As someone who gave up and moved out of a “new town” (being built on a massive brownfield site) two years ago partly because of the never ending promise of “new transport links and amenities”, I completely agree. 25 minute walk to the nearest bus stop. 30 minutes to the nearest convenience store. 30 minutes to the nearest railway station. We did have a pub. But that was it.
@@southcalderYep, and it's also even bad for the nearest town whose infrastructure wasn't expected to have to cope with added demand from a whole other "town." The idea is great but we need to ensure it is actually done, and not just a marketing exercise by developers.
@@a1white Exactly hopefully the DLR extension does come true but there is still that safeguarded crossing they are probably never going to build even thought they still think that the Silvertown tunnel is a good idea.
Kind of a 21st century version of the Metroland stations on the Tube line stations, in North West London and further north. Many of the tube stations in my local area, were built when there were many less houses and shops, than today. Sometimes they were in the middle of a semi rural area, rather than a building site.
metroland as infill as oppose to sprawl, just goes to show the changes between the two times with how built up outer london is already and the green belt
Building the station first helps ensure that the local area is built up around the station. It also means that the pull factor of the station can feed into the growth of the area.
2:45 "Cricklewood endures." There's a phrase. It would make a title for a novel; obviously, a tale of quiet heroism, but somehow (it must be the rhyme) I think of cricket, too, the thought that the eponymous Cricklewood might have a touch of the anti-hero. Perhaps a cross between C.S. Forrester and the P.G. Wodehouse of the school stories (he says, revealing his great antiquity). Speaking of antiquity, that approach to the station, though unrelievedly rectilinear, is entirely unafraid of its own height, making me think of the approach to an ancient sacred building (fane, if you will); whilst the wood domesticates it with a hint of Arts and Crafts style. At first glance it looks like an ugly bit of boxy utilitarianism, but there's a chance that people will come to look on it the way we do on Underground stations of the 1930s.
Between Jago and Geoff i know substantially more about rail around London than I do in the Northeast US. We really need some more quality tranist RUclipsrs here (the ones we have work hard, I know its not easy!)
North of Toronto is a GO Train stop in the middle of nowhere called Bloomington Side Road. It's over-built for the present day but was built for the development that is to come someday.
Good video Jago. I’ve not seen the station yet but will be interested to… To me, ‘Brent Cross’ always evokes memories of the shopping centre as it appeared in the 1980s; the stained glass atriums and wooden animals for kids to climb on!
There is a cafe ten minutes away on the Hendon side - through one of the parks (already completed). And yes please to a West London Orbital preview. I went from Hendon and there's a fifth and sixth track without platforms there so it looks like that's scheduled as the terminus.
I misunderstood the scale and size of the entrances and now my mind sees little people using it, instead of normal size people going in a massive portal.
Jago, I'm not a patron but I'd pay for your ticket down to Ashford International to see you do an episode about an international eurostar station now completely abandoned for its primary purpose! x
I think Brent Cross West must be the most RUclipsd station in the UK. I think 'JenOnTheMove' found a Costa around there somewhere, but she seems to manage to find a Costa everywhere
@@JagoHazzardshocked and somewhat disappointed that Jago didn't provide historical antecedents of rail service in the area - especially since apparently this lies on an old railway yard. I mean, the history is what sets Jago apart from other railway/transport/infrastructure RUclipsrs.
Kinda funny to be jumpscared by Newbury station, a station I use regularly that I did not expect to see in a video about Brent Cross West! Great video you did on Newbury btw, and I hope you enjoyed the stay!
Good Video Jago! It’s nice seeing this area being upgraded. Thameslink is my favourite line in London. Amazing that it serves two London Airports that are not in London, Gatwick and Luton.
[CONTINUED],Shades of the old IRT,or BRT,or the Long Island! Every railroad built stations,literally in the middle of nowhere,and the services were there,before the people got there! For in the US,transit company built amusement parks,garden suburbs,and the lines connected! One example is Venice,California,on the old PE,the developer,worked with the Los Angeles-Pacific,which built the original line,and the PE,bought it later,had that as a heavy duty traffic generator! Back in the day,it was a surfers paradise! And so the history goes! Thank you,Jago,and yes,that new station will just become background in people's lives,and taken for granted! Thank you 😇 😊!!
2:55 More likely the fast platforms are normally closed to stop jumpers. There's been a trend towards closing them off everywhere else, either with or without leaving open the possibility of access for passengers.
Dull looking, but then all the new blocks going up alongside will also be dull looking! What's useful about this station, is that the main structure - the escalators and lifts, and the bridge - are a completely open route, creating a much needed crossing of the railway.
0:05 On the day that you published this video, Brent Cross West ceased to be the newest station on the national rail network, as East Linton opened this morning.
Welcome back. I know youre not the first but you are ingood company. Looking forward to you doing the new proposed stations in both Blyth and Ashington in Northumberland sometime next year or 2025 or 2026 or..... you het the idea.
I fully endorse your disgust at the barrier situation, it is a crush risk waiting to happen. Thank you for using your platform (pun intended) to raise this vital issue!
Hello Jago, at 4:02 you will notice the Cafe direction sign. Although I believe this is future planned and for a local vendor, not a High Street company.
Quite a nice station! I think when surrounded by development it'll look a bit better, but it is admittedly a bit unexciting from the outside. Functionally though? Seems up to scratch. We'll see I guess when its time to shine really comes. It is also nice that the area has a fully equipped, future-proofed station waiting for it instead of the planners doing a Thamesmead or New Addington, as you point out. Also 'supermarket own brand version of a garden city', perfect lmao. Great video!
