Members of the public have been invited to let Transport for London (TfL) know which of two options for a new underground line they would prefer. Both options for the Crossrail 2 line would provide new links from Alexandra Palace and Turnpike Lane stations to central London, Clapham Junction and Wimbledon.
The cheaper of the two proposals, the Metro Option, would be for a light rail system with four-carriage trains similar to those running on the Docklands Light Railway, but running in a tunnel between Alexandra Palace and Wimbledon.
The Regional Option would also involve a new tunnel between the same two stations, but built to a much larger specification. Full-size ten-carriage trains would run on the line. At the northern end, some trains would not serve Turnpike Lane and Alexandra Palace, but would instead run along another new tunnel between Angel Islington and Hackney, before joining the existing Lea Valley line, which they would run along as far as Hertford North. At the southern end, trains would emerge from the tunnel and run along various existing railway lines in south-west London.
From the point of view of residents of Palmers Green changing trains at Alexandra Palace, the advantage of the Metro Option would be a more frequent service and slightly shorter journey times through the tunnel. However, although TfL have not indicated how often Regional Option trains would run to Alexandra Palace, they are forecasting peak frequencies through the main tunnel section of 30 trains per hour, so it seems likely that the service to North London will run pretty often, and the much larger trains might well be much less crowded than the smaller Metro trains - their peak hour passenger capacity would be up to 45,000 in each direction, compared to 38,500 for the Metro Option.
On the map the solid blue line shows the new tunnel that would be built for either option. The dotted sections show additional routes which would apply only to the Regional Option. The routes and stations shown on the map are only indicative and may change as a result of more detailed project work. Trains are expected to begin running in 2031.
To read more about Crossrail 2 and express your preference, visit the TfL website. The deadline for submissions is 2nd August.
