LCY Expansion to go ahead
#46
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It seems rather curious to me that a brand new railway line that runs right underneath London City Airport will not have a station there. I may be missing something, but I don't see any "quick changes" from Crossrail to the DLR to get to LCY.
It's a bit like the LHR situation; it's almost as if our transport system is required to make it difficult to get to airports by rail.
It's a bit like the LHR situation; it's almost as if our transport system is required to make it difficult to get to airports by rail.
No station at LCY is down to a mix of cost (and a poor cost / benefit ratio) and geography.
See also re issues with the Jet Centre
http://www.lcacc.org/access/#Crossrail
Also when the HEX franchise ends in 2023 it won't be renewed and I've read elsewhere that in effect it will be ended once CR starts operations.
#47
Join Date: Nov 2010
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Actually, thinking about it, HEX isn't a franchise -- it's Open Access like Hull Trains. 2023 is when their current agreement for the paths runs out.
#48
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I seem to think I read HEX will continue but the fare prices are planned to come down to make it a bit more competitive compared to crossrail prices?
See here and especially 6 in the footnotes:
6. Crossrail services are in addition to the 4 trains per hour non-stop Heathrow Express services which will continue to operate. It will replace the existing Heathrow Connect stopping service that runs from Terminal 4 to London Paddington.
#50
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#51
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Maintaining the 20min check-in/10 minute tarmac-to-train proposition is said here to be a key reason for the expansion, so hopefully this will be maintained.
It seems rather curious to me that a brand new railway line that runs right underneath London City Airport will not have a station there. I may be missing something, but I don't see any "quick changes" from Crossrail to the DLR to get to LCY.
It's a bit like the LHR situation; it's almost as if our transport system is required to make it difficult to get to airports by rail.
It's a bit like the LHR situation; it's almost as if our transport system is required to make it difficult to get to airports by rail.
I'll just take a taxi to be honest!
#52
Join Date: Jul 2002
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Even at Zurich, I was reminded last week what a long walk it is from platform to departures security. The walk from FRA's long distance station to T1 is also quite far.
You and I have discussed the LCY and MAN-HS2 issues before - whilst it would be lovely to have a mainline station directly underneath a central terminal complex at every UK airport, there are a huge amount of factors that prohibit that and it's not just 'British planning incompetence' as is often cited.
#53
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Compared to many airports with "superior" train connections, that's pretty good. Have you ever done the walk from CDG RER to Terminal 2A? Or, still at CDG, the RER station for terminal 1 requires a monorail transfer to the terminal itself!
Even at Zurich, I was reminded last week what a long walk it is from platform to departures security. The walk from FRA's long distance station to T1 is also quite far.
You and I have discussed the LCY and MAN-HS2 issues before - whilst it would be lovely to have a mainline station directly underneath a central terminal complex at every UK airport, there are a huge amount of factors that prohibit that and it's not just 'British planning incompetence' as is often cited.
Even at Zurich, I was reminded last week what a long walk it is from platform to departures security. The walk from FRA's long distance station to T1 is also quite far.
You and I have discussed the LCY and MAN-HS2 issues before - whilst it would be lovely to have a mainline station directly underneath a central terminal complex at every UK airport, there are a huge amount of factors that prohibit that and it's not just 'British planning incompetence' as is often cited.
But here's one difference. If you arrive at LCY, that 200-yard walk at Canary Wharf/Poplar will only allow you to transfer you from a local commuter train to a regional commuter train (which has actually just run right underneath the airport you landed at), from which you may well have to change again. In contrast, if you arrive at ZRH and walk to the railway station, you can get on a high speed train there and then, and next get off at (say) Bern about 75 minutes later. The same goes for a number of continental European hub airports with an on-site station. That puts the need to walk a few hundred yards into some sort of context.
And while I accept that it is probably now too late to put a comprehensive railway service underneath LHR, that is largely a case of "we are now where we are", and a consequence of none of this having been thought through at a time when something constructive could have been done about it.
