Kings Cross ‘uncrossed’ Layout/Remodelling - Information and Updates

[Mcq]

Many thanks

 

[davetheguard]

Interesting photos, I do appreciate the one of the first train to use the Eastern Bore especially as I am too young to remember it being in use prior to the last remodelling of Kings Cross.

Once the work is completed, will this be the first time that the reinstated tunnel has been electrified?

 

[edwin_m]

Once the work is completed, will this be the first time that the reinstated tunnel has been electrified?

It will. The re-signalling in the 1970s that took it out of use had to be completed before the station could be electrified.

It was proposed at one time as the start of a high speed shuttle service to a new London main airport on Maplin Sands near Southend.

 

[swt_passenger]

Many thanks

Reappraised following the post by @8stewartt 12 Mar.
The photographer in post #299 is looking along the up fast towards the Gasworks Tunnel (into Kings Cross) and the right hand track is the down fast.

The right hand photo on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/LNER/status/1367127924298637319/photo/2

shows the next crossover along towards Kings Cross, the tilting wagons are standing on the down fast, and that continues behind the camera position in the lower foreground, the crossover track continues out of shot to the left:

The crossover seems to be the one I’ve highlighted on this extract from the drawing in post #3:

It has replaced an existing facing crossover between up slow and down fast.

 

[Mcq]

Thank you so much for the hard work - I can see that and it makes sense.
I think that may be close to where the old Kings Cross Cemetery station was - when it ran it's own necropolis service to New Southgate.

A picture of the whole area, with mocked up interiors of the tunnels, would make a good jigsaw puzzle!

 

[snowball]

It was proposed at one time as the start of a high speed shuttle service to a new London main airport on Maplin Sands near Southend.

Next to Foulness Island, leading to the newspaper headline "Campaign formed to promote Foulness".

 

[davetheguard]

Next to Foulness Island, leading to the newspaper headline "Campaign formed to promote Foulness".

What a great headline. I'd forgotten about Maplin: I seem to remember they even started moving earth before the plug was pulled on the project. A much later, but nearby project was the "Boris Island" airport idea, which didn't happen either.

Thanks to edwin_m for the answer about electrification of the "new" tunnel at Kings Cross: it's good to see a piece of disused railway infrastructure returned to use; even better when it's also being electrified for the first time!

 

[AlbertBeale]

What a great headline. I'd forgotten about Maplin: I seem to remember they even started moving earth before the plug was pulled on the project. A much later, but nearby project was the "Boris Island" airport idea, which didn't happen either.

Thanks to edwin_m for the answer about electrification of the "new" tunnel at Kings Cross: it's good to see a piece of disused railway infrastructure returned to use; even better when it's also being electrified for the first time!

What route was thought up for getting from KX out to Southend? There's no obvious connection I can think of, and surely they wouldn't have been thinking of tunnelling under half of London from the KX area back in those days??

 

[bramling]

Interesting photos, I do appreciate the one of the first train to use the Eastern Bore especially as I am too young to remember it being in use prior to the last remodelling of Kings Cross.

Must say it’s quite pleasing seeing a train in there after all these years.

 

[Bayum]

There'll be a set of points out of sight behind the workers. The middle two rails are getting closer towards the camera, with the crossing behind the camera. I think the overall length means it’s a relatively high speed crossover, and I think based on other photos it is roughly either underneath or near the HS1 overbridge, between the two sets of tunnels.

‘High speed’ to get trains out of the station relatively quickly to increase movement ability?

 

[Mag_seven]

A reminder that this thread is to discuss the actual scheme itself as it is being constructed.

I've split off a couple of speculative posts about alternatives to this thread:

Kings Cross Remodelling - what would you have done? | RailUK Forums (railforums.co.uk)

Thanks

 

[hwl]

‘High speed’ to get trains out of the station relatively quickly to increase movement ability?

Quite a bit of traffic to/ from the fast lines for Platforms 8-10 will go over those points (including all departing trains) hence the need to get trains through the conflicting movement area as quickly as possible.

 

[swt_passenger]

Quite a bit of traffic to/ from the fast lines for Platforms 8-10 will go over those points (including all departing trains) hence the need to get trains through the conflicting movement area as quickly as possible.

I think it’s also the obvious route for “down slow” trains to take an alternative route to avoid up Thameslink trains using Canal Tunnel, then rejoining the down slow north of Copenhagen tunnels. The possibility of using that move was mentioned earlier in this thread...

However I was also wondering, until we see other sets of points in that area, they might all become relatively fast junctions anyway...

 

[edwin_m]

‘High speed’ to get trains out of the station relatively quickly to increase movement ability?

You're effectively replacing a compact but slow station throat layout by one which has similar functionality but is longer and faster. The higher speed balances the longer length, so that each train probably blocks conflicting moves for about the same time as before as it passes over the throat. The capacity of the layout therefore ends up being similar (in fact probably a bit better, as this is part of the work to create an extra hourly ECML path). The faster turnouts are more expensive but they eliminate the double slips and other high-maintenance items in the old layout, so there's probably a maintenance saving overall as well as a few seconds off the journey time.

