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Connectivity
One of the things I find strange about the tube is that they hardly
ever (i.e. everywhere except holborn) seem to attempt to correct the lack of interchange between lines which cross each other (e.g. West Ruislip), so that you don't need to make ridiculous journeys to get between them. I have constructed a list of these, and wonder whether any plans are in the pipeline to correct the problem, or ever have been. Acton and Ealing - this whole area is a mess, with multiple lines crossing each other, but never interchanging - e.g. you could cut out either the central line, or the district line, if you had an interchange to the picadilly from the central just before ealing broadway. Likewise, acton main line and west acton are very close yet without interchange. Aldgate - The trains from Tower Hill to Aldgate East, and from Liverpool Street to Aldgate East, both pass extremely closely to the south and north ends of the Aldgate platforms (respectively). Why didn't they just add platforms in for these so that you don't need to make awkward changes at this triangle. Aldwych - The southern end of the platforms are close enough to Temple for an escalator to join them together. As they were forever trying to make Aldwych more useful, I am surprised they never considered this, as a short cut from Holborn to the circle line would be very useful. Bank - The Waterloo & City line is quite far from the other lines (the platforms are actually half way to Mansion House), so why didn't they just extend it, moving the platforms to somewhere like Princes Street, so that it is a very brief walk to the other lines. Blackfriars - The Waterloo & City line passes directly beneath here, a connection to it would alleviate travel from Bank to Blackfriars (thus rendered 1 stop rather than 4) and from Blackfriars to Waterloo (currently 4 stops including interchange), assuming the frequency of the line was changed to something more similar to the other tube lines, so that it could cope with the number of passengers. A connection here would be amazingly significant to journey times from this area, and routes from more north that involve using thameslink, as well as connecting the area up much better. Earls Court - The station appears to have been placed in one of the most awkward of locations - had it been placed to the east in the triangle where the lines diverge, there wouldn't be so much trouble getting to high street kensington or gloucester road. More significantly, had the station been placed to the west, it would have enabled a direct connection to the West London Line, allowing the branch to Kensington Olympia to be scrapped (and resolve similar issues with having to get a branch to West Brompton first) - in fact, if the Kings Line (Chelsea-Hackney line) went ahead, it would allow the Kings line to take other the southern half of the Wimbledon Branch, and the West London line to take over the northern half (and thus increase the frequency of the West London Line significantly, as it would have dedicated track rather than share it with freight). Edgeware Road - The connection between the nearby bakerloo and circle line stations is via an increadibly scary mugging friendly set of underpasses. It could be much better done, more directly, via a simple escalator between the bakerloo and circle line platforms. Euston Square - The eastern end of this station is near Euston, and an escalator link would connect the two, although there is a problem due to a huge sewer right next to and parrallel with the eastern end of the station, which obstructs the potential path quite a bit. The western end is fairly close to Warren Street - the distance is about the same as the length of the travelator at waterloo, and an escalator between the levels of the lines would reduce that (going to the northern line directly would be the shortest route, although you would probably need to go through the old lift shafts. At the moment, if you want to go south on the charing cross branch of the northern line, you either need to walk the distance to euston or warren street, or change at both kings cross, and euston, which is hardly convenient if you have lots of heavy luggage, or difficulty walking far for some other reason. Hampstead - The North London line passes to the south, and is a very useful line as otherwise you need to go back into central london if you want to go somewhere east or west. If they put an exit from the southern end of the platforms, it would meet the North London line at Rosslyn Hill. Although this is comparably quite far south from the northern line platforms, Hampstead is the deepest tube station in london, and so the escalator distance from it would be the longest (and due the length, they would probably be split into stages, pushing the exit even further to the south). Mansion House - The Waterloo & City line runs directly under here, and the platforms for bank are closer to here than they are to bank, so why did they never build an escalator connection between the bank platforms and Mansion House (admittedly this would make bank station somewhat bizarre - if you went from the waterloo & city line platforms to monument via the central line, and then took a circle/district line train to mansion house, you would get back to the same waterloo & city line platforms, even though you have gone through an intermediate station (cannon street)). Morden - Tramlink, and other lines, pass half way between morden and south wimbledon, which is a reasonably large gap anyway. A station where they meet would provide useful interchange, enabling a more direct connection to the district line (via tramlink/foot/bus etc.) and it is odd that one was not put in here originally. Paddington - Currently, there is an extensive walk between the circle & bakerloo platforms, and the hammersmith ones. This could have been resolved by an escalator from the northern end of the bakerloo line platforms which would connect fairly directly with the hammersmith platforms. Also, the circle and bakerloo platforms could be brought much closer together by a short passage from the eastern end of the circle line platforms. I am very curious why neither of these things were ever done. Shepherd's Bush - There already seems to be a staff exit at the east end of the platforms (over a bridge), so are they considering a public exit at the east end to connect to the new station planned for the West London Line. Shoreditch High Street - The new East London Line station will be directly above the central line, near some half built WWII bunker tunnels. I have always been puzzled why they never built a station here in the first place on the central line, and now it would make a useful interchange as well. St Pauls - The west end of the platforms is quite close to the City Thameslink station, so I am surprised that no link was made, especially when there are already partly constructed WWII bunker tunnels from the west end of one of the platforms. Alternately, I am also surprised that they never considered a station at Holborn Viaduct on the original central line, which would also have provided such a connection, since this is quite a busy area, and the gap between St Pauls and Chancery Lane is quite large. Walthamstow - With a small extension to the victoria line, it would meet the central line near woodford, making the journey to/from Walthamstow from/to the east much simpler, rather than needing to go via oxford circus (ignoring buses/private transport), which is a bit silly. West Ruislip - Connecting this station up to a new station on the metropolitan would mean that you could make the connection to Uxbridge quite easily, rather than needing to use local transport instead, or having to go via acton, which is ridiculous. White City - They are building a new station on the Hammersmith & City line nearby, which could be connected up if they slightly extended the platforms a bit south, and replaced the (very) ugly station building with (a more useful) one towards the southern end of the site. |
