Rayners Lane - Uxbridge step free access

[Sprigibax]

At the moment it is difficult to make the section from Rayners Lane to Uxbridge step free to train due to the difference in sizes between the deep level and sub surface trains. Here are two solutions I’ve come up:
1 - The Piccadilly line is removed from Uxbridge. A new sub surface line is created, running from Edgware Road to Wimbledon and Kensington Olympia (taking over the current District line service) and also taking over the Uxbridge service from Earl’s Court. This would make the whole section sub surface, and allow the Piccadilly line to run more Heathrow trains. If the Piccadilly line took over the Ealing Broadway branch, as planned, the new line could also serve Chiswick Park.
2 - The Metropolitan line is removed from Uxbridge. The Jubilee line is extended from Wembley Park to Harrow and then takes over the branch. The whole Rayners Lane to Uxbridge section would then become deep level. In this instance, the Central line could then also have a branch to Uxbridge from Ruislip Gardens, either in addition to or in place of West Ruislip.
Will either of these plans be possible, and if so, which is the better solution?

 

[SynthD]

1 doesn’t require much building work (one low bridge in east Ealing?), but a lot of resignalling. Why would the district stop serving Ealing Broadway but then go near it and far beyond? I don’t think the Edgware line could take that many trains from the west, and only from a limited number of directions according to the setup of junctions.

2 needs a lot of work. It’s over two and a half miles of widened viaduct.

 

[stuu]

2 needs a lot of work. It’s over two and a half miles of widened viaduct.

Not if you converted the Met slows to be the Jubilee line, it wouldn't need much (any?) engineering at all, apart from platform heights, and resignalling. I have definitely seen that proposed somewhere, but it might just have been on a forum rather than anything official

 

[SynthD]

Not if you converted the Met slows to be the Jubilee line, it wouldn't need much (any?) engineering at all, apart from platform heights, and resignalling. I have definitely seen that proposed somewhere, but it might just have been on a forum rather than anything official

That looks plausible on a map. It would downgrade the service at ten stations (plus Harrow) from sub surface to deep level sized trains.

 

[stuu]

That looks plausible on a map. It would downgrade the service at ten stations (plus Harrow) from sub surface to deep level sized trains.

Yes, I didn't say it was a good idea!

 

[Sprigibax]

It would downgrade the service at ten stations (plus Harrow) from sub surface to deep level sized trains.

Currently, there are 12tph on the Jubilee line that terminate before reaching Stanmore. Surely some, if not all, of these services could be extended up to Wembley and then on to Uxbridge?

 

[ThameslinkUser]

And obliterate the service in the extremely busy core? There is a reason (capacity) that they terminate well short of Stanmore.

 

[Basil Jet]

And obliterate the service in the extremely busy core? There is a reason (capacity) that they terminate well short of Stanmore.

Surely anyone commuting from Eastcote to Bond Street is already using Met - Finchley Road - Jubilee. Under this plan they would either use Jubilee - Harrow - Met - Finchley Road - Jubilee, or just stay on the Jubilee. Either way I don't see how Central London Jubilee service would be affected.

 

[ThameslinkUser]

A train reversing at West Hampstead or Willesden Green can get back to Central London quicker than if it went to Uxbridge to reverse. This allows a more frequent service in the busiest part of the line. You either double the fleet size (expensive) to allow for the extended destination at the current frequency, or allow an 8 min service in the busiest part for no benefit which would ultimately lead to most stations closing owing to overcrowding.

 

[Sprigibax]

New solution - Uxbridge becomes District line and Ealing Broadway becomes Piccadilly.

 

[ThameslinkUser]

New solution

Don't think this solution could be any older.

 

[MarkyT]

A train reversing at West Hampstead or Willesden Green can get back to Central London quicker than if it went to Uxbridge to reverse. This allows a more frequent service in the busiest part of the line. You either double the fleet size (expensive) to allow for the extended destination at the current frequency, or allow an 8 min service in the busiest part for no benefit which would ultimately lead to most stations closing owing to overcrowding.

Fleet would be an issue undoubtedly. Also, where would displaced S stock go? Assuming the rolling stock was solvable, Uxbridge Jubilees might switch to the fast lines at West Hampstead. That might be achieved by slewing the southbound Met fast to the east, creating space for an additional Jubilee island. The new island would be southbound on both faces, while the original island would become wholly northbound. The outer faces of each island would become a transfer track/platform specifically for the new Uxbridge Jubilee expresses crossing to and from the fasts, with the inner tracks reserved for the normal all-stations Jubilee locals, wherever they turn back.

The recent housing blocks in the 'V' between the Metropolitan corridor and the N London Line have constrained the site, but no more really than the older buildings along Blackburn Rd. The new southbound fast Met alignment would need to be excavated under Blackburn Rd. in a cut-and-cover operation, and possibly under part of the access road alongside the new blocks. It's tight but I don't think you'd need to undermine the buildings. The B510 West End Lane overbridge would need at least partial reconstruction to get the extra tracks through. As part of that, new exits from the Jubilee islands could be created under the bridge, arising on the same side of the road as the North London line station entrance to improve interchange. Uxbridge passengers would be experiencing this possible transfer opportunity anew of course, along with the Thameslink connections available a further short walk away.

A mirror image of this arrangement would be created at Wembley Park for the Jubilee Expresses to switch to the centre pair to Harrow-on-the-Hill. No new platforms would be required for this at Wembley or Harrow; some re-levelling to match tube floor height and possibly some minor track alterations, but the basic arrangement has everything in the right place to achieve the result without additional grade separations. The centre pair platforms between Wembley and Harrow would be lowered as would the compromise height ones going west from Rayners Lane.

The 96 stock should be able to keep up with S stock on the fasts. They both have similar-sized wheels and a top speed of 100 km/h. Signalling is a challenge. Both use Seltrac (a Hitachi product since they purchased Thales Ground Transportation Systems division in 2021), but the Jubilee is on the earlier wiggly wire version while the Met is getting the latest beacon and radio-based system. That means the Jubilee trains would need a signalling refit to run on the fasts. LU might want to do that work anyway, so they can upgrade and standardise the infrastructure on the whole corridor, and avoid the complex dual fitting around Neasden. Such a refit would need to support the legacy Seltrac as well as the latest version for a staged changeover. Compatibility with future Piccadilly Line signalling should be assured as that line also shares the District Line corridor with S stock, so it is highly likely to also be a Seltrac installation.

Uxbridge passengers would be getting three extra stops on a Baker St. journey, losing direct connections to the northern main line termini and City, but gaining more West End stops, southern termini connections and direct services into Docklands. Bond St. in particular, provides an excellent Elizabeth Line connection, something the north side of the circle can't do until Farringdon. Cross-platform connections would continue to be available to remaining Met trains on the main line at Finchley Park. Next week's new MP for Uxbridge would be able to take a single-seat ride from their constituency directly to parliament.

 

[Sprigibax]

View attachment 160939

Off topic perhaps but how did you make this?

Don't think this solution could be any older.

I am aware it has been suggested before, but would it work?

 

[MarkyT]

Off topic perhaps but how did you make this?

I used the vector drawing editor in LibreOffice. The background image was from Google Earth.