The North and West London Light Railway (NWLLR), formerly known as the ''Brent Cross Railway'', was a proposal for a light rail system in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

in the UK. It was put forward by the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

group of the Campaign for Better Transport and by the

Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood The Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood was formed following the submission in March 2008 of a planning application to the London Borough of Barnet by developers of the Brent Cross Cricklewood scheme in the Brent Cross area of north ...

. The proposal, published in 2008, envisaged a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

network using existing or abandoned railway corridors and would have been similar to the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...

(DLR). It was promoted in the context of the

Brent Cross Brent Cross is originally the name of a crossroads that today forms a major interchange for traffic in the London Borough of Barnet, England. Located a mile from the centres of Hendon and Golders Green, the area also contains the Brent Cros ...

Shopping Centre expansion project, a major urban planning scheme that involves the redevelopment of Brent Cross and northern Cricklewood. The stated aim was to alleviate anticipated traffic problems when this development goes ahead. The NWLLR has not been approved or funded.

Overview

The Campaign for Better Transport aimed to reduce emissions, pollution and cars on the roads. It has said that high-intensity bus services in Brent Cross create more pollution and traffic jams.

Route

The route would have had 34 stations on four lines: *

Ealing Broadway Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

- Hanger Lane South -

West Acton West Acton is a place in West London, England. It is part of Acton, in the London Borough of Ealing The London Borough of Ealing () is a London borough in West London. It comprises seven major towns: Acton (W3), Ealing (W5, W13, NW10), Gre ...

- Alliance Road -

North Acton North Acton is a part of Acton in west London, and is within the London Borough of Ealing. It runs adjacent to the industrial district of Park Royal. Historically part of the Municipal Borough of Acton in the county of Middlesex, it has formed p ...

Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west toward ...

- Craven Park - Taylors Lane -

Neasden Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 ( Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Welsh Har ...

- Dudden Hill - Gladstone Park - Edgware Road Brent - Brent Cross West - Brent Cross Shopping Centre - Brent Cross South -

* Park Royal - Park Royal Central -

- Craven Park - Taylors Lane -

- Brent Park - Tokyngton -

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

- Tokyngton - Brent Park -

- Dudden Hill - Gladstone Park - Edgware Road Brent - Brent Cross West - Brent Cross Shopping Centre - Brent Cross South -

Finchley Road Finchley Road is a designated arterial road in north-west London, England. The Finchley Road starts in St John's Wood near central London as part of the A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels often freque ...

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage ...

- Mill Lane - Cricklewood - Brent Cross West - Brent Cross Shopping Centre - Brent Cross West - Hendon - Kingsbury Road - Colindeep Lane -

Colindale Colindale is a district in the London Borough of Barnet; its main shopping street on the A5 forming the borough boundary with neighbouring Brent. Colindale is a suburban area, and in recent years has had many new apartments built. It's also th ...

- Grahame Park Way - Copthall - Mill Hill East - Finchley Central

Core proposal

Site of station platforms at Harlesden Midland Railway Station

The proposal suggested that the service could be light rail, similar to the

. The core proposal envisaged a line running east–west across north London from to , with extensions to and , and a new line running north–south from through Brent Cross to . The routes would have used a combination of existing passenger railway lines, freight lines and disused lines, linked by stretches of new track. The network was to include the Dudding Hill Line, the branch of the Central line and freight tracks parallel to the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...

Political views

The proposal had limited support from some local councils, but lacked the funding or support from the Greater London Authority that is necessary to undertake project costings or a feasibility study. The proposal was not supported by the site developers at Brent Cross and relied on changes being made to their plans. In April 2009,

Ealing Council Ealing London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number of ...

voted to call on Transport for London to look into the proposal and discuss its strategic potential with neighbouring councils.

Harrow Council Harrow London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. It is currently controlled by the Conservative Pa ...

gave its support in principle, but stating that unless Transport for London provided "funding for a feasibility study to examine this proposal ... no more public money should be directed towards this proposal." In 2009

Brian Coleman Brian Coleman FRSA (born 25 June 1961) is a former Independent Conservative politician and a former councillor in the London Borough of Barnet. He was a Conservative Party member of the London Assembly for Barnet and Camden between 2000 an ...

, the mayor of Barnet and London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden, said "It's not feasible, it won't happen. Ideas like this are thought up by men who probably still have a train set in the attic." Later that year, Barnet Council voted to request the developers to maintain contact with the light rail promoters. In January 2011,

Brent Council Brent London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Brent in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. It is based at Brent Civic Centre in Engineers W ...

voted to call on Transport for London to look into the proposal and discuss its strategic potential with neighbouring councils. In January 2014, Barnet Council voted that "much-needed orbital rail links should be investigated, routes safeguarded and included in financial planning", but it removed a reference in the original motion to "light-rail". In April 2019, £320M of funding was approved for a new Brent Cross West station, that would also serve the potential new service.

Other proposals

A similar proposal was put forward by West London Business in 2008 to build a -to- underground railway, called the

West London Orbital The West London Orbital is a proposed extension to the London Overground railway system in London, UK. The extension would make use of a combination of existing freight and passenger lines including the Dudding Hill Line, North London Line and ...

. In 2009, the

Greater London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

proposed using the Dudding Hill Line section of the route for a new

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

service. From 2016 a different scheme of the same name was developed by the West London Alliance boroughs, TfL and the GLA. This scheme features in the 2018 Mayor's Transport Strategy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North And West London Light Railway Proposed rail infrastructure in London Proposed railway lines in London