East London Line

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East London
Colour on map Orange
Year opened 1869
Line type Sub-Surface
Rolling stock A Stock
Stations served 8
Length (km) 7.4
Length (miles) 4.6
Depots New Cross
Neasden
Journeys made 10,429,000 (per annum)
Rail lines of
Transport for London
London Underground lines
  Bakerloo
  Central
  Circle
  District
  East London
  Hammersmith & City
  Jubilee
  Metropolitan
  Northern
  Piccadilly
  Victoria
  Waterloo & City
Other lines
  Docklands Light Railway
  Tramlink
  Overground (starts November 2007)

The East London Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured orange on the Tube map. It runs north to south in the East End and Docklands areas of London. First opened in 1869 as the East London Railway, it runs under the Thames through the Thames Tunnel, which is the oldest part of the Underground's infrastructure. The line was originally operated by six different railway companies (later reduced to two) but became part of the London Underground in 1933 and came into public ownership in 1948.

The line is currently being extended and will be shut down from 22 December 2007[1] to June 2010 to facilitate the works. On reopening, it will revert to its former identity as the East London Railway and will be incorporated into the new London Overground rail franchise, uniting the East London and North London Line as a single unit. Although services will still be provided by Transport for London, the line will have an identity clearly distinct from the London Underground. It could therefore be seen as the second line to "secede" from the London Underground (Northern City Line was the first). The intention of these extensions and changes is to convert the line from a minor stub to a key transport artery that can be used to create an orbital railway linking London's suburbs.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Establishment of the East London Railway

The East London Railway was first created by the eponymous East London Railway Company, a joint venture formed by a consortium of six existing railway companies: the Great Eastern Railway (GER); the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR); the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR); South Eastern Railway (SER); the Metropolitan Railway; and the Metropolitan District Railway, the latter two of which operated what is now the Metropolitan Line, Circle Line, District Line and Hammersmith and City Line of the London Underground.

The companies sought to re-use the Thames Tunnel, built by Marc and Isambard Kingdom Brunel between 1825 and 1843. The tunnel had been originally built for horse-drawn carriages and so had generous headroom with two separate carriageways separated by arches, though it was only ever used for pedestrian traffic. It connected Wapping on the north bank of the Thames with Rotherhithe on the south bank. Although it was a triumph of civil engineering, it was a commercial failure and by the 1860s it had become an unpleasant and disreputable place.

At the time, the tunnel provided the most easterly dry-land connection between the north and south banks of the Thames. It was located close to London's docks on both banks of the river and was not far from existing mainline railways at either end. Converting the tunnel to railway usage thus offered an ideal means of providing a cross-Thames rail link without having to go to the great expense of boring a new tunnel. On 25 September 1865, the East London Railway Company took ownership of the Thames Tunnel at a cost of £800,000.[2] Over the next four years, the company constructed a new railway line running through the tunnel to connect with existing railway lines south of the river.

Map of the East London Railway in 1915
Map of the East London Railway in 1915

The line's development progressed in several stages as money became available:

[edit] Early utilisation

The East London Railway Company only owned the infrastructure and did not work the line itself, instead leasing it to its controlling railways. Steam trains were initially operated along the line by the GER, LB&SCR and the SER. It was worked by both passenger and goods trains; the LB&SCR operated a service between Liverpool Street and Croydon with the SER introducing a service between Addiscombe and Liverpool Street from April 1880. Passenger trains ran without stopping, as there were no intermediate stations along the line. From October 1884, however, this lack was remedied with the opening of several stations (and two more in 1913).

When the Metropolitan and District Railways were electrified in 1905-1906 their passenger services ceased using the ELR; it was not until 31 March 1913 that it was electrified, with the controlling railways funding the upgrade and the Metropolitan Railway providing the rolling stock. After the 1923 Grouping, the goods service was operated by London and North Eastern Railway with the Metropolitan Railway continuing to provide passenger services.

Passenger trains originally ran from the two southern termini to Shoreditch and South Kensington via Edgware Road and High Street Kensington. The Metropolitan Railway also briefly provided a passenger service to Liverpool Street but abandoned this in 1906. In 1914 the service to South Kensington was permanently diverted to Hammersmith.