Connectivity
On 20 May 2005 01:34:22 -0700, lonelytraveller wrote:
One of the things I find strange about the tube is that they hardly ever (i.e. everywhere except holborn) seem to attempt to correct the lack of interchange between lines which cross each other That's hardly fair. In the case of the last two lines built, Jubilee and Victoria, it seems like a case of joining up the dots. -- http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p12028744.html (TDB 975025 - the SR General Manager's Saloon at Weymouth in 1985) |
Connectivity
lonelytraveller wrote:
One of the things I find strange about the tube is that they hardly ever (i.e. everywhere except holborn) seem to attempt to correct the lack of interchange between lines which cross each other (e.g. West Ruislip), so that you don't need to make ridiculous journeys to get between them. I have constructed a list of these, and wonder whether any plans are in the pipeline to correct the problem, or ever have been. Acton and Ealing - this whole area is a mess, with multiple lines crossing each other, but never interchanging - e.g. you could cut out either the central line, or the district line, if you had an interchange to the picadilly from the central just before ealing broadway. Likewise, acton main line and west acton are very close yet without interchange. There's a plan to build an interchange at Park Royal between the Piccadilly and Central lines. http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/33 In light of that, there's no need for a Piccadilly-Central interchange in Ealing, as Piccadilly passengers can get to Ealing Bdy with a change at Ealing Common already, and West Acton is within walking distance of North Ealing, so once the Park Royal interchange is in place, other journey possibilities are catered for. Acton Main Line isn't really that close to West Acton, and even if it were, interchange between the two wouldn't really make much difference - appropriate interchange is already available at Ealing Broadway. Aldgate - The trains from Tower Hill to Aldgate East, and from Liverpool Street to Aldgate East, both pass extremely closely to the south and north ends of the Aldgate platforms (respectively). Why didn't they just add platforms in for these so that you don't need to make awkward changes at this triangle. 1: Super expensive. 2: Extra journey time for passengers, with 3: no benefits. If you're starting your journey near Aldgate and you want to Hammersmith & City / District lines to the east, Aldgate East is barely 3 minutes' walk away. Otherwise, all changes between lines are possible using either Liverpool St, Tower Hill or Aldgate East. Aldwych - The southern end of the platforms are close enough to Temple for an escalator to join them together. As they were forever trying to make Aldwych more useful, I am surprised they never considered this, as a short cut from Holborn to the circle line would be very useful. It's further than it looks on the map; it's certainly further than Leicester Square to Covent Garden! Why would a shortcut from Holborn to the Circle line be useful? Bank - The Waterloo & City line is quite far from the other lines (the platforms are actually half way to Mansion House), so why didn't they just extend it, moving the platforms to somewhere like Princes Street, so that it is a very brief walk to the other lines. That would probably only save about 30 seconds' journey time, and would be extremely expensive. Blackfriars - The Waterloo & City line passes directly beneath here, a connection to it would alleviate travel from Bank to Blackfriars (thus rendered 1 stop rather than 4) and from Blackfriars to Waterloo (currently 4 stops including interchange), assuming the frequency of the line was changed to something more similar to the other tube lines, so that it could cope with the number of passengers. A connection here would be amazingly significant to journey times from this area, and routes from more north that involve using thameslink, as well as connecting the area up much better. Well, getting from Thameslink to the Bank area is easily accomplished by using the District line to Mansion House, Cannon St or Monument; probably quicker than descending to a deep tube platform and then returning to the surface at the other end. Getting to Waterloo from the south is already catered for by the Bakerloo at Elephant & Castle, or overground rail from London Bridge. Thameslink travellers from the north can reach Waterloo from West Hampstead - probably more quickly than sitting on a Thameslink service through the core section to Blackfriars. For people arriving at Waterloo and travelling to the Blackfriars area, there is a bit of a gap in provision, although the 521 Red Arrow service already does quite a good job of delivering people to the area immediately to the north of Blackfriars. Rather than an extremely expensive new deep tube platform at Blackfriars, I imagine a new bus service running from Waterloo across Blackfriars Bridge would provide nearly as good a journey time at a fraction of the cost. I also imagine that the thousands of commuters who use the W&C to reach the City from southwest London would be highly inconvenienced by a new stop at Blackfriars; the number of people who might benefit is probably much lower. Earls Court - The station appears to have been placed in one of the most awkward of locations - had it been placed to the east in the triangle where the lines diverge, there wouldn't be so much trouble getting to high street kensington or gloucester road. More significantly, had the station been placed to the west, it would have enabled a direct connection to the West London Line, allowing the branch to Kensington Olympia to be scrapped (and resolve similar issues with having to get a branch to West Brompton first) - in fact, if the Kings Line (Chelsea-Hackney line) went ahead, it would allow the Kings line to take other the southern half of the Wimbledon Branch, and the West London line to take over the northern half (and thus increase the frequency of the West London Line significantly, as it would have dedicated track rather than share it with freight). Let's not forget that the main point of Earl's Court station is to serve the area of Earl's Court; having it anywhere other than its current location would be a pain in the proverbial for travellers to the area, and patently unnecessary. I'm not sure what this "trouble" is getting to HSK or Gloucester Rd that you refer to - from any one station in the triangle you can get to any other. Providing interchange with the West London Line - rather than moving an entire station and inconveniencing everyone who currently uses it, a virtually zero-cost option is to permit out-of-station interchange between West Brompton and Earl's Court, which are just under 5 minutes' walk away from each other. The current Earl's Court station is in the perfect location - if you move it anywhere, you are going to inconvenience a lot of people. As for the WLL taking over the northern part of the District line, I really don't think that would be very popular with the denizens of Fulham. Most of them want to get to central London, not Shepherd's Bush or Willesden Junction. Edgeware Road - The connection between the nearby bakerloo and circle line stations is via an increadibly scary mugging friendly set of underpasses. It could be much better done, more directly, via a simple escalator between the bakerloo and circle line platforms. For