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Post by WH241 on Aug 21, 2024 21:23:27 GMT
I do think it was a huge miss to not have a station at City Airport, however I imagine the logic is that the Woolwich DLR branch already had its link to the Lizzie Line while the Beckton branch didn't. I think if these extended hours soak up any demand then there should be no barrier to a 7 day a week operation much like Heathrow airport. As you rightly say most residents probably have not been there longer than the airport by this point and regardless you'll always have to make some sacrifices living near one. I wonder if the site near the airport may be safeguarded in case there is a proposal in the future to add a station there on the Elizabeth Line? Do the platforms still remain from the former Silvertown station? I guess part of the problem is that, given the location betwen the docks and the river, there isn't much housing etc close by to the airport, and so a new station wouldn't attract many passengers who aren't going to the airport. And obviously as a smaller airport, even with the number of flights likely to increase, the potential passenger numbers may not be enough to justify the cost of a new station. With the DLR already deemed sufficient for both airport and non-airport passengers. The old Silvertown station was demolished when the Elizabeth Line was built. I think it would be difficult to build a station now as it would be much larger than the old Silverlink one. The site is also some distance from the airport so not as smooth as transferring from the DLR. I think the DLR service is more than sufficient. |
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Post by buspete on Aug 22, 2024 12:00:48 GMT
London City Airport said they’re happy to pay the £50m cost for the station. If I recall the old Silvertown station was a single platform, not sure on the length, if it was anymore than 4 carriages?
I remember going down for the first day to watch the fist planes into London City Airport, which was a Brymon Airways flight from Plymouth, in those days you only had 11 flights to Paris done by Brymon/Eurocity Express amd 4 to Brussels with Eurocity Airport.
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Post by buspete on Aug 22, 2024 22:38:13 GMT
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Post by ThinLizzy on Aug 23, 2024 11:05:58 GMT
I wonder if the site near the airport may be safeguarded in case there is a proposal in the future to add a station there on the Elizabeth Line? Do the platforms still remain from the former Silvertown station? I guess part of the problem is that, given the location betwen the docks and the river, there isn't much housing etc close by to the airport, and so a new station wouldn't attract many passengers who aren't going to the airport. And obviously as a smaller airport, even with the number of flights likely to increase, the potential passenger numbers may not be enough to justify the cost of a new station. With the DLR already deemed sufficient for both airport and non-airport passengers. The whole point of the City Airport Station is exactly that, to give a one seat tide from Canary Wharf, which you cannot do on the DLR. It's a cross-platform connection at Poplar with no more than 5-6 minute wait for a Woolwich Arsenal service. As others have said, there's not really enough room around the infrastructure to build a replacement station for the old Silvertown station on the Elizabeth Line. |
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Post by buspete on Aug 24, 2024 0:29:44 GMT
And that is a the rub, a choice of a two seat ride to London City Airport or a one seat ride to Heathrow on the Elizabeth Line. A simple change at Popular isn’t that attractive.
London City Airport has been hit hard by the Elizabeth Line/video conferencing/downturn in business travel/Brexit/lack of regional carrier/popularity of low cost airlines.
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Post by southlondon413 on Aug 24, 2024 3:31:09 GMT
And that is a the rub, a choice of a two seat ride to London City Airport or a one seat ride to Heathrow on the Elizabeth Line. A simple change at Popular isn’t that attractive. London City Airport has been hit hard by the Elizabeth Line/video conferencing/downturn in business travel/Brexit/lack of regional carrier/popularity of low cost airlines. Which is why City has been pivoting itself towards leisure travel since the mid-2010s. The last time I was travelled from it in 2020 there were just as many families and leisure travellers as there were business travellers. You only have to look at the destinations to see that many aren’t offered from anywhere else and would be unlikely to be accommodated at other London airports if City was closed. It is essential to the London economy but it doesn’t need multiple stations serving it. What is more essential is a direct high speed rail link between Heathrow and Gatwick, that wound unlock far more flight coordination for passengers and airlines. |
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