Forum Topic

Are these station opening dates definate.....

Sunday 5 October: Shepherds Bush Central Line station re-opensSunday 12 October: Wood Lane Hammersmith & City Line station opens.Thursday 30 October: Westfield Shopping Centre opens.The new bus station is scheduled to open in November.

Carol Burge ● 6042d22 Comments

Bring back the footbridge!

Susan Kelly ● 5639d

Certainly has! The odd thing is that apparently once removed the residents of Shepherds Bush Place then suffered a huge increase in noise from the Green and Traffic etc. The lumbering structures of ascent up to the walkway must have absorbed or blocked a lot of the din! The residents still struggle with noise, as the barrier that was erected and the trees that were planted to protect them have been removed.

Vivienne James ● 5645d

Richard, thank you..........goodness this has bought back some memories

Carol Burge ● 5647d

OH, well done! It looks so tacky I think they made the right decision to remove it.

Lina Leaman ● 5648d

I have at last found a photo of the footbridge!  The bridge was mentioned today on the Chiswick forum on a thread about Westfield, so I had another search and found a photo on Flickr.  It was loaded there in April this year, so it wasn't online when I searched previously.Here it is ...If anyone wants a larger (800x531) image, there's one athttp://www.flickr.com/photos/photoderek/3421543726/sizes/o/I've also just found a photo of the stepped ramps on the north side of the bridge on the website of the photographer, Derek Wuenschirs.  It's at http://www.photoderek.com/stock/  In the middle of the screen there is a block of thumbnails; click on the left-hand one in the 2nd row.

Richard Jennings ● 5648d

I have also been searching but without any luck, have emailed the editor of this site to see if they have one in their archives. There must be one somewhere!

Carol Burge ● 6024d

Kind of you to go to so much trouble for me, Richard. I hope you get a reply!

Lina Leaman ● 6025d

I rather liked it!  I think the problem was that it took people into the first floor of what became a rather run-down shopping centre and car park.  It was also around the time that pedestrian crossings at street level started to come back into favour.The Wikipedia article on Shepherd's Bush says that the shopping centre and bridge were built in the 1970s, and that the bridge was removed when the shopping centre was redeveloped in the 1990s.  Sadly it doesn't include a photo.I've made a request for a photo on a transport forum to see if I can obtain one.

Richard Jennings ● 6025d

From your description, Richard, it sounds like it was in quite bad taste! Shame I never got to see it. Do you know why/when it was removed?

Lina Leaman ● 6026d

Are there really no pictures? It was a major feature of the area for several years - in the eighties I think.

Sara Nathan ● 6026d

"Footbridge with train windows?? Does anybody have a picture?"I've scoured the web for a photo without success.  It was an enclosed footbridge with panels on the side in British Rail livery to make it look like an HST (Inter City 125) train crossing the road in mid-air.  The "train" carried name plates saying "Dave Wetzel", who played a leading role in London government and particularly transport for many years. (He was vice-chair of Transport for London under Ken Livingstone until the election this year.)  It crossed the road between the Central Line station and the shopping centre opposite.

Richard Jennings ● 6026d

Footbridge with train windows?? Does anybody have a picture? I'm quite new in this area so don't know what you are all talking about!

Lina Leaman ● 6037d

It wasn't really enclosed - it had the 'train windows'.

Keith Clarke ● 6037d

Wonder why it was removed, perhaps being enclosed(?)it was a muggers paradise?

Colin Vaughan ● 6037d

Yes, it has been and gone.  It was designed to look like a train and was one of the most interesting looking bridges around.  Its been a real pain ever since trying to cross the Green at that point, particularly in rush hours.

Caroline MacMillan ● 6037d

Well I was going to suggest a footbridge at that point, but can't remember one being there 40 years ago, it must have come and gone!

Colin Vaughan ● 6037d

Just what I was thinking last night as I launched myself over the large puddle to the safety(?) of the centre reservation.

Caroline MacMillan ● 6037d

Maybe they should have kept that footbridge, been a lot safer than the road

Carol Burge ● 6037d

Must say its good being able to use the Cenral Line from Shepherds Bush again though there is some finishing off still to do.  And its a nightmare in the evening trying to cross the road having to jump puddles in the process and fight to get on a 94 the other side of the Green.

Caroline MacMillan ● 6037d

Went and had a look round there this lunchtime.......very sterile looking!  Hopefully they will change the matting area near the entrance......does make your eyes go funny!  And I feel so sorry for those lovely little cottages at the back, what a delightful view they now have!

Carol Burge ● 6039d

The only one yet to open is Wood Lane.

Colin Vaughan ● 6039d

The first one is certainly true - was open this morning.

Keith Welham ● 6039d