Chesham Underground permanent closure?

[happyfamily]

Hi all,

Very new here!

My family and I (Mum, Dad and little 1.5 year old) are thinking about making a big move from Kent to Chesham in Buckinghamshire. I've heard some rumblings on various parent/family forums that there has been talk over the years of Chesham being removed from the Metropolitan Line and I was wondering if anyone on here knows if there's any truth to that? Having the ability to get into London every now and then for work is a big deal for me and losing that ability would be a fairly major blow - not to mention what it would do to house prices.

Thanks all,

Happy Family

 

[Sultan]

With passengers numbers at 870,000 for 2022 I would doubt there is any risk of it closing anytime soon. Services markedly increased in 2010 (direct to central London rather than just a shuttle service to Chalfont & Latimer).

Rumblings tend to rumble on many years so perhaps the ones you refer to originate from pre 2010.

It's a nice area.

 

[birchesgreen]

Never heard of these rumours before, be very strange to be honest.

 

[swt_passenger]

Never heard of these rumours before, be very strange to be honest.

IIRC any rumours were at greatest volume back when the branch was mainly a shuttle service into the bay using a 4 car train, and the imminent arrival of the S stock meant the shuttle wouldn’t be able to run as it used to.

There had been previous proposals over the years to cease through running completely, but I don’t think there was a serious proposal to remove the shuttle. In a worst case Chesham might have become a quiet branch line with no through service.

When the S stock arrived didn’t they reduce the Offpeak Amersham service, and didn’t people predict the then new, (now current), timetable would never last?

 

[bramling]

Hi all,

Very new here!

My family and I (Mum, Dad and little 1.5 year old) are thinking about making a big move from Kent to Chesham in Buckinghamshire. I've heard some rumblings on various parent/family forums that there has been talk over the years of Chesham being removed from the Metropolitan Line and I was wondering if anyone on here knows if there's any truth to that? Having the ability to get into London every now and then for work is a big deal for me and losing that ability would be a fairly major blow - not to mention what it would do to house prices.

Thanks all,

Happy Family

Not something worth giving too much thought to. The current through service is now fairly established, and there seems little reason for that to be changed.

If anything changes it would be to go back to some form of shuttle service, though as things stand no suitable rolling stock exists, so something like a Chesham-Watford service might be more likely.

Chesham isn’t going to close, so I wouldn’t be worrying.

 

[telstarbox]

In the last few decades stations have only closed on the TfL network if there has been some sort of replacement, for example Silvertown and North Woolwich stations were 'replaced' by DLR stations.

 

[Mojo]

lve never heard this before. Sounds like something someone has just made up.

 

[happyfamily]

Thanks all! Fantastic knowledge and very helpful

 

[Recessio]

It's extremely difficult to actually close a station nowadays. Most "closed" stations are legally still open, they may just have no services or only a "parliamentary" service as required by law.

Given Chesham doesn't have other nearby stations, I'd be astonished if there was the legal (and chiefly, political) support to actually close the station, or even drastically reduce the service. It is one of the least used stations, but still healthily used compared to a lot of stations up and down the country that still remain open and served.

 

[YorkRailFan]

The only rumor of closing a branch of the Met I remember was the rumor that Watford (Met Station) would be closed and the Croxley Link built with trains running to Watford Junction.

 

[PeterC]

A few decades ago i believe that there was a proposal to close the existing station and build a replacement on Chesham Moor. Funds were found to repair the bridges across the river Chess and Waterside instead. I don't know know of any proposal to close the branch entirely.

There have been the occasional suggestions by enthusiasts that the branch could be be run by Chiltern but these were just people rattling their crayon boxes.

 

[swt_passenger]

The only rumor of closing a branch of the Met I remember was the rumor that Watford (Met Station) would be closed and the Croxley Link built with trains running to Watford Junction.

That wasn’t a “rumour”, it was a deadly serious proposal that only failed because of Hertfordshire County Council financial issues. It had been through the TWA Order process, achieved DfT approval 2013, and site clearance commenced with a view to main construction in 2015.

 

[Clarence Yard]

That failed because the Mayor of London pulled the TfL funding mainly because he felt the benefits lay outside of London and his voters. HCC would never have had the finances to replace the amount needed. WBC even less.

Redevelopment of the Watford Met Station site was in the business plan, to defray some of the build costs for the Croxley link.

The justification for closure of Watford Met was that it only catered for 1600 passengers a day. As the lead Councillor for WBC at that time, I had to tell them that was better than most mainline stations!

I can’t think the idea of closing Chesham is anything but wibble.

 

[philthetube]

There are loads of season ticket holders wo travel from Chesham, I don't think you have anything to worry about,

 

[DanNCL]

The last stations on the LU network to close without any alternative station within walking distance were North Weald and Ongar in 1994. It’s a lot more difficult to close a station now than it was then. I wouldn’t worry about the possibility of Chesham station closing, incredibly unlikely to happen.

