Plans for north Kensington Crossrail station back on track

By Owen Sheppard, Local Democracy Reporter

Proposals for north Kensington to get its own station on the long-delayed Crossrail project have been put back on track.

Kensington and Chelsea council has confirmed it is in talks with Network Rail on producing a feasibility study that could lead to the “Kensal Portobello Station” being built.

Also called the Elizabeth Line, the 73-mile underground route will link Shenfield in Essex to Reading in Berkshire, with branches to Heathrow Airport and Abbey Wood in South-east London.

The Conservative-run council has long been calling for the station to be built in the north of the borough, although little has been reported about the idea for several years.

A council spokeswoman said that during 2020, its officers have “been talking to Network Rail about railway modelling to test the operational impact of a station on other rail services”.

Canal Way, near the Kensington Gas Works and a Sainsbury’s superstore, is being eyed up as a location for the station.

Meanwhile, the council’s 2019 Local Plan refers to the area as the ‘Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area’, and says 3,500 homes could eventually be built there.

Parts of the Elizabeth Line were originally planned to open in December 2018.

In August, Crossrail’s board announced that the first section, between Paddington and Abbey Wood, may not be operational until 2022.

The project’s total spend has also risen from £14.8 billion to more than £18 billion.

Pictured top: The Crossrail tunnels at Liverpool Street Station (Picture: Crossrail Ltd)