London Transport Thread - Page 9

nito · #**161** Posted **Oct 27, 2011, 9:48 AM**

London is gradually getting there, but there is a lot more work to be done over the coming decades.

Heathrow has greatly improved since the opening of Terminal 5, and the new Heathrow East (the replacement for Terminals 1 + 2) will go a step further. Yet that doesn't resolve the heavily congested runway capacity shortfall or the ongoing concern that the main flight path crosses Central London.

My vision:
- A new 6 runway Thames Gateway airport with enough capacity to handle at least 300mppa for the long-term and replace Heathrow.
- High Speed 2 to the northern cities with capability of handling 18tph.
- Additional Crossrail routes (London could accommodate another 6 lines).
- Extension of Oyster or a contactless-card equivalent across all rail and bus transport operations in the South-East and East of England (i.e. London's metro area).
- New orbital lines (e.g. Varsity Line, Halcrow/Foster London-by-pass line, etc...)
- Quad-track (e.g. West Anglia Main Line) and 6-track (e.g. South West Main Line, Great Eastern Main Line, etc...) to fully separate metro, outer-suburban and intercity services.
- Push forward plans to build express tunnels as a cheaper alternative to 6-tracking main line routes and provide direct outer-suburban/intercity connections to the Central London mainline termini.
- Move toward automated commuter trains and grade separation on all rural lines.

nito · #**162** Posted **Nov 3, 2011, 11:54 AM**

Thames Hub

I briefly talked about this in my previous photo-laden post, but Foster & Partners, Halcrow and Volterra have finally unveiled their vision for a massive overhaul of aviation in and around London.

The £50bn project would include a 150mppa 4-runway airport that would have flight paths avoiding London, a new four-track HSR orbital line by-passing London, a new river crossing under the Thames, a tidal energy array and new Thames Barrier. All of the major ports would be connected to the cargo hub attached to the main airport.

Naturally this is just a vision, but unlike previous studies, this incorporates multiple features to boost the productivity gains.

electricron · #**163** Posted **Nov 3, 2011, 5:08 PM**

They're spending a fortune now rebuilding terminals at Heathrow and building a new direct rail line, so now is the time for visionary pipe dreams to the east?

At least, it includes everything, flood control, electric power generation, motorways, seaways, railways, and airways. They threw in the kitchen sink as well, the only thing they left out were preserving wetlands and wildlife.

M II A II R II K · #**164** Posted **Nov 3, 2011, 5:23 PM**

And they can add a spaceport there too.

Swede · #**165** Posted **Nov 3, 2011, 6:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KVNBKLYN

Thanks for these comprehensive posts!

Seconded!

I like your vision in post 161 too, nito. Do that and and it seems to me you're doing this:

I kinda like the Thames Hub vision too. Maybe i'm reading it wrong, but where's the HSR to/from central London? That needs to be there, not just the long Crossrail route.

zilfondel · #**166** Posted **Nov 3, 2011, 7:49 PM**

I thought the Thames estuary was protected? Now these architects want to fill it in and add the world's busiest airport (including pollution) to it? Nice! Especially when it floods, since its outside of the flood barrier.

Also, isn't HS1 and St. Pancras' new terminal (£800 million) & the improved Eurostar service to to Europe supposed to take a lot of the demand away from London-to-continental flights? What about HS2?!

The rest of it I'm not against.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

And they can add a spaceport there too.

Virgin Galactic flights to the US and Asia?

nito · #**167** Posted **Nov 4, 2011, 4:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by electricron

They're spending a fortune now rebuilding terminals at Heathrow and building a new direct rail line, so now is the time for visionary pipe dreams to the east?

At least, it includes everything, flood control, electric power generation, motorways, seaways, railways, and airways. They threw in the kitchen sink as well, the only thing they left out were preserving wetlands and wildlife.

Terminal 2 has been demolished to make way for the Heathrow East terminal which will migrate Heathrow towards a more efficient 'toast-rack' terminal configuration. The second phase of Heathrow East will see the new terminal building extended to occupy the site of what is presently terminal 1.

Yet the primary constraint at Heathrow is that the airport only has two runways operating at 98% capacity, with flight paths directly across Central London and strict restrictions on night time operations. Heathrow are looking to trial over the winter dual-runway use (i.e. both runways for simultaneous takeoff and landing), but there will still remain the cap of no more than 480,000 aircraft movements per annum from Heathrow.

To exacerbate the situation plans for a third runway have been turned down by all three main political parties, while Gatwick (the world's busiest single runway airport) is also tied to an agreement where no work could begin on a second runway until after 2019.

In essence, the problem with Heathrow is that unless all flights end up converting to A380's to maximise every potential landing slot (doubtful), Heathrow will reach an insurmountable wall. Something will have to be done, whether that be a third runway or night-time operations; yet that would be considered political suicide due to all flight paths operating across London itself.

