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Barriers And Planters On The London Overground Platforms At Clapham Junction Station
To get home from Feltham station, after my visit this morning to see the new bridge, which I wrote about in The Completed Bridge At Feltham Station, I changed trains at Clapham Junction station.
I noticed that a barrier has been put up between the current two Overground platforms; 1 and 2.
.I suspect it is for safety reasons, as it will certainly stop passengers falling off the platform.
I also noticed that planters had been placed where I suspect that the new Platform 0 will be built.
If the track is to placed between the planters and the platform, the space could be a bit small.
Or is the platform going to be rebuilt a bit narrower?
It also looks like the platform won't be long enough for the planned eight-car train.
I also took these pictures of what looks to be a Fire Exit.
Could it be a temporary entrance, that will be used if there is a lot of work going on about the Grant Road entrance to create the new platform?
I also took these pictures of the Eastern end of the platform.
Considering, that the Class 378 train is five cars and an eight-car train would be sixty percent longer, it looks to me, that they will have to extend the platform, behind the temporary entrance or perhaps further towards the East.
Or could Network Rail have called up Baldrick, and asked him for one of his cunning plans?
Currently, there is a one train per hour (tph) between Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction stations, run by Southern.
The service used to run between Milton Keynes and South Croydon stations.
There surely is a need for a high-frequency service between the High Speed Two station at Old Oak Common and Clapham Junction station.
Currently, there is no planned link between Crossrail and the West London Line.
Hythe Road station is planned to be on the West London Line and will serve the High Speed Two station at Old Oak Common.
This Transport for London map, shows the position of the proposed Hythe Road station with respect to High Speed Two and Crossrail.
The West London Line to and from Clapham Junction goes down the East of the map.
The North London Line to and from Richmond goes down the West of the map.
The current Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction service doesn't go through the site of Hythe Road station, but somehow sneaks round on the freight line in the map.
Wikipedia describes the proposal for Hythe Road station like this.
Hythe Road railway station would be situated about 700 metres (770 yards) from the mainline Old Oak Common station. Construction work would involve re-aligning the track along a new railway embankment (built slightly to the north of the existing line) and demolishing industrial units along Salter Street, on land currently owned by a vehicle sales company ('Car Giant'). The station structure will sit on a viaduct, with a bus interchange underneath. The station will incorporate 3 platforms, allowing through services between Stratford and Clapham Junction with an additional bay platform to accommodate terminating services from Clapham Junction.
I can envisage an eight tph service between Clapham Junction and Hythe Road stations, made up something like this.
Four tph between Stratford and Clapham Junction stations
One tph between Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction stations
Three tph between Hythe Road and Clapham Junction stations
Services would stop at Shepherd's Bush, Kensington (Olympia), West Brompton and Imperial Wharf.
Two platforms at Clapham Junction station could easily handle eight tph.
The London Overground's five car Class 378 trains would probably be long enough for the shuttle.
There is even the possibility of running the Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction service with five car trains, to void the expense of creating an eight-car platform at Clapham Junction station.
It would be better if the Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction service could go through Hythe Road station. But this might be difficult to arrange.
An eight tph service through Old Oak Common could be a nice little add-on for both High Speed Two and Crossrail.
January 12, 2022 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel	| Clapham Junction Station, Class 378 Train, Crossrail, High Speed Two, Hythe Road Station, London Overground, Old Oak Common Station, Platform 0 At Clapham Junction Station, Safety | 1 Comment
Would A Mutant Many-Parent Child Help To Solve London's Transport Problems?
London needs to increase the capacity of its public transport system, as the City continues to get larger and larger.
Current Major Projects
There are only three major rail projects ongoing in London at the present time.
The Bank Station Upgrade
The Bank Station Upgrade appears to be progressing well, albeit perhaps it's a bit late due to the pandemic.
It is a complex project and from what I have heard and observed, it has been well designed and planned.
The Barking Riverside Extension
As with the Bank Station Upgrade the Overground extension to the new Barking Riverside station, appears to be going reasonably well.
But compared to that project, it is a relatively simple project, built mainly in the open air, with no tunneling.
Crossrail is in trouble, after what many believe was a very good tunnelling phase of the project.
But then tunnels under London usually seem to go well. I can remember the Victoria Line tunnelling and many other under London since the 1960s and all of these tunnels seem to have been dug without trouble. As I write, there don't seem to be any tunneling problems with the Thames Tideway Tunnel.
Crossrail now has been reduced to a series of station builds and rebuilds, some of which are as large as the Bank Station Upgrade, with other ongoing projects like the testing of trains and systems.
So why are some of these stations running late in their delivery?
If you walk along the route of Crossrail in the City of London and through Clerkenwell and the West End, it is one massive building side as developers raise massive clusters of new developments around and above the Crossrail stations.
The picture shows Farrington station's Eastern entrance, with a new development on top.
This one wasn't a big one, but it went up in record time.
These buildings are often funded by Sovereign Wealth Funds, who want their buildings finished ASAP and as they have bottomless pockets, they are prepared to pay more to get the builders and tradesmen they need.
And where did they get the workers from? Other projects, including Crossrail.
This problem happened in Aberdeen at the height of the oil boom in the last century.
I also think that Brexit worsened the problem, as workers from mainland EU moved to large projects closer to home, like Stuttgart 21 and the new Berlin Brandenburg airport, that were both very much in trouble and could have been offering premium salaries as well!
The solution would have been to phase developments so that the limited pool of workers was not exhausted.
But that probably wouldn't have suited the developers and politicians for all sorts of reasons.
An uncompleted building doesn't bring in money and jobs.
Early completion must improve chances of letting the building.
Delaying the building would probably have meant fewer holidays for politicians in exotic locations.
Hopefully, a comprehensive enquiry into the lateness of Crossrail will provide answers.
High Speed Two
High Speed Two is to my mind a London local project. But only in a secondary way!
Rebuilding Euston station will improve Underground connections and interchange at Euston and Euston Square stations.
It is claimed by High Speed Two, that the rebuilt Euston station will create 16000 jobs and 2200 homes.
High Speed Two will enable massive development at Old Oak Common, with tens of thousands of homes and jobs.
Old Oak Common station will be a very important rail hub in North-West London.
With seventeen trains per hour (tph) between Euston and Old Oak Common will High Speed Two attract local traffic?
I suspect High Speed Two between Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly and between Birmingham Interchange and Birmingham Curzon Street will also attract local traffic.
I've used TGVs between Nice and Antibes.
Tourists might visit, just like they did and still do at the Olympic Park.
Many Londoners will join High Speed Two at Old Oak Common.
Some wag will suggest putting it on the Tube Map. But is it such a stupid idea?
Where Does London Need More Rail Services?
Having lived in London on and off for over seventy years, I feel the worst areas for rail links are probably.
South Central London between Wimbledon and Croydon.
Over the years, there is no doubt that East and North London have improved considerably, with the development of the East London, North London and Gospel Oak to Barking Lines.
Thameslink has been improved in North London and now it is being supported with improvements to the Northern City Line. Both routes now have new Siemens trains, which give a whole new dimension to using ironing-boards as seats.
Crossrail will produce major improvements in West, East and South East London.
Building of a new Penge Interchange station, which I wrote about in Penge Interchange could improve routes to and from South East London.
Hopefully the work in recent years at Waterloo will improve suburban services out of Waterloo. In An Analysis Of Waterloo Suburban Services Proposed To Move To Crossrail 2, I showed that four tph could be run to Chessington South, Epsom, Hampton Court and Shepperton stations.
It looks like North West and South Central London are missing out.
How Can Services Be Improved In North West London?
There are radial routes from the centre of London to the suburbs.
Starting from the North and going to the West, there are the following lines.
The High Barnet branch of the Northern Line
The Mill Hill East branch of the Northern Line
The Midland Main Line to St. Albans, Luton, Bedford and the East Midlands.
The Edgware branch of the Northern Line
The Jubilee Line to Stanmore
The West Coast Main Line to Watford, Milton Keynes, the West Midlands, the North West of England and West Scotland.
The Bakerloo Line to Harrow & Wealdstone.
The Watford DC Line of the London Overground
The Amersham, Chesham and Watford branches of the Metropolitan Line
The Chiltern Route to Aylesbury.
The Chiltern Main Line to High Wycombe, Banbury, Bicester, Birmingham and Oxford.
The West Ruislip branch of the Central Line.
The Uxbridge branch of the Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines
When I used to live at Cockfosters as a child, to visit my many cousins in North West London, there was no alternative but to use a bus and take well over an hour each way.
There are now some circular rail routes in London but nothing in the North West of the capital.
The Dudding Hill Line And The West London Orbital Railway
But there is the little-used freight route called Dudding Hill Line.
It runs between Cricklewood on the Midland Main Line and Acton Central on the North London Line.
It is four miles of double-track railway.
This YouTube video shows a cab ride from Acton to Cricklewood.
Plans exist to turn it into the West London Orbital Railway, which will run two services.
West Hampstead and Hounslow via Cricklewood, Neasden, Harlesden, Old Oak Common Lane, Acton Central, South Acton, Lionel Road, Brentford, Syon Lane and Isleworth
Hendon and Kew Bridge via Brent Cross West, Neasden, Harlesden, Old Oak Common Lane, Acton Central, South Acton
The proposed frequency of both services is four tph.
There would be some stations to be built, but the track exists.
There would be no new tunnels.
The route is technically feasible.
The route would connect West London to High Speed Two.
There would be little disruption whilst it was built.
The services could be run by dual-voltage battery-electric trains charged on the electrification at both ends of the route.
The scheme represents a high value for money, with a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 2.2.
On the other hand, the scheme has two serious problems, as far as the current London Mayor is concerned.
Transport for London has no money, partly because of London's Fare Freeze.
The project is not in South London.
This important and value-for-money project will not be built, whilst Sadiq Khan is still Mayor of London.
Harlesden Interchange
I believe that if we get the interchanges right on the West London Orbital Railway correct we can do things like.
Increase the benefit cost ratio.
