East London Line Extension - Phase II Approved
Some good news - the government has stepped up and put money forward for Phase II of the East London Line Extension which runs from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction. Phase I (the red line) is due to be completed in 2010, while Phase II (blue line) would be completed in 2011.
The majority of infrastructure for Phase II is mostly in place, but a few sections of work need to be (new fly-overs, platforms, etc...) done to connect the dots. Once finished it will not create a second circle line, but an orbital rail service starting/finishing at Clapham Junction - the busiest train station outside Japan.
However, one of the initial stations on the line: a new station called Surrey Canal Road (which would be located on new track between Surrey Quays and Queens Road Peckham) has not been included in the plan. Construction work will however allow for a future station to be built on the site at a later date.
Interestingly Phase II (inbetween Clapham High Street and Denmark Hill) goes past/over two other stations which would create important interchanges. The proble however is that at Brixton (interchange for Victoria Line, Chatham Main Line), the ELLE platforms would be located on a viaduct above another viaduct (which house the CML platforms). At Loughborough Junction (interchange for Thameslink and other suburban train lines) the situation is similar as found at Brixton. Fortunately part of the works includes creating the necessary ammendments to allow for future stations to be slotted in
[img]
[/img]
Queens Road Peckham Station
Peckham Rye Station
Denmark Hill Station
Brixton Station
Clapham High Street Station
Wandsworth Road Station
Clapham Junction
The little used northern entrance. The platform immediately above the entrance is presently disused, but wil be brought back into use for the ELLE
The 2010 DLR Network
With the recently opened extension to Woolwich Arsenal now open, work is progressing well on the Stratford International extension which will open in 2010. After 2010, there are extensions in the pipeline to Dagenham Dock, Charing Cross and other feasability plans in the work.
Diagram by
mackenzie_blu at flickr.
London King's Cross Northern Ticket Hall
A few pictures from
www.contractjournal.com of the Northern Ticket Hall at King's Cross that will provide another link between the Tube, King's Cross and St Pancras termini.
1 - King's Cross is to the left, St Pancras to the right. New ticket hall in the centre.
2 - Same view, but at night
3 - Ground view of the several levels for the ticket hall (there will also be a large semi-circular glass roof that follows the curve of the Great Northern Hotel and the station to the left
4 - A new connecting passage
5 - A better idea of how big the ticket hall will be
6 - Where new escalators down to the Northern Line platforms will reside
7 - King's Cross St Pancras is the busiest tube station on the network, and will get bigger when Crossrail 2 arrives in a few years
Islington offers TfL £5m to lose Highbury gyratory
Filed 12/02/09 http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=5598
Islington Council in north London has offered Transport for London £5m to help pay for improvements to the area outside Highbury and Islington station.
The local authority says it is willing to put up half the cost of the Highbury Corner regeneration scheme, which would replace the existing road gyratory system with a conventional road junction, freeing up space to relieve overcrowding at the station. Council chief executive John Foster has written to TfL commissioner Peter Hendy to formally offer the money, which would require TfL to match the funding.
Highbury and Islington station is expected to see an increase in passenger numbers following its connection to phase one of the new East London Line extension in 2011. The local authority hopes works to relocate the post office and improve the public space in front of the station could begin in 2011/12 and says the cost would be between £6m and £11m.
Cllr James Kempton, leader of Islington Council, said: "By managing our money carefully, we've been able to put aside funding for this large-scale project. I believe residents would much rather see this cash invested in the borough - in a scheme that will create jobs and apprenticeships - rather than sitting in the bank earning paltry sums of interest.
"Highbury Corner is routinely described as 'one of the worst places in the borough'. We want to change that and provide a legacy for future generations."
The former station that was on Highbury Corner - the station exists, but not in this state...
Bombardier salvages train order with Stansted Express
Filed 12/02/09 http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=5600
Train manufacturer Bombardier Transportation is poised to secure a deal to build 120 new train carriages for the Stansted Express service connecting London Liverpool Street station to Stansted Airport.
The announcement came on the day Bombardier heard that the Express Rail Alliance, of which it is a member, had lost out to rival consortium Agility Trains in the race to clinch a £7.5bn contract to build a new generation of inter-city trains for Britain's main railway lines.
However,
news of the Stansted Express order will bolster Bombardier's Derby assembly facility, which is already busy with six production lines working on trains for Southern/First Capital Connect, London Overground and the London Underground Victoria and sub-surface lines. Last month Bombardier's director of communications Neil Harvey told Transport Briefing that despite record production levels at Derby the company had capacity available for further orders.
Transport secretary Geoff Hoon this week said the Department for Transport was in advanced negotiations with National Express East Anglia, which operates the Stansted Express service, to order the new carriages. Bombardier has preferred bidder status and Hoon said the contract award would safeguard jobs in Derby.
The new Stansted Express trains form part of the government's plans to introduce 1,300 new carriages on Britain's rail network over the next five years, which followed a commitment in the 2007 Delivering a Sustainable Railway White Paper.