[edit] The London Underground era

Wapping tube station on the East London Line, built into the original northern entrance shaft of the Thames Tunnel. The current station dates from the early 1980s.
Wapping tube station on the East London Line, built into the original northern entrance shaft of the Thames Tunnel. The current station dates from the early 1980s.

In 1933 the East London Railway came under the control of the London Passenger Transport Board. Although the infrastructure was still privately owned, passenger services along the line were operated under the auspices of the "East London Branch" of the Metropolitan Line. In 1948 it was nationalised and became part of the newly-created British Transport Commission along with the Underground and mainline railways. British Rail goods services continued to use the line until as late as 1962 and occasional BR passenger services from Liverpool Street traversed the line until 1966. The service to Liverpool Street was terminated in 1966 and the short length of track connecting Shoreditch to the mainline station was removed in the same year. The service to Shoreditch itself was also reduced, with Whitechapel acting as the de facto northern terminus for much of the time; by the time Shoreditch station closed in 2006, it was only being served at peak times on weekdays, most of Sunday (for Brick Lane Market) and not at all on Saturdays.

Westbound services were steadily curtailed during the early part of the Underground era. The service to Hammersmith was reduced to peak hours only in 1936 and was withdrawn altogether in 1941, leaving the East London branch as an isolated appendage on the edge of the Underground network. Its only passenger interchange to the Underground was at Whitechapel, with interchanges to British Rail trains at the two New Cross stations. However, in the 1980s and 1990s the line gained two important new connections: Shadwell became an interchange with the Docklands Light Railway in 1987 and a new station was added at Canada Water in 1999 for interchange with the Jubilee Line.

The identity of the East London Line has changed considerably during the London Underground era. On Tube maps between 1933 and 1968 the East London Line was depicted in the same colour as the Metropolitan Line. In 1970 it was renamed the "Metropolitan Line - East London Section" and was depicted on Tube maps in the Metropolitan Line purple but with a white stripe down the middle. In the 1980s it was renamed as a line in its own right (though it was still grouped operationally with the Metropolitan Line) and from 1990 the colour used for the ELL on the Tube map was changed to the present orange.

The maintenance of the line passed to the Metronet consortium in 2003 under a Public-Private Partnership, although the operation of trains continues to be the responsibility of Transport for London.

According to Transport for London statistics, the East London Line carries 10.429 million passengers per year. This is far less than any other Tube line with the exception of the Waterloo and City line; average per-station usage is only 0.862 million passengers per year, the lowest of any Tube line.[3]

[edit] Physical characteristics

A geographically accurate map of zones 1 and 2 of the Underground, showing the location of the East London Line (on the right-hand side of the map).
A geographically accurate map of zones 1 and 2 of the Underground, showing the location of the East London Line (on the right-hand side of the map).

The East London Line is the only line not to enter Travelcard Zone 1. It is the second-shortest line (after the Waterloo and City line), with an end-to-end journey time of only 14 minutes. Its total length is five miles (nine km), with nine stations, eight of which are currently open. The line runs in a contiguous tunnel from Shoreditch to Surrey Quays, with the remainder running on the surface or in cuttings. Much of the line is constructed in the cut-and-cover fashion that is typical of London's sub-surface railways. The deepest point is at Wapping station, constructed in the Thames Tunnel's original entrance shaft 18.29m (60ft) below the surface.[3]

The line connects with Southeastern's mainline services at New Cross and Southern's services from New Cross Gate. Underground connections are provided at Canada Water (Jubilee Line) and Whitechapel (District Line). A non-contiguous connection with the Docklands Light Railway exists at Shadwell, with separate East London Line and DLR stations situated some 50m (150ft) apart. Although the interchange is via the street, through ticketing is permitted.

A link with the Metropolitan and District Lines still exists just south of Whitechapel via the so-called St Mary's Curve. This has been out of passenger use since 1941 but is still regularly used to transfer rolling stock to and from the Metropolitan Line's main depot. The curve can easily be seen on the northbound approach to Whitechapel station.

Most of the line is double track, although Shoreditch station and the last sections into the southern termini are single track due to the lack of space available at those locations. This requires southbound trains to alternate between the two termini.