Crossrail would utilise the current Heathrow Express tracks and tunnels to Heathrow, so there wouldn't be any major construction work at Heathrow; it would significantly increase capacity on the route however and help to relieve the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly Line. Work on Airtrack (which would provide a southern heavy rail link) has stalled due to concerns over a level-crossing.

Naturally the question is what would happen to Heathrow? In my view the site is prime redevelopment land - extensive transport connections and a vast space for mixed use development. The site would also be connected to the new airport via Crossrail.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swede

Seconded!

I like your vision in post 161 too, nito. Do that and and it seems to me you're doing this:

I kinda like the Thames Hub vision too. Maybe i'm reading it wrong, but where's the HSR to/from central London? That needs to be there, not just the long Crossrail route.

When I have some free time, I'll use Google Maps to put together the plans, but from looking at the slightly basic maps, the airport would be connected to London via two separate heavy rail routes.

The first is an easterly extension to the presently under construction Crossrail. An extension to a town south-east of this planned airport has already been safeguarded, so a simple extension across the marshy terrain would be a simple task.

The second is the HSR connection to Central London which would appear to run north-westerly along the new HSR orbital line under the Thames before emerging on the other side. The line would then divide, with the orbital route carrying northwards, while the HS1 connection route would head easterly. The connection between the present HS1 and Thames Hub HSR connection would have to occur somewhere in the Rainham (East London) area as HS1 then dives into a 19km tunnel until it emerges at London St Pancras.

Essentially the project would not just create a diversion line around London, but a diversion line for HS1, increasing overall capacity for more services. Southeastern who currently operate 8 London-bound Shinkansen trains per hour along HS1, would snap up the chance to provide additional services to and from the airport.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zilfondel

I thought the Thames estuary was protected? Now these architects want to fill it in and add the world's busiest airport (including pollution) to it? Nice! Especially when it floods, since its outside of the flood barrier.

Also, isn't HS1 and St. Pancras' new terminal (£800 million) & the improved Eurostar service to to Europe supposed to take a lot of the demand away from London-to-continental flights? What about HS2?!

The rest of it I'm not against.

Parts of the locale are protected mud flats, however the site for the airport is a combination of industrial fuel tanks, a power station and container port. A large chunk of the airport would also be built on reclaimed land.

Interestingly 5mn tonnes of spoil from constructing the Crossrail stations and tunnels is set to be deposited on a site about 4 mile west of this proposed airport, so that could potentially be recycled for land reclamation. In addition, Crossrail 2, HS2 and the orbital line will require many miles of cuttings and tunnel sections, producing even more spoil that could be utilised for this project.

A major problem with not just Heathrow, but also Gatwick is that due to the lack of runways, many flights are held in holding stacks (or on the ground) around London if there are any problems. The subsequent congestion generates more pollution. Furthermore, due to the westerly prevailing wind and Heathrow's location due west, the noise and air pollution is spread across Central London. An eastern airport would greatly increase the efficiency of plane movements, as well as leading to shorter journey times when coming from Asia, Oceania and Africa.

HS2 and the Thames Hub are mutually beneficial projects.

Eurostar currently has something like 70% of the market for trips between London and Paris, and 90% of trips between London and Brussels. Deutsche Bahn is looking to operate services to Amsterdam and Germany, so there could be further erosion of the short-haul aviation market. In essence, the combination of HSR and other rail routes means that the vast majority of short-haul flights would become uneconomical, leaving the airport to cater directly to the more vital medium to long-haul aviation markets, namely China, Brazil, India, etc...

London St Pancras would remain the terminal for Eurostar, Southeastern Shinkansen services, and future Channel Tunnel HSR services, however as part of HS2 project (which will terminate at nearby London Euston), a short link tunnel is intended to be constructed to join HS1 and HS2 (this would avoid St Pancras and Euston). I suspect however this could be dropped if the orbital line is constructed as the dynamics of HS2 would shift drastically to reflect London-bound or London-avoid services.

A key point about the HSR orbital rail line is that it would provide a connection to HS1 and HS2 allowing for Birmingham-Paris HSR trains to by-pass London altogether, cutting journey times. In addition, the orbital line would connect with the UK's major main lines: South Eastern Main Line, Chatham Main Line, Great Eastern Main Line, Midland Main Line, West Coast Main Line and Great Western Main Line. This wouldn’t only drastically increase freight capacity in the UK (essentially joining every single major UK port into a mega-hub), but provides an untold number of potential intercity train services that could avoid London and run directly to the airport. For instance there could be an intercity service from Cardiff that runs direct to the airport, avoiding the congested approaches into and out of London.

I suspect that is how they came to the conclusion that 300,000 people would be using the train station each day; i.e. not just London and metro origin journeys, but UK and even continental Europe origin travellers.

