Why Doesn’t The Northern Line Extension Go To Clapham Junction?

A model new report finds no bodily constraints to extending the Northern line one more stop.

We now have all speculated and requested the question: why did the 2021 Northern line extension stop at Battersea Vitality Station and by no means go that little bit farther to Clapham Junction?

It seems obvious. Clapham Junction is probably going one of many busiest stations in London, serving dozens of mainline trains an hour, alongside two branches of the Overground. To not level out all the buses. Why not plug inside the Tube as properly?

Requires further extension have now been taken forward by the native authority, Wandsworth Council. It needs to increase transport functionality inside the area, and likewise unlock enchancment potential spherical Clapham Junction. To that end, the council commissioned an investigation into the feasibility of establishing such a hyperlink. This has now been reported, discovering “no engineering or geological constraints” that may scupper the idea. Thus emboldened, the council will now conduct a public session to gauge public help.

So why didn’t it happen first time spherical?

This lack of connection has prolonged been a grumble for people who keep inside the area. “Fury” was the word used by the Daily Mail (because of course it was) when the extension opened in 2021 with out a Clapham Junction hyperlink.

The reason is a flowery mixture of issues. Value is the obvious one. Loads of the money should come from developer contributions, which could require massive redevelopment at Clapham Junction. On no account easy to get by way of planning.

Fears of swamping the Northern line have been one different state of affairs. So many people transfer by way of Clapham Junction that the anticipated crowds could present overwhelming. Earlier analysis anticipated the need to enhance the Northern line, by remodelling the rate-limiting junction at Camden Metropolis, and splitting the branches into two separate traces. This will likely improve functionality, nonetheless come at good worth. Nonetheless, the crowding draw back would possibly now be a lot much less excessive given the dip in passenger numbers since all of us purchased eager on working from dwelling.

Lastly, there’s Crossrail 2. This long-planned north-south underground route would stop at Clapham Junction. Plans keep on keep nonetheless, have been it to be constructed, any enterprise case for extending the Northern line would diminish.

Wandsworth’s investigation and session isn’t going to treatment all of these objections, nonetheless they do keep the idea alive and inside the public eye. Transport for London constructed the 2021 extension with an alignment which will help a future push to Clapham Junction. It could happen, sooner or later, nonetheless for now the Clapham Junction extension stays a pipe dream.