12 June (Part 2) - While Crossrail battles the rain, Bexley takes a long break
It’s
a dismal wet day again and with the North Kent railway line closed the men in orange suits are wisely mostly working under
the flyover to escape the constant storm clouds. My solar panels have reported only four June days so far
when electricity generation exceeded November levels. Flaming June!
Over the past two weeks more Crossrail concrete has been poured into the ground (and above
it) on the northern side of the station as if to raise two fingers at Bexley
Council Leader Teresa O’Neill’s vacuous pipedream of running the Crossrail
tracks down to Dartford and beyond before very long. It would need a totally different station design.
On Abbey Wood station’s southern perimeter the first sign of the featureless concrete wall
being softened with the planned curves may be seen.
Inside the existing station the new Dartford bound platform is making good progress, but
not much today, the rain appears to have put a real dampener on concrete pumping activities. From 15th to
22nd June inclusive that progress will see the London bound lift taken out of service.
It’s all in marked contrast to the Bexley Council managed project in Lesnes
Abbey Park. There is a reason for there being for a month, it’s because there isn’t anything new to be seen.
The Visitor Centre looks a total mess and the rain has restored the grass roof
to look like another one. The only thing really new is a nice little trip hazard at
the central junction of five paths. It used to be fenced off.
Need you be reminded that “the Masterplan’ as it was called was supposed to be
completed up to six months ago? ‘A, Brewery, In, Party, Organise, A, Couldn’t.’ Rearrange as necessary.
The (usually) fortnightly update on the Abbey Wood station developments is in the usual place. Some of the pictures have only been possible because of the cooperation of staff who allow weekend access to the footbridge. The other side of the coin is that those pictures may sometimes be seen on their computer screens.