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  #61  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2009, 12:30 PM
windscar windscar is offline
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Is it knowing yet if the Great Western Mail Line will be going with third rail or overhead line for power?
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  #62  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2009, 3:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by windscar View Post
Is it knowing yet if the Great Western Mail Line will be going with third rail or overhead line for power?
I believe the aspiration will be for OHLE due to:
i) Crossrail will use OHLE for the first 60km stretch of the GWML to Reading from Paddington (Crossrail is planned to go as far under OHLE to Maidstone, but if the whole line is electrified - Crossrail will extend to Reading)
ii) Greater benefits of OHLE (regenerative breaking, etc...)

The Midland Main Line is already electrified by OHLE up to Bedford (due to the parallel Thameslink line - about a 1/4 of the southern MML route), so it also makes sense to use that system as well.

Interestingly 450m long automated factory trains will do the work of putting up the poles, wires and caternary support structures to allow for the line to remain open during the day. At present, 40% of the UK network is electrified - that should be boosted substantially towards the 50% as found in Germany and France. The hope is that this initial work will spur on further work to ensure that the majority of the network is connected to the National Grid - especially as the UK moves towards a renewable based economy.
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  #63  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2009, 4:50 PM
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London 2012: Olympic Javelin Service

From St Pancras to Stratford via HSR - a HSR train every 5 minutes.

Video Link





East London Line Extension Route

Route going north to south of the core section of the East London Line Extension (there is a further extension going north-west; and a further two going southwards). Images sourced from londonreconnections.blogspot.com













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  #64  
Old Posted Sep 13, 2009, 4:07 PM
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UK HSRThere is a seperate thread on this topic, but I think it better to condense it into one thread so as to not crowd out other important global transport developments.

These are extracts taken from a brief preliminary report undertaken by Network Rail into the possibility of a HSR network which is pretty much guaranteed to happen as it has the support of the three main political parties.

More specific details will emerge in December when a comprehensive report will be released.
















A brief explanation on who Network Rail are: They are a company wholly owned by the government that own, operate and maintain the rail infrastructure (excluding the London Underground) on which train companies operate passenger and freight train services. Network Rail manage the largest termini and stations in the UK, but smaller commuter stations and rolling stock are managed by the train operating companies. They make money from essentially giving rights to allow companies to run trains on their track, and profits go straight back into improving the network.
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  #65  
Old Posted Oct 6, 2009, 2:31 PM
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Crossrail

Work continues on clearing the sites that the future Crossrail stations will use. Due to the lengths of the trains, there will be at least two exits at either end to allow for both a greater catchment and dispersal of passengers.

Paddington


Bond Street


Tottenam Court Road


Farringdon


Liverpool Street


Whitechapel


Canary Wharf



Pictures taken by i like concrete of the sites that are now cleared at Tottenham Court Road






In addition, because the Crossrail station at Canary Wharf is being constructed in the North Dock, 310 18.5m long, 1.2m diameter steel Giken piles are being placed into the dock. To allow for the piles to be placed in the dock, one of the bridges to the Wharf had to be raised.

On a side note, the site the piles and crane are located on is the site of the future North Quay towers. Once work on Crossrail is finished, work on North Quay an begin. Pics by fitz44







mtj73 at SSC took this picture of the rig that it putting the piles in






King's Cross St Pancras Northern Ticket Hall

The King's Cross St Pancras tube station is the biggest transport interchange in London, combining 6 tube lines, 2 inter-city (domestic and international) & commuter rail termini, and the Thameslink line. It will also be the terminus for the Olympic Javelin services come 2012, and a stop on the future Crossrail 2 line.

Once all the work is complete, there will be four ticket halls (with dozens of entrances).
- The main ticket hall located at the front of King's Cross station was re-built prior to the arrival of Eurostar
- The Pentonville Road ticket hall is located east of the main warren of entrances and tunnels and used to serve the old Thameslink station (this was moved under St Pancras to provide greater interchange capabilites) and a tunnel connecting to the other lines
- The Western Ticket Hall was opened prior to the arrival of Eurostar and is located under St Pancras station

The final ticket hall to be constructed, is the presently u/c Northern Ticket Hall. This will be located immediately below the new King's Cross Western Concourse which is being built to cope with the increase in train ridership. The completion date is 1st December.

The following pictures are an illustrative update of what is happening. All have been sourced by tompagenet at flickr.