 

[Elybob]

We rarely close stations anymore. If Buckenham can get 1 passenger a day and stay open then I think Chesham is fine.

 

[Train Maniac]

Ive certainly read somewhere (cant remember where) that the Chesham branch was rather neglected by LU and that there were considerations to close the line in the early 1990s due to expensive bridge repairs. I believe Hertfordshire County Council stumped up the cash in the end.

Rest assured, no chance now, what with direct services to Aldgate and the like!

 

[Recessio]

Ive certainly read somewhere (cant remember where) that the Chesham branch was rather neglected by LU and that there were considerations to close the line in the early 1990s due to expensive bridge repairs. I believe Hertfordshire County Council stumped up the cash in the end.

Rest assured, no chance now, what with direct services to Aldgate and the like!

My understanding was that it was in the early 80s, there were two bridges at the end of their lives. The Greater London Council had always provided a subsidy to run the branch, and one of the very last acts of the GLC before abolition in 1986 was to fund replacement of the bridges, because Buckingham County Council wouldn't provide the funding. This was when the line (and LU) was in much direr straits financially.

Clearly the funding situation is a lot better today, which is why no-one has seriously proposed closing the line in the four decades since. OP has no need to worry that Chesham will be closed while many stations with orders of magnitude less usage are still open on the national railway network.

 

[Metroman62]

Pretty sure back in the 80s when the bridges needed to be replaced an option considered was to cut the line back and end it with a new station in the Waterside area of Chesham. So they wanted to keep the branch open.

 

[Mojo]

I believe Hertfordshire County Council stumped up the cash in the end.

What would Hertfordshire have to do with it; the branch is entirely within Buckinghamshire?

 

[Train Maniac]

What would Hertfordshire have to do with it; the branch is entirely within Buckinghamshire?

Yeah, I misremembered. @Recessio has posted the correct information

I think it is mentioned in the exhibit/information board in Chesham waiting room (again, not entirely sure)

 

[PeterC]

Pretty sure back in the 80s when the bridges needed to be replaced an option considered was to cut the line back and end it with a new station in the Waterside area of Chesham. So they wanted to keep the branch open.

I couldn't remember the details when I posted about this a few days ago as it was before my move to Chesham. My understanding was that the replacement location was to be on the opposite side of the valley to Waterside removing bridges over 2 roads and the river and putting the station out of sensible walking distance for most commuters.

 

[Mgameing123]

Terrible idea and if it did close then they would need to make a plusbus arrangement with route 1's.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Terrible idea and if it did close then they would need to make a plusbus arrangement with route 1's.

It is not proposed for closure. But given the demographics of the area, if it did close people would simply drive to Amersham (some would take taxis) - public transport wouldn't be much of a consideration. Rich, leafy south Buckinghamshire is not good bus territory.

 

[Mgameing123]

It is not proposed for closure. But given the demographics of the area, if it did close people would simply drive to Amersham (some would take taxis) - public transport wouldn't be much of a consideration. Rich, leafy south Buckinghamshire is not good bus territory.

Not entirely sure. Route 1/1A/1B see high demand and I do think loads of people will flock to the 1's if the chesham branch closed.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Not entirely sure. Route 1/1A/1B see high demand and I do think loads of people will flock to the 1's if the chesham branch closed.

If the 1s are the link between Chesham and Amersham, then the only time I've used it in recent years (a weekday evening) I found it infrequent, but reasonably patronised.

 

[Mgameing123]

If the 1s are the link between Chesham and Amersham, then the only time I've used it in recent years (a weekday evening) I found it infrequent, but reasonably patronised.

Yeah evening service is only hourly but daytime it runs every 15 minutes.

 

[PeterC]

Rich, leafy south Buckinghamshire is not good bus territory.

I suggest that you visit on a Wednesday morning and count the number of people waiting for the food bank to open.

 

[NorthOxonian]

It is not proposed for closure. But given the demographics of the area, if it did close people would simply drive to Amersham (some would take taxis) - public transport wouldn't be much of a consideration. Rich, leafy south Buckinghamshire is not good bus territory.

To an extent this is true, but Chesham is a bit less rich and leafy than most of its neighbours. As an example, consider the deprivation stats - few areas in Amersham are outwith the least deprived 20% of neighbourhoods, whereas most areas in Chesham are close to the national average (and two areas in northern Chesham are significantly more deprived than average). The demographics and general atmosphere in Chesham is of a typical market town, not affluent outer suburbia.

Looking at the census data (it is the latest and most comprehensive data we have), the highest levels of tube commuting are found in the northern parts of the town centre (13%) - this consists mainly of flats with about half of residents having no access to a car. Relatively high usage can then be found around the rest of the town centre, along the Berkhampstead Road, and into parts of Pond Park (typically 6-10% of workers commute by Underground here, so probably 10-15% of commuters). Worth noting as well that Pond Park in particular is quite good bus territory - it isn't surprising that the 1/1A route always goes up the hill to serve this estate rather than just terminating in the centre of Chesham.