Shepherd's Bush Overground: Finished!

Well almost. These men are putting the last bits of trim onto the aluminium panels that cover the rebuilt part of the station building:
You can see in that picture there are still some bits of back fence to do, and there's some tidying up of the work of the other platform, but I can't see them spinning it out for more than a couple more weeks.

In that spirit, here's an attempt to recreate the very first picture I posted of the station, last October, so you can see the difference:

And here's the widened bit and the non-widened bits of the platform together:


Update: According to the latest TfL board papers, opening is pencilled in for October 1. [Thanks to D-Notice in the comments]

Finally, a bonus picture of the enormous new Shepherd's Bush Central Line station:

Shepherd's Bush/White City/Wood Lane interchanges

When the new stations at Shepherd's Bush and Wood Lane open there'll be two new out-of-station interchanges, requiring a short walk outdoors to change between lines. But how short?

Interchange #1: Shepherd's Bush (Overground) to Shepherd's Bush (Central Line)
Just across the bus station.

Approximate gateline-to-gateline walking distance: 100 metres.

Interchange #2: Wood Lane (Hammersmith & City Line) to White City (Central Line)
A stroll along Wood Lane right past BBC Television Centre.

Approximate gateline-to-gateline walking distance: 230m.

Shepherd's Bush Overground: Idiots!

The Good News: They've finished filling in the gap in the platform left by moving the wall back.

The Bad News: They've put those fscking street lights back in!


On the other platform they've finishing paving over the gap where the new entrance is (see the last update), but they still need to put the panes of glass over where the old one was:

There's now very little left to do other than fixing a handful of cosmetic gaps and putting up Overground signs. I've noticed the protective plywood is off the ticket barriers, so the place is on its way back from being a building site and to a railway station.

As an aside, the last issue of Modern Railways contains a brief note blaiming the narrow platform on the need to accommodate the West London Tram terminus alongside. Here's a diagram from the planning application, with the Overground platforms in orange and the tram tracks highlighted in red:
Not terribly convincing.

Shepherd's Bush Overground: Wall moving complete

Each time I visit Shepherd's Bush Overground, they've made some significant step towards fixing the dodgy platform.

This time, they've filled in the gap between the station building and the moved wall:
Thus the station once again has a continuous retaining wall, and they're now in the cosmetic tidying up phase of the work.

Just out of shot, they've started reinstating the horizontal beams between the metal fence posts at the top of the wall. If they're sensible this will be followed by moving the platform equipment on to the fence and ditching the lamp posts, but it could go either way at this point.

Meanwhile, they've been busy on the other platform too:
They're making it so that the entrance is towards us onto the wide section of platform, rather than to the right onto the narrow section. As on the other platform, this has required adding a great big ugly steel beam to hold the structure together (ignore the yellow scaffold tower in the right picture).

I've also just been sent some pictures by someone who's been on site. This one is taken from the unwidened section at the far north end of the station, and shows exactly how narrow it was as built:
That glass box in the distance is what my second pictures above are of.

Shepherd's Bush progress update

They've now moved 26 of the 45 blocks at Shepherd's Bush Overground:
The rate seems to be about 1 a day, so this task should be done by the end of June. They've already filled in behind the blocks in the middle. The hole at the north end (nearest the camera) has got much deeper, but there's no sign of work to connect the two parts of the wall, or to fill in the gap between the wall and the platform or move the street lights.

At the south end, under the footbridge, they're putting in rebar to form the joint between the relocated platform wall and the station building:
There's also a strange bracket covered in pink gunk where the footbridge is held up by the old wall. I presume this will be cut.

(In the first photo I've annotated how interchange between the Overground and tube stations will work. The two face each other across a new open air bus station. There'll be no indoor interchange)

Speaking of the tube station, they've nearly got the front wall fully glazed:
I say "front wall", but this would have been the side wall of the old building, which had its main entrance round to the left. The focus has been rotated 90 degrees away from Shepherd's Bush Green and onto the bus and rail stations and shopping centre.

Just around the corner, here's London's last new tube station for the foreseeable future, Wood Lane:
All this cladding is new, as are the window frames above the entrance. From a passing train you can see the platform surfacing and edging is almost complete.