Rational Plan3 · #**168** Posted **Dec 8, 2011, 5:57 PM**

Well that did not take long.

Two images of TFL's preferred options for Crossrail 2.

http://www.transportxtra.com/magazin...news/?id=28776

The first is for an automated metro line, which is pretty much just the core Chelsea Hackney route between Kings Road and Hackneys Downs, with an extension to Seven Sisters in the North and Clapham Junction to the South.

Then there is their regional metro option.

This is much more interesting. Again we have a core route but with fewer stations in the core because of their size. The tunnel would start at Wimbledon and then divert to Tooting Broadway, where it could intercept traffic from the Southern end of the Northern Line, before going back to Clapham Junction.

At the Northern end it is even more creative and reminds me of the two eastern branches of Crossrail 1. The line diverges into two tunnels at Angel, where one goesto Hackney and then Tottenham Hale before surfacing and taking over the West Anglia line to Hertford East. The other line goes to Dalston, Seven Sisters, Wood Green and then Alexander Palace. This line would intercept traffic on the other branch of the West Anglia, Northern Piccadilly and the Great Northern lines.

It seems to me this is TFL's attempt preempts Network Rails concerns particularly in the South West, while sneakily squeezing a few more suburban stations. Only one Northern Line takes over Suburban rail services, the other intercepts suburban traffic at interchange station, coincidently acting as a new suburban line for TFL.

nito · #**169** Posted **Dec 13, 2011, 1:39 PM**

Thanks for the images Rational Plan. I managed to source the original TfL document that they were sourced from:

Thameslink

*Nurse* over at skyscrapercity.com took some pictures of the new southern ticket hall at Farringdon and the new northern and southern ticket halls at Blackfriars.

Source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=589 + http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=590

Farringdon
By 2018 there will be four ticket halls to access Farringdon station. The original ticket hall which dates back to 1866 is being renovated and is visible across the pedestrian road in the first picture. The first picture also shows the second recently opened ticket hall which will also be the main western entrance to the Crossrail platforms.

A general indication showing the layout of the new ticket hall and future connection to Crossrail platforms

Source: Network Rail: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/6282.aspx

Blackfriars
The station has been extended to cross the Thames, with two new ticket halls on the north and south bank. A solar roof which is still under construction will span the length of the station.

The finished appearance in summer 2012

Source: Network Rail: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/6264.aspx

West Hampstead
In addition, a new entrance has opened for the Thameslink West Hampstead station in north London.

Source: Green, Cream & Tangerine livery[/b] on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4580146...n/photostream/

High Speed 2

After various protests from locals and green groups (rather ironic), the decision on whether HS2 will be given the green light has been postponed until mid-January. This delay also combines with a new proposal to put an additional 1.5 miles underground to preserve some picturesque countryside.

M II A II R II K · #**170** Posted **Jan 3, 2012, 4:43 AM**

Crossrail project: Digging to start on London tunnels

1 January 2012

By Richard Lister

Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16320945

Quote:

They look like a movie prop from "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" but the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) unveiled in Germany are the real thing. Each one weighs 1,000 tonnes and is longer than a football pitch. In March, the first of eight of these giant machines will start burrowing under central London to carve out the tunnels for Crossrail, Europe's biggest civil engineering project. Crossrail will link areas east and west of London on 118km (73 miles) of rail track. The route will descend as much as 40m (130ft) under London through 21km of twin-bore tunnels.

- They will take two years to dig, but the preparation work is well under way. The TBMs were built in Schwanau, Germany, by Herrenknecht. Testing has now been completed and the first is being shipped to the UK in pieces for re-assembly at the tunnel entrance site at Royal Oak in west London. Everything about the machines is enormous, including their price tag - £10m each. They are a suitable emblem for an enterprise which will cost £14.8bn and will employ an estimated 10,000 people. This is a project of big numbers. When the TBMs start work, they will operate 24 hours a day, grinding through the London clay at a rate of 100m a week.

- As the machine bores out the tunnel, it lines it with concrete segments. Production of those segments has just started at a purpose-built factory in west London. Each weighs almost three-and-a-half tonnes and takes a month to set solid. Two more factories will be built, and between them they will produce a quarter of a million concrete segments to line the Crossrail tunnels. Crossrail says the new network will increase rail capacity to London by 10%, bringing another 1.5 million people to within 45 minutes of the capital.

.....

nito · #**171** Posted **Jan 10, 2012, 2:03 PM**

High Speed 2 - Approved

After various consultations, the Transport Secretary Justine Greening has given the green light to High Speed Two. The initial £17bn stretch will run between London and Birmingham.

Following consultation with tens of thousands of interested parties, various amendments have been made to the current route:
- The line will be in tunnel for around 22.5miles of its length (up 50%).
- An additional 56.5miles will be partially or totally hidden in cuttings, with a substantial reduction in the number of viaducts and embankments.
- Only five properties across the length of the line would experience high levels of noise.
- A commitment has been made to plant two million trees along the route.

