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Crossrail 2

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Crossrail 2
Overview
StatusProposed
Owner
Service
TypeCommuter/suburban rail
SystemNational Rail
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speedUp to 140 km/h (90 mph)

Crossrail 2 is a proposed rail route in South East England, running between Surrey and Hertfordshire providing a new rail link across London on the Crossrail network. It would connect the South Western Main Line to the West Anglia Main Line, via Victoria and Template:LUL stations, intended to alleviate severe overcrowding that would otherwise occur on commuter rail routes into Central London by the 2030s.[1][2] The project was earlier known as the Chelsea–Hackney line (or Chelney line) in reference to a potential route. The plan for a line on this alignment has existed in various forms since 1970.

The line is the fourth major rail project in the capital since 2000, after the East London line extensions (opened May 2010, with the final section completed in December 2012), Thameslink Programme (opening 2018) and Crossrail (opening 2018). National Rail's projections of overcrowding including in less well-served suburbs and tourist destinations by tube led it to call for more new lines[3] and cross-London line proposals have gained more importance with Euston being named as the terminus of the planned High Speed 2 rail line.[4] High Speed 2's completion would bring an estimated 20,000 passengers onto the congested Northern and Victoria lines at Euston per day.[5] If HS2 is approved Transport for London (TfL) plan to change the safeguarded route for Chelsea-Hackney between Tottenham Court Road and King's Cross St Pancras so that the new line will serve Euston.[4] On 28 June 2011, the deputy chair of Transport for London stated that such a new tube line running through Euston would be vital to disperse passengers arriving on High Speed 2.[6] For the same reason, the line serving Euston is also supported by Network Rail's Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for London and the South East, published on 28 July 2011.[7]

By including Euston, Crossrail 2 has a considerably improved business case.[4] Due to the higher numbers entering the tube network at Euston as a result of HS2, an extra line would become a necessity to avoid high demand—exceeding present London waiting times—at Euston.[5] The line may cost less than Crossrail 1 due to having fewer central London stations.[5]

Current plans

Crossrail 2
Legend
2015 Consultation Route [8]
West Anglia Main Line
Broxbourne National Rail
Cheshunt National Rail London Overground
Overground
to Liverpool Street
Waltham Cross
Greater London boundary
M25 motorway
Enfield Lock
Brimsdown
Ponders End
Meridian Water
Northumberland Park
Tottenham Hale National Rail Victoria Line
West Anglia Main Line
Oakleigh Road depot
National Rail New Southgate
National Rail Alexandra Palace
Piccadilly Line Turnpike Lane
or Piccadilly Line Wood Green
London Overground Victoria Line National Rail Seven Sisters
future Eastern Branch
East London line Dalston
Hackney Central London Overground
Angel Northern Line
Euston St. Pancras
National Rail Thameslink London Overground Eurostar
Circle line (London Underground) Hammersmith & City Line Metropolitan Line Northern Line Piccadilly Line Victoria Line
 Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth line Central line (London Underground) Northern Line
Victoria National Rail Circle line (London Underground) District Line Victoria Line
King's Road Chelsea
River Thames
Clapham Junction National Rail London Overground
either
Northern Line National Rail Balham
or
Tooting Broadway Northern Line
South West Main Line
Weir Road depot
 Wimbledon National Rail Thameslink District Line Tramlink
Raynes Park National Rail
Motspur Park National Rail
National Rail New Malden
Malden Manor
Tolworth
Chessington North
Chessington South
Berrylands
Worcester Park
National Rail Surbiton
Greater London boundary
Greater London boundary
Stoneleigh
Thames Ditton
Ewell West
Hampton Court
Epsom National Rail
Norbiton
National Rail Kingston
Hampton Wick
National Rail Teddington
Fulwell
Hampton
Greater London boundary
Kempton Park
Sunbury
Upper Halliford
Shepperton

In February 2013, the Crossrail taskforce of business group London First, chaired by former Secretary of State for Transport Andrew Adonis, published its recommendations on Crossrail 2, favouring a route almost identical to the regional option proposed by TfL in 2011.[2] The report was endorsed by Network Rail.[9]

2008 safeguarded route

Template:Chelsea-Hackney Line A route for the line was safeguarded (legally protected from conflicting development) in 2008. It linked the District line's Wimbledon branch with the Central line's Epping branch via Template:LUL stations, Template:LUL stations, Template:LUL stations, Template:LUL stations, Template:LUL stations, Template:LUL stations, Template:LUL stations, Template:LUL stations, Essex Road, Dalston Junction, Hackney Central, Homerton and Template:LUL stations.[11][12] The safeguarding also includes a spur from Victoria under the Thames to Battersea Park for stabling and access to a tunnelling site.[11][13] The safeguarded route is due to be reviewed by the Department for Transport in 2013 but was removed[clarification needed].[2]

Northern and southern destinations

Network Rail's July 2011 RUS for London and the South East supports the existing safeguarded route but speculates about possible modifications in addition to re-routing via Euston. To the south, it suggests that the tunnels should go from Victoria via Clapham Junction to beyond Wimbledon, instead of surfacing near Parsons Green and taking over the District line from there to Wimbledon. To the north, it suggests that the West Anglia corridor would be a better destination than a branch of the Central line. These suggestions are driven by what the RUS sees as the need for extra capacity on the South West Main Line and the West Anglia corridor.

