28 November (Part 3) - Crossed lines over Crossrail
A
curled up copy of Bexley Council’s Magazine dropped through my letter box
this afternoon. With an election coming up there is a lot going on in the
borough at the moment. Various popular schemes have been saved up to maximise
the Tories’ chances of being elected again next May, so it’s quite an
interesting read and I absolutely loved the front cover.
The juxtaposition of Cabinet Member Peter Craske with the news that the Met. Police
decided that Bexleyheath’s police station must stay open must have given
Councillor Craske a nice warm nostalgic feeling inside.
Interesting as the contents of the magazine might be it probably wouldn’t be wise to assume
everything you read inside is accurate.
I don’t know who has been priming Council Leader Teresa O’Neill on Crossrail but
all the dates mentioned in Council meetings recently have been wrong.
Page 4 of the magazine keeps up the tradition. It gets
the opening date of the new Abbey Wood
station right but it goes downhill thereafter.
“When the Elizabeth Line fully opens in December 2018 trains will run direct
from Abbey Wood to central London and on to Reading and Heathrow in the west.”
Where did that come from?
When the first Crossrail train leaves Abbey Wood in December 2018 it will terminate at
Paddington. If you want to go to Heathrow you will have to get on a different
train at Paddington. Crossrail will start as three separate services. Abbey Wood to Paddington.
Paddington to Heathrow and Shenfield to Liverpool Street.
In May 2019 the Shenfield service will be integrated as far as Paddington but
Heathrow will remain a disconnected spur.
If you want to go to Reading you will have an even longer wait, Reading services will not run until December 2019.
From that date most trains from Abbey Wood will go to Paddington,
some will carry on to Heathrow and Reading trains will be few and far between.
When Bexley Council tells you trains will go straight through to Heathrow in
only one year’s time, it won’t be one of their trademark fibs, they are simply mistaken.
With such a level of ignorance how will Bexley Council ever successfully
negotiate an
extension the east?