The new massive northern ticket hall (one of four)


Train information board for the deep level lines




The entrance to St Pancras from the ticket hall




One of several connection tunnels to ease step-free access across the entire station




Escalators up to the northern ticket hall








Towards the Pentonville Road ticket hall






Images of the Western Concourse with the new northern ticket hall underneath. Image sourced by hoodedvillain at SSC.





The finished article






Future Hammersmith Bus Station

Images and text sourced by fitz44 at SSC.



London Buses are improving their existing bus station facilities at Hammersmith which is at the hub of many routes. The project retains the bus station at first floor level, and increases physical area by installing a deck over the underground railway and over the vacant site on the North East corner of the Hammersmith Gyratory. The complex engineering required to expand the bus station, particularly over the railway, requires careful planning and extensive consultation with third parties.

The scheme looks to integrate a brand new 21st Century bus station facility connecting to the underground station, with a landmark quality office building above ground. The design has been driven in the first instance by achieving the best possible bus station layout, and many options have been explored and examined during this process.



The movement of buses and people is at the very heart of the concept. As a major new interchange station linking all modes of public transport, the architects aim to capture the spirit of movement within the architectural solution. As buses circulate on the first floor they weave their way around the central passenger waiting spaces and the entire floor area is utilised for bus standing facilities and bus stops. This sweeping path translates to a plan footprint which uses the full extent of the site, manifesting on the facade as a series of upper floor projections.

The projections mark the entrance to the bus station from ground level, whilst also becoming a visual and tactile surface that the passenger moves through (escalators), walks upon (floor surface), is covered by (roof plane) and experiences when on the bus (ribbon).

The ribbon is a striking feature of the design which is an expression of the dynamic function of the bus station. The ribbon forms the street facade of the bus station, and is re-introduced to the upper parts of the office building in an holistic approach. The spaces behind the projecting upper floors become conference rooms or amenity spaces, these also present themselves to the inner elevations facing the bus station, so that the building can be seen as an object with all facades having a public presence.






East London Line Extension

Progress continues apace on London's new orbital rail line. EZTD (@ flickr) took these pictures from the Broadgate Tower during Open House weekend.

The first picture shows the line heading northwards towards Dalston Junction, with the curve to the right linking the Shoreditch High Street station (see second picture) and southern section to the former Broad Street viaduct that trains last used in the 80's.

The 144 year old brick viaduct is thus be recycled for a modern train service. An un-used overgrown stretch is visible to the south and is now overgrown, however can you spot the other viaduct stretch which is now home to with former tube trains being used creatively as modern offices.




individual image credit: jeremai dotcom @ flickr

The third picture is of the former Bishopsgate terminus (the station opened in 1840 and closed to passengers in 1874), which became redundant when Liverpool Street opened (four of the approach tracks into Liverpool Street are visible - there are others under the viaducts to the left) which is located behind the Broadgate Tower. Similar to Grand Central it was built on two levels and had a vast roof that burnt down in the '60's. For more info on the former Bishopsgate station visit the multi-page spread here: http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/s...on/index.shtml (some excellent pics of the underground brick vaults).

Quite a bit of the structure is grade listed (ie protected against any ammendments, let alone demolition), but there are plans to turn the entire site into a new skyscraper district (see fourth picture). The historic viaducts would be retained and used for various modern amenities - something most modern skyscraper developments couldn't dream of.

Just visible to the top left is the u/c Shoreditch High Street station (the viaduct in the 1st picture would be to the right), while off to the top left (off-picture) the ELL crosses the Great Eastern Main Line before diving underground towards Whitechapel and under the Thames in the world's oldest underwater tunnel.

You may question why the station is in a box despite being built on a viaduct. The solution is simple: the future skyscrapers will be built to wrap around and above the station, so to ensure that the line can stay open the station is being built with sufficient cover, while there is little point in having an open-air station when it won't be so for much longer.



The future Bishopsgate Goods Yard development


On a side note, one of London's best night clubs is located under the brick vaults of the future East London Line.


Infact this is a bit of a tangent - but one of the best things about London's railways is that when viaducts were built, we did so with lots of bricks and didn't really use iron or steel. The result is that quite a few arches are now used for various uses (retail units, offices, storage spaces, garages).


