As the number of passengers using the Underground rose during the 1980s - from 500 million in 1982 to 800 million in 1988 - it became clear that the lines and stations which had been built in Victorian and Edwardian times were increasingly unable to accommodate them. Ideas for various new lines had been suggested several times from the 1950s onwards, but in March 1988 the Government set up the Central London Rail Study (CLRS) specifically to address the problem of rail congestion. The purpose of the CLRS was to suggest ways of providing for the forecast increase in passengers on London's railways - estimated to be in the order of a further 20 per cent on the Underground by the end of the century. Without the construction of new lines the system will become impossibly overcrowded, with serious effects on London's economic prosperity.A parallel East London Rail Study (ELRS) was also set up by the Government to examine possible solutions to the problem of improving access to the rapidly growing Docklands area and to East London generally.
Crossrail
A line running east/west across central London in twin
deep level standard gauge tunnels was the major proposal in the Central
London Rail Study. Known as CrossRail, and similar in concept to the RER
lines in Paris, this line would carry specially designed high-capacity
trains from Aylesbury (via Amersham), Chesham and Reading in the West under
the West End and City to Shenfield in the east.
CrossRail would provide direct access to central London from areas currently without such a service, thereby avoiding the need to interchange betwen suburban trains and the Underground at Liverpool Street and Paddington.
The trains would enter the tunnels west of Paddington and emerge at Bethnal Green east of Liverpool Street, having served intermediate stations at several key London interchanges. It is also proposed that services could feed into CrossRail from the new Heathrow Express line. A Bill seeking the necessary powers to build the line was rejected by a committee in Parliament in 1994 and the Secretary of State asked in april 1996 that the scheme should be taken forward after the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the Thmeslink 2000 schemes. This would imply a start of construction in 2003 or later.
Chelsea-Hackney Line (South West - North East Metro)
This proposal for a new deep level twin tunnel tube gauge
Underground line has been mooted for some considerable time, but was revived
by the Central London Rail Study. The initial proposals envisaged that
this new should take over part of the existing District Line branch between
Wimbledon and Parsons Green and then run via a new station in Chelsea to
Victoria. It would continue via Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road
to King's Cross (relieving congestion on the Victoria Line). From here,
it was planned that the line would run through Islington to Hackney, giving
interchange with suburban rail lines and then take over the Epping branch
of the Central Line north of Leytonstone. The route of this line is protected
against developments which might jeopardise its construction, pending a
Government decision as to when to proceed.
In 1995, alternative alignments which might increase the benefits were the subject of public consultation, resulting in greater support for two possible routes via Clapham Junction rather than the original planned route via Fulham. At the Eastern en, there was a preference for terminating the line at Stratford or possibly at North Woolwich rather than at Epping. The alternative schemes, known as the South West/North East Metro would involve a smaller proportion of line in tunnels and make greater use of existing lines on the surface, but the tunnels would be built to full size rather than tube gauge.
Jubilee Line Extension
Improved access to Docklands is a priority to serve the
recent and future growth in this developing area of London. An extension
of the Jubilee Line to this area of London was proposed when the line was
first built in the 1970s but, at present, the line stops at Charing Cross.
The East London Rail Study recommended that the line should be extended from Green Park via Westminster, Waterloo, Southwark and London Bridge, continuing through Bermondsey and the growing Surrey Quays area to Canary Wharf in the Isle of Dogs. The line would continue via North Greenwich, crossing under the Thames a fourth time before coming to the surface at Canning Town, then serving West Ham before terminating at Stratford.
Construction work on the 16 km (ten-mile), £2.85 billion (at current prices) project began in December 1993, and the line is expected to open in three stages during 1999. More information in the Jubilee line fact sheet and in the Extended Jubilee line section of this web site
East London Line
Two extensions to the East London Line are planned, north
from Whitechapel to Dalston serving four new stations and then over the
existing Railtrack line to Highbury and Islington; and south from Surrey
Quays to Railtrack's South London line and/or extension of the New Cross
Gate branch. These proposals include bringing sections of disued track
bed back into service.
A formal application to seek the necessary powers, under the Transport and Works Act, to build the northern extension was made in December 1993. A public inquiry was held the following Autumn, and in January 1997 the Minister for Transport in London annnounced his approval for the scheme to go ahead, adding that it was for London Undeground to consider how the scheme might proceed under the Government's Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in the light of existing priorities. As part of the northern extension a new station would be built on the former goods yard at Bishopsgate, 400 metres from Shoreditch station, whioch would be closed. A new depot would also be contructed at Silwood south of Surrey Quays station. If funding is obtained the extended line could be opertaional by 2000.
Croxley Rail Link
A London Underground project to link two branch lines
in the Croxley and Watford area has been developed. This would allow Metropolitan
Line trains to serve Watford High Street and Watford Junction stations,
and four potential intermediate station sites have been identified. It
is hoped that by establishing a partnership with other bodies that support
the scheme, notably local authorities and Railtrack, funding can be secured
for an application under the Transport and Works Act. The scheme would
involve the closure of Watford Metropolitan Line and Croxley Green stations.
Heathrow Terminal 5
BAA is seeking to build Terminal 5 at Heathrow, and a
scheme to extend the Piccadilly Line to serve a station within the new
terminal has been drawn up by London Underground in tandem with BAA's plans.
An application under the Transport and Works Act was submitted in November
1994 and what is likely to be a lengthy Inquiry into the proposals both
for the terminal and the extension started in 1995. If the plans are approved
the new terminal and the station could open in 2005.