London Transport Thread

[nito]

I think the roll-out was anticipated to have been quicker, but I think due to the immense size of the order (I've read in some places that it's the biggest single metro train order in the world); Bombardier was struggling to build so many simultaneously.
- Bombardier are also building the 2009 Victoria Line stock (47 trains of 8 carriages = 376 carriages), of which 13 trains have been delivered, and a new train being delivered every 2 weeks.
- I also think Bombardier delivered the last of the new class 378 trains in June that run on the London Overground network (24 trains of 3 carriages, 33 trains of 4 carriages = 204 carriages).
- Bombardier are also busy building the new class 379 Stansted Express trains that will replace the current aging trains that operate between Liverpool Street and London Stansted Airport, the 30 trains will be delivered between March and June of next year.

Bombardier are doing a roaring trade in the UK and have built or are building (since 1999) some 3,955 carriages.

Originally Posted by tpk-nyc

I was reading on the BBC Web site that most Tube trains aren't air conditioned (something that these new trains will remedy). I was very surprised and then occurred to me that I have only ever visited London in the winter.

I can't imagine the New York Subway without air conditioning. It would be absolutely miserable. London takes much better care of its system than we do it seems strange that it should not have this amenity. Do the cars not get that hot? Are people just used to it?

London does get warm in the summer and the trains and platforms (especially the deep-level lines which are several stories below ground) do get dangerously hot; unfortunately air conditioning units produce heat themselves, and because of the depth of the tunnels and lack of ventilation they would actually exacerbate the situation as the hot air would be trapped in the network. Various technologies have been mooted to solve the problem; one involved installing giant gel packs under the seats/floor that would be initally cooled at the terminating station and then gradually melt to 'cool' the train as it made its journey along the line. Unfortunately I am not aware of the current status of where they are at with such technology as it would be a 'world first'.

Ideally air-conditioning technology reaches a stage where it is minaturised enough and doesn't emit heat to be added to tube trains.

Deep level stations are more fortunate - one trial that has gained momentum is the use of groundwater that enters the tube network. At Victoria station, 35 litres of cold water is pumped out every second; this water is now diverted to heat pumps that disperse cool air and absorb warm air before being dumped in the sewer network. It won't be applicable at every underground station, but has potential at a few dozen.

The sub-surface lines are a different matter as they were built with ventilation gaps (originally to allow steam to escape from the train engines) and thus can use air-con units. Air conditioning is pretty much present on the majority of the commuter rail routes in and around London.

[Swede]

The cars do get very hot. Last time I was there during summer (2008 iirc) they recommended having water with you if going on the tube. I didn't take the tube during rushhours tho, so it didn't feel that bad.

[Allnatural85]

LOVE TO NEW S STOCK!

I hope we get more pics soon =) London's subway has always been my favorite. It may not be the busiest or newest but there is just something about it.

[nito]

Originally Posted by Swede

The cars do get very hot. Last time I was there during summer (2008 iirc) they recommended having water with you if going on the tube. I didn't take the tube during rushhours tho, so it didn't feel that bad.

Found a map which shows temperatures across the tube network, with the worst sections being:
- Bakerloo Line between Kilburn Park and Oxford Circus
- Central Line between Holland Park and Bank
- Victoria Line between Warren Street and Green Park


Source: Daily Mail

I think that by 2030 there should be sufficient technology to implement a cooling system on trains that is compact enough and doesn't emit heat itself.

[Swede]

I'm not so sure about that, since the heat has to go somewhere and heat energy is hard to turn into other forms (a compact heat->electricity converter that only needs a 10C differential would be a huge break-though). Otoh installing systems that keep all stations at 15C during summer should be possible by 2030 IMO.

[nito]

Originally Posted by Swede

I'm not so sure about that, since the heat has to go somewhere and heat energy is hard to turn into other forms (a compact heat->electricity converter that only needs a 10C differential would be a huge break-though). Otoh installing systems that keep all stations at 15C during summer should be possible by 2030 IMO.

