I’m a big railway fan, but I had lived in South Tottenham
for 10 years before I travelled on what is usually called the Goblin Line. I
didn’t think it went to anywhere useful, to be honest. Well, I was wrong! It is, in fact, very useful and growing
numbers of passengers have, like me, discovered this. And here we have the
problem. During rush hour, the tiny two-car trains are seriously over-crowded.
People often cannot get on the train at all. So they wait 15 minutes until the
next train, only to find that’s full too. Surely there must be an easy solution
to this? More trains? Longer trains? Sadly, it’s not as easy as that.
A little background information: Wikipedia tells me that the line came into
being in the 19th century. It was formed from the Tottenham &
Forest Gate Railway and the Tottenham & Hampstead Junction Railway. It
pootled on over the years as a sleepy and under-used suburban line. It managed
to avoid the Beeching cuts of the 1960’s. It became part of the North London
Railway and then Silverlink.
Then, thanks to Ken and Boris, came Transport for London and
the Overground. Smarter stations, more staff and trains every 15 minutes. And
we realised that it’s a really useful little railway. From South Tottenham, you
can be walking on Hampstead Heath in 14 minutes. With one change you can get to
Southend, Richmond, Clapham Junction, Olympia & Shepherd’s Bush. It’s great
for commuting too. The Goblin line, almost overnight, became very popular. And very crowded.
So, what can be done? Well, sadly, there’s not really much
capacity for more trains. The Goblin line is not only popular with passengers.
Goods trains like it too. It’s a jolly
useful link as a sort of M25; carrying stuff around London and off to the rest
of the country. So it’s pretty much full. Not to mention that people in
Walthamstow have been complaining about bits dropping off their houses due to
vibrations caused by heavy goods trains.
Here’s an odd thing. The Goblin Line is one of very few lines
in London that is not an electric railway. You have to use smelly old diesel
power. Now, everyone – Transport for London, the Department for Transport,
Network Rail, the Goods Companies – thinks that electrifying the line is a Good
Idea. But nobody wants to pay for it. There’s been lots of finger-pointing and
questions have even been asked in the house, but no money has been forthcoming.
They can’t even agree on what it will cost, for goodness sake! The DfT say
£90m. Network Rail says £50m. Some bloke in Modern Railways magazine even
reckoned he could get it done for £9m!
So, could we at least have longer diesel trains? Well,
according to the Barking-Gospel Oak Line User Group, not really. Even if you could buy them quickly – off the
shelf, as it were – they would be expensive and, given new regulations, might
not pass emissions tests.
Oh, and whatever powers the trains, if they are longer they
won’t fit the platforms. So someone has to pay to lengthen the stations. Any
offers? No, thought not.
And then Transport for London issue a press release. This
says that they intend to increase ALL Overground line trains to FIVE carriages.
Hurray! Problem solved! Good old Boris!
Er, no. Sorry. Bit of a mess-up in the press office. All
lines except the Goblin. Obviously.
So there it is. A big, bureaucratic stalemate. Answers on a
postcard, please.
It’s still a great little line, though. It trundles along at a stately 30mph. The trains are clean and comfortable – outside
of rush hour. It’s well staffed with
friendly people. From South Tottenham you can visit the funky Brazilian Cafe in
the old station booking office. Or amble over to Markfield Park to visit the
Steam Engine and the excellent Cafe. From Harringay Green Lanes, you’re only a
step away from Sainsbury’s and the nearby pubs and vibrant Cypriot restaurants.
It’s not far from the marvellous,
re-located Harringay Market either. Crouch Hill is technically 50 metres
outside the borough, but it’s still an easy stroll down to the delights of
Crouch End.
For more on the Goblin Line, visit the excellent
Barking-Gospel Oak Line User Group website. http://www.barking-gospeloak.org.uk/
If anyone can sort out this wretched mess, they can.
Where there’s a will there’s a way...
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