Jack Taylor wrote:
Angus Bryant wrote:

Seems that one (albeit costly) way to improve the NLL capacity and
congestion issue would be to build a dive-under to swap the NLL/ELL
passenger service and freight trains somewhere between Dalston and
the Canonbury curve. This would allow ELL trains from the south to
access the Canonbury curve and the NLL diverging later at Camden
without crossing the frieght lines.

Is that practical, surely the CTRL runs below that section of the NLL?

I'd forgotten that. Though probably at a much lower level than that (just a
guess, mind).

Perhaps raising the approach to Dalston (from Bishopsgate), flying
over and dropping down onto the north side of the NLL would be a
cheaper solution?

Perhaps, but it's all in cutting there which is why I suggested an
underpass. The only other solution in a similar vein would be to move the
crossing to a flyover at York Way, where the old Maiden Lane station [1,2]
used to be, located just west of where the NLL goes over York Way. That
wouldn't solve crossings to the curve to Finsbury Park, but it would still
keep freight and passenger separate for as much of the 4-track bit of the
NLL as possible. It would also put any WCML-bound freight/passenger
services from the CTRL on the freight lines, separate from the NLL passenger
services. However putting the flyover here would scupper the re-opening of
the Maiden Lane station for development on the King's Cross Railway Lands.

[1]
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....n/plate10r.jpg

[2]
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF...01296&t=h&om=1

Angus