East London line extension
Encyclopedia
Railway systems engineering
Railway systems engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of railway systems....
project in London, managed by Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
. The project involves extending the East London Line
East London Line
The East London Line is a London Overground line which runs north to south through the East End, Docklands and South areas of London.Built in 1869 by the East London Railway Company, which reused the Thames Tunnel, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, the line became part of the London...
(formerly part of the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
network) and making it part of the mainline London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
network. This is being done by re-opening sections of disused railway line and by converting track electrified by the third-rail system, signalling, lineside signage and communication systems, etc. to mainline standards. New rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
has been introduced and four new stations have been built along the route, with possibly a fifth to be added later.
The work, costing around £1 billion, began in 2005 and is taking place in two phases, due for completion in 2010 and 2012. The first phase is now complete, and a full service began on 23 May 2010 from via the historic Thames Tunnel
Thames Tunnel
The Thames Tunnel is an underwater tunnel, built beneath the River Thames in London, United Kingdom, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping. It measures 35 feet wide by 20 feet high and is 1,300 feet long, running at a depth of 75 feet below the river's surface...
under the River Thames and along part of the Brighton Main Line
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 50 miles long, and is electrified throughout. Trains are operated by Southern, First Capital Connect, and Gatwick Express, now part of Southern.-Original proposals:There were no fewer...
to West Croydon
West Croydon station
West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...
and . Trains also go to for the South Eastern Main Line.
In future phases of the project, the line is to be connected at its northern end to the North London Line
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
and a branch connected to the South London Line
South London Line
South London Line may refer to one of two semicircular railway lines which both run between London Victoria and London Bridge stations through the southern suburbs of London, UK:*Inner South London Line - running via Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye...
. When completed, the East London Railway, as it is now known, will form part of a wider orbital railway around central London called "Orbirail
Orbirail
Orbirail was a name for a suggested orbital railway route around London. It would involve connecting the extended North London Line, East London Line, the Inner South London Line and the West London Line, possibly including the Gospel Oak to Barking Line. The combined line would orbit London in...
".
Phase 1
Phase 1 of the ELLX project involved the extension of the original line at its northern and southern ends. The northern extension runs from to , connecting with the North London LineNorth London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
; this section became operational as far as in late May 2010, and to Highbury & Islington on 28 February 2011. The southern extension of phase 1 from to and West Croydon
West Croydon station
West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...
was completed simultaneously with that to Dalston in 2010 and a full service began in May 2010.
The northern extension makes use of disused trackbeds on the Kingsland Viaduct
Kingsland Viaduct
Kingsland Viaduct is a railway viaduct about 2 miles in length, almost wholly within the present London Borough of Hackney in the north-east part of Inner London. It was built in the 1860s but closed in the 1980s until it was reopened to carry the London Overground in 2010...
that formerly carried the North London Railway
North London Railway
The North London Railway was a railway company that opened lines connecting the north of London to the East and West India Docks. The main east to west route is now part the North London Line. Other lines operated by the company fell into disuse, but were later revived as part of the Docklands...
branch
North London Line City Branch
The City Branch was a short spur of the North London Line allowing direct access from the east-west main route of the North London Railway to the terminus at Broad Street in the City of London.-History:...
to Broad Street station, closed to the national rail system in 1986. It bypasses station, which closed permanently in June 2006. The new line diverges before the closed Shoreditch station, traverses the former site of the Bishopsgate Goods Yard
Bishopsgate railway station
Bishopsgate station was a railway station located on the eastern side of Shoreditch High Street in the modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets; the western edge of the East End. It was in use from 1840 to 1964 when it was destroyed by fire...
and crosses Shoreditch High Street on a bridge, before running north along the Kingsland Viaduct. Four new stations have been built at , , and . From there, the double-track line continues under Kingsland High Street and Boleyn Road and then parallels the existing North London Line with services running through (for interchange with the North London Line
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
eastbound) to (for interchange with the Victoria line
Victoria Line
The Victoria line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the south to the north-east of London. It is coloured light blue on the Tube map...
, North London Line
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
westbound and Northern City Line
Northern City Line
The Northern City Line is a railway line from Moorgate to Finsbury Park in London, once part of the Great Northern Electrics line. It should not be confused with the City branch of the Northern line, nor with the North London Line...
).
Statutory planning powers for the extension were granted in January 1997. The main structures of the bridges over Brick Lane and Shoreditch High Street were in place by March 2009.
