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Post by thelondonthing on Mar 23, 2023 1:45:44 GMT
 It's official.
The redevelopment of Cromwell Road Bus Station will finally begin in December 2023.TfL's 2023/24 Budget document, which was released yesterday along with other documentation related to its Board meeting next week, states that work will "start on site" at the end of the year:  Under its Investment Programme Milestones - which outlines key upcoming stages across all major active projects - the TfL document further confirms: "Kingston Cromwell Road Bus Station - Start of Construction on Site | December 2023".  Notably, it appears that the cost of the project has increased considerably. When VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed as the main contractor for the project in December 2021, the projected cost stood at between £5m and £7m, according to project tender documentation. Now, however, the cost appears to have jumped to at least £10m. TfL's latest 'Future Contract Opportunities Over £100,000' document puts the 'baseline spend' for the project at between £10m and £25m.  However, it's important to emphasise that "£10m-£25m" is a predefined category used by TfL to group together similarly-priced projects. That means that the final cost will be somewhere between those two numbers. While I believe it's extremely unlikely that the cost will be anywhere near the £25m top-end of that group, TfL has evidently determined that the cost will be at least £10m, which is why it's now been placed in that spending category. But even at the lowest end of that price range, that's a substantial increase since the project went out to tender in February 2020 with an estimated cost of £4m to £6m. Still, when you consider that TfL originally revealed its plans to redevelop Cromwell Road Bus Station ten years ago (!!!), it's nice to finally have a firm date (well... month) for works to begin. Now, I wonder where all those displaced buses are going to end up during the works... |
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Post by southlondon413 on Mar 23, 2023 8:46:31 GMT
It's official.
The redevelopment of Cromwell Road Bus Station will finally begin in December 2023.TfL's 2023/24 Budget document, which was released yesterday along with other documentation related to its Board meeting next week, states that work will "start on site" at the end of the year: Under its Investment Programme Milestones - which outlines key upcoming stages across all major active projects - the TfL document further confirms: "Kingston Cromwell Road Bus Station - Start of Construction on Site | December 2023". Notably, it appears that the cost of the project has increased considerably. When VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed as the main contractor for the project in December 2021, the projected cost stood at between £5m and £7m, according to project tender documentation. Now, however, the cost appears to have jumped to at least £10m. TfL's latest 'Future Contract Opportunities Over £100,000' document puts the 'baseline spend' for the project at between £10m and £25m. However, it's important to emphasise that "£10m-£25m" is a predefined category used by TfL to group together similarly-priced projects. That means that the final cost will be somewhere between those two numbers. While I believe it's extremely unlikely that the cost will be anywhere near the £25m top-end of that group, TfL has evidently determined that the cost will be at least £10m, which is why it's now been placed in that spending category. But even at the lowest end of that price range, that's a substantial increase since the project went out to tender in February 2020 with an estimated cost of £4m to £6m. Still, when you consider that TfL originally revealed its plans to redevelop Cromwell Road Bus Station ten years ago (!!!), it's nice to finally have a firm date (well... month) for works to begin. Now, I wonder where all those displaced buses are going to end up during the works... I suspect Wood Street will end up becoming a terminal for routes from Kingston Bridge with the 281/x26 diverted to a temp stop outside the old TGI Fridays like they have in the past. The 71/406/418/K1 could terminate at Stop R on Wood Street. If those aren’t viable options then TfL could work with the council to temporarily requisition Canbury Place car park, although given it could start in the run up to Christmas it may not be receptive especially as the NCP that used to sit next to Hippodrome is also gone in recent years. Start after Christmas and the council might be open to it as it could bring in money. |
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Post by 6HP502C on Mar 23, 2023 9:01:45 GMT
Now, I wonder where all those displaced buses are going to end up during the works... Rest assured it has all been carefully planned, not an easy task with many factors to consider! |
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Post by george on Mar 23, 2023 10:12:09 GMT
It's official.
