On Sat, 21 May 2005, londoncityslicker wrote:

"ONscotland" wrote in message
ups.com...

Last week I bought a Travelcard and a little camera and went to North
Woolwich.

I've been down there by bike twice in the last month. It hardly feels like
London at all.

I can't seem to find out what will happen to this section of track when
the DLR opens? I assume it will be closed as you can see the new DLR
section from the train.

Well it's almost certain that that the DLR will take over the line from
Canning Town to Stratford.

Question: what's going to happen to the existing Stratford branch when
the new one opens?

The rest of the line from Canning Town to North Woolwich is likely to be
closed.

And then to become part of Crossrail.

Also, paging Dave Arquati: TfL have changed their site layout a bit, so
your link to the map of proposed stations on the new Stratford DLR line is
broken; it's now he

http://developments.dlr.co.uk/extens...stations.shtml

And while i've got your attention, talking about Jubilee line to
Thamesmead, you say:

"Tunnel layout at North Greenwich permits the relatively easy construction
of a junction for a branch intended to serve the Isle of Dogs across the
river followed by Thamesmead."

Do you really mean that? A line from North Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs
to Thamesmead would be a most extraordinary shape! Did you by any chance
mean "to serve the Royal Docks across the river"?

However, the whole area is ripe for regeneration. Some of which is
already past planning stage. Just take a trip down there and you'll see
vast areas of riverside land ripe for new homes and offices/warehouses.
It already started with furlong Homes starting their development. The
DLR extension itself will also breathe some life into the area. The area
itself is well connected. Woolwich Ferry over to the south of London,
North and South Circular nearby, M25 and M11 just minutes away. City
Airport is so close. you are minutes from Canary Wharf and not far from
The City.

I was thinking about this yesterday, when i was waiting for the ferry. I
was wondering what the area would be like in a hundred or two years; Ken's
masterplan basically makes the area the focus for London's growth, so are
we going to see it slowly turning into a new west end? After all, it's
close to Docklands and the City, it's getting good transport links, so why
not? Will we see the banks at Woolwich lined with glittering skyscrapers,
a blaze of neon and phosphor at night? Will Dartford be the new Ealing?
Grays the new Harrow? The royal docks the new Hyde park? Greenwich the new
South Bank? You can object that the area's too far from the bulk of
London, but what will two hundred years of growth and migration do to
that? Will another three hundred years see London a city wrapped around
the Thames from Windsor to Canvey Island, with the living heart of it
being the places we're talking about now, and Trafalgar Square just a
quaint tourist attraction in the Old Town? tourists taking boat trips out
west to the Tower? West End Lane and Upper Street quiet strolls for the
retired people who populate the areas around them? Piccadilly Circus
bulldozed for an out-of-town shopping centre?

And while we're on the subject of the ferry: will the Thames Gateway
bridge provide a viable alternative for the crossing of the
north/south circular over the Thames? It will at the north side, but how
would you get from the south end to the A205? It's not intended for that
job, but if i were a lorry driver, i'd be quite tempted to use it rather
than wait for the ferry. Are we going to see traffic levels on the A2016
and A206 skyrocket?

Another PS to Dave: TfL gateway bridge site now at:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/thames-gat...gb-intro.shtml

All in all a lot of positives. So if I were the planners, I would keep
the NLL going so when the regeneration does come around they don't need
to replan things and build "new" railways and trams when they already
have a system in place.

The current plan trades a heavy rail line with 4 tph and 4-car trains for
a light rail line with 5 tph (to begin with - 10 tph then 15 tph later)
and tiny trains plus, a bit later on, a heavy rail line with 12 tph and
10-12 car trains; the current line goes to Stratford and north and west
London, whereas the new lines would go to Stratford, Docklands, Lewisham,
and central and west London. If anything, i think that's going to increase
provision to the area. Eventually.

tom

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