2013 consultation

In May 2013, TfL began public consultation on two potential options:

  • Metro route: Wimbledon - Central London - Angel - Alexandra Palace (all underground)
  • Regional route: Twickenham/Surbiton/Epsom - Wimbledon - Central London - Angel - Alexandra Palace (underground) plus Angel - Cheshunt.

The results of the consultation were published on 29 November 2013 by TfL and revealed broad support for the Crossrail 2 plans. 96% of respondents supported or strongly supported the plans, whilst 2% opposed or strongly opposed them. The regional route had greater support than the metro route, with 84% of respondents supporting or strongly supporting the regional route versus 73% for the metro plans.[14]

The greatest level of opposition to the principle of Crossrail 2 came from the residents of Kensington and Chelsea, the only area with greater than 5% of respondents (16%) who strongly opposed the scheme. Nearly 20% of respondents from this area either opposed or strongly opposed the scheme, views that did not exceed 10% in any other areas.[15]

2014 consultation

In June 2014, a consultation on small modifications to the 2013 proposals started. Broadly the changes proposed fell into three areas, extending the Alexandra Palace branch to New Southgate, relocation or removal of the Chelsea station, and moving the point at which the two northern branches diverged to beyond either Dalston Junction or Hackney Downs station, calling at only one of these two stations.[16]

History

A west/north-east tube line was originally planned as early as 1901[17] and a Bill was put before Parliament in 1904.[18] However, political manoeuvring by rival tube magnate Charles Yerkes ended the proposal.[17]

1970s

A west to north-east line was proposed in 1970 by the London Transport Board's London Rail Study as the next project after the completion of the Victoria line and the Fleet line (now the Jubilee line). Designed to relieve pressure on the District, Central and Victoria lines and to link two areas without tube services, the route would have taken over the Template:LUL stations branch of the District as far as Template:LUL stations, then followed a new underground alignment to Template:LUL stations, where it would then take over one of the branches of the Central line.[19] For financial reasons the line was not built, but the idea has remained.

The proposal in the 1974 London Rail Study was:

Commencing at Template:LUL stations (take over or share the District line branch)

continuing to Template:LUL stations (take over or share the Central line branch)

1980s

Following the Central London Rail Study of 1989, a route through central London was safeguarded. This starts at Template:LUL stations, then:

taking the Central line to Template:LUL stations. As the route would serve both King's Cross and King's Road it was suggested that it could be named Kings line. It was decided however that the Jubilee line Extension should take priority and the project was postponed.

1990s

In 1995, an alternative Express Metro plan was put forward that would utilise more existing track, have fewer stations and be built to National Rail standards. It would take one of three routes from Template:LUL stations on the District line to Template:LUL stations; either Template:LUL stations, Template:LUL stations and Template:LUL stations or King's Road as in the original safeguarded plan; or to Wandsworth Town and Clapham Junction and then via Chelsea Harbour and King's Road or via Battersea.

From Victoria it would call at

and then split into two branches, to Template:LUL stations and then on to Template:LUL stations taking over the Central line; and taking over the North London Line to Woolwich,[17] a route now followed by the Docklands Light Railway.

The 1991 safeguarding also included a spur south of Victoria across the river to Battersea Park, for stabling trains and to access a riverside tunnelling site.

2000s

The London East West Study in 2000 considered Crossrail, the Chelsea–Hackney line and a combination of the two, from Template:LUL stations to Template:LUL stations and then to Template:LUL stations. The Study supposes main-line gauge, and would omit a station at Template:LUL stations. Its version of the Chelsea-Hackney Regional Metro splits in the north, with one branch via Dalston taking over the Template:LUL stations branch of the Central line, the other to Template:LUL stations, then using the disused alignment of the Northern Heights plan, taking over the Template:LUL stations branch of the Northern line. The Express Metro option would run on the East Coast Main Line.[17][20]

In 2007 Crossrail was given the go-ahead over the Chelsea–Hackney line despite some commentators favouring the latter[21] putting implementation after Crossrail's completion date of 2018. The Chelsea-Hackney plans were taken over by Crossrail as Crossrail 2.