Source: Kake Pugh at Flickr


Source: Temple Works at Flickr





London Overground

Work continues to upgrade the London Overground network which will create a new orbital line around London allowing passengers to avoid the hassle of travelling into Central London.

The East London Line Extension will plug the hole in the east to create a full circuit, but all stations are being renovated and new trains have begun to roll out. These are the first walkthrough-trains in the London and the UK similar to those found in Hong Kong. The new London Underground rolling stock will be share this development when it begins operation later this year.

Pics sourced from Flickr, taken by darkprince66, mattmuck4950, and [/b]tompagenet[/b]







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  #66  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 1:51 AM
KVNBKLYN KVNBKLYN is offline
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Wow! Thanks for the updates. From the perspective of a New Yorker accustomed to the glacial pace of infrastructure construction here, I'm amazed that these projects are moving along so quickly. It makes me jealous. Particularly of Crossrail. I wish NYC politicians had the foresight to build new through-train lines with multiple stations rather than the two new stub-end terminals currently under construction (new Grand Central) and planned (new Penn Station).
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  #67  
Old Posted Oct 9, 2009, 5:18 PM
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East London Line Extension

With the infrastructure on the ELLE now in place, testing of the line has now begun. The line merges disused sections that date back over 140 years merging old and new.

Arriving at the platforms at Shadwell


Crossing the Great Eastern Main Line heading in to the Shoreditch High Street station


Crossing Shoreditch High Street





On the 144 year old brick viaduct that the ELLE occupies north of Shoreditch High Street


Arriving into Dalston Junction - terminus of Phase I






Phase I is set to open by June next year. The extension to the west of Daltson Junction heading to Highbury & Islington should open by February 2011. Phase II towards Clapham Junction should be complete prior to the Olympics.
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  #68  
Old Posted Oct 20, 2009, 4:37 PM
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London Liverpool Street

Opened back in 1874, London Liverpool Street station is the terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line (Stratford, Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, and Harwich) and West Anglia Main Line (Harlow, London Stansted Airport, and Cambridge), located just off Bishopgate in the Square Mile, serving the heart of global financial.

Upwards of half a million people pass through the station each weekday, making it the third busiest station in London (behind London Victoria and London Waterloo).

As well as providing various commuter services to the 173 stations of the National Express East Anglia (NXEA) network, the Stansted Airport Express operates from Liverpool St, as does the Dutchflyer - a special train for romps in Amsterdam! The Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan platforms are located at the southern end of the station.

The frontage of the station was designed by Charles Barry of the Houses of Parliament fame, in the neo-gothic tradition while the glazed shed was designed by Edward Wilson. There are 18 National Rail and 4 London Underground platforms, with and a disused connection between the two. All platforms bar the two Central Line platforms are at the same level (below street-level) in a giant cutting.

Liverpool St was attacked in both World War's; one attack in 1917 killed 162 people, while another in WW2 destroyed the roof. Liverpool St also played a part in the Kindertransport - the mission to rescue thousands of Jewish children from the clutches of the Nazis' (a similar plan by the US failed to get approval from Congress)

The station was heavily renovated in the 90's, creating several retail outlets, an expanded concourse, and new access points from the surrounding area. The next milestone development in the history of the station will begin shortly with the creation of Crossrail platforms running on an west-east axis. The platforms are so long that they will connect up in the east to the terminus at Moorgate.


Pics taken by Waterloo Station from flickr.com



































London Waterloo

Dating back to 1848, London Waterloo is the busiest station in Europe (by passenger count) and the largest station (by floor area and platforms) in the UK. Waterloo is located on the southbank, opposite the Palace of Westminster, but set back from the Thames.

The current station appearance owes to work undertaken in the early 20th century to create a vast 250m long concourse which feeds into the platforms. The arch that welcomes visitors was built to honour former employees who were lost in both world wars. The concourse, commuter platforms, and approach tracks are built above street-level on a vast viaduct. An extension (by Grimshaw architects) to the station was built in 1994 to coincide with the opening of the Channel Tunnel. These platforms are amongst the longest in the world - measuring in at 400m in length.

The station is the terminus for South West Trains (the largest commuter rail operator in the UK), and until the opening of HSR1 was home to Waterloo International and Eurostar. South West Trains run to numerous locations throughout London (Windsor, Kingston, Wimbledon, Hampton Court), and the wider South-West England area (Southampton, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Portsmouth, Woking, Reading, Basingstoke, Guildford, Salisbury, Exeter, Plymouth).