[edit] Rolling stock

A train of A stock stands at Surrey Quays.
A train of A stock stands at Surrey Quays.

The East London Line uses Metropolitan Line A60 and A62 sub-surface rolling stock manufactured by Cravens of Sheffield in two batches between 1960 and 1962. It was upgraded in 1994 with improved suspension, lighting, heating and ventilation. The rolling stock is regularly interchanged with that used on the main Metropolitan Line and usually carries both East London and Metropolitan Line maps.

Only five trains operate on the line, each one consisting of four cars. This makes them some of the shortest trains on the network, necessitated by the line's short platforms. The small number of trains makes the East London Line particularly sensitive to disruption caused by vandalism or train faults, as the withdrawal of a single train amounts to a 20% cut in capacity. By contrast, the Metropolitan Line would have to lose nine trains to suffer the same capacity cut. Trains on the East London Line used to be operated with guards as well as a driver; the decision to withdraw the guards prompted an unsuccessful strike by the National Union of Railwaymen in May 1985.[4]

Light maintenance and stabling are provided at a small depot near New Cross. For heavier work, trains are sent to the main Metropolitan Line depot at Neasden.

[edit] New rolling stock

Artists' Impression of new rolling stock
Artists' Impression of new rolling stock

As part of the upgrade of the East London Line, new rolling stock will enter service to replace the A Stock (which will be 50 years old by the time Phase 1 is complete in 2010). It was announced on 31 August 2006 that Bombardier has been selected to provide 20 four-car Class 378[5] trains based on the Electrostar design, outwardly similar to the Class 376 stock already in operation in southeast England. [2] The contract will cost £223m, a figure which also includes an order for 24 of the dual-voltage, three-car version to be used on the North London Line. There were also failed bids from Siemens and Hitachi, who were offering new build stock, and Porterbrook, proposing reconditioned and modified stock cascaded from the National Rail network.

[edit] Stations

Geographically accurate map of the East London Line. Note that Whitechapel to Shoreditch has now closed.

In order from north to south

Shoreditch is currently being served at peak times only by a rail-replacement bus from Whitechapel, cascaded from Optare Solo buses from Travel London.

[edit] Extensions

The East London Line is currently being extended in two phases. In Phase 1, due to be completed by 2010, it is being extended northwards from Whitechapel to Highbury & Islington, and south to Crystal Palace and West Croydon. Phase 2 will extend the line west to Clapham Junction but is unlikely to receive approval before 2012 and would probably not be completed much before 2015.

[edit] Proposals and problems

Extensions of the East London Line have been discussed for many years, with the intention of expanding the line from a small stub in the network to a major transport artery. During the 1980s, London Transport considered converting it into a light railway along the lines of the Docklands Light Railway, or restoring the connection to Liverpool Street.[6][7] By 1989 a proposal emerged to extend the line north to Dalston and south to Dulwich and Peckham Rye, sharing track and stations with the mainline network (as already happens on parts of the Bakerloo Line, District Line and Metropolitan Line). The plan was originally costed at £100-£120 million and the extended line was envisaged to open in 1994.[8]

The extension project was proposed several times during the 1990s but repeatedly fell through due to a lack of government support and insufficient financing. In November 1990, the then Transport Secretary Cecil Parkinson rejected a proposed parliamentary Bill that would have authorised the project[9] and two years later the extension plans were postponed indefinitely due to cutbacks in Tube funding.[10] Another proposal was made in 1993[11] and received the support of a public inquiry in 1994. The project was finally approved by the Government in 1996[12] but a lack of financing again forced the project to be put on hold in 1997.[13]

A solution to the funding issue was eventually found in 1999 when London Transport announced that it was seeking private funds to realise the extension plans.[14] Control of the project was given to the Strategic Rail Authority rather than to London Underground, in view of the impact that it would have on mainline services. It was also proposed that the East London Line and other sub-surface Underground lines would be transferred to Railtrack, the private company responsible for maintaining the mainline network. This would have seen the line being integrated with the London suburban commuter network.[15] However, it was soon decided that this was impractical and the Railtrack proposal was abandoned.[16]