The redevelopment of Cromwell Road Bus Station will finally begin in December 2023.TfL's 2023/24 Budget document, which was released yesterday along with other documentation related to its Board meeting next week, states that work will "start on site" at the end of the year: Under its Investment Programme Milestones - which outlines key upcoming stages across all major active projects - the TfL document further confirms: "Kingston Cromwell Road Bus Station - Start of Construction on Site | December 2023". Notably, it appears that the cost of the project has increased considerably. When VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed as the main contractor for the project in December 2021, the projected cost stood at between £5m and £7m, according to project tender documentation. Now, however, the cost appears to have jumped to at least £10m. TfL's latest 'Future Contract Opportunities Over £100,000' document puts the 'baseline spend' for the project at between £10m and £25m. However, it's important to emphasise that "£10m-£25m" is a predefined category used by TfL to group together similarly-priced projects. That means that the final cost will be somewhere between those two numbers. While I believe it's extremely unlikely that the cost will be anywhere near the £25m top-end of that group, TfL has evidently determined that the cost will be at least £10m, which is why it's now been placed in that spending category. But even at the lowest end of that price range, that's a substantial increase since the project went out to tender in February 2020 with an estimated cost of £4m to £6m. Still, when you consider that TfL originally revealed its plans to redevelop Cromwell Road Bus Station ten years ago (!!!), it's nice to finally have a firm date (well... month) for works to begin. Now, I wonder where all those displaced buses are going to end up during the works... Found it amusing that the mock up photo shows two bus types that not only don't exist anymore but also bus types that have never have never been on any Kingston route as far as I'm aware. |
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Post by southlondon413 on Mar 23, 2023 10:30:33 GMT
It's official.
The redevelopment of Cromwell Road Bus Station will finally begin in December 2023.TfL's 2023/24 Budget document, which was released yesterday along with other documentation related to its Board meeting next week, states that work will "start on site" at the end of the year: Under its Investment Programme Milestones - which outlines key upcoming stages across all major active projects - the TfL document further confirms: "Kingston Cromwell Road Bus Station - Start of Construction on Site | December 2023". Notably, it appears that the cost of the project has increased considerably. When VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed as the main contractor for the project in December 2021, the projected cost stood at between £5m and £7m, according to project tender documentation. Now, however, the cost appears to have jumped to at least £10m. TfL's latest 'Future Contract Opportunities Over £100,000' document puts the 'baseline spend' for the project at between £10m and £25m. However, it's important to emphasise that "£10m-£25m" is a predefined category used by TfL to group together similarly-priced projects. That means that the final cost will be somewhere between those two numbers. While I believe it's extremely unlikely that the cost will be anywhere near the £25m top-end of that group, TfL has evidently determined that the cost will be at least £10m, which is why it's now been placed in that spending category. But even at the lowest end of that price range, that's a substantial increase since the project went out to tender in February 2020 with an estimated cost of £4m to £6m. Still, when you consider that TfL originally revealed its plans to redevelop Cromwell Road Bus Station ten years ago (!!!), it's nice to finally have a firm date (well... month) for works to begin. Now, I wonder where all those displaced buses are going to end up during the works... Found it amusing that the mock up photo shows two bus types that not only don't exist anymore but also bus types that have never have never been on any Kingston route as far as I'm aware. Presidents used to be allocated to the 111 and 213, albeit at separate times. There were also examples loaned from First to Transdev for iBus installation floats, primarily on the 57. I think the ALX200 was allocated to the 726 when it run by TGM. |
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Post by george on Mar 23, 2023 11:00:50 GMT
Found it amusing that the mock up photo shows two bus types that not only don't exist anymore but also bus types that have never have never been on any Kingston route as far as I'm aware. Presidents used to be allocated to the 111 and 213, albeit at separate times. There were also examples loaned from First to Transdev for iBus installation floats, primarily on the 57. I think the ALX200 was allocated to the 726 when it run by TGM. Honestly completely forgot that 111 had president as always associate Transdev/London United with TA and TLA. Should have remembered the 213 though. On closer look the bus is actually a Metroline one look at back window. Maybe someone really wanted Metroline to win a route Kingston route at the time and was dropping small hints haha. |
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Post by vjaska on Mar 23, 2023 11:02:40 GMT
Found it amusing that the mock up photo shows two bus types that not only don't exist anymore but also bus types that have never have never been on any Kingston route as far as I'm aware. Presidents used to be allocated to the 111 and 213, albeit at separate times. There were also examples loaned from First to Transdev for iBus installation floats, primarily on the 57. I think the ALX200 was allocated to the 726 when it run by TGM. Close, the 726 used Volvo ALX300’s instead |
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Post by SILENCED on Mar 23, 2023 11:05:09 GMT
It's official.