Currently platforms 1-20 are used by South West Trains, while the four platforms previously used by Eurostar are now vacant. Work is on-going to re-model the approach tracks to allow use of the lengthy platforms - 15 carriage long commuter trains!

London Underground operates one of its busiest and most complex station complexes beneath Waterloo. Eight platforms of the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern, and Waterloo & City converge to provide direct access to the West End, the City and Canary Wharf.

Attached to Waterloo is a 4-platform through-station called Waterloo East. Previously trains from Waterloo could run through the concourse to Waterloo East and then onwards to destinations in South-East London, and Kent. This connection was removed and a pedestrian bridge now connects the two stations - a picture below shows the Waterloo concourse connection. The platforms at Waterloo East are lettered to avoid confusion, which are served by Southeastern and Southern trains. Waterloo East is in turn connected to Southwark station on the Jubilee line (the next station on from Waterloo)

In addition to being a terminus for living, there was also a terminus adjacent to Waterloo for the dead. The London Necropolis Company which ran the world's first funeral trains ran westward to a vast cemetery in Brookwood (outside Woking). The station was destroyed during the 2nd World War.

In the future, it is planned for the concourse to be lowered to street level, which will allow for the platforms to be extended above to allow for longer trains. The area outside the station is also set to be given an overhaul with a new square, better pedestrian and cycle access, and new buildings that open the area up. If built, Waterloo would also be a stop on the Cross-River and City tram schemes.

In the longer term, Crossrail lines would ease congestion on the Underground and allow for more direct services towards other areas of Central London.


Photos taken by Waterloo Station at flickr.com



























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  #69  
Old Posted Oct 20, 2009, 9:34 PM
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Is there a chance those projects could be cut back in light of the massive UK government deficit?
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  #70  
Old Posted Oct 20, 2009, 9:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nick_taylor View Post
Dating back to 1848, London Waterloo is the busiest station in Europe (by passenger count)
No man, it is Gare du Nord.
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  #71  
Old Posted Oct 23, 2009, 1:19 PM
nito nito is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by urbanfan89 View Post
Is there a chance those projects could be cut back in light of the massive UK government deficit?
Apologies, I had written a lengthy response but I closed the wrong tab which deleted all my work!

London is the driver of the UK economy, but it will feel the pinch. It also didn't help that Metronet (one of the contractors who maintains half of the tube network) went belly up meaning that the London authorities had to bail them out to allow work to continue.

Fares are set to rise to ensure that service cuts are not as drastic, and that overall expansion and modernisation isn't greatly impacted upon.

The East London Line, and Thameslink are mid-way through construction and due to be finished over the coming years. Progress can't really be stopped here.

New trains are starting to be delivered on the Overground, DLR, Sub-Surface Lines, and Deep-Level Lines. It would cost a substantial amount of money to cancel stock deliveries when most are at some stage of construction. The new stock for Thameslink should be delivered over the coming years, and again is a requirement as other stock is cascaded to other lines.

One area that has taken a hit however is the upgrading of the London Underground network which involves re-building numerous stations for step-free access. Example: Victoria station which gets so busy, that it has to close for safety reasons has had its expansion delayed. Most Olympic interchange work has either been completed or is currently on-target for completition.

The biggest concern is of course Crossrail - the west-east high-capacity line that connects Heathrow Airport to London's 3 primary CBD's. Alone it is set to increase the London rail capacity by 10%. Contracts for various duties have been tendered and work has already begun on sites in Central London and at Canary Wharf.

Technically the line is funded, but a likely incoming Conservative government (who have neither shown support for or against) could still the plug. The problem for an incoming government trying to do such a thing however, would face the hurdle that £1bn has been spent, and cancelling contracts would set off cancellation-clauses. Potentially a Conservative government could spend £5bn to cancel the project.

It is hard to say how it will play out, as they could view £5bn spent as better than £16bn spent, but it could be argued that such a cost would be far too high for what would essentially be no return. The benefits of Crossrail far outweight the costs, in fact several Crossrail routes outweigh the costs.




Minato Ku - I believe Paris Gare du Nord lays claim to 180mn, and London Waterloo 190mn.