Link the route to South London to make the Mayor a bit happier about the North London Scheme.
This Google Map shows Harlesden station.
The Bakerloo Line/Watford DC Line running North-West/South-East through Harlesden station.
The West Coast Main Line in the Southern section of the map.
The Dudding Hill Line running North-South across the map.
Platforms will be built on the Dudding Hill Line to connect that would probably be new or extended platforms in the current Harlesden station to enable interchange between the West London Orbital and the Watford DC Lines.
I also think there is a possibility that platforms could be added to the slow tracks of the West Coast Main Line, so that suburban services into London Euston can also connect to the West London Orbital Line.
It would also enable a connection between Southern's Clapham Junction and Milton Keynes service and the West London Orbital Railway.
Looking at this from various angles, I think that an architect good at designing three-dimensional structures could develop a quality Harlesden Interchange station.
Neasden Interchange
Like Harlesden, Neasden is another possibility for a comprehensive interchange.
This Google Map shows Neasden station.
There are a lot of lines going through Neasden station.
The Dudding Hill Line goes across the South-East corner of the map.
There is plenty of space in the area.
This map from cartometro.com shows the lines in the area.
The Dudding Hill Line is indicated by the former Dudding Hill station.
The red tracks are Metropolitan Line tracks.
The silver tracks are Jubilee Line tracks.
The Southerly pair of lines through Neasden and Dollis Hill stations are Chiltern's lines into Marylebone.
The Chiltern tracks divide to the West of Neasden station, with the Aylesbury line following the other tracks and the Chiltern Main Line diverging to the West.
London's largest Underground Depot at Neasden, lies to the North-West in an area of London noted for few merits with the North Circular Road passing through.
I wonder, if the station and the depot offers a unique opportunity to offer large scale additions to London's housing stock over the top of a rebuilt station and depot.
This Google Map shows the wider area.
Much of the depot appears to be open-air stabling for trains.
The North Circular Road passes North-South between the depot and Neasden station.
The Dudding Hill Line cuts across the South-East corner of the map.
This corner of the map is labelled as Dudden Hill.
According to Wikipedia, Dudding Hill is considered a more genteel spelling of Dudden Hill and could be as old as 1544.
It looks as if it would be relatively easy to develop over the top of the depot to create housing, industrial or commercial properties.
But why stop there and cover both the North Circular Road and the six tracks through Neasden station?
Neasden station could be rebuilt into a station with platforms on the following lines.
Chiltern Lines
Dudding Hill Lines
I estimate that Chiltern has a train about every six minutes, so some could stop.
There might be space for a bay platform for Chiltern.
Neasden could be a major housing and transport hub.
There could be large amounts of parking.
Road access would be good.
It would have good rail connections.
It could have a bus interchange.
London needs housing.
It might even be an alternative to Chiltern's plan for a West Hampstead Interchange.
The Mayor of London, Transport for London and the Borough of Brent need to be bold!
Improvements To Chiltern's Routes
Chiltern Railways have some plans that could improve services in North West London.
Using The Acton-Northolt Line
Wikipedia says this about using the Acton-Northolt Line to access new platforms at Old Oak Common station.
Upgrading the Acton–Northolt line (formerly the "New North Main Line") to new platforms at Old Oak Common. This upgrade will also extend to London Paddington to increase capacity on the Chiltern Main Line as there is no room to expand the station at Marylebone.
This scheme has merit.
The platforms would be connected to the Chiltern Main Line along the route of a partly-disused railway.
The route could be double-tracked.
There must be space for at least two new platforms.
The new platforms could easily handle four tph.
There may be a case for some new stations.
The scheme could add valuable extra capacity for Chiltern.
A Chiltern Metro
Wikipedia says this about a proposed metro service between Marylebone and West Ruislip stations.
The Metro would have a frequency of four tph.
It would call at Wembley Stadium, Sudbury & Harrow Road, Sudbury Hill Harrow, Northolt Park and South Ruislip.
The service would require a reversing facility at West Ruislip.
There would need to be passing loops at Sudbury Hill Harrow, and Wembley Stadium.
Given that the Chiltern Metro was first proposed over a decade ago, perhaps the concept could be increased in scope.
Housing and other developments along the route may suggest that a station further out like High Wycombe might be a better terminal.
ERTMS in-cab digital signalling is likely to be installed at some time, which would decrease headways between trains and allow more services.
Electrification is likely in some form before 2040 and this will improve train performance.
If Neasden station were to be rebuilt, as a comprehensive transport and residential development, I believe that this Metro service should also call at Neasden, as it would complement the West London Orbital Railway.
I believe that a review of the Chiltern Metro may mean, that an improved version is worth building.
Improvements To The Milton Keynes And Clapham Junction Service
I feel that this service could be key in improving services between North London and South London via the West London Line and High Speed Two's station at Old Oak Common.
Currently, this service is as follows.
It runs between Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction stations.
It has a frequency of one tph.
It calls at Bletchley, Leighton Buzzard, Tring, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Watford Junction, Harrow & Wealdstone, Wembley Central, Shepherd's Bush, Kensington (Olympia), West Brompton and Imperial Wharf stations.
The service used to extend to South Croydon via Wandsworth Common, Balham, Streatham Common, Norbury, Thornton Heath, Selhurst and East Croydon.
It uses Class 377 trains.
It shares parts of the route with the London Overground.
I also think it has various issues and questions with respect to the future.
The Class 377 trains are only 100 mph units, whereas the outer suburban trains on the West Coast Main Line are 110 mph Class 350 trains, which will soon be replaced by 110 mph Class 730 trains. Do the slower trains cause timetabling problems?
Is one tph enough?
The route doesn't serve High Speed Two at Old Oak Common station.
Is the service run by the right operator?
What is the ideal Southern terminal?
These are my thoughts on the various issues.
The Service As A North-South Link
A friend, who lives in South London has told me, that if you go to an event at Wembley stadium the route is busy.
On the other hand, I've used it at midday on a Tuesday and found the trains empty.
But developed properly it could connect the following.
Milton Keynes Central
Bletchley for the East West Rail Link
Watford for the West Coast Main Line to the North
Wembley Central for Wembley Stadium and other entertainments
Willesden Junction for the North London Line
Hythe Road for High Speed Two, Crossrail and the Great Western Railway
Shepherd's Bush for the shopping.
Clapham Junction for most of South London and the South of England
It would be a very useful cross-London route to complement Thameslink and the East London Line.
The current Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction has a frequency of one tph.
This may be enough for some parts of the route, as other services also provide services.
But many would argue, that perhaps South of Watford Junction, the service needs to be increased to connect the area to Old Oak Common and Clapham Junction.
I feel that High Speed Two, Crossrail and the Great Western Railway give so much connectivity, that between Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction needs a frequency of at least eight tph.
As the North London Line and the Watford DC Line are working at a frequency of four tph, this could indicate that a four tph direct service Watford Junction and Clapham Junction be ideal. Perhaps, it could continue North to Milton Keynes with a frequency of two tph.
The Trains
I am absolutely certain, that the full service needs to be operated by dual voltage trains, that are capable of running at 110 mph.
The Class 350/1 trains of West Midlands Trains would probably be ideal for the full service.
They are dual voltage trains.
They have a long distance interior.
They are being replaced with new Class 730 trains, so would be available.
If some services were running only as far North as Watford Junction, these could be either Class 378 or Class 710 trains of the London Overground.
The Connection To The West London Line And High Speed Two
This map from Wikipedia by Cnbrb shows the latest iteration of the lines at Old Oak Common station.
The green route is taken by the Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction trains.
The bright blue is High Speed Two.
The purple is Crossrail.
The orange is the Overground
Hythe Road station is proposed for the West London Line to connect to Old Oak Common station for High Speed Two.
Hythe Road station will have a bay platform to turn trains from the South.
Old Oak Common Lane station is proposed for the North London Line to connect to Old Oak Common station for High Speed Two.
But where is the connection between the Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction service and Old Oak Common station for High Speed Two?
Access from the South is not a problem as the Overground can be used to Hythe Road station.
Extra services from the South can be run to and from the bay platform at Hythe Road station.
Access from the East is not a problem as the Overground can be used to Hythe Road station.
How do passengers go between say Wembley Central and Heathrow?
In addition for access from the West is the Overground can be used to Old Oak Common Lane station.
But as things stand at the moment the Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction service bypasses Hythe Road station and the only ways to go from Milton Keynes to Old Oak Common station for either High Speed Two, Crossrail or the Great Western is to do one of the following.
Change to the Watford DC Line at Watford Junction, Harrow & Wealdstone or Wembley Central and then change to the Overground at Willesden Junction for either Old Oak Common Lane or Hythe Road station.
Continue South to Shepherd's Bush station, cross over to the other platform and then come back to Hythe Road station.
Go via Euston station. OK for High Speed Two, but not for Crossrail or the Great Western.
They cannot be serious!
I hope that there is a cunning plan to enable the Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction service to connect.
Whilst on the subject of connections at Old Oak Common, where is the promised connection of Crossrail to the West Coast Main Line?
Were all these connections just kicked into the long grass and quietly forgotten, as they were deemed too difficult and/or expensive?
I think serious questions need to be asked about the design of Crossrail and High Speed Two at Old Oak Common.
Why weren't Crossrail and High Speed Two designed to connect directly to the London Overground at Willesden Junction station perhaps by the use of a North South people mover serving the following lines?
Bakerloo, Watford DC, West Coast Main and West London Orbital Lines at a rebuilt Harlesden station.
London Overground at the high-level Willesden Junction station.
Crossrail and the Great Western Railway
The new Chiltern platforms.
Central Line at East Acton station.
Hythe Road and Old Oak Common stations would not be needed.
The Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction service would call additionally at the rebuilt Harlesden station.
The current design of Old Oak Common stinks like a horse designed by a committee!
The Northern Terminal
I suggested earlier that some trains use Watford Junction and others use Milton Keynes Central.
Both stations have the capacity and the connectivity.
The Southern Terminal
In the last ten years, South Croydon, East Croydon and Clapham Junction have been used as the Southern terminal.
Thameslink seems to have chosen its various terminals to satisfaction of the travelling public, so perhaps the same method or personnel should be used.
