....but you knew that already.`

Well - phase 1a of the ELLX opens tomorrow - that's through running
south of New Cross Gate, all stations to West Croydon and Crystal
Palace. The, er, extension of the extension from Dalston Jn on to
Highbury & Islington comes a bit later... and the further extension
from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction (via Peckham etc) comes later
still.

Good news. It's the physical manifestation of some outlandish plans,
in fact. But I think it'll genuinely serve a purpose, and will quickly
become a routine part of London's transport infrastructure - indeed,
half of it already was, but the annexation of the defunct alignment
into Broad Street (defunct no longer) really means the old ELL route
can realise some of its until now unexploited potential.

Thameslink Mark II it might not be but I suggest that would be to miss
the point - it's a new local link for London, linking localities in
the south east and east of London along with the eastern fringe of the
City, and linking much more through new interchange opportunities, at
Canada Water, at Whitechapel, at New Cross NX Gate (and stations south
thereof), at Dalston (and in a year at High & I), and with local buses
all over the shop.

Kudos to the planners for, well, having the vision to plan it, and
dare I say kudos to the newt king for actually making that vision
happen. It's not a Grand Projet, but is perhaps all the more audacious
for that.

More info (from TfL):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/proj...mes/15360.aspx

Limited-ish number of free tickets available for travel on the ELL
today (Sunday 23 May) - see:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...tre/15514.aspx

On May 22, 4:38*pm, Mizter T wrote:
...but you knew that already.`

Well - phase 1a of the ELLX opens tomorrow - that's through running
south of New Cross Gate, all stations to West Croydon and Crystal
Palace. The, er, extension of the extension from Dalston Jn on to
Highbury & Islington comes a bit later... and the further extension
from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction (via Peckham etc) comes later
still.

Good news. It's the physical manifestation of some outlandish plans,
in fact. But I think it'll genuinely serve a purpose, and will quickly
become a routine part of London's transport infrastructure - indeed,
half of it already was, but the annexation of the defunct alignment
into Broad Street (defunct no longer) really means the old ELL route
can realise some of its until now unexploited potential.

Thameslink Mark II it might not be but I suggest that would be to miss
the point - it's a new local link for London, linking localities in
the south east and east of London along with the eastern fringe of the
City, and linking much more through new interchange opportunities, at
Canada Water, at Whitechapel, at New Cross NX Gate (and stations south
thereof), at Dalston (and in a year at High & I), and with local buses
all over the shop.

Kudos to the planners for, well, having the vision to plan it, and
dare I say kudos to the newt king for actually making that vision
happen. It's not a Grand Projet, but is perhaps all the more audacious
for that.

More info (from TfL):http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/proj...mes/15360.aspx

Limited-ish number of free tickets available for travel on the ELL
today (Sunday 23 May) - see:http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...tre/15514.aspx

Thank you for posting. I agree with every word you say. When this
idea was first proposed I questioned why both the NLL and ELL could
not be routed into Liverpool Street. This would have given access to
the city from a number of orbital locations. However, since Liverpool
Street lacks sufficient capacity, this is the next best alternative.

When folks posted the first pictures of the new stations, on Flickr
etc., I thought that they looked cold and utilitarian. But, as the
Overground roundels and other signage has been added the buildings
have taken on the familiar TfL look. Given time I think the stations
will become part of the landscape.

Network Rails local radial routes "belong" to commuters. The
Underground is the railway of Commuters and Tourists. In many ways
the Overground system is London's railway for Londoners. I hope in
time we will see further development. I look forward to visiting
London and checking out the new system for myself.

On 23 May, 03:14, E27002 wrote:

Network Rails local radial routes "belong" to commuters. *The
Underground is the railway of Commuters and Tourists. *In many ways
the Overground system is London's railway for Londoners. *I hope in
time we will see further development. *I look forward to visiting
London and checking out the new system for myself.

This will make it easier to get onto the DLR from Croydon. Until now
it's been very slow, via Lewisham, on either the 75, or Tramlink to
Elmers end, and then train. The East London still takes quite a time
to get to Shadwell, but at least the journey to most DLR destinations
will be shorter from there than from Lewisham.

On May 23, 8:38*pm, Stephen Furley wrote:

On 23 May, 03:14, E27002 wrote:

Network Rails local radial routes "belong" to commuters. *The
Underground is the railway of Commuters and Tourists. *In many ways
the Overground system is London's railway for Londoners. *I hope in
time we will see further development. *I look forward to visiting
London and checking out the new system for myself.