what purpose? Interchange is already available at Paddington and Baker Street between these lines. Euston Square - The eastern end of this station is near Euston, and an escalator link would connect the two, although there is a problem due to a huge sewer right next to and parrallel with the eastern end of the station, which obstructs the potential path quite a bit. The western end is fairly close to Warren Street - the distance is about the same as the length of the travelator at waterloo, and an escalator between the levels of the lines would reduce that (going to the northern line directly would be the shortest route, although you would probably need to go through the old lift shafts. At the moment, if you want to go south on the charing cross branch of the northern line, you either need to walk the distance to euston or warren street, or change at both kings cross, and euston, which is hardly convenient if you have lots of heavy luggage, or difficulty walking far for some other reason. A decent link between Euston Square and Euston mainline would be useful, and I think there are plans somewhere to improve this interchange. Permitted, well-signed out-of-station interchange between Warren Street and Euston Square would solve the problems you mention at a miniscule fraction of the cost. Hampstead - The North London line passes to the south, and is a very useful line as otherwise you need to go back into central london if you want to go somewhere east or west. If they put an exit from the southern end of the platforms, it would meet the North London line at Rosslyn Hill. Although this is comparably quite far south from the northern line platforms, Hampstead is the deepest tube station in london, and so the escalator distance from it would be the longest (and due the length, they would probably be split into stages, pushing the exit even further to the south). The cost of such an interchange would be absolutely astronomical - new escalator shafters under Hampstead, and a brand new station build around the NLL tunnel at Rosslyn Hill?! The distance between Hampstead platforms and the North London Line isn't that short anyway - it would probably be a 5-minute walk! A more constructive solution (which has been proposed by some parties) is at Camden Town, where a new exit from the Camden Town platforms could create a decent interchange to Camden Road NLL station - although this is a rival plan to TfL's. http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/62 If we really need a way for getting Edgware branch passengers to parts of West London, an interchange at Chalk Farm with a reopened Primrose Hill station serving ELLX/Orbirail service to Willesden would be much cheaper than the solution you propose. Mansion House - The Waterloo & City line runs directly under here, and the platforms for bank are closer to here than they are to bank, so why did they never build an escalator connection between the bank platforms and Mansion House (admittedly this would make bank station somewhat bizarre - if you went from the waterloo & city line platforms to monument via the central line, and then took a circle/district line train to mansion house, you would get back to the same waterloo & city line platforms, even though you have gone through an intermediate station (cannon street)). Why bother building this link? In-station interchange is already available with the Circle/District at Monument, and how many people change from the W&C to the westbound District/Circle? Morden - Tramlink, and other lines, pass half way between morden and south wimbledon, which is a reasonably large gap anyway. A station where they meet would provide useful interchange, enabling a more direct connection to the district line (via tramlink/foot/bus etc.) and it is odd that one was not put in here originally. The lack of interchange between Tramlink and the Northern line is apparent, but this is probably much more easily and cheaply solved with a tram solution rather than a Tube one. Plans are already afoot for a tram route linking the current line from Croydon to Tooting Broadway via Mitcham town centre, and from Wimbledon via Morden station to Sutton. http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/19 However, this is more for people to travel between the Northern line and Tramlink, rather than between the Northern and District lines. I imagine most such journeys are more easily accomplished by direct buses than by tube-tram-tube combinations. Paddington - Currently, there is an extensive walk between the circle & bakerloo platforms, and the hammersmith ones. This could have been resolved by an escalator from the northern end of the bakerloo line platforms which would connect fairly directly with the hammersmith platforms. Also, the circle and bakerloo platforms could be brought much closer together by a short passage from the eastern end of the circle line platforms. I am very curious why neither of these things were ever done. Not sure about this one. I find the Circle-Bakerloo interchange at Paddington OK compared to other interchanges (like Green Park or King's Cross). Shepherd's Bush - There already seems to be a staff exit at the east end of the platforms (over a bridge), so are they considering a public exit at the east end to connect to the new station planned for the West London Line. There will be a Central-WLL-bus-(possible tram) interchange here. http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/24 Shoreditch High Street - The new East London Line station will be directly above the central line, near some half built WWII bunker tunnels. I have always been puzzled why they never built a station here in the first place on the central line, and now it would make a useful interchange as well. This was considered, but it failed a cost-benefit analysis - the cost of construction and extra journey time for the thousands of passengers travelling into the City from the eastern Central line wasn't worth the benefits of having the interchange there. However, Crossrail's Whitechapel station will allow interchange between ELL services and services to parts of east London, the City and West End; passengers between the ELL and the eastern Central line will be able to interchange via Whitechapel & Mile End (cross-platform), Whitechapel and Stratford (cross-platform?) and Canada Water and Stratford. Although obviously a two-change journey is not as convenient as a single-change journey, the possibilities will exist. St Pauls - The west end of the platforms is quite close to the City Thameslink station, so I am surprised that no link was made, especially when there are already partly constructed WWII bunker tunnels from the west end of one of the platforms. Alternately, I am also surprised that they never considered a station at Holborn Viaduct on the original central line, which would also have provided such a connection, since this is quite a busy area, and the gap between St Pauls and Chancery Lane is quite large. Pass. Perhaps it's difficult to build a station here, as the Central line has to dive underneath the river Fleet. Walthamstow - With a small extension to the victoria line, it would meet the central line near woodford, making the journey to/from Walthamstow from/to the east much simpler, rather than needing to go via oxford circus (ignoring buses/private transport), which is a bit silly. I doubt anyone would ignore buses/private transport and travel via Oxford Circus. The Victoria line can't be extended at the moment as it is already full to its capacity; the only possible extension is a loop from Brixton to Herne Hill and back, as this would permit a frequency increase on the line by avoiding the scissors crossover at Brixton which limits capacity. The future relief promised is Crossrail 