Author: Cyril Richert

Clapham Junction station entrance on Grant Road had major refurbishment in 2012 in order to accommodate the overground line extension. 6 months later, the new lift to give a step free access to the platforms is no longer working and the help/ticket desk is desperately closed!

The lift at the Grant Road Exit at Clapham Junction is “broken until further notice”

The lift at the Grant Road Exit at Clapham Junction was broken at the end of June. There was a sign on the lift saying “broken until further notice“.  This causes considerable inconvenience as disable people cannot get any help on Grant Road side (the help/ticket desk is also closed) to access the platform on that side; they have to battle their way through the busy tunnel to the other exit at the other side of the station, the St Johns Hill Exit, then they have to push the wheel chair up St Johns Hill, re-enter via the Brighton Yard entrance and battle their way back through the station toward the Grant Road entrance to get the train they should have been able to have boarded without the twenty minute detour.

John Marshall, a local resident, said:

“The lift has been broken for three weeks so there is no disabled access to the platforms. Are South West Trains (who are responsible for the upkeep) interested? Nope. Are the regulators who are supposed to be overseeing the rail operators interested? Nope (unsurprisingly as they are funded by the train companies). Have you noticed that there is no ticket office at that entrance (tough for anyone who cannot operate the automated ticket machines).“

He spoke with a representative at South West Trains customer relations and was disappointed with the response, which basically was that there was a lot of lifts to maintain at all the stations and that it was the responsibility of the lift companies.

Mr Marshall commented:

“I would have thought a two hour lift repair target would be a reasonable expectation for such an essential lift within a busy station. For South West Trains to brush aside the problems caused to the disabled community by having broken lifts for five days indicates an uncaring philosophy, one which should be addressed with the utmost of urgency.“

Sarah Lewis from the London TravelWatch said:

“South West Trains (SWT) have advised me that they are currently working through a backlog of complaints, and are currently dealing with complaints dated 10 June 2013. SWT are trying to work through these as quickly as possible, and have asked that I pass on their apologies for the delay. They have advised that you allow a further two weeks to receive a response from them.“

Last but not least, don’t expect to get any help from the help/ticket desk in Grant Road station side:

Bad luck for anyone who needs help/ ticket office at Grant road entrance.

If you too experience some difficulties with Grant Road entrance, and wish to complain, you can contact:

sarah.lewis@londontravelwatch.org.uk [case: 238359]

Filed under: Station redevelopment

Wandsworth Living Streets has published a video on the case for a pedestrian crossing at the Brighton Yard entrance to Clapham Junction Station:

What do you think of the proposal ? Let us know in the comments below.

Filed under: Station redevelopment

Author: Cyril Richert

It’s on. It’s off. It’s on again.

For the last 5 years we have heard about possibilities of a new direct rail service from Clapham Junction to Heathrow. Then it was abandoned in 2011 for lack of any funding and set of priorities. Now according to a press release published by the Council in February 2013, Wandsworth was  set to appoint a transport consultancy to develop the case for the train-link.

The aim is to create a 30-minute journey to the airport for borough residents and businesses. Heathrow is poorly served by public transport and south Londoners have to travel north into London to catch a connecting train from Paddington or a Piccadilly Line service.

The last Heathrow rail scheme, named Airtrack, was spearheaded by the British Airports Authority (BAA) but abandoned in 2011 (you can read more in our article published in 2009).

Airtrack scheme

Then at the end of 2011 Wandsworth Council announced an update and a new plan – called Airtrack-Lite – that routes two trains an hour from Waterloo via the Hounslow loop. Two existing services on the Waterloo-Windsor line would split at Staines to provide a further direct link to Terminal Five.

Wandsworth Council new plan for Airtrack-Lite

The scheme required a new station at Staines and a new stretch of track from here to Terminal 5. The rest of the route would run along existing lines.

Wandsworth Council is now again re-iterating the support for improved rail access, and is still working on looking at alternative options for improving access to the airport from this part of the capital.

A formal stakeholder group should be established to take the project forward, following a transport consultancy to access the feasibility of each potential route.

There are others projects in (far-) future to improve links to Clapham Junction including:

1. Crossrail 2 (with stops at Clapham Junction and Tooting)
2. Northern line extension – this project could bring the Tube to Battersea by 2018 with new stations at Wandsworth Road and Battersea Power Station. Councillors believe this underground extension could continue past Battersea Power Station to reach Clapham Junction Station.

Filed under: Station redevelopment

Author: Cyril Richert

Transport for London and Network Rail have launched a public consultation (from 14th May 2013) on Crossrail 2 – a proposed high frequency, high capacity underground route between southwest and northeast London.

The consultation asks for Londoners views on two potential route options. Both options include stops in Wandsworth at Clapham Junction and Tooting Broadway stations.

Metro or Regional option

A route for Crossrail 2, formerly known as the Chelsea-Hackney Line, has been kept free from any intrusive building development since 1991 and any new buildings along the route have been constructed to allow for a potential new railway line.

TfL is now reviewing this safeguarded route and has proposed two alternatives which would better meet the rail needs of the Capital in the future – a Metro option and a Regional option.

• The Metro option could offer a high frequency underground service across central London. This option could be an underground railway and could operate between Wimbledon and Alexandra Palace. The route would relieve congestion on trains and platforms on the Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines.
• The Regional option could benefit people in Hertfordshire, Surrey and beyond by enabling more trains to run on busy National Rail routes. This route could be a combined underground and overground railway and could operate from Alexandra Palace and stations in Hertfordshire to various locations in southwest London and Surrey.

The consultation will seek the views of people in London and the southeast of England and will run from 14 May to 2 August 2013.

It aims to establish what level of support there is for the project and where the public and stakeholders would like Crossrail 2 to serve.

The public are encouraged to respond and share their views at http://www.crossrail2.co.uk/ 

Crossrail 2 could be operational in 2030.

CJAG published an article in 2010 about the Crossrail 2 project with some early map as below showing a branch south from Victoria Station underneath Battersea Park in the direction of Clapham Junction (shown as an interchange with Crossrail 2 on TfL’s East London Line route map).

A video was released to show a fly-through of the proposed routes:

• Images of the routes they are consulting on are available at: www.flickr.com/tflpress
• Further information on the Crossrail 2 consultation can be found at http://www.crossrail2.co.uk/
• In February London First produced a final report on their Crossrail 2 Task Force which is available here: http://londonfirst.co.uk/london-first-recommends-new-crossrail-2-route/

Filed under: Station redevelopment

Author: Cyril Richert

In our latest conversation (March 2013) with the architects contacted by Delancey last autumn about the redevelopment of Clapham Junction station (for producing a high level feasibility study to assist their client in assessing the scheme) we were told that they were still waiting for the client to come back to them. They have agreed to arrange a meeting to talk about their project, as soon as they have more information from their client.

AHMM has been appointed by Metro Shopping Fund (MSF/Delancey – the owner of the site) to carry out a study to assess the feasibility of development at Clapham Junction station.

Officially they were hired to “look at potential development options for Clapham both in terms of minimal improvement and wider redevelopment of the site“. However when I talked to one of their architect, he mentioned the “complex and high potential of the site“, which does not sound like a simple clean up of the current shopping gallery!

Below is one of their latest plan for a 27 storey tower at Stratford, east London.

Filed under: Station redevelopment