On May 22, 3:32*pm, John B wrote:
I'm going on a trip with work to cover the ELL worksite next week,
alongside various railway and civils hacks, visiting Shoreditch High
Street, Dalston Junction, Thames Tunnel and NXG depot.

Anyone got any qns/issues/areas that they've been wondering about,
that I'd be an idiot to miss out on, etc?


Blimey, er, lots probably, need to have a bit of a think about it. Are
you prepared to be inundated with questions from utlers?!

I'm guessing that as is this is more infrastructure related there's
not an awful lot of point asking questions about stuff like Shoreditch
High Street being moved into zone 1 and also the dropping of the
Victoria to Bellingham service (a quasi-replacement for the SLL) as
you'll just get the party line parroted back at you.

A few off the top of my head - I dare say there are already answers to
many of these out there, but I'm not quite as good a document rummager
as Mr Thant, John Bull, Mwmbwls et al.

* Are things likely to be ready for a December '09 start? (Though of
course they're not going to say "yes" as such!)

* When are ELLX phase 2b works getting under way, what's the timetable
etc?

* How bleak is the interior of SHS station, and how are they planning
on making it pleasant etc? And what's the latest with regards to
surrounding developments there?

* How many trains can NXG depot hold - and is the plan to move heavy
maintenance there from Willesden depot?

* What's going to happen to the old LU ELL New Cross depot? Any
thoughts of berthing trains there?

* A quasi-legal one - we know that the core of the ELL route will be
owned by TfL, but does this fact of ownership mean in and of itself
that it won't be subject to (economic) regulation from the ORR? (Of
course it'll be subject to ORR/HMRI safety regulation and inspection.)
That's a rather academic question, as the profile of the line means
running freight or other trains over it is highly unlikely - but the
uk.railway crowd will inevitably jump on this hypothetical possibility
(indeed some already have) with regards to new longer distance through
services, charter trains and freight.

* I said I wasn't going to ask about SHS being moved into z1, but I've
changed my mind. What thoughts are there on how this changes/disrupts/
destroys the business model for the line? Also, when SHS was still in
zone 2, were there worries about overcrowding?

* As a follow on thought to the overcrowding issue, could the line
take 6-car trains, including somehow getting over the obstacle of
short platforms at Canada Water?

* How much bad blood was created between TfL and Network Rail as a
result of the GE19 bridge collapse? (Or was Network Rail merely taking
full advantage of having someone else to blame for once?!)

* At Dalston Jn, can you still see the alignment of the north-eastern
spur from the station site? And have they made allowances for its
potential future use, however unlikely that may now seem? (I know the
alignment still exists and hasn't been built on, apart from being part
of the car park at the Kingsland Shopping Centre.)

* Did all the running water in the Thames Tunnel make you want to take
a slash?