Select Committee on Crossrail Bill Minutes of Evidence


Examination of Witnesses (Questions 15440 - 15459)

  15440. Mr Liddell-Grainger: I think we will let Mr Taylor answer that when he sums up, I am sure he has got a perfectly good answer to it because it is question we have not asked but I think you have posed the question.

  15441. Mr Pout: Fair enough. I understand there is an issue around what is the safety case for the operation of a railway sub-service with a bicycle on board. The same goes for mobility access. We were concerned at the number of stations that are to be modernised and renovated but will not necessarily have mobility access, one is Maryland Station. That will be at each alternative station along the route on the East Line which is where our community follows through on work with the local authorities. I also know, from my personal experience of living for four years in Hanwell, that that station is not going to be included and I looked at it and thought why can these stations not be upgraded or be part of a programme so that by the time we reach the completion of Crossrail, which we are now talking in terms of something like 2017 and the DDA requirements are I think on schedule for completion by 2020, then really we should be looking at full mobility access. As a professional with a transport background, I am aware of the fact that there are constraints on this.

  15442. Mr Liddell-Grainger: My colleagues have told me that in fact one of the times I was not here the disability people came in and—

  15443. Mr Binley: A disability consultant spoke about these four particular stations and I am sure Mr Taylor will be referring to that. I wanted to assure you that it was well covered and I am sure you would have been satisfied.

  15444. Mr Liddell-Grainger: I can assure you we will come back to it but I rely on my colleagues.

  15445. Mr Pout: Thank you for that. Next, I will go into a little bit more detail on Maryland Station.[35] Going back to the original private Bill, which came before Parliament in the 1990s and was sadly rejected, Maryland Station was to be included in the original project. Maryland is at the far end of Stratford Broadway.


  15446. Mr Liddell-Grainger: Could we see a map of Maryland Station, just to refresh our minds again. Please, carry on.

  15447. Mr Pout: It is just to the east of Stratford Broadway. To use a colloquial expression, it is a bit of a grotty end of town, but, nevertheless, it is a district called the Grove, where there is some regeneration in progress, and it is a very useful point where people can access the east side of Stratford Town Centre, particularly on journeys from out of London. If somebody is coming in from Ilford or Romford, it may be more practical for them to use Stratford Station.

  15448. I am particularly concerned about inner city regeneration. I am one of the people who have lobbied for a long time about the orbital railway network and how important it is for the business railway, which is a long-distance commuter railway, to serve the inner cities as well, and this is a classic example. As I say in my paper, we feel there would be significant benefits from the provision of a new and accessible entrance from the Grove as a long-term aspiration but, even for the time being, to ensure that that station is improved and modernised, to ensure that it is part of the full stopping pattern for services on the Sheffield line with most of the services stopping there.

  15449. We would like to know what the additional costs are and why in the 1990s scheme it was justified to include Maryland but now it is not, because there are social and economic benefits. Okay, this is going to come in after the Olympics, and that will be rather sad, but, nevertheless, Stratford is an area that is going to grow and the addition of that additional facility, close to Stratford, will take a lot of traffic for many journeys off a main-line station and mean particularly that people may be able to have an easier journey to work.

  15450. Item 8 is the Eleanor Street travellers' site. Again we have summed that up in a sentence. I believe that is substantially resolved and therefore hope that can now be laid on the table.

  15451. Mr Liddell-Grainger: I am sure Mr Taylor has heard what you have said and will respond.

  15452. Mr Pout: A diagram has now come up on the screen for Maryland Station.[36]


  15453. Mr Liddell-Grainger: I just wanted to make sure I knew where it was. Thank you.

  15454. Mr Pout: It is the area around the Grove, on the east end. There is a lot of housing around there. There is some new development, particularly on the corner, on the north-east side, on Leytonstone Road and so on. It is a very useful location. It is slightly away from the town centre but it is an important area.

  15455. Mr Liddell-Grainger: Thank you. I would like you to move on.

  15456. Mr Pout: Fine. It would similarly be helpful to have the diagram of Woolwich Station on the screen.[37] Again, you have had a lot of arguments in favour of Woolwich Station.


  15457. Mr Liddell-Grainger: We have, I think, exhausted Woolwich Station. The Committee was vocal over Woolwich Station, as Mr Taylor and Ms Liven will remember. You can safely say what you have put in your arguments will be taken well on board by this Committee.

  15458. Mr Pout: Right. Bus interchange, crucially important and the benefits of the additional linkages. My colleague has also put in the notes about the growth and overcrowding in traffic on the existing North Kent line. If it is going to grow, then obviously we need to look at alternative capacity there.

  15459. We are certainly aware of the fact that it is away from the existing station. The green square next to the existing Woolwich Arsenal Station is where most of the buses terminate, around that square, and it is ensuring that there are linkages between those buses and the new station, should it go ahead. I hope it will.


35   Committee Ref: A172, London Thames Gateway Forum-Maryland Station (LINEWD-35105-003). Back

36   Crossrail Environmental Statement, Volume 4b, Stratford Station, Key Environmental Features-Map NE1(i), billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk (LINEWD-ES17-069). Back

37   Crossrail Environmental Statement, Volume 4b, Arsenal Way Shaft, Key Environmental Features-Map SE5(i), billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk (LINEWD-ES17-117). Back


 
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