Aerial video from between Aylesbury and Birmingham: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16478954
An Ordnance Survey map of the route: http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publication...5000issue3.pdf

Source: BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16478954

Some other notes:
- Upon completion of work of phase I (London - Birmingham) in 2026, there will be 11 trains per peak hour in each direction, with 10 trains per hour off-peak with a maximum capacity of 14 trains per hour.
- Once phase II is built, peak-hour capacity in each direction will increase to 18 trains per hour.
- Upon the completion of phase II, it is expected that 270,000 passengers a day would use HS2 to Central London.
- The line is being built to international gauge and will include a connection to HS1 for journeys onwards to the continent.
- Planned operating speed is 225mph; however the line will be built for 250mph operations.
- The line would operate between 0500-2359 Monday-Saturday and 0800-2359 on Sundays.
- Trains will be 400m in length with seating capacity for 1,100.
- 27 sites were suggested for a London terminus; however the present West Coast Main Line terminus of London Euston will be rebuilt to cater to the 400m train sets.
- The pace of growth on the railways has been outstripping growth forecasts despite the economic climate meaning the present rail capacity limits will be reached sooner than predicted.

Proposals for the £15bn phase two branches to Manchester and Leeds are also being put forward, with recommendations to the government being announced later this year. Phase II would also incorporate a spur to Heathrow Airport, however with the potential development of a Thames Gateway Airport and a London-bypass HSR line this may not be needed.

The first phase will open in 2026, cutting journey times from London to Birmingham to 45 minutes. Journey times to Manchester and Leeds would be cut respectively by 68 and 88 minutes by 2032.

A Southeastern Shinkansen operating on High Speed 1

Image taken by UK-JPN on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uk-jpn/...7627906625277/

HS2: Crossrail and London Overground Integration at Old Oak Common

jon10 over at skyscrapercity sourced these slides from parkroyaltown.blogspot.com which illustrate Transport for London's (TfL) plans for the High Speed 2 station that would be built at Old Oak Common in west London.

With the proposed HS2 station at Old Oak Common, it is planned that an adjacent station would be built to serve the Great Western Main Line and Crossrail line, providing easy access from HS2 onto London Heathrow Airport.

Slide 1 illustrates the present plans for HS2 and Crossrail in the area. Presently the two London Overground lines (the North London Line and West London Line) skirt around the planned interchange but do not run via the planned site.

TfL have taken the view that the two London Overground lines could be diverted to create a new 18 platform interchange station that would drastically boost interchange and connectivity across and beyond London.

A subsequent development would be the West London Line being diverted away from its current terminus at Willesden Junction (just off the map to the north), and onto what is presently the freight-only Dudding Hill Line to terminate at Brent Cross, to create a brand new orbital rail route.

The North London Line would still call at Willesden Junction, but its course would be amended to create the Old Oak Common interchange, before rejoining the present route onto Richmond in south-west London.

The newly extended West London Line would create six new stations, four of which would interchange with other London Underground and National Rail lines, maximising the connectivity to HS2 and north-west London.

The second potential option is to re-route various West Coast Main Line commuter services onto Crossrail via Old Oak Common. This would:
- Significant relieve London Euston (the present WCML terminus) and the approach tracks, allowing for potentially more HS2 terminating platforms.
- Drastically reduce journey times for WCML commuters to the City and Canary Wharf.
- Maximise the track usage on the western section of Crossrail.
- Provide extensive connections to HS2 from a region which is growing fast.

Crossrail

Some photos of the construction work for the Canary Wharf station which is sunk into a dock. All images taken by IanVisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...th/6515449619/

Croxley Rail Link

Funding has been secured to construct the long-awaited Metropolitan Line extension to Watford Junction.

The present Watford Branch terminates at Watford station; however this will be sacrificed to allow for the line to be diverted eastwards on a disused alignment, before merging with the Watford DC London Overground Line at Watford High Street, before terminating at Watford Junction.

Two new stations will be constructed at Ascot Road and Watford General Hospital. Line frequency to Central London would be a train every 10 minutes, greatly expanding the journey options from Watford Junction.

There is also potential to re-utilise a south-western chord which would allow for Chiltern Railways to run non-Central London bound trains to Watford Junction, thus increasing regional connections to Watford.

Source: http://www.londonreconnections.com/

New Bus For London

The controversial 21st century Routemaster replacement for London's bendy-bus fleet was recently unveiled. The buses are part of Boris Johnsons' election pledge to bring back a Routemaster-equivalent bus which allowed passengers to literally hop-on or off the back of the bus.

This allowed for short dwell times at bus stops as people could easily access the bus without needing the bus to stop at a designated bus stop. Naturally however there was a cost; firstly the buses required conductors (in addition to the driver) who would check tickets, secondly people jumping off the bus at speed led to injuries and accidents. They are also proving to be quite costly (both in terms of being manufactured and the requirement to employ a conductor) and questionable in terms of passenger benefit.