The Operator
The Gibb Report said that this service should be transferred to the London Overground and I wrote about this proposal in Gibb Report – East Croydon – Milton Keynes Route Should Be Transferred To London Overground.
This is one suggestion, but I do wonder, if it should be transferred to West Midlands Trains and run in conjunction with their West Coast Main Line services.
The service needs 110 mph trains.
Timetabling and operation should be easier.
London Overground trains don't have a long-distance interior.
On the other hand, trains running between Watford Junction and Clapham Junction would probably be better if they were London Overground trains.
I believe that by using the current network and some modern trains and signalling, the passenger services to the West of the capital can be substantially improved.
May 1, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel	| Aylesbury Line, Bakerloo Line, Barking Riverside Station, Brexit, Central Line, Chiltern Main Line, Chiltern Metro, Chiltern Railways, Crossrail, East London Line, Euston Station, Great Western Railway, Harlesden Station, High Speed Two, Hythe Road Station, Jubilee Line, London Mayor, London Overground, Metropolitan Line, Midland Main Line, Milton Keynes And Clapham Junction Service, Milton Keynes Central Station, Neasden Station, North London Line, Northern City Line, Northern Line, Old Oak Common Lane Station, Old Oak Common Station, Piccadilly Line, Sadiq Khan, Sadiq Khan Fare Freeze, Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, Thames Tideway Tunnel, Thameslink, Transport for London, Watford DC Line, West Coast Main Line, West London Line, West London Orbital Railway | 12 Comments
London Will Still Need Crossrail 2 To Deal With HS2 Influx, London Mayor Predicts
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Building.
Sadiq Khan says he expects mothballed scheme will eventually get built.
I don't disagree that it will eventually get built, but it will be long after both Sadiq Khan and myself have gone.
You might think, that as I live in Dalston, I would be very much in favour of Crossrail 2 being built as soon as possible.
But then, I'm a duck-and-diver and there will always be a quick route to get to Euston.
I currently use four routes regularly and coming home, if it's late or I want to get home quickly to cook supper say, I can take a taxi for a reasonable price.
The easiest way is actually to walk about two hundred metres and get a 73 bus to directly outside Euston station.
I very much feel we need to improve access in London to High Speed Two and that this can be done by making sure several smaller projects are completed before High Speed Two opens.
Improved Underground Connections At Euston Station
This page on the High Speed Two web site, says this about the station layout and Underground connections at the rebuilt station.
HS2 will deliver eleven new 400m long platforms, a new concourse and improved connections to Euston and Euston Square Underground stations. Our design teams are also looking at the opportunity to create a new northerly entrance facing Camden Town as well as new east-west links across the whole station site.
I would suspect that connection to the Underground will have step-free options.
I wrote about Underground connections at Euston station in Ian Publishes Details Of Future Developments At Euston And Euston Square Underground Stations.
The developments certainly look comprehensive and include a new entrance in Gordon Street on the South side of Euston Road.
The view is looking North.
A tunnel from this entrance will lead to the Eastern ends of the platforms at Euston Square station, where it appears there will be at least escalator access.
The tunnel will also lead into Euston station.
It is a simple improvement, that shouldn't be too challenging.
This diagram shows the layout of the tunnel.
It looks to me to be a neat design, that could be installed between Gordon Street and Euston Square stations without disturbing the traffic on the busy Euston Road.
Once the subway and the Gordon Street entrance were built, there would have these benefits.
There would be a step-free route between Euston and Euston Square stations.
It would be a shorter walk in an air-conditioned tunnel, rather than currently along the very polluted Euston Road.
It would be the fastest way to transfer between Euston and Kings Cross or St. Pancras stations.
It would give excellent access to the other London terminal stations of Liverpool Street, Moorgate and Paddington.
It would give step-free access to Crossrail at Farrington, Liverpool Street, Moorgate, Paddington and Whitechapel
With a change at Farringdon or Liverpool Street to Crossrail, it would offer the fastest route to Canary Wharf.
The Gordon Street entrance would improve walking routes between Euston station and University College London and other buildings on the South side of Euston Road.
I also suspect that as this project is part of the rebuilding of Euston station for High Speed Two, that it will be completed before Euston station opens for High Speed Two.
If possible, it should be built much sooner to improve access between Euston station and the sub-surface lines.
Once open, even without other improvements at Euston station, this subway would improve access to Euston station by a very substantial amount.
Camden Town Station Upgrade
In 2015, I went to see an exhibition about the proposed expansion of Camden Town station and wrote The Camden Town Station Upgrade Exhibition.
I believe this upgrade should be delivered before High Speed Two opens around the end of this decade.
But due to the financial problems of Transport for London, this project has now been kicked into the long grass.
The Wikipedia entry for Camden Town station, states that upgrading the station will take four years.
Northern Line Split
The completion of the Camden Town Station Upgrade will enable the splitting of the Northern Line into two separate lines, after the completion of the Northern Line Extension to Battersea and the Bank Station Upgrade.
Northern Line West – Edgware to Battersea Power Station via Camden Town, Euston, Charing Cross and Waterloo.
Northern Line East – High Barnet to Morden via Camden Town, Euston, Kings Cross, Moorgate, Bank and London Bridge.
Each branch will be running at least 24 trains per hour (tph) and will significantly increase capacity between High Speed Two and other terminal stations and the City of London.
The Northern Line should be split into two lines by the time High Speed Two opens, but with no start date in sight for the Camden Town Station Upgrade, this might not be possible.
Victoria Line Improvements
The Victoria Line or Dear Old Vicky probably won't be able to help much, but I do think it would be feasible to improve the three most inadequate stations on the line.
Oxford Circus station needs more capacity and step-free access.
Highbury & Islington station needs step-free access to the deep lines to complete the station, which was only half-built in the 1960s.
Walthamstow Central station needs to be double-ended and have step-free access.
I doubt the money can be found to carry out these improvement projects, that are essential, but very much smaller than the Camden Town Station Upgrade.
Sub-Surface Lines Improvements
The big project on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines is the Four Lines Modernisation (4LM) project.
It is an upgrade of the trains, track, electrical supply, and signalling systems.
This will add 27 % more capacity in the Peak.
As anybody will know, who has been to a major event at Wembley Stadium, the new S8 Stock trains, that have been running for a few years now, have an almost infinite capacity.
Incidentally, the S8 Stock trains hold 1350 passengers, which is not far short of the 1500 that each Crossrail Class 345 train can hold.
Euston Square station will have a step-free connection from the rebuilt Euston station complex.
Most of the Modernisation will be completed by 2023.
I believe that the sub-surface lines will become the main method to get to and from the upgraded Euston station, until Crossrail 2 is built.
There will be direct trains to around seventy stations from Euston Square station.
With a change at Paddington to Crossrail, there is a route to Heathrow Airport and Reading.
With a change at Farringdon or Liverpool Street to Crossrail, there is a route to East London, Canary Wharf and South East London.
With a change at Farringdon to Thameslink, there are routes to over a hundred stations.
With a change at Whitechapel to the East London Line, there are routes to North, East and South London.
When you consider that the Metropolitan Line opened in 1863 and was the first passenger-carrying underground railway in the world, hasn't it done well?
When the Euston Square station upgrade is complete, I will probably use that route to get home from Euston, changing on to a bus at Moorgate, which stops close to my house.
Old Oak Common Station
High Speed Two's Old Oak Common station is introduced like this on this page on the High Speed Two web site.
Old Oak Common is a new super hub set to be the best connected rail station in the UK.
This map from Transport for London shows the various lines at the station.
The bright blue line is High Speed Two.
The purple line is the Great Western Main Line and Crossrail.
I suspect that the interchange between these three lines will be a good one.
Will all Great Western services stop at Old Oak Common station?
The orange lines are London Overground services, with two new stations; Old Oak Common Lane and Hythe Road close to the main Old Oak Common station.
The green line is the Southern service between Milton Keynes and South Croydon.
The red line is the Central Line and it could be joined to the main station.
There are plans for a West London Orbital Railway, from Brent Cross and West Hampstead in the North to Hounslow and Kew Bridge in the West, that would call at the main Old Oak Common station.
Old Oak Common station could be well connected to most of London, through its Crossrail. London Overground and West London Orbital connections.
It is my view that these three smaller projects must be completed before the opening of High Speed Two.
Hythe Road station
Old Oak Common Lane station
West London Orbital Railway.
None of these three projects would be very challenging.
Chiltern Railways And High Speed Two
Chiltern Railways already have a London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street service
Birmingham Moor Street station will be close to High Speed Two's Birmingham Curzon Street station.
Plans exist for a second London terminus for Chiltern Railways close to the main Old Oak Common station.
Could Chiltern Railways become a partner for High Speed Two on routes like between Leeds and Banbury?
They could certainly bring passengers to Old Oak Common from Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.
One of my principles on High Speed Two, is that it should be a One-Nation railway.
Old Oak Common would be a very different station to Marylebone with its very useful Crossrail. London Overground and West London Orbital connections.
The terminal for Chiltern Railways at Old Oak Common is another project that should be completed before the opening of High Speed Two.
The Duality Of Euston and Old Oak Common Stations
Euston and Old Oak Common stations could almost be considered to be one station.
All High Speed Two trains terminating or starting at Euston also call at Old Oak Common station.
They will be just five minutes apart.
Both stations have comprehensive networks of connections.
Taken together the connections from both stations cover most of London and the South East.
There could be advantages for both operators and passengers.
Would a ticket to and from London Terminals be usable at both stations?
For some London destinations, passengers might prefer to use one terminal or the other.
By changing at Old Oak Common to Crossrail will probably be the fastest way to Heathrow, the West End, the City, Canary Wharf and other places.
Passengers could make the decision about the London terminal to use en route.
Operators sometimes put the cleaning crew on the train at the last station before the terminal to save time in the turnround. The closeness of the two stations would enable this.
I think the London end of High Speed Two has been designed to make it easy for the operator and passengers.
The Losers If Crossrail 2 Isn't Built
Crossrail 2 will provide better access to High Speed Two and the London terminals of Euston, Kings Cross, St. Pancras and Victoria for parts of London and the South East.
