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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National

Designer creates London Underground map showing how TfL Tube network looks with Thameslink, Crossrail and proposed Crossrail 2 and 3

A London Underground enthusiast has devised and alternatvie 'Tube' map that shows how the network will look when several major infrastructure projects are completed.

Alastair Carr, who runs blog Not Quite Tangible, combined current Thameslink services, the delayed and over-budget Crossrail 1 and the proposed Crossrail 2 and 3 to create the map.

This map includes the Thameslink route from London Bridge to Maidstone and Ashford International, due to open in December 2019, but doesn't show stations like Hadley Wood, which Thameslink services currently pass through without stopping.

It also includes proposed extensions to Crossrail, which recently had its opening delayed.

Proposed routes include linking Moorgate and Waterloo as Crossrail 3 (Alastair Carr)

Despite Crossrail 2 not having been confirmed, Alastair’s map shows the south-west to north-east route, connecting suburban routes in Surrey with those in Hertfordshire.

To create the map, Mr Carr took the Crossrail 3 and Thameslink 2 extensions from the 2016 report "Review of the Case for Large Scale Transport Investment in London.”

It discussed linking Stratford and East Croydon, and extending the Northern City Line to Waterloo.

Mr Carr, who lives in Balham, said: “This map definitely shouldn't be taken as a concrete prediction of the future.

“If Crossrail 2 goes ahead, there is a good chance that its route could change.

A possible eastern extension to Crossrail 2 is also shown (Alastair Carr)

“Crossrail 3 could follow any of a number of different paths across London.

“But the map does help to illustrate the design philosophy which London's underground railways are increasingly moving towards.

“As tunnelling technology improves and space for new surface railways becomes ever-scarcer, it becomes more cost-effective to use tunnels to connect existing railways, rather than build lines with narrow tunnels and their own dedicated surface sections.

“London is likely never to build another Tube line like the Northern or Jubilee lines.

“The future of London's transport sits elsewhere.”

The Cambridge University graduate has previously created a futuristic map of what the Underground could look like in 2040 and a map where he created a grid-like plan based on the Beijing Subway.

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