An informative and amusing production as always Jago. However, the shot of the Concourse Bridge at timestamp 4.53 clearly shows 'Corduroy' Tactile Paving being misused for decorative purposes. In this type of location the important, safety critical, intended purpose of this type of Tactile Paving is to serve as a warning to the visually impaired of an imminent change in step height, usually at the foot or head of a flight of steps/stairs and its mis-application could lead to a significant level of confusion and distrust in its deployment on-site for those affected. It should never be deployed merely as architectural decoration. It beggars belief that Network Rail should permit its misuse given that they have an entire departmental program specifically dedicated to these matters with their longstanding 'Access for All' program. I should know since I was the lead disability Access Consultant during its original inception in 2005/6! Meanwhile, please keep up the good work Jago!!
Platforms: most of the stations on the Midland Main Line (or BedPan Line, if you prefer) are similar. There are four platforms, but two of them serve the fast/through lines, so trains do not normally stop there. Those platforms are available in case of emergencies, or train diversions due to engineering work etc.
Excuse me, but when did we ever build the infrastucture before the 'real' need for it? Usually we catch up and do something reasonably disjointed to satisfy the need that was obvious if anyone had thought about it. What happened here?
The tube. Or rather Metro land. The underground would be built before the town it serves would be built (although in most cases they knew it was going to be developed so it wasn''t really a gamble)
@@railotaku Also one can see the tramway led ribbon development of london and elsewhere, litterally the development was 1 year ahead of the tram which then extended the next half mile , rinse and repeat
'Park Town' Lidl: 👀. I was going to visit the new station on the way home from work since the 316 goes there now. But if there no coffee shop yet I think I'll leave it😋
hmm not a visual match for the newish tube stations such as Southwark, or even London Bridge or Battersea. but it will do I suppose. My new years resolution is to visit it !
Nice to see you doing Brent Cross West station that opened 3 days ago. And with Thameslink to provide additional services. Maybe Thameslink could allow some of their trains to & from Brighton, Wimbledon/Sutton, Bedford and Gatwick Airport to stop at Brent Cross West.
Maybe 'Bland Cross' would describe it better. Since this is on the Midland Main Line, I wanted something that resembled the Midland Hotel at St Pancras 😉
At least this station isn’t one of the many identikit stations that have sprung up everywhere - at least there is some thought to architectural design. I do like the interiors - looks like there’s a lot of room for passengers.
I personally like this and modern contemporary design in general. It actually reminded me a lot of Barking Riverside. The overall feel of the place will be improved by lots of people using it . And the development of the nearby “Town “
What winds me up about this station is that they only partially future-proofed it AND not in the right way. They should’ve put platforms on the branch line at Brent Curve Junction (think it through, 360’s are cleared for Heathrow Airport, the only thing missing are some overhead cables to Acton), as well as a potential connection to the northern line. I really think they should’ve put a Northern line connection at Hendon if I’m honest, but whatever. The connection to Heathrow and the GW should really have been considered. EMR could’ve run an Airport Express once the MML electrification was completed. Direct services from Heathrow to Luton and East Mids airports would’ve been incredible.
If You ever find yourself back in Newbury give me a shout and I’ll happily show you some of the town’s railway heritage. Still lots to see if you go looking.
Jago, I visited on Sunday too. St Pancras had me annoyed all day 😂 hardly anyone touched out as a result. Max fare galore. I'd go as far as saying Brent Cross West is the best designed brand new rail station in London this side of 2000.
Not enamoured of the blocky looks. Like you, I do like the woody bits as a general principal. The view of the new Town under construction reminds me of "La Defense" in Paris in a similar state. The record on building entirely new towns and/or suburbs is somewhat chequered. Lets hope this one is one that works. Historically, Quainton road station was, and even is today, over a mile from the town of Quainton. (Okay - you could argue the strip line development down station road is slowly linking them up). But then "Metroland" never really took-off the way they expected. Which sort of begs the question - what f it had?
I'm obviously not the first to spot the sign for a cafe at 4:00. I wonder how many people will go round in circles looking for one - or is there one outside the station?
It all seems very pristine in the video, not least because there were few people about. However, I hope it will not look a bit the worse for year in a year's time. I visited St Margaret's bus station here in Leicester yesterday for the first time since it was re-opened 14 months ago after a wholesale revamp. The building still looks good from the outside but the main floor area in particular was covered in blotches where people had spilt coffee or food or occasionally spat out chewing gum.
Oh yuck! Funny story today actually. I was using my laptop in Costa and it was charging. When I removed the plug from the plug socket there was a big lump of chewing gum on one of the pins! I was not best pleased. What kind of disgusting specimen thinks a plug socket is a good place to put their used chewing gum? Managed to get it all off my plug, and informed a member of staff, because it's not safe. I did wonder why my laptop wasn't charging very well!
Steel and glass is the current idiom for public buildings, so there's an element of honesty there. Plus it's light and airy, an attribute I greatly appreciate at stations because I get nervous in crowds, part of which I put down to claustrophobia. Bricks and mortar would have been rather retro-1980's (you know, the London stocks with dark coloured mortar sort of thing) and fairfaced concrete or indeed some iteration of neo-brutalism would have been slated in the architectural press for being pretentious. The structural use of timber at Abbey Wood is a new thing for polite transport architecture (if we overlook the GWR's wooden platforms and shelters as "rustic"), maybe that will be the New Thing? Far too good for a supermarket own brand Garden City though.
Please do make a video about the West London Orbital, Jago. I didn't know it was still a thing. There have been so many proposals and I thought it had been dropped.
