Where else could Crossrail trains be stored?

[Meerkat]

The new trains need to go somewhere, but I’m more thinking about reducing OOC. Replacing OOC is presumably operationally illogical, but if you could thin out the sidings you could fit in the pillars needed to support a significant development overhead.
There’s a scruffy business park just to the north west of Iver station……
On the east side it’s very congested with buildings and green belt!

 

[stuu]

There was a plan at one point to move the HEX depot to Langley, before GWR took it over instead. There's some OOU sidings there, looks like it could fit 4-5 sidings within the boundary, and more if some of the industrial land was bought out

 

[SynthD]

It probably needs to be close to the core. The area of Ladbroke Grove Sainsburys and behind could work, but others own it and have plans.

The branch off the GWR near West Drayton serves an aggregates firm that could be moved, but that station isn’t so suitable.

I remember reading an idea for the OOC area to be full of office and residential towers, with the depot hidden like at Westfield. Was this just an amateurs wish?

 

[Dstock7080]

Several long sidings on the Down side of Southall, on the down fast?

 

[Meerkat]

I remember reading an idea for the OOC area to be full of office and residential towers, with the depot hidden like at Westfield. Was this just an amateurs wish?

That’s what I am thinking. But the siding are too big to be spanned and look to be too close together to build supports between. Hence building a few new sidings elsewhere to take out a few OOC sidings to make way for support pillars for development above.
Apart from the value of the site if OOC development takes off the sidings are really in the way of a cohesive area plan.

 

[HSTEd]

You might be able to buy some of the land near the maintenance facility at Plumstead, but access is a pain as it requires a shunt move to get in and out.

 

[MotCO]

Can you build 'double deck' sidings somewhere? I accept that you will need land for the up and down ramps, but it may be a cheaper option if there is a width restriction to the site (i.e. if the plot of land is restricted in its width rather than its length).
Likewise, can you build sidings over running lines where there are no road bridges or similar?

 

[Meerkat]

Can you build 'double deck' sidings somewhere? I accept that you will need land for the up and down ramps, but it may be a cheaper option if there is a width restriction to the site (i.e. if the plot of land is restricted in its width rather than its length).
Likewise, can you build sidings over running lines where there are no road bridges or similar?

How about a big rotating magazine of trains? With a hand crank in case the power fails.
That or a traverser/lift that can slide them into a multi-storey train park.

 

[The Planner]

Can you build 'double deck' sidings somewhere? I accept that you will need land for the up and down ramps, but it may be a cheaper option if there is a width restriction to the site (i.e. if the plot of land is restricted in its width rather than its length).
Likewise, can you build sidings over running lines where there are no road bridges or similar?

The cost of that would be immense and also depends on what else you would be doing there, are you tanking/CET, refuelling etc. What about the much higher lighting, OLE, any road access etc needed? You are effectively building a tunnel over running lines to do that. If you assume a steepish 1 in 70 gradient, you are going to need around 500m of approach ramp just to get into the facility as well as a fan of point work at the top.

 

[43096]

The cost of that would be immense and also depends on what else you would be doing there, are you tanking/CET, refuelling etc.

None of those applying to Elizabeth line stock.

 

[Snow1964]

West Drayton has huge area (where the former branch to Uxbridge Vine Street curved off, and the Colnbrook line runs).

Basically the whole area through to Trout Lane is junk like yards, and scrubby wasteland.

Following on from the double deck comments above would be very easy to build lots of electrified sidings, with concrete pillars between every two tracks and a vast concrete raft roof which the businesses are relocated to.

The problem is that land might be contaminated as it doesn't look like it is used by those with highest environmental standards.

Alternatively could build in close to where existing Colnbrook sidings are, again with a big huge concrete raft roof, which just happens to be where the roof would be part of site of proposed third runway at Heathrow

 

[stuu]

Can you build 'double deck' sidings somewhere? I accept that you will need land for the up and down ramps, but it may be a cheaper option if there is a width restriction to the site (i.e. if the plot of land is restricted in its width rather than its length).
Likewise, can you build sidings over running lines where there are no road bridges or similar?

There's a double deck metro depot in Singapore, but I would be amazed if that was done anywhere there was any other choice