The redevelopment of Cromwell Road Bus Station will finally begin in December 2023.TfL's 2023/24 Budget document, which was released yesterday along with other documentation related to its Board meeting next week, states that work will "start on site" at the end of the year: Under its Investment Programme Milestones - which outlines key upcoming stages across all major active projects - the TfL document further confirms: "Kingston Cromwell Road Bus Station - Start of Construction on Site | December 2023". Notably, it appears that the cost of the project has increased considerably. When VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed as the main contractor for the project in December 2021, the projected cost stood at between £5m and £7m, according to project tender documentation. Now, however, the cost appears to have jumped to at least £10m. TfL's latest 'Future Contract Opportunities Over £100,000' document puts the 'baseline spend' for the project at between £10m and £25m. However, it's important to emphasise that "£10m-£25m" is a predefined category used by TfL to group together similarly-priced projects. That means that the final cost will be somewhere between those two numbers. While I bhttps://www.keybuses.com/article/first-presidentelieve it's extremely unlikely that the cost will be anywhere near the £25m top-end of that group, TfL has evidently determined that the cost will be at least £10m, which is why it's now been placed in that spending category. But even at the lowest end of that price range, that's a substantial increase since the project went out to tender in February 2020 with an estimated cost of £4m to £6m. Still, when you consider that TfL originally revealed its plans to redevelop Cromwell Road Bus Station ten years ago (!!!), it's nice to finally have a firm date (well... month) for works to begin. Now, I wonder where all those displaced buses are going to end up during the works... Found it amusing that the mock up photo shows two bus types that not only don't exist anymore but also bus types that have never have never been on any Kingston route as far as I'm aware. This post got me googling about the Volvo President combination and stumbed across this 2021 article about the original prototype. First time had seen this page, found interesting, so thought I would share. www.keybuses.com/article/first-president |
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Post by redexpress on Mar 23, 2023 11:05:31 GMT
Found it amusing that the mock up photo shows two bus types that not only don't exist anymore but also bus types that have never have never been on any Kingston route as far as I'm aware. Presidents used to be allocated to the 111 and 213, albeit at separate times. There were also examples loaned from First to Transdev for iBus installation floats, primarily on the 57. I think the ALX200 was allocated to the 726 when it run by TGM. The 726 buses had ALX300 bodywork - visually very similar to the ALX200.
I suspect the 481 would have seen appearances by Travel London ALX200s in its early days. Some of the ex-315 batch were in use at TF at the time the route started.
Also, probably a rare occurrence but I've come across a pic (see here) of a Quality Line ALX200 from the S1 batch in use on commercial route K10 in Kingston.
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Post by theferret124 on Mar 24, 2023 20:35:53 GMT
It's official.
The redevelopment of Cromwell Road Bus Station will finally begin in December 2023.TfL's 2023/24 Budget document, which was released yesterday along with other documentation related to its Board meeting next week, states that work will "start on site" at the end of the year: Under its Investment Programme Milestones - which outlines key upcoming stages across all major active projects - the TfL document further confirms: "Kingston Cromwell Road Bus Station - Start of Construction on Site | December 2023". Notably, it appears that the cost of the project has increased considerably. When VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed as the main contractor for the project in December 2021, the projected cost stood at between £5m and £7m, according to project tender documentation. Now, however, the cost appears to have jumped to at least £10m. TfL's latest 'Future Contract Opportunities Over £100,000' document puts the 'baseline spend' for the project at between £10m and £25m. However, it's important to emphasise that "£10m-£25m" is a predefined category used by TfL to group together similarly-priced projects. That means that the final cost will be somewhere between those two numbers. While I believe it's extremely unlikely that the cost will be anywhere near the £25m top-end of that group, TfL has evidently determined that the cost will be at least £10m, which is why it's now been placed in that spending category. But even at the lowest end of that price range, that's a substantial increase since the project went out to tender in February 2020 with an estimated cost of £4m to £6m. Still, when you consider that TfL originally revealed its plans to redevelop Cromwell Road Bus Station ten years ago (!!!), it's nice to finally have a firm date (well... month) for works to begin. Now, I wonder where all those displaced buses are going to end up during the works... might be similar to the last time Cromwell Road was closed for water works where the K1 iirc stood at Fairfield, 111 and 285 stood on Ashdown Road with non-TfL routes standing on Birkenhead Avenue. not sure where the rest ended up, but buses from Surbiton will probably stand either on Brook Street or Kingston Hall Road, with buses from Hampton using Fairfield or even the abandoned Sury Basin stop. |
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Post by southlondon413 on Mar 24, 2023 21:33:24 GMT
It's official.
