LONDON TRANSPORT
Thameslink
The £6.5bn Thameslink Programme is a series of improvements to north-south travel through London that, on completion in 2018, will provide improved journey times on spacious, new, purpose built trains that run every two to three minutes through central London at peak times.
Similarly to Crossrail, the scheme is all about providing improved connectivity to existing stations, better reliability through more efficient track layouts, and increased travel options for commuters. The scheme is a response to the predicted rise in passenger demand, to ease current congestion in places like the central sections of the Northern Line, and to attract more customers to rail travel.
The first stage of nine was opened on programme in April. The station has achieved the highest CEEQUAL rating for a UK station to date. More space is crucial, and the concourse will be bigger than the pitch at Wembley.
Farringdon Interchange
The area that will benefit the most in economic terms from investment in these mega rail schemes is historic Farringdon. The hub (pictured overleaf) will become the only station from which passengers will be able to access Crossrail, Thameslink and the Underground, and will ultimately have 140 trains per hour passing through it, becoming one of Britain’s busiest train stations. It will be a key link in bringing passengers from outer London to the business hubs in the City and Canary Wharf, providing direct access to three of London’s five airports.
This will be a catalyst for regeneration, with Farringdon expected to transform from a hub to a destination in its own right. Infrastructure investment will both re-energise the traditional industries, including the Hatton Garden Jewellers and Smithfield Market, and attract new business to the area. Figures published in 2011 suggested that property prices in the Farringdon area could rise from £850 sq ft to a forecast value of £1,300 sq ft by 2016.
The changing face of a railway station
The London Bridge quarter, like Farringdon, is benefitting from significantly improved infrastructure. WSP is part of a hugely successful team delivering perhaps the most iconic station transformation in the capital, providing innovative and cost-effective engineering whilst keeping trains running.
The redevelopment of the station, construction of the Shard and nearby Place, and creation of retail space is evidence that a station is no longer just somewhere one would go to buy a train ticket. Retail and convenience is an increasingly important part of a passenger’s commute. London Bridge is also an example of how infrastructure investment drives regeneration; what was once a rather grotty corner of London is now a vibrant, glossy place to shop, dine and enjoy city living.
A new rail centre
With the proposed construction of a new high speed station at Old Oak Common, which would also serve the Crossrail route, Old Oak Common becomes a very interesting rail interchange. Add in that the location also interfaces with two Overground lines (the North London Line and West London Line), and this humble location will become the centre of the British rail universe!
Proposals are being considered to create the facility for Overground services to stop at Old Oak Common, which would make it an extremely desirable location. Farrells architects have been working on a vision for what they describe as an integrated Crossrail/High Speed Rail ‘super hub’ interchange. It is believed that this could be on the scale of Stratford or Canary Wharf, accommodating over 500 hectares of west London, given the unprecedented level of connectivity that proposed infrastructure links would provide. Farrells’ study concludes that the ‘super hub’ interchange will become a powerful driver for growth and regeneration – the vision could generate an estimated 12,000 homes, 115,000 jobs, a new waterside park along the Grand Union Canal and a rapid transit system.
An exciting future It is an exciting time for London, Londoners
and anyone lucky enough to be involved in shaping the future of our capital city and its transport networks. Will these and future rail schemes such as Crossrail 2 and HS2 be enough to keep pace with the demands of the discerning commuter? I believe so, and feel passionately that the best cities in the world rely on modern, reliable, sustainable modes of transport as we move in to the future – the pioneering engineers who invented railways are ready to take us on a journey into a new age of technology, possibility and regeneration.
However, engineering – and particularly railway engineering – has an image problem. We are not attracting enough new skilled engineers to the profession. One of the huge benefits that many people consider HS2 to bring is the creation of the high speed college – a dedicated elite academy that will train 2000 people per year in the highly sought after skills of railway engineering and related professions. These skills are highly regarded worldwide and will place Britain at the forefront of railway technology and engineering.
WSP and others are working with industry bodies and charities to raise the profile of our profession across a spectrum of activities, from encouraging junior school children to take an interest in engineering to offering apprenticeships and collaborating to develop pan-industry training modules in critical skills areas. Einstein said: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
I firmly believe this is something we must do now to inspire the great problem solvers of the future; otherwise the next generation of infrastructure plans are at risk of remaining just a vision, and the great progress being made in London will suffer.
Julie Carrier FOR MORE INFORMATION
More information on the efforts being made to attract youngsters to the industry at www.
railtechnologymagazine.com/ukritt/genyrail
rail technology magazine Apr/May 14 | 135
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