From eWatford Observer 29/03/08

Croxley Rail Link hits the sidings

Plans to finally build the Croxley Rail Link have again hit the skids
after the Department for Transport dismissed the latest bid as "non-
compliant" with its funding criteria.

The development, which would link the Metropolitan Line to Watford
Junction, has received backing from Hertfordshire County Council,
Watford MP Claire Ward and the East of England Regional Assembly, as
well as Watford Borough Council.

However, the government has rejected the business case because it has
still not received financial backing from Transport for London (TfL).

TfL said in 2005 that it would commit up to £18 million to the
project. However, because TfL will not guarantee how much cash it will
provide for the £95 million project the Government will not commit any
money to it either.

The Department for Transport has, however, agreed to meet with the
county council to discuss the project.

The bid was backed by a letter signed by Mayor Dorothy Thornhill, Ms
Ward and Robert Gordon, leader of the county council.

On Apr 2, 10:48 am, johnnyburk...@googlemail.com wrote:

Unless they're travelling to harrow or some other nearby suburb , why
would someone get the met from watford junction and be taken on a tour
of north west london when they could get a direct train to euston
instead?

B2003

On Apr 2, 2:48 am, johnnyburk...@googlemail.com wrote:

Unbelievable, all this mishigas over two miles of critically useful
railway. The failure to have build this line to date points to
terminal stupidity.

Adrain

Adrian wrote:

What's "critically useful" about it?

Neil

The Croxley Link line will be a fantastic success when built because
Watford's people will be able to get to Rickmansworth and the Chiltern Line
(Amersham / Aylesbury etc.) by quick tube thus avoiding the horrendous the
road traffic along this busy corridor. You have to do a rush hour bus trip
from Watford to Rickmansworth to really understand how choked this area is
with traffic. Also and at last Chiltern line passengers can hook up with the
WCML.

Bring it on!

Boltar (Boltar yahoo.co.uk>) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

Tube fares, instead of mainline...?

On Apr 2, 9:25 am, Neil Williams gmail.com> wrote:

It will allow a large chunk of "Metroland" access to mainline services
without going by way of London Euston.

Adrian

On Apr 2, 9:30 am, "Mitch" mitchelmores.plus.com> wrote:

On Wed, 2 Apr 2008, Boltar wrote:

They won't. Presumably, you'd like to see Croydon Tramlink closed down,
because it doesn't provide a sensible way to get to central London?

While we're on the subject:

Wouldn't it make sense for the branch to be NR rather than LU? Watford
Junction and Watford High Street are NR stations, and AIUI the
Metropolitan line north of Harrow-on-the-Hill is also owned by NR (the
fasts, at least). If the priority is on local services into Watford, it
would make sense for it to be NR, not LU. Making it NR would also open up
the possibility of longer-distance Chiltern services into Watford (if
there's any demand for that). (And personally, i've long thought that the
Met should give up on the fasts north of HotH altogether, and let Chiltern
use that route exclusively, especially post-S-stock, but what do i know.)

Although now i'm confused about who owns the lines round there. The Met is
two- or four-track from London to HotH, and there's the NR route beside
it; north of HotH, there are two pairs: a slow pair...