Alex Terrell wrote:

Dave Arquati wrote in message ...

Alex Terrell wrote:

I received the new CrossRail consultation document today. Apparantly
Silvertown and North Woolwich stations are to be closed, and Customs
House station, serving the Excel conference centre, will be enhanced.

Is this an opportunity to provide a rail shuttle service between
Customs House and City Airport? This would be a big improvement over
the current arrangements for accessing City airport, and would also
benefit the conference centre (like the Birmingham Airport / NEC /
Rail Station complex.

Ideally, the shuttle would be small traqins running every 5 minutes of
so.

AKA Docklands Light Railway extension from Canning Town to London City
Airport. Frequency will be every 12 mins initially then every 6 mins
once demand increases. Once the further extension to Woolwich opens,
frequency might increase to 4 mins.


Thanks - is this planned, approved, going ahead, or being built?

City Airport extension is being built, opening late next year. Woolwich
extension is going ahead - construction starts later this year for
completion in 2008.

The Thames tunnel portal will be around here somewhere (before the
Connaught tunnel) so it will probably "break" the North Woolwich branch.

Is the Connaught Tunnel currently used for the N London Line??

Yes - that's the tunnel between Custom House and Silvertown underneath
the Royal Docks.

Also, the current City Airport terminal is too small. Could they
provide check in facilities at Customs House station?

The DLR option would rule this out. Perhaps check in at Canning Town
might be an option. It also doesn't provide a direct link between
Excel and the Airport. Perhaps the Excel owners should organise a boat
shuttle.

Not a bad idea. Unfortunately the terminal building at LCY is adjacent
to King George V dock which is separated from Royal Albert Dock (and
therefore Royal Victoria Dock which Excel is next to) by LCY's runway -
so any boat service will have to take a long route round via the eastern
end of the docks. A bus shuttle would be much quicker (if not quite as
pleasant) and one vehicle could provide a high frequency between LCY and
Excel.

However I guess that many people coming to Excel via LCY will also have
hotels to book into nearby, so may not need a direct service.

As for check-in, I'm not sure if Canning Town is big enough for this
sort of facility; however, business people visiting Canary Wharf might
appreciate it there.

--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London