My thanks to London resident Mr G Brown for contributing the final cash to my "Please spare a fiver for Crossrail" campaign. How very kind of him, during this extremely busy week he's having, to find time to make this very special announcement. Funding for Crossrail has been stuck at £15.6bn for so many years (sorry, nowhere near enough, sorry) but arm-twisting in the City has finally upped the available cash to acceptable levels (£16bn? Perfect, go ahead). Anyone would think that there was an election (or two) in the offing, or something. But bring it on.
Not yet, obviously. There's still three years before construction even begins, and then seven years of unsightly digging across the capital. The tunnel's burrowing within 100 metres of my house, which means local residents face "adverse visual impacts" for "four years and three months". That'll include turning my nearest park into a building site, closing off the main A12 road for a month, moving a DLR station, and knocking down several factories that survived the Olympics so that the northeast tunnel portal can be constructed. All that mess, and I still won't get the benefit of a local station afterwards. Pah.
West of Paddington: None of that "getting off the train at Paddington and switching to the tube" any more. One train only, right into the heart of the West End and the City. First Great Western commuters will be big winners. Paddington: Crossrail will provide a direct link to Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road for the first time. But, erm, you can already get to Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel on one train, via the Hammersmith & City line. Just rather slower. Bond Street: And from here you can already get to Tottenham Court Road, Liverpool Street, Stratford and Canary Wharf on one train. But I'm sure the massive number of people who want to travel direct from Bond Street to Farringdon will find this multi-billion pound link extremely useful. Oxford Circus: Sorry, not stopping. The nearest Crossrail exit will be in Hanover Square, from which connecting passengers will have to take a 300 metre walk above ground. Oxford Circus may be London's second busiest underground station, but Crossrail won't be easing any of the congestion here. Tottenham Court Road: This is the central hub of the Crossrail line and will eventually (probably after you're dead) link to the proposed "Crossrail 2" Chelsea-Hackney line. Building this station means knocking down the Astoria (and several surrounding buildings) and remodelling the road junction beneath Centre Point. But by 2017 you'll be able to travel direct from here to Ealing Broadway, Bond Street, Liverpool Street and Stratford. Just like you already can on the Central line. Farringdon: One of the very first underground stations is about to become one of the very newest. Crossrail trains are very long, so this station will stretch between two exits, one at Farringdon and one at Barbican. Change here for the newly-revitalised north-south Thameslink service. Eastbound travellers will have a choice of four different direct routes to Liverpool Street - via Crossrail, Circle, Hammersmith & City or Metropolitan lines. Which is a bit pointless. Liverpool Street: Travelling east? The new direct link to Whitechapel is unnecessary (Hammersmith & City), as is the new direct link to Stratford (Central). But the direct link to Canary Wharf will be greatly appreciated. Whitechapel: You can't currently get from here to either Stratford or Canary Wharf on one train. But you will in 2017. Stratford: Change here for Eurostar trains to continental Europe (except that trains to continental Europe probably won't be stopping at Stratford). And Essex commuters will be able to change here onto Crossrail to ride into central London (just as they can already change onto the Central line). Canary Wharf: There's not much room out here in Docklands to hide a 250m-long station, so the new Crossrail station is being built beneath the North Dock (which is going to look a right mess for up to five years). Official documents confess that it's not going to be located terribly conveniently... "West India Quay and Poplar DLR stations are close to the proposed station. Canary Wharf and Heron Quays DLR stations are within ten minutes walking distance. The Canary Wharf Jubilee Line station is within five minutes walk of the proposed station." Erm, great. Still, at least you'll be able to take the train to Woolwich quicker than you can walk to the foot of Canary Wharf tower.
Crossrail is coming. And it'll be great. But probably not quite as great as you expected.
Farringdon: One of the very first underground stations is about to become one of the very newest. Crossrail trains are very long, so this station will stretch between two exits, one at Farringdon and one at Barbican. Change here for the newly-revitalised north-south Thameslink service. Eastbound travellers will have a choice of four different direct routes to Liverpool Street - via Crossrail, Circle, Hammersmith & City or Metropolitan lines. Which is a bit pointless.
