Big weekend of Crossrail changes at Abbey Wood station
Crossrail weekend closures have been a frequent occurrence this year at Abbey Wood. Much has been achieved, and when a long weekend rolls around it’s a chance to get a fair bit done. And so this bank holiday period sees a closure for three full days.
So what’s on the agenda? Well, most visibly, the main station structure is taking shape. The Bexley is Bonkers blog has been doing a brilliant job documenting and photographing the changes. Those covering this weekend are here, the full list going back years is here, and a post covering the specific changes this weekend (track alignment etc) can be seen here. Chris Mansfield has also been photographing progress, and again some great photos taken. The photos are far better in quality and scope than those seen here so I’d recommend clicking through.
As the blog points out, there’s only around 18 months to go until completion of the station. Until recently that may have seemed a tall order. But recent weeks have seen much visible progress. The corridor for Crossrail tracks (which currently halt at Plumstead) has seen seen much clearing and leveling of land all the way up to the station.
The island platform serving Southeastern trains is scheduled for completion in August, allowing a period of just over a year to complete the Crossrail island platform, station building and tracks. The first test trains could be visible in late 2017, as TfL recently revealed in a submission to the Greater London Assembly:
Abbey Wood to Paddington via Canary Wharf is the first section planned to officially open in late 2018. The section from Shenfield in Essex to Paddington, and the section to Heathrow and Reading in the west from Paddington, follow in 2019.
I am shocked by the conditions for pedestrians on Harrow Manor Way (above the station site) after dark. Waiting for a bus, especially the 469 toward Woolwich, is grim in the extreme because of the lack of street lighting. This same problem is also a real danger for people using the new crossing. Cars approach this site at speed and I have seen a number jumping the yellow / early red light. The street lights have been switched off at this point and I would not feel totally confident using this crossing. What do you think?