The frustration I have is that the same is now happening at LCY. Whatever the reasons which are now said to justify not putting in a station at the airport underneath which Crossrail will run, if (perhaps in 10 or 20 years time) it begins to look like it would have been a good idea, it will be too late to do anything about it and someone then will be saying "well, you know, it would be lovely to have a station here to make smoother connections to/from flights but there's now a huge amount of factors that make it impossible to do".
#54
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The East Coast main line runs a few hundred feet from one end of the runway at EDI, but they still spent nearly a billion quid building a tram system from the airport to the city, rather than a few million on a new railway station. Ditto for Glasgow, a railway line runs straight past the runway, but there is no station. Do not underestimate the power of politicians and quangos to muck things up (or to not bother looking at a map).
#55
Join Date: Mar 2009
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As part of the Crossrail Act, there was "passive provision" made for a future Crossrail Station to the west of the old Silvertown Statio on the old North London line, which is dependant on surrounding redevelopment.
Crossrail will be stopping at Custom House, where you can interchange with the DLR back to Canning Town, for the DLR to LCY, or just walk across the dock (on a nice day).
Crossrail will be stopping at Custom House, where you can interchange with the DLR back to Canning Town, for the DLR to LCY, or just walk across the dock (on a nice day).
Last edited by MHendo84; Feb 9, 2015 at 9:31 am
#56
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The East Coast main line runs a few hundred feet from one end of the runway at EDI, but they still spent nearly a billion quid building a tram system from the airport to the city, rather than a few million on a new railway station. Ditto for Glasgow, a railway line runs straight past the runway, but there is no station. Do not underestimate the power of politicians and quangos to muck things up (or to not bother looking at a map).
Indeed.
#57
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As part of the Crossrail Act, there was "passive provision" made for a future Crossrail Station to the west of the old Silvertown Statio on the old North London line, which is dependant on surrounding redevelopment.
Crossrail will be stopping at Custom House, where you can interchange with the DLR back to Canning Town, for the DLR to LCY, or just walk across the dock (on a nice day).
Crossrail will be stopping at Custom House, where you can interchange with the DLR back to Canning Town, for the DLR to LCY, or just walk across the dock (on a nice day).
#58
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Get off Crossrail at Custom House, go to another platform, probably by going up to a footbridge and then down again. Get a DLR and take it two stops to Canning Town, then get off and cross to the opposite side of the platform. Then get on another DLR and get off at a station almost directly above where your Crossrail train passed some 15 or so minutes earlier.
Or a 1˝ mile walk.
#59
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Well, that's alright then!
Get off Crossrail at Custom House, go to another platform, probably by going up to a footbridge and then down again. Get a DLR and take it two stops to Canning Town, then get off and cross to the opposite side of the platform. Then get on another DLR and get off at a station almost directly above where your Crossrail train passed some 15 or so minutes earlier.
Or a 1˝ mile walk.
Get off Crossrail at Custom House, go to another platform, probably by going up to a footbridge and then down again. Get a DLR and take it two stops to Canning Town, then get off and cross to the opposite side of the platform. Then get on another DLR and get off at a station almost directly above where your Crossrail train passed some 15 or so minutes earlier.
Or a 1˝ mile walk.
you are running a little bit late
you have some luggage
you cannot read English very well
you are completely unfamiliar with the area
you are largely unfamiliar with the tube/DLR/CrossRail system
It's not really the same as a simple signposted connection within the same building.
#60
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Or you could assume;
I've planned my journey
I've got wheels on my case
I've got a book or phone in a language I understand
But a lot like London's transport system, not everything is as easy as we would all like. You've just got to make the best of what you have.
At least we have a friendly place to come and ask the right questions, or get useful local information.
I've planned my journey
I've got wheels on my case
I've got a book or phone in a language I understand
But a lot like London's transport system, not everything is as easy as we would all like. You've just got to make the best of what you have.
At least we have a friendly place to come and ask the right questions, or get useful local information.