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| Station | 2006 peak service (tph) | 2010 peak service (tph) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | London Bridge | Victoria | London Bridge | ELL | |
| New Cross Gate | 3* | 7 | 2* | 6 | 8 |
| Brockley | 3* | 5 | 2* | 6 | 8 |
| Honor Oak Park | 3* | 5 | 2* | 6 | 8 |
| Forest Hill | 3* | 8 | 2* | 6 | 8 |
| Sydenham | 3* | 8 | 2* | 6 | 8 |
| Crystal Palace | 7* | 4 | 6* | 4 | 4 |
| Penge West | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4^ | 4 |
| Anerley | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4^ | 4 |
| West Croydon | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
* semi-circular services via Crystal Palace; some terminate short at Streatham Hill Depot
^ not certain; some may skip these stations
It is uncertain how many ELL trains will continue northwards from Dalston Junction to Highbury & Islington, but it should be either 4tph (to avoid overloading the North London Line straight away) or 8tph (to match up with original plans for Phase 2).
In phase 2, each of the 4 southern branches will get 4 trains per hour, combining to give 16tph on the central section between Surrey Quays and Dalston. 8tph will continue from Dalston towards Highbury. The suggested service pattern is:
- Highbury & Islington - Crystal Palace (4tph)
- Highbury & Islington - West Croydon (4tph)
- Dalston Junction - Clapham Junction (4tph)
- Dalston Junction - New Cross (4tph)
The Phase 2 extension to Clapham Junction might take over from existing South London Line services, which currently run between Victoria and London Bridge. However, this might leave Wandsworth Road and Clapham High St without a service to central London, and those two stations plus Denmark Hill without a service to London Bridge. (Denmark Hill has services to Blackfriars and Victoria without the South London Line).
It is likely that some alternative stopping patterns for other services would come into effect to maintain a direct service to Victoria for the first two stations.
Rolling stock
The East London Line is currently operated with 4-car trains from the Metropolitan Line. When the extensions are built, the extensive surface running on the National Rail network means Class 376 Electrostar trains from Bombardier Transportation will be used - such trains were introduced in the last few years on c2c, South Eastern and Southern. 19 4-car trains will be required for Phase 1. [Bombardier press release, 31 Aug 2006 & TfL press release, 31 Aug 2006]
Impressions of the interior and exterior (branding) of the trains are available from TfL.
Although this type of surface stock is larger than traditional Underground trains, it can fit through the ELL tunnels because the ELL was originally built (in 1876) with the aim of running through trains from Manchester to the continent, using the current Metropolitan line, Hammersmith & City line and East London line to get to Dover!
Construction
The proposed construction schedule is as follows:
- Nov 2006: Start main works on site
- Feb 2007: Complete detailed design for main construction phase
- late 2008: Line closes for 18 months & Shadwell station is remodelled
- May 2009 (a): Rolling stock available for test running
- May 2009 (b): Completion of infrastructure works
- Oct 2009: Completion of test and trial operations
- Jun 2010: Publicised line opening
Other points to note:
- A possession of the Great Eastern railway (GER) at the entrance to Liverpool St has already been booked for Christmas 2007 so that the new bridge taking the ELLX over the GER at Shoreditch can be built.
- The current connection between the ELL and the District line (St Mary's Curve at Whitechapel) will be retained.
Uncertain stations
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe has short platforms very close to the River Thames and it was being considered for closure up until very recently, when an announcement was made by the Mayor that Phase One of the ELL project will keep Rotherhithe open. This has been achieved by a promise to build a second exit, giving Rotherhithe a reprieve until 2021 or until construction of Phase Two - whichever comes earlier.
If Rotherhithe were to close for Phase 2, it could be served by opening a new northern exit at nearby Canada Water station; however, the pedestrian route from Rotherhithe to Canada Water would need improving.
The future of both Rotherhithe and Wapping has been in doubt ever since the ELL was rebuilt in 1998.
Wapping
Wapping was also considered problematic but has recently been added to the business case for the scheme, and again the Mayor announced that Phase One would include Wapping. This has been achieved by a promise to build a second exit here, giving Wapping a reprieve until 2021 or until construction of Phase Two - whichever comes earlier.
Reconstruction is a major difficulty at Wapping. The station was built in 1869 and has a "derogation order" from the Government's Health & Safety Executive, which permits it to breach certain safety requirements. The station is on a gradient and a tight curve, with narrow platforms and no secondary means of escape - usually required for underground stations. The HSE agreement can be revoked at any time for safety reasons (this also applies to Rotherhithe).