Victoria Line Passengers
The Victoria Line will have interchanges with Crossrail 2 at the following stations.
Euston and Kings Cross St. Pancras on the Victoria Line and Euston St. Pancras on Crossrail 2
Crossrail 2 will relieve capacity on the Victoria Line between Tottenham Hale and Victoria
There will be a very comprehensive interchange at Euston St. Pancras to serve High Speed Two, Eurostar and classic lines out of Euston, Kings Cross and St. Pancras.
From what has been disclosed about the connrection between Euston and Euston Square stations transfer between Euston and Kings Cross and St. Pancras will be a lot easier than it is now.
This reworking of the poor connection to Euston Square station might take some pressure off the Victoria Line.
It might also might be possible to squeeze more trains down Dear Old Vicky.
Passengers On The Suburban Lines Into Waterloo
The suburban lines into Waterloo will go into tunnel at Wimbledon and connect directly to Victoria, Euston, St. Pancras and Kings Cross.
This will be superb access for South West London to four major London terminals.
Without Crossrail 2, passengers will have to use one of these routes to get to and from Euston.
Change at Waterloo to the Northern Line.
Change at Waterloo to the Bakerloo Line and then at Oxford Circus to the Victoria Line.
Change at Vauxhall to the Victoria Line.
Could it be, that the Northern Line Extension should be extended to Clapham Junction station, as it is an aspiration over a safeguarded route under Battersea Park?
In An Analysis Of Waterloo Suburban Services Proposed To Move To Crossrail 2, I showed it was possible to run a Crossrail 2 schedule of four tph into Waterloo station, if the following were done.
More platform capacity in Waterloo.
Modern high-performance 100 mph trains like Class 707 trains or Aventras.
Some improvements to track and signals between Waterloo and Wimbledon stations.
Wimbledon station would only need minor modifications.
A measure of ATC between Waterloo and Wimbledon stations.
This would not be a large project
Passengers In Balham And/Or Tooting
Crossrail 2 is planned to run between Wimbledon and Victoria via the following stations.
Balham or Tooting Broadway
King's Road Chelsea
Crossrail 2 should take pressure off the Northern Line.
Public Opinion is against King's Road Chelsea station. How will their cleaners, cooks and nannies get to work? Especially, as the roads in the area are already jammed by Chelsea tractors.
The original route favoured Balham to give an interchange with National Rail. Tooting Broadway also has geological problems for the tunneling.
On the other hand, Sadiq Khan supports the route through Tooting Broadway, which better serves his former constituency.
This Map from cartometro.com shows the rail lines in the area.
Balham station in the North is an interchange station between the Northern Line and National Rail, with a possible four National Rail platforms.
Tooting Broadway is a simple through station on the Northern Line.
The next station after Wandsworth Common towards London is Clapham Junction.
Transport for London have been advocating a new Streatham Common station, that would be an interchange between the lines through Streatham Common and those through Streatham.
Streatham and Tooting stations are on the Wimbledon Loop Line, which only carries two tph in both directions.
Since I have been writing this blog, there have been several ideas to make better use of the National Rail lines in this area.
There was even a plan that I wrote about in 2016 called The Streatham Virtual Tube.
Trains would run through Streatham Common, Streatham, Streatham, Hill, Balham, Wandsworth Common, Clapham Junction and into Victoria.
Trains could also go North from Clapham Junction to Old Oak Common for High Speed Two.
The Streatham Common Interchange would be built. This would give a useful interchange to the Wimbledon Loop Line.
There would be four tracks through Streatham.
A tunnel would be build to allow trains to go through both Streatham and Streatham Hill stations.
It would have an interchange at Balham with the Northern Line.
It could have an interchange at Clapham Junction with an extended Battersea Branch of the Northern Line.
Suppose it had a frequency of perhaps six or even ten tph.
I think it might work, but it shows what can be done, with a bit of out-of-the-box thinking.
Passengers In Dalston And Hackney
One of the entrances to the proposed massive double-ended Crossrail 2 station at Dalston will be at the end of my road and very close to where my mother used to work and where her mother was actually born.
East London had not had major rail improvements since the 1950s and 1960s, when most of the lines into Liverpool Street were electrified and the Southbury Loop was reopened.
But since the creation of the Overground in 2007 from the remains of the ill-performing Silverlink, with the addition of new trains and ticketing and a good clean, there has been a series of smaller projects that have been completed, in and around East and North London.
2009 – North London Line starts running to new platforms at Stratford.
2009 – Stratford International station opens on High Speed One.
2010 – East London Line opens with services to Crystal Palace, New Cross, New Cross Gate and West Croydon stations.
2011 – A substantially rebuilt Stratford station opens for the Olympics
2012 – South London Line opens with services between Dalston Junction and Clapham Junction stations.
2012 – The Docklands Light Railway is extended to Stratford and Stratford International stations.
2014 – Hampstead Heath station gets an upgrade.
2015 – The Lea Valley Lines between Liverpool Street and Cheshunt, Chingford and Enfield Town stations were moved to the Overground.
2015 – TfL Rail begins operation between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, using new Class 345 trains.
2016 – Lea Bridge station reopened.
2016 – Second entrance to Ilford station in York Road reopened.
2018 – Northumberland Park station was rebuilt.
2019 – The Gospel Oak to Barking Line was electrified and equipped with new Class 710 trains.
2019 – West Hampstead station was rebuilt.
2019 – The new Meridian Water station opened.
2019 – The rebuilt White Hart Lane station opened.
2020 – Tottenham Hale station was rebuilt.
2020 – The new Class 710 trains were rolled out on the Lea Valley Lines.
There have also numerous smaller upgrades like the addition of lifts to several stations.
Stations between Stratford and Shenfield have been upgraded for Crossrail.
There has also been considerable upgrades to the electrification, which in some places was not in the best of condition.
Most lines have a frequency of four tph or more.
Some may feel that East London has done well with rail improvements in the last few years.
I would agree in some ways, but would counter by saying that before the Overground was created, East London's were in a terrible state and their state today is a excellent example of what can be achieved by good design, planning and execution, without spending vast sums.
East London and the boroughs of Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Newham and Waltham Forest in particular, now have a good rail network, that is going to get a lot better with the addition of Crossrail.
The North London Line is about half a mile to the North of where I live and can walk to two stations or get a bus to another three.
Crossrail will be a couple of miles to the South with station entrances at Moorgate, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel and Stratford.
There are four electrified railway lines with new trains, which run North-South with connections to the two East-West lines.
Although my quickest way to Crossrail will be a bus from close to my house to outside Moorgate station.
I suspect that everybody in the Borough of Hackney and the Eastern part of Islington will be able to get to a Crossrail station in well under thirty minutes.
In addition, from where I live the Gospel Oak to Barking Line runs a couple of miles North of the North London Line.
I believe that Dalston's success over the last decade has been a collateral benefit of its comprehensive rail system, supported by lots of shiny new buses.
Does Dalston want Crossrail 2? Probably, Yes!
Does Dalston need Crossrail 2? Possibly, No!
Do other areas of large cities need Dalstonisation of their railway and bus systems? Absolutely!
I certainly don't regret moving to Dalston!
Note that one of the reasons I'm so keen on the West London Orbital Railway is that it could do the same for North West London, as the Overground and the Lea Valley Lines have done for North East London.
Passengers Along The Lea Valley
Crossrail 2 will connect the Lea Valley Lines to Dalston and on to Central London.
It will involve the following changes to the West Anglia Main Line.
Four-tracking of the route at least as far as Broxbourne.
A junction South of Tottenham Hale station will connect the route to a tunnel to Dalston.
Level crossings at Brimsdown, Enfield Lock and Cheshunt will be removed.
Like Crossrail, stations would be substantially step-free.
The signalling will be upgraded to full in-cab digital ERTMS signalling, that is used by Crossrail and Thameslink under London.
This would enable 10-15 tph running between Tottenham Hale and Broxbourne stations.
With all the development going on around Cambridge and possible expansion of Stansted Airport, I believe that even if Crossrail 2 is not build, then there will be pressure to four-track the West Anglia Main Line, remove the level crossings and improve the stations and signalling.
If this were to be done, then there is an interim plan that could be implemented that I wrote about, four years ago in Could A Lea Valley Metro Be Created?
I envisaged the following.
Updating the West Anglia Main Line to four-tracks and a standard suitable for Crossrail 2.
Using the double-track loop at Stratford as the Southern terminal, for some of the trains.
Updating the Victoria Line stations. The major interchange at Tottenham Hale station has already been improved substantially.
Providing an appropriate service between Stratford and Broxbourne stations.
Terminating some Stansted and Cambridge services in the Stratford Loop, as Stratford has better connections to South London and Kent than Liverpool Street.
Integrating Lea Valley Metro, London Overground and Greater Anglia services to Bishops Stortford, Cambridge and Hertford North stations.
All services connect to Crossrail and the Central Line at the Southern end.
Services to Liverpool Street connect to National Rail services, the Lea Valley Lines of the London Overground and the Circle, District and Metropolitan Lines.
Services to Stratford connect to National Rail services, the North London Line of the London Overground and the Jubilee Line.
Could alternate trains serve Liverpool Street and Stratford?
Could splitting services between Liverpool Street and Stratford mean that the largest proportion of routes have just a single change?
As Transport for London and the train operating companies know where passengers want to go and actually go, I'm sure that a service pattern, that is acceptable to all could be created.
Crossrail 2 is quoted as being a £33 billion project.
I believe that with a good review lots of money could be saved and other smaller projects could be planned and executed to handle the expected increase in the number of passengers.
I would do the following.
Camden Town station – Upgrade
Chiltern Railways – Build their connection to Old Oak Common station
Euston Station – Improve connections to Euston and Euston Square Underground stations.
Northern Line – Extend the Battersea branch to Clapham Junction
Northern Line – Split Into Two Lines
Overground – Build Old Oak Common Lane and Hythe Road stations
Southern – Build the new Streatham Common station and implement The Streatham Virtual Tube.
South Western Railway – Run four tph on all proposed Crossrail 2 routes into Waterloo station
Victoria Line – Upgrade Highbury & Islington, Oxford Circus and Walthamstow Central stations and increase the frequency if possible
West Anglia Main Line – Upgrade ready for Crossrail 2 and develop the Lea Valley Metro
All of these projects would have their own benefits, whether Crossrail 2 is built or not!
Only when the needs of all passengers have been assessed in a few years, should we make a decision about Crossrail 2.
