What is the point of Old Oak Common?

[Mgameing123]

Surely they can figure out a way to build a new station for the West London Line perhaps right over the GWML? Will be an engineering challenge but the Milton Keynes Line connectivity is crucial.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Surely they can figure out a way to build a new station for the West London Line perhaps right over the GWML? Will be an engineering challenge but the Milton Keynes Line connectivity is crucial.

The WCML you mean (or in NSE terms the Northampton Line)? To be useful you'd need slow line platforms at Willesden Jn, but I do think that would be useful as it could mean the Southern service (a bit of an infrequent pain) being removed in favour of twice an hour connections at Willesden.

 

[Mgameing123]

The WCML you mean (or in NSE terms the Northampton Line)? To be useful you'd need slow line platforms at Willesden Jn, but I do think that would be useful as it could mean the Southern service (a bit of an infrequent pain) being removed in favour of twice an hour connections at Willesden.

No I just mean the current Southern service between East Croydon and Watford Junction.

 

[Railwaysceptic]

No I just mean the current Southern service between East Croydon and Watford Junction.

If a new station was constructed above the GWR main line with an exit into Scrubs Lane and a travellator to Old Oak Common, it would be a very busy station and when HS2 is in operation the two stations combined would become a major transport hub, west London's equivalent to Stratford. It would not be used only by people travelling between south London and Watford. The existing London Overground service using the West London Line is already intensely used.

 

[AlbertBeale]

If a new station was constructed above the GWR main line with an exit into Scrubs Lane and a travellator to Old Oak Common, it would be a very busy station and when HS2 is in operation the two stations combined would become a major transport hub, west London's equivalent to Stratford. It would not be used only by people travelling between south London and Watford. The existing London Overground service using the West London Line is already intensely used.

Yes - clearly a station on that line there, south of the junction, could give interchange to and from OOC with both Overground and Southern routes along the WLL. Added to a link from the opposite end of OOC to the west, connecting with both the NLL and (future) Duddon Hill Overground routes, this would give enviable onward connectivity in many directions from OOC. As has been said, a kind of Overground-mainline set-up to mimic the tube-DLR-mainline situation at Stratford; and a similar distance from central London.

 

[Bletchleyite]

No I just mean the current Southern service between East Croydon and Watford Junction.

Ah.

I think a decent set of connectivity options around there including reinstating Willesden Jn station on the AC slow lines would remove the need for that service entirely. Two or even four connections an hour (depending what you could path stopping - certainly the MKC stopper but possibly also the Tring semifast) would knock 4 coaches once an hour into the proverbial cocked hat.

 

[Meerkat]

If a new station was constructed above the GWR main line with an exit into Scrubs Lane and a travellator to Old Oak Common, it would be a very busy station and when HS2 is in operation the two stations combined would become a major transport hub, west London's equivalent to Stratford. It would not be used only by people travelling between south London and Watford. The existing London Overground service using the West London Line is already intensely used.

Is there any line flat enough there for a decent length station?
For the huge cost of that you may as well rebuild Willesden Junction and put in a people mover from there to OOC and maybe on to North Acton tube (and maybe on into Park Royal and the hospital)

 

[Basil Jet]

If a new station was constructed above the GWR main line with an exit into Scrubs Lane and a travellator to Old Oak Common, it would be a very busy station and when HS2 is in operation the two stations combined would become a major transport hub, west London's equivalent to Stratford.

The travelator would be about 600 metres long, and would take 13 minutes to ride. It's more than double the rail distance from Leicester Square to Covent Garden, for instance. Most of the area within walking distance of Mitre Bridge is either cemetery or common, so there would be few walk-ups. Extra platforms at Willesden Junction with a people mover to OOC makes more sense.

 

[cle]

The WLL LO services are far more frequent (5tph?), and the Southern service has deviated by the Hythe Road station. It is currently just 1tph and unlikely to get back north of Watford Junction largely, so I think the metro WLL service is far more important to connect to OOC.

 

[Mgameing123]

The WLL LO services are far more frequent (5tph?), and the Southern service has deviated by the Hythe Road station. It is currently just 1tph and unlikely to get back north of Watford Junction largely, so I think the metro WLL service is far more important to connect to OOC.

If the Southern service gets at stop at OOC (If we try the very best) then I bet that they will be forced to run more trains per hour.

 

[PGAT]

If the Southern service gets at stop at OOC (If we try the very best) then I bet that they will be forced to run more trains per hour.

The limiting factor is capacity on the WLL. 2tph to Watford would probably be do-able but not any more and it’s already a huge ask

 

[Mgameing123]

The limiting factor is capacity on the WLL. 2tph to Watford would probably be do-able but not any more and it’s already a huge ask

If they really needed the capacity down towards Croydon they can extend some trains from Stratford.

 

[cle]

I don't personally believe the Watford services need to go south of Clapham Junction. 2tph Watford and 6tph Stratford would be my ideal set up., using p17 if needed - but preferably with another solution on the west/north side - finally doing the platform 0 works, or another version of it.

And the same path to Croydon might be much better patronized operating an extra tph to Victoria, at 10-12 cars too. Maybe it gets to Caterham and can free up something else, etc etc.