Crossrail - most pointless building project ever?

[max_tranmere]

The Crossrail project has been approved and will be a continual railway from Maidenhead, which is west of London, through Heathrow airport, under London, then out into Essex. It will mean commuters from west of London can go all the way to the West End or The City, or even to Essex, without having to get off a train and get a tube. The route it will take duplicates existing lines - you can presently get a train to Paddington from west of London, then catch a tube to any of the places it will cover, without having to change tubes, then if you wanted to go to Essex, you can catch another train. The whole thing works the other way around, and just as easily, if you want to go from Essex to anywhere in central London, then west out to Maidenhead.

In order to prevent you having to get off a train and get on a tube they are going to spend several billion pounds running a continous railway underneath the existing route. All it enables you to do is the same thing, only a few minutes quicker, and without having to change. As we know with all these projects (think Wembley Stadium, think the Olympics in east London) the cost will go way way up on what is presently being estimated and cuts will have to be made all over the place to pay for it all. Anyone living in or near London will know just how pointless this is because the train into Paddington, then the Central line or the Hammersmith & City Line tubes, cover that EXACT route already, and those wanting to go beyond can catch a train from Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street to Essex.

As with the view that most people now have towards the Olympics, now that the cost has skyrocketed, people will be saying in a couple of years time that it is unfortunate the thing was ever agreed to. Worse even because at least there is a point to the Olympics. This thing is pointless! What are other peoples views?

[max_tranmere]

I was thinking that the railway into Paddington could just be joined to the existing tube network anyway, as the Hammersmith & City Line runs above ground there, next to the railway, and doesn't go underground till further east. So they ALREADY have Crossrail really! But even without that join-up, just a short walk to the tube and you've got the continual line. What a waste of money this thing is going to be!

[Dickie Davies]

I completely disagree. Look at how busy the existing Tube network is. Crossrail will give massive extra capacity in Central London.

It is essential and five years after it opens we will be wondering how we ever did without it.

[hellochigs]

its a total waste.i live in essex and work in town and the new line will take exactly the same route... through the same stops as my existing journey. the only time i change for the tube is a short walk from one side of the platform to another.... 5 ft in all.and i'm in bond street in 45 minutes... i cant imagine the trip will be any much shorter... there are huge swathes of the suburbs which need better links into the city.

[Anadin]

Dickie Davies wrote:

> I completely disagree. Look at how busy the existing Tube
> network is. Crossrail will give massive extra capacity in
> Central London.
>
> It is essential and five years after it opens we will be
> wondering how we ever did without it.


I was thinking the exact same thing.