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For a scan of a 1930s A-Z showing the route of the Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace section of this line, click here. London Transport had planned to take over the entire line (hence it being shown as 'under construction' on contemporary tube maps) and incorporate it into its Northern Line. The conversion works were disrupted by the second world war however: the works that were suitably advanced were completed but the remainder were shelved and never resumed. The map above shows everything except the plan to divert the section south of Finsbury Park onto the short underground line to Moorgate. |
Comment
2005: People indigenous to the area hold the Northern Heights line dear to their hearts. There will still be those who remember the line either in passenger service, seeing the later occasional stock transfers, or just the line with its rails, yet even without those memories the subject of the line will cause strong debate. Perhaps it is the seeming waste of it; the line was so near to being converted to a tube line (thus securing its future). Perhaps it is its scenic nature or that it would be a useful line to have now; it still could easily be reopened as a railway. Regardless of that, some notable locals have fought hard over the years to prevent the line being transformed into a road or being sold off for housing. As a consequence, it now lies relatively intact as the Parkland Walk, which can provide a pleasant and leafy oasis of tranquility amongst the congestion of North London (though see later comments about vandalism, graffiti, the rain and mud etc). Certainly for this author as a child, the line provided mysterious
territory to explore and a multiplicity of questions to (non-local)
parents. Why was there a railway with no trains? Why stations
with no passengers? Where did it lead to? Will there be services
again? And so on. As for what the future holds for the line; to measure the
possibilities of it returning to railway use or perhaps tram
conversion, it is necessary to understand the reasons for its
closure. It was ostensibly closed because of a lack of passengers;
its custom drawn away by competing transport systems. The bus
service running between Muswell Hill and Finsbury Park offered
cheaper fares and a more direct route than the radial hill-avoiding
route of the railway. These days however, this advantage has
been negated by the huge increase in road traffic and the further
speed reducing introduction of road humps and speed cameras (never
mind the erratic bus services). (*Modern day tube trains and trams would make short work of the line's gradients, as demonstrated by the DLR with its astonishing inclines.) For the last half century, the densely populated areas of Crouch End and Muswell Hill have been railwayless, reliance being solely on road transport. Many of the large houses in the areas are being converted to flats and there is insuffient road parking space for the extra cars caused by individually owned, rather than family shared cars. Given the poor public transport in the area, car ownership is entirely understandable, yet it would presumably (hopefully) be rendered less of a necessity with the introduction of an efficient rail or tram service to central London. The Parkland Walk as it stands now is struggling. It is difficult to police; weekend afternoons may be safe because of the numbers of people walking the line but at other times it is less so. Graffiti artists brazenly adorn the brickwork with their various levels of artistic skills. Some are actually quite good but the effect produced is still one of decay, urban desolation, and vandalism; not conducive to sustaining the line as a nature reserve or leafy retreat. It is often used for fly-tipping and rainy weather turns the track bed into a slippery mud path. There is a need for rail transport in Crouch End and Muswell Hill. Alexandra Palace would benefit from it also. The investment that would be required to reinstate the Northern Heights (southern sections) to a working rail or tram route is minimal (in the same way that the East London Line extensions are being done 'on the cheap' by utilising existing but disused rail routes). The disadvantages of the line's radial route are outweighed by the advantages of its reinstatement. The 'rail-closure-party' was in power when the post-war decision was made to abandon the pre-war works to convert it to a tube line, plans that would have seen it thriving under the benefits of investment and regular, reliable service. While the current government is in power, it should take the opportunity to address the public transport inadequacies of the area before the pendulum swings toward road building again. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2010: Five years after the above comments and one cannot complain about Labour's investment in new railways, despite the mess that is PPP: The East London Line extension has opened (in fact, the newly termed London Overground network has been a success generally) plus the long awaited go-ahead for Crossrail. The Northern Heights has been mentioned only as a possible northern route for Crossrail 2 but given the doubts surrounding even the first Crossrail getting through to completion, Muswell Hillbillies and Crouch Enders may be waiting a long time for the reinstatement of a railway service. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015: The latest Crossrail 2 consultation has produced a few proposed variants to the original route. One of them is the extension from Alexandra Palace station to New Southgate station (both of these stations are on the East Coast mainline route from Kings Cross station). The advantages of doing this are outlined on the Crossrail 2 website. However there is a major opportunity likely to be missed here and that is extending the line not to New Southgate but westward to Alexandra Palace (the palace itself) and through to Muswell Hill and Highgate via the disused railway there. Alexandra Palace is difficult to access when there are events there: from the existing Alexandra Palace station there is a not particularly reliable W3 bus service or a half a mile walk up a steep hill. The palace needs rail transport if it is to compete as a major events venue. Muswell Hill also needs rail transport. It is a heavily built up area and commuters have to rely again on buses to get to tube stations (ostensibly Highgate). The railway line between Highgate and Alexandra Palace could presumably be reopened for relatively low cost, considering that there would be minimal tunnelling required. It would provide much needed relief along that route, a connection between Crossrail 2 and the Northern Line (at Highgate), space for stabling trains (instead of at New Southgate), as well as making the palace itself a far easier place to visit. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2017: Application to use the line for vehicular traffic for an adjacent building site could lead to a dangerous precedent (in terms of being temporarily closed for walkers and for similar future works). A petition to preserve the covenants of the route can be found here.
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(Northern Heights Line)
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The area where the viaduct for the Northern Heights platforms at Finsbury Park used to be. They were demolished in the 1970s. This photograph dates only from March 2003 yet the area has changed considerably since then. An impressive new integrated ticket office/bus station has been built, improving the locality beyond measure.
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More recent northward view with the top of the station
house visible in the centre of the photo. If the line was to reopen, would this station be reopened with it?
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The bridge over Stapleton Hall Road where the Stroud Green platforms were, and the station house is, still standing proud. The ticket office was located between the station house and the bridge but was burnt down - only the lower section survived (for a time), as seen here. |