March 27, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel	| Bank Station Upgrade, Camden Town Station, Camden Town Station Upgrade, Crossrail, Crossrail 2, Dalston, Docklands Light Railway, Euston Square Station, Euston Station, Four Lines Modernisation, High Speed Two, Hythe Road Station, Lea Valley Lines, Lea Valley Metro, Northern Line, Northern Line Extension, Old Oak Common Lane Station, Old Oak Common Station, Sadiq Khan, Stratford International Station, Stratford Station, Thameslink, Victoria Line, West London Orbital Railway, Wimbledon Station | 8 Comments
Major Upgrade Planned For Norwood Junction Railway Station
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on IanVisits.
Ian introduces his article like this.
A somewhat shabby, and yet quite busy station in South London could get a major makeover if plans by Network Rail are approved.
The proposals are part of the wider plan to clean up the mess of tracks around Croydon to boost the capacity of the lines through the area, but it is also a stand-alone project.
Ian also has this visualisation of the upgraded Norwood Junction station.
London Bridge station is to the left with East Croydon station to the right.
The Main station entrance is on the near side, with the Clifford Road station entrance on the far side.
Platform 1 & 2 is the highlighted island platform on the near side.
Platform 3 & 4 is the highlighted island platform on the far side.
It looks expensive with two step-free bridges.
Both bridges have four sets of steps to.
The Main Station Entrance.
The Northbound Platform 1 & 2,
The Southbound Platform 3 & 4
The Clifford Road Entrance.
In addition, the Southern bridge has four lifts to the two entrances and two platforms.
These pictures show the current state of the station.
Currently, the station has three island platforms.
They are connected by a well-lit, step-only subway.
Some platforms are too short for twelve-car trains.
The wooden buidings need a quality makeover. Where is Terry Stollery, when you need him?
In the new layout, the central island platform will be removed, to allow a pair of fast lines through the station.
One advantage of the subway is during the station upgrade, it can still be used to access the middle platforms, thus easing construction and causing less disruption for passengers.
After the upgrade, the layout will be as follows.
Platforms 1 & 2, which are currently Platforms 2 & 3, would be for Northbound trains, with perhaps Platform 1 for stopping and Overground services and Platform 2 for limited-stop and Thameslink services.
Platforms 3 & 4, which are currently Platforms 5 & 6, would be for Southbound trains, with perhaps Platform 3 for stopping and Overground services and Platform 4 for limited-stop and Thameslink services.
The subway will probably be closed.
Improved Train Services
For people like me, who live on the Overground, North of Norwood Junction station, hopefully it will solve the problem of getting to Gatwick Airport.
It'll just be a walk across the platform at Norwood Junction station, instead of a tram between West Croydon and East Croydon stations.
In the future, would the cross-platform interchange help travellers between Crossrail and Gatwick and the South Coast?
The Zeus of the Timetables could even make it better, by increasing the frequency of Thameslink trains between Norwood Junction and Gatwick Airport stations to match the four trains per hour (tph) between Dalston Junction and West Croydon stations.
Note that the day, I took the pictures Bedford and Highbury & Islington trains were in the current Platforms 2 & 3.
Up here in sometimes-forgotten Dalston, I'll certainly give this new layout at Norwood Junction station, a high score, if the trains are changed to use it to advantage.
Norwood Junction Will Become A Major Interchange!
The walk-across interchange between Northbound services on platforms 1 & 2 and Southbound services on platforms 3 & 4, will mean that the station, will become the station where travellers will prefer change trains.
Suppose you were travelling from Luton to Epsom.
The Journey Planner on http://www.national.co.uk, suggests a double change at Farringdon and Carshalton, with a journey time of 1 hour and 51 minutes.
The upgraded Norwood Junction station, would allow the journey to be done in two legs.
Luton and Norwood Junction – one hour and three minutes.
Norwood Junction and Epsom – 29 minutes.
It could be quicker and it is a cross-platform change, where hopefully, there will be a climate-controlled waiting room and a coffee stall.
Current frequencies going North are as follows.
Anerley – Six tph
Balham – Two tph
Battersea Park – Two tph
Bedford – Two tph
Brockley – Six tph
City Thameslink – Two tph
Clapham Junction – Two tph
Crystal Palace – Two tph
Dalston Junction – Four tph
Farringdon – Two tph
Flitwick – Two tph
Forest Hill – six tph
Gypsy Hill – Two tph
Haggerston – Four tph
Harlington – Two tph
Harpenden – Two tph
Highbury & Islington – Four tph
Honor Oak Park – Six tph
Leagrave – Two tph
Hoxton – Four tph
London Blackfriars – Two tph
London Bridge (Non-stop) – Two tph
London Bridge (Stopping) – Three tph
London St. Pancras – Two tph
London Victoria – Two tph
Luton – Two tph
Luton Airport Parkway – Two tph
New Cross Gate – Six tph
Penge West – Six tph
Rotherhithe – Four tph
Shadwell – Four tph
Shoreditch High Street – Four tph
St. Albans City – Two tph
Streatham Hill – Two tph
Surrey Quays – Four tph
Sydenham – Six tph
Wandsworth Common – Two tph
Wapping – Four tph
West Norwood – Two tph
Whitechapel – Four tph
Current frequencies going South are as follows.
Carshalton Beeches – Two tph
Cheam – Two tph
Coulsdon Town – Two tph
Earlswood – Two tph
East Croydon – Six tph
Epsom – Two tph
Ewell East – Two tph
Gatwick Airport – Two tph
Horley – Two tph
Purley – Four tph
Purley Oaks – Two tph
Redhill – Two tph
Reedham – Two tph
Salfords – Two tph
South Croydon – Two tph
Sutton – Two tph
Waddon – Two tph
Wallington – Two tph
West Croydon – Eight tph
In addition these services pass through.
Bedford and Brighton – Two tph
Cambridge and Brighton – Two tph
London Brifge and Caterham & Tattenham Corner – Two tph
London Bridge and Uckfield – Two tph
Peterborough and Horsham – Two tph
It is a very comprehensive list of services and possible destinations.
I believe that if a few more trains stopped at Norwood Junction station, there could be at least two tph to every station connected to Norwood Junction station, with these higher frequencies to the more important stations.
Bedford – Four tph
Brighton – Four tph
Canada Water – Four tph
City Thameslink – Eight tph
Clapham Junction – Four tph
Crystal Palace – Four tph
East Croydon – Eight tph
Epsom – Four tph
Farringdon – Eight tph
Finsbury Park – Four tph
Gatwick Airport – Four tph
London Blackfriars – Eight tph
London Bridge (Non-stop) – Four tph
London Bridge (Stopping) – Four tph
London St. Pancras – Eight tph
London Victoria – Four tph
Luton – Four tph
Luton Airport Parkway – Four tph
St. Albans City – Four tph
Stevenage – Four tph
Sutton – Four tph
Welwyn Garden City – Four tph
West Hampstead Thameslink – Four tph
These frequencies could be attained, by stopping a few extra services at Norwood Junction station.
It is certainly comprehensive and getting to most important areas of Central London is direct or a single change.
The step-free changes to Crossrail at Farringdon and Whitechapel will allow simple access to Canary Wharf, the City,, Heathrow, Paddington, the West End and all the towns and cities on the branches.
The Bakerloo Line Extension will connect at New Cross Gate.
The Central Line doesn't connect
The Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines connect at Farringdon, Kings Cross St. Pancras, London Blackfriars and Whitechapel.
The Jubilee Line connects at Canada Water, London Bridge and West Hampstead Thameslink.
The Northern Line connects at Kentish Town, Kings Cross St. Pancras and London Bridge
The Piccadilly Line connects at Finsbury Park and Kings Cross St Pancras.
The Victoria Line connects at Finsbury Park, Highbury & Islington and Kings Cross St. Pancras.
But there are some important places that are not well-connected or have difficult interchanges to Norwood Junction station.
Euston station, High Speed Two and the West Coast Main Line.
Cannon Street, Charing Cross and Waterloo mean a complicated interchange at London Bridge.
The connections to Great Northern services, the North London Line and the Victoria Line at Highbury & Islington need serious improvement.
South East London needs going to London Bridge and coming out again!
Radical thinking and serious improvement is needed.
Milton Keynes Central and East Croydon
This is a useful service for some..
It calls at Bletchley, Leighton Buzzard, Tring, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Watford Junction, Harrow & Wealdstone, Wembley Central, Shepherd's Bush, Kensington (Olympia), West Brompton, Imperial Wharf, Clapham Junction, Balham, Streatham Common, Norbury, Thornton Heath, Selhurst.
But, it has problems.
It has a high level of cancellation.
It has a totally inadequate hourly frequency.
It has no connection to the North London Line at Willesden Junction.
It blocks a platform at East Croydon, when it turns round.
In his report on Southern, Chris Gibb recommended that the service be the responsibility of the London Overground. I wrote about this in Gibb Report – East Croydon – Milton Keynes Route Should Be Transferred To London Overground.
To connect High Speed Two at Old Oak Common, there needs to be a four tph service between Croydon and Old Oak Common.
Transport for London are proposing a new Hythe Road station on the West London Line..
It will be a seven hundred metre walk to the High Speed Two station. That is too long!
There will be a bay platform to turn trains from Clapham Junction.
Trains still won't be able to call at Willesden Junction for the North London Line.
I think that building Hythe Road station is a bad idea.
This map shows the lines in the area.
Surely, the West London Line should have been re-routed over the Eastern end of Old Oak Common station at right angles, which would have the following benefits.
Quick and easy interchange with High Speed Two, the Great Western Main Line and Crossrail.
The ability to add bay platforms to terminate services.
Sharing of station services with the other stations.
Perhaps, though this practical passenger and operator-friendly idea would have ruined the architect's vision.
Or is it, that the current track layout to connect to the West Coast Main Line only allows crap solutions.
Surely, the amount of money being spent on High Speed Two allows the best to be done everywhere.
London Overground principles say that services must be at least four tph.
The simplest way to do this would be to extend the current Stratford and Clapham Junction service via Willesden Junction to Croydon.
It would call at Balham, Streatham Common, Norbury, Thornton Heath, Selhurst, if it followed the current route.
I doubt that East Croydon station could handle four tph terminating at the station.
But why not use the route taken by London Victoria and West Croydon services via Wandsworth Common, Balham, Streatham Hill, West Norwood, Gipsy Hill, Crystal Palace, and Norwood Junction, to terminate at West Croydon?
This route calls at Norwood Junction, with all its connectivity.
If needed, there is space for a new platform at West Croydon.
I've no idea, what will happen, but the upgrade at Norwood Junction station should help.
Suppose you were going between Gatwick and High Speed Two.
The standard route will be Thameslink and Crossrail with a change at Farringdon.
A surface route with a change at Norwood Junction could be an alternative.
The second may be more pleasurable.
Upgrading The Station
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could two factory-built bridges like this be installed at Norwood Junction station?
The design is adaptable to multiple spans over the tracks.
Lifts could be left out for one bridge.
Once the site is prepared, I believe the bridges can be quickly installed, probably from a train with a crane.
The bridge is probably more affordable, than a traditional design.
During the installation period, the existing subway can be used for platform access.
Obviously, I am speculating that the new footbridge system will be used at Norwood Junction station.
But the new platform and track layout at the station, will certainly improve services on these routes.
Between East Croydon and London Bridge stations.
Between East Croydon and the London Overground and Crossrail.
Between the Overground and Gatwick Airport station and the South Coast.
All of the interchanges will be step-free and some will be cross-plsatform.
June 21, 2019 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel	| Crossrail, High Speed Two, Hythe Road Station, London Overground, Network Rail/RIBA Footbridge Design Competition, Norwood Junction Station, Old Oak Common Station, Step-Free | 2 Comments
