Since the Evening Standard and The Independent newspapers
have written about this I thought I would add some more detail to those
proposed services from the map.
I've only just found out about the 2016 Tube map from a 2004
proposal and a lot has changed when compared to the present one
we have.
You can view the full resolution (PDF format) of the 2016 proposed map
from 2004 here.
Back in 2008, BBC News reported
on the big cuts to various projects like the DLR extension to Dagenham Dock,
the Thames Gateway Bridge and Tramlink extensions; the BBC claimed that TFL is
trying to save £2.4 billion!
Here is the list of schemes which TFL scrapped:
·
£1.3bn
cross-river tram plan which would have connected Peckham to Camden
·
£500m
Thames Gateway Bridge scheme in east London
·
£750m
extension of the Docklands Light Railway to Dagenham Dock in east London
·
£500m
Oxford Street tram scheme
·
£170m
Croydon Tramlink extension
In January 2007, TFL issued a press release
about consulting people on the proposed DLR extension from Gallions Reach to
Dagenham Dock. Back then, TFL sent out 60,000 leaflets to local residents,
organisations and groups to gather opinions on the extension. However, from the
3rd February 2016 board meeting,
a released paper shows the Barking Riverside Rail Extension from the ‘Goblin’ Overground line. TFL had a page on
their website for the Dagenham Dock DLR proposal which is now saved by the Archive Wayback Machine.
Looking back at the map, the Thameslink line is mentioned as
it would have been devolved to TFL. The Thameslink section from Farringdon to
Moorgate was withdrawn in March 2009. The good news is the Department for Transport have announced proposals to transfer lines operated by
Southeastern, South West Trains and Govia Thameslink Railway (Great Northern,
Thameslink and Southern) to TFL in order to create a London Suburban Metro.
Looking at the ‘Crossrail’ line, the Maryland station would have been disused and not
included until 7th August 2006 when the ability of ‘Selective door operation’ would enable the station to be accessible due to the short
platforms. Currently the Shenfield Line is under TFL Rail with the operation
contracted to MTR Crossrail. The Crossrail tunnels will open in 2018 with the
line fully completed by 2019.
The Silverlink metro lines have been devolved to the London
Overground who took them over on 11th November
2007. The franchise was the ‘North London Railway’.
What happened to Surrey Canal Road station on the
Overground?
As phase 2 of the East London Line extension along the South London Line to Clapham Junction opened on 9th December 2012, it would have seen Surrey Canal Road station opened, but instead, due to the lack of funds, it made the station unable to open. The plans are still proposed though, hence the reason they built concrete padding to 'future proof' the proposed station. Since February 2015, the proposed station has been changed to New Bermondsey as part of the new development of the area. Here is more information on the New Bermondsey station on Wikipedia.
After looking at Tramlink and Tfl's proposed extension from
Harrington Road to Crystal Palace, I noticed that in the June 2007 TFL Press release, which had shown strong support for the Tramlink extension
that the consultation had received a total of 1,520 responses. In the same
press release there was also a webpage from TFL
dedicated to the Tramlink extension.
What about those transit routes?
Taking a look at the East London Transit, they are a branded Bus Rapid Transit service which
serves from Ilford to Barking Reach and Dagenham Dock. The service was first
formed in 2010 and is operated by Go
Ahead Blue Triangle from their Rainham (BE) depot. Route EL1 was extended
from Thames View Estate to Barking Reach and began on 7th September 2013; it
required an increase of 1 bus which Go Ahead London transferred from one of
their depots.
During November 2015, TFL proposed
to re-route the EL2 which would go to Becontree Heath, serving Longbridge Road
and relieving various bus services serving that section of the route. The
proposal for route EL2 will no longer serve Ilford.
Now with the West London Transit, it looks similar to the
current service we have which is route 607 serving Uxbridge, Hayes End,
Southall, Hanwell, Ealing, Acton, Shepherd's Bush and White City. The service
is a ‘Limited Stop’ as it goes
parallel to the main route 207
which only serves from Southall to White City. Taking a look at the proposal
from the Wikipedia article,
it would have been a Tram service in West London as it would have replaced an
equivalent number of bus routes. The proposal was postponed by TFL in August
2007. The scheme was budgeted at a cost of approximately £200 million, and the
line would have come into service by 2009. Here is the link to the proposal from TFL's old website.
The Greenwich Waterford Transit was a proposed Bus
Rapid Transit and part of the Thames
Gateway Transit linking to the north side of East London, via the proposed
Gallions Reach Crossing bridge to Greenwich. The crossing is still proposed as
we are waiting to see more proposals on the crossings in the East of Greater
London. Currently there is a consultation
for new river crossings in East London. Here is the Wikipedia article on Thames Gateway Transit.
With the Cross River Transit, known as the Cross River Tram,
it was a proposed tram service which serves from Camden Town in the north,
through Euston and London King's Cross, to Peckham and Brixton in the south. As
of 2010, TFL stated that the project is on hold. Article is also on Wikipedia.
So what else now? Instead we have improvements made to the
London Underground system and the cuts have enabled the funding of the New
Routemaster bus which was supposed to reinstate the rear platform. However,
instead of the rear platform it's a hybrid bus with 3 doors and 2 staircases
which is designed by Thomas Heatherwick. Also, since TFL's board approved the
extra 200 New Routemasters (from 800) we may see 1,000 of the NRM’s operating on London roads. Thankfully the design of the
New Routemaster bus has evolved to other types like the Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City.
I can't think of anything else to add to the above except to
say that it's interesting how plans and proposals change over a period of time.
If you have any more information then let me know in the comment section below.
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which is @CLondoner92
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