I think there isn't much innovation in the air-con field to achieve the goals (ie minimisation + not generate extra heat), but the idea behind giant gel-packs is something that could have multiple uses elsewhere and not just on tube trains.

[nito]

Crossrail Update

Canary Wharf

Photos taken by uk.de at SSC.
















Bond Street


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Paddington


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Tottenham Court Road


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[M II A II R II K]

• Video Link

[nito]

Heathrow Airtrack

The last stumbling block from stopping the construction of a new line to Heathrow Airport has now been passed. Surrey County Council have now agreed to allow for work to proceed; the council now not have to make a contribution to the project that is being funded by BAA the operator of Heathrow Airport.

Aitrack is a new line approaching Heathrow from the west that will utilise two of the six platforms below Terminal 5 which was originally opened in 2008.

Trains will be able to arrive and depart from Heathrow to a variety of destinations to the south and west of London including regional centres such as Reading, Wimbledon, Richmond and Guildford. In total 12 stations will come under the Airtrack network across the three branches. The majority of the work will involve new chords, a new depot for rolling stock in Feltham and modifications to stations to ensure that commuter services aren't disrupted.

One of the three branches will terminate at London Waterloo, creating a third heavy rail route between Central London and Heathrow (the other two being the Heathrow Express into London Paddington and the Piccadilly Line on the London Underground). Image sourced from londonreconnections.blogspot.com.






Crossrail

During the Spending Review, the government fully committed to the Crossrail project. The timetabled opening is now 2018 due to the use of two tunnelling machines (instead of four).

An update of works at the Canary Wharf station site - the concrete platform has been built and work is being undertaken on the level below. Pictures taken by nauticat at SSC.

[M II A II R II K]

Tube gets first wi-fi connection at Charing Cross


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11653771

The move to get mobile phones working on the tube moved a step closer as BT announced wi-fi trials at Charing Cross underground station. The six month trial will bring wi-fi connectivity to the ticket hall and both the Bakerloo and Northern line platforms.

It will be free for BT broadband customers and for mobile users with free wi-fi minutes. Mayor of London Boris Johnson wants to see widespread mobile coverage. The Charing Cross trial begins on 1 November.

Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor of London's Transport advisor welcomed it. "An ever growing commuter populace has been clamouring to be able to check their e-mails and browse the net whilst on the go.

This is an important step towards seeing how this could be achieved and is part of the Mayor's ambition to examine the way in which we can use technology to adapt the city's transport system to meet the need of those using it," he said.

[Busy Bee]

Thought this was as good a place as any for this [awesome] news...



!


London's new double-decker bus unveiled [w/video]

by Jeff Glucker (RSS feed) on Nov 12th 2010 at 5:28PM


Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, was on hand at the London Transport Museum today to unveil his city's future of public transportation. A full-size mock-up of the bus was on display and the design is clearly a nod to the past. Modeled after the original Routemaster, this updated double-decker brings the style into the 21st century while keeping touches of the old bus' charm. The new bus, which is being manufactured by Wrightbus, features an open platform in the rear, which marks the return of the traditional hop-on-hop-off service.

Quickly moving from rendering and video to this mock-up, the first Wrightbus prototype is scheduled to be delivered next year. After that, five production buses will enter service in 2012, just in time for the Olypmics. Check it out in the gallery below or watch the video after the jump.

Go to website w/ images and video

[nito]

Crossrail

Further renders have been released of stations on the Crossrail route. This is by far the most important project in London. Sites have or are been cleared at Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Farringdon, while the 'trench' inside the dock at Canary Wharf is well on its way. Work on the western tunnel portal at Royal Oak is also well underway. Work is also progressing at other stations along the 118km route.