Due to health & safety legislation, the rear platform will only be able to be used during the peak hours when a conductor is present. During off-peak hours, only the front and middle doors will open.

The buses incorporate two staircases to provide ease of access to the upper deck, and the 38 bus route from Victoria to Clapton will begin to receive its first vehicles sometime this year. Images taken by DaveAFlett over at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9003948@N05/

New London Crossings

Various proposals for new crossings over the Thames have been made in the last few years, but with the exception of tube, train and DLR construction work, nothing much has taken off.

A major problem for East London is that road traffic is limited past Tower Bridge and the Rotherhithe Tunnel to the permanently congested Blackwall Tunnel and Queen Elizabeth Bridge (southbound) and Tunnels (northbound).

Recently the Mayor has sought to increase support for new crossings which is ironic considering it was he who originally put a hold on the Thames Gateway Bridge at the beginning of his term.

There are three crossings:
- The Thames Gateway Bridge which would link the missing link of the North (and to a partial extent the South) Circular roads.
- The Silvertown Crossing which would come in the form of a tunnel running from Silvertown to the Greenwich Peninsula to relieve the Blackwall Tunnels. This would be roughly on the same alignment as the presently under construction Cable Car.
- A Third Dartford Crossing, however this may not be sited adjacent to the present QE2 bridge and tunnel and may be sited further to the east and be incorporated as part of a tidal barrier in the previously mentioned Fosters’ Thames Hub airport project.

Sourced from The Evening Standard: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...-for-london.do

The Tube

According to figures released by Transport for London, Friday 9th December marked the highest number of passengers carried on the London Underground network in its 148 year history.

4.17mn passengers were carried across the network, which despite the mixed economic climate is up 7% year-on-year. The network also experienced its busiest every week (ending Sat 10th December) with 24.9mn journeys made.

Image taken by UK-JPN on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uk-jpn/...n/photostream/

Information source: TfL http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...tre/22218.aspx

London Cable Car

Construction is well underway on the Emirates Airline sponsored Cable Car that will link the ExCeL centre and 02 Arena. The rather pointless scheme is one of Boris Johnson’s pet projects to somehow appease his previous postponement of the Thames Gateway Bridge.

The first tower was recently completed. Image source from Londonist.com: http://londonist.com/2011/12/first-c...-completed.php

And how the sponsored route will appear on the tube map.

Bank-Monument Tube Station Expansion

Bank-Monument is London’s 4th busiest tube station; consisting of an underground labyrinth located at the heart of the Square Mile consisting of the Central, Circle, District, Northern, Waterloo & City lines and DLR handling in excess of 43.5mn passengers each year.

The station is experiencing significant annual growth of 2mn passengers per annum, with the number of interchanges also substantially increasing by 42% in the past six years.

While Crossrail and Thameslink will assist in relieving some strain by 2018, an additional ticket hall will be constructed on King William Street which would enable for 4 x 40 person lifts to be installed allowing for step-free access to the Northern Line platforms.

A new southbound Northern Line tunnel will be constructed, while the present southbound platform tunnel will be converted into an additional passageway. New connecting tunnels would then feed into the Central Line and DLR platforms to increase interchange capacity. Construction would start in 2015 and last until 2021.

All images taken by IanVisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...th/6328793981/

Black = Current Northern Line
Green = DLR
Red = Central Line
White = Existing Underground Ticket Hall, Stairs & Escalators
Magenta = New Northern Line platform, connecting tunnels and King William Street ticket hall

The site for the future King William Street ticket hall

In addition, to the above plans, it is planned that as part of Bloomberg’s new office development at Wallbrook, an additional ticket hall will be built to allow for additional access to the Waterloo & City platforms.

Thameslink

Work on London’s north-south rail link continues.

London Bridge

Plans for the redevelopment of London Bridge station have been approved by Southwark Council. The works will see the number of terminating platforms (presently nine, in future six) sacrificed for more through platforms (presently six, in future nine); this will allow for greater segregation of services and increase frequencies along all lines into London Bridge, London Cannon Street, London Charing Cross and the Thameslink route via London Blackfriars.

In addition a new street-level concourse will be built to greatly expand the station's capacity during peak hours. Construction work will not commence until after the Olympics, and is set to be completed in 2018.

Images and walkthrough video sourced from Network Rail (http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/12179.aspx) and other images from Grimshaw Architects http://grimshaw-architects.com/project/london-bridge

• Video Link

Farringdon

Two aerial images of Farringdon station which illustrate a few of the recent developments at Farringdon:
- The recently opened new southern ticket hall (green roof).
- The original Farringdon station building (immediately across the road from the above); this will be regenerated in the coming months.
- The new Turnmill Street ticket hall (running to the right of the old station canopy).
- The nearly completed roof canopy extension to cover the northernmost platform section.
- The large plot immediately adjacent to the recently opened southern ticket hall will be the primary western entrance to the Crossrail platforms.

