Today (Monday 7 May) sees the publication by the respected International Air Rail Organisation (IARO) of a report, London City Airport and the Elizabeth Line, in which it says for practical reasons a station should be built to support the airport as soon as possible. The current edition of New Civil Engineer carries the headline Crossrail – a missed opportunity. London City Airport chief development officer Peter Adams bemoans the lack of a Crossrail station at the airport. And the Sunday Times is worried too!
These are anxious times for LCY, the airport in the middle of a £350m development plan, no growth last year and the figures static for 2018, although in truth poor weather in March kept the passenger numbers down. It is even more uneasy times for the railway line. According to yesterday’s Sunday Times, it is £500m over budget and there are rumours it might not even be working for the year end. No wonder the paranoia when the relatively simple idea of introducing a Silvertown for London City Airport station is suggested.
BTN believes London mayor Sadiq Khan should immediately convene an independent panel to consider building a station before the rail link’s introduction. As things stand, the line is due to open from Paddington to Abbey Wood in December. It is technically possible to turn the trains around at Canary Wharf with the intermediate stations Custom House and Woolwich already served by the DLR. Open the line as planned but only to Canary Wharf.
As the report points out, to build the station at this time will cost between £12m and £20m. Parliamentary approval is not required and the local council is sympathetic towards planning. Building the station, which all agree is necessary, at a later stage will cost well over £100m and cause considerable disruption both locally and to the train services.
Sir Peter Morgan is chairman of both Crossrail (the Elizabeth Line builder) and now London City Airport. See www.btnews.co.uk/article/13171
http://iaro.com
LONDON CITY AIRPORT – 30 Years Serving the Capital
All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum
Tom Appleton, Toronto
This all sounds much too logical! Not the way we'd do it in Canada!
Andrew Sharp,
The proposal is NOT to delay opening of the whole line - just the easternmost two stations (which have alternative service options).
ed pooley, Isle of Man
Re Mr Graham's comment above, he appears not to appreciate how overloaded the DLR is at peak business use times and he clearly has no interest in the LHR/LCY connection time...The cheap build-it now option is not only sensible it is essential.
Barry Graham, US
You would delay a whole line because of the lack of an airport for LCY? Isn't it possible to get to the airport from another station?