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Post by thc on Sept 18, 2005 12:10:45 GMT
Hello all, it's my first post on this site although I've been a visitor for a while now. I thought you might be interested in this response I received from Herts County Council - the project managers of the proposed extension to Watford Junction (the one that's been on the drawing board forever and a day) - when enquiring of the scheme's current status: "Unfortunately there have been some delays in the progress with Croxley Rail Link. Herts CC and TfL / LUL had hoped that their discussions with DfT earlier in the year would have enabled the DfT to give an 'approval in principle" decision on funding the scheme prior to the general election earlier this year.This decision was (unfortunately) not made. Since then, further discussions have been taking place , concentrating on reviewing and updating some of the information previously submitted to DfT. It is hoped that a decision regarding the project will be made as part of the annual announcement of Local Govt funding in December. If that is the case, the preparations would start for the Transport and Work Act application (the formal planning process for schemes of this nature). Public consultations associated with the TWA process would then most likely take place in the second half of 2006." Despite Ken's promise of many millions to part-fund it, will this scheme ever come to fruition? I have my doubts... THC
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Post by thc on Feb 19, 2008 17:54:57 GMT
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Post by thc on Jan 15, 2008 14:17:51 GMT
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Post by thc on Jan 15, 2008 17:29:34 GMT
Gunnersbury would have had that interchange with the District and Piccadilly near Acton Town if LB Hounslow had been bullish enough to enforce a s106 agreement with the developers of the Chiswick Park development.
THC
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Post by thc on Jan 15, 2008 16:50:52 GMT
In five years of regularly using the NLL and GOBLIN under Silverlink, I saw on-train RPIs once.
THC
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Post by thc on Dec 14, 2007 8:20:39 GMT
The Overground Network is no more. I suspect TfL will force the TOCs to remove them or some sort of sillyness like that! Unbelievably not, it would seem. Apparently, whilst TfL paid for the installation of the ON signage, it will not pay for their removal and is waiting for the TOCs involved to do the job for it in time. Given the spread in colloquial use of the word "overground" ("or overland") to signify National Rail services, TfL needs to take a more proactive line to protect its new brand and this, surely, involves getting rid of the ON signs, even if this means spending a few quid to do it. THC
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Post by thc on Dec 14, 2007 8:35:41 GMT
Acton Central is my local station and I must say that I'm pleased with the improvements that have been made. The new ticket office is a thousand times better than the bunker that existed previously and the station now feels cared for rather than careworn. In any case I'm fairly sure that the improvements made so far are just the "quick wins" and the station will receive full LO branding later on when the full refurb programme comes round. The gateline you refer to is on the EB platform which sees peak use in the morning (and this is entry rather than exit), so the number of gates at this point is not such a problem. In any case there is also a gateline on the WB platform and this caters for the majority of passenger exits in the evening peak. Despite this being only three gates wide in both directions I've seen it clear fifty people in under a minute, which is as many as I can ever recall stepping off a WB train when I've been on the station. The bald grumpy man is Michael and he's always been nothing less than polite to me, but then he sees me on a semi-regular basis and I always make an effort with him. I'm sure he'll get spruced up by TfL too as time goes on. And the level crossing? Short of closing Churchfield Road there's not much that can be done about this. Fare evaders will still find a way of not paying; the new gatelines just make it that much harder. TfL has surely done as much here as can be reasonably expected. THC
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Post by thc on Oct 12, 2007 14:32:25 GMT
John Rowland was on the money on u.t.l - if this is an issue, why not just remove the lamp posts from the northbound platform and attach the lamps to the wall instead? That would cost - at most - 10% of the sum now being mentioned that would be required to rectify the problem.