Extra Intermediate Stations On Crossrail
Various groups and councils regularly ask if there could be an extra station on Crossrail, that would be convenient for their needs.
Can Extra Stations Be Accommodated In The Timetable?
There is not much point in building an extra station, if it means that a realistic timetable can't be achieved.
Every station stop will introduce a delay intro the timetable. The train may only be stationary for thirty seconds or so, but there is extra time in the braking and acceleration either side of the stop.
But the Class 345 trains have been designed so that the times to execute a station stop are minimised.
Rapid Acceleration And Deceleration
The trains have been designed with eight motored cars out of a total of nine.
This high-proportion of powered axles gives the trains acceleration and deceleration, which is fast, but well within the levels for passenger safety and comfort.
The trains also have regenerative braking, which is powerful and smooth.
At times on the current service between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, I have noticed the trains waiting at stations for a couple of minutes, to allow the timetable to catch up.
These trains have the performance to execute a station stop in the smallest time possible.
Wide Doors And Spacious Lobbies
The trains have been designed with wide double doors and spacious lobbies.
This enables fast unloading and loading of passengers at each station.
Level Access Between Train And Platform
Trains and platforms could be arranged, so that all passengers can embark and disembark as fast as possible.
Precision Driving And Automatic Train Control
As much of the route uses modern digital signalling and the trains have a comprehensive driver assistance system, the trains should be driven to a high degree of precision.
All of these factors will make it possible to execute station stops very quickly.
Thus, if it is desired to add a new station stop, the stop might only add a few minutes to the timetable.
You wouldn't want to add half a dozen stops between Stratford and Shenfield, but the odd stop here and there shouldn't be a problem!
Could Extra Stations Be Added In The Tunnels?
I would hope that Crossrail's design process wouldn't have left out an important station in the Underground sections of the line.
In my lifetime only one station has been added to a line after it opened, except on an extension. That station was Pimlico on the Victoria Line, but that was a late addition to the project and opened within fourteen months of the opening of the rest of the line.
I think, that I can safely say that from the history of London's extensive network of underground railways, that it would be extremely unlikely to add a new underground station to Crossrail.
But I think though the following could happen.
New Entrances To Existing Stations
Even these will be extremely unlikely, if Crossrail have done their planning thoroughly.
But then there are massive property developments, sprouting up all over Central London.
One of London's latest signature office developments, the Norman Foster-designed Bloomberg London will incorporate an entrance to Bank Underground station.
Hopefully, the entrance will open soon.
Bank station's new step-free entrance will also incorporate a massive office development on the top.
If a property developer is spending around a billion pounds on a development, and it can be connected to a station, they will seriously look at doing it.
I can't believe that no new developments will want to have an entrance to a Crossrail station.
The New Museum Of London
The current site of the Museum of London is too small and difficult to find. The Museum is planning to move to Smithfield and will be very close to Farringdon station.
There is a massive over-site development on top of the station, that I wrote about in TfL Gives Go Ahead To Build Above Farringdon Station.
This Google Map shows the relationship between the station and the new site of the museum.
The building with the light-green roof is the Poultry Market.
Thameslink runs under the Poultry Market.
The basement of this Poultry Market together with the site to its West and the triangular site to the South, will be transformed into the new Museum of London.
Much of the space between the Poultry Market and Farringdon station is a Crossrail work-site and whole area is ripe for development, which must surely incorporate some form of connection between the Museum and Farringdon station.
Farringdon, which for many years was just a meat market surrounded by a lot of low grade buildings, should evolve into a visitor attraction in its own right.
For a better look at the current state of the area, visit A Detailed Look At The Space Between Farringdon Station And The New Museum Of London Site.
As a Friend of the Museum of London, I am looking forward to what will happen!
The Liverpool Street-Moorgate Mega -Station
I don't think many, who use Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations understand what will happen when Crossrail opens.
This visualisation shows the below-ground elements of the Crossrail station, that will connect the two current stations.
On the right is the Central Line, which is shown in red and continues South to Bank station under Bishopsgate.
On the left is the Northern Line, which is shown in black and continues South to Bank station.
The Circle, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan Lines, which are shown in yellow.
Crossrail is in blue.
The ventilation and evacuation shaft for Crossrail in Finsbury Circus.
This Google Map shows the area of the stations.
Note Finsbury Circus in the middle.
I would not be surprised if some redevelopment has access into this mega-station complex, that stretches either side of Finsbury Circus.
This access needn't be below ground, as I strongly believe that the City of London will become virtually traffic-free in the next ten years.
Missing Interchanges
One of the omissions in the design of Crossrail, is the lack of a link to both the Piccadilly and Victoria Lines.
By 2024, these two lines will be running at least thirty-six trains per hour (tph) in both directions.
The capacity of Crossrail in each direction could be thirty tph each carrying 1500 passengers or 45,000.
Dear Old Vicky's current trains hold 876 passengers, so if she achieves the magic forty tph, which I believe she will, then this equates to just over 35,000.
Siemens will surely ensure, that the capacity of the Piccadilly Line will at least be as high, as that of the Victoria Line.
It is just amazing to think what might be squeezed out of twentieth-century infrastructure, some of which is over a hundred years old.
Oxford Circus Station And The Hanover Square Entrance To Bond Street Crossrail Station
This is the easy interchange between Crossrail and the Victoria Line.
Oxford Circus station is full-to-bursting and will be rebuilt in the next few years, with wider platforms, more escalators and full step-free access.
I also think, that provision of an easy walking route to the Hanover Square entrance of Bond Street station will be provided, either by pedestrianising much of the area or perhaps building a pedestrian tunnel with travelators.
It is probably less than two hundred metres to walk on the surface.
Coupled with some property development along the route, there must be possibilities for an innovative scheme, that would ease passengers on routes between Paddington and Heathrow and North and East London.
I took these pictures, as I walked between Oxford Circus Tube station and Hanover Square.
This Google Map shows the route from Oxford Circus station to Hanover Square.
In the simplest scheme, part-pedestrianisation of Hanover Square and Princes Street might just do it!
A new entrance to Oxford Circus station could also be constructed in the middle of a large pedestrian area, at the shut off junction of Princes Street and Regent Street.
A short tunnel would connect the new entrance, to the rebuilt.Oxford Circus station.
Walking wouldn't be long, with the possibility of a wait in the gardens in the centre of Hanover Square.
Appropriate retail outlets could be placed along Princes Street.
Crossings with lights would enable pedestrians to cross into and out of the gardens.
Was this always Transport for London's plan to link Crossrail to the Victoria Line?
It's certainly feasible and works with little or no construction.
The Importance Of Finsbury Park Station
Finsbury Park station has two direct routes to Crossrail; Thameslink to Farringdon and the Northern City Line to Moorgate and could have a third if the Victoria Line has a better connection at Oxford Circus/Bond Street.
Passengers needing to use Crossrail from the Northern reaches of the Piccadilly Line could walk across the platform to the Victoria Line and then use the Oxford Circus/Bond Street connection.
It is not a perfect route, but if Finsbury Park were to be upgraded to a passenger-friendly interchange, it would be a lot better.
So it looks like, it will be Vicky to the rescue again.
Never in the field of urban transport was so much owed by so many to a single railway built on the cheap.
Interchange Between Crossrail And The Piccadilly Line At Holborn Station
Holborn station is due to be rebuilt with a second entrance in the next few years.
Crossrail passes under Holborn station.
After rebuilding, Holborn station will probably offer the best interchange to an East-West route from the Piccadilly Line.
To add extra platforms on Crossrail, would probably mean long closures on the line.
It is one of those projects, that can be done, but not without immense disruption.
But at some point in the future, it is a link that could be added, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the expanded Holborn station will have provision for a link to Crossrail.
New Surface Stations On Crossrail
Usually, when you look at old maps of railway lines there are a number of places, where stations used to be.
However, between Reading and Shenfield stations, there is no station that has been closed. There is a site for Crowlands station that was planned near Romford, in the early twentieth century, but was never built. No-one is suggesting it should be opened now.
So where are stations planned or proposed?
In fifteen years or so, Old Oak Common station could be one of the most important non-terminal on Crossrail.
Current plans say that the following lines will call at the station.
In addition the following lines may call.
West London Orbital Railway
Chiltern Main Line
It could become a very comprehensive interchange station.
This Google Map shows the vast Old Oak Common site.
The Grand Union bisecting the site in an East-West direction.
The inverted-Y of the Overground, with North London Line to Richond going South-West and the West London Line to Shepherds Bush going South-East.
The Great Western Main Line going East-West across the bottom of the map.
The West Coast Main Line going East-West across the top of the map.
The Dudding Hill Line going North-South at the Western side of the map.
Between the Grand Union Canal and the Great Western Main Line, there are currently four rail depots. From South to North, they are.
Hitachi's North Pole depot, where they service the Class 800 trains for Great Western Railway.
The Heathrow Express depot.
The Great Western Railway depot.
Crossrail's main depot.
The Heathrow Express depot is due to be demolished to make way for the new Old Oak Common station.
Wikipedia says this about the station.
The High Speed 2 line will be below ground level at the Old Oak Common site, with the parallel Great Western Main Line and Crossrail tracks on the surface to the south.
This map from Wikipedia, shows how the lines connect.
A few points.
Considering that the High Speed Two tracks are below the surface and the Crossrail and Great Western tracks will be on the surface, I am fairly sure that a simple clean interchange will be created.
The different levels will also mean that if say there were to be a Crossrail branch to Watford or High Wycombe, then the High Speed Two tracks are well out of the way.
The High Speed Two platforms will be almost four hundred metres long, with the Crossrail and Great Western platforms probably about half as long. This should give lots of scope to create good connections to the other lines through the station.
The new Old Oak Common Lane station will be on the North London Line between Stratford and Richmond stations, will be the way I access High Speed Two from Dalston and it will be 350 metres West of the main station.
