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Cross River TramThe Cross River Tram is a Transport for London (TfL) project, also titled, Cross River Transit (CRT), awaiting consent, for a new tram running through central London from Camden Town and King's Cross to Euston, Holborn, Waterloo, Elephant & Castle and then to both Peckham and Brixton. With northern termini at Camden Town and King's Cross and southern termini at Peckham Rye and Brixton, it is forecasted to carry some 60 million passengers per annum, and to cost 450 million. It saw a high level of support during public consultation in January 2002 (92% of respondents in favour). Some 10,000 passengers are expected to use CRT each peak hour (with a frequency of 30tph or every 2 minutes) along its 16.5km route, which has 200,000 people in its catchment area. The tram should help relieve some congestion on the Northern and possibly Victoria lines, as well as providing much-improved public transport access to the former Peckham estate, through which it passes, as well as Walworth. It also provides the first direct rail-based link between King's Cross and Waterloo stations. Northern branches The northern branches are relatively short, and have been modified from earlier version of the scheme to take into account local objections. The route joins/divides at Mornington Crescent to serve either Camden Town station, or stops at the St. Pancras Hospital followed by King's Cross St. Pancras. Camden Town Particular attention was given to Camden Town in the development of the proposal. Schemes to improve Camden Town station have been hitting problems for the last decade; the station is at capacity and sees scheduled closures on Sundays to prevent overcrowding caused by the popularity of the Camden markets. CRT could provide benefits to Camden Town through both its construction and operation. The construction would allow improvements to bus and pedestrian facilities around the station; once complete, CRT would link key tourist entry points (King's Cross & Waterloo) and accommodation areas (Bloomsbury) to this major tourist attraction. The CRT stop would be on the western side of the (hopefully by this time) redeveloped Camden Town tube station, on Camden High Street. This short section of street would be closed to through traffic. Bus interchange would be in Kentish Town Road, just the other side of the tube station. From here to Mornington Crescent, Camden High Street would be a two-way transit-only street - permitting just CRT, buses and access to property. Bus stops would be "off-line" (in laybys to permit trams to pass), as would delivery bays. King's Cross The King's Cross branch has an unusual layout, and has been re-planned. It was previously proposed to run from Eversholt Terrace through Somers Town via Phoenix Road, but this route received significant opposition from Somers Town residents who felt it would physically divide their community. CRT has to avoid the busy Euston Road and associated complications with utilities and the Circle line tunnels. Therefore the new route leaves the main tram line much further north, at Mornington Crescent, and then runs down Crowndale Road to Goldington Crescent, where there would be a stop for the St. Pancras Hospital and Hospital for Tropical Diseases. It would then run down the northern part of Pancras Road, swinging underneath the St. Pancras extension using the new section of Goods Way. Reaching the eastern side of St Pancras, it would run down the southern part of Pancras Road to a three-platform stop outside the King's Cross suburban platforms. This would be opposite the entrance to the St Pancras Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL)domestic platforms for trains to Kent, and adjacent to the proposed northern ticket hall for the underground station (which is currently postponed - see the King's Cross page). A loop would run around from the tramstop in a clockwise direction back up to Goodsway, permitting trams to serve King's Cross without reversing. This would easily allow a future service extension into the new developments on the King's Cross railway lands. For that future extension, the new northern terminus of the King's Cross branch would be near the proposed York Way station for the North London (and possible Piccadilly) Line. Presumably the tram would run through the railway land developments in its own purpose-built "boulevard". Regardless of this potential branch into the developments, TfL will seek Section 106 contributions (money from developers to mitigate the transport effects of their development) for a tram stop on Goodsway to serve the railway land developments. Islington Council have expressed a desire for this branch to be extended northwards to Finsbury Park in the future. Core Section (Mornington Crescent to Waterloo) North of the river The crossing of the Euston Road would take place at Eversholt Terrace and would be the only point where CRT would not have full priority, since the 90-second phasing of the lights here is critical to keeping traffic moving on the busy Inner Ring Road. Departures from Euston and Tavistock Square tramstops either side of the junction would be managed carefully, to help passage through the junction and prevent delays. CRT traverses a traditional through route through Bloomsbury and Holborn by using Woburn Place, Southampton Row and Kingsway. Stops served would be Tavistock Square, Russell Square station, Holborn station and the Aldwych (stop for both directions west of Kingsway near the junction with Drury Lane; trams would not follow the one-way system). There would be a new southbound (contraflow) bus/tram lane along that western section of the Aldwych. Crossing the River The underpass which carries northbound traffic from Waterloo Bridge directly to Kingsway used to be a tram tunnel. It is therefore important to note that this tunnel would not be used for CRT. Instead, trams would travel over Lancaster Place. There would be a stop on the descent from Waterloo Bridge to serve the South Bank. Waterloo' There would be a CRT stop on Waterloo Road, immediately between Waterloo East and Waterloo stations. This is already a key bus road, and the segregation provided for CRT should improve bus services in the area, particularly the corridor between Waterloo and the Elephant & Castle, as buses would be allowed to use CRT's segregated alignment. Southern Branches Waterloo to Brixton Running down Baylis Road and Kennington Road, there would be stops at Lambeth North station, the Imperial War Museum and Kennington Cross. CRT would then run down Clapham Road to Stockwell, with an intermediate stop at Albert Square. After Stockwell "The Swan" (next to the station), trams would run down Stockwell Road, stopping at Stockwell Green and the Brixton Academy before terminating in Popes Road adjacent to Brixton railway station. At Stockwell Green there would be a bus/tram gate, i.e. only buses and trams would be allowed to pass through a point here. This is to prevent 'rat-running' down this road (most north-south traffic would be expected to use Brixton Road to the Oval and then cross to Vauxhall). Waterloo to Peckham CRT would run down Waterloo Road and serve a stop at St George's Circus near the South London University. After this, it enters the Elephant & Castle regeneration area, which should be completely rebuilt by the time the tram arrives. However, TfL have also safeguarded a route which does not depend on the reconstruction of this area. In that scenario, the tram will run along New Kent Road briefly and then down Elephant Road at the back of the shopping centre to reach Walworth Road. The planned route through the regeneration area can be used instead if/when it becomes available. Under the Elephant & Castle plan, London Road will become a two-way public transport & cycle-only street, segregating CRT from private traffic. CRT does not stop on London Road and will be in the centre, between the outer bus lanes. The northern roundabout at Elephant & Castle will be turned into a major public square, with the southeastern section being completely pedestrianised, and all pedestrian underpasses being replaced with wide surface crossings. The tram will have a segregated alignment along the western side of the square, serving the Elephant & Castle stop. New access to the Bakerloo and Northern Line stations will be adjacent to this tramstop, and access to the Thameslink/South Eastern railway station would be via the new pedestrianised High Street just to the east. There would also be interchange with buses towards Camberwell and Kennington via a bus stop just to the south of the tramstop. All of this alignment within the Elephant & Castle centre (i.e. between London Road and the southern junction) will be designed so that the City Tram can also use it. The tram then runs down (still segregated) to the current location of the southern roundabout, which will be rebuilt as part of the Elephant & Castle scheme. It then swings into Walworth Road. The section of Walworth Road between here and Heygate Street will be public transport & cycles only; the tram does not stop here, so it will be in the centre of the road. CRT would then serve Heygate Street (to be renamed Heygate Boulevard) using a dedicated public transport alignment along the centre of the road. At this point, CRT diverts off main roads to serve Walworth via the current 343 bus route, using Heygate Street, Rodney Road and Thurlow Street to serve stops at Catesby Street, East Street and Albany Road. The route then controversially cuts through Burgess Park, in which another stop is planned. Just south of the park, a stop is planned at Chandlers Way, and the tram then travels through the heart of the North Peckham estate to Kelly Avenue, where it swings to Peckham Arch and then terminates at Peckham Bus Station. Peckham Bus Station is considered a more important destination than Peckham Rye rail station since the bus station is 20 times busier than the rail station (20x more arrivals and departures at the bus station) and serves east-west bus routes which are seen as important interchange for CRT. Infrastructure Sharing with buses One of the advantages here as with the West London Tram is the ability to share segregated on-road routes with bus services. This is important since tram routes usually serve existing busy bus corridors. It must be noted, however, that buses cannot stop at the same platform-type stops that trams uses since they might strike the edge. Layby stops will be provided where necessary, to give the added advantage of not obstructing the tram route. The issue of buses was a problem during the planning of CRT. Giving full priority to an intensive tram service is difficult where the tram crosses busy east-west bus routes at the Aldwych, Holborn (Theobald's Road eastbound routes and High Holborn westbound ones) and Euston Road. This may have led to a reduction in the proposed tram frequency from 40 to 30 trams per hour. Depot The easiest place to provide a depot for CRT would be as part of the King's Cross railway land development. However, the preferred site has been lost to development and now TfL are considering a depot in Peckham.
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