https://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2022/11/crossrail-gets-cross.html [jd] jack of diamonds Life viewed from London E3 diamond geezer >> email me Monday, November 07, 2022 >> follow me on twitter >> follow the blog on Yesterday, after decades of planning Twitter and 13 years of construction, >> follow the blog on RSS Crossrail got properly cross. New tunnels at Paddington and Stratford >> my flickr photostream opened to passenger service after months of additional testing, and twenty blogs what had been three railways finally 853 became one. About time too. our bow arseblog I caught the first train through the ian visits Pudding Mill tunnel and the second londonist train through the Royal Oak tunnel, blue witch but only because it wasn't possible on london to catch the first through both. the great wen Crossrail's Sunday morning timetable edith's streets is highly irregular, and being the spitalfields life morning after a cancelled rail linkmachinego strike didn't help either... but round the island wahey, actual through running! wanstead meteo christopher fowler The first Shenfield - Paddington bus and train user train (7.11am - 8.05am) ruth's coastal walk the ladies who bus [mland] round the rails we go london reconnections I boarded before the train reached from the murky depths Stratford and already there were no free seats. That's partly because it quick reference features was the first post-strike train, so Things to do in Outer carrying everyone from outer London London who'd been trying to get into town, Things to do outside London but also because People Who Like Inner London toilet map Trains were very much in evidence. 20 years of blog series Some had been responsible for The DG Tour of Britain building the railway and were beaming in suits, purple ties and read the archive little roundel pin badges where a Nov22 Oct22 Sep22 poppy might have been. Others had Aug22 Jul22 Jun22 May22 got up very early to be able to say Apr22 Mar22 Feb22 Jan22 they were here, and in some cases so Dec21 Nov21 Oct21 Sep21 they could share footage of the Aug21 Jul21 Jun21 May21 journey with an audience elsewhere. Apr21 Mar21 Feb21 Jan21 Dec20 Nov20 Oct20 Sep20 n.b. Trains from Shenfield don't yet Aug20 Jul20 Jun20 May20 go any further than Paddington, Apr20 Mar20 Feb20 Jan20 that's scheduled for next May. But Dec19 Nov19 Oct19 Sep19 all the other connections have now Aug19 Jul19 Jun19 May19 been made so technically the line's Apr19 Mar19 Feb19 Jan19 complete. Dec18 Nov18 Oct18 Sep18 Aug18 Jul18 Jun18 May18 At Stratford half the passengers Apr18 Mar18 Feb18 Jan18 piled off. The regular crew are used Dec17 Nov17 Oct17 Sep17 to alighting at Stratford to make Aug17 Jul17 Jun17 May17 their way into town faster via the Apr17 Mar17 Feb17 Jan17 Central or Jubilee lines, so they Dec16 Nov16 Oct16 Sep16 carried on doing that. It's hard to Aug16 Jul16 Jun16 May16 say how many were ignorant of this Apr16 Mar16 Feb16 Jan16 morning's change, but judging by the Dec15 Nov15 Oct15 Sep15 number of headphoned ears and Aug15 Jul15 Jun15 May15 screenfixed eyes I'd say quite a Apr15 Mar15 Feb15 Jan15 few. A member of staff on the Dec14 Nov14 Oct14 Sep14 platform announced "This is the Aug14 Jul14 Jun14 May14 first Elizabeth line train to Apr14 Mar14 Feb14 Jan14 Paddington" and then the doors Dec13 Nov13 Oct13 Sep13 closed with a beep. Class 345 trains Aug13 Jul13 Jun13 May13 have been running on this line for Apr13 Mar13 Feb13 Jan13 the last five years, but we were Dec12 Nov12 Oct12 Sep12 about to become the first passenger Aug12 Jul12 Jun12 May12 service to go to Liverpool Street Apr12 Mar12 Feb12 Jan12 the long way round. Dec11 Nov11 Oct11 Sep11 Aug11 Jul11 Jun11 May11 n.b. Even though the new route to Apr11 Mar11 Feb11 Jan11 Liverpool Street is one station Dec10 Nov10 Oct10 Sep10 longer, it's still timetabled as an Aug10 Jul10 Jun10 May10 eight minute journey. Apr10 Mar10 Feb10 Jan10 Dec09 Nov09 Oct09 Sep09 They knocked down Pudding Mill Lane Aug09 Jul09 Jun09 May09 DLR station in 2014 so that the Apr09 Mar09 Feb09 Jan09 mouth of a purple portal could be Dec08 Nov08 Oct08 Sep08 built in its place. I've watched its Aug08 Jul08 Jun08 May08 construction over the years, a Apr08 Mar08 Feb08 Jan08 concrete slot emerging from the Dec07 Nov07 Oct07 Sep07 earth at a jaunty angle, and now it Aug07 Jul07 Jun07 May07 was finally time to plunge inside. Apr07 Mar07 Feb07 Jan07 We descended first beneath the Dec06 Nov06 Oct06 Sep06 ground, then beneath the river Lea Aug06 Jul06 Jun06 May06 and then beneath the A12 dual Apr06 Mar06 Feb06 Jan06 carriageway. Suddenly