The southern extension connects the East London Line with the arm of the Brighton Main Line
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 50 miles long, and is electrified throughout. Trains are operated by Southern, First Capital Connect, and Gatwick Express, now part of Southern.-Original proposals:There were no fewer...
, linked via a northbound flyover north of New Cross Gate. Other than the new flyover and some associated works around New Cross Gate, services run almost entirely on existing tracks, heading south to West Croydon via , , , Sydenham, , and . A branch south of Sydenham runs to .
The branch leaves the East London Line south of . This branch allows passengers to interchange onto the South Eastern Main Line, but the tracks are not connected.
A train servicing and stabling facility has been built on the Silwood Triangle, a disused plot of land just north of New Cross Gate station.
At New Cross Gate, Platform 1 and adjacent track (southbound) have been extensively refurbished, with the line continuing under New Cross Road, before merging with the existing southbound slow line. North of the station and the junction with the branch to , between Canal Road and Rotherhithe New Road, extensive works were carried out to allow the Western Extension (see below) to merge efficiently with the existing alignment; this work was authorised and funded in 2008 prior to the final approval of the Western Extension.
The stations between New Cross Gate and Crystal Palace/West Croydon were previously managed by Southern
Southern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
, which ran all train services to these stations. They have now transferred to TfL control, but Southern continues to run its own regular services into London Bridge on this section of route as well (albeit less frequently than before), so that northbound passengers at such stations as Brockley or Forest Hill now have a choice of destination, either London Bridge as before, or via the new line towards Dalston.
The existing (also known as the 'Classic') section of line has been completely overhauled, with the replacement of all track and signalling upgraded to Network Rail standards.
Phase 2
The ELLX Phase 2 project will extend the line from Surrey QuaysSurrey Quays tube station
Surrey Quays railway station is a railway station in Rotherhithe near Southwark Park. It is in Zone 2, on the East London Line. The next station to the north is , and to the south it splits into branches to and...
on to the Network Rail Inner South London Line. Trains on this route will run to via , , , and . From Wandsworth Road, instead of running to Victoria, westbound trains will branch off at Factory Junction, passing through Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
towards Clapham Junction. As the East London line is now connected to the North London line
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
at Highbury & Islington, the Phase 2 project will complete an orbital rail route around Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, fulfilling the Orbirail
Orbirail
Orbirail was a name for a suggested orbital railway route around London. It would involve connecting the extended North London Line, East London Line, the Inner South London Line and the West London Line, possibly including the Gospel Oak to Barking Line. The combined line would orbit London in...
concept.
After a period of uncertainty, funding for this phase was finally announced in February 2009, with a prospective completion date of May 2012, which would have been in time for the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
in July 2012. However, the timeline now published by TfL states that while construction will be completed by around that time, the line will not open until late 2012, well after the Olympics and Paralympics.
The extension will require the construction of 1.5 mi (2.4 km) of new track, to be laid on a disused alignment which until 1911 was used by trains from Rotherhithe to Peckham via the now-defunct Old Kent Road railway station
Old Kent Road railway station
Old Kent Road railway station was a station in South London. It opened on 13 July 1866 on a viaduct and bridge crossing the road at a junction with a line to London Bridge and what became Surrey Quays tube station on the East London Line and Queen's Road Peckham railway station on the Inner South...
. The points and the major part of the civil works to effect the junction from this line to the refurbished East London Line (ELL) south of Surrey Quays, including a southbound flyunder, are already complete, as part of the Phase 1 works. South from the ELL junction the line will pass through existing arches under several lines approaching London Bridge. From there to Surrey Canal Road the embankment will be built up to a new bridge over the road, where there are existing bridge abutments, which currently support a footbridge which will be dismantled. On the other side of the bridge the line will pass through Bridgehouse Meadows to a crossing over Hornsay Street, near where a junction will be effected with the inner South London line.
During January and February 2011 the required alignment had been largely cleared of debris and excess vegetation, but no construction had begun. By early April, contractors were on the Bridgehouse Meadows site, and the footpath across the site from Surrey Canal Road southwards was closed to the public. Footpaths following the route will continue to be closed during construction, but will be restored on completion, as will that part of Bridgehouse Meadows not occupied by the new railway.
A new station might be built at , but funding for this has not yet been agreed and in September 2010 funding was refused by the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
.
