New Brent Cross West (Thameslink) station

[ATrainSpotter]

Yesterday, I finally took some pictures at street level, in this case the western entrance, which is directly opposite the retail park off the A5. Bit of a trek to get here, got the 32 bus from round the corner from Hendon, then another 32 towards Cricklewood.

The entrance looks very out of scale in my opinion. Otherwise nice.

 

[Mikey C]

The entrance looks very out of scale in my opinion. Otherwise nice.

A bit OTT I agree, though not so out of scale when compared to the other buildings around it. The west side is full of retail sheds, while the east side will be surrounded by blocks of flats.

 

[Bald Rick]

The entrance looks very out of scale in my opinion. Otherwise nice.

The scale with the surroundings will change as the surroundings change over the next decade or so.

 

[ATrainSpotter]

A bit OTT I agree, though not so out of scale when compared to the other buildings around it. The west side is full of retail sheds, while the east side will be surrounded by blocks of flats.

Oh no I'm not talking about the actual building itself, as I understand there will be housing built, rather the height of the canopy where the name of the station is to human scale, it seems extremely high.

 

[Edvid]

Barnet Council have released a promo clip:

BRENT CROSS WEST ‘FIRST LOOK’ VIDEO​

September 25, 2023
Barnet Council has today released a ‘first look’ video of the new 7,000 square metre, four platform station, Brent Cross West, which is expected to open later this year.
The impressive 16-metre-high building includes a public overbridge that will connect the areas of Barnet and Brent via the Midland Main Line for the first time in 150 years.
The new video gives an aerial view of the huge new Brent Cross West station which, when it opens, will be the first major new mainline station in London in over a decade.

Brent Cross West Opening Soon

Barnet Council has today released a ‘first look’ video of the new 7,000 square metre, four platform station, Brent Cross West, which is expected to open later this year.

transformingbx.co.uk

 

[class717]

I see the mentions of information on an opening date in Summer are all gone

 

[baz962]

Working through the night last night.

 

[Edvid]

December 10th ( timetable change day) has been advised as entry into service day for the new station , the previously advised date in October will not be met.

That date is now official.

Barnet Council has today (Friday 10 November) announced that London’s newest main line station, Brent Cross West, will be open from Sunday 10 December 2023.

The huge 7,000 square metre, four platform Brent Cross West station in North London will sit between Cricklewood and Hendon stations on the Midland Main Line.

Thameslink trains will connect central London to Brent Cross in as little as 12 minutes, with up to eight trains an hour at peak times. There will be direct connections to Luton Airport as well connecting to Elizabeth Line services via Farringdon station.

The station will also connect the areas of Brent and Barnet via a new overbridge, which will be free to access 24/7. A150-year landmark, the overbridge will provide the first pedestrian access across this stretch of the Midland Main Line since it was first built in the 19th century.

Brent Cross West opening date announced

Barnet Council has today (Friday 10 November) announced that London’s newest main line station, Brent Cross West, will be operational from Sunday 10 December 2023.

transformingbx.co.uk

 

[Sunil_P]

Great News!

I'm trying to think when and where was the last four-platform (ie. parallel to each other) station to open in GB?

 

[Dr Hoo]

Bromsgrove? 12 July 2016, I believe.

 

[Sunil_P]

The new Bromsgrove was open in 2016. Any other offers?

I was going to suggest Cambridge North, then I remembered it's only got 3 platforms

 

[Zeremony]

Anyone know for certain what time the first train will be. RTT suggests it will be the 00:07 service from Bedford.
Hoping the first train will be at 7am as it will be a lot easier to catch.

 

[Supercoss]

Will be from start of service Sunday Dec 10th so about 06:45 into town and 07:00 out of town official opening being published operationally from 06:30 rather than Saturday night into Sunday last trains before maintenance gap

 

[Trainben]

Does anyone know how many parking spaces the station will have? I can't locate this information on the web. Thanks.

 

[absolutelymilk]

Does anyone know how many parking spaces the station will have? I can't locate this information on the web. Thanks.

I'm not sure if there will be any spaces specifically for the station, but there are plenty of spaces for the shops on the west side of it. Presumably they'll have to introduce strict restrictions to avoid use by commuters!

 

[miklcct]

Presumably they'll have to introduce strict restrictions to avoid use by commuters!

Why do they have to introduce restrictions?

Having these parking space as park and ride off the M1 for Central London will likely get them more money because we can expect people will come shopping by train instead, once the train station opens! It will attract people living between Hendon and Luton to shop there.

 

[Edvid]

Just had a look through the updated Travel Plan (search for 23/4794/CON on the LB Barnet planning portal - document is labelled Other Relevant Information) and there is definitely no car parking provision.

