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TheOneKEA · January 20th 04, 09:11 AM posted to uk.transport.london

(Hywel Williams) wrote in message . com...
"juvenal" wrote in message ...
"TheOneKEA" wrote in message
om...
"juvenal" wrote in message
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Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a special undeground
shopping
mall or similar service, with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground
shuttle
from Holborn.

That sounds like a really good idea - they could renovate the
half-remodelled platform 6 at Holborn and the half-destroyed platform
2 at Aldwych and turn it into a super-modern Underground store where
they sell more Underground stuff.

Too bad it would be prohibitively expensive to repair the lifts -
they'd never get their investment back.

If you restored the disused station as an early Yerkes station, used the
station and the second tunnel to Holborn as a Tube museum, and redeveloped
the parts of the station that were never used as larger tunnels with small
retail outlets (along the lines of an undeground Covent Garden) with a
second Strand entrance, then you might have enough passengers to restore the
lifts (although it would be shame to remove them). If it really took off,
you could even put platforms on the JL oveerun from CX to Aldwych!

Beack in the realms of reality, though, you're probably right in thinking
that it probably wouldn't be able to pay it's way.

The problem with all of these ideas is lack of fire escape. On
several occasions I've been asked about the possibility of converting
Aldwych into some form of themed night club. The problem is that
health & safety would be a nightmare as the only access (currently) is
the spiral stair case and the lift shafts are in the same section as
that.

Currently, the only alternative exit is down the tunnels to Holborn
and this would mean crossing potentially live rails - again a big
no-no!

Couldn't they gap the rails at the Holborn end of the shuttle tunnel?

Conversion into a museum would be a grand idea, though I suspect
providing it with a special train only to serve the museum would
porbably be prohibitively expensive. I believe something similar
actually exists on the New York Subway, where Court Street station now
houses the New York Transit Museum.

Coincidentally, just this sort of conversion is about to be applied to
a tunnel that runs in parallel with Aldwych immediately above - the
Kingsway Tram Tunnel. I've been told that this (or at leas part of
it) is about to be converted into an art gallery which will open later
on this year.

Is this the same tunnel that had all of the road signs in it? The one that
was going to be remodelled at the Strand/Aldywch end?

Brad