Crossrail 1 Corridor 6 (Richmond/Kingston/Norbiton) Proposal Response by London Borough of Hounslow February 2003 Crossrail 1 Corridor 6 (Richmond/Kingston/Norbiton) Proposal: Response by London Borough of Hounslow February 2003 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Context This submission constitutes the London Borough of Hounslow’s response to an invitation to provide initial comments on the Crossrail project’s proposal for a new corridor for Crossrail 1: Corridor 6 – Norbiton, via Old Oak Common, Acton, Chiswick, Richmond and Kingston. The submission considers the proposal in terms of service and amenity for the borough’s residents and businesses, and within the context of the Council’s published policies. In addition to the two options that constitute the Corridor 6 proposals, this submission provides two further options for Crossrail’s consideration. While the Council must record its disappointment that an effective period of less than two weeks was offered for preparation of this submission, the Council also wishes to record its appreciation for the assistance given by the Crossrail consultation team during the preparation of the submission. 1.2 Council Policies The London Borough of Hounslow Unitary Development Plan’s objectives relating to transport and land use development are summarised below: • To promote sustainable transport modes (walking, cycling, public and waterborne transport) which improves access for all members of the community and enhances public transport provision in London as a whole, while reducing car traffic and the demand for road space. • To encourage a pattern of land use, and provision of transport which minimises harm to the environment and reduces the need to travel, especially by car, whilst maximising development opportunities in the Borough. • To adopt a sequential approach to all major trip generating developments thereby seeking to maximise opportunities in town centres, followed by edge of town centres, both to enhance the role of existing centres and to encourage more sustainable patterns of travel. • Where economic development cannot be accommodated in existing centres the Council will encourage development in the key employment locations, namely the Great West Road, Chiswick Business Park and Bedfont Lakes provided that such areas are or can be made accessible by a wide choice of transport modes, in particular on foot, by bicycle or by public transport (Reference: London Borough of Hounslow UDP: Proposed Alterations Revised Deposit 2001) 1 Crossrail 1 Corridor 6 (Richmond/Kingston/Norbiton) Proposal: Response by London Borough of Hounslow February 2003 1.3 Crossrail 1 Corridor 6 Options The two options for Corridor 6 presented to the Borough on 5 February are: • Option 1: Surface Route to Norbiton From the Great Western Main Line at Old Oak Common, a branch of Crossrail would run via the North London Line to Richmond, then via a new rail underpass onto the Kingston Loop line to Kingston and Norbiton. The service frequency would be eight trains per hour. From Paddington, trains would stop at Acton Central, (not South Acton), Gunnersbury, Kew Gardens, Richmond, (not St Margarets), Twickenham, Strawberry Hill, Teddington, Hampton Wick, Kingston and Norbiton. The Silverlink Metro North London Line service (Richmond to Stratford / North Woolwich) would be diverted to run from Hounslow, and District Line underground services on the Richmond branch would be reduced to six trains per hour. There could also be alterations to some South West Trains services through Richmond to Waterloo. • Option 2: Tunnelled Route to Norbiton From the Great Western Main Line at Wormwood Scrubs, a branch of Crossrail would run by 5.3km tunnel under East Acton, surfacing immediately west of Turnham Green station, from which point it would replace the District Line branch to Richmond and extend through to Norbiton as above. From Paddington, trains would stop at a new Chiswick Park station (located south east of the current station), then Gunnersbury, then as per Option 1 to Norbiton. In this case the frequency of Crossrail service would be increased to 12 trains per hour - four trains per hour to Richmond, four to Kingston and four to Norbiton, or six trains per hour to Richmond and six to Kingston. The Silverlink Metro North London Line trains would continue to run from Richmond. As with Option 1, there could also be alterations to some South West Trains services. The District Line rolling stock could be utilised to improve frequencies on the Wimbledon Branch. While of no direct concern to LB Hounslow, it is suggested that consideration be given to an underground station for Crossrail in the general vicinity of The Vale / Uxbridge Road / Askew Rd junction - an area some distance away from existing rail and tube stations. Existing services and Options 1 and 2, as they run though LB Hounslow, are set out on three separate maps attached to this submission. Coloured circles show the current stopping patterns of each line at the relevant stations, while coloured triangles represent proposed stopping patterns and locations. 