No ticket office 😡. It was encouraging that recent newly opened stations like Green Park had one. But since then, Thanet Parkway and now Brent Cross West have opened without. At least Thameslink's ticket machines (unlike the one Southeastern provides at Thanet Parkway and elsewhere) allow the customer to vary the point of origin. This is essential if, for instance, you have a season ticket but you wish to travel beyond the last station or zone covered by your season ticket. Not good news for blind passengers, though. It also means if you wanted to travel, say, from Brent Cross West to Elstree & Borehamwood and then take the bus using the PlusBus add-on, you would have to either order your tickets online in advance and collect them from the ticket machine (tickets sold in conjunction with a PlusBus add-on can't be issued as e-tickets), or buy the train ticket to Elstree from the ticket machine at Brent Cross West and chance your arm that the ticket office at Elstree would be open when you got there and would sell you the PlusBus add-on upon presentation of your train ticket. This is not a good system.
Worth mentioning that both Southeastern ticket machines now sell tickets from other stations (this is a recent change) and that PlusBus tickets can be bought from a ticket machine in conjunction with a ticket without having to buy them in advance. From what I’ve heard, station staff will be able to sell tickets when required (since also this station has no ticket machines accepting cash).
Brilliant video sir, do you think that it should have had infrastructure put in to join the oft proposed London overground line to the dudding Hill line?
Talking of little used platforms I often wonder about the disused ones at Hadley Wood. As they are on the express lines were they ever used? What were they for? Perhaps a hangover from when the line was doubled back in the day.
Appears to be not so much a single, recognizable building form but a lot of covered circulation all connected on the orthogonal. Wonder what Charles Holden would have done with it.
I had no idea they were building this place. But unless I'm mis-remembering, all the homes they were building were further up the road and closer to another tube station. It's also depressing that, for more and more parts of London, I can say 'I remember when this was...'.
As my regular readers will know(what do you mean you have no idea who I am) I have been a bus driver for many years.I have reached retirement age but still work for agencies.I was working for Arriva down in South London but I am now working for Metroline at their Willesden Junction garage and the first route I am driving is the 316 which has been extended to serve Brent Cross West.I have yet to see large numbers of passengers, sorry customers using it but we live in hope !!
Glad to see it has toilets. Wish more did. Seems to be a bit of a derth of seating although you dud mention a waiting room. Maybe more benches to come?
I remember discussions about this station 20 years ago, when I worked at the SRA. Never thought it would get off the ground. Must have been part-financed by the Freemasons, judging by the chequer-board pattern on the concourse floor.
Guess it is pointing to the proposed cafe on platforms 1&2. But in fact on Sunday there was a pop up coffee shop (and also a pizza place and somewhere serving mulled wine and mince pies) (together with additional toilets) by the western entrance. Aparrently Barnet council would not allow food and drinks to be sold on the station bridge.
What with this being a "if we build it, they will come" station, that is fairly similar to the stations built by the Metropolitan Railway Company, I'm wondering a couple of things: • Is the area being built to give local people a leg-up (with new council housing for locals and so on) or is this going to be luxury homes for rich people coming into the area (and displacing local people on housing waiting lists)? • Where is the money coming from? Is public money subsidising a service for poorer people? Is private money subsidising the service for businesses? Or is public money subsidising rich people? We badly need to have more transit oriented development, to create modal shift from road to rail, and I wonder if this is a sustainable model that can be rolled out across the country...or if it is a model that will be accompanied with the social cleansing of poor people.
The area of new housing used to be a mix of industrial and offices that they have jammed flats into. It will be a fairly road centric development due to its positioning on the North Circular at the base of the M1. But it's also alongside the Trainline, thus this station. As it's a major development they will be required to have a percentage (usually 15%) of "affordable accommodation".
I think it is all paid for by the developers. I don’t think the train company wanted an extra station here, slowing the service down, but it was a planning decision. As stated above, overall the development is very car-centric. The station is the ‘greenwashing’ part of it.
The visitor centre includes a model of the final plans, and is well worth visiting. Does not seem any plans to build over, but new developments will ensure the Brent Cross Town side will eventually not look out of place.
Investment in office space where the concept of home working has potentially future proofed the need for office space when there is already a lot of that space available in the rest of London, homes are a good idea as Thatcher is the last big builder of council houses.
It's undoubtedly a very useful and vital piece of infrastructure... Why good grief, why does every new building have either a Soviet milleu or look like it was designed by a 12 year old in Minecraft?
I'd say because it seems many architects seem to believe that any classic or traditional styles are just "bad". There's a variety of points they use to try and justify their opinion but I don't buy them. It's an interesting topic to look into.
I don't know about the "Soviet _milieu_ (?)" but the whole timber bit looks perfectly fine to me.. if anything, I think the biggest trouble is that the different parts are in different styles.
Hopefully there is future scope for an easier way to travel between Brent Cross West and nearby the Northern Line station then is currently the case via new bus routes. No idea if the re-routing of the 189 would help, only that the construction works on the Eastern exit makes it quite easy for non-locals aiming to walk along Parkview Avenue to find themselves ending up at Claremont Road via Brent Terrace instead.
There are no plans for a direct connection to Brent Cross Station, but there is a link to Hendon Central planned later. However using Cricklewood instead offers 3 bus routes to the Northern Line at Golders Green. Incidentally the 316 bus was extended to Brent Cross West from Sunday, but serves the western side of the station.
re the queue at StPancras (Stained Pancreas 😏): No, I agree, thank you!! I don't even live in Europe so it's not really an issue for me, and I generally think London transport is thought out quite well, but still, I've twice had to traverse that queue, while dragging two big bags, and each time wondered which dickhead came up with that arrangement! What better person to vindicate me than the Great Jago Hazzard?!