The redevelopment of Cromwell Road Bus Station will finally begin in December 2023.TfL's 2023/24 Budget document, which was released yesterday along with other documentation related to its Board meeting next week, states that work will "start on site" at the end of the year: Under its Investment Programme Milestones - which outlines key upcoming stages across all major active projects - the TfL document further confirms: "Kingston Cromwell Road Bus Station - Start of Construction on Site | December 2023". Notably, it appears that the cost of the project has increased considerably. When VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed as the main contractor for the project in December 2021, the projected cost stood at between £5m and £7m, according to project tender documentation. Now, however, the cost appears to have jumped to at least £10m. TfL's latest 'Future Contract Opportunities Over £100,000' document puts the 'baseline spend' for the project at between £10m and £25m. However, it's important to emphasise that "£10m-£25m" is a predefined category used by TfL to group together similarly-priced projects. That means that the final cost will be somewhere between those two numbers. While I believe it's extremely unlikely that the cost will be anywhere near the £25m top-end of that group, TfL has evidently determined that the cost will be at least £10m, which is why it's now been placed in that spending category. But even at the lowest end of that price range, that's a substantial increase since the project went out to tender in February 2020 with an estimated cost of £4m to £6m. Still, when you consider that TfL originally revealed its plans to redevelop Cromwell Road Bus Station ten years ago (!!!), it's nice to finally have a firm date (well... month) for works to begin. Now, I wonder where all those displaced buses are going to end up during the works... might be similar to the last time Cromwell Road was closed for water works where the K1 iirc stood at Fairfield, 111 and 285 stood on Ashdown Road with non-TfL routes standing on Birkenhead Avenue. not sure where the rest ended up, but buses from Surbiton will probably stand either on Brook Street or Kingston Hall Road, with buses from Hampton using Fairfield or even the abandoned Sury Basin stop. Fairfield is really busy, even with reductions to the 57 and 213. It might be able to support a small route but couldn’t support everything. |
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Post by londonbuses on Mar 24, 2023 22:20:03 GMT
I still think a massive new bus station built over Fairfield Bus Station and the Cattle Market Car Park would have been better, obviously it would cost more but this could have been offset partially by selling half of Cromwell Road Bus Station which would only be needed for buses from the Surbiton direction.
I would have then moved the stands around like this:
New (Fairfield) bus station - 57, 65, 111, 131, 213, 216, 285, 371, 411, 481, N87.
Cromwell Road Bus Station - 406, 418, 465, K1, non-TfL buses.
71 - extended to Ham.
Brook Street stand removed.
The 111 and 285 would need an extra bus to run around to this new bus station, but the 65 and 371 would need one less bus so would offset each other.
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Post by southlondon413 on Mar 24, 2023 22:50:31 GMT
I still think a massive new bus station built over Fairfield Bus Station and the Cattle Market Car Park would have been better, obviously it would cost more but this could have been offset partially by selling half of Cromwell Road Bus Station which would only be needed for buses from the Surbiton direction. I would have then moved the stands around like this: New (Fairfield) bus station - 57, 65, 111, 131, 213, 216, 285, 371, 411, 481, N87. Cromwell Road Bus Station - 406, 418, 465, K1, non-TfL buses. 71 - extended to Ham. Brook Street stand removed. The 111 and 285 would need an extra bus to run around to this new bus station, but the 65 and 371 would need one less bus so would offset each other. Unfortunately it seems the council is set on redeveloping the Cattle Market and Fairfield Bus Station into new homes. Considering that Unilever is preparing to relocate its UK HQ to Kingston in the next few years once their new site is complete it would make long term sense to bring new homes to the town. Whether it actually happens is another thing. kingston.nub.news/news/local-news/kingston-skyline-could-change-forever-as-council-plans-to-build-new-tower-blocks-emerge-161331 |
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Post by southlondonbus on Mar 24, 2023 23:06:32 GMT
I still think a massive new bus station built over Fairfield Bus Station and the Cattle Market Car Park would have been better, obviously it would cost more but this could have been offset partially by selling half of Cromwell Road Bus Station which would only be needed for buses from the Surbiton direction. I would have then moved the stands around like this: New (Fairfield) bus station - 57, 65, 111, 131, 213, 216, 285, 371, 411, 481, N87. Cromwell Road Bus Station - 406, 418, 465, K1, non-TfL buses. 71 - extended to Ham. Brook Street stand removed. The 111 and 285 would need an extra bus to run around to this new bus station, but the 65 and 371 would need one less bus so would offset each other. That would be good as then the 111, 216, 411 and 481 could pick up in Eden Street. |
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Post by southlondon413 on Mar 24, 2023 23:19:57 GMT
I still think a massive new bus station built over Fairfield Bus Station and the Cattle Market Car Park would have been better, obviously it would cost more but this could have been offset partially by selling half of Cromwell Road Bus Station which would only be needed for buses from the Surbiton direction. I would have then moved the stands around like this: New (Fairfield) bus station - 57, 65, 111, 131, 213, 216, 285, 371, 411, 481, N87. Cromwell Road Bus Station - 406, 418, 465, K1, non-TfL buses. 71 - extended to Ham. Brook Street stand removed. The 111 and 285 would need an extra bus to run around to this new bus station, but the 65 and 371 would need one less bus so would offset each other. That would be good as then the 111, 216, 411 and 481 could pick up in Eden Street. That would take Eden Street back to the days when it took ages to get out to Cromwell Road because of the sheer amount of buses backed up. |
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