Forum Topic

Crossrail

Re report on possible exclusion of Ealing stations - I thought that not all xrail trains would stop at all stations and that the stations were being refurbished but not entirely replaced? What a blow if Ealing stations are excluded.

M Powes ● 3140d12 Comments

The trains will still stop.

Paul James ● 3133d

What report?My understanding is the work on the station buildings won't be complete but trains would still stop at them.Has something changed?

Paul James ● 3133d

The Greenford branch is already only a shuttle service between Greenford and West Ealing isn't it? I thought that through services between Greenford and Paddington stopped earlier this year.Crossrail was never going to be like the Tube and Overground, with all trains stopping at all stations, there will be fast trains and slow trains. Ealing Broadway was always going to have a better service than say West Ealing or Hanwell, because of the Tube connections there.It will be a great shame if the station rebuilding work is not finished before the Crossrail trains start running, but as long as what was promised is actually delivered eventually, it won't be the end of the world IMO.

Dave Hawley ● 3133d

The Greenford Branch is going to suffer a bit as Crossrail services will require the same trackspace from West Ealing onwards to London.Hardly anything new. The poor handling of renewing Ealing Broadway station and the resulting third rate design, more superficial than practical, shows how Ealing has been served a rum deal. A result of egos rather than brains wanting to be in on the credits.The projections already show that the extra capacity on Crossrail will be absorbed before trains reach Hayes and Southall so it will probably be standing room only on all trains London Bound for anyone using West Ealing or Ealing Broadway. Also The Greenford Branch will just be a short Shuttle meaning passengers will be added to those using services from Ealing Broadway .It's hard to see what positive benefit Crossrail will bring to Ealing area  commuters other than those who may be crossing the entirety of London. Most of course, will be heading for Central London and the City.Some relief maybe drawn from trains starting from Heathrow and Short journey trains starting from the Zone4/5 area. But this is down to availability of sidings,  passing loops and signalling trackspace.Maybe it is not such a bad idea to consider evolving the Greenford Branch as a light rail that runs on an elevated section from W.E. using the embankment and up and over the mainline or through a tunnel to Ealing and beyond maybe linking in with the overground. Or the Central Line dips underground from Ealing and replaces the Greenford Branch with a new loop incorporating Greenford and other areas bereft of good links.Crossrail is only going to increase capacity by 20% and that's mainly achieved by reducing seating and increasing standing, but it comes at the expense of curtailing GWR commuter services. Rob Peter to Pay Paul.Given the green light being given to population boosting developments which will far exceed the 20% extra capacity - which is already reached in projections before a single train has run, then really, the line should have been via tunnels until at least the edge of the Green Belt which would allow a much higher capacity over a much longer term. Allowing capacity via mid distance commuter services.

Mark Kehoe ● 3133d

This month's email of 4 July from Councillor Anthony Young to Ealing Broadway ward residents under the sub-head Breaking News - Crossrail Delays states: "At the time of writing, it has just been announced that the timetable for completion of the improvements to Ealing Broadway and West Ealing stations has been delayed from the end of this year to a new finish date of the summer of 2019. The reason for this delay has not been announced, but it will mean that the train services will be up and running in 2018 before the station improvements are completed."I've heard via the rumour mill that there are also delays in the building of at least one station further east along the line.

Susan Rowe ● 3133d

There will be a lot of disappointed homeowners in West Ealing if the station isn't built. Property prices in that area have gone through the roof in anticipation of the quick trip to the City and West End.

Tricia Arbuthnot ● 3135d

The lack of having to change at paddington and the size of the trains and their capacity will make crossrail a revolution in transport. so much better than what we have now.

Peter Chadburn ● 3137d

The Crossrail is in addition to the GWR services, 4 per hour from Hanwell, West Ealing and Acton, and 10 per hour at Ealing Broadway.  So overall an improvement to local transport.

Fred Hunt ● 3138d

Surely the more the number of stops, the slower the service becomes.I thought the whole purpose of the Project was to increase the speed of journey times (fewer stops) and capacity on the line (more trains per hour) as a result.

Mark Walker ● 3138d

But Ealing Broadway would not cope with the people from surrounding areas. also there are plans for an additional station between acton and paddington near the current train depot to serve the new developments. From the earlist consultations Hanwell was very much a part of the plan as i was at those meetings (many years ago) currently the next set of changes are awaiting planning approval for Hanwell.

Peter Chadburn ● 3140d

At the time of the initial consultation there was a strong impression given that Crossrail didn't want Acton Mainline to be served so I would presume they weren't as enthusiastic about West Ealing and other smaller stations. It may have been a political decision which overrode engineering considerations.Don't believe there is a direct correlation between more stations leading to more passengers. The more you stop the slower the journey will be and you will start to lose people for whom speed is the main consideration.

Andy Jones ● 3140d

Given the investment already made it would be a disaster. But maybe there is budget pressure and that they will not do everything at once. There was always a feeling that GWR wanted rid of Hanwell and West ealing so that they could have more trains from oxford with wealthier season tickets coming through years ago. But crossrail needs all the stations else it is not delivering what it was designed to deliver. also it needs a large passenger volume.

Peter Chadburn ● 3140d