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The 'Chelsea-Hackney (or "Chelney") line' is a proposed underground railway running from south-west London to north-east London. As of 2007, the plan is being developed by Cross London Rail Links Ltd., the developers of Crossrail, and is therefore sometimes known as 'Crossrail 2'.
A south-west/north-east tube line was originally planned as early as 1901^[1] and a bill was put before parliament in 1904^[2], however political manoeuvring by rival tube magnate Charles Yerkes killed of the proposal.
The plan was revived in 1970 by London Transport's London Rail Study as as the next project after the completion of the Victoria Line and the Fleet Line (renamed as the Jubilee line). Designed to relieve pressure on the District, Central and Victoria lines, and to link two areas with no tube services, the route would have taken taken over the Wimbledon branch of the District as far as Parsons Green, then followed a new underground alignment to Leytonstone, where it would then take over one of the branches of the Central Line.^[3] For financial reasons the line was not built, but over the years the idea, or variations of it have emerged.
Following the Central London Rail Study of 1989, a route through central London was safeguarded.

★ Parsons Green

★ Kings Road, Chelsea

★ Sloane Square

★ Victoria

★ Piccadilly Circus

★ Tottenham Court Road

★ King's Cross St. Pancras

★ Angel

★ Essex Road

★ Dalston Junction

★ Hackney Central

★ Homerton

★ Leytonstone
As the route would serve both King's Cross and Kings Road it was suggested that the line could be named 'Kings Line'. It was decided however that the Jubilee Line Extension should take priority and the project was postponed.
In 1995, an alternate plan, the 'Express Metro' was put forward that would utilise more existing track, have less stations and be built to national rail standard. It would take one of three routes from the East Putney on the district line to victoria station; either Putney Bridge, Parsons Green and Kings Road as in the original safeguarded plan; or to Wandsworth Town and Clapham Junction and then either via Chelsea Harbour and Kings Road or via Battersea.
From Victoria it would then call at

★ Tottenham Court Road

★ King's Cross St. Pancras

★ Highbury & Islington

★ Dalston Kingsland

★ Hackney Central
and then split into two branches, one to Leytonstone and then on to Epping taking over the central line, the other taking over the North London Line to Woolwich
Another version of the plan was proposed in 2001, with even fewer stations.
In 2007, the 1991 route was updated and re-safeguarded.
Of the three routes in south-west London the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea initially favoured the first, but now supports the second^[4]

Contents

References

External links

References

1. http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/future.html#newrail
2. http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/closed/consulchelhackney/consulchelhackmain?page=2#a1006
3. London Transport plans third new Tube Line. The Times. January 2, 1970.
4. http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/rbkcdirect/chelseahackney/ch0309.asp

External links

★ http://www.crossrail.co.uk/pages/chelsea-hackneyline.html