• Video Link

Video and images sourced from Network Rail: http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co...egoryID-8.aspx

West Hampstead

A before and after image of developments at West Hampstead Thameslink; the original station entrance is being retained and expanded, while a far larger station hall has been constructed to provide step-free access and greater cover for passengers using the station.

• Video Link

Video and images sourced from Network Rail: http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co...egoryID-8.aspx

Peterborough

Located on the East Coast Main Line, Peterborough is an important north-south London & intercity commuter and east-west freight junction that is 120km north of London.

Despite its distance from London, the fast straights on the ECML allow for journey times of under an hour. In addition the station also offers a London bound train every five minutes at the peak which makes the area an attractive commuter destination with 4mn passengers using the station. (passenger journeys are up 30% in the last decade).

Passenger journeys are up 30% in the last decade and with Peterborough becoming a northern terminus for Thameslink, Network Rail expect London-bound passenger volumes to significantly increase; doubling within the next twenty years. Subsequently to cope with this, work has started on extensive redevelopment to allow for higher train frequencies and longer trains.

At present the station has five platforms, this will increase to seven, with present platforms widened and extended to cope with the longer Thameslink train sets and future Intercity Express trains. The concourse will also be significantly enlarged and modernised, while a new step-free footbridge to all platforms will be constructed.

In addition due to the station's national importance from the eastern ports to the Midlands, a new goods loop will also be built to increase cross-country freight movements.

Images sourced from Network Rail.

Cambridge Station Expansion

Opened in 1845 to service the famous university city, the station is a major rail junction and terminus for various commuter and rural services handling 7.6mn passengers per annum.

While a destination in its own right due to the various university-related education & business activities and tourist attractions, the station is also a major London commuter station, with ten London bound services each peak hour into two London termini (London King's Cross and London Liverpool Street).

Prior to December, the station had a complex configuration of six platforms (two north and two London-facing bay platforms), of which two platforms were a single 'joined' platform just shy of 500m in length. This peculiar layout meant that there was only one platform for trains running north beyond Cambridge from London and vice versa for trains in the other direction, constricting train movements.

The station also lacked sufficient London-bound platform capacity for terminating services.

Furthermore, with stations along the West Anglia Main Line into London Liverpool Street in the process of being extended (e.g. Broxbourne, Cheshunt and Sawbridgeworth) to handle 12 carriage class 379 services, a brand new island platform has been built to support terminating services.

Image and information sourced from Network Rail: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/Longer-...e-station.aspx

Croydon Tramlink

The successfull south London tram network has received the first of several new trams from Stadler to cope with increased demand on the 28km network. The new trams are 2.5m than the present Bombardier fleet.

Picture taken by Andrew Grantham: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewg...n/photostream/

Carriage Capacity Upgrades

Southern
It was recently announced (http://www.rail.co/2012/01/03/southe...ding-contract/) that Southern have placed a £190mn order with Bombardier for 13 new class 377 sets (formed of 2x5 carriages, 130 carriages in total) which will assist with congestion relief on metro routes into London Victoria with delivery due in the latter half of 2012.

Various platforms at stations such as Balham are being extended to cope with the extended trains. In addition, these new carriages will support Southern's already sizable 700 carriage fleet of class 377's.

Source: UK-JPN on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uk-jpn/...n/photostream/

South Western Trains
South West Trains have announced that they are seeking an additional 60 carriages to increase train lengths on Windsor Line trains by two carriages to 10 carriages. The present line is exceptionally busy with 54mn passengers per annum (up 4.4% year-on-year).

An additional three London Waterloo bound services will also be introduced (two from Reading and another from Hounslow) to boost line frequencies. The former Waterloo International platform 20 (which was mothballed following the move of Eurostar services to London St Pancras) will be utilised for the additional services come 2014, relieving platform congestion at London Waterloo.

Source: http://www.rail.co/2011/12/23/london...k-time-trains/

Colchester Station Upgrade

Located to the east of London on the Great Eastern Main Line, Colchester station which handles 4.3mn passengers a year is the primary transport hub for what was once the capital of Roman Britain.

Historically, the southern entrance was the primary access point due to the geographical proximity to the town, however a modern northern entrance was created to accommodate a car park.

Subsequent changes in transport use and growth in passenger flows has meant that the old entrance has now been brought back into use. Further information: http://www.rail.co/2011/12/23/offici...ester-station/

Taken by Always Santa Fe over at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnel_...n/photostream/

Bromley South Expansion

Work has begun on expanding the capacity of the south-east London station including two new lifts and an expanded ticket concourse.

