It was rather a long running saga that cropped up in the Chelsea programme
now and again for a long time. It ended up with the club wanting it but the
council objecting on safety grounds (though I could have sworn it started
off the other way around). I've no idea what the safety issue was with a
walkway that wouldn't have been more than about fifty yards long. Doesn't
seem any more inherently unsafe than the station platform itself.

The club also wanted to have access to and from a road (not sure which one)
to the north of the ground and that was turned down too. Pity as that would
have brought West Brompton station into play more. I think that might have
been residents objections that dealt with that. Then there were the
suggestions of a station by the side of the ground itself. Not sure if that
failed a reality check or what.




Yes, I agree, it is just plain stupid not to have grasped the one chance there
was for a direct link - as indeed there used to be. Moreover, there is a
disused bridge a few yards North of the station which could have been brought
into use to provide a direct link from the Northbound platform as well. I
pointed this out to the developers, who did not even know that the bridge was
there - they seemed very enthusiastic at the time.

As for the station on the West London Line, of course there used to be a
station just to the North of the King's Road on that line (Chelsea and Fulham
Station), which was bombed during the war and never re-opened afterwards. The
remnants of the Southbound platform even remained until the last few years,
when it was demolished as part of the neighbouring college redevelpoment, and a
1960s housing estate occupies the site of the station which was on the West
side of the tracks.

There is talk of building a station near Stamford Bridge - I wish they would,
but at the moment even the much vaunted station at Chelsea Harbour is but a
pipe dream (despite the Council having been bribed into allowing the new
riverside development there - Imperial Wharf - on the strength of having a
station there) and nowhere near even beginning let alone fulfilment. Railtrack,
I understand, are less than keen on having any more stations on that line,
since it affects train timetabling and the line is already heavily used for
Eurostar stock movements and freight, and they don't want more commuters'
trains clogging up the traffic paths.

The one new station that seems definitely to be on the cards, however, is at
White City.

None of this augurs well for improved access by rail to Stamford Bridge - and I
note what you said, with regret, about there being no North entrance to the
ground, so Fulham Road (and those of us who live to the South of it) have the
bear the brunt of all the disruption every time there's a home match.

Marc.