[edit] Commencing the project

After the Government finally gave the go-ahead on 9 October 2001 on the basis of the line being funded through the Private Finance Initiative, the construction of the northern extension was due to begin in December 2001. However, it was held up when it came to light that the Grade II listed 19th century Braithwaite arches in the former Bishopsgate Goods Yard were to be demolished as part of the project. Campaigners launched legal action against London Underground in an effort to prevent the demolition, but the project finally received legal clearance in the Court of Appeal on 7 July 2003. It is now anticipated that the northerly extension should open in 2010 (at least to Dalston, although at the latest TfL meeting[17]it was pointed out (at page 74 of 150) that the work is currently due for completion on 19 October 2009, which is ahead of schedule), in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics being held in London, a timescale confirmed by the project team in January 2006. As part of the work for the extension, the line will be closed for 18 months in winter 2007/spring 2008.[18]

This triple extension project is the first London Underground project to be funded through a Private Finance Initiative scheme, though the recent Jubilee Line Extension project was funded through a similar Public-Private Partnership scheme. The project will cost some £600 million and is projected to yield £10 billion in economic regeneration. It is still not entirely certain whether it will be completed, as the Treasury has not yet confirmed the full funding.

Because of an inability to extend the platforms at the existing Wapping and Rotherhithe stations and make them fully compliant with current rail safety regulations, it was thought that they would be closed, but on 18 August 2004 Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, announced that both stations will remain open, at least when Phase 1 of the project opens in 2010.

On 12 October 2004 the Mayor of London formally confirmed that phase one of the East London Line Project would be delivered as part of the Capital Investment programme. A month later, on 16 November, he announced that control of the project had formally passed from the Strategic Rail Authority to Transport for London, so that the project may be initiated and funded from TfL's five-year investment programme. The planned service was initially described as a "metro-style (National Rail) train service".[19] On 5 September 2006, it was announced that the line would form part of the London Overground and will be branded with a version of the familiar Underground roundel that replaces the red roundel with orange (the colour that the East London Line currently appears on tube maps).[20]

It is expected that the extension will greatly increase the usage of the line. The current figure of 10.4m passengers per year is expected to increase to 35.4m when the first phase of the extension project is completed, and 50m when both phases are finished.[21]

On 23 October 2006, it was announced that a consortium comprising Balfour Beatty and Carillion had been selected to carry out the northern and southern extensions between West Croydon, Crystal Palace and Dalston Junction in a contract worth £363 million ($617 million).[22]

Apart from the Braithwaite arches, the route of the northern extension was uncontroversial, as it was essentially confined to reusing the disused viaduct to the former Broad Street station. By contrast, the southerly route across south London's existing network of suburban railways underwent many changes. The initial 1999 proposal listed four options, all starting south of Surrey Quays:


  • through Dulwich and Tooting to Wimbledon;
  • through Dulwich to Croydon, with a spur from Sydenham to Crystal Palace (chosen);
  • through Denmark Hill to Clapham Junction;
  • through Sydenham and Anerley to Croydon.

[edit] Northern extension

East London Line Extension plans. Note the extension to Highbury & Islington will now be delivered before phase 2.
East London Line Extension plans. Note the extension to Highbury & Islington will now be delivered before phase 2.

In phase 1 of the extension project, the line is to be extended northwards from Whitechapel, with new stations created at Shoreditch High Street, Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction. A further extension along the North London Line, going through Canonbury and terminating at Highbury & Islington for interchange with the Victoria Line, North London Line and Northern City Line will open soon afterwards. The northern extension will require only 3.6 km of new trackbed to be constructed, linking Whitechapel to the Broad Street viaduct, as existing but disused trackbeds will be used for most of the distance.

Shoreditch closed permanently in June 2006, and joined the list of closed London Underground stations. The new tracks will diverge before the current Shoreditch station, traverse the former site of the Bishopsgate Goods Yard, before running north along the Broad Street Viaduct. A new Shoreditch station will be located near to Shoreditch High Street. Statutory planning powers for the extension were granted in January 1997.

Early in the project's life mention was made of the possibility of further extending the line from Highbury & Islington, to Finsbury Park to the north, and Willesden Junction to the west, by way of Camden Road, Primrose Hill and Queen's Park, following the above-ground Network Rail North London Line tracks. This was known as the Mayor's Orbirail project. These ideas are not in the present project. The project's web site states that Finsbury Park is omitted because of operational complexity and says that the Willesden Junction branch could be considered as a separate project in the future.