2 Crossrail 1 Corridor 6 (Richmond/Kingston/Norbiton) Proposal: Response by London Borough of Hounslow February 2003 2. RESPONSE TO THE NORBITON OPTIONS The Council’s views on the two options are considered under four headings: • stations served • interchange facilities • level crossings • local environmental effects during construction and operation. 2.1 Stations Served • Option 1 The only station in the Borough in Option 1 is Gunnersbury, which although well placed for the BSI building and Chiswick Business Park, does not have a very large residential catchment. Gunnersbury station’s layout is also very restricted and there would be problems in achieving access for disabled passengers and lengthening the platforms to the required 200 metres. Option 1 would, however, result in Silverlink Metro trains serving the Hounslow Loop as far as Brentford, before utilising the Brentford - South Acton freight spur (formerly used by the Anglia Railways Basingstoke - Colchester service) to join the North London Line and continue to Stratford/North Woolwich as per the current service. (Note: this short spur, approximately 1.8 km in length, is not electrified.) While additional Hounslow Loop services would be generally welcomed, the North London destinations would serve only a small percentage of potential rail commuters. The Silverlink Metro North London Line service is part of the proposed OrbiRail network, and its removal from Richmond (where interchange to Thames Valley services is currently available) would appear to be a retrograde step as Hounslow station would not offer this interchange. Ideally, Crossrail’s proposed rail underpass at Richmond could be developed instead to link the existing Silverlink services to the Windsor main line and permit their extension to Kingston and Wimbledon. LB Hounslow therefore believes that Option 1 is of less value to the Borough than the tunnelled option. • Option 2 For the tunnelled option, two stations within the Borough are proposed - Gunnersbury and a new Chiswick Park station. These stations are only about 600 metres apart, and Chiswick Park attracts only about 2200 passenger boardings per day (see Table 5). On the other hand Turnham Green attracts about 7500 boardings per day. Turnham Green, with its greater population catchment area, its local shopping, its interconnection with a major north-south bus service (route E3) and its potential interchange with the Piccadilly Line (see below) appears to be a more appropriate interchange station than Chiswick Park in the tunnelled option. Local environmental issues are considered in section 2.4. 3 Crossrail 1 Corridor 6 (Richmond/Kingston/Norbiton) Proposal: Response by London Borough of Hounslow February 2003 2.2 Interchange Facilities Any new rail facility in the Borough of Hounslow should permit interchange with the maximum number of existing railways in or near the Borough. The existing services are: • District Line – Ealing Broadway and Richmond Branches • Piccadilly Line – Heathrow and Uxbridge Branches • North London Line – served by Silverlink Metro • Hounslow Loop Line – served by South West Trains. • Option 1 In Option 1, there would be interchange between Crossrail and the District Line Richmond branch at Gunnersbury and with the North London Line at Acton Central, but there would be no interchange whatsoever with the Piccadilly or Hounslow Loop Lines. The Piccadilly Line is a particular lost opportunity because direct interchange would offer a fast service from Richmond to Heathrow, a journey which cannot easily be done by train at present. An interchange would also allow LB Hounslow residents to take the Piccadilly Line from stations such as Osterley and transfer to Crossrail for a fast trip into central London or to access destinations not served by the Piccadilly Line. To overcome this problem, the Council suggests that a new Chiswick Business Park Interchange be constructed. This interchange would be at the point where the North London Line passes under the District and Piccadilly Lines. There would be platforms on these three lines and also on the Brentford - South Acton spur, which would be served by the Silverlink Metro trains diverted from Richmond. A proposal for an interchange station at this location has been under consideration since the early stages of planning of the Chiswick Business Park development, however the proposal was mothballed apparently because of London Underground Limited’s refusal to consider stopping Piccadilly Line services at any additional stations. Chiswick Business Park, when complete, will offer over 140,000 square metres of office accommodation and will be the workplace of up to 10,000 people, the majority of whom will access the park by public transport. It would thus be an important destination in itself. This new interchange would probably take the place of Gunnersbury as a stop on Crossrail. However, as there are only two platforms at Gunnersbury, it may not be possible to run Crossrail non-stop through this station while District Line trains (albeit at a lower frequency) continue to stop there.