Anna Noyd-Dryver wrote:
Recliner wrote:


I must admit I don't understand why Crossrail and the North Kent line
have separate island platforms, rather than having the Crossrail pair
between the third rail tracks, thus allowing cross-platform
interchanges. The down third rail track could have been re-routed to
the north of the portal, so that it was on the north, rather than the
south of the new Crossrail pair. With that arrangement, both down
tracks would flank one island platform, and both up platforms the
other. It would save a lot of passengers the hassle of having to cross
from island platform to the other.


Unless the Crossrails will shunt from one platform to the other via
sidings, then it'll only reduce platform-changing by 50%, and in the up
direction potentially add confusion about which platform to rush to whilst
changing.

Yes, I assumed that Crossrail trains would have reversed via the sidings,
so all Crossrail trains departed from the same island platform 2, shared
with the Up North Kent line trains using platform 1. All Crossrail trains
would have arrived at platform 3, with the Down North Kent line trains
using platform 4.

That way, Crossrail pax arriving at Abbey Wood could continue their
journeys into Kent with an easy cross platform interchange, and vice versa.
I've seen older maps that showed that convenient proposed layout. It's
similar to what happens with Central lone Tube trains at Stratford.

But I guess the layout they've implemented was cheaper and easier to build,
and easier to operate, if less good for interchanging passengers.