Imperial Wharf Station

London's latest station opened on the 27th September after several delays over initial funding. It is located on the West London Line inbetween Clapham Junction (south) and West Brompton (north) atop of brick viaduct. The station opening coincides with the recent completion of surrounding developments and addtional u/c and proposed developments.

In addition to being a station on the new orbital line around C London (the eastern section - the East London Line is still u/c and due in 2010), the station is also a stop on the Milton Keynes - East Croydon route, a commuter line that connects South London to the north avoiding Central London. The station is also a transfer for the London River Service.

The future Chelsea-Hackney line could also have an interchange at this station, further increasing potential for larger and denser developments. A video of a train departing is visible here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliang2006/3980200536/









Pictures sourced from flickr.com.
1 + 4 - hammersmithandfulham
2 + 3 - diamond geezer




Limehouse Quay

In addition to the Thames, London is criss-crossed by various navigable rivers and canals. At various points, these connected directly with the Thames or the docks along the Thames. Limehouse Basin is one such point where the Regent's Canal, connects to Limehouse Cut (a route to the River Lea which are the rivers seen flowing through the Olympic Park), and both have access to the Thames.

Several developments have taken place around the basin due the allure of living by the water (although nothing of significant height has been built), and the transport interchage of Limehouse (DLR + c2c commuter rail).

The below plan is for a water bus to connect Limehouse to the Olympic Park, utilising the waterways for commuting and tourist purposes.












The London Plan: Transport

The Mayor of London has released the London Plan which is a guide on actions and developments. It is quite lengthy, so I've taken some snapshots of the full article.


























































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  #72  
Old Posted Oct 23, 2009, 5:50 PM
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Thanks for them. You always do good diagram in UK our in France are not that bad but in french so I could post them Paris transit section.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nick_taylor View Post
Minato Ku - I believe Paris Gare du Nord lays claim to 180mn, and London Waterloo 190mn.
Waterloo number include Waterloo station + Waterloo underground + East Waterloo in 2007/08
Waterloo East + East Waterloo only would good for the comparaison but if we include the underground we should understand that many passengers are counted twice due at the transfer.

Gare du Nord number (this one is very old before 2004, the traffic grew a lot since) don't include the subway.
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  #73  
Old Posted Nov 3, 2009, 9:05 AM
nito nito is offline
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Minato Ku - I stand corrected on Waterloo, it is the second busiest in Europe, but what do you mean by diagrams - are you referring to the rail overcrowding diagrams?


Oxford Circus 'X-crossing' opens

BBC News, Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8337341.stm (includes overhead video of opening - bizarre how alien something like this is to quite a few people)

BBC London Video on comments from people: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8338736.stm


One of Europe's busiest diagonal crossings has opened in central London's Oxford Circus.



Based on crossings in Tokyo, the new design stops traffic in all directions, allowing shoppers to cross diagonally in an "X" as well as straight ahead.

The £5m junction is able to handle double the number of pedestrians and ease overcrowding at the busy intersection.

London Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled the crossing by striking a cymbal.




'Head scratching'

In homage to its Far Eastern inspiration, Mr Johnson struck a two-metre high cymbal as Japanese musicians played taiko drums.

A giant X, in the form of 60m (196ft) of red ribbon was also unfurled by devotees of cult Japanese Manga characters dressed in colourful costumes.



Mr Johnson said the crossing, controlled by traffic lights, was "a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old fashioned common sense".

"The head scratching frustration caused by the previous design is over and we've brought one of the world's greatest crossroads into the twenty-first century," he added.

Oxford Circus is one of the most popular destinations in the world, with more than 200 million visitors a year.

Street clutter and barriers at the junction of Oxford Street and Regent Street have been removed, giving shoppers and workers that visit annually around 70% more freedom to move.

As part of the works, more than 500m (1,640ft) of both Regent Street and Oxford Street are being redesigned with wider pavements and new lighting.



The redesign doubles the amount of pavement and creates more space around the exits to Oxford Circus Tube station.

"Easier access to Oxford Circus Tube station will benefit many thousands of passengers who use the station each day," said London's Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy.

The revamped crossing reopens in time for the switching on of the Regent Street and Oxford Street Christmas lights on 3 November.
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  #74  
Old Posted Nov 3, 2009, 4:52 PM
Bootstrap Bill Bootstrap Bill is offline
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"Central London Cycle Hire Scheme"

One small problem - what about vandalism? Someone with a pocket knife or ice pick could walk around town and disable hundreds of bikes in a short amount of time. How do you stop them?

