Croxley Rail Link

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This article or section contains information about planned or expected public transportation in the United Kingdom. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change significantly as more information becomes available.

The Croxley Rail Link is a proposal to divert Metropolitan Line Watford branch services east of Croxley station away from Watford station to Watford Junction via intermediate stations. The driving force behind the scheme is Hertfordshire County Council,^[1][2] although it has the active support of Transport for London (TfL),^[3] the public body which owns the current Watford branch.

Despite its name Watford station is in a somewhat peripheral location within the town of Watford, close to Cassiobury Park. Historically it was the Metropolitan Railway's intention to extend its Watford branch onwards into central Watford, but these plans came to nothing. The Croxley area was served by a single-track branch line from Watford Junction until 1996, but this closed owing to low usage. The two lines, though at their closest only about 200 metres apart, were never linked.

[edit] Route, stations and services

The Croxley Rail Link would provide the "missing link" between the two branches, double the track on the existing single trackbed to the double track through Watford High Street station, and involve new or refurbished intermediate stations. This would provide an alternative fast or semi-fast service into Central London from Watford Junction and Watford High Street and direct services from other stations in southern Watford. Among other benefits interchange at Watford Junction with national rail services to the Midlands and North West would be facilitated. Additionally it would allow direct services from central Watford over an existing but seldom-used chord towards Aylesbury via Amersham and Rickmansworth, which would improve local public transport in Herts and Bucks.

The new line would form a junction near Baldwins Lane about a kilometre north-east of Croxley station, and be carried via a new viaduct and bridge over the Watford Road dual carriageway and the Grand Union Canal to a junction with a slightly realigned line towards Watford High Street station. That line would be doubled. The existing but closed Croxley Green station would be replaced by a new Ascot Road station close by. Watford West station would be rebuilt and refurbished as a London Underground station and reopened. Watford Stadium Halt station would remain closed, and presumably partly demolished to facilitate the track doubling.

[edit] Prospects for implementation

Though widely supported, the scheme remains not fully funded. In 2005 TfL committed to providing up to £18 million of the total estimated costs of £65 million. Despite earlier application to the Department for Transport (DfT), the balance of the project remains unfunded. A revised project submission, under new guidelines, was prepared, with a view to obtaining Programme Entry status.

A business case was submitted in February 2008, with revised costs of £95m.^[4] This was, however, rejected by the DfT in March on the basis that it had still not received financial backing from TfL; without a guarantee from TfL as to how much funding it will provide, the Government is unwilling to commit funds to the scheme. The DfT will liaise with Hertfordshire County Council as to the future of the project.^[5]

[edit] References

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[edit] External links

• An unofficial alternative view of the project