The station which handles 20 London bound trains per hour at rush hour is a major commuter station.

Source: Network Rail, http://www.networkrail.co.uk/Bromley-South-station.aspx

Heathrow Terminal 2

Work on the superstructure of Heathrow’s newest terminal is nearing completion.

Image taken by Mic V. on Flickr (Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/micswor...n/photostream/)

East London Line Extension

Work continues on the second phase of the ELLE which will see the creation of a branch between Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction, completing the London Overground orbital route around Central London.

Clapham Junction bound services will branch off the present ELL south of Surrey Quays onto a brand new 2.5km alignment. The new rail link will also see the opening of a new station: Surrey Canal Road which is being funded by a developer who plans to build a £850mn 2,400 home development adjacent to the line.

The line then connects up to the present Inner South London Line, boosting frequencies and improving orbital interchanges at Queen’s Road Peckham, Peckham Rye, Denmark Hill, Clapham High Street, Wandsworth Road and Clapham Junction.

On approach to Clapham Junction, London Overground trains will run under the London Victoria & Waterloo approach tracks to terminate at platform two and same-platform interchange with the West London Line.

Unfortunately due to the geography of the line, interchange stations at Brixton and Loughborough Junction would be expensive, however in the future stations could be built if there was a sufficient business case.

Once the line is opened in the latter half of this year, frequencies via the central route of the ELL will increase to a train every 3 minutes.

All images sourced from London Reconnections: http://www.londonreconnections.com/

The 4 southern branches of the ELL that maximise rail interchanges across the south London rail network

M II A II R II K · #**172** Posted **Jan 10, 2012, 4:10 PM**

Greavsie · #**173** Posted **Jan 11, 2012, 8:36 PM**

holy fuck had no idea they were doing all this.These infrastructure improvements and additions must be costing a fucking fortune!

zilfondel · #**174** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 8:16 PM**

'Boris Island' airport plan grounded over Johnson's briefing to Telegraph

No 10 tells London mayor he has killed off estuary airport plan by handing gift to Lib Dem opponents of scheme

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2...ded?intcmp=239

nito · #**175** Posted **Mar 10, 2012, 10:58 PM**

Crossrail

Bond Street Station
Pictures taken by Light Parade at skyscrapercity: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1055

Canary Wharf Station
Pictures taken by Core Rising at skyscrapercity: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1056

Pictures by i like concrete of one of the tunnel TBM's at Royal Oak in west London (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1039)

Heathrow Terminal 2

Construction of the superstructure has now topped out for Heathrow's new terminal.

businesstraveller on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/busines...n/photostream/

businesstraveller on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/busines...n/photostream/

East London Line Extension

Where the Clapham Junction Extension spurs off from the ELL.

unravelled on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unravel...n/photostream/

(Bottom Left) New Clapham Junction ELL terminating platform.

unravelled on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unravel...n/photostream/

unravelled on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unravel...n/photostream/

London King's Cross

Pictures by hoodedvillain of the new concourse at King's Cross which is due to open at the end of March.

tompagenet on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tompage...n/photostream/

Network Rail: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/New_Kings_Cross.aspx

Network Rail: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/New_Kings_Cross.aspx

Blackfriars

The new northern entrance to Blackfriars station was recently opened to the public, which follows the opening of the southern entrance (on the opposite side of the Thames).

tompagenet on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tompage...n/photostream/

Kate E H on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kateeh/...n/photostream/

Balfour Beatty Major Civil Engineering on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbmce/6...n/photostream/

IanVisits on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

The London Underground platforms have now been reopened to the public

IanVisits on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

London Bridge

A new entrance to London Bridge station has opened which is located at the base of the Shard.

cybertect on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyberte...n/photostream/

unravelled on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unravel...n/photostream/

unravelled on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unravel...n/photostream/

Southend Airport

London Southend (London's sixth airport) is in the process of a £100mn investment programme to expand the airport to new international destinations. Last year a station for the airport providing one-seat rides to Central London opened and the airport owners are keen to expand the operations of the airport to 20mppa.

businesstraveller on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/busines...n/photostream/

nito · #**176** Posted **Mar 14, 2012, 12:38 PM**

King's Cross Western Concourse

Some further pictures by IanVists on flickr of the new western concourse at London King's Cross. Due to open soon.

Photo taken by IanVisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

Photo taken by IanVisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

The original ticket hall brought back into use

Photo taken by IanVisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

Ticket gateline with mobile phone readers

Photo taken by IanVisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

Peak direction escalator to the Tube station

Photo taken by IanVisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

Photo taken by IanVisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

London Cycle Hire

Phase II of London's cycle hire project has recently been completed. The project was focused on expanding cycle hire into Tower Hamlets (where Canary Wharf is located) and into other zone 2 areas such as Hackney, Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Lambeth.

There are now 15,000 docking stations across London with plans to expand the scheme across other zone 2 areas in coming months.

