Crossrail discussion

[Ted]

For a while now, two new crossrail routes have been proposed in London. The first route is the East-West route running from Shenfield in Essex to Maidenhead in Berkshire via Central London, with branches to Heathrow Airport in West London and Abbey Wood in South London via Canary Wharf and London City Airport. This route is currently under construction and the main tunnel running through Central London should be running by at least 2018. In this project will also include the electrication of the Great Western Main Line to Maidenhead from Airport Junction (Inbetween Hayes and Harlington and West Drayton stations)

The other route is Crossrail 2, which is also been known for a long time as the Chelsea to Hackney line (or Chelney). One of the most common route proposals for Crossrail 2 is running the trains from Epping to Wimbledon via Central London, with the section between Leytonstone and Epping taking over the central line, and the route between Wimbledon and Parsons Green taking over the District line. (Map can viewed in the spoiler below)

However yesterday news came yesterday of a different Crossrail 2 route, which has also been proposed in the past, This article comes from the BBC news website:

Crossrail 2 stations proposed by London business leaders

London First proposes Crossrail 2 will run from Cheshunt to Hampton Court

The London First business group proposed the line would run from the south-west to the north-east of London

Under the proposals, the line would run from stations in Hertfordshire to parts of Surrey and open in the early 2030s.

In central London, it would pass through Euston, King's Cross, Angel, Tottenham Court Road and Victoria under London First proposals.

It is hoped the line would relieve the Victoria line and much of the Piccadilly and Northern Tube lines.

Crossrail 2 would be linked with walkways to connect Euston, King's Cross and St Pancras stations rather than building a new station.

'Vital railway'

It has examined current demand and congestion forecasts on the Underground after 2020 and assessed the impact on the system of new national projects such as HS2.

It claims without Crossrail 2, at least £6bn would need to be spent in incremental improvements to existing Tube and rail infrastructure, "offering a fraction of the benefits while still leaving London congested".

Former Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, who chaired the group, said it was a "compelling plan with strong business support".

London First chief executive Jo Valentine added that a decision had to be made fast as "we cannot afford the decades of indecision that delayed getting started on Crossrail 1."

The first Crossrail project was suggested in the 1990s however it was not given the go-ahead until 2007.

It is expected to go out to consultation in late 2013.

The report says employment in the capital city is projected to rise by 700,000 and the population is set to rise by 1.5 million to almost 10 million from mid 2020s onwards.

Transport Minister Stephen Hammond said: "As London grows we'll need continued investment in its transport network to accommodate this additional demand, and support continued economic growth.

"Crossrail 2 is certainly one of the options for doing this. I welcome the work done by TfL and the publication of London First's report and will now consider the points it raises."


Crossrail 2 would ease pressure on public transport, say business leaders

London Mayor Boris Johnson commented on the proposal:

'Wealthy elite'

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "There is no time to lose and my team will work closely with London First and others on developing plans for this vital railway."

RMT union general secretary Bob Crow said: "It is vitally important that we don't waste more time delaying transport infrastructure developments that would make a massive difference for millions of people.

"It is equally important that big-business isn't allowed to call the shots on the routes and the timescales for these infrastructure developments.

"They should be built and operated in the interests of all Londoners not just the wealthy elite."

The first Crossrail project, currently under construction, will connect 37 stations from Heathrow Airport and Maidenhead in the west, through central London and out to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east.

Crossrail is due to be completed in 2018.

Here's a map of the proposed route:

Thoughts on this everyone? =)

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

Why is the map in a spoiler tag? It's not like it's a film or anything, I can't see anyone crying about a train route that won't be open for at least another twenty years.

On another note,I always thought the Chelsea-Hackney line was to incorporate the central line from Leytonstone to Epping? It doesn't seem to be on there.

 

[Ted]

Why is the map in a spoiler tag? It's not like it's a film or anything, I can't see anyone crying about a train route that won't be open for at least another twenty years.

Removed the spoiler tags =)

On another note,I always thought the Chelsea-Hackney line was to incorporate the central line from Leytonstone to Epping? It doesn't seem to be on there.

It's been changed in the proposed route for whatever reason, also the Southern terminus was supposed to be at Wimbledon, but now has been extended to various places in South London and Surrey

 

[Poisson]

Would this be overground trains or tube?

 

[Jonathan]

Would this be overground trains or tube?

Neither. I think it'll form a different system, but it'll appear on Tube maps and the like.

 

[Ted]

Would this be overground trains or tube?

Crossrail 1 is for heavy rail line for national rail trains. Crossrail 2 has been debated on whether it would be heavy rail, or part of the tube network. but it's been safeguarded as a national rail route

 

[EuroSatch]

Crossrail discussion

I would love for this level of investment to happen in other cities other than London. London public transport is, whilst not flawless, pretty damn good.

Birmingham however seem to think spending £250m on a bridge to connect the metro between two stations - which are 10 minutes to walk between - as a worthy investment. For me to get to my workplace in the heart of Birmingham it would be 2 buses and 15 minute walk, or 25 minute walk to get one train

 

[Adam]

It claims without Crossrail 2, at least £6bn would need to be spent in incremental improvements to existing Tube and rail infrastructure, "offering a fraction of the benefits while still leaving London congested".

That's a lot of taxpayer's money. How will it benefit the 50,000,000+ British taxpayers that don't live in London?

 

[AstroDan]

Re: Crossrail discussion

Not everything will ever benefit everyone. These sorts of projects are important- the UK has come up embarrassingly short compared to the likes of Germany, Spain and France in recent decades when it's come to serious transport projects.



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[Jordan]

For such a populated part of London, Hackney is impossible to get to by Tube. If you're willing to take a extended route, you can get to areas on the Overground, else you're left to the buses.

 

[Ted]

For such a populated part of London, Hackney is impossible to get to by Tube. If you're willing to take a extended route, you can get to areas on the Overground, else you're left to the buses.

This is because that the borough of Hackney has no Tube station (Although Old Street and Turnpike Lane are just outside the boundary). There are numerous stations around the borough and it isn't difficult to get to the area from my experiences

=)

 

[Benzin]

This would have Chessie South as a destination?

Definitely beneficial to the park then...

Don't mind it as I won't be using either Crossrail regularly anyways...

 

[Plastic Person]

This would have Chessie South as a destination?

Definitely beneficial to the park then...

If it's still there...