New thameslink station with lifts and so many trains per hour.... Would love for Wimbledon chase to get an upgrade! With lifts... I think there are already lift shafts....
While the station looks nice enough, I do find myself feeling that, at least in London, new stations or major refurbishments only happen when there's a large new housing development being planned or built - which I find a tad disappointing. While I'm not opposed to new developments, there are many stations in London that are either in a bad state of repair, have poor accessibility, are underserved or a combination of all three. When we want to maximise the use of trains in London (particularly from an environmental standpoint), building a new station that currently serves very little seems a bit wasteful.
The developers will likely have donated to the new station, a similar example being the new Battersea power station extension or GSK donating to the Brentford station upgrade as part of their headquarters being built.
@@petesj26 To quote Barnet Council themselves, "Barnet Council secured £419 million of government funding from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to allow the project to be delivered. They have been supported by Mace, who has project managed the programme. The station has been built by VolkerFitzpatrick, with Network Rail a key delivery partner". No mention of contributions from developers. Quoting the developers themselves, Related Argent "The Brent Cross West Station and associated rail works are being funded as part of a £418m government grant funding agreement with the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC)". Both indicate the station was built entirely with public money.
What's ironic is that there are loads of towns outside London (Wisbech for example) without a train station and a ready made market for rail travel. It's why there's resentment that London gets everything. Don't get me started on HS2!
@@hairyairey nationwide issue. Wixams is a development near Bedford that backs onto to a train line. They are hopeful of a station and I think a lot of them bought into a lie that they would get one when it has never been a certainty.
I like the timbery canopy thing, but the building itself looks like the box that some more interesting building came in. On the other hand, at least it's just uninteresting and not an outright affront to the eyes, like, say, every public building erected in the 1970s.
Always nice to see a new railway station opening! I agree that there seems to be a lot of "future proofing" going on, but it does mean that we are stuck with the "interesting" architecture for the conceivable! Are you planning to revisit in a few years time?
How am I? I'm fine, thank you. Brent Cross West, somewhere I will probably never visit, but here I am. @2:26, good to have an escalator up from the platform.
Lets see how that escalator copes with such weather conditions such as rain, snow for example as they do tend breakdown when they are out in the open so to speak...
".... miffed about a ticket barrier: get a grip" - you set me off on a five-minute coughing fit when I heard that, not to mention half a cup of tea in my lung
Interesting video and great to have a new main line station but, as you say, the architecture is a bit of a mixed bag. The massive timber entrance reminds me somehow of a Torri at a Japanese shrine . . .
It's nice that the station is already there for when the development is finished, rather than the other way round.
More than 50 years later Thanesmead is still waiting for its station
As someone who gave up and moved out of a “new town” (being built on a massive brownfield site) two years ago partly because of the never ending promise of “new transport links and amenities”, I completely agree.
25 minute walk to the nearest bus stop. 30 minutes to the nearest convenience store. 30 minutes to the nearest railway station. We did have a pub. But that was it.
At least Barking Riverside is up and running
@@southcalderYep, and it's also even bad for the nearest town whose infrastructure wasn't expected to have to cope with added demand from a whole other "town."
The idea is great but we need to ensure it is actually done, and not just a marketing exercise by developers.
@@a1white Exactly hopefully the DLR extension does come true but there is still that safeguarded crossing they are probably never going to build even thought they still think that the Silvertown tunnel is a good idea.
Love the description of Brent Cross Town as a "supermarket own brand version of a garden city" !
2:40 Does anybody else think that "Cricklewood Endures" sounds like the sort of code phrase that might be in some covert ops movie.
You are the new garden city to our public transport knowledge! 😀
Kind of a 21st century version of the Metroland stations on the Tube line stations, in North West London and further north. Many of the tube stations in my local area, were built when there were many less houses and shops, than today. Sometimes they were in the middle of a semi rural area, rather than a building site.
metroland as infill as oppose to sprawl, just goes to show the changes between the two times with how built up outer london is already and the green belt
Or more recently the Docklands Light Railway. That was a giant building site when I visited it shortly after opening.
Building the station first helps ensure that the local area is built up around the station. It also means that the pull factor of the station can feed into the growth of the area.
"Fewer" not less.
@simonwinter8839 That's a distinction without a difference, hence unimportant. Everyone knows what is meant.
2:45 "Cricklewood endures." There's a phrase. It would make a title for a novel; obviously, a tale of quiet heroism, but somehow (it must be the rhyme) I think of cricket, too, the thought that the eponymous Cricklewood might have a touch of the anti-hero. Perhaps a cross between C.S. Forrester and the P.G. Wodehouse of the school stories (he says, revealing his great antiquity).
Speaking of antiquity, that approach to the station, though unrelievedly rectilinear, is entirely unafraid of its own height, making me think of the approach to an ancient sacred building (fane, if you will); whilst the wood domesticates it with a hint of Arts and Crafts style. At first glance it looks like an ugly bit of boxy utilitarianism, but there's a chance that people will come to look on it the way we do on Underground stations of the 1930s.
Cricklewood was Alan Coren's go to butt of jokes etc.
It sounds very E.M. Forster
@@highpath4776 Alan Coren lived there for many years. Crickelewood was also the home of the Goodies.
@@highpath4776 Evidently, then, the new line we need is a direct connection between Cricklewood and Mornington Crescent
@@michaelwright2986 Via the Graham Garden City ?
Between Jago and Geoff i know substantially more about rail around London than I do in the Northeast US. We really need some more quality tranist RUclipsrs here (the ones we have work hard, I know its not easy!)
