Crossrail - how did it begin?
A guy named George Dow, decided to come up a way of travelling through tunnels, in order to connect areas from East to West via Central London. In 1974, Crossrail was formed by the London Study Rail Report, with them suggesting a tunnel to go from Paddington-Liverpool Street. At the time this idea seemed "imaginative" seeing as it was a sketchup at the time.
Central London Rail Study, then came up with tunnels linking the network in different areas of London, being from East to West (Paddington-Marylebone-Liverpool Street) with other schemes recommended as well. That said later in 1991, a private bill was promoted by London Underground and British Rail for this but got rejected in 1994.
So as you are seeing so far - it is not going well.
However there was something. Just something that could work...
Well in 2001, the scheme managed to be advanced further using Cross London Rail Links by TFL and Department for Transport. Meanwhile, more schemes were being proposed including one relating to a Superlink scheme of some sort, and the other being "SuperCrossrail" that was planned to go Cambridge - London Bridge via Guildford, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Southend Victoria, Ipswich and past a West-East tunnel going through central london. There was a raise in concern, due to capacity and issues relating to cost so CLRL declined both of them. It would more than likely take longer so fair point I suppose...
But...
There seemed an approved project through Parliament, and given royal assent in order for it to take place. Crossrail was born after going past acts as a result TFL was given £1 billion. Good luck - you're going to need it!
Crossrail Begins
Construction started at Canary Wharf in 2009, with a range of diggers and boring tunnel machines being done underground. Overall, the progress seemed pretty good. This meant the new Class 345s managed to arrive in 2017 - exciting for many since it was announced! It entered first on Great Eastern Main Line, with some people being in shock and genuinely bemused. Regardless, they liked it due to their capacity, (better than the Class 315s in many ways) and seating arrangement very similar to the S Stock and most importantly air conditioning. Quite good compared to some trains...
A problem?
Although much later in 2018, I noticed something slightly concerning about the stations on the GEML. They didn't seem ready and still had the boarding. With the opening date not being too far Crossrail decided to admit what happened. Basically the project wasn't going to open on time and is being delayed - oh dear - until autumn 2019. I doubted at this point, as there wasn't even any Crossrail roundels at stations! Which leaded onto another announcement (in April 2019), saying that it was not going to open until 2021 at the very least. The finger was pointed at TFL, due to the updates within the delays/project, and not informing people of what is happening at the current stage. In the end, Crossrail says that there was big issues relating to installing equipment in tunnels, signalling systems and software in the train which has happened to another already:
Class 710 London Overground (hence its massive 1 year delay)
Class 755 Greater Anglia (issues with braking was on emergency - thankfully it didn't hit a car so crisis averted at the crossing in Thorpe End)
Train operators here is a tip. Ensure the software inside trains being built is tested thoroughly before sending it into service as that causes delays and will cause frustration as mentioned already.
Otherwise you know keep doing what you are doing. :)
Anyways slightly good news passengers from Reading now have a TFL Rail service and is extended from Hayes and Harlington*. So yeah the GWML (Great Western Main Line) travelers can also appreciate the Class 345s in its full glory.
*If you are going beyond this point along the line Oyster cards will not be accepted as of yet. You have to use contactless or a paper ticket in order to get to your destination. Click here for more information.
This is what the project has achieved at the moment
Class 345s to be entered on the GEML from June 2017 onwards
Replace Heathrow Connect services with TFL Rail (May 2018)
Class 345 trains to be fully operational replacing GWR services between Paddington and Reading (December 2019)
This is what the project has ongoing/planned at the moment
Class 345s to run from Paddington to Heathrow depending on the overhead lines (Early 2020)
This is what the project has delayed at the moment
Full route to open running from Shenfield/Abbey Wood-Reading/Heathrow Terminal 4 and 5 (December 2018 originally but expected to be from September to October 2021)
Stations to be installed and fitted with roundels and equipment as well as designs for passengers (2021)
Well that took a turn for the worst. Passengers were expected an early Christmas present in December 2018. It was going so well too. If I am honest though, it did seem a bit much to get done in 9 years, since I thought it would have challenges and it does. Eventually though, the Crossrail service will be up and running, which means you can forget about delays and stuff in the first place. Annoyingly for now, we have to deal with the pain, so bus changes that have gone ahead is all to do with Crossrail. If it ran on time so hoorah - links to places are lost as a result meaning unhappy passengers.
It was also meant to reduce the strain on Central Line. Though for now, it continues to suffer and is crying for Crossrail to enter quickly, owing to the sheer amount of passengers it has to take.
Crossrail - The line itself
- Serve 41 stations
- Have 2 depots to store trains
- Maximum of 90mph along the line
- Line of the route is 117km
- Improved journey times
- Updated information screens at stations
Thats the summary. For more information check the Crossrail website for more updates or check social media for any other enquiries.
Hope you enjoyed reading and Crossrail please enter service ASAP!!!
Written on: 11/12/2019 (11th December 2019 - winter season)
Last Updated: 17/02/2020
Section Updated: "What the project has achieved at the moment"
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