Demand at Wapping will increase to 2.5 times current levels with the ELL extension project, and to 4 times current levels if Crossrail is also built with interchange at Whitechapel.
Construction works to extend and improve platforms at Wapping would be extremely difficult. Situated at the entrance to the historic Thames Tunnel, it could only be expanded northwards. The ground is waterlogged and construction works could cause the whole station to rise by 220mm, so further works would be required to prevent risks such as flooding, movement, cracking and movement in adjacent buildings, and the possible collapse of the existing railway tunnel. High volumes of water are already pumped out of Wapping station, and a tunnel collapse would risk flooding the whole underground section of the East London Line from Shoreditch to Surrey Quays - also jeopardising the District line at Whitechapel in the process.
These extensive works would take a whole year to complete, halting services on the East London Line for this period. Work would cost £100m, consisting of £54m costs, £13m to prevent "lifting" of the station and £33m required by the Treasury to cover the risk of overruns.
Some of this work could be funded by development of land above a new station site slightly to the north.
If longer trains were used in the future, the future of Rotherhithe and Wapping would again come into consideration. Difficult reconstruction work would also be required at Canada Water, where platforms are short as they are located on a gradient.
Brixton
Two new stations on Phase Two are just possibilities. Brixton has no platforms on the South London line (the route to be taken between Peckham and Clapham) - but these could be built, given that Brixton is a very busy bus/tube interchange station. There used to be a station at East Brixton but this is some distance from the existing Brixton station.
Unfortunately, since the station at Brixton would be located on a brick viaduct, the cost would be high - around £50m-60m for this station alone.
Loughborough Junction
Loughborough Junction is a less likely possibility. The South London Line passes very close to this station, which could provide useful interchange with Thameslink services between Sutton/Wimbledon, the City and King's Cross.
However, a similar problem exists here as at Brixton - at Loughborough Junction, the South London Line viaduct is even higher than the Brixton viaduct, as here it passes over the Thameslink line's viaduct. Usage is also likely to be much lower than it might be at Brixton.
Future
Orbital network
This is part of a proposed orbital rail franchise combining this, the North London Line, West London Line and "GOBLIN" (Gospel Oak to Barking). Whilst on paper it will be possible (with both phases of the ELL project) to run trains round in a complete circle from Clapham Junction via Canada Water, Camden Road and Shepherd's Bush back to Clapham Junction, in practice this service pattern is unlikely - few passengers would make journeys over halfway round the circuit, and the service itself could be prone to unreliability. Instead, several overlapping services would be provided (e.g. Willesden Junction to Stratford (starting back at Richmond), Clapham Junction to Gospel Oak (continuing to Barking) and Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction via Canada Water. See the page on the North London Railway proposals for more information.
New development stations
The London Plan mentions an additional possible new station on the ELLX, near Battersea Power Station (presumably just across the road from the Queenstown Road Battersea station served by South West Trains) to serve the large new development there, although it would be some distance from the power station itself.
Central Line interchange
Potential does exist at Shoreditch High St for an interchange with the Central Line which passes underneath it - but Central Line platforms would be expensive and would increase journey times for all Central Line passengers between east London and the City. It could only be justified if anticipated traffic levels were high enough.
Extension to Willesden Junction
Although the ELLX will initially be opened as far as Highbury & Islington, there is scope for extension to Willesden Junction via Camden Road, then using the Primrose Hill link from there to the West Coast Main Line at South Hampstead, and continuing via Queens Park to Willesden Junction "DC" platforms.
Reopening Primrose Hill station would therefore be possible for the use of ELLX services. Primrose Hill is a short walk from Chalk Farm station on the Northern Line.
Some services along this route would already have been introduced (between Queen's Park and Stratford) as part of the Orbirail plans.
New destinations
The East London Line project group aim for improvements for 2016. These include adding destinations (Finsbury Park from Canonbury, Wimbledon & Streatham from Peckham Rye, and the afore-mentioned Willesden Junction extension from Highbury). A subsequent frequency increase would occur on the central section - up by 4tph to 20tph between Dalston and Surrey Quays, with those extra trains heading to Wimbledon via Streatham.
To reach Finsbury Park, the platform layout would need to be altered, and these trains would not be able to serve Highbury & Islington. To reach Wimbledon, a new platform would have to be built for Tramlink so that the current Tramlink platform could be used by the ELL.