The West London Orbital Railway could have a station on the Dudding Hill Line, which runs to the West of, but close to Old Oak Common Lane station.
The new Hythe Road station will be on the West London Line between Stratford and Clapham Junction stations and will be 1100 metres from the main station.
Hythe Road station will incorporate a turnback platform for services from Clapham Junction. It would be ideal for a service between Gatwick Airport and High Speed Two.
It should not be forgotten that there is going to be a large number of houses built around Old Oak Common.
It looks to me that if I took the wrong train from Dalston Kingsland station to get a High Speed Two train to Birmingham or the North, I might end up at the wrong end of my double-length High Speed Two train, with a walk of up to 1100+400+350 = 1850 metres to get to the required place on my train.
I would hope that the High Speed Two station would have some form of high-tech people mover, that stretched across the station site. It could be like a cable car without the cable.
Hopefully, the designers of Old Oak Common station will create what needs to be one of the best stations in the world.
London City Airport Station
Wikipedia says this about adding a station for London City Airport.
Although the Crossrail route passes very close to London City Airport, there will not be a station serving the airport directly. London City Airport has proposed the re-opening of Silvertown railway station, in order to create an interchange between the rail line and the airport. The self-funded £50m station plan is supported 'in principle' by the London Borough of Newham. Provisions for re-opening of the station were made in 2012 by Crossrail. However, it is alleged by the airport that Transport for London is hostile to the idea of a station on the site, a claim disputed by TfL.
In 2018, the airport's chief development officer described the lack of a Crossrail station as a "missed opportunity", but did not rule out a future station for the airport. The CEO stated in an interview that a station is not essential to the airport's success
This Google Map shows the Western end of the terminal at London City Airport and the Docklands Light Railway running to the station at the Airport.
The Southern portal of Crossrail's Connaught Tunnel can be seen under the DLR at the left end of this map, due to the concrete buttresses across the cutting rebuilt for Crossrail.
Surely, it would not be the most difficult of designs to build a station, somewhere in this area, where the former Silvertown station once stood.
I said more about this station in August 2017 in Action Stations On Crossrail Howler.
I will be very surprised if this station isn't built.
Ladbroke Grove Station
If Ladbroke Grove station is built, it will because of property development. Wikipedia says this about current plans.
At a site just to the east of the Old Oak Common site, Kensington and Chelsea Council has been pushing for a station at North Kensington / Kensal off Ladbroke Grove and Canal Way, as a turn-back facility will have to be built in the area anyway. Siting it at Kensal Rise, rather than next to Paddington itself, would provide a new station to regenerate the area. Amongst the general public there is a huge amount of support for the project and then-mayor of London Boris Johnson stated that a station would be added if it did not increase Crossrail's overall cost; in response, Kensington and Chelsea Council agreed to underwrite the projected £33 million cost of a Crossrail station, which was received very well by the residents of the Borough. Transport for London (TfL) is conducting a feasibility study on the station and the project is backed by National Grid, retailers Sainsbury's and Cath Kidston, and Jenny Jones (Green Party member of the London Assembly).
Ladbroke Grove is the road running North-South at the right side of the map.
Canal Way is the twisting road running North of the railway.
Sainsbury's supermarket is North of Canal Way.
The cleared site of the old Kensal gasworks is earmarked for housing.
The Crossrail tracks are on the North side of the railway, so access from a station to the housing could be very easy.
Crossrail is not even open yet and it looks like when it does, it will start a large number of projects to expand its scope.
Some will be about extending the system, some about better transport links and other about property development.
Crossrail will be an unlimited opportunity for London and the South East.
November 19, 2018 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel	| Class 345 Train, Crossrail, Crossrail Property Development, High Speed Two, Hythe Road Station, London City Airport, Old Oak Common Lane Station, Old Oak Common Station, West London Orbital Railway | 2 Comments
A Proposal For Two London Overground Stations At Old Oak Common
Transport for London published this proposal a few weeks ago, but it's only now that I've found time to document it here.
TfL's Proposal
This document on Tfl's web site, gives full details of their proposals.
The Location Of The Stations
This map from TfL shows the location of the two stations.
Hythe Road station will be on the West London Line between Willesden Junction and Shepherd's Bush stations.
Old Oak Common Lane station will be on the North London Line between Willesden Junction and Acton Central stations.
This Google Map shows the area.
Three features on both maps link them together.
The Grand Union Canal.
The layout of the two Overground Lines that meet at the distinctive Willesden High Level Junction.
The long silver-roofed North Pole Depot at the bottom of the maps.
Note from the Google Map, how much space is available.
Are Two New Stations Needed?
There are various factors at work here.
More Stations And Entrances Shorten Journey Times
Research has shown that the more routes you give passengers, the quicker and easier the journeys.
Old Oak Common Is A Large Site
25,500 new homes and 65,000 jobs are being created in the Old Oak Common/Park Royal area and two new stations are probably needed.
The North And West London Lines Pass Separately Through The Site
Two separate stations give direct services to the following.
West and South-West London via the North London Line.
North and North-East London via the North London Line.
Clapham Junction for South London via the West London Line.
Some might argue, that a new spur from Willesden High Level Junction, where the two lines divide direct to the combined HS2 and Elizabeth Line station, may be a better and cheaper option.
But this would only provide a connection to North and North-East London. Connections to the latter area, are also provided by the Elizabeth Line with a change of train at Liverpool Street or Stratford.
Conclusion About Two Stations
I'm convinced, that two Overground stations are needed and I suspect eventually, there will be other stations.
TfL's proposal for Hythe Road station would be built to the North of the existing embankment of the West London Line, which would be demolished.
This visualisation is from the TfL document.
It would appear to be reminiscent of Shoreditch High Street station, but built at ground-level.
Conclusion About Hythe Road Station
It is an inherently simple proposal, that can be built around an existing rail line, so it shouldn't create too many construction problems.
TfL's proposal for Old Oak Common Lane station would incorporate an overbridge extending westwards to Victoria Road, to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross the railway.
This map from the TfL document shows the location of the station.
And this Google Map shows roughly the same area.
The line breaking off to the North is the Dudding Hill Line, which is an important part of a proposal for a new railway line in West London, which I wrote about in New Railway Line For West London Proposed.
The bridge for cyclists and pedestrians to Victoria Road.
The Dudding Hill Line passing under the bridge.
It very much looks like Old Oak Common Lane station could have platforms on the Dudding Hill Line, which would be a very important addition to the West London Orbital Railway proposal.
Cnclusion About Old Oak Common Lane Station
TfL's proposal looks comprehensive and reasonably simple to build.
It also includes provision to connect to the proposed West London Orbital Railway.
What Else Would I Do?
Here are my thoughts.
An East-West People Mover
The only one thing I would definitely add, is some form of people mover stretching East-West across the whole Old Oak Common site.
My preferred option would be to use a high-level moving walkway perhaps enclosed in a glass tunnel, which would stretch from Victoria Road in the West to perhaps Wormwood Scrubs Park in the East.
Escalators and lifts would give step-free connections to Old Oak Common Lane, HS2, Elizabeth Line and Hythe Road stations.
We're not getting any younger!
Terminal Platforms
Both stations could have terminal platforms in the visualisations.
But they would surely be a good idea to allow extra services to be run to and from the major station complex.
Both new stations will have a platform on each track.
Would it be a good idea to have a third platform, that could be used as a bay platform in both directions?
A Terminal Platform At Hythe Road Station
The West London Line currently has a Milton Keynes to East Croydon service and this must mean that services to the West Coast and Brighton Main Lines are possible from a Hythe Road station.
Trains to the South could go to Clapham Junction, East Croydon, Gatwick and any desired station South of London.
Trains to the North could go to Wembley Central, Watford and Milton Keynes.
A stopping service on the West Coast Main Line would be complementary to HS2. Take for instance, sports or music fans going to an event at Wembley Stadium.
A Terminal Platform At Old Oak Common Lane Station
The only passenger services on the North London Line are London Overground services, between Stratford and Eichmond, but surely a terminal platform at Old Oak Common Lane station could be useful in providing some needed services.
If the West London Orbital Railway is created, this will add eight trains per hour after Acton Central. This might be too many trains for the route, so perhaps there would be a need to turn-back some trains from Stratford at Old Oak Common Lane?
A terminal platform at Old Oak Common Lane station might be used for an extended Gospel Oak to Barking service.
Building The Stations
I haven't had a good look at the sites of the two stations and I don't know the area well.
But I do have the feeling that both these stations can be built independently without affecting any other projects.
So they could be built at any convenient time in the development of this large site.
October 21, 2017 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel	| Dudding Hill Line, High Speed Two, Hythe Road Station, North London Line, Old Oak Common Lane Station, Old Oak Common Station, West London Line, West London Orbital Railway | 1 Comment
Should An Overground Station Be Built At Hythe Road?
Some weeks ago Transport for London (TfL) launched a consultation on transport links and stations in the Old Oak Common area of West London.
A report in the Kilburn Times has said that the public have said that they'd prefer Option C of the TfL consultation, which involves two new Overground stations.
1. Old Oak Common on the North London Line, which would link to Crossrail and HS2.
2. Hythe Road on the West London Line.
This TfL map shows their locations.
Option C Proposal At Old Oak Common
And this is a Google Earth image.
West London Line At Hythe Road
As TfL are saying that service frequencies on the West London Line will be four trains per hour, which is the same as that of trains to Heathrow on Crossrail, it strikes me that these two new stations will greatly ease access to Heathrow from South London and beyond.
From where I live in Dalston, the two station idea has the benefit that if I want to get on Crossrail to go to Reading or Heathrow, it is just a single change at either of the two stations, depending on where my westbound North London Line train is going. Old Oak Common would appear to be a shorter walk however.
But surely, if you are doing a big development as at Old Oak Common, you need as many connections as you can reasonably afford.
February 26, 2015 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel	| Crossrail, Development, Hythe Road Station, London Overground, Old Oak Common Lane Station, Old Oak Common Station | 5 Comments
Beeching Reversal - Reopening Golborne Railway Station