[edit] Southern extension

In phase 1, the line will also be extended with a flyover link north of New Cross Gate to the London Bridge branch of the Brighton Main Line, allowing trains to run through to Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill, Sydenham, Penge West, Crystal Palace (by way of a branch), Anerley, Norwood Junction and terminating at West Croydon. Beyond the construction of a train servicing facility and flyover at New Cross Gate, little work will be needed to achieve this. Both of these plans were approved in October 2001.

There was some campaigning for this extension to go further to Sutton, but estimates indicated that passenger usage would be so great that the line would be unable to take much traffic north of West Croydon and this option was not adopted.

The stations from New Cross Gate south are currently under the control of National Rail, however they are expected to be transferred to Transport for London control as part of the extension project.[citation needed]

[edit] Western extension

In phase 2 of the extension project, a 2.5 km link is planned to connect the line south of Surrey Quays to the overground Network Rail South London Line to Clapham Junction, by way of Queens Road Peckham, Peckham Rye, Denmark Hill, Clapham High Street and Wandsworth Road. This would be constructed on a disused alignment which, until 1911, was used to run services from Rotherhithe to Peckham via the now-defunct Old Kent Road station. A new station at Surrey Canal Road would also be built.

Initially, it was planned to run this line via East Dulwich to Wimbledon, but this part of the plan has been shelved, probably permanently. In July 2006, the Government warned that this £250m phase was unlikely to be approved before 2012; it is currently unfunded.[23]

[edit] Controversy

However, not everyone agrees with the plans to change this over to London Overground. In September 2006, union activists protested against the Mayor of London. They said that this was a renewal of plans of effectively privatising the London Underground although the Mayor dismissed these claims.[24]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ East London Line alternative transport strategy update (pdf). London Underground (2006-11-27). Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  2. ^ "Railway And Other Companies. East London", The Times, Thursday, Sep 02, 1869; p. 5
  3. ^ a b "East London Line facts", Transport for London
  4. ^ "Illegal subway strike called off in London", Globe and Mail, 21 May 1985
  5. ^ TfL Board Meeting 25/10/06 Agenda Item 4, Page 5
  6. ^ "A working party set up by London Regional Transport and British Rail to examine potential sites for light railway networks in London has revealed its findings." Financial Times, 5 February 1987
  7. ^ "Booming Tube lines may be extended", The Times, 10 April 1987
  8. ^ "Dalston-Dulwich Tube likely to go ahead", Financial Times, 22 December 1989
  9. ^ "Way open for private rail link to City of London." The Guardian, 21 November 1990
  10. ^ "The cuts run deep for London Underground." Financial Times, 14 November 1992
  11. ^ "East London Line - London Underground to seek consent." Estates Gazette, 4 December 1993
  12. ^ "Final approval given for powers to construct East London Line northern extension." Department of Transport, 16 January 1997
  13. ^ "Where Tube axe falls." The Times, 21 February 1997
  14. ^ "Underground to be extended with private funds - London Transport." The Times, 8 February 1999
  15. ^ "Railtrack lines up the prospect of non-stop travel across London." Financial Times, 16 June 1999
  16. ^ "1999 Railtrack and the Underground." UK Government press release, 1 December 1999
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ East London line (pdf). 5 Year Investment Programme. Transport for London. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  19. ^ East London Railway. Transport for London. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  20. ^ Transport for London - Introducing 'London Overground'
  21. ^ "London takes over responsibility for building East London Line extension", Mayor of London, 16 November 2004
  22. ^ "Transport for London awards £363m contract to build new East London Railway", Transport for London, 23 October 2006
  23. ^ "No early start for 2nd phase in east London." Construction News, 27 July 2006
  24. ^ BBC News (2006) Livistone shrugs of scab jibe, 11 September 2006. Retrieved 23 November 2006

Various sources have been used in the creation of this article, including the external links above, email conversations with the ELL Project Team and emails from the ELL Project Team update newsletter.

West: Crossings of the River Thames East:
Tower Bridge East London Line Rotherhithe Tunnel
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