All these stations open in October-ish.

Shepherd's Bush Overground: wall moving

3 weeks into the work at Shepherd's Bush to move that wall and they've started repositioning the wall segments in what looks like their final position:
They can't be much more than a few feet further back, but it looks like it doubles the available space behind the yellow line.

Meanwhile they've demolished the top half of the wall by the station building (see last week), and dug a big hole behind the bottom half:
Still that post supporting the footbridge to be dealt with.

Shepherd's Bush Overground update

Progress on widening the platform at Shepherd's Bush Overground station continues, with segments of the wall now removed:
They haven't started digging along the rest of the platform.

One of the big challenges is widening the platform where it meets the station building. They've removed the facing panels from the wall that needs demolishing:
As I suspected, there's a steel post holding up the footbridge in the most inconvenient place.

Shepherd's Bush Overground hole getting bigger

The work to widen the platform at Shepherd's Bush seems to be moving ahead quickly):

It was barely started last Tuesday. They only seem to be bothering with the southern half of the platform, nearest the station building, at least for now.

And it's nice to see the station finally being used for something, even if it's just as a site office:

Shepherd's Bush Overground platform widening begins

Ain't it a lovely day today? The sun is shining, Imperial Wharf is being built, and they've started digging a hole behind the legendary wall at Shepherd's Bush Overground:

Inside the ticket hall, they've put up fences and boxed up the gates:

This is the first time anything at all at the station has changed in six months.

(And yes the lift and the station signs are still pointlessly switched on)

[Thanks to Dazz285 for the tip off]

Shepherd's Bush / Wood Lane update

Before I start, potentially big news: An anonymous commenter reports that work has begun today to move the wall at Shepherd's Bush Overground after six months of inactivity. Can anyone confirm?

[Update 9/4: I'm thinking false alarm or hoax or they've buggered off already]

Anyway, some pictures I took last week. The entrance to Wood Lane tube station has gained solid walls since February:

And the platforms: (click to enlarge)

Moving just around the corner to Shepherd's Bush tube station.
This gap is where the original building stood, of which nothing remains. The framework must be to protect the escalator replacement works. On the right is one half of the new building, which will eventually cover the whole site.

Shepherd's Bush Overground opening date: October 2008

This month's board papers have another update on the Shepherd's Bush Overground saga:

Network Rail and Westfield are making good progress towards a technical solution to the 'narrow' north-bound platform to be increased to a minimum width of 4m along a 4-car length, including the former pinch point at the bridge pier. The parties are seeking to open the station at least 4 weeks in advance of the opening of the shopping centre.

Now when's the shopping centre open? The latest line seems to be "by Christmas". The shopping centre's tube stations don't open until mid-October, so November-ish appears to be a safe bet for the shopping centre, and October for the Overground, coinciding with the other stations opening. This is pure speculation, mind.

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.

Shepherd's Bush Overground: still arguing

I received an email from TfL today that all but confirms my suspicions about the station:

There are indeed some issues regarding the safety of the narrow northbound platform which must be resolved before the station can open. London Overground Rail Operations Limited, the operator of London Overground, have identified potential risks to passengers as trains pass at high speed. As the station is owned by Network Rail and is being developed by Westfield (the developers of the shopping centre), it is their responsibility to ensure that safety requirements are met.

What's implied is that Network Rail and Westfield are (or were) happy with the station as it is. The "built too narrow" farce angle may make a good headline, but it appears there's a genuine dispute about whether or not the platforms are safe.

As to what progress there is and when it might open:

Please be re-assured that TfL and LOROL are in regular contact with both parties, with a view to resolving these matters as soon as possible. At the moment, frustratingly, we are unable to confirm an opening date. London Rail has designated a senior manager to monitor developments, and both the Project Director at Westfield and the Network Rail director with responsibility for this station are working closely with him to determine a solution.

There's a tiny bit of hope something's happening. I had a look last weekend and nothing's changed. The current wording on TfL's project page is "due to open shortly".