text:
Q: How to find the index of first occurence of any character from another string in a string? /* returns the index of the first occurrence of any of the
 * characters in chars in String s or -1 if none of the characters
 * in chars are found in s. */

Above are the instructions, below is my code.
public static void main(String[] args){

     indexOfAny("kabomba","bomb");

}

public static int indexOfAny(String s, String chars) {

        int index = 0;
        String rev = "";

        for(int i = s.length()-1;i>=0;i--){
            rev+=s.charAt(i);
        }

        String x = rev;

        for(int i = 0;i<x.length();i++){

            for(int j = 0; j<chars.length();j++){
                if(x.charAt(i)==chars.charAt(j)){
                    index = i;//**
                }else {
                    index = -1;
                }
            }
        }
        System.out.println(index);
        return index;
    }

To rephrase, the problem is at ** where the it will reach string x last character and compare if the characters in chars string are same and return -1, but I want the code to end and return the index of string x at the i after the last occurrence of any of characters from string chars in string x.
so the output should be 4. because the index of b, which is one of characters of string chars, in the reverse string is 4, which is what I want.

A: You can use StringUtils class which prevents to iterate the loop.
Here are the indexOf methods present.
                     OR
You can use String.indexOf method which is present under string class.

A: IndexOf is already available as part of std java.

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I can't describe how happy I am that the speakers finally arrived. I only had the opportunity to check one sub (SV-1212N) and one SV-831. Wow this speakers looks amazing. It looks better in person than in pictures. It don't show how great and massive they truly are.
Thanks Shane in helping me get the right speakers for my room. Even with your busy schedule you took the time to write me back and I can't thank you enough. You even wrote when you was in CES.
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Gene thanks for advising me to check out RBH. I had my mind set for another speaker brand and you told me about RBH. I can't thank you enough. Your web consultation is amazing I learned more talking to you those few hours than all my years searching online. Audioholics rocks keep up those videos in YouTube I learn a lot from them.


What's going to keep them there? The structure, the language, and the visual appeal all play a part of it. Take a look at these ideas to develop an excellent landing page, or transform the one you currently have.
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The structure of the landing page in general must be matching that of the banner, link or ad they clicked to get them there. So for instance, if your PPC Advertisement is targeting SEO posts, your landing page should go over exactly that. If a Victoria Secret's Ad for underwear appears and you click on it, you will be moved to a landing page with the exact image and structure of the ad.
• Copy placement– Strategic usage of copy and graphics will capture the visitor's attention. Don't muck up the page with big, distracting graphics. Use plenty of whitespace and place your message in the main portion of the page rather than positioning details down the sides, where the focus can be lost rapidly. Keep the copy short. The visitor anticipates an accurate message, so don't choke it up with lots of meaningless prose.
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text:
Taking the EU institutions to task
The European ombudsman hopes that a new website will make more people aware of his work.
By Dick Leonard
April 8, 2009 10:00 pm CET
In an attempt to make his work more known and of more use to European citizens, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, the European ombudsman, has launched a website (www.ombudsman.europa.eu) that aims to present a comprehensive guide to potential complainants.
The website seems to be badly needed – few people have more than the haziest idea of the scope of the ombudsman's mandate, or how to go about using the service that he and his staff provide.
Diamandouros said when launching the website last month that, of more than 3,000 complaints that he receives each year, three-quarters are sent to the wrong address. Most of them do refer to alleged breaches of European law, but not by the EU institutions for which he is responsible (including the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice). National governments and bodies are not included in his mandate, even when they deal with European laws.
Of the complaints that he is able to investigate, he finds, on average, that about half are justified, and of these, more than three-quarters are settled to the satisfaction of the complainant.
Majority of citizens optimistic about EU but want reform: Poll
By William Adkins
9 EU countries push back on French enlargement revamp
ALDE 2.0 deals blow to Weber's Commission dream
By Florian Eder
The website attempts to guide people to the proper place for making complaints in those instances where the ombudsman is unable to act. In many cases this should be the national ombudsmen in each of the 27 member states. The website lists all their addresses, as well as those of other bodies who might be able to help.
A definition of the ombudsman's role is given on the website: "To investigate complaints about maladministration in the institutions and bodies of the European Union."
Sensing that the word 'maladministration' is unlikely to be familiar to most people, it is explained that it means "poor or failed administration [which] occurs if an institution fails to act in accordance with the law, fails to respect the principles of good administration, or violates human rights".
Examples given are "administrative irregularities, unfairness, discrimination, abuse of power, failure to reply, refusal of information and unnecessary delay".
As well as investigating complaints, the ombudsman has the right – as pioneered by his predecessor, Jacob Söderman – to issue 'own initiative' reports, something he often does when a large number of complaints are received of a similar nature. One of these was on the slowness of payment by the Commission when it signs contracts with other organisations. The ombudsman's report advocated a series of reforms to speed matters up, which the Commission has accepted.
Diamandouros said that if the Lisbon treaty came into effect, his role would be expanded in a number of ways.
First, the structure of 'pillars', which divides European Community matters from inter-governmentalism in justice and home affairs, would be abolished, enabling the ombudsman to investigate complaints in some areas that at the moment are off-limits.
Second, the Fundamental Charter of Human Rights would be given legal effect. As it includes the right to good administration "in a fair way", this could mean that many more valid complaints come to his door. The governments of the UK and Poland have opted out of this provision, potentially to the disadvantage of their citizens.
A friendly critic of the ombudsman's work is Tony Venables, founder and director of the Euro-Citizens' Action Service (ECAS). He believes that the time has come, with the likely adoption of the Lisbon treaty and the arrival this year of a new Commission and a new Parliament, for a thorough re-examination of the ways in which EU citizens can lodge a complaint.
These include the ombudsman, the petitions committee of the Parliament, individual MEPs and making direct complaints to the Commission, as well as taking action through the European courts.
Venables does not believe that the case has been made for extending the ombudsman's brief to include complaints against national governments, but thinks that the performance levels of national ombudsmen are variable. He wonders whether the European ombudsmen should be given a stronger co-ordinating role between them.
His most scathing criticism of the present system, however, is its failure to reach beyond the educated elite, who have ready access to the internet.
The most deprived citizens often lack this ability, and for them Venables advocates the development of a series of European citizens' advice bureaux, funded by the Commission and available in all the main centres of population, capable of offering face-to-face advice in a variety of languages.
ECAS has opened a hotline to collect views on these and a host of other suggestions for widening the circle of legitimate complaints. It hopes to publish a report on the issue in time for the Parliament elections in June, and for consideration by the incoming Parliament and Commission.
Dick Leonard is author of The Economist Guide to the European Union.
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September 20, 2022 9:17 pm CET
By Jacopo Barigazzi and Jakob Hanke Vela
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May 19, 2022 5:16 pm CET
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