Sandwiched between the Westway and the Hammersmith & City Line is Crossrail’s Royal Oak Portal – the point from which central section tunnelling will start in the west and the point at which trains will …
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Plane to SEN, Then Train From SIA: A Return to Southend
Southend Airport’s new rail station, which we have covered before, finally opened this summer. John Geoghegan, writing in the Echo, reported: Southend Airport’s new £12million rail station will finally open for business on Monday (17th …
Continue readingThe Shape of London’s Rail Network – a Peek Into The Past
The recently published RUS for London and the SE makes it clear that significant new investment is required to meet expected travel demand in the next few decades, and this is in addition to the …
Continue readingStretching the Line: Why We Do (and Don’t) Extend Tube Lines
With Crossrail under construction and extensions to both the Bakerloo and Northern Line being mooted, it seems a pertinent time to provide a brief reminder into some of the whys and wherefores for those less …
Continue readingNorthfleet: Opportunities for Opportunism
Our thanks and copyright acknowledgements to Ian Bancroft for this atmospeheric shot of a Javelin Travelin [Eek! So soon after Proof-Reading Gate- JB] through the arches near Gravesend. A new Crossrail logistics centre is to …
Continue readingCrossrail: Why Branch To Abbey Wood?
As regular readers have no doubt spotted, we are currently missing one final part of our London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) roundup – the proposals for West Anglia services into Liverpool Street …
Continue readingFurther Explorations at Old Oak Common
Once synonymous with Kings, Castles, Halls and Manors and now home to the dedicated Heathrow services, Old Oak Common is now the pivotal interchange in many of London’s rail plans. Our thanks and copyright acknowledgements …
Continue readingLooking East to the GEML – Not As Simple As It May First Appear
At first glance, the Great Eastern Main Line out of Liverpool Street would appear to be a doddle in RUS terms. Mentally, this author had expected to write a short paragraph on the lines out …
Continue readingSiemens’ Desiro City to be New Thameslink Rolling Stock
Rail Magazine are reporting that Siemens have won the race to supply the new Thameslink Rolling Stock, beating out Bombardier. Both Alstom and Hitachi exited the rolling stock race early, leaving Siemens and Bombardier to …
Continue readingJourney To The West: When Will Crossrail Open (And Does it Really Matter)?
With Crossrail now entering a more visually impressive phase, it is easy to forget that there are still some key elements yet to be finalized. This is something that several sources have reminded us of …
Continue readingPlaying The Waiting Game: Rail’s Future in London’s South East
To complete our round-up of what the London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) proposes for routes south of the Thames we look at the south eastern sector – essentially the routes into Charing …
Continue readingIn Pictures: Crossrail Excavations at Canary Wharf
Last week saw an opportunity to head into the North Dock at Canary Wharf in order to get a closer look at the work currently taking place on constructing Canary Wharf Crossrail station. The station …
Continue readingNarrowing the Options and Raising the Cash: The Battersea Northern Line Extension Moves Forward
Writing about public consultations on the proposed Northern Line extension to Battersea seems to be developing into somewhat of a May tradition. In May last year, TfL and Battersea Site owners Treasury Holdings undertook a …
Continue readingWhat If: Crossrail 1980
The link across London would provide through trains, cut-out inconvenient interchanges between train and underground or taxi, and thus save valuable time. It would help commuters from the outer suburbs of London and Inter-City travellers …
Continue readingFlashing the Cash: Kensington & Chelsea’s Crossrail Gamble
Kensington & Chelsea have announced that they would be prepared to underwrite the cost of constructing a Crossrail station in the Kensal area. The Borough have confirmed that they would be prepared to underwrite any …
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