There will be additional platform capacity at Clapham Junction for the new services, but the exact arrangements for this have yet to be finalised. Trains will run every 15 minutes, and contribute to an eventual 16 trains per hour on the core ELL section between Surrey Quays and Dalston Junction.
Train services and rolling stock
The core section of the line, between Dalston and Surrey Quays, is served by 16 trains per hour. New Cross Gate to Sydenham has 8 trains per hour. The remainder of the line is served by four trains per hour. A total of 30 stations will be served by the new line.As part of the upgrade, new mainline rolling stock has replaced the former London Underground A60 and A62 Stock, which had been in service for 50 years. The line now operates 23 Class 378/1 "Capitalstar"
British Rail Class 378
The Class 378 Capitalstar is a type of electric multiple-unit train, part of Bombardier Transportation's Electrostar family. These trains are operating on the new London Overground network...
four-car electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s (similar to the Class 376
British Rail Class 376
The Class 376 Suburban Electrostar is a model of electric multiple-unit passenger train manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is part of the Electrostar family, which are the most common EMUs introduced since the privatisation of British Rail...
already in use by Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
). Unlike the London Underground stock which they have replaced, the new trains feature longitudinal seating similar to most classes of Tube trains, to cater for the expected higher level of usage.
Transfer to London Overground
The East London Line was originally a London Underground line but it is now operated instead as part of London Overground. Although the major part of the London Overground network consists of National RailNational Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
lines, the original East London line track and its northern extension remain under TfL ownership, as do the stations from Dalston Junction to Surrey Quays.
The stations from New Cross Gate to Crystal Palace and West Croydon were previously managed by Southern
Southern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
, but London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
took over control of these stations in September 2009 in preparation for the new London Overground services.
Contractors
Parsons BrinckerhoffParsons Brinckerhoff
Parsons Brinckerhoff is a professional services firm with 14,000 employees in 150 offices providing construction and operation management, planning, design, engineering, program management, strategic consulting, environmental and sustainability services for clients and communities in the Americas,...
were selected by TfL as the programme managers in May 2005, and in June 2005, TfL awarded Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest British housebuilding and general construction companies. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with rival George Wimpey to create Taylor Wimpey on 3 July 2007.-Early years:Frank Taylor was...
a £30 million contract to undertake enabling works on the Kingsland Viaduct and other sites. Mott MacDonald
Mott MacDonald
The Mott MacDonald Group is an employee-owned company management, engineering and development consultancy serving the public and private sectors world-wide...
was also appointed the project's technical advisor. The main works on the line were undertaken by a consortium of the engineering and construction groups Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty plc is a British construction, engineering, military housing, rail and investment services company. It is one of the largest construction companies in the UK, and the 15th largest in the world...
and Carillion. TfL announced in October 2006 that the two companies had been awarded a £363 million contract to carry out the work, beating a rival consortium made up of Laing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1978....
, AMEC Spie
AMEC
AMEC plc is a global consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is focused on the oil and gas, minerals and metals, renewable energy, environment and infrastructure sectors and has offices in 40 countries worldwide...
and Vinci. Some 2,000 jobs were planned to have been created at the peak of the contract and the contractors were obliged to hire local staff. The contract awarded bonuses to the contractors if they complete work ahead of schedule, but penalised them up to £50,000 a day for late delivery.
Carillion has also been awarded a contract to maintain the extended line. The seven-year £80 million contract, announced in February 2009, requires Carillion to provide TfL with management, technical resources, plant, equipment and labour.
Bombardier
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
supplied the line's rolling stock as part of a £259 million contract to provide trains for the London Overground network. In August 2006 Transport for London placed an initial £223 million order for 152 carriages, comprising 20 four-coach trains for the East London line and 24 three-coach trains for the North London line. The order was expanded in July 2007 at an additional cost of £36 million, to provide an extra three trains for the East London line. Manufacturing work began at Bombardier's Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
plant at the start of 2008 and the last train was scheduled to be delivered by May 2010. The company beat three other bidders - Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
and the rolling stock operating company Porterbrook
Porterbrook
Porterbrook is one of the three major ROSCOs in the United Kingdom...
, which would have supplied pre-owned trains.
Funding
This triple extension project was the first London Underground project to be funded by means of a Private Finance Initiative scheme, though the recent Jubilee Line ExtensionJubilee Line Extension
The Jubilee Line Extension is the extension of the London Underground Jubilee line from to through south and east London. An eastward extension of the Jubilee line was first proposed in the 1970s and a modified route was constructed during the 1990s...
project was funded through a similar Public-Private Partnership
Public-private partnership
Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...
scheme. The project cost around £1 billion and is projected to yield £10 billion in economic regeneration.