we were in my Dec05 Nov05 Oct05 Sep05 manor, indeed ridiculously close to Aug05 Jul05 Jun05 May05 where I live, but with no nearby Apr05 Mar05 Feb05 Jan05 station all this investment has Dec04 Nov04 Oct04 Sep04 passed me by. A couple of gentlemen Aug04 Jul04 Jun04 May04 in Greater Anglia jackets pointed Apr04 Mar04 Feb04 Jan04 their cameras across the carriage to Dec03 Nov03 Oct03 Sep03 film the tunnel wall as it sped Aug03 Jul03 Jun03 May03 past, although this is not a video Apr03 Mar03 Feb03 Jan03 you'd ever want to watch. Dec02 Nov02 Oct02 Sep02 back to main page n.b. Stratford to Whitechapel is an extremely useful new connection. the diamond geezer index It's five minutes platform to 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 platform if you're counting, which 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 obviously I was. 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 [wchap] my special London features Whitechapel has been set up by TfL a-z of london museums as The Interchange Station. E3 - local history month Passengers could change anywhere greenwich meridian (N) between here and Paddington, but greenwich meridian (S) best alight here where the platforms the real eastenders are less busy, especially down the london's lost rivers end where the escalators aren't. olympic park 2007 Expect an announcement from the great british roads driver to that effect and also a oranges & lemons separate nudge on the display random boroughs screens... anything to stop people bow road station clogging up the platforms at high street 2012 Paddington and causing a river westbourne mission-critical seizure. Excitable trafalgar square folk continued to walk up and down capital numbers the train, including one in full east london line purple fleece and joggers with an lea valley walk Elizabeth line bag round his neck. I olympics 2005 can't see his look catching on. regent's canal square routes n.b. Even though you now arrive at silver jubilee Liverpool Street after a similar unlost rivers time, you also arrive underground at cube routes least four minutes from the surface, Herbert Dip so for some the new path will metro-land actually be slower. capital ring river fleet I alighted at one of the piccadilly intermediate stations to await my bakerloo next train west. Checking the electronic screens above the doors ten of my favourite posts it was exciting to see destinations the seven ages of blog and scrolling stations that had my new Z470xi mobile never been on the display before. five equations of blog Eastbound destinations now the dome of doom alternated between Abbey Wood and chemical attraction Shenfield, and westbound quality & risk destinations would alternate between london 2102 Heathrow and Reading/Maidenhead single life later in the morning once the boredom timetable settled down. And oh how april fool quiet the platforms were, even on a portentous launch morning, because ten sets of lovely photos the West End is mostly tumbleweed my "most interesting" first thing on a Sunday. photos london 2012 olympic zone n.b. Bond Street is being set up as harris and the hebrides the Change Here If You Have betjeman's metro-land Accessibility Needs But Haven't Yet marking the meridian Booked Ahead For Ramped Assistance tracing the river fleet station. london's lost rivers inside the gherkin [bstreet] seven sisters iceland The first Abbey Wood - Heathrow T4 train (7.44am - 8.52am) just surfed in? here's where to find... This train had a broader mix of diamond geezers passengers including several with flash mob #1 #2 #3 #4 suitcases. As I noticed later in the ben schott's miscellany day, the newly-connected Elizabeth london underground line has become a conduit for the watch with mother dispersal of heavy luggage across cigarette warnings the capital, speeding up homecomings digital time delay as travellers dispense with all that wheelie suitcases tedious interchangy stuff. That said war of the worlds I still watched a member of BA cabin transit of venus crew stand up at Paddington, pat top of the pops down his hair and exit the train in old buckenham search of a connecting service that ladybird books no longer runs from upstairs. He'll acorn antiques learn, indeed I suspect he learned digital watches very fast. outer hebrides olympics 2012 n.b. This wasn't the first Heathrow school dinners train, only the first to Terminal 4. pet shop boys The first through service to west wycombe Terminal 5 had passed through bletchley park towards quarter of an hour earlier. george orwell big breakfast It was time for my first trip clapton