them now.

Finally, reader Dave has emailed in to say new points have just been put in south of New Cross Gate station ready for through trains. I've also seen new track ready to go in at New Cross (which is where I've heard engineering trains will come in). With the replacement of the Surrey Canal Road bridge complete, it looks like main line trains should be able to reach the central part of the line pretty soon.

The New Cross Gate bridge move

Thanks to TfL I had the privilege of witnessing up close the new East London Line bridge north of New Cross Gate being installed.

Here's a timelapse video of the move:

I've adjusted the length of each frame to match the time between taking photos, so it should accurately reflect the rate of progress. The video covers about 80 minutes of real time.

The bridge was moved on these massive powered trolleys that let them simply drive it across the railway line:
The track beneath was protected with ballast and metal panels, though as the bridge moved over you'd occasionally hear a panel pop as it took the weight). You can also see the curved framework on the bridge deck matching the track it will carry.

The wheels are all independently steerable and can also jack up and down. In the picture above they've arranged themselves into a gentle arc to rotate the bridge. Earlier they were rotated 90 degrees to move the bridge south a bit. Here they are mid-swivel:

The whole procedure was carried out with very little fuss, save some last minute measuring up:

I'm sure they'd like you to think this was all performed by laser-guided computer-controlled NASA technology. But no, it was a dude with a couple of joysticks:
Just drivin' a bridge.

New Cross Gate bridge move this weekend

This weekend sees the third of this year's major bridge installations for the East London Line extension. The bridge has been assembled alongside the main line just north of New Cross Gate station and will carry one track over the main line to London Bridge (see map).

This TfL-supplied image shows what's what, the bridge has been assembled a fair distance from where it needs to go (click to enlarge):
This bridge needs to end up between the South Abutment and what they term the Mid piers, at almost a right angle to where it is now. There'll be a second smaller, simpler bridge in the gap north of the Mid piers.

Here's a ropey video still from yesterday, showing the bridge has been loaded onto self-propelled vehicles:
It's pretty obvious the plan is to one way or another drive the bridge over the track and into the right place.

There's no sign of a webcam this time round and if you want to see it for yourself it's pretty much only visible from the bottom of Mercury Way. I'll be on site and hopefully get some decent pictures.

(btw There's still one more major-ish bridge to go in. Where the main route crosses Surrey Canal Road, the old bridge has been removed and will be replaced with a very similar new one)

GE19 bridge push: Day 2

After getting the GE19 bridge most of the way across yesterday, it was moved into its final position overnight. Here are some photos of it in its final position:

The extension on the front has ended up completely across Brick Lane:
It's not obvious in this picture, but the front extension curves upwards significantly. This meant as the bridge was pushed the front was lifted up, raising the bridge from the horizontal (how it was built) to a 1 in 30 gradient (needed to get the line over Brick Lane).

The area where the bridge was assembled:
If you look immediately underneath you can see the bracket where the strand jack was attached, and a corresponding hole in the framework on the ground that the cable was anchored to.

Inside the Bishopsgate Goods Yard compound:
The wall in the distance is obviously where the site borders Brick Lane. There's a fair gap between the under construction viaduct and the bridge, though the viaduct posts have been ready for a while. As far as I'm aware, the bridge over Brick Lane will simply be a concrete viaduct span rather than anything special.

Finally, a slightly wonky Autostitched panorama of the whole site:
From left to right: Bushes atop the Braithwaite Viaduct, Shoreditch High Street bridge (very small), Shoreditch High Street station, the extension, Brick Lane, the bridge, the bridge construction site, and just out of shot, Shoreditch tube station.