I can recommend "RM Transit" and "Miles In Transit", both extremely knowledgable and thought-provoking.
Jago and Geoff are undisputable Tube champions !
Geoff pointed the coffee shop site, and the booking office :)
Too late - I moved to Ohio to get away from all that. 😆
@@MRTransportVideos And Alan Fisher. Even if his weird glottal stop can be irritating
I strongly suspect the two closed platforms are for when the 'slow lines' are closed or unavailable. Much like Cricklewood and Hendon.
That was the case on Sunday morning when the station opened!
Nice to see Brent Cross West station officially opened. It does look really nice, clean and almost has that airport terminal feel. Very nice station.
North of Toronto is a GO Train stop in the middle of nowhere called Bloomington Side Road. It's over-built for the present day but was built for the development that is to come someday.
Good video Jago. I’ve not seen the station yet but will be interested to… To me, ‘Brent Cross’ always evokes memories of the shopping centre as it appeared in the 1980s; the stained glass atriums and wooden animals for kids to climb on!
There is a cafe ten minutes away on the Hendon side - through one of the parks (already completed).
And yes please to a West London Orbital preview. I went from Hendon and there's a fifth and sixth track without platforms there so it looks like that's scheduled as the terminus.
I misunderstood the scale and size of the entrances and now my mind sees little people using it, instead of normal size people going in a massive portal.
With weather, architecture and scenery like that, who wouldn't want to live in Brent Cross town?
Jago, I'm not a patron but I'd pay for your ticket down to Ashford International to see you do an episode about an international eurostar station now completely abandoned for its primary purpose! x
I think Brent Cross West must be the most RUclipsd station in the UK. I think 'JenOnTheMove' found a Costa around there somewhere, but she seems to manage to find a Costa everywhere
Geoff Marshall found the sight of the future coffee shop on Platforms 1/2 - it was confirmed it would be a local firm, not a brand name.
It’s in Staples Corner retail park. I was there today myself, filming a new video.
@@JagoHazzardshocked and somewhat disappointed that Jago didn't provide historical antecedents of rail service in the area - especially since apparently this lies on an old railway yard.
I mean, the history is what sets Jago apart from other railway/transport/infrastructure RUclipsrs.
Kinda funny to be jumpscared by Newbury station, a station I use regularly that I did not expect to see in a video about Brent Cross West! Great video you did on Newbury btw, and I hope you enjoyed the stay!
Good Video Jago! It’s nice seeing this area being upgraded. Thameslink is my favourite line in London. Amazing that it serves two London Airports that are not in London, Gatwick and Luton.
Maybe Crossrail2 will run from Heathrow to Stansted... 🤔
Baby Changing Room? (3:42) Bring in your old baby, walk out with a new one! LOL😁
Quote of the Day: “I’m miffed about the ticket barrier. Get a grip!”
I thought “Cricklewood endures” also worthy of mention.
St Pancras is horrible though
[CONTINUED],Shades of the old IRT,or BRT,or the Long Island! Every railroad built stations,literally in the middle of nowhere,and the services were there,before the people got there! For in the US,transit company built amusement parks,garden suburbs,and the lines connected! One example is Venice,California,on the old PE,the developer,worked with the Los Angeles-Pacific,which built the original line,and the PE,bought it later,had that as a heavy duty traffic generator! Back in the day,it was a surfers paradise! And so the history goes! Thank you,Jago,and yes,that new station will just become background in people's lives,and taken for granted! Thank you 😇 😊!!
2:55 More likely the fast platforms are normally closed to stop jumpers. There's been a trend towards closing them off everywhere else, either with or without leaving open the possibility of access for passengers.
Dull looking, but then all the new blocks going up alongside will also be dull looking!
What's useful about this station, is that the main structure - the escalators and lifts, and the bridge - are a completely open route, creating a much needed crossing of the railway.
0:05 On the day that you published this video, Brent Cross West ceased to be the newest station on the national rail network, as East Linton opened this morning.
Not technically a new station, even if entirely rebuilt. Just re-opening after a short closure -- of about sixty years.
Ah, not just me then. ;)
As an ex Finchley-ite now living in Sheffield, I'm always interested in London Transport developments as I still visit often.
I'm a Tottenham-(um) ite?
I'm living in Hull, but I'm also interested in the London Transport structure, especially the Underground.
Hey Jago, would love a video on covering Shepperton station, really intresting station with ana abandoned platform id love to know more about
Welcome back. I know youre not the first but you are ingood company. Looking forward to you doing the new proposed stations in both Blyth and Ashington in Northumberland sometime next year or 2025 or 2026 or..... you het the idea.
I fully endorse your disgust at the barrier situation, it is a crush risk waiting to happen. Thank you for using your platform (pun intended) to raise this vital issue!
Hello Jago, at 4:02 you will notice the Cafe direction sign. Although I believe this is future planned and for a local vendor, not a High Street company.
Quite a nice station! I think when surrounded by development it'll look a bit better, but it is admittedly a bit unexciting from the outside. Functionally though? Seems up to scratch. We'll see I guess when its time to shine really comes. It is also nice that the area has a fully equipped, future-proofed station waiting for it instead of the planners doing a Thamesmead or New Addington, as you point out.
Also 'supermarket own brand version of a garden city', perfect lmao.
Great video!
Really interesting for me as in the early 70's I lived near Brent Cross in Golders Green and worked at Staples Corner. I can't believe the changes.
