Aidan Stanger wrote:

My website at http://www.bettercrossrail.co.uk is now up and running. It
features a plan for getting Crossrail constructed at a fraction of the
cost of the CLRL plan (or of the Superlink plan) so that more Crossrail
lines can subsequently be constructed.

--
Aidan Stanger
http://www.bettercrossrail.co.uk

Aidan,

Your opening statement seems to imply that Crossrail is too expensive.
But, I see nothing in you proposals that reduce cost.

Moreover, the present Crossrail plan has strength in its simplicity.
You proposals are more complex.

In my opinion the current Crossrail proposal is a good one East of
Paddington. Although I think there is a case for a station at Holborn.
It is West of Paddington that the current plans fall short of an
optimum solution. Turning 10 tph around at Paddington seems to be a
formula to inconvenience the maximum number of passengers.

In Modern Railways, October 2005, a Mr. Adam Edwards suggests Crossrail
should take over the Hammersmith branch. I endorse this proposal. The
cons a 1. The probable need for platform lengthening on the branch.
2. The need to re-electrify the branch at 25kV. 3. The loss of
Hammersmith depot for Circle Line trains. The pros a 1. The
Hammersmith Branch is self contained. There is NO risk of timetable
pollution. 2. Circle Line operation is greatly simplified. One
junction is eliminated. 3. 6tph are NOT turned around at Paddington.
4. This will allow more Met. trains to reach Moorgate or Aldgate, with
knock-on benefits to Metroland commuters.

As for platform lengthening, this could be counterbalanced by
rationalizing the number of stations on the branch. Do we really need
Royal Oak? for example. Re-electrification could be avoided by
utilizing dual voltage trains. But, re-electrification is probably the
simpler and more resilient option. If I recall correctly, Circle Line
trains were once maintained at District Line facilities. I wonder how
easy it would be to do so these days?

As for the remaining 4tph, perhaps these could be reversed at Ealing
Broadway, this is surely preferable to doing so at Paddington.

Adrian.