THC
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Post by thc on Oct 12, 2007 13:33:14 GMT
On top of the continuing delays with opening Shepherd's Bush WLL station, this is taken from today's Evening Standard. You just couldn't make it up. THC --- New railway station over budget...and undersized Katharine Barney, Evening Standard 12.10.07 A new rail station needs millions of pounds worth of extra work - because the platform is 18 inches too narrow. The Shepherd's Bush station was built in preparation for the massive shopping complex Westfield London, which will open next year. The work cost £12 million but only when it was finished did developer Westfield realise the station would be unable to cope with the anticipated volume of passengers. Lampposts had been installed and signs put up before it was discovered the width of the platform posed a safety risk. Now a wall will have to be knocked down so the western platform can be widened - at a cost to the developer of another £7 million. A source close to the development claimed planners had not taken into account the number of passengers changing between the mainline station and the Tube. Workers also built the eastern platform wall in the wrong place. The blunders have angered passengers on the route, which links Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction. Mark Balaam, chairman of the West London Line Group, said: "We are astounded at the delay in opening what is a straightforward station when passengers are already crying out to use it. We do not understand how any station is allowed to be completed with insufficient space for passengers so that it cannot be used. "Maps have shown for many years the extensive Tube and rail connections that Shepherd's Bush will now have, allowing it to mirror, to a large extent, the Stratford interchange in east London. "Our hope is that the Mayor will arrange for Transport for London to open this station as soon as possible, ideally within the first few weeks of the start of the new London Overground network next month. "This station will provide significant improvements to public transport in an area where they are particularly needed." A spokesman for Westfield Shopping Town said: "We are working with Network Rail to resolve the situation and are confident that we will be able to do so." Although the station was designed and funded by Westfield, Capita Symonds was employed as project manager. It liaised with Network Rail, the train operating companies and other stakeholders and provided an on-site engineer to supervise the construction work. The company refused to comment. A spokesman for Network Rail said: "On any project of this size, it is sometimes necessary to revisit original designs and in this case it has been necessary to carry out further work to look at the projected numbers of passengers using the station and redesigning the platforms accordingly. "We are working with the developer to address the situation in order to see the station in use as soon as possible." Westfield London, which will be spread over three floors, will have boutiques, more than 40 restaurants, dozens of cafés and bars, a 14-screen cinema complex, an atrium for the arts, a medical centre, a spa and a citizens advice bureau. There are also plans for 200 affordable homes, an overhaul of Shepherd's Bush Green and a £170million upgrade of local transport links. About 60 per cent of the tenancies for the shopping centre have already been exchanged or agreed. www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23416403-details/New+railway+station+over+budget...and+undersized/article.do
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Post by thc on Oct 9, 2007 8:03:52 GMT
According to others who attended the recent talk at the LT Museum by the LO brand manager, they will be either repainted into "neutral" colours or left alone but given a "deep clean". LO branding will only be applied when a step-change in the offering is made. Where trains are concerned, this means the introduction of new stock.
THC
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Post by thc on Oct 9, 2007 8:08:08 GMT
Both stations are to be retained under current plans. I agree with your point concerning catchment area for Wapping but Rotherhithe is an unnecessary luxury as far as I can tell, given that Canada Water is less than 400m away. That said, if one is to be retained then the other may as well stay open too.
THC
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Post by thc on Mar 26, 2008 18:22:05 GMT
I knew what I meant! Thank you for putting me right astock as, irrespective of my inability to communicate, I evidently didn't have all the knowledge.
THC
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Post by thc on Mar 20, 2008 17:28:08 GMT
Platform 5 at Watford is a south-facing bay alongside platforms 1-4 that could easily be brought back into use for Euston locals (or Bakerloo or Met when they finally reach WJ).
The old Platform 11 was one of the platforms for St Albans Abbey before the trackbed leading north was removed to make way for a car park and the new Platform 11 built some distance away.
THC
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Post by thc on Mar 20, 2008 13:18:06 GMT
I'd like to nominate Limerick Junction... just imagine of Doncaster, Crewe or Swindon were like this! The diagram and accompanying text explains it better than I ever could. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerick_JunctionTHC
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Post by thc on Jan 27, 2008 15:40:13 GMT
railtechnician - Political correctness is nothing more than expressed respect for other people. If you can't see that then I'd respectfully suggest that you've not properly thought about what the term actually means, but are instead passing off as your own the views of certain right-wing tabloids. The use of "little woman" is crass in any context and you should be man enough to admit it. Back on topic, the cakes do/did look great. I'd be happy with a train made of icing but happier still if it was made of marzipan! THC
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Post by thc on May 17, 2006 17:28:56 GMT
Sounds like inter-city jealousy to me. And, deep down, you know Melbourne's better... Maybe the Victorian plan will be delivered at the same time as Sydney finally gets around to extending heavy rail into the Eastern Suburbs proper (thereby making Bondi Junction a real junction!) THC
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Post by thc on Jan 3, 2006 8:50:45 GMT
Keep the ideas coming Biolizard. I for one feel that the NLL is being left somewhat high-and-dry by terminating at Stratford post-DLR extension. Extending it from the proposed platforms 11 and 12 to Tottenham Hale at the least would allow for a whole new set of journey possibilities and IIRC won't superimpose too many operational headaches on the existing service permutation.
THC
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Post by thc on Jan 3, 2006 22:32:46 GMT
Well, if a fine Irishman like Michael Terence Wogan can be called "Sir", then I'm certain sure that Rolf can use the same handle if/when it's granted to him. (As my father, proud Galwayman that he is, keeps reminding me, anyone born in what's now the republic of Ireland pre-1949 can claim British citizenship/subjugation...)