2, which could drastically reduce Victoria line overcrowding - but don't hold your breath for it to be built any time soon. West Ruislip - Connecting this station up to a new station on the metropolitan would mean that you could make the connection to Uxbridge quite easily, rather than needing to use local transport instead, or having to go via acton, which is ridiculous. This area is far from densely populated, and a new station would never pass any cost-benefit analysis. If you're travelling from the Central line to Uxbridge, the proposed Park Royal interchange may help - but otherwise, the demand isn't really there. White City - They are building a new station on the Hammersmith & City line nearby, which could be connected up if they slightly extended the platforms a bit south, and replaced the (very) ugly station building with (a more useful) one towards the southern end of the site. Interchange between the two stations will already only be about a 3-minute walk; the current White City Central line station serves the are to the west and north, so moving it south would be inconvenient to current users, and probably more so than the benefits gained by a slightly-reduced interchange time. However, if the White City development is very successful, it's conceivable that a new southern entrance to the station might be built. -- Dave Arquati Imperial College, SW7 www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London |
Connectivity
and isn't the Piccadilly Line directly under Harringay station. How
many lines does the North London line cross without interchange. |
Connectivity
On Fri, 20 May 2005, Chris Tolley wrote:
On 20 May 2005 01:34:22 -0700, lonelytraveller wrote: One of the things I find strange about the tube is that they hardly ever (i.e. everywhere except holborn) seem to attempt to correct the lack of interchange between lines which cross each other That's hardly fair. In the case of the last two lines built, Jubilee and Victoria, it seems like a case of joining up the dots. That's true, but Dr No Context is talking about improving connectivity between existing lines, and he's right about that. The answer, of course, is that the cost of the improvements would sadly be disproportionate to the benefit they would bring. Except at Park Royal, apparently. The ELL/Central opportunity at Shoreditch High Street is an example of this - it was considered, and not found to be worth it, given that the extra stop would delay travellers from the east as well. I'd take issue with some of the suggestions, though, like Aldgate; the current layout is like this: ---+-\ | \ # AE A #| +--- | / ---+-/ Where lines are, er, lines, pluses are junctions, and # is a station; A is Aldgate, AE is Aldgate East. Lonelytraveller doesn't like the A to AE change, so he'd rather have: ---+-\ # | \ A #| +--- # | / ---+-/ Or something, so you can do it all at Aldgate. This, however, would be awful for anyone who just wanted to head east - you'd have to choose between two platforms and hope you picked the one with the first train, whereas at present, you just have one. I'm not really sure who it would make life easier for; the stations on either side provide easier changes from the District and H&C to the Circle. I don't think there's any way to arrange this so that everyone is happy. Not just by building new platforms, at least; i did at one point work out how to arrange a station at the junction of three lines so that there's one platform per destination direction, but it was a bit complicated. What i'd do, if we were going to dig up bits of the City, is rearrange Tower Hill - possibly with an extra bit of track from Minories junction - so that Metropolitan trains could terminate there instead of Aldgate. Oh, and link the station up with Fenchurch Street and Tower Gateway properly while i'm down there. Many of the other suggestions are sound, though. I share his frustration over Earl's Court - it (or the WLL, depending on how you look at it) is just in the wrong place for interchange with the WLL (and concomitant extermination of the Kenny O stub, which i find really irritating). tom -- 20 Minutes into the Future |
Connectivity
On 20 May 2005 01:34:22 -0700, "lonelytraveller"
wrote: One of the things I find strange about the tube is that they hardly ever (i.e. everywhere except holborn) seem to attempt to correct the lack of interchange between lines which cross each other (e.g. West Ruislip), so that you don't need to make ridiculous journeys to get between them. I have constructed a list of these, and wonder whether any plans are in the pipeline to correct the problem, or ever have been. If you stop and think about it for a moment it is possible to get between the vast majority of tube stations with one change. Admittedly these interchanges are in the centre of town but the tube is essentially a radial transport network not an orbital one. That's what buses, some rail lines, DLR and trams are for. The Tube is not the totality of London's transport network and never, ever will be. Walthamstow - With a small extension to the victoria line, it would meet the central line near woodford, making the journey to/from Walthamstow from/to the east much simpler, rather than needing to go via oxford circus (ignoring buses/private transport), which is a bit silly. Why would anyone want this extension to be built? The Victoria Line overrun tunnels just about reach Wood Street and Woodford is much higher up than Wood Street is. Even if you were to continue in Tunnel the construction costs would be huge and the benefit incredibly marginal. Anyone want a station at Waterworks Corner or in the middle of Epping Forest? The true test is what level of demand is there for buses between Woodford or possibly South Woodford. The number 20 runs to Woodford every 15 minutes and is rarely packed out. The W12 minibus runs every 20 minutes to South Woodford and is reasonably well patronised but the vehicles are small. If there is no justification for very frequent bus links then there can never a case for a deep tube extension. Now between Walthamstow / Chingford and say Stratford or Canning Town for interchange to Docklands - yes please build a few metres of track on an old alignment to connect the Chingford Line to the Lea Valley Line and please provide a service over that link. That would genuinely improve connectivity in East London and take traffic off the roads. I harbour secret dreams of DLR extending up the Lea Valley and taking over the Chingford Line so the much needed extra stations at Forest Road, Fulbourne Rd and Chingford Hatch could be built and we'd have a really effective rail corridor up to Chingford that served the community rather than whizzing past it. I accept that commuters into the City would howl if they lost their direct train link but I can dream :-) West Ruislip - Connecting this station up to a new station on the metropolitan would mean that you could make the connection to Uxbridge quite easily, rather than needing to use local transport instead, or having to go via acton, which is ridiculous. What is ridiculous about catching a bus? - they are part of London's integrated transport network. -- Paul C Admits to working for London Underground! |
Connectivity
Tom Anderson wrote:
