I nominate the proposals in the "other" lesser known "Beeching Report" to shut all stations between Paddington and Hayes and Harlington except Ealing Broadway and abolishing the "uneconomic" inner suburban stations
Specifically naming Acton Main Line, West Ealing, Hanwell and Southall and replacing it with an "Express bus service between Hayes and a railhead at Ealing Broadway"
The plan also called for closure of the Thameslink line from Kentish Town to Moorgate as St Pancras was to be resignalled and have more capacity and continuation of services to Moorgate couldn't be justified on financial grounds.
Similarly they called for diversion of Eastern Region services to Moorgate to the Northern City Line to facilitate this closure, stating "the alternative of a link with the Southern Region Blackfriars/Holborn services via King's Cross and the City Widened Lines might entail acceptance of rolling stock of restricted capacity because of the physical limitations of the widened lines, and is not favoured"
Southern Region were struggling with capacity and proposed diverting Victoria services to Holborn Viaduct and building a new western entrance to St Pauls. If the widened lines could be closed it might be possible to extend some trains to terminate at the Widened Lines platforms at Farringdon.
On the southwestern side they plotted to close most of the stations on the Hounslow Loop "the elimination of the Hounslow Loop stopping services may be necessary"
Other ideas included extending the Bakerloo line to Hayes or the Bexleyheath Line to free up some paths on the lines into London Bridge.
Overcrowding on the Waterloo and City line was propoaed to be solved by "complete removal of seats to create more standing accomodation"
The fleet line, extending the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo Line to New Cross also appears. Debate over whether to Route via Holborn Viaduct or Ludgate Circus. Favoured route was tube to Surrey Docks, then ELL to a new Underground New Cross station and then Underground to Lewisham Clock Tower and on to either Bexleyheath or Hayes/Addiscombe.
East London line would become a shuttle service from Surrey Docks to Whitechapel or possibly Shoreditch and the service to New cross Gate would be abandoned.
A Victoria line extension to Brixton with passive provision of an extension to Crystal Palace in the long term if the Southern could be persuaded to "withdraw their service between West Norwood and Crystal Palace so that the tracks could be devoted exclusively to tube use". This would apparently assist the expansion of Southern Regions long distance capacity.
Later in the report, a reduction in certain "lightly loaded" inner suburban services on the Central Division to make room for additional services from the expanding and new towns further out was proposed but no specifics on where the axe would fall
Closure of Marylebone with Met Line running to Aylesbury (including fourth rail electrification) and High Wycombe services moved to Paddington. LT had got as far as designing "Experimental rolling stock for the Metropolitan (Aylesbury) Line on a compromise basis"
Diversion of the Great Northern services to Broad Street to Northern city line and withdrawal of Watford to Broad st. The aim being to "strengthen the case for closing Broad Street Station"
Source:
"A Railway Plan for London. Preliminary Report by a Working Party of British Railways and London Transport. March 1965.
Specifically naming Acton Main Line, West Ealing, Hanwell and Southall and replacing it with an "Express bus service between Hayes and a railhead at Ealing Broadway"
The plan also called for closure of the Thameslink line from Kentish Town to Moorgate as St Pancras was to be resignalled and have more capacity and continuation of services to Moorgate couldn't be justified on financial grounds.
Similarly they called for diversion of Eastern Region services to Moorgate to the Northern City Line to facilitate this closure, stating "the alternative of a link with the Southern Region Blackfriars/Holborn services via King's Cross and the City Widened Lines might entail acceptance of rolling stock of restricted capacity because of the physical limitations of the widened lines, and is not favoured"
Southern Region were struggling with capacity and proposed diverting Victoria services to Holborn Viaduct and building a new western entrance to St Pauls. If the widened lines could be closed it might be possible to extend some trains to terminate at the Widened Lines platforms at Farringdon.
On the southwestern side they plotted to close most of the stations on the Hounslow Loop "the elimination of the Hounslow Loop stopping services may be necessary"
Other ideas included extending the Bakerloo line to Hayes or the Bexleyheath Line to free up some paths on the lines into London Bridge.
Overcrowding on the Waterloo and City line was propoaed to be solved by "complete removal of seats to create more standing accomodation"
The fleet line, extending the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo Line to New Cross also appears. Debate over whether to Route via Holborn Viaduct or Ludgate Circus. Favoured route was tube to Surrey Docks, then ELL to a new Underground New Cross station and then Underground to Lewisham Clock Tower and on to either Bexleyheath or Hayes/Addiscombe.
East London line would become a shuttle service from Surrey Docks to Whitechapel or possibly Shoreditch and the service to New cross Gate would be abandoned.
A Victoria line extension to Brixton with passive provision of an extension to Crystal Palace in the long term if the Southern could be persuaded to "withdraw their service between West Norwood and Crystal Palace so that the tracks could be devoted exclusively to tube use". This would apparently assist the expansion of Southern Regions long distance capacity.
Later in the report, a reduction in certain "lightly loaded" inner suburban services on the Central Division to make room for additional services from the expanding and new towns further out was proposed but no specifics on where the axe would fall
Closure of Marylebone with Met Line running to Aylesbury (including fourth rail electrification) and High Wycombe services moved to Paddington. LT had got as far as designing "Experimental rolling stock for the Metropolitan (Aylesbury) Line on a compromise basis"
Diversion of the Great Northern services to Broad Street to Northern city line and withdrawal of Watford to Broad st. The aim being to "strengthen the case for closing Broad Street Station"
Source:
"A Railway Plan for London. Preliminary Report by a Working Party of British Railways and London Transport. March 1965.