Boltar wrote:

The interesting thing to consider is how the MHE branch can be made more
useful in the long term. One idea I put on my website is to have it as a
branch of Crossrail Line 2, and extend it to Watford Junction via MH

Just a couple of teeny problems with extending the MHE branch further
than Copthall at the moment: a business park (admittedly now closed),
a housing estate, the A41 and last but not least the M1 have been built
on the trackbed. I suspect moving that lot out the way might break
the budget somewhat.

Of course some of that section would have to be underground, and
therefore more expensive. However, undergrounding has its own advantage:
the line can be on a straighter faster alignment.

--
Aidan Stanger
http://www.bettercrossrail.co.uk

Of course some of that section would have to be underground, and
therefore more expensive. However, undergrounding has its own advantage:
the line can be on a straighter faster alignment.

Presumably it would be build on yellow brick so Dorothy , Lion and
Tinman
could stroll down it after operating hours just to complete the
fantasy?

B2003

Boltar wrote:

Of course some of that section would have to be underground, and
therefore more expensive. However, undergrounding has its own advantage:
the line can be on a straighter faster alignment.

Presumably it would be build on yellow brick so Dorothy , Lion and
Tinman could stroll down it after operating hours just to complete the
fantasy?

Just because I'm posting from Oz doesn't mean I'm off to see the wizard!

As I said before, this is one long term plan from my website. It's aim
is to reduce overcrowding by providing peole in North London with an
alternative route to the WCML (and Watford, which is an important
destination in its own right) that does not require detouring into
Central London. It would increase traffic on some of the least busy
parts of the UndergrounD and would even reduce congestion on part of the
M25.

But although the benefits would be great, so would the costs. I'm well
aware that there would have to be a lot of tunnelling involved, although
Mill Hill Broadway is the only station that would have to be constructed
in tunnel, so it would not be as expensive as you might imagine. I have
assumed costs would be kept under control because there *are* ways of
keeping costs under control, and my website outlines how to keep costs
under control when constructing Crossrail.

I'm certainly not saying the line should be constructed immediately - I
said it should be a branch of Crossrail Line 2, and mentioned that this
branch would be a lower priority than Crossrail Line 3. I can think of
several other lines that are more urgently needed too. But this thread
is about Mill Hill East, so I posted what I think they should do with it
immediately (shuttle service doubling frequency) and what they should do
with it eventually. Ideas for future railways can sometimes be improved
by bouncing them off other people.

Do you have any better ideas?

--
Aidan Stanger
http://www.bettercrossrail.co.uk