On 12 October 2004 the Mayor of London confirmed that phase one of the East London Line Project would be delivered as part of the Capital Investment programme. On 16 November 2004 he announced that control of the project had passed from the Strategic Rail Authority
Strategic Rail Authority
In existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry....
to TfL, so that the project could be initiated and funded from TfL's five-year investment programme. The planned service was initially described as a "metro-style (National Rail) train service".
The bulk of the funding for phase 1 of the project was provided by the European Investment Bank
European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...
, which granted TfL a loan of £450m (€660m). The bank's involvement was intended to promote the regeneration of the deprived areas of London through which the line runs. The second phase of the project is being co-funded by the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
, which is providing £64 million, and TfL providing a further £11 million. This funding does not cover the £10 million cost of building a new station at Surrey Canal Road and it remains unclear whether the station will be built, but provision is being made for it to be built at a later date. It has been suggested that Millwall Football Club might contribute to the cost of the new station, which would be close to The New Den
The New Den
The Den , is a football stadium and the home of Millwall FC. It is situated in South Bermondsey, South East London, almost directly adjacent to the railway line between London Bridge and New Cross Gate, plus the SELCHP incinerator. It is under a quarter of a mile away from original Den...
football ground.
Proposals and problems
London Regional Transport
London Regional Transport was the organisation responsible for the public transport network in Greater London, UK from 1984-2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.The organisation was...
considered converting the line into a light railway similar to the Docklands Light Railway
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
, or restoring the disused connection to Liverpool Street.
By 1989 a proposal had emerged to extend it north to Dalston and south to Peckham Rye and Dulwich, sharing track and stations with the mainline network, in a similar fashion to parts of the Bakerloo line
Bakerloo Line
The Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from Elephant and Castle in the south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in the north-west of London. The line serves 25 stations, of which 15 are underground...
, District line
District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
and Metropolitan line
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
. The plan was costed at £100-£120 million and the extended line was envisaged to open in 1994.
The extension project was proposed several times during the 1990s but was repeatedly rejected or postponed owing to lack of government support and insufficient financing. In November 1990 Transport Secretary Cecil Parkinson
Cecil Parkinson
Cecil Parkinson, Baron Parkinson, PC , is a British Conservative politician and former Cabinet Minister.-Early life:...
rejected a proposed parliamentary Bill that would have authorised the project and two years later the extension plans were postponed indefinitely owing to cutbacks in Tube funding. Another proposal was made in 1993 to extend the line from Whitechapel to Dalston Junction, involving the construction of new stations at Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate is a road and ward in the northeast part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall...
, Hoxton and Haggerston, and received the support of a public inquiry in 1994. Construction was envisaged to begin in 1996 and to be completed by 1998. The project was finally approved by the Government in 1996 but a lack of financing again forced the project to be put on hold in 1997.
A solution to the funding issue was found in 1999 when London Transport announced that it was seeking private funds to realise the extension plans. Control of the project was given to the Strategic Rail Authority
Strategic Rail Authority
In existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry....
rather than to London Underground, in view of the impact that it would have on mainline services. It was also proposed that the East London line and other sub-surface Underground lines would be transferred to Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
, the privatised company responsible for maintaining the mainline network. This would have seen the line integrated with the London suburban commuter network. However, it was soon decided that this was impractical and the Railtrack proposal was abandoned.
Network Rail's South London Route Utilisation Strategy has also very strongly emphasised the need for the phase 2 link to the Inner South London Line, particularly in respect of the even more restricted capacity during the reconstruction of London Bridge.
Alternative routes
A number of different routeing proposals were put forward before the route of the northern, southern and western extensions was finalised.On the northern extension, early proposals mentioned the possibility of further extending the line from to to the north, and to the west, through , and , using the North London Line tracks. This would have enabled the line to be part of an orbital railway or "Orbirail
Orbirail
Orbirail was a name for a suggested orbital railway route around London. It would involve connecting the extended North London Line, East London Line, the Inner South London Line and the West London Line, possibly including the Gospel Oak to Barking Line. The combined line would orbit London in...