Last year the Department for Transport published a Rolling Stock Plan which said that the East Anglia rail franchise would receive 188 new electrical multiple units. This anticipated leasing Class 321 trains from London Midland and ordering new EMUs for the Stansted Express route to release Class 317 carriages to lengthen other services.
------
The present trains (at Stansted Airport station - under the terminal designed by Sir Norman Foster) that are used - showing their age a bit.
Cotswold rail double-tracking sets July start date
Filed 10/02/09 http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=5588
Work on site to redouble the Cotswold railway line will begin in July after Network Rail announced the project had reached the final design stage.
The Cotswold redoubling scheme will reinstate dual track between Evesham and Charlbury to help raise train punctuality on the line from 76% to 92%. The capacity enhancing scheme will also enable more passenger trains to run on the line.
A key element in the scheme is the restoration of a total of 20 miles of track across the Evesham to Moreton-in-Marsh and Ascott-under-Wychwood to Charlbury sections. At present these lengths of single line are limiting capacity growth and train movements, causing congestion and further delays if services are disrupted for any reason.
Mike Gallop, route enhancement manager for Network Rail, said: "This is an exciting milestone for a scheme that has come far. In this final stage of design, detailed improvement work for the next two-and-a-half years will be nailed down. We have a big task ahead to bring the scheme to commission, and we will continue to work hard to progress these improvements. We are also really grateful for the support from the industry and community and this is vital for the future success of this scheme."
The first intensive work is planned for 18 July-30 August this year when the track, and underground signal cables between Evesham to Moreton-in-Marsh and Ascott-under-Wychwood to Charlbury will be re-aligned. The improvement will help create space for the new tracks and for engineers to access the railway without having to close the line for subsequent track work.
Delivery of the work will be phased so that parts of the railway line can remain open while improvements are being carried out. However the line will be closed for several weeks in July and August. The majority of the subsequent improvement work will not affect train services and will deploy efficient engineering techniques to reduce construction time on site.
------
The Cotsworld Line is a branch off the line connected Oxford to London Paddington and serves West England providing connections into Wales.
£7.5bn Intercity Express order will be built in Britain
Filed 12/02/09 http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=5593
Hitachi has been selected by the government to build a new generation of 'Super Express' trains for Britain's inter-city railway lines as part of a £7.5bn contract, the largest ever rolling stock order placed for the UK rail network.
Confirmation of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) order represents a coup for the Japanese electronics giant, which narrowly beat a consortium including train manufacturers Bombardier and Siemens to clinch the business. It is also good news for British firms Barclays and John Laing which, through the Agility Trains consortium, have teamed up with Hitachi to set up a new train manufacturing plant and depots in the UK.
The government admitted that it had been difficult to separate the winning bid from the alternative submitted by Express Rail Alliance, a consortium comprising Bombardier Transportation, Siemens, Angel Trains and Babcock and Brown. It said both bids were deliverable and "substantially compliant" with the IEP Invitation To Tender, Train Technical Specification and associated procurement document published in March 2007. Hitachi's decision to team up with John Laing and Barclays in June 2008, after having already been shortlisted in its own right, now appears to have been a masterstroke enabling it to secure the contract.
John Laing's infrastructure expertise will enable the consortium to establish a new train manufacturing facility in the UK. Currently, the only volume train production plant in Britain is Bombardier's Derby works. The location of the new facility has yet to be revealed but new depots are planned for Bristol, Reading, Doncaster, Leeds and west London with upgrades to existing depots across Britain. By ensuring the new trains are built in the UK around 12,500 jobs will be created or safeguarded.
However, in a warning to Agility that ministers expect it to be accommodating in final contract negotiations, the Department for Transport has asked Express Rail Alliance to maintain its status as reserve bidder in case the DfT is unable to reach satisfactory terms with its first choice.
The contract structure passes the responsibility for constructing depots and maintaining trains to the successful bidder. Train operating companies will pay the successful bidder 'Set Availability Payments' for each train that reports for duty each day and remains reliable during the operational period.
The DfT has not said precisely how many train carriages will be ordered. The original IEP specification talked of between 500 and 2,000 but this week's announcement said only that there would be "up to 1,400" carriages.
Secretary of State for Transport Geoff Hoon said: "This announcement demonstrates that this government is prepared to invest, even in difficult economic times, by improving our national infrastructure. It is good news for the British economy that over 12,500 jobs will be created and safeguarded; good news for the regions that the government is supporting significant inward investment; and good news for passengers that we are taking the steps necessary to improve their rail journeys."
Assuming the contract goes ahead as planned, Hitachi will have dramatically consolidated its presence in the UK rail industry after winning its first British train order only five years ago. The company is currently supplying new 140mph 'bullet' trains for domestic High Speed 1 services from Kent to London St Pancras International which will enter passenger service in December this year. However, unlike the Super Express trains ordered this week, the High Speed 1 trains are being built in Japan.
The first Hitachi trains are already commencing test runs, for public operation in December. Note that these versions are dual-voltage (for OHLE and 3rd rail), while e ICE trains will be hybrids or full-OHLE.
