leytongabriel
Member
- Joined
- 27 Jan 2013
- Messages
- 591
In hindsight, it was a much better idea to have done away with Broad Street and instead create a connecting route from Dalston Junction to Surrey Quays with the Overground service, even though that probably wasn't the original plan!
A better idea perhaps but not so sure about it being a shared idea. What hasn't been mentioned in the thread so far ( unless I've missed it) is that the catalyst for final rundown and closure seems to have been a political mistake. Ken Livingstone agreed to help fund the electrification of the NLL through Stratford to North Woolwich to support the regeneration of East London, much of which was in a terrible state. What he didn't anticipate ( and I believe made it clear that he had not agreed to) was that BR would then switch NLL trains from Broad St to North Woolwich instead of running North Woolwich trains out of Camden Rd to replace the previous diesel service. So in a sense the then GLC was duped by a BR board who could see the value of the property and Broad Street was left with just an unattractive roundabout skeleton rush-hour only service which clearly didn't justify such a large terminus and was easy to withdraw.