In 2007, the 1991 route was updated – Sloane Square was dropped and the Central line's Epping branch from Leytonstone was re-safeguarded.[18] Due to objections from residents of Sloane Square, it was reinstated the following year.[11][13] South West Trains' Wimbledon depot was safeguarded as a depot for the line.[13] The safeguarding was enlarged from tube gauge to Network Rail loading gauge as it became clear that larger and longer trains would be needed.[22] Of the three routes proposed for south-west London the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea initially favoured one going south via Imperial Wharf to Clapham Junction, but now supports the takeover of the District line's Wimbledon branch.[23] Under these present plans, only one entirely new station would be constructed, at Chelsea.

2010s

With the planned terminus of HS2 at Euston, Chelsea-Hackney was put back to the top of the agenda for new lines, diverted via Euston.

The London and South East second generation RUS by Network Rail proposed some changes to the safeguarded route: serving Clapham Junction rather than the Template:LUL stations branch of the District line, not serving Template:LUL stations, and serving Template:LUL stations as well as Template:LUL stations. The RUS was also open to changes north of Hackney Central and branches south of Clapham Junction, both of which were seen as later phases.[24]

TfL responded by releasing its preferred options - an automatic metro and a regional scheme:[25]

In July 2015 it was announced that Surrey County Council had launched a study to see if the train line could be extended from Surbiton out to Woking via Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge, and adding a route from Surbiton and Guildford serving places like Oxshott and Horsley, using the existing South West mainline.[26]

Automatic Metro

Regional Option Commencing at Twickenham, Shepperton, Woking, Chessington South and Epsom (take over or share South West Trains routes)

Both TfL routes signify a change of thinking at both ends of the route, with serving Clapham Junction more of a priority than relieving the District line, and relieving the Victoria line at its northern end more than the Central line. The regional option, as well as relieving the South West Main Line, seeks to relieve congested sections of the Northern line and Piccadilly line by removing passengers from the far ends of the lines.

On 5 February 2013, business group London First's Crossrail taskforce (chaired by former Secretary of State for Transport Andrew Adonis) published its recommendations [1] on Crossrail 2, favouring a route almost identical to the regional option above. Later the same day, Network Rail endorsed the plans. Proposed changes from previous plans were:

See also

References

  1. ^ Edwards, Tom (5 February 2013). "Crossrail 2 stations proposed by London business leaders". BBC News. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Crossrail 2: Supporting London's Growth" (PDF). London First. February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  3. ^ New lines 'may be needed to beat train overcrowding' Press Association
  4. ^ a b c HS2 fuels Crossrail 2 business case
  5. ^ a b c The most talked about project this year won't be Crossrail – it'll be Crossrail 2, New Civil Engineer 2 February 2011
  6. ^ Transport Select Committee, 28 June 2011, House of Commons
  7. ^ "London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy" (PDF). Network Rail. 28 July 2011. pp. 154–155. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Citizen Space - Crossrail 2 - October 2015". Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Crossrail 2 is vital to London's economic growth". Network Rail. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  10. ^ "The Transport Committee: Crossrail and the Overground Talk Shop". London Reconnections. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  11. ^ a b c Chelsea–Hackney Line Safeguarding Directions, June 2008 Part A (PDF), Crossrail, accessed 22 December 2010
  12. ^ Chelsea–Hackney Line Safeguarding Directions, June 2008 Part B (PDF), Crossrail, accessed 22 December 2010
  13. ^ a b c Consultation on safeguarding revision of the Chelsea Hackney Line – outcome report, Department for Transport
  14. ^ Steer Davies Gleave (October 2013). "Crossrail 2 Consultation Report" (PDF). Transport for London Website. p. 1. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  15. ^ Steer Davies Gleave (October 2013). "Crossrail 2 Consultation Report" (PDF). Transport for London Website. p. 18. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  16. ^ "Crossrail 2 June 2014". TfL Consultations Portal. Transport for London. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  17. ^ a b c d e Feather, Clive. "Technical information about the Chelsea-Hackney Line". Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  18. ^ a b "Consultation on safeguarding revision for the Chelsea-Hackney line". Department for Transport. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
  19. ^ "London Transport plans third new Tube Line". The Times. UK. 2 January 1970.
  20. ^ "London East West Study" (PDF). Shadow Strategic Rail Authority. 2000.
  21. ^ "Crossrail will eat money. Kill it, Boris, and save the bankrupt Tube instead", Evening Standard, archived from the original on 18 October 2012, retrieved 30 September 2015
  22. ^ Trouble Up The (Dalston) Junction – The Difficulties of Safeguarding, London Reconnections
  23. ^ "Chelsea-Hackney Line: first on the agenda". Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. October 2003. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
  24. ^ "London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy (section 8.5)" (PDF). Network Rail. July 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  25. ^ "Metro or regional rail? TfL maps Crossrail 2 options". TransportXtra. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  26. ^ "Crossrail 2 project could include Woking and Guildford stations". 96.4 Eagle Radio. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
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