Paddington














Bond Street














Tottenham Court Road














Farringdon














Liverpool Street














Whitechapel














Canary Wharf














Customs House












Thameslink

Work continues on London's second most important transport project(after Crossrail). The following are pics of the controversal Borough Market viaduct that was built to allow for grade-seperate of various viaducts on the tracks between Blackfriars Bridge and London Bridge. The controversy with the below new viaduct is that it meant the demolition of several historical buildings and the temporary displacement of stall holders. For those not aware, Borough Market is one of London's oldest market and dates back to the Roman times. Pictures sourced from londonreconnections.blogspot.












East London Line Phase II

While the first phase of the ELLE opened back in March, work on the second phase to further extend the line for a 2012 opening

Pictures sourced from londonreconnections.blogspot.com














King's Cross Western Concourse

hoodedvillain from SSC has managed to take photos of the new Western Concourse at King's Cross station.

[ardecila]

Wow. Excuse me while I clean this drool off of my trackpad.

Just... wow. Us "Yanks" really, really need to get our heads out of our asses. We built stuff like those Crossrail stations once - places like Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, or Union Station (take your pick).

Now we build inane, cheap imitations of what should be the Grand Public Architecture of The City. Now our public architecture just looks like a public bathroom, and since nobody gives a shit, the bums do instead.

[nito]

Some aerial photos of London's termini; unfortunately there were no aerial shots taken of the other four London terminals: London Liverpool Street , London Marylebone, London Fenchurch St or London Moorgate (although the later is pretty much all under ground so wouldn't be much to see!).

The photos were taken by Network Rail (the company responsible for the tracks, signalling and major train stations across the UK). Images sourced from londonreconnections.blogspot.com



London Waterloo

Work is still ongoing as to what to do with the 400m long former Waterloo International platforms (the worm shaped thing); these are currently unused since Eurostar moved to St Pancras a few years ago and may be used by extra-long commuter trains in the future. In addition there are plans to lower the concourse to street level (the station is on a giant viaduct) so that the platforms can be extended and the station better integrated with the Underground platforms.











London Paddington

The fourth span is being repaired, while work continues on the modernised Hammersmith & City station and new taxi rank (the current one will be replaced by the concourse for the Paddington Crossrail station).







London St Pancras & King's Cross

Work continues on the western concourse at King's Cross which will replace the tatty 70's extension located to the front of the station. The old concourse will be demolished to create a piazza. The picture also shows the double barrel vault roof being repaired.







London Bridge

While work is on-going on the Shard, the entire station (the world's oldest terminus) is to be redeveloped in the coming years to allow more through trains and higher capacity interchange.







London Victoria

Restoration work on the old train sheds.







London Charing Cross





London Euston

The current station which dates from the 60's is to be demolished to make way for the new HSR2 terminal. The new station will also be larger than the current station, with the buildings to the right of the photo to be compulsory purchased to allow for sizable terminating platforms.





London Cannon Street





Blackfriars

The new station (while still open to through trains) which is currently under construction will span the river with entrances on the north and southbank of the Thames.





Farringdon

Work on the Thameslink and Crossrail interchange station continues apace.





Stratford

Work continues on what will be the main transport hub used by visitors to the Olympic Park (a train every 13 seconds).

[ardecila]

Crazy. I've never been to London, but I definitely need to visit, and soon.

The coolest thing is that all the overlapping infrastructure (canals, rail lines, tube lines, streets/roads) really obscures the real ground plane to the point where you have no reference as to where the "real ground level" is.

Chicago, NY, and other American cities have small areas like this, but it seems like London's entire section has been so extensively terraformed and shaped to accommodate buildings and human movement that there is no natural ground plane anymore.

[geoking66]

Upon Crossrail's completion, I'd say that London will have the best transport infrastructure in Europe (yes, that beats Paris and Moscow). Very few places in the world are as extensively covered as London. In the 2020s only Tokyo will have a more comprehensive network. What really works in London's favour has to be Oyster; I hate buying carnets in Paris.