This will make it easier to get onto the DLR from Croydon. *Until now
it's been very slow, via Lewisham, on either the 75, or Tramlink to
Elmers end, and then train. *The East London still takes quite a time
to get to Shadwell, but at least the journey to most DLR destinations
will be shorter from there than from Lewisham.

33 mins or so from West Croydon to Shadwell - depends what you think
of as "quite a time" I s'pose. Of course the eastern end of the DLR is
easily accessible via a very easy interchange off the ELL onto the
Jubilee line at Canada Water (but see below), then a further v. easy
interchange at Canning Town. (The tube/DLR interchange at Canary
Wharf/ Heron Quays isn't quite so seamless.)

Of course that's not a new journey opportunity as such - it was
available under the old ELL (via a change at New Cross Gate) - but the
through service does make it so much easier.

Quick note re the Canada Water - the interchange is easy, but at peak
times the Jubilee line is sardines, so commuters might find the
Shadwell option more realistic (esp. now that Bank to Lewisham DLR
trains are becoming 3-cars long).

"Stephen Furley" wrote in message
...
On 23 May, 03:14, E27002 wrote:

Network Rails local radial routes "belong" to commuters. The
Underground is the railway of Commuters and Tourists. In many ways
the Overground system is London's railway for Londoners. I hope in
time we will see further development. I look forward to visiting
London and checking out the new system for myself.

This will make it easier to get onto the DLR from Croydon. Until now
it's been very slow, via Lewisham, on either the 75, or Tramlink to
Elmers end, and then train. The East London still takes quite a time
to get to Shadwell, but at least the journey to most DLR destinations
will be shorter from there than from Lewisham.

==============
What is happening this morning? All CrPal trains seem to be terminating
Surrey Quays. I was planning to try it out today.

MaxB

In message , Batman55
writes

What is happening this morning? All CrPal trains seem to be terminating
Surrey Quays. I was planning to try it out today.

Live departure boards are currently (10.08) showing that the service is
running through to Crystal Palace.
--
Paul Terry

On May 24, 10:09*am, Paul Terry wrote:

In message , Batman55
writes

What is happening this morning? All CrPal trains seem to be terminating
Surrey Quays. I was planning to try it out today.

Live departure boards are currently (10.08) showing that the service is
running through to Crystal Palace.

Nothing showing on LO JourneyCheck at the time of posting (10:30):
http://www.jcheck.com/londonoverground

Wonder how busy it was this morning. Also wonder how many people might
have got stuck at Canada Water waiting for a sliver of space on an
eastbound Jubilee line train during the height of the rush... the
solution being go to Shadwell instead of course (well for those Canary
Wharf bound at least).

(Perhaps a bit of a shame that the riverbus service doesn't stop at a
pier near Rotherhithe or even Wapping stations, though I rather doubt
there'd really be the requisite demand to support it.)

On 23/05/2010 03:14, E27002 wrote:

Network Rails local radial routes "belong" to commuters. The
Underground is the railway of Commuters and Tourists. In many ways
the Overground system is London's railway for Londoners.

The cover of the new map seems to deliberately avoid mentioning the ELL.
Which budget controls the tube map - LUL, London Rail, or some sort of
joint budget?

On May 24, 12:48*am, Basil Jet wrote:

On 23/05/2010 03:14, E27002 wrote:
Network Rails local radial routes "belong" to commuters. *The
Underground is the railway of Commuters and Tourists. *In many ways
the Overground system is London's railway for Londoners.

The cover of the new map seems to deliberately avoid mentioning the ELL.
Which budget controls the tube map - LUL, London Rail, or some sort of
joint budget?

I think you're looking for a conspiracy where there isn't one...

I got the first Overground train from West Croydon due at 0642. It
actually came at 0649.

The ticket office was closed so I had to use Oyster for the first
trip.

I had planned to change at Surrey Quays so I could go back to Crystal
Palace but I missed the connection due to the delay so I went to
Whitechapel instead. I then picked up a free ticket at Whitechapel
ticket office. It came in an Overground branded wallet with a
commemorative ticket on the right and a regular Zones 1 to 6 Day
Travelcard on the left. So the free ticket isn't just for the East
London Line!