Re: Waterloo & City Line Extension

I always thought about the Waterloo and City line going Bank, Waterloo and then north under the Thames to connect with the old Adlwych line to Holborn, it could also be extended from Holborn to Euston, taking strain off the Northern line and becoming in a way the Northern Express line.

That was on my mind, I didn't want to scare off the accountants ;D with the line doing a complete circle, stopping at Kings Cross, Moorgate then back to Bank. The tunnels do extend a little way beyond Bank, one side does have the travalator in the way though.

By having a line going from Waterloo to Aldwych, Holborn and then maybe to Euston how can that not reduce traffic on the Northern line City branch?

I have heard and read about various tube line proposals, old and new, but I have never heard anything about extending the line a short way from Waterloo to Aldwych.

The idea of it being an express line, goes back to 1930s when the LPTB started digging tunnels down at Clapham/Stockwell and near Tottenhan Court Rd/Goodge Street for an express Northern line.

All of these schemes would require a reversal (or a spiral!) at Waterloo, given the existing orientation of the W&C platforms there.

However, an independant shuttle to Holborn from one platform, with the Bank service using the other, might be an idea. It might be worth building the connection anyway, for stock transfers, (Waterloo-Aldwych can't be much longer than the Euston-Kings Cross connection between Northern and Piccadilly lines)

I'm glad this proposal finally isn't one connecting the Northern City Line to the W&C. I think the service from North of London is a good one, connecting to the City without changing (and making interchange with Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street and London Bridge a lot easier this way.

Your proposal has reminded me of another idea which I had when I was younger which I'll start in a new thread

When King's College was rebuilt they offered to make provision for an interchange with Temple at Aldwych which was rejected by LT. This would have allowed Aldwych to stay open without the lifts. The extension to Waterloo as originally intended would be useful but a link to the W&C is so impractical.

^^^I just think its location and alignment could be put to great use connecting areas of London that currently lack and could use tube connections. This could all be done while still maintaining a good link from Waterloo to the City.

Anyhow, my ideal extension includes a station at Blackfriars. Even though it offers no benefit at the moment, I just felt like putting it down for its Thameslink connection, and also because the line already passes directly underneath. Though of course it can be removed from the plans if it really isnt feasible. But who knows, with new suburban destinations on the line, Blackfriars might at some point become a valid option.

North from Bank, the line would go to:

Fenchurch Street (with direct connections to Tower Hill and Tower Gateway)
Aldgate (actually between and with direct connections to Aldgate and Aldgate East)
Shoreditch High Street (connection to London Overground and Central Line)
Weaver's District (at junction of Queensbridge Road and Hackney Road, named after local ward - nice reference to history)
South Hackney (connection to London Fields Station, but new name actually represents area - located between LF station and junction of Mare Street and Well Street)
Hackney Central (between and with connections to Hackney Central And Hackney Downs stations)

The line would then split. One branch would head north, emerge above ground, and take over the line to Chingford:

Clapton
Walthamstow St James Street
Wathamstow Central
Wood Street
Highams Park
Chingford

The other branch would head north, emerge above ground and head to Enfield Town:

Rectory Road
Stoke Newington
Stamford Hill
Seven Sisters
Bruce Grove
White Hart Lane
Silver Street
Edmonton Green
(take over the branch to Enfield Town)
Bush Hill Park
Enfield Town

South from Waterloo, the line would head for:

Lambeth Palace (under roundabout where Lambeth Bridge, Lambeth Road, Albert Embankment and Lambeth Palace Road meet)
Vauxhall
Nine Elms
Battersea
(the top two stations would take the place of the Northern Line extension stations from Kennington, which I think should go to Camberwell, Dulwich and Croydon)
Clapham Junction (about time this interchange gets a tube link!)
(emerge above ground)
Wandsworth Town
Putney
Barnes

The line would then split at the Hounslow loop, one branch going to:

Barnes Bridge
Chiswick
Kew Bridge
Brentford
Syon Lane
Isleworth
Hounslow

The other would go to:

Mortlake
North Sheen
Richmond
St Margarets
Twickenham
Whitton

The two branches would then recombine, heading on to:

Feltham
(dive back underground)
Heathrow Terminal 4
Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 & 3
Heathrow Terminal 5

This route would at last give Clapham Junction and the London Borough of Hackney actual and useful tube links into Central London. Fenchurch Street station also gets a service, meaning all Central termini now have tube access. More areas of South London now have the tube too.

The Heathrow section would supplement and offer an alternative to the Piccadilly Line's West End service by providing a link to the City and the South Bank. It may however face dire competition from the faster Crossrail service, in which case the line would simply enhance local employment by improving access for potential employees from more of the surrounding area. The direct connections between each terminal (unlike before where there'd only be branches and transfers) means travelling from one terminal to another by train/tube is now a lot simpler. However, if going to Heathrow is not feasible, a terminus somewhere in South London may be better.

Boring from Bank and Waterloo would be largely impossible, as either end of the terminating tunnels are travelators, passage ways and other obstaces. New, deeper tunnels and station platforms would need to be constructed underneath each.

Bear in mind, some of you may find this route a little bit bollocks! This is largely revision procrastination, but I still think this route is worth considering - excellent connections, and a lot of first times (Hackney, Clapham Juntion, Fenchurch Street etc etc).

Bank - Fenchurch Street - Aldgate - Shoreditch High Street alignment is a bit twisty and turny!