BBC News article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17296565
Map showing all docking stations: https://web.barclayscyclehire.tfl.gov.uk/maps

Photo taken by worldoflard at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldof...n/photostream/

Forest Glen · #**177** Posted **Mar 20, 2012, 8:42 PM**

BBC has a series about the employees of the London Underground. I've linked the first three episodes:

• Video Link

nito · #**178** Posted **Apr 3, 2012, 8:20 AM**

Crossrail

Construction continues on London's most important project. BBC article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17365934

Image sourced from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17365934

Image sourced from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17365934

The first two TBM's are due to begin from the western Royal Oak tunnel portal in a short while. Also a look at a station layout.

Image taken by neilio84 at skyscrapercity: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1064

Image taken by neilio84 at skyscrapercity: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1064

Ongoing work at the Tottenham Court Road station site

Image taken by Light Parade at skyscrapercity: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1122

Image taken by Light Parade at skyscrapercity: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1122

Work has been completed five months ahead of schedule on the super-structure for the Isle of Dogs (Canary Wharf) Crossrail station (refer to: http://static.worldarchitecturenews....srail3main.JPG).

Image taken by ianvisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

Image taken by ianvisits at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

King's Cross Western Concourse

Now that this is now open to the public, this has been receiving

Image taken by eddyK at skyscrapercity: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1404

The old Parcels Yard has been brought back into use as a pub

Image taken by RedArkady on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/6701468...n/photostream/

nito · #**179** Posted **May 2, 2012, 10:54 AM**

Crossrail

Royal Oak Tunnel Approach (Great Western Main Line and Hammersmith & City Line in foreground)

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Paddington Station

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Bond Street Station

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Tottenham Court Road - East

Source: IanVisits http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Tottenham Court Road - West

Source: IanVisits http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Farringdon Station

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Liverpool Street-Moorgate Station

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Whitechapel Station

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Canary Wharf Station

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Pudding Mill Tunnel Approach

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Connaught Tunnel (built in 1878, previously part of the North London Line, but will be utilised as part of the Crossrail Abbey Abbey Wood branch)

Source: IanVisits http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisi...n/photostream/

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

North Woolwich Shaft

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Plumstead Tunnel Approach

Source: London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2...-from-the-air/

Pudding Mill Lane Station

Originally opened in 1996 on the Stratford branch of the DLR, the station is currently located in the path of the eastern tunnel portal for the Crossrail route out to Shenfield. As such, the present station will be demolished and repositioned slightly to the south.

Source: tompagenet http://www.flickr.com/photos/tompage...n/photostream/

Source: tompagenet http://www.flickr.com/photos/tompage...n/photostream/

Cable Car

Work continues to progress on the new cable car linking ExCeL (an exhibition centre) and the 02 Arena.

Source: tompagenet http://www.flickr.com/photos/tompage...n/photostream/

Source: tompagenet http://www.flickr.com/photos/tompage...n/photostream/

London Heavy Rail Usage Up

According to latest figures published by the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR) (Source: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.10902) for the 2010-11 period, the number of non-London Underground heavy rail journeys focused on London, increased by 73.9mn (11.7%) to 706.3mn.
- Annual growth equivalent to an additional 205,000 passenger journeys each day, raising the average number of journeys (including weekends) each day to 2mn.
- The number of people utilising Network Rail lines solely in London (excluding London Underground) stood at 371.7mn, an increase of 54.8mn (17.3%).
- The number of people commuting into London from the surrounding urban/metro area and further afield stood at 334.5mn, an increase of 19.2mn (6.1%).

All the train operating companies which are focused on London experienced growth in passenger journeys, with London Overground seeing the largest percentage increase of 55.2% (19.0mn) to 53.6mn passenger journeys. South West Trains which is the UK's largest train operator based out of London Waterloo saw an increase of 6.7% (12.7mn) to 202.6mn passengers per annum.

The ORR has also published statistics for station usage across the UK (Source: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.10890), which detailed that the eight busiest (not factoring in London Underground) stations in the UK were located in Central London.

All of the major London stations experienced growth, with London Waterloo remaining the busiest; used by 91.75mn passengers each year. London Victoria was the second busiest at 73.57mn, with London Liverpool Street third at 55.76mn.

London Bridge, London Charing Cross, London Euston, London Paddington, London King's Cross, London St Pancras, London Cannon Street and East Croydon all handled in excess of 20mn per annum. In addition, there are now 178 (excluding London Underground) stations within London that are utilised by greater than 1mn passengers per annum.

Source: National Rail http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passen...l_Tube_map.pdf

Source: National Rail http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passen...South_East.pdf

CyberEric · #**180** Posted **May 2, 2012, 11:21 AM**

I just moved to London and I'm interested in learning more about the transit here, looks like a lot of reading for me in this thread. Thank you!