"Tim Roll-Pickering" wrote in message
...
And yes, it would be good to have a proper link to the tube at Clapham
Junction, but it'd have to be going into Central London and not just, as
you say, a relatively remote part of the tube network. The closest
they're going to get is Crossrail 2 (Clapham to Dalston),

Will our grandchildren still be alive when that happens?

LOL!

More substantially, what level of demand is there for journeys from
Clapham to ELL destinations? I can't see a direct Clapham-Canada Water
service relieving pressure on the Jubilee Line at Waterloo and I'm not
sure if changing at Clapham gets one to Whitechapel faster than from
Victoria.

Like Mizter T said, it's not neccessarily a direct replacement for SWT
passengers to get to the East End, rather "a local line for local people" -
I can imagine it being very handy for people living along that line who are
travelling out to any SWT destinations (Guildford, Portsmouth, Weymouth, you
get the idea!) as it'll mean they can avoid having to go into Victoria (or
Blackfriars/London Bridge) and connecting to Waterloo via tube. And as
Mizter T also said, it'll save them going via Zone 1 and potentially save
them money on their ticket, in addition to the extra time spent going in and
back out. Basically it'll be a useful orbital link in exactly the same way
orbital roads are used.

And yes, it's doubtful whether it'll save much time getting from Clapham
Junction to Whitechapel by taking the ELL as opposed to the District Line,
but I can't honestly see there being all that much in it - it's 7 minutes
from Surrey Quays to Whitechapel and 20 minutes from Victoria to
Whitechapel, both assuming no delays. So that means 13 minutes (plus the
equivalent time it'd take to go from CJ to Victoria and get down to the
tube) to cover the 7 stops from CJ to Surrey Quays. Just quickly looked on
TfL's journey planner and CJ to Victoria journey time seems to be between 6
and 10 minutes - mostly around 7 minutes off-peak, but in the morning rush
hour most of the trains seem to be around 9-10 minutes, which is strange -
I'd have thought most would bypass Battersea Park, but obviously not.

Anyway, so let's say we're talking an average journey time of 8 minutes from
CJ to Victoria, call it 3 minutes down to the tube, and 20 minutes on the
tube - that's 31 minutes, so basically the ELL will have to manage CJ to
Surrey Quays (7 stops) in 24 minutes to make it an attractive option, which
I reckon is quite realistic.

So it's not only good for the residents of Peckham/Camberwell etc, but a
handy alternative (and possibly cheaper) route to East London from the South
West. In short, it's increasing the capacity of the network and providing a
decent alternative route to a busy line, which could be a handy thing.

--
"For want of the price of tea and a slice, the old man died."