please empty your brain below

Handy map. I wonder how much the Met's original idea would have cost, a direct route into Watford town centre. I don't think a tunnel would have been expensive, especially compared with a viaduct. It is not a very long distance.

This is will handy opportunity to fix Met services once and for all. Transfer Chesham to Overground and run a train from Chesham to Watford Junction every 30 minutes. London-Chesham services can be diverted back to Amersham, back to 4tph. Everything is tidied up and there are easy links to Watford town centre/Watford Junction.

I remember my parents talking about this extension back in the 1960's.

Blimey indeed DG. Looks like us ex-Croxleyites will see the thing built in our lifetimes!

@Max - never mind Overground WJ-Chesham, what about a proper train service from WJ-Aylesbury to connect into the new Marylebone-Aylesbury-Milton Keynes Central service...?

THC - why not go the whole hog and have a circle - MK,WJ,Ricky,Aylesbury,MK?

Blimey. Better rush out and admire those old Network South East signs whilst I still can.

Wish I'd now come on that tour you organised on Saturday 31st November :0)

THC

Because I can't imagine people from Milton Keynes to want to shop in Watford, and if they did, they would travel direct on the WCML, rather than taking a jaunt to Aylesbury first.

Also, Aylesbury isn't electrified, so the result would be yet more diesel mileage on electrified tracks.

Currently, Met services west of Rickmansworth are a dog's breakfast. If the services were co-ordinated thus (in order of arrival at Rickmansworth):

Aylesbury->London
Chesham->Watford
Amersham->London

Then Aylesbury people could easily get to Watford, Chesham people would easily get to London, and if demand warrants it, future Aylsebury->Watford services could be added, provided there is enough terminal capacity at Watford Junction.

It's been confirmed.

http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=422474&NewsAreaID=2

I agree it would be a great opportunity for a complete re-cast of services in the area. @ MaxR - disadvantage would be that Watford passengers travelling to/from Northwood, Harrow and points south would lose through journeys and cross-platform interchange would be difficult/ impossible.

That "Watford Junction Development" bit on your map is definitely in the can now, you know. That would have seen a new bus interchange, housing, offices etc.
The proposal isn't anywhere near ideal, but it is the only one they thought they could sneak past the bean-counters.
There is also a disused alignment over Wiggenhall Road which allowed London-bound traffic from Croxley Green (and Rickmansworth Church St). Maybe, one day, that will also be reinstated.

Yippee!

Even better though is one of the other approved schemes should keep me in a job for the next 5 years or so.

Paul

What are you talking about?

There would have to be a Watford->London service as well as a Watford-Chesham service. Chesham can't reverse more than 2tph I think, so I was scarcely talking about ending direct services to London.

Max

I wasn't suggesting a direct WJ-Aylesbury-MK service but a WJ-Aylesbury one. In the CRL Major Business Case, the inclusion of such a service as part of the overall proposal actually scored higher in CB terms but was considered riskier and so dropped from the bid. It can be easily and cheaply added later on, of course. If the popularity of the 500 bus service between Aylesbury and Watford is anything to go by, an hourly service between the two towns (albeit on a parallel corridor) may well unlock some latent demand and even tempt Chilterns motorists working in Watford out of their cars. More useful than a WJ-Chesham service IMO.

Croxley Link approved - luvly jubbly.
Now must be the time to dust off your "Last chance to see Watford Met Station tickets" and see how they go this time.
And there we were thinking "What a plonker" when you came up with the plan. Will we see you selling them out of the back of your Robin Reliant Van outside the station any time soon?

P.S. Do you know anyone who wants to buy a cable car?


Croxley Link 1.
Northern line extension to Battersea 0.
Ha!

Wot DG said. Get in!

(PS Did you have a celebratory bottle of Becks tonight...?)

Hopefully Watford Hospital and Ascot Road will be step-free. Should be good for disabled Tube users in the area.

Only Ascot Road, Watford Hospital and Watford Junction will be step-free accessible. The next step-free on the Met is Wembley Park, then King's Cross. Slow progress indeed, but the step-free programme is getting there.

...and please can the promoters come up with an alternative name for Ascot Road station? It's far too local in reference and, since there are five separate Ascot Roads in greater London, ambiguous to boot. I'd suggest Cassiobridge; it's the historic name for the locality and it's unique.

I don't see what would be wrong with calling it Croxley Green, to be honest. And the stop on Vicarage Road should be called Vicarage Road. There's already people on the WO website asking which stop will be for the football ground.

The new station won't be in Croxley Green though, Audrey. The old station was almost a misnomer too in that it about as far from Croxley Green as possible while still being in Croxley itself (just).

As for naming the other new station 'Vicarage Road', the same argument applies. Albeit more well-known than others with the same name, there are still four separate Vicarage Roads in greater London and so this would lead to ambiguity. 'Watford Hospital' leaves no such room for doubt.

Heaven help the poor WO posters who are confused about finding their way to the Vic once the new line opens - clearly these are the kind of people that couldn't find their arse with both hands.

OK, I'll accept that Croxley Green is a bit of misnomer, but the proposed Watford General Hospital station is ACTUALLY ON Vicarage Road.

http://g.co/maps/x6zhe

There is scope for a Watford Hospital Station within the health campus development, but I guess that is unlikely to be built given how close along the line it would be to the proposed new station. Although Watford Hospital as a name is unambiguous, there isn't a single other station on LU with 'Hospital' in the name. I could understand it if the station was within the hospital grounds, or linked by a dedicated walkway, but it isn't. It's an uphill (downhill on the way back!) walk of five to ten minutes along public roads. Not that I'm complaining about a bit of a walk, but less-fit / mobility impaired hospital users might.

The suggested names are all a bit parochial, and 'un-tube' like - more like DLR or tramstop names.
How about Watford West and Watford South?











TridentScan | Privacy Policy