Forum Topic

New Station at Old Oak Common

Announceed today for the high speed rail link to Birmingham and for Cross Rail, as LBHF have been lobbying for, How will this impact on Acton Central?

Iain Muir ● 6036d8 Comments

Iain, any chance of posting a map?

Dee Cook ● 6036d

LBHF Press release: http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News/Old_Oak_named_as_super_station_site.aspMap of Old Oak Common site:http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Borough_of_Opportunity/122790_DNP_Old_Oak_Common.asp

Iain Muir ● 6036d

"How will this impact on Acton Central?"Not at all initially, I would think.  The government's proposal is to build the new Old Oak Common station to serve the new high-speed line to Birmingham (HS2), the Great Western main line, and Crossrail.  They say that the "station proposal also has further long term potential to provide connections with other rail routes passing close to the site. It could enable passenger access from wide areas of London by means of London Overground services."  That would require a new station on the North London Line at Acton Wells.I would expect both Acton Central and Willesden Junction High Level to be retained, as there would be considerable inconvenience to many passengers in closing either of them.  Acton Main Line may be more vulnerable, as it is slightly nearer to the new station and is probably used by fewer people.  On the other hand, the intention is that Heathrow Express trains would call at Old Oak Common, which might reduce the pressure from Crossrail to omit Acton Main Line.

Richard Jennings ● 6035d

Thanks Richard, I meant Acton Main Line, too many stations in Acton!

Iain Muir ● 6035d

Acton Main Line is so convenient to get to Ealing Broadway (3 minutes) and Paddington (7 minutes) approx. I think lots of people would use this service if the trains stopped at AML more frequent! It really is not enough that we only have 2 trains per hour stopping here!Also there is NO service on a Sunday, when I asked why I was told that they never had a Sunday service at AML -  goodness knows why!I regularly see about a dozen people waiting for the train at AML when going to Ealing and as I said before, the fact that trains only stop every 30 minutes does not help! One has to sit at Ealing Broadway for ages waiting for the next train which will actually stop at AML which is stupid really as they are actually passing through the station!It is so easy to get to Ealing instead of having to get a bus to Acton High Street and another to Ealing - very time consuming.  The same goes for travelling into town - getting to Paddington from AML is a doddle.FGW should be doing everything in their power to provide a better and more frequent service on this line.AML is rather neglected, FGW is very slow removing grafitti from the station, it is an absolute eyesore. They don't seem to care at all.

Jean F Fernandez ● 6035d

"FGW should be doing everything in their power to provide a better and more frequent service on this line."You've heard of Crossrail, presumably?  AML gets effectively a big shot of adrenalin and turns into a proper urban station with that, regardless of what FGW do.

Thomas Barry ● 6035d

So Bassam does this strengthen the argument being put forward by the Liberal party that there should be a major ITH hub at Ealing Broadway?

George Knox ● 6035d

It ought to force everyone to consider how the existing lines of attraction in the area change, with effectively a combination of Paddington and St. Pancras a couple of miles away.  You'd want serious bus and tram network investment to stop people having to drive to the place (e.g. there's currently no particularly good way to get from Westfield/TV Centre to Old Oak Common, but that's likely to be an important axis - likewise you need to look at the businesses in the Heathrow area and how they can link to the new interchange.

Thomas Barry ● 6035d