An informative and amusing production as always Jago. However, the shot of the Concourse Bridge at timestamp 4.53 clearly shows 'Corduroy' Tactile Paving being misused for decorative purposes. In this type of location the important, safety critical, intended purpose of this type of Tactile Paving is to serve as a warning to the visually impaired of an imminent change in step height, usually at the foot or head of a flight of steps/stairs and its mis-application could lead to a significant level of confusion and distrust in its deployment on-site for those affected. It should never be deployed merely as architectural decoration. It beggars belief that Network Rail should permit its misuse given that they have an entire departmental program specifically dedicated to these matters with their longstanding 'Access for All' program. I should know since I was the lead disability Access Consultant during its original inception in 2005/6! Meanwhile, please keep up the good work Jago!!
Bet it will be fun on a windy, rainy day.
"I'm miffed about a ticket barrier" Classic Jago 😂❤
Platforms: most of the stations on the Midland Main Line (or BedPan Line, if you prefer) are similar. There are four platforms, but two of them serve the fast/through lines, so trains do not normally stop there. Those platforms are available in case of emergencies, or train diversions due to engineering work etc.
Indeed. The first few trains of the day on opening day used the fast line platforms, for some reason.
Excuse me, but when did we ever build the infrastucture before the 'real' need for it? Usually we catch up and do something reasonably disjointed to satisfy the need that was obvious if anyone had thought about it. What happened here?
Barking Riverside is in a similar boat to Brent Cross West, built about a year or two ago
The tube. Or rather Metro land. The underground would be built before the town it serves would be built (although in most cases they knew it was going to be developed so it wasn''t really a gamble)
Getting the developers to pay for it. See also Imperial Wharf, Meridian Water, Barking Riverside
@@railotaku Also one can see the tramway led ribbon development of london and elsewhere, litterally the development was 1 year ahead of the tram which then extended the next half mile , rinse and repeat
'Park Town' Lidl: 👀. I was going to visit the new station on the way home from work since the 316 goes there now. But if there no coffee shop yet I think I'll leave it😋
hmm not a visual match for the newish tube stations such as Southwark, or even London Bridge or Battersea. but it will do I suppose. My new years resolution is to visit it !
Nice to see you doing Brent Cross West station that opened 3 days ago. And with Thameslink to provide additional services.
Maybe Thameslink could allow some of their trains to & from Brighton, Wimbledon/Sutton, Bedford and Gatwick Airport to stop at Brent Cross West.
Also trains to/from Rainham to luton stop here.
Yep 👍
Maybe 'Bland Cross' would describe it better. Since this is on the Midland Main Line, I wanted something that resembled the Midland Hotel at St Pancras 😉
At least this station isn’t one of the many identikit stations that have sprung up everywhere - at least there is some thought to architectural design. I do like the interiors - looks like there’s a lot of room for passengers.
I personally like this and modern contemporary design in general. It actually reminded me a lot of Barking Riverside. The overall feel of the place will be improved by lots of people using it . And the development of the nearby “Town “
What winds me up about this station is that they only partially future-proofed it AND not in the right way. They should’ve put platforms on the branch line at Brent Curve Junction (think it through, 360’s are cleared for Heathrow Airport, the only thing missing are some overhead cables to Acton), as well as a potential connection to the northern line. I really think they should’ve put a Northern line connection at Hendon if I’m honest, but whatever.
The connection to Heathrow and the GW should really have been considered. EMR could’ve run an Airport Express once the MML electrification was completed. Direct services from Heathrow to Luton and East Mids airports would’ve been incredible.
If You ever find yourself back in Newbury give me a shout and I’ll happily show you some of the town’s railway heritage. Still lots to see if you go looking.
Jago, I visited on Sunday too. St Pancras had me annoyed all day 😂 hardly anyone touched out as a result. Max fare galore.
I'd go as far as saying Brent Cross West is the best designed brand new rail station in London this side of 2000.
Not enamoured of the blocky looks. Like you, I do like the woody bits as a general principal. The view of the new Town under construction reminds me of "La Defense" in Paris in a similar state. The record on building entirely new towns and/or suburbs is somewhat chequered. Lets hope this one is one that works.
Historically, Quainton road station was, and even is today, over a mile from the town of Quainton. (Okay - you could argue the strip line development down station road is slowly linking them up). But then "Metroland" never really took-off the way they expected. Which sort of begs the question - what f it had?
I feel sure that it will be a useful station. Indeed especially the interior is well designed
Park towns and garden cities, someone should put those words to music.
Great video, thank you!
I'm obviously not the first to spot the sign for a cafe at 4:00. I wonder how many people will go round in circles looking for one - or is there one outside the station?
It all seems very pristine in the video, not least because there were few people about. However, I hope it will not look a bit the worse for year in a year's time. I visited St Margaret's bus station here in Leicester yesterday for the first time since it was re-opened 14 months ago after a wholesale revamp. The building still looks good from the outside but the main floor area in particular was covered in blotches where people had spilt coffee or food or occasionally spat out chewing gum.
Oh yuck! Funny story today actually. I was using my laptop in Costa and it was charging. When I removed the plug from the plug socket there was a big lump of chewing gum on one of the pins! I was not best pleased. What kind of disgusting specimen thinks a plug socket is a good place to put their used chewing gum? Managed to get it all off my plug, and informed a member of staff, because it's not safe. I did wonder why my laptop wasn't charging very well!
Steel and glass is the current idiom for public buildings, so there's an element of honesty there. Plus it's light and airy, an attribute I greatly appreciate at stations because I get nervous in crowds, part of which I put down to claustrophobia. Bricks and mortar would have been rather retro-1980's (you know, the London stocks with dark coloured mortar sort of thing) and fairfaced concrete or indeed some iteration of neo-brutalism would have been slated in the architectural press for being pretentious. The structural use of timber at Abbey Wood is a new thing for polite transport architecture (if we overlook the GWR's wooden platforms and shelters as "rustic"), maybe that will be the New Thing? Far too good for a supermarket own brand Garden City though.
