South Quay Station
South Quay station is located on the Lewisham branch of the DLR, and due south of Canary Wharf. As part of the system-wide DLR 3-car upgrade, a new station had to be built due to the position of the old station in-between two bends (ie the platforms could not be extended).
The new station is now located further to the east providing greater access for areas to the east of the Millwall Dock not adequately served
Pics taken by
IanVisits at flickr.com
The new rolling stock - currently only 2-carriages as the rest of the network has yet to be fully upgraded
The old station as viewed from the new station
King's Cross St Pancras Tube Station Upgrade
King's Cross St Pancras is the biggest rail & underground interchange in London comprising six London Underground lines, the Thameslink cross-London line, and five commuter and inter-city operators, including Eurostar services to Paris and continental Europe.
To cope with the expected rise in demand, and the opening of a new concourse at King's Cross, new tunnels and entrances are being built to ease transfers and increase capacity at the station. Works should be completed in 2010.
Between FCC St Pancras International Thameslink route platforms and:
Piccadilly line: 5 mins 40 secs (currently 8 mins)
Victoria line : 7 mins (currently 8 mins)
Northern line: 5 mins 50 secs (currently 9 mins 30 secs)
Circle, Metropolitan & Hammersmith and City lines: 4 mins (route doesn’t change)
In addition, new entrances/exits at the other end of the Piccadilly, Northern and Victoria line platforms will make it easier and quicker (less congested) for passengers to access and leave these platforms.
Between FCC King’s Cross platforms 9, 10 & 11 and:
Piccadilly line: 4 mins 30 secs (currently 6 mins – or up to 11 mins if station entrance temporarily closed in the morning rush hour)
Victoria line: 6 mins (no change – but currently can be up to 11 mins if station entrance temporarily closed in the morning rush hour)
Northern line: 4 mins 40 secs (currently 7 mins – or up to 12 mins if station entrance temporarily closed in the morning rush hour)
Circle, Metropolitan & Hammersmith and City lines: 6 mins 30 secs (currently 7 mins 30 secs – or up to 12 mins 30 secs if station entrance temporarily closed in the morning rush hour)
In addition, new entrances/exits at the other end of the Piccadilly, Northern and Victoria line platforms will make it easier and quicker (less congested) for passengers to access and leave these platforms.
• Video Link
Circle Line Extension
From mid-December, the Circle Line which runs oddly enough in a circle around Central London is set to be extended to Hammersmith.
The problem with the Circle line is that it piggybacks off of the other sub-surface lines (Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, and District), and because of its continuous, non-terminus design delays elsewhere on the network affect its performance.
By creating a terminus in Hammersmith and at Edgware Road, the circle line can operate more efficiently by removing a conflict and creating a more reliable and defined service.
The new route also coincides with a massive signal, track and rolling stock upgrade which will boost capacity by 65%.
Pic sourced by
DarJoLe at SSC.
East London Line Extension
Some Youtube videos of trains testing the new line - due to open early next year
Crossing the approach tracks into Liverpool Street
• Video Link
Heading northbound on to the old Broad Street Viaduct
• Video Link
Crossing Shoreditch High Street
• Video Link
Passing through Haggerston Station
• Video Link
Oxford Circus Crossing
The new Oxford Circus 'Japanese' crossing has somehow managed to find itself on Japanese National News.
• Video Link
On a technical note, some western media outlets appear to refer to the crossing as akin to the Shibuya Crossing, which doesn't have a 'cross'. The Oxford Circus crossing is more like the crossing in Ginza (at the junction of Harumi Dori & Sotobori Dori)