 

[swt_passenger]

What route was thought up for getting from KX out to Southend? There's no obvious connection I can think of, and surely they wouldn't have been thinking of tunnelling under half of London from the KX area back in those days??

Potentially getting very off topic for this thread now, but AIUI the route was to be from a new dedicated Kings Cross airport station on the goods yards north of the canal roughly where the recent major developments are, with the route passing over the 4 track approach to Kings Cross and then using the eastern bore of Copenhagen tunnel only, up towards Finsbury Park, then heading east somehow. So not using the east bore of Gasworks as is now being discussed.

Started new thread with more info here:

Kings Cross to Maplin/Stansted 1970s airport link proposals

AlbertBeale said: What route was thought up for getting from KX out to Southend? There's no obvious connection I can think of, and surely they wouldn't have been thinking of tunnelling under half of London from the KX area back in those days?? Potentially getting very off topic for the current...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[InOban]

I haven't time to look back through all 315 posts but someone did post before and after diagrams for the work including the present and future (much increased ) speed limits

 

[zwk500]

I haven't time to look back through all 315 posts but someone did post before and after diagrams for the work including the present and future (much increased ) speed limits

Post #3 has the before/after layouts but doesn't have speeds marked.

 

[swt_passenger]

Post #3 has the before/after layouts but doesn't have speeds marked.

@whoosh posted a summary of the revised speeds in text form, they’re in his post #191.

 

[InOban]

Thanks guys. Hopefully that will make things clearer for others, save some unnecessary posts.

 

[swt_passenger]

Latest photo on Twitter shows almost all track removed, and foundation strips for modified platforms P1-P6 going in.

https://twitter.com/Trigg/status/1368870506808639489/photo/1

I hope this is of interest.

 

[Mcq]

Certainly is - thank you!

 

[8stewartt]

Correction. The photo in post 299 is taken looking towards kings cross. The points being the ones nearest the station on the next crossover down on the highlighted image. The picture in post 304 is the country end of the highlighted crossover. The KX end of those set of points doesn’t go in until the 7-11 blockade I believe. All new track on the bottom 4 lines is now installed awaiting welding apart from the station throat area.

 

[swt_passenger]

Correction. The photo in post 299 is taken looking towards kings cross. The points being the ones nearest the station on the next crossover down on the highlighted image. The picture in post 304 is the country end of the highlighted crossover. The KX end of those set of points doesn’t go in until the 7-11 blockade I believe. All new track on the bottom 4 lines is now installed awaiting welding apart from the station throat area.

Ok and thanks for putting that right, that makes more sense. I can see now that the picture in post #299 is further round towards the north, because in the very left hand side of the shot we can see the brick pier for the NLL overbridge. I’ll put a correction in my earlier post.

 

[Dr Hoo]

You're effectively replacing a compact but slow station throat layout by one which has similar functionality but is longer and faster. The higher speed balances the longer length, so that each train probably blocks conflicting moves for about the same time as before as it passes over the throat. The capacity of the layout therefore ends up being similar (in fact probably a bit better, as this is part of the work to create an extra hourly ECML path). The faster turnouts are more expensive but they eliminate the double slips and other high-maintenance items in the old layout, so there's probably a maintenance saving overall as well as a few seconds off the journey time.

The new layout has a greatly improved functionality rather than being just a faster and cheaper to maintain equivalent.

In the old layout, depending on other moves, it was common for main line services to use the westernmost bore of Copenhagen Tunnels and thus conflict with Thameslink and GN services. Although such routeing will still be possible the new layout will effectively provide dedicated 'fast' lines throughout.

 

[Ianno87]

The new layout has a greatly improved functionality rather than being just a faster and cheaper to maintain equivalent.

In the old layout, depending on other moves, it was common for main line services to use the westernmost bore of Copenhagen Tunnels and thus conflict with Thameslink and GN services. Although such routeing will still be possible the new layout will effectively provide dedicated 'fast' lines throughout.

Although with the Thameslink service being (eventually) 8tph, that leaves some Up Slow capacity spare for Up Fast trains to cross at Holloway and then head "with the flow" over the flyover into the higher side of the station, to avoid a conflict with a low-numbered departure.

 

[swt_passenger]

Good night photo of Kings Cross platform progress on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/HiPa_IC125_/status/1370883456335482884/photo/1

 

[Mcq]

Thanks again

 

[swt_passenger]

A group of four pictures posted on Twitter yesterday, the first pic (aerial view) is quite useful because it shows almost the entire area of work between the two sets of tunnels. The space taken for the new lines to curve across towards the reopened tunnel, and the overall length of the fast crossovers is quite apparent. In the pic the new up fast is yet to be relaid, but the two new east side lines are fully in position, with a works train on the up line.

https://twitter.com/ECMLupgrade/status/1372195555158396928/photo/2

(I‘ve trimmed the original picture slightly to the reduce file size.)

 

[nlogax]

That's an excellent shot of the progress, thanks for sharing @swt_passenger

 

[Bayum]

Just arrived into Kings X. Can’t quite believe how big the station throat looks now!

Was very busy with ballast trucks and diggers moving about. Platform extensions all look very near completion. When arriving into Kings X via LNER, do trains usually enter the station through the second tunnel from the right when looking north?