East London Line reopens.

The long awaited reopening of the new East London Line takes place at 12.15 today, becoming part of the London Overground network. A service of eight trains an hour will run between New Cross Gate and Dalston Junction, between 0700 BST and 2000 BST, Monday to Friday. Full evening and weekend services will begin on Saturday 23 May, when 12 trains will run an hour. Until then this is a “soft service” so it can be withdrawn or amended at any time as the line, signals and rolling stock are tested in “live” service.

Trains will travel through Whitechapel station and Shoreditch High Street, a flagship Zone 1 station. London Mayor Boris Johnson, who officially opened the route, said: "This new railway will bring jobs and opportunities to communities up and down the line, massively improving access for hundreds of thousands of people.

"This type of investment is essential if London, throwing off the shackles of recession, is to emerge with the ability to grow, prosper, and secure its position at the