Quote:
Originally Posted by Basil Jet[_4_]
On 2015\03\25 10:15, Robin9 wrote:
It is one of the several anomalies in London's public transport
infrastructure that Muswell Hill, like Roehampton, has no rail
service of any kind.
That abandoned route has now been partly built over (near Muswell Hill Road)
so it is unlikely to be fully reopened.
A more likely candidate for reopening is the route between Highgate and
Finsbury Park which still exists as a popular walkway (aka public
footpath) as far as the ECML. The flyover bridge of course is long gone.
If that route were re-adopted and a bridge re-installed, your
long-championed route via Finsbury Park through Canonbury Tunnel
would become feasible. Obviously the idea would suffer from not-invented-here
syndrome as the so-called experts would immediately poo-poo the proposal.
In the very very long term, London Underground should examine the
feasiblity of a new Underground line starting at Arnos Groves, proceeding via
New Southgate, Muswell Hill, Highgate, Upper Holloway and Camden Road to
Euston and through the centre of London.
How about this.
Chessington South / Shepperton etc
......
Earlsfield
enter tunnel...
Clapham Junction
Kings Road / Oakley Street
South Ken (with northern entrance near Imperial College)
Lancaster Gate / Paddington
South Hampstead / Swiss Cottage
Belsize Park / new Thameslink platforms / Hampstead Heath (I can't work
out if that's possible without demolishing the Royal Free)
Highgate
Muswell Hill Broadway (with an entrance by each roundabout)
Alexandra Palace
surface...
Bowes Park (surface walk to Bounds Green?)
Palmers Green, Winchmore Hill, Grange Park
some trains continue to Gordon Hill, others enter tunnel...
Enfield Town (not Chase)
Carterhatch Lane / Willow Road
surface...
Turkey Street, Theobalds Grove, Cheshunt... Stansted
I know it looks circuitous on a tube map, but it's nearly a straight
line. I also know that it avoids the West End, but it also takes a lot
of journeys out of the West End that don't need to be there. For
instance, if you want to get from South Ken to Luton Airport, you would
currently go via St Pancras or Green Park / West Hampstead, whereas this
would give you one change at Belsize Park. Most of the population of
North London would end up with shorter routes to Paddington and
Kensington that kept them out of the crowded trains. This route would
also take a lot of four wheel drives off the road in wealthy areas like
Muswell Hill, whereas Crossrail 2 looks designed to get people who can't
afford cars out of buses (which is actually pretty futile, especially
since they have no intention of cutting the buses in Hackney but will
just run them half empty). So I think it will achieve more than
Crossrail 2, but should be cheaper and less disruptive to build.
|
It's not as straight as you claim but it's no worse and no more fanciful than
the current "official" proposal. But, as you admit, it avoids Central London.
As the biggest requirement is for more capacity through the middle, I can't
imagine this would find favour among those who make the decisions.
I'm also sceptical about the need to go way out of London. In my opinion,
any new line must provide:
1) new capacity in the " middle" without duplicating existing lines
2) connections with as many other lines as possible, including London
Overground
3) filling in gaps in public transport provision, e. g. Muswell Hill.