R A I LT R AC K - The Railways Archive

London
Construction of the
Channel Tunnel Rail
Link between
Folkestone and
London has started. . .
104
8.7
8.6 Other cross-London routes
West London Line
This route runs between Clapham Junction and Willesden
Junction and is used by a complex mix of international,
intercity, regional and local passenger services,as well as
domestic and international freight services.The route also
provides the only access to Eurostar’s North Pole
maintenance depot. Certain train paths are contractually
protected for future growth in international passenger and
freight business and many operators aspire to increase
frequencies over the route.
Developments over the past 12 months
We have reinstated platform 3 at Kensington Olympia for all
passenger trains,to improve reliability.
Developments over the next 12 months
We will open a new station in 1999 at West Brompton,
offering good connections with London Underground
services.
Further developments
As capacity constraints elsewhere on the network are
relieved,demand for paths on the WLL will increase. A
number of train operators have Franchise Plan commitments
to run additional services.
We are continuing to investigate whether significant
capacity enhancement is a realistic possibility but we do
believe that modest investment could create enough capacity
to accommodate our existing customers’aspirations.
However, the technical solution will largely depend on
balancing their collective requirements.The provision of local
trains with additional station stops will place the greatest
demand on the route and it is unclear at the moment
whether these services will maximise the benefit for all those
who use or wish to use the line.We are particularly aware
of the importance of this line to freight users who have
plans for expansion (see Route 19 for more details).
8.7 Other developments
• West Coast Main Line route modernisation
This project will provide a step change in quality on
London’s busiest intercity route. Full details are contained
in Route 1.
• Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Construction of the CTRL between Folkestone and
London has started.Full completion of the project will
result in a reduction of some 25 minutes in
London–Paris and London–Brussels journey time.The
CTRL consortium have also expressed an interest in
running as far as Heathrow, to provide direct
connections to continental Europe. We are examining
this with them.
• We are discussing with London Transport,Docklands
Light Railway (DLR),Silverlink and the Franchising
Director the possibility of terminating existing NLL
services at either Stratford or West Ham.From that
point,the line will be operated by the DLR and will be
diverted via City Airport to North Woolwich.A new
tunnel will take the line under the Thames to a terminus
at Woolwich Arsenal,giving easy connection to the
North Kent Line services.
• We have been working with the Croydon Tramlink
project team as they prepare to start passenger
operation later this year. Much of the Tramlink network
uses existing rail corridors,and we have worked hard to
ensure the success of this new light rail system.
• The Watford–Croxley Green rail service remains
suspended,because of the construction of a new road.
An alternative road service is being funded by the local
authority. We are continuing discussions with local
authorities and London Underground about connecting
the route to London Underground’s Metropolitan Line ,
Watford branch.In the meantime, we are progressing
closure of the existing service, consistent with the long-
term aims of developing the link.