On Fri, 20 May 2005, Chris Tolley wrote: On 20 May 2005 01:34:22 -0700, lonelytraveller wrote: One of the things I find strange about the tube is that they hardly ever (i.e. everywhere except holborn) seem to attempt to correct the lack of interchange between lines which cross each other (snip) Many of the other suggestions are sound, though. I share his frustration over Earl's Court - it (or the WLL, depending on how you look at it) is just in the wrong place for interchange with the WLL (and concomitant extermination of the Kenny O stub, which i find really irritating). Earl's Court is in exactly the right place - between Earl's Court Road and Warwick Road, with the former exit serving the busy shopping area and the latter exit serving the exhibition centre. There's no better location of Earl's Court station. To provide a comprehensive interchange to the WLL without greatly inconveniencing the people who travel to the Earl's Court area would require new platforms underneath the exhibition centre, with a passageway linking them to the existing station. But these platforms would be tens of metres away from West Brompton! So, why not just signpost and allow out-of-station interchange between Earl's Court and West Brompton? It would have much the same effect. You may find the Olympia stub irritating, but many others find it useful - it has good interchange at Earl's Court across the platform to services towards Victoria or Edgware Road, and is relatively reliable compared to the WLL. -- Dave Arquati Imperial College, SW7 www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London |
Connectivity
Dave Arquati wrote:
I doubt anyone would ignore buses/private transport and travel via Oxford Circus. The Victoria line can't be extended at the moment as it is already full to its capacity; the only possible extension is a loop from Brixton to Herne Hill and back, as this would permit a frequency increase on the line by avoiding the scissors crossover at Brixton which limits capacity. The future relief promised is Crossrail 2, which could drastically reduce Victoria line overcrowding - but don't hold your breath for it to be built any time soon. A loop at Herne Hill is not the only way to increase capacity on the Vic - a flying terminus would do the job just as well, without the pain of turning trains around. Interchange between the two stations will already only be about a 3-minute walk; the current White City Central line station serves the are to the west and north, so moving it south would be inconvenient to current users, and probably more so than the benefits gained by a slightly-reduced interchange time. However, if the White City development is very successful, it's conceivable that a new southern entrance to the station might be built. A southern entrance would indeed be useful to make it easier to reach the western side of the White City development; however, it would be expensive, and disruptive to the Central Line as well - there is literally no ground space for the supports needed for such a structure, as all available ground space is occupied by the scissors crossovers to the east of the station. Building an access between the eastern edge of the platforms and the nearby bridge would be interesting... |
Flying terminus was Connectivity
On Fri, 20 May 2005, TheOneKEA wrote:
Dave Arquati wrote: The Victoria line can't be extended at the moment as it is already full to its capacity; I might have lost the plot, but that seems to make no sense whatsoever - making the line longer wouldn't have capacity implications. You could run trains at exactly the same frequency (if you had a few more), so as far as Brixton is concerned, it wouldn't be any different. Or am i being stupid? However, what i really want to know is ... the only possible extension is a loop from Brixton to Herne Hill and back, as this would permit a frequency increase on the line by avoiding the scissors crossover at Brixton which limits capacity. A loop at Herne Hill is not the only way to increase capacity on the Vic - a flying terminus would do the job just as well, without the pain of turning trains around. What the hell is a flying terminus? I'm getting visions of some sort of Hayao Miyazaki sort of affair ... tom -- Sometimes it takes a madman like Iggy Pop before you can SEE the logic really working. |
Connectivity
On Fri, 20 May 2005, Dave Arquati wrote:
Tom Anderson wrote: On Fri, 20 May 2005, Chris Tolley wrote: On 20 May 2005 01:34:22 -0700, lonelytraveller wrote: the lack of interchange between lines which cross each other I share his frustration over Earl's Court - it (or the WLL, depending on how you look at it) is just in the wrong place for interchange with the WLL (and concomitant extermination of the Kenny O stub, which i find really irritating). Earl's Court is in exactly the right place - between Earl's Court Road and Warwick Road, with the former exit serving the busy shopping area and the latter exit serving the exhibition centre. There's no better location of Earl's Court station. That is one conclusion. The other is that the shops and the exhibition centre are in the wrong place. That isn't an entirely facetious comment - the location of the station probably had a lot to do with the structure of development in the area. It is a mostly facetious comment, though. To provide a comprehensive interchange to the WLL without greatly inconveniencing the people who travel to the Earl's Court area would require new platforms underneath the exhibition centre, with a passageway linking them to the existing station. But these platforms would be tens of metres away from West Brompton! So, why not just signpost and allow out-of-station interchange between Earl's Court and West Brompton? It would have much the same effect. I think that's a great idea. I'm not suggesting a new WLL station on the existing line; that would clearly be madness. I'm just a little irked that they didn't build the stuff in that area a bit more smoothly when they had the chance (with the WLL further to the east, for example). I'm not too hot on my history, though; the WLL probably predates the District line. Still, if Earl's Court is a good place for a tube station, it's also a good place for a railway station. That said, perhaps the fact that the Wimbledon branch follows the WLL alignment means Earl's Court has to be well to the east of it. You may find the Olympia stub irritating, but many others find it useful DESTROY KENSINGTON OLYMPIA. tom -- Sometimes it takes a madman like Iggy Pop before you can SEE the logic really working. |
Flying terminus was Connectivity
On Fri, 20 May 2005 23:42:14 +0100, Tom Anderson wrote:
On Fri, 20 May 2005, TheOneKEA wrote: Dave Arquati wrote: A loop at Herne Hill is not the only way to increase capacity on the Vic - a flying terminus would do the job just as well, without the pain of turning trains around. What the hell is a flying terminus? I'm getting visions of some sort of Hayao Miyazaki sort of affair ... Maybe he means like on the Piccadilly at Heathrow, or the Liverpool loop line. -- http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/ps9680060.html (British Electric Locomotives) |
Connectivity
Many of the other suggestions are sound, though. I share his frustration
over Earl's Court Me too - it's really inconvenient that there's no proper interchange between the WLL and the Picc. - it (or the WLL, depending on how you look at it) is just in the wrong place for interchange with the WLL (and concomitant extermination of the Kenny O stub, which i find really irritating). You may find the Olympia stub irritating, but many others find it useful - it has good interchange at Earl's Court across the platform to services towards Victoria or Edgware Road, and is relatively reliable compared to the WLL. What I'd really like to see done with the Olympia branch, is restoration of the through services from Earl's Court to Willesden Junction. (OK so it's totally unrealistic. But maybe one day the WLL will be quadrupled or something - it is supposed to have major capacity problems after all - and it'll become possible :) |
Connectivity
In message , Tom