From page 43:

Car Travel
The Station does not provide any car parking provisions in the design proposals. Furthermore, the surrounding area will either have Controlled Parking Zones or Experimental CPZs which grant permits to qualified residents only. As such, no car travel options are considered in this travel plan.

Incidentally, Staples Corner Retail Park is already subject to a 3-hour time limit so that'll put paid to any thoughts of commuters parking there. And I doubt getting the bus from Brent Cross Shopping Centre (despite its plentiful free parking provision) to the station for onward travel to Zone 1 etc is an attractive proposition for those living on the M1 corridor!

 

[Trainben]

Thanks both for helping answer my question, really insightful.

 

[TheHSRailFan]

Will be from start of service Sunday Dec 10th so about 06:45 into town and 07:00 out of town official opening being published operationally from 06:30 rather than Saturday night into Sunday last trains before maintenance gap

Decided to check on this and unless you want to sell a limb staying the night around the KXSP and Euston area... Good luck if you want to get 9M02, There's a few engineering works going on.
- the section between Luton and Bedford will be closed to both EMR and Thameslink
- The Core will be shut, so Thameslink trains will be directed to the EMR platforms at St Pancras.
- The ECML is closed from Finsbury Park to Stevenage on both the Mainline and Hertford Loop.
If you're anywhere else in London or coming in you are fine, but it's a bit difficult if you're like me(living on one of those lines) and going to either take the bus to St Albans and get the first train southbound or stay the night in London. Thought I might just say in case people don't know.

 

[AlbertBeale]

That date is now official.

Re the quote, The overbridge will provide the first pedestrian access across this stretch of the Midland Main Line.

So if this is outside the gateline, will it also provide the passenger link between platforms? Or is there a separate "inside the gateline" link between the station entrance and all the platforms?

 

[Recessio]

Re the quote, The overbridge will provide the first pedestrian access across this stretch of the Midland Main Line.

So if this is outside the gateline, will it also provide the passenger link between platforms? Or is there a separate "inside the gateline" link between the station entrance and all the platforms?

Hopefully it's not a Guildford-style arrangement where the bridge is inside the gate line but with bridge pass tickets, which is absolutely ripe for ticket fraud given the amount of non-barriered stations on TL.

 

[Edvid]

So if this is outside the gateline, will it also provide the passenger link between platforms? Or is there a separate "inside the gateline" link between the station entrance and all the platforms?

Both platforms are linked inside the gateline; the overbridge will be a public right of way (it is outside the gateline) and remain open whether or not the station is.

 

[swt_passenger]

Both platforms are linked inside the gateline; the overbridge will be a public right of way (it is outside the gateline) and remain open whether or not the station is.

I think the gateline orientation can be seen clearly in your second image in post #159?

 

[Edvid]

Correct. That picture shows the paid-side concourse and was taken within the public concourse that connects it to the overbridge behind.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Both platforms are linked inside the gateline; the overbridge will be a public right of way (it is outside the gateline) and remain open whether or not the station is.

Thanks. Excellent.

 

[Edvid]

Why do they have to introduce restrictions?

Having these parking space as park and ride off the M1 for Central London will likely get them more money because we can expect people will come shopping by train instead, once the train station opens! It will attract people living between Hendon and Luton to shop there.

For Central London, residents within the zones will simply use the tube or Thameslink from their nearest station. From outside the zones you'll either get Thameslink or drive down the M1 to Stanmore (already a de facto P&R location) for the tube.

The car park @absolutelymilk refers to is for Staples Corner Retail Park, where a 3-hour restriction already applies. CPZ or otherwise, there's no chance the owners of SCRP will lift it to enable shoppers to take their custom elsewhere.

 

[class717]

Noticed today that some drivers are now taking up the opportunity that has been available for a while now to practice stopping at the new station

 

[12LDA28C]

Why do they have to introduce restrictions?

Having these parking space as park and ride off the M1 for Central London will likely get them more money because we can expect people will come shopping by train instead, once the train station opens! It will attract people living between Hendon and Luton to shop there.

And those people will be rather disappointed. Brent Cross is pretty rubbish for shopping these days and much less of a retail destination than it was even when it first opened.

 

[43066]

Noticed today that some drivers are now taking up the opportunity that has been available for a while now to practice stopping at the new station

They will be stopping for signals (and more likely creeping slowly towards hoping it comes off). The last thing you want to do is stop at a platform that’s not in use, have someone pull an egress and disappear into a building site.

 

[12LDA28C]

They will be stopping for signals (and more likely creeping slowly towards hoping it comes off). The last thing you want to do is stop at a platform that’s not in use, have someone pull an egress and disappear into a building site.

Or drivers on ECS trains getting a braking point in place for when they actually have to start stopping there in service...