THC
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Post by thc on Mar 20, 2008 17:17:07 GMT
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Post by thc on May 17, 2006 18:03:23 GMT
Your plan would free up a 73TS or two, but would require extra 92TS. Unfortunately, the Central Line service is already restricted by the lack of 92TS, so extending the Central would be a bad idea. Just keep it the way it is. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't there a bunch of 1992 stock clones currently being modified by Bombardier somewhere? So maybe the problem can be solved relatively easily? (again, stress on the "relatively"...) (Which leaves the question of what stock for the W&C - maybe an add-on for 2009 stock or even some recon 1967/72 stock? Just a thought...) THC
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Post by thc on May 17, 2006 17:18:09 GMT
Out walking the Hillingdon Trail footpath t'other day I passed very close to Ruislip Depot and crossed Austin's Lane bridge at Ickenham and something struck me (though fortunately not stray 'A' stock!) that I know would interest one or two on here. What actually hit me was the considerable potential for interchange between the corridors that cross at this point. By diverting West Ruislip services over an expanded chord onto the Uxbridge branch at a flat junction somewhere east of the Austin's Lane bridge and Ickenham station, a much larger slice of west London would be accessible to the Central Line. Chiltern could continue to serve West Ruislip as now (in fact with four-tracking between the Ruislips which I believe is a part of their future plans they could enhance this) but focus on South Ruislip as an interchange station with the Central. All of which I'm sure could be done relatively cheaply (stress on the "relatively" ). "What about the existing Piccadilly services to Uxbridge?" I hear you ask. Turn them round at Ruislip, I say. Such a revised schedule might even free up a train for use on other Picc services. And, with the current headway to West Ruislip on the Central, it shouldn't prove too problematic integrating Met and Central services. Should it? I Googled "Central Line to Uxbridge" and it seems that quite a few other people (MPs mostly) have had the same idea. So does this have legs or is it merely pie-in-the-sky? Grateful for your thoughts, people... THC
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Post by thc on Mar 20, 2006 18:20:30 GMT
It looks to my untrained eye like the view southbound from Wembley Park station bridge towards Neasden Power station and I would guess it was taken at some time in the early 1950s.
THC
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Post by thc on Oct 12, 2007 20:53:37 GMT
25 kV AC overhead power supply rather than 630V DC third/fourth rail. "Mainline" gauge stock, whatever that means, rather than 'S' stock profile. Can't speak regarding the signalling - that one's way over my head... THC
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Post by thc on Oct 9, 2007 20:51:48 GMT
tho the need for the Jubilee to go Waterloo was O&Y's idea and they pressed for it. Splitting hairs, I know, but it wasn't actually their idea. Peter Twelftree of Steer Davies Gleave came up with that one (I was working on his team at the time and was involved in undertaking the demand forecasting). O&Y and Michael Schabas (their transport guru) were firmly behind the Waterloo & Greenwich Railway concept at the time but were persuaded of the alternative when we did a quick canvas of their prospective tenants and all came out in favour of an end-on link to an existing Underground line. The alternative of a diverted Bakerloo was quickly dismissed in favour of the Jubilee extension. All that remained was the issue of routing via CX (as in the Fleet Line stage 2) or Waterloo, and we all know the outcome. THC
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Post by thc on Oct 9, 2007 7:59:51 GMT
To my mind the proposed Airtrack scheme forms an ideal solution for what to do with the extra 10tph or so that terminate at Paddington under current Crossrail proposals. Crossrail services could be extended through Heathrow T5 to Staines and i) Weybridge to connect into the SW main line and/or ii) Reading via Ascot. Option i) would also minimise "performance pollution" on the wider SW network.
As for the question of replacing the current 16tph from Shenfield with 12tph post-Crossrail, is it not the case that all Crossrail services will be 12-car? Given the capacity limitations of the 315s (eight car and not exactly peak-friendly), this seems to suggest a hike in capacity of 12-20% and not the reduction implied.
THC
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Post by thc on Feb 16, 2008 19:38:23 GMT
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Post by thc on Mar 1, 2008 16:02:12 GMT
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Post by thc on Feb 16, 2008 14:03:27 GMT
For the second time in two days Diamond Geezer just happens to write about the last 'silver bullet'. Looks like he's been bitten by the bug... diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/Bonus points to anyone who can identify the cab-dwellers. Even more bonus points if you are one of them! THC
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Post by thc on Feb 15, 2008 11:48:49 GMT
Indeed we do and for that we are all grateful. There is no point however in taking offence when civilians describe us for what we are - transport geeks with cameras. If you don't agree, did you perchance witness the fun and games on the last day of the East London Line (RIP)? I would hate to have been a normal punter on that day. No wonder railway enthusiasts have a credibility problem with much of the rest of society. But I digress.
THC
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Post by thc on Feb 15, 2008 11:18:39 GMT
Disparaging, maybe, but inaccurate? I don't think so. And I speak as one of them. I think you need to lighten up a little.
THC
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