Anderson writes That is one conclusion. The other is that the shops and the exhibition centre are in the wrong place. That isn't an entirely facetious comment - the location of the station probably had a lot to do with the structure of development in the area. When the line was built through Earls Court in 1869, no station was thought necessary as the area was still mostly market gardens. Housing rapidly followed the railway and, after petitioning by residents a small wooden station was built to the EAST of Earl's Court Road in 1871 (where lonelytraveller suggests it should be now). This burned down in 1875 and was replaced by the present station, a larger site being deemed necessary as the area was rapidly becoming built-up. What is now the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre was just waste ground (but used for various shows) on the triangle created by the railway lines to the west of the new station - the exhibition hall was not completed until 1937. So the area actually developed around the railway, rather than vice-versa. -- Paul Terry |
Flying terminus was Connectivity
Tom Anderson wrote:
I might have lost the plot, but that seems to make no sense whatsoever - making the line longer wouldn't have capacity implications. You could run trains at exactly the same frequency (if you had a few more), so as far as Brixton is concerned, it wouldn't be any different. Or am i being stupid? Extending the line and adding more stations increases the number of passengers that the line must carry. To ensure that loadings remain even, train frequency must be increased to compensate, which is the problem at hand. All Victoria Line trains that can be used are in use, AFAIK. The only way to get more trains is to build them - the 2009TS. However, what i really want to know is ... A loop at Herne Hill is not the only way to increase capacity on the Vic - a flying terminus would do the job just as well, without the pain of turning trains around. What the hell is a flying terminus? I'm getting visions of some sort of Hayao Miyazaki sort of affair ... http://216.55.161.203/theonekea/unde...g-terminus.txt The person who invented this has done the math and discovered that reversing capacity on this terminal layout is very high - capacity is only limited by the run in time + dwell time + run out time; if these values are kept low, frequencies as high as 40tph can be contemplated. |
Connectivity
TheOneKEA wrote to uk.transport.london on Fri, 20 May 2005:
A loop at Herne Hill is not the only way to increase capacity on the Vic - a flying terminus would do the job just as well, without the pain of turning trains around. Yeah, but a loop at Herne Hill would be a very great deal more useful! -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 3 April 2005 |
Connectivity
Mrs Redboots wrote:
Yeah, but a loop at Herne Hill would be a very great deal more useful! Why? A loop only has one platform - a flying terminus has two. http://216.55.161.203/theonekea/unde...g-terminus.txt |
Connectivity
TheOneKEA wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 21 May 2005:
Mrs Redboots wrote: Yeah, but a loop at Herne Hill would be a very great deal more useful! Why? A loop only has one platform - a flying terminus has two. http://216.55.161.203/theonekea/unde...g-terminus.txt I don't care what sort of terminus they have - but having one at Herne Hill rather than Brixton is the point! I'd rather they extended it to HH than changed the one at Brixton. -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 3 April 2005 |
Connectivity
On 21 May 2005 06:15:08 -0700, "TheOneKEA"
wrote: Mrs Redboots wrote: Yeah, but a loop at Herne Hill would be a very great deal more useful! Why? A loop only has one platform It can have as many as you want. Heathrow T123 has 2. |
Connectivity
asdf wrote:
It can have as many as you want. Heathrow T123 has 2. And the Next Train Out doohickey doesn't work right either... |
Flying terminus was Connectivity
What the hell is a flying terminus? I'm getting visions of some
sort of Hayao Miyazaki sort of affair ... http://216.55.161.203/theonekea/unde...g-terminus.txt The person who invented this Huh? Grade-separating the scissors crossover is hardly a huge leap of the imagination. I'm sure a lot more than 1 person has thought of it before, and then only considered it a passing thought rather than an invention! has done the math and discovered that reversing capacity on this terminal layout is very high - capacity is only limited by the run in time + dwell time + run out time; if these values are kept low, frequencies as high as 40tph can be contemplated. |
Flying terminus was Connectivity
asdf wrote:
Huh? Grade-separating the scissors crossover is hardly a huge leap of the imagination. I'm sure a lot more than 1 person has thought of it before, and then only considered it a passing thought rather than an invention! So? That doesn't change the fact that with almost all of the conflicting movements created by a flat terminal layout removed by grade-separating the scissors crossover, line capacity can be massively increased. If it's so humdrum, why hasn't it been done yet? |
Flying terminus was Connectivity
On 21 May 2005 07:35:38 -0700, "TheOneKEA"
wrote: asdf wrote: Huh? Grade-separating the scissors crossover is hardly a huge leap of the imagination. I'm sure a lot more than 1 person has thought of it before, and then only considered it a passing thought rather than an invention! So? That doesn't change the fact that with almost all of the conflicting movements created by a flat terminal layout removed by grade-separating the scissors crossover, line capacity can be massively increased. If it's so humdrum, why hasn't it been done yet? The idea may be trivial, but finding the will and the funding to actually do it most certainly isn't! Especially considering it would only really be necessary from (year when new Vic stock is introduced) until (year when Crossrail 2 opens) - projected at 7 years, though no doubt it will be nearer 20 :) |
Flying terminus was Connectivity
On Sat, 21 May 2005, TheOneKEA wrote:
Tom Anderson wrote: I might have lost the plot, but that seems to make no sense whatsoever - making the line longer wouldn't have capacity implications. You could run trains at exactly the same frequency (if you had a few more), so as far as Brixton is concerned, it wouldn't be any different. Or am i being stupid? Extending the line and adding more stations increases the number of passengers that the line must carry. Right. To ensure that loadings remain even, train frequency must be increased to compensate, which is the problem at hand. Okay. I don't understand that - why does the frequency have to increase? All Victoria Line trains that can be used are in use, AFAIK. The only way to get more trains is to build them - the 2009TS. That's very true - even if frequency stays the same, on a longer line, you'd need more trains. However, what i really want to know is ... A loop at Herne Hill is not the only way to increase capacity on the Vic - a flying terminus would do the job just as well, without the pain of turning trains around. What the hell is a flying terminus? I'm getting visions of some sort of Hayao Miyazaki sort of affair ... http://216.55.161.203/theonekea/unde...g-terminus.txt Ah, i see. Very good. The person who invented this has done the math and discovered that reversing capacity on this terminal layout is very high - capacity is only limited by the run in time + dwell time + run out time; if these values are kept low, frequencies as high as 40tph can be contemplated. That's encouraging. We talked about termini a while ago: there's a thread called "Diesel Electric Trains on CrossRail" that veered off into terrminal arrangements on the Victoria line (maybe some sort of transport version of Godwin's law?), where James - if that is indeed his real name - suggested that the two optimal termini are the loop and what