While driving down Richmond Street in London as you approach Oxford street you will more then likely get stopped, this can lasts up to 10 minutes and it is all because of a train crossing. The train crossing at Richmond and Piccadilly has been in London for as long as anyone can remember. If you know the city of London, you know how the city is filled with train crossings all around the city, but none are more inconvenient and dangerous then the one at Richmond and Piccadilly.
This crossing is not in a low-density area where not a lot people are around, and there is not a high volume of traffic. It is actually the opposite. This crossing is right in the heart of downtown London and on one of the cities liveliest streets. On weekends when London’s nightlife starts up, the danger of this crossing gets even more serious. With people walking up and down Richmond Row, and having to stop and wait sometimes impatiently for a train to cross things get dangerous. During the week one of the busiest streets during rush hour is Richmond Street, and when the train crosses the street gets backed up and causes even more headaches for commuters.
Down Oxford at the corner of Oxford and Talbot there is an overpass and some wonder why that has not been done to the busier Richmond Row crossing. The train pauses commuters and pedestrians a like and is a noisy problem for the city. There is a train that crosses almost every hour and the city still does not know what to do about the crossing. An overpass might be too expensive and construction would cause even more congestion. So it looks like the crossing is here to stay for the time being, but hopefully in the near future the city can find a way to keep traffic flowing at all times and stop the endless problems the train crossing causes.