That airport is a national disgrace, and the average German will readily agree with that. It's not entirely clear why it has been such a fiasco.
On the other hand, Crossrail is basically the equivalent of a Paris RER line. And as always, I feel the need to remind people Crossrail was first mooted in 1974. If you take a look at the history of the RER it's a bit difficult to compare directly; they actually started building one in 1969, but that alone shows the vision in Paris that has been sadly missing in London for years. There are now FIVE of them, and the most recent was already running in 1999. 382 miles of track, 258 stations...but Crossrail, complex, connecting with existing lines, blah, blah. But hidden in the Wiki page is an interesting insight into how the RER is funded: A local tax on business. Can't have that in London, can we, old boy, that's..that's soshulism !
1. Only a small part of the construction of RER was funded by that tax (it continues in place and pays for some transport opertaional costs).
2. 25% of Crossrail was funded directly by business. Most of that was from a specific business rate levy, with about £1bn coming from taxes on development.
Well I know no more than what I read on Wikipedia, whereas you may well feel you do, but in that case maybe you should update the Wikipedia page. 25% is better than nothing, but the Wiki entry reads as if the tax paid the lions share of the more recent lines. And more significant to my previous post, at the time the Paris RERs were financed and built, we know who was in power here, and what she and her lot thought about rail, don’t we?
Either way, they have five of the things, running so long that they look pretty tatty, and we still don’t have one. For a long time, when my buddy worked on it, they boasted that it would be delivered “on time and on budget in 2018”. My buddy really believed it. (He fell ill though and passed away in 2019)
We actually have an RER style service in the core section of Thameslink. Both have a similar capacity in terms of passengers moved per hour per track. RER A capacity = 2000 passengers per train * 20 trains an hour = 52000. Thameslink = 1750 * 24 = 42000
For context the jubilee line moves 29000 people an hour per direction, a well designed cycle lane can move 14000 people in an hour and a lane of car traffic can move 2000 people.
29000 football fans could leave a stadium and be ‘moved’ via the jubilee line; in all practicality 14000 football fans probably couldn’t leave a football stadium and get on their bikes even if they are spread along the line at stadiums from Shepherd’s Bush to Stratford
They’ve been building an extension to one of the lines here. It was supposed to open last June I think, but then delayed for Covid/supply chain issues. Then it was January, and one of the last steps was putting electrical equipment into substations - but in November they delayed it again. The plan called for multiple teams to be working simultaneously each substation. Only problem is you can only fit two people in at a time. Now March for one spur, and June for the rest. Don’t you love a plan.
Heard that we could be less then 6 weeks from it being open
So March 21 then. The day after I’ve sodded off back, after my first visit over in 2.5 years. Serves me right, I hear the chorus
does look very impressive, although I didnt realise the station is in the Arsenal. Isnt that a bit of a walk from the DLR and SE stations?
Not at all. Turn right out of the stations and walk down to the front of the road. Cross over and you’re there. Couple of minutes at most. No longer than it takes to switch between most tube lines in town.
Heard that we could be less then 6 weeks from it being open
So March 21 then. The day after I’ve sodded off back, after my first visit over in 2.5 years. Serves me right, I hear the chorus
does look very impressive, although I didnt realise the station is in the Arsenal. Isnt that a bit of a walk from the DLR and SE stations?
Not at all. Turn right out of the stations and walk down to the front of the road. Cross over and you’re there. Couple of minutes at most. No longer than it takes to switch between most tube lines in town.
Although in this instance you have to come out into the open and face the locals!
Heard that we could be less then 6 weeks from it being open
So March 21 then. The day after I’ve sodded off back, after my first visit over in 2.5 years. Serves me right, I hear the chorus
does look very impressive, although I didnt realise the station is in the Arsenal. Isnt that a bit of a walk from the DLR and SE stations?
Not at all. Turn right out of the stations and walk down to the front of the road. Cross over and you’re there. Couple of minutes at most. No longer than it takes to switch between most tube lines in town.
Although in this instance you have to come out into the open and face the locals!
Those of you with a nervous disposition can probably run it in 30 seconds!!! 🏃♂️ 💨 😂
I wonder how many minutes it would take the average walker to get from the Woolwich station to the Valley? Mind you walking that route would not be a pleasant experience hard by that lower road.
I wonder how many minutes it would take the average walker to get from the Woolwich station to the Valley? Mind you walking that route would not be a pleasant experience hard by that lower road.
Walk by the river and cut inland at Anchor in Hope
I wonder how many minutes it would take the average walker to get from the Woolwich station to the Valley? Mind you walking that route would not be a pleasant experience hard by that lower road.
Hi Seth - as an ex Woolwich Boy you could cut along behind the main Road and take a lovely back street stroll to the beloved Valley or even a wonderful Thames Path route
Comments
Could open soon after between Abbey Wood and Paddington.
Not my idea of a fun day!
does look very impressive, although I didnt realise the station is in the Arsenal. Isnt that a bit of a walk from the DLR and SE stations?
how many trains are bombing around on the central route pretty reliably, and 29 minutes Abbey Wood to Paddington is impressive
At weekends they are running another 12 trains per hour between Stratford and Paddington.
This is so that test the switching of the signalling systems went entering the tunnels from East London.
Design & Architecture: Abbey Wood Elizabeth line station
Mind you walking that route would not be a pleasant experience hard by that lower road.
I tried cycling from Erith to Greenwich but got stymied at the ferry.
"We wanted to create a dynamic language that creates a sense of arrival".
I'd imagine that stepping off a train already creates a sense of arrival, but what do I know?!