Think of Old Oak Common (OOC) as the Canary Wharf of west London. That’s the Vision: bold and challenging. But will a ‘super hub’ emerge? While the grand plan for OOC may depend on decisions further up the metaphorical line, to a certain extent OOC leapfrogs the institutional black hole of rail strategy and drives deeper changes in strategic planning for London as a whole.
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Old Oak Common: Part 2 – Putting the Pieces Together
In Part 1, we introduced the many components that need to be integrated into the grand plan at Old Oak Common (OOC), for a new interchange with HS2, Crossrail, the Great Western Mainline (GWML) and …
Continue readingWhen The Ticking Has to Stop: The Radlett SRFI
What happens when the parcel stops ticking? As our legislators’ thoughts turned towards tinsel, we saw again the traditional parliamentary game known as “When the music (parliamentary questions) stop – let’s stop passing the ticking …
Continue readingThe End of the Earth: Crossrail at Wallasea
In recent months we have covered Crossrail Tunneling and Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) quite extensively. One part of the process we haven’t really looked at in depth, however, is where the excavated material ultimately ends up.
Continue readingLondon & Freight Part 3: A Quart Into a Pint Pot
This is the final part of our look at how freight may become the Achilles’ heel for rail planners in London. The first article provided some context, looking at the various strategies, the national flows …
Continue readingLondon & Freight Part 2: The Freight Must Flow
The more we looked at rail freight in London the more we realised the significant challenges it poses, including to TfL’s aspirations for the Overground and its ‘strategic interchanges’. As the network in London reaches …
Continue readingLondon & Freight Part 1: Reshaping the Network
In our previous posts on the shape of London’s rail network, we looked at how our infrastructure legacy gives rise to the pattern of services which concentrates demand onto the city core and its ring …
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