(no subject)

[morwen]

i went to the edge of the universe today: yes, to upminster and to epping.

random underground question: why on earth doesn't the victoria line extend very slightly further, to the central line at leytonstone, thus providing a handy link, which would have stopped me from missing the start of doctor who?

Comments

[fluffymormegil.livejournal.com]

Because Leytonstone already had a tube station, at a guess.

[abigailb.livejournal.com]

yeahbutnoyeah. the victoria line was purposefully designed to only link existing stations; of all its stations only one didn't have a BR or tube connection (pimlico, which was a late addition). extending to leytonstone would make the network really a lot nicer.

[redcountess]

Yes, but there's many other stations on the tube network that service more than one line.

[redcountess]

arkady did once tell me the reason, but I forget what it was, they probably ran out of money. Wikipedia informs us that the line was originally meant to terminate at Wood Street alongside the BR station there, but they decided at the last minute to terminate at Hoe Street (later Walthamstow Central)

[fluffymormegil.livejournal.com]

Running out of money sounds plausible :)

[abigailb.livejournal.com]

I remember poking around doing some research on the topic. I wrote the sentence "A line linking Chelsea and Hackney was proposed on March 23, 1970 by London Transport, as the next project after the completion of the Victoria Line and the Fleet Line."

Presently the Chelsea-Hackney Line is Crossrail 2, and might get approval for building, if we're lucky, a mere 50 years after it was proposed.

[arosoff.livejournal.com]

I'm starting to think that Crossrail is the Loch Ness monster of public transport.

I mean, for chrissakes, after _70 fucking years_ New York City's finally building the Second Avenue Subway. If they can do it....

[abigailb.livejournal.com]

And don't forget Thameslink 2000! I think a few years back they dropped the '2000' bit because it was getting really quite stupid.

[secretlondon.livejournal.com]

The Camberwell Extension (to the Bakerloo Line)? We might get that one day - first proposed in the 1930s.

[secretlondon.livejournal.com]

Or even the cross river tram!

[frankthepirate.livejournal.com]

cosmic conspiracy.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Probably a combination of running out of money and big-ass bodies of water up there (which might have caused the running out of money? Not sure, am talking out arse).