How do you prevent theft? Someone could take these home and strip them for parts or take them out of the area and sell them at swap meets.
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  #75  
Old Posted Nov 3, 2009, 7:55 PM
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Neither of those are a real pro problem in cities that already have such schemes afaik (my city has it, for one). What I'd be more worried about is getting tourists unused to London's traffic and unused to driving on the left onto bikes.
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  #76  
Old Posted Nov 3, 2009, 8:17 PM
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To be honest I don't like the new pavement for diagonal crossings. It look quite cheap and it is not very beautiful.
I think about the same than the old guy intervived in the BBC video. "Several million for only that" Anyway the X idea is good and will improve the place.

Here I think that they could use the term busiest diagonal crossing as it is very uncommon in Europe.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nick_taylor View Post
but what do you mean by diagrams - are you referring to the rail overcrowding diagrams?
Almost everyone.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Swede View Post
Neither of those are a real pro problem in cities that already have such schemes afaik (my city has it, for one). What I'd be more worried about is getting tourists unused to London's traffic and unused to driving on the left onto bikes.
Not that true vendalism and thief is quite an issue for Paris Velib sheme. London will face the same problem.
Central London traffic is low and slow, the big buses could be a problem but nothing more.
There are already many things done for cycling (lane, traffic light...).
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  #77  
Old Posted Nov 6, 2009, 2:31 PM
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I get very wound up when I look at the way London wastes money that is sorely needed to improve its infrastructure. Partiucularly the new Shepherd's Bush Central Line station. I don't know exactly how much this cost but it was just a rebuild - not even a new station - to relieve some congestion. The station footprint did not have to be so gargantuan. Why the overblown enormous empty glass box? A simple hole in the ground would have sufficed, to free up valuable central London real estate at the surface. So a waste of money and of space. The station does not even have underground interchange with the Overground station next door. London wastes money on unnecessary things, whilst leaving vast swathes of London without service, poor service, and overinflated (!) fares. Rather like the JLE - similarly a huge waste on monumental architecture, rather than providing services elsewhere. Why - in a city that never stops pleading poverty? Rant over...

www.mindroutes.blogspot.com
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  #78  
Old Posted Nov 7, 2009, 1:41 AM
Lucky Luke Lucky Luke is offline
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The Oxford Circus crossing is cool though. No barriers - there will be a few accidents...
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  #79  
Old Posted Nov 8, 2009, 10:46 PM
nito nito is offline
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Originally Posted by Lucky Luke View Post
I get very wound up when I look at the way London wastes money that is sorely needed to improve its infrastructure. Partiucularly the new Shepherd's Bush Central Line station. I don't know exactly how much this cost but it was just a rebuild - not even a new station - to relieve some congestion. The station footprint did not have to be so gargantuan. Why the overblown enormous empty glass box? A simple hole in the ground would have sufficed, to free up valuable central London real estate at the surface. So a waste of money and of space. The station does not even have underground interchange with the Overground station next door. London wastes money on unnecessary things, whilst leaving vast swathes of London without service, poor service, and overinflated (!) fares. Rather like the JLE - similarly a huge waste on monumental architecture, rather than providing services elsewhere. Why - in a city that never stops pleading poverty? Rant over...

www.mindroutes.blogspot.com
Interesting input; Shepherd's Bush (Central Line) was given a complete re-build to coincide with the opening of the Westfield London shopping centre. For those not in the know, Westfield London is the largest urban area indoor shopping centre in Europe which opened in 2008.

To cope with the expected increase in footfall Westfield paid to re-build the station, so hardly a waste of Londoners money.

Of course it would have been even better to have the two Shepherd's Bush stations (Central Line + West London Line) united as one, but the cost to re-bore the escalators down to the Central line platforms or another underground tunnel would have been astronomical. The stations are also directly opposite, so any time-savings would have been in seconds.

The following Google Street View (possibly from 2007) shows the Central line station to the left and the West London line station to the right (there is a bus station in-between): http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&hq...45.14,,0,5.47).

The new Central line station is a massive improvement over the previous station, and Westfield paid for it, I don't really see any reason to complain here.


There are some 600 heavy rail stations, 1,200km of route track, and thousands of km of track within London, second only to Tokyo, so coverage isn't really the problem. Obviously the London rail networkit isn't perfect otherwise this thread wouldn't be required, and works such as Thameslink, Crosrail, DLR Extensions and East London Line Extension are testament to improvements being made.

