Crossrail at Broadgate
Broadgate is the premier City of London office estate, consisting of 17 office buildings. In 2010 Broadgate will have 35,000 people working on the estate in 4.8 million square feet of Grade A office space.
Broadgate is at the heart of one of the fastest growing areas of the City of London and has become the hub of a distinct commercial district. A key feature is its integration and interaction with Liverpool Street Station. In addition there are numerous national rail and Underground stations all situated within less than 10 minutes walk of Broadgate.
Liverpool Street Station is the busiest in the UK with 140 million visitors each year passing through the station. In the three hour peak period, over 95,000 passengers pass through the station. From 2010 it has been estimated that there could be a further 60,000 new jobs within a 10 minute walk of Broadgate. Increased transport capacity is clearly critical to maintain accessibility to the heart of the City.
Initial proposals did not envisage a dedicated Broadgate ticket hall at Liverpool Street Station, only pedestrian access via the Underground station. British Land was concerned that this would significantly increase congestion in an already busy station, as well as missing the opportunity for Broadgate to have its own access point to Crossrail services.
British Land and the Corporation of London made representations to the House of Commons Select Committee responsible for the Crossrail Bill. As a result of these representations, in July 2006, the Committee recommended that a new ticket hall should be established at Liverpool Street Station, which would be accessed directly from street level. The Committee also recommended that the number of automatic gates in the current Underground ticket hall should be increased to 24 from 16.
The decision to include a new ticket hall for Liverpool Street Station at Broadgate in the region of £30-40 million to the Crossrail budget, but will significantly improve the transport infrastructure and capacity to the heart of the City. From 2017 Crossrail will deliver 35% additional capacity to Liverpool Street Station.