News
£363m contract for East London Line awarded
TfL has awarded the "main works" contract for the East London Line extensions north to Dalston and south to Crystal Palace and West Croydon to a consortium of Balfour Beatty and Carillion. The main works will commence later this year following completion of preparatory works along the northern route.
ELL extension to Highbury brought forward
The northern part of the second phase of East London Line extensions - from Dalston Junction to Caledonian Road & Barnsbury via Highbury & Islington - has been brought forward into phase one following a commitment by the Mayor to connect his East London and North London Railway operations before the 2012 Olympics. The announcement was made at the same time as a "London Overground" brand was announced for all TfL's rail operations.
Four bids to supply East London Line stock
Four companies - Hitachi, Siemens, Bombardier and Portabrook - have put in bids to supply trains for the East London Line extensions. The first three would build new stock, and Portabrook, an existing rolling stock leasing company which leases trains for use on the national network, would supply existing trains adapted for use on the ELL.
£450m loan for East London Line project
The European Investment Bank is providing a £450m loan to help finance the East London Line extensions to Croydon and Dalston.
Shadwell to be remodelled
Shadwell station on the East London Line will be remodelled during an 18-month line closure associated with the extension project. A new entrance would be opened closer to the DLR station to allow better interchange amongst other improvements to both stations.
Taylor Woodrow to carry out ELLX enabling works
TfL London Rail have awarded the East London Line extension enabling works contract, worth £30m, to Taylor Woodrow. They will carry out works such as refurbishment of the 21 bridges on the viaduct between Shoreditch and Dalston, in advance of construction work beginning on the project in June 2006.
Project managers appointed for East London Line
Parsons Brinckerhoff have been appointed to manage the delivery of the East London Line extensions, for a period of 5 years.
East London Line plan boosts house prices
According to rightmove.co.uk, property price rises in Croydon have been boosted partly by the planned extension of the East London Line to Croydon and Crystal Palace by 2010.
East London Line project transferred
The ELL extension project has been officially transferred from the Strategic Rail Authority to Transport for London, who, the Mayor said, will deliver it to the first phase of its completion by June 2010. Phase 1 runs to Dalston in the north and Croydon and Crystal Palace in the south.
Mayor keen for East London Line phase 2
The Mayor is as keen for phase 2 of the East London Line extensions to go ahead as he is for the approved phase 1. The Mayor believes that as long as a continuous level of funding is provided by government, the second phase can progress with funding from TfL's next spending reviews, either in 2006 or 2008.
ELLX team transfer from SRA to TfL
On 13 Nov 04, the East London Line extension project team will transfer from the SRA to TfL, as the Mayor will be delivering the first phase of the project as part of his £10bn investment programme.
Funding agreement secured for ELL extensions
The East London Line extensions are finally set to be built as the government gives Transport for London borrowing powers for this and several other smaller projects.
Go-ahead expected for East London Line borrowing
The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, is expected in this week's Comprehensive Spending Review to give the go-ahead to Mayor Ken Livingstone to borrow £1.1bn to finance the East London Line extensions.
Olympic pressure grows on East London Line project
Criticism of the "creaking" transport system in London by the International Olympic Committee has prompted calls by mayoral candidates Ken Livingstone and Steve Norris to Transport Secretary Alastair Darling to secure funding for the project so that construction can start - otherwise London's Olympic bid will fail.
Petition delivered for Loughborough Junction ELL platforms
On Tuesday, GLA member Val Shawcross presented a 2,300 signature petition to the Mayor, asking for the London Development Agency to investigate the case for platforms at Loughborough Junction to be constructed for the ELL extensions.
Greens push for ELL first
Deputy Mayor and Green Party member Jenny Jones has called for priority to be given to the recently-delayed £1bn East London Line project over the £12bn Crossrail scheme, saying that economic benefits should be spread around inner London rather than concentrated in the centre.
Four year delay for ELL
Due to wrangling over the cost of the £1bn East London Line project, the project team will announce this week that the project cannot be open until 2010 - 4 years later than originally planned. The DfT has ordered the ELL project team to investigate cost-saving measures, including construction of the extensions in stages.
ELLX provides relief for Waterloo & London Bridge
According to the Mayor's magazine The Londoner, the East London Line extensions would divert 5,000 rush hour passengers each from Waterloo and London Bridge stations onto ELL services, and 6,500 fewer passengers would get onto the Jubilee line at these stations as a result (presumably using Canada Water instead). [Note the link is a large PDF file.]
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