The errors of the 70's and 80's where investment was lacking are now being corrected. Stations are being modernised at a rapid rate, new rolling stock is starting to roll out, signalling systems are being overhauled, and extensions and new lines are being built. London is experiencing the largest modernisation project on the planet.

Also, the majority of the cost for the Jubilee Line Extension wasn't borne by the massive stations, but the tunnelling.

Come 2017, the London rail network will be drastically different to the current setup, with delays culled, capacity expanded by 30% across the network, frequencies improved, and journey times reduced. A breakdown by line of how the network is being transformed is available here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/proj...mes/10127.aspx


There is of course much more work to be done and there should be no complacency. After the modernisation of the tube, and the completition of Crossrail, the ELLE & Thameslink, work needs to begin on additional Crossrail lines to ease the congestion at London's 13 rail termini. There could be potentially 8 Crossrail lines.

Fares wise, London can be expensive, but it is mostly reasonable. Such a vast network isn't easy to run especially when other countries offer greater subsidies.
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  #80  
Old Posted Nov 9, 2009, 1:46 AM
Lucky Luke Lucky Luke is offline
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Originally Posted by nick_taylor View Post
Interesting input; Shepherd's Bush (Central Line) was given a complete re-build to coincide with the opening of the Westfield London shopping centre. For those not in the know, Westfield London is the largest urban area indoor shopping centre in Europe which opened in 2008.

To cope with the expected increase in footfall Westfield paid to re-build the station, so hardly a waste of Londoners money.

Of course it would have been even better to have the two Shepherd's Bush stations (Central Line + West London Line) united as one, but the cost to re-bore the escalators down to the Central line platforms or another underground tunnel would have been astronomical. The stations are also directly opposite, so any time-savings would have been in seconds.

The following Google Street View (possibly from 2007) shows the Central line station to the left and the West London line station to the right (there is a bus station in-between): http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&hq...45.14,,0,5.47).

The new Central line station is a massive improvement over the previous station, and Westfield paid for it, I don't really see any reason to complain here.


There are some 600 heavy rail stations, 1,200km of route track, and thousands of km of track within London, second only to Tokyo, so coverage isn't really the problem. Obviously the London rail networkit isn't perfect otherwise this thread wouldn't be required, and works such as Thameslink, Crosrail, DLR Extensions and East London Line Extension are testament to improvements being made.

The errors of the 70's and 80's where investment was lacking are now being corrected. Stations are being modernised at a rapid rate, new rolling stock is starting to roll out, signalling systems are being overhauled, and extensions and new lines are being built. London is experiencing the largest modernisation project on the planet.

Also, the majority of the cost for the Jubilee Line Extension wasn't borne by the massive stations, but the tunnelling.

Come 2017, the London rail network will be drastically different to the current setup, with delays culled, capacity expanded by 30% across the network, frequencies improved, and journey times reduced. A breakdown by line of how the network is being transformed is available here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/proj...mes/10127.aspx


There is of course much more work to be done and there should be no complacency. After the modernisation of the tube, and the completition of Crossrail, the ELLE & Thameslink, work needs to begin on additional Crossrail lines to ease the congestion at London's 13 rail termini. There could be potentially 8 Crossrail lines.

Fares wise, London can be expensive, but it is mostly reasonable. Such a vast network isn't easy to run especially when other countries offer greater subsidies.
I hadn't realised Westfield had paid for the station. Are you 100% sure about that? I read the cost was £65m. On one station!!!! Anyhow, I still think the beauty of underground railways is their lack of surface space-taking - unless you deliberately go and build a big empty glass box and sprawling forecourt just for the hell of it! And I will have to disagree with you on prices. London has the most expensive transport fares in the world bar none and I despair of ever seeing it change. Anyhow, all talk of lack of funds and subsidies has now become totally and perpetually moot since the government found £1.5 trillion (that is one and a half thousand billion pounds. I'll say it again one and a half thousand billion pounds) to 'bail out' the banks (i.e. give away to...) out of nowhere, or out of our pockets if you like. That is equivalent to about 90 Crossrails or 450 Jubilee Line Extensions. They'll tell you it was necessary, but no I don't think it was. They already had all the money in the world anyway (!)
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