we call the 'Sao Paolo' or, more specifically, 'Corinthians-Itaquera', (or, more usefully, something like 'double-island three-track two-rank') layout, which looks like: D /-----\ C / ### +---- ---+ A----+ \ ### +---- \-----/ B Not the greatest diagram ever (in particular, there are links between the junctions just outside the platforms, which i don't make at all obvious), but trains coming in from the east can either go into the reversing road in the middle (A), or the westbound road at the bottom (B). Trains in the reversing road just back out and head back east; trains in the westbound road run on to the reversing road on the left (C), then turn round and come back into the eastbound road at the top (D), before heading east again. The upshot of all this is that there are no conflicting movements - while the first train is monkeying about in the reversing road, a second train can be trundling round the outside route. SubTalk has the skinny: http://talk.nycsubway.org/perl/read?subtalk=713864 Says they can do 40 tph with it, and Alstom claims they can do 51 tph with it. The discussion says that something called a '4-track relay terminal with a 2-track relay' used to exist at Park Row on the New York subway. No idea what that is, but the poster seemed to be impressed. tom -- I don't know kung fu, I am kung fu. |
Flying terminus was Connectivity
Tom Anderson wrote:
On Sat, 21 May 2005, TheOneKEA wrote: Tom Anderson wrote: I might have lost the plot, but that seems to make no sense whatsoever - making the line longer wouldn't have capacity implications. You could run trains at exactly the same frequency (if you had a few more), so as far as Brixton is concerned, it wouldn't be any different. Or am i being stupid? Extending the line and adding more stations increases the number of passengers that the line must carry. Right. To ensure that loadings remain even, train frequency must be increased to compensate, which is the problem at hand. Okay. I don't understand that - why does the frequency have to increase? Because, given that the vast majority of passengers are travelling to the central area (say Victoria - KXSP), the passengers from the new, extension stations are using capacity in the central area which isn't available. The Victoria line is essentially full at the moment. If any new stations are added (e.g. to the south), the trains will already be partly filled up by the time they reach the current start of the line (e.g. Brixton). With an extension, the point where they become totally full will be further out than before (e.g. Vauxhall as opposed to Victoria), and so passengers further in than this new "full point" (e.g. Pimlico) will simply be unable to board the trains as there will be no available capacity. Therefore frequency must be increased to allow the existing passengers in the central area to board the trains. -- Dave Arquati Imperial College, SW7 www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London |
The Victoria line was Flying terminus was Connectivity
On Sat, 21 May 2005, Dave Arquati wrote:
Tom Anderson wrote: On Sat, 21 May 2005, TheOneKEA wrote: Tom Anderson wrote: I might have lost the plot, but that seems to make no sense whatsoever - making the line longer wouldn't have capacity implications. You could run trains at exactly the same frequency (if you had a few more), so as far as Brixton is concerned, it wouldn't be any different. Or am i being stupid? Extending the line and adding more stations increases the number of passengers that the line must carry. Right. To ensure that loadings remain even, train frequency must be increased to compensate, which is the problem at hand. Okay. I don't understand that - why does the frequency have to increase? Because, given that the vast majority of passengers are travelling to the central area (say Victoria - KXSP), the passengers from the new, extension stations are using capacity in the central area which isn't available. Aaah! I see. Yes, that's rather obvious when you put it like that, sorry. The Victoria line is essentially full at the moment. Next question, then - how come? It has a pretty decent 28.5 tph, it's the shortest proper line in the whole network, and all but one of its stations are on other lines as well! For northbound trais to be be full at Victoria, Brixton, Stockwell, Vauxhall and Pimlico would have to be generating as many passengers as all the Northern line stations from Morden to Kennington put together, or the Piccadilly line stations from Cockfosters to Caledonian Road. I don't know those areas terribly well, and i realise that at least some of them are very densely populated areas, but that seems quite surprising. Is it because there are few people getting off the line before central London? I guess a lot of Picc passengers switch to the Vic at Finsbury Park, and perhaps Northern passengers to the Vic at Stockwell! Or is the Victoria line picking up a lot of passengers from the suburban railway network? tom -- Who would you help in a fight, Peter van der Linden or Bill Gates? |
Connectivity
In article , Tom
Anderson writes I'm just a little irked that they didn't build the stuff in that area a bit more smoothly when they had the chance (with the WLL further to the east, for example). I'm not too hot on my history, though; the WLL probably predates the District line. It does: the original District Line came west from Gloucester Road and HSK (converging routes) then diverged to meet the WLL facing both north and south. Initially there was no station on the middle section. Earl's Court was built later, and was initially on the *east* side of the road; it got moved west later. -- Clive D.W. Feather | Home: Tel: +44 20 8495 6138 (work) | Web: http://www.davros.org Fax: +44 870 051 9937 | Work: Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is: |
The Victoria line was Flying terminus was Connectivity
Tom Anderson wrote:
On Sat, 21 May 2005, Dave Arquati wrote: (snip) The Victoria line is essentially full at the moment. Next question, then - how come? It has a pretty decent 28.5 tph, it's the shortest proper line in the whole network, and all but one of its stations are on other lines as well! For northbound trais to be be full at Victoria, Brixton, Stockwell, Vauxhall and Pimlico would have to be generating as many passengers as all the Northern line stations from Morden to Kennington put together, or the Piccadilly line stations from Cockfosters to Caledonian Road. I don't know those areas terribly well, and i realise that at least some of them are very densely populated areas, but that seems quite surprising. Is it because there are few people getting off the line before central London? I guess a lot of Picc passengers switch to the Vic at Finsbury Park, and perhaps Northern passengers to the Vic at Stockwell! Or is the Victoria line picking up a lot of passengers from the suburban railway network? Well, according to the London Transport Strategy, in the morning peak, the Victoria line is currently "very crowded" (i.e. operating in excess of or near to planned capacity) northbound between Victoria and Green Park, and southbound between Finsbury Park and King's Cross, and Euston and Warren Street. Between Stockwell and Victoria it's just "busy" northbound. The Northern line is "very crowded" northbound from Clapham Common to Stockwell, after which it becomes "crowded" from there to Kennington, suggesting a significant number of passengers transfer from the Northern to the Victoria at Stockwell. As I'd expect, the "very crowded" section north from Victoria indicates that the line picks up an extremely high number of passengers from the rail terminus, and it's on this Victoria - Green Park section that capacity has been reached. Adding any stations further south would mean those rail transfer passengers being left behind on the platform. Unfortunately the diagrams in the Transport Strategy don't go beyond Finsbury Park - but the Piccadilly southbound is at capacity already at least between Finsbury Park and KXSP. Incidentally, 2010 projections have the eastbound Piccadilly line operating at capacity all the way from Barons Court to Hyde Park Corner (presumably by which time, some passengers are so fed up they just get off and get the bus!). -- Dave Arquati Imperial College, SW7 www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London |