[M II A II R II K]

London Mayor Plans Charges on Homes, Offices, Shops to Fund Crossrail Link


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...crossrail.html

London Mayor Boris Johnson today proposed charges on new homes, offices and shops to raise 300 million pounds ($477 million) to help fund the Crossrail link between Heathrow Airport and the city’s financial districts.

Developers in seven central London boroughs, including Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Camden will pay a levy of 50 pounds a square meter on all developments with a gross internal floor space of more than 100 square meters (1,076 square feet), the Mayor’s office said in an e-mailed statement. The levy will also apply in the City of London, the main financial district, which Johnson doesn’t control.

“Every corner of London will benefit once construction is complete,” Johnson said in the statement. “It is right that the sector that will benefit so much should make its contribution and I am confident that this will not hinder development in the capital.”

Crossrail, which will cost 15.9 billion pounds, is Europe’s largest construction project. It will link Heathrow, the world’s biggest international airport, with the West End entertainment district and offices in the City of London and Canary Wharf starting in 2018, relieving pressure on the aging London Underground railway.

.....

[one very bored guy]

Fantastic aerial photos nito. Has there been any final render for the plans of Euston Station yet as well as a timeline?

[nito]

Originally Posted by one very bored guy

Fantastic aerial photos nito. Has there been any final render for the plans of Euston Station yet as well as a timeline?

No final render yet, but there is the following artistic impression.




The final station will be 2m lower than the current station, with platforms all on one level. The concourse will span above the platforms, but not completely covering it allowing for natural light to filter down to the platforms.

Euston currently has 18 platforms of a mixture of lengths, but the new Euston will have 24 platforms - required to service the expected 18 HSR trains per hour that will use the station;
- 12 platforms long enough to accomodate 400m HSR trains,
- 6 platforms long enough to accomodate 300m 'classic' (current West Coast Main Line Pendolino services),
- 6 platforms that are 250m in length for commuter/other services (although there is the possibility that these will be diverted on to Crossrail)






Due to the complexity of keeping the already overcrowded Euston (and Underground station) open during the construction period will mean that the construction schedule will span 6.5 years and cost £1bn (includes a rebuild of the six platform tube station).

Stage 1: Months 1-18 - Buildings along the west side of the station cleared and the new high speed station structure in that area constructed including any provision to permit development above it.
Stage 2: Months 6-30 - Reconstruct the eastern half of the classic station.
Stage 3: Months 30-54 - Reconstruct the western half of the classic station.
Stage 4: Months 54-78 - Construct the remainder of the high speed station.

In addition to the redeveloped London Underground station at Euston, other schemes will be brought forward to assist with the dispersal of passengers;
- The planned Crossrail 2 line would be diverted to serve Euston (the current safeguarded route bypasses Euston),
- The Northern line may finally be split into two lines (there are four Northern line platforms at Euston) which would greatly increase capacity on the City and West End branches,
- A proper underground link to connect Euston tube station (Northern & Victoria) to Euston Square tube station (Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan).


On the route leaving westwards out of Euston a new 14 platform transport hub will be built at Old Oak Common, west London to allow for interchange with Crossrail 1, the Great Western Main Line, High Speed 1 and Heathrow Express services. This will provide efficient access to London's main international airport (Heathrow), the three primary business districts (City, West End and Canary Wharf), and routes to Paris and other destinations to the continent.




Images sourced from the Department for Transport report into High Speed Two (http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/hi...td/hs2report/)

[nito]

Crossrail

Various pics of by-far London's most important project. All pictures sourced by skyscrapercity.com members. First pic taken by nrm the 2nd showing work at Farringdon which will create an interchange with Crossrail, Thameslink and London Underground lines.



Following pics taken by Light Parade showing work in and around the Bond Street ticket hall





Tottenham Court Road





Canary Wharf station pic taken by flickr member Finkangle