pond through the other tunnel. But first san francisco a wait, or as the driver announced thunderbirds it "a short dwell time on this routemaster platform". It turned out to be a children's tv five minute wait because stitching east enders together the underground and trunk roads overground timetables isn't simple. amsterdam This won't normally be the case - little britain most of the time the gap between credit cards services is only four minutes so jury service staff will be focused on shifting big brother trains as swiftly as possible. But jubilee line Crossrail trains do generally spend number 1s a lot of their time sitting in titan arum platforms, indeed crossing London typewriters would be noticeably zippier if only doctor who they'd squeeze out the slack. coronation comments n.b. Trains entering Paddington from blue peter outside are sometimes scheduled to matchgirls wait up to seven minutes in the new hurricanes timetable, and that's really going buzzwords to annoy the unlucky passengers. But brookside I didn't experience this on Sunday. monopoly peter pan It only takes a minute to emerge starbucks from the tunnel at Paddington. It's feng shui not as exciting a view as at leap year Stratford where you get to see an manbags Olympic Stadium and some allotments, bbc three here it's a line of townhouses and vision on the Westway's concrete viaduct. piccadilly Through the rainy murk I also meridian spotted an empty Shenfield train concorde lined up to enter the portal, and wembley further on at Old Oak Common at islington least 20 empty purple trains that ID cards aren't required on Sunday mornings. bedtime And when I finally alighted onto the freeview rain-lashed platform at my chosen beckton station, not a single other blogads passenger followed, because even a eclipses PS19bn railway sometimes has no letraset takers. arsenal sitcoms n.b. You may still have been in bed gherkin at this point, and it's perfectly calories possible you were having the better everest time. muffins sudoku [wealing] camilla london And then I rode the line back again, ceefax and indeed again to properly try out robbie the new service. Along the way I becks unexpectedly spotted several people dome making videos, an official with a BBC2 purple 'Value Creation' lanyard, paris that journalist who doesn't write lotto his own headlines, the mastermind 118 who keeps this blog's comments up itv and running, several lovely people I haven't seen for ages and an awful lot of small children dragging their parents out for an explore. It proved a memorable trip. Opening tunnels isn't as visually exciting as opening stations, but arguably it's even more important. What happened yesterday was a seismic shift in how London fits together, at least for those who live or work along the capital's east/west axis. The joined-up benefits of Crossrail are now fully upon us, near enough, after a day some thought might never come. posted 07:00 : comments << click for Newer posts click for Older Posts >> click to return to the main page ...or read more in my monthly archives Jan22 Feb22 Mar22 Apr22 May22 Jun22 Jul22 Aug22 Sep22 Oct22 Nov22 Jan21 Feb21 Mar21 Apr21 May21 Jun21 Jul21 Aug21 Sep21 Oct21 Nov21 Dec21 Jan20 Feb20 Mar20 Apr20 May20 Jun20 Jul20 Aug20 Sep20 Oct20 Nov20 Dec20 Jan19 Feb19 Mar19 Apr19 May19 Jun19 Jul19 Aug19 Sep19 Oct19 Nov19 Dec19 Jan18 Feb18 Mar18 Apr18 May18 Jun18 Jul18 Aug18 Sep18 Oct18 Nov18 Dec18 Jan17 Feb17 Mar17 Apr17 May17 Jun17 Jul17 Aug17 Sep17 Oct17 Nov17 Dec17 Jan16 Feb16 Mar16 Apr16 May16 Jun16 Jul16 Aug16 Sep16 Oct16 Nov16 Dec16 Jan15 Feb15 Mar15 Apr15 May15 Jun15 Jul15 Aug15 Sep15 Oct15 Nov15 Dec15 Jan14 Feb14 Mar14 Apr14 May14 Jun14 Jul14 Aug14 Sep14 Oct14 Nov14 Dec14 Jan13 Feb13 Mar13 Apr13 May13 Jun13 Jul13 Aug13 Sep13 Oct13 Nov13 Dec13 Jan12 Feb12 Mar12 Apr12 May12 Jun12 Jul12 Aug12 Sep12 Oct12 Nov12 Dec12 Jan11 Feb11 Mar11 Apr11 May11 Jun11 Jul11 Aug11 Sep11 Oct11 Nov11 Dec11 Jan10 Feb10 Mar10 Apr10 May10 Jun10 Jul10 Aug10 Sep10 Oct10 Nov10 Dec10 Jan09 Feb09 Mar09 Apr09 May09 Jun09 Jul09 Aug09 Sep09 Oct09 Nov09 Dec09 Jan08 Feb08 Mar08 Apr08 May08 Jun08 Jul08 Aug08 Sep08 Oct08 Nov08 Dec08 Jan07 Feb07 Mar07 Apr07 May07 Jun07 Jul07 Aug07 Sep07 Oct07 Nov07 Dec07 Jan06 Feb06 Mar06 Apr06 May06 Jun06 Jul06 Aug06 Sep06 Oct06 Nov06 Dec06 Jan05 Feb05 Mar05 Apr05 May05 Jun05 Jul05 Aug05 Sep05 Oct05 Nov05 Dec05 Jan04 Feb04 Mar04 Apr04 May04 Jun04 Jul04 Aug04 Sep04 Oct04 Nov04 Dec04 Jan03 Feb03 Mar03 Apr03 May03 Jun03 Jul03 Aug03 Sep03 Oct03 Nov03 Dec03 Jan02 Feb02 Mar02 Apr02 May02 Jun02 Jul02 Aug02 Sep02 Oct02 Nov02 Dec02 eXTReMe Tracker * Web Analytics