The Victoria line was Flying terminus was Connectivity
Tom Anderson wrote to uk.transport.london on Sun, 22 May 2005:
Next question, then - how come? It has a pretty decent 28.5 tph, it's the shortest proper line in the whole network, and all but one of its stations are on other lines as well! Northbound trains usually have a little spare capacity until they reach Victoria, at which point they invariably fill fuller than is comfortable! I don't know at what point you begin to be able to breathe again, but I assume at Kings Cross! For northbound trais to be be full at Victoria, Brixton, Stockwell, Vauxhall and Pimlico would have to be generating as many passengers as all the Northern line stations from Morden to Kennington put together, A great many people change on to the Vic at Stockwell, probably because it is a great deal quicker across London than the Northern Line is, and if you are going to (e.g.) King's Cross, it's enough quicker to make changing worth while. You can usually get a seat at Brixton, unless a train has been cancelled, but in peak hours it's often standing-room only after Stockwell. -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 3 April 2005 |
The Victoria line was Flying terminus was Connectivity
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The Victoria line was Flying terminus was Connectivity
Tom Anderson wrote:
The Victoria line is essentially full at the moment. Next question, then - how come? It has a pretty decent 28.5 tph, it's the shortest proper line in the whole network, and all but one of its stations are on other lines as well! For northbound trais to be be full at Victoria, Brixton, Stockwell, Vauxhall and Pimlico would have to be generating as many passengers as all the Northern line stations from Morden to Kennington put together, or the Piccadilly line stations from Cockfosters to Caledonian Road. I don't know those areas terribly well, and i realise that at least some of them are very densely populated areas, but that seems quite surprising. Is it because there are few people getting off the line before central London? I guess a lot of Picc passengers switch to the Vic at Finsbury Park, and perhaps Northern passengers to the Vic at Stockwell! Or is the Victoria line picking up a lot of passengers from the suburban railway network? I guess it could be a factor. If I were commuting up through Brixton to Victoria and then needed the tube, I'd be inclined to get off at Brixton and join the Victoria Line there rather than go through the squeeze at Victoria. I'm not sure how fast the Balham - Stockwell route is but there could be passengers using that as an alternative. Commuter trains at Vauxhaul have often shed quite a few there at peak hours. |
The Victoria line was Flying terminus was Connectivity
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The Victoria line was Flying terminus was Connectivity
Colin Rosenstiel wrote to uk.transport.london on Sun, 22 May 2005:
If I take the tube from King's Cross to the office in Westminster I take the Victoria Line to Green Park and the Jubilee from there to Westminster but I come back via St James Park and Victoria so I'm more likely to get a seat. For preference I cycle as it's quicker and more predictable. When I worked in Westminster I normally walked to Victoria. Actually, I usually caught a bus home - where I live, I have the option of two trains, a tube or a bus from Victoria. -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
The Victoria line was Flying terminus was Connectivity
Tom Anderson wrote: For northbound trais to be be full at Victoria, Brixton, Stockwell, Vauxhall and Pimlico would have to be generating as many passengers as all the Northern line stations from Morden to Kennington put together, or the Piccadilly line stations from Cockfosters to Caledonian Road. I don't know those areas terribly well, and i realise that at least some of them are very densely populated areas, but that seems quite surprising. Is it because there are few people getting off the line before central London? I guess a lot of Picc passengers switch to the Vic at Finsbury Park, and perhaps Northern passengers to the Vic at Stockwell! Or is the Victoria line picking up a lot of passengers from the suburban railway network? Since Brixton's NR service is pretty feeble, IME far more people (myself included) join the Victoria Line at Brixton from buses. It acts as a (pretty unpleasant) parkway station for a huge area of tubeless London, and I think is the busiest station outside Zone 1. If only it had a decent bus interchange (like Hammersmith)! As Annabel and others have already pointed out, it also takes a large amount of the Northern Line's central London passengers at Stockwell! |
The Victoria line was Flying terminus was Connectivity
Rupert Candy wrote to uk.transport.london on Mon, 23 May 2005:
Since Brixton's NR service is pretty feeble, IME far more people (myself included) join the Victoria Line at Brixton from buses. It acts as a (pretty unpleasant) parkway station for a huge area of tubeless London, and I think is the busiest station outside Zone 1. If only it had a decent bus interchange (like Hammersmith)! If the CRT ever becomes a reality, they are going to HAVE to make a decent bus interchange, or it will be even more impossible than it already is. I would rather get the NR service if possible to Victoria, but the NR station is considerably more unpleasant than the Victoria Line one, so you have to time it right! I have to admit that one thing Ken Livingstone has done is to increase the number of buses southbound from Brixton in the rush hour. Time was, if I wanted to go to Streatham for 18.45 (which I do about once or twice a week), I had to leave the house at 17.45 if I were to have any hope of getting on a bus, and usually walk up to the stops by Brixton Police station to have any hope of getting on a southbound bus. These days I normally can get on the first bus that comes, and failing that, the second. -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
Connectivity
I know it would only save a brief amount of journey time (and walking),
if they extended the Waterloo & City towards Princes Street to move it closer to the rest of the station, but aren't they planning on a huge reconstruction of bank station anyway? |
Connectivity
West Ruislip is very close to the metropolitan/piccadilly line, which
is why I have never understood why the other lines don't have an interchange station here, since it makes journeys between the lines particularly awkward. |
Connectivity
I thought that Thameslink ran on the east side of the river Fleet,
making a connection to St. Pauls/new station for the central line unobstructed in this sense. |
Connectivity
Ive walked from Temple to Aldwych - it really isnt very far (walking to
the WEST end of the box housing Temple station from the Strand Lane entrance to Aldwych (which is where the lifts, i.e. the NORTH end of the platforms are)). I should imagine it is even closer from the south end of the platforms. |
Connectivity
Maybe the WLL will just take over the Olympia branch, and use the track
to increase its own capacity. |
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