Why not reopen platform zero at Clapham Junction

[ianBR]

The london overground from clapham to stratford is probably the busiest service in the country operating from a single platform most of the time. There clearly used to be another platform opposite platform 1 at some point which is now just wasted overgrown space. Why doesn't national rail reopen this as a new platform zero to allow for more capacity.

At the moment overground trains are frequently waiting outside of clapham for platform 1 to become clear and it would make managing any disruption much easier.

A platform zero might also allow them to run an additional Clapham - Shepherds Bush shuttle service in peak hours which is the most congested part of the line.

 

[adamedwards]

I read in Modern Railways when the Overground started that the trackbed is on iron columns which would have to be expensively replaced. Hence the decision to make 1 and 2 out of a single platform.

 

[felixthebadger]

I read in Modern Railways when the Overground started that the trackbed is on iron columns which would have to be expensively replaced. Hence the decision to make 1 and 2 out of a single platform.

Yes, the famous Banana arches as it is known. Apparently the steel trough & supports are severely corroded, a train would probably fall through. The space is used by various control cabinets now. It would require a major reconstruction project to bring the platform back into use.

 

[XDM]

Yes, the famous Banana arches as it is known. Apparently the steel trough & supports are severely corroded, a train would probably fall through. The space is used by various control cabinets now. It would require a major reconstruction project to bring the platform back into use.

I would take the support being severely corroded with a pinch of salt. Soon after London Overground was created, ASLEF, on behalf of its LO drivers, asked Network Rail why the 25 mph PSR into Clapham Junction platform 1 had been reduced to an infuriating 10 mph from a third of a mile out.

The 10 mph creep was infuriating for passengers, most of whom wanted to catch another train at CLJ, & infuriating & boring for drivers, who might want a short unofficial PNB after driving from Stratford.

Network Rail replied it was because Engineers said it was now only suitable for 10mph. Local ASLEF did not accept that explanation, bearing in mind it had been 25 mph for ever before.

Further investigation revealed that hopeless Network Rail had simply asked a consultant engineer if the road underbridge on the up side of plat 1 was suitable for 10 mph. The answer was (obviously) yes. After this was revealed, NR ungenerously raised the PSR to 15 mph for the whole third of a mile.

I would not be surprised if the same unhelpful NR mentality, which TOCs have to endure in bucketfuls, is responsible for platform 0 not reopening. They couldn't be bothered. Much easier to convert an old middle road between the London overground island & the south west trains island to another platform.

 

[bb21]

The london overground from clapham to stratford is probably the busiest service in the country operating from a single platform most of the time. There clearly used to be another platform opposite platform 1 at some point which is now just wasted overgrown space. Why doesn't national rail reopen this as a new platform zero to allow for more capacity.

At the moment overground trains are frequently waiting outside of clapham for platform 1 to become clear and it would make managing any disruption much easier.

A platform zero might also allow them to run an additional Clapham - Shepherds Bush shuttle service in peak hours which is the most congested part of the line.

The single platform should be able to handle even 6 trains an hour by rejigging the schedules.

Any additional shuttles for peak time can always run off Platform 17.

I doubt there is a good business case for reopening the old Platform 1.

 

[felixthebadger]

I read somewhere that the structure supporting the track at platform 0 is not part of the original station but was added at a later date.

 

[Lucan]

Apparently the steel trough & supports are severely corroded, a train would probably fall through.

If things are that bad the whole structure should not be left in place at all, seeing that the area under it is open to the public. The only justification for leaving it would be that it is good condition but not rated as having a sufficient safety margin by modern standards to take the weight of trains.

I am a structural engineer who has dealt with similar problems at power stations. I am not familiar with the Clapham structure, but generally there is little wrong with main structural beams, and the problems are generally to do with the fastenings (bolts, rivets) corroding, or in the case of welds, corrosion jacking or original defects being revealed by modern NDT techniques. The bolt/rivet problems are easily solved by replacement; welds can be re-done at a bit more cost. Subsidence is another common problem but that can be stabilised and then compensated by packing up at the tops of the support columns.