(The picture is the station as shown on the shopping centre hoarding, where it has no platforms at all)

[Latest: The wall will be moved, taking at least four months]

Shepherd's Bush Overground: Mystery Solved

The last couple of weeks I've been ringing and emailing pretty much everyone involved with Shepherd's Bush Overground station, and although no one's keen to speak, I think I might have figured out what's going on. Here goes:

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the station. It was designed correctly, it was built correctly, and the platform isn't really all that narrow. It was only when London Overground got involved last summer that objections were raised, demanding after the fact that the station be built to a higher standard.

This would explain why we haven't heard any fuss from the Mayor's office, and how the station came to be completed without anyone saying anything, because as far as Network Rail and Westfield were concerned, there wasn't a problem. And the Office of Rail Regulation (responsible for health and safety) have very frankly denied any involvement.

I still need to confirm some of this theory, but the key part has been stated explicitly to me: The station hasn't opened because, rightly or wrongly, London Overground refuse to use it.

[Latest: The wall will be moved, taking at least four months]

Shepherd's Bush Overground: End of the year

Last month, we were told that Shepherd's Bush station on the West London Line would be "ready for service by the end of the year". And on the latest tube map going up in stations now, it's shown as open. So if you visited today you'd expect to see - if not an open station - at least some serious progress, right?

Not a sausage. But then it is a spectacular cock up with no obvious solution. There was a suggestion of opening only the southbound platform (on the left in the photo), which is very wide for most of its length. But the opening to it from the footbridge is onto the narrow part, and there are structural tension rods preventing the window facing us being turned into a doorway. On the northbound platform, even if it were decided to move the retaining wall, they'd also need to demolish a corner of the station building, which in turn may well be holding up the footbridge.

I've also dug up an incriminating diagram from the planning application. Most glaringly, it shows the lights were always meant to mounted on the fence rather than blocking the platform, something that's since been proposed as a solution. And it makes it obvious why no one's keen on moving the wall.

Disclaimer: Site last visited on Friday. Optimists may assume it was sorted over the weekend and opened today.

[Latest: The wall will be moved, taking at least four months]

Shepherd's Bush station: opening date update

I've been in touch with TfL again over the opening date of Shepherd's Bush station. Their reply:

The responsibility for delivery of the new West London Line station at Shepherd's Bush rests with Westfield, the developers of the adjacent White City shopping centre. We understand that Westfield is expecting to have the station delivered to the appropriate standards and ready for service by the end of the year. Transport for London (TfL) will then take responsibility for operating the station as part of the new London Overground network.

"End of the year"? That's very nearly a concrete date.

[Latest: The wall will be moved, taking at least four months]

The Shepherd's Bush platform debacle

Rumour has it that the mysterious delay in the new Shepherd's Bush station on the West London Line opening is down to one of the platforms being built too narrow. I went down there to take a look, and it's obvious even from first glance that something's not right.

[Latest 02/08: The wall will be moved, taking at least four months]

As the photos show (click to enlarge), there's barely enough space to walk round the lamp posts without crossing the yellow line, and apart from the area by the stairs the problem seems to exist along the entire length of the platform. The second photo shows the retaining wall that needs to be moved to fix the problem. Although not clear in the picture, there is at least a short area of tarmac between the metal fence and the concrete structure beyond, so it may be straightforward to fix. The right hand (southbound) platform appears to be a decent width.

If you want to see this for yourself, turn left out of Shepherd's Bush tube station, cross in front of the bus station, and follow the pavement round to the left. As you descend the ramp towards the subway under the West Cross Route, you get a very clear view of the station to your left.

Update: I've dug up a plan (4.7MB PDF) showing that the structure in the second photo is probably the Peninsular Building, and there's a wide road between it and the station. Worryingly, more than a year before construction began, it clearly shows a very narrow northbound platform (Here's a more detailed view from the same application). And here's the latest version of the interchange plans, dated June 2007, again showing plenty of space beyond the retaining wall.

Shepherd's Bush station opening soon-ish, maybe

I emailed TfL to ask when the Shepherd's Bush West London Line station is opening (their site says July). The response:

Shepherd's Bush station is nearing completion and we hope to see it opening towards the end of the summer period or early autumn based on present assessments.

A crazy person might suggest it'll be pushed back a little further to tie in with the launch of London Overground in November, but clearly that person would be crazy.