", a scheme proposed by the then Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
, Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
. The proposals were not adopted for the present project. Finsbury Park was ruled out because of operational complexity, though the project team has left open the possibility that an extension to Willesden Junction could be considered as a separate project in the future. The current track plans show the East London and North London lines separated, without the possibility of through running.
The southerly route across south London's existing network of suburban railways underwent many changes before a final route was decided. Initial proposals around 1992 envisaged the western extension running from Peckham Rye to East Dulwich. The 1999 proposals listed four options, all starting south of Surrey Quays:
- through to West Croydon stationWest Croydon stationWest Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...
, with a spur from Sydenham to (a route eventually selected and implemented for part of Phase 1); - through and to (rejected);
- through to (the route eventually selected for Phase 2);
- through Forest Hill and to West Croydon (a route eventually selected and implemented for part of Phase 1).
In the final plans, the Dulwich option was rejected, with the western extension terminating at Clapham Junction instead.
Arguments were made for the line to be extended further south to Sutton, but estimates indicated that passenger usage would be so great that the line would be unable to take much traffic north of West Croydon
West Croydon station
West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...
and this option was not adopted.
Construction
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
on 7 July 2003.
Because of an inability to extend the platforms at the existing and stations and make them fully compliant with current rail safety regulations, it was thought that they would close, but on 18 August 2004 Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
, Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
, announced that both stations would remain open.
Preparatory work by Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest British housebuilding and general construction companies. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with rival George Wimpey to create Taylor Wimpey on 3 July 2007.-Early years:Frank Taylor was...
began in June 2005 and continued through to the end of 2006, involving the replacement and refurbishment of 22 bridges along the Kingsland Viaduct. On 9 June 2006, Shoreditch underground station closed permanently to facilitate work on the extension, with services from Whitechapel being replaced by buses. The rest of the East London line closed on 22 December 2007, with rail replacement buses linking the stations north and south of the Thames (but not crossing the river due to height restrictions in the Rotherhithe Tunnel
Rotherhithe Tunnel
The Rotherhithe Tunnel is a road tunnel crossing beneath the River Thames in East London. It connects the Ratcliff district of Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets north of the river to Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark south of the river. It is designated as the A101...
).
On 5 September 2006 it was announced that the line would form part of the London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
, branded with a version of the Underground roundel with red replaced by orange, the colour used on Tube map
Tube map
The Tube map is a schematic transit map representing the lines and stations of London's rapid transit railway systems, namely the London Underground , the Docklands Light Railway and London Overground....
s for the East London Line.
Three major new bridges were installed on the line between March and May 2008. On 29 March 2008, a new bridge weighing 350 tonnes was lifted into place over Shoreditch High Street. The bridge was manufactured to a tied arch
Tied arch bridge
A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward-directed horizontal forces of the arch, or top chord, are borne as tension by the bottom chord , rather than by the ground or the bridge foundations...
or bowstring design in Chepstow
Chepstow
Chepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...
by engineering firm Fairfield Mabey, and was lowered into place by the UK's biggest mobile crane, weighing 1,200 tonnes.
On 3 May 2008, a 1,300-tonne Warren truss bridge (GE19 bridge) spanning Great Eastern Main Line
Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as...
tracks out of Liverpool Street station was put into place. Although the bridge launch was successful, on 28 May the bridge dropped 200 mm onto its permanent supports as it was being jacked down. Debris fell onto the tracks, forcing the suspension of services in and out of Liverpool Street station until the following day and causing major disruption to commuters. The problem was traced to errors made by the sub-contractors.
The last of the three bridges, a 600-ton truss steel structure, was put in place at New Cross Gate between 10 and 12 May 2008. Test running on the completed line began on 5 October 2009.
Re-opening
Before the full service launch, a limited "preview" service began on 27 April 2010 between Dalston Junction and New Cross/New Cross Gate, and the line came into full operation between Dalston Junction and West Croydon/Crystal Palace on 23 May.The line re-opening was rescheduled several times, with the introductory service originally planned for 4 April 2010, subsequently put back one week to 15 April before being rescheduled once more to 27 April. Technical problems with on-board cameras were cited for the delay, but the proximity of the line re-opening date to the forthcoming parliamentary general election also generated speculation about political motives, with commentators suggesting Mayor
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
was seeking to make political capital out of a project originally begun by his predecessor and political opponent Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
.
External links
- East London line - London Underground website
- East London line Project (official TfL home page)
- East London line Project (official Balfour Beatty/Carrilon home page)
- ELL route through Shoreditch
- Video Flyover of Phase 1