Please do make a video about the West London Orbital, Jago. I didn't know it was still a thing. There have been so many proposals and I thought it had been dropped.
No ticket office 😡.
It was encouraging that recent newly opened stations like Green Park had one. But since then, Thanet Parkway and now Brent Cross West have opened without.
At least Thameslink's ticket machines (unlike the one Southeastern provides at Thanet Parkway and elsewhere) allow the customer to vary the point of origin. This is essential if, for instance, you have a season ticket but you wish to travel beyond the last station or zone covered by your season ticket.
Not good news for blind passengers, though.
It also means if you wanted to travel, say, from Brent Cross West to Elstree & Borehamwood and then take the bus using the PlusBus add-on, you would have to either order your tickets online in advance and collect them from the ticket machine (tickets sold in conjunction with a PlusBus add-on can't be issued as e-tickets), or buy the train ticket to Elstree from the ticket machine at Brent Cross West and chance your arm that the ticket office at Elstree would be open when you got there and would sell you the PlusBus add-on upon presentation of your train ticket. This is not a good system.
Should disabled persons get free public transport at anytime ? (Discuss)
Worth mentioning that both Southeastern ticket machines now sell tickets from other stations (this is a recent change) and that PlusBus tickets can be bought from a ticket machine in conjunction with a ticket without having to buy them in advance.
From what I’ve heard, station staff will be able to sell tickets when required (since also this station has no ticket machines accepting cash).
I think that your video was the most engaging of the three I have see about the new station.
Brilliant video sir, do you think that it should have had infrastructure put in to join the oft proposed London overground line to the dudding Hill line?
Eyebrows will raise, heads will make a sharp turn in my direction...I'm not one for modern architecture as a rule...but...I like this station.
WHAT?!
Talking of little used platforms I often wonder about the disused ones at Hadley Wood. As they are on the express lines were they ever used? What were they for? Perhaps a hangover from when the line was doubled back in the day.
Appears to be not so much a single, recognizable building form but a lot of covered circulation all connected on the orthogonal. Wonder what Charles Holden would have done with it.
This is basically Thamesmead, but done right.
Infrastructure first, then housing.
I had no idea they were building this place.
But unless I'm mis-remembering, all the homes they were building were further up the road and closer to another tube station.
It's also depressing that, for more and more parts of London, I can say 'I remember when this was...'.
As my regular readers will know(what do you mean you have no idea who I am) I have been a bus driver for many years.I have reached retirement age but still work for agencies.I was working for Arriva down in South London but I am now working for Metroline at their Willesden Junction garage and the first route I am driving is the 316 which has been extended to serve Brent Cross West.I have yet to see large numbers of passengers, sorry customers using it but we live in hope !!
Don't even get me started on the barriers at St Pancras.
Looks like it will be a joy in either snow, cold, icey or slippery days. Same architectures as East Croydon???
Perhaps Jago can mosey on back in 18 months time to see how the place has settled down?
Jago: "Only two trains per hour."
Everyone in North America: "I think you meant 'per day' there, *mate*."
You mentioned that there isn’t a coffee shop. But in one clip was a sign saying “Café”. So hopefully sooner than later!
Looks fine to me. Simple, functional, clean, modern.
Glad to see it has toilets. Wish more did. Seems to be a bit of a derth of seating although you dud mention a waiting room. Maybe more benches to come?
Could you do a video about the yet be open and unbuilt beam park station on the C2C network.
I remember discussions about this station 20 years ago, when I worked at the SRA. Never thought it would get off the ground. Must have been part-financed by the Freemasons, judging by the chequer-board pattern on the concourse floor.
04:02 there is a cafe as it says on the board so not sure that there is no coffee
Guess it is pointing to the proposed cafe on platforms 1&2. But in fact on Sunday there was a pop up coffee shop (and also a pizza place and somewhere serving mulled wine and mince pies) (together with additional toilets) by the western entrance. Aparrently Barnet council would not allow food and drinks to be sold on the station bridge.
Another great one! Hope you're better soon...
What with this being a "if we build it, they will come" station, that is fairly similar to the stations built by the Metropolitan Railway Company, I'm wondering a couple of things:
• Is the area being built to give local people a leg-up (with new council housing for locals and so on) or is this going to be luxury homes for rich people coming into the area (and displacing local people on housing waiting lists)?
• Where is the money coming from? Is public money subsidising a service for poorer people? Is private money subsidising the service for businesses? Or is public money subsidising rich people?
We badly need to have more transit oriented development, to create modal shift from road to rail, and I wonder if this is a sustainable model that can be rolled out across the country...or if it is a model that will be accompanied with the social cleansing of poor people.
The area of new housing used to be a mix of industrial and offices that they have jammed flats into. It will be a fairly road centric development due to its positioning on the North Circular at the base of the M1. But it's also alongside the Trainline, thus this station.
As it's a major development they will be required to have a percentage (usually 15%) of "affordable accommodation".
I think it is all paid for by the developers. I don’t think the train company wanted an extra station here, slowing the service down, but it was a planning decision. As stated above, overall the development is very car-centric. The station is the ‘greenwashing’ part of it.
I assume the station box will be built over , in the Leslie Green thinking of style.
The visitor centre includes a model of the final plans, and is well worth visiting. Does not seem any plans to build over, but new developments will ensure the Brent Cross Town side will eventually not look out of place.
Investment in office space where the concept of home working has potentially future proofed the need for office space when there is already a lot of that space available in the rest of London, homes are a good idea as Thatcher is the last big builder of council houses.
It's undoubtedly a very useful and vital piece of infrastructure... Why good grief, why does every new building have either a Soviet milleu or look like it was designed by a 12 year old in Minecraft?
I mean, it has its good points, but all those wooden beams look like a massive trellis - it looks more garden centre than railway station.
I'd say because it seems many architects seem to believe that any classic or traditional styles are just "bad". There's a variety of points they use to try and justify their opinion but I don't buy them. It's an interesting topic to look into.
Could be worse - could have been designed by Elon Musk.
I don't know about the "Soviet _milieu_ (?)" but the whole timber bit looks perfectly fine to me.. if anything, I think the biggest trouble is that the different parts are in different styles.
Cost.
"And I didn't need moulded plastic! Pure Brent Cross West! And why doesn't Railway-Man dance anymore? Remember The BR-tusi?"
Hopefully they'll get a full size changing room too.
Hopefully there is future scope for an easier way to travel between Brent Cross West and nearby the Northern Line station then is currently the case via new bus routes. No idea if the re-routing of the 189 would help, only that the construction works on the Eastern exit makes it quite easy for non-locals aiming to walk along Parkview Avenue to find themselves ending up at Claremont Road via Brent Terrace instead.
There are no plans for a direct connection to Brent Cross Station, but there is a link to Hendon Central planned later. However using Cricklewood instead offers 3 bus routes to the Northern Line at Golders Green. Incidentally the 316 bus was extended to Brent Cross West from Sunday, but serves the western side of the station.
When are you due in Sunderland to report on our newly refurbished station, although in my view its nowhere near finished.
Fab video again. It looks like cool station to me, but I haven't been there. And feel better soon!
Question is moor park in London since on the map it's on the boarder between zone 6 and zone 7
re the queue at StPancras (Stained Pancreas 😏): No, I agree, thank you!! I don't even live in Europe so it's not really an issue for me, and I generally think London transport is thought out quite well, but still, I've twice had to traverse that queue, while dragging two big bags, and each time wondered which dickhead came up with that arrangement! What better person to vindicate me than the Great Jago Hazzard?!
New thameslink station with lifts and so many trains per hour.... Would love for Wimbledon chase to get an upgrade! With lifts... I think there are already lift shafts....
You should start a 2nd channel where you critique architecture and town planning. haha. Jago McCloud.
While the station looks nice enough, I do find myself feeling that, at least in London, new stations or major refurbishments only happen when there's a large new housing development being planned or built - which I find a tad disappointing.
While I'm not opposed to new developments, there are many stations in London that are either in a bad state of repair, have poor accessibility, are underserved or a combination of all three. When we want to maximise the use of trains in London (particularly from an environmental standpoint), building a new station that currently serves very little seems a bit wasteful.
Its not. The idea is that when people move into the new developmetns they will instantly start taking the train.
The developers will likely have donated to the new station, a similar example being the new Battersea power station extension or GSK donating to the Brentford station upgrade as part of their headquarters being built.
@@petesj26 To quote Barnet Council themselves, "Barnet Council secured £419 million of government funding from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to allow the project to be delivered. They have been supported by Mace, who has project managed the programme. The station has been built by VolkerFitzpatrick, with Network Rail a key delivery partner". No mention of contributions from developers.
Quoting the developers themselves, Related Argent "The Brent Cross West Station and associated rail works are being funded as part of a £418m government grant funding agreement with the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC)".
Both indicate the station was built entirely with public money.
What's ironic is that there are loads of towns outside London (Wisbech for example) without a train station and a ready made market for rail travel. It's why there's resentment that London gets everything. Don't get me started on HS2!
@@hairyairey nationwide issue. Wixams is a development near Bedford that backs onto to a train line. They are hopeful of a station and I think a lot of them bought into a lie that they would get one when it has never been a certainty.
I like the timbery canopy thing, but the building itself looks like the box that some more interesting building came in. On the other hand, at least it's just uninteresting and not an outright affront to the eyes, like, say, every public building erected in the 1970s.
@jagohazzard, why London doesn't have ring/orbital/superloop rail, not worth it?
Didn't the Goodies live in Cricklewood? Maybe they still do.
The sign at 4.05 points the way to a café, so there must be one you didn't stumble across!
Always nice to see a new railway station opening! I agree that there seems to be a lot of "future proofing" going on, but it does mean that we are stuck with the "interesting" architecture for the conceivable! Are you planning to revisit in a few years time?
Is a baby changing room like those book exchange shelf units you get in some waiting rooms
How am I? I'm fine, thank you. Brent Cross West, somewhere I will probably never visit, but here I am. @2:26, good to have an escalator up from the platform.
Lets see how that escalator copes with such weather conditions such as rain, snow for example as they do tend breakdown when they are out in the open so to speak...
@@MrBreadman1966 reminds me of West Ham Jubilee Line
".... miffed about a ticket barrier: get a grip" - you set me off on a five-minute coughing fit when I heard that, not to mention half a cup of tea in my lung
Its not just concrete slabs and metal beams, so its instantly better than every other station built recently
3:27 DO IT!
Did you try the toilet, Jago? Does it have a plaque yet saying "this toilet was inaugurated by Geoff Marshall on December wheneveritwas 2023"?
even Geoff wasnt the first
@01:40 At last! Retail opportunities in Brent Cross!
Interesting video and great to have a new main line station but, as you say, the architecture is a bit of a mixed bag. The massive timber entrance reminds me somehow of a Torri at a Japanese shrine . . .
That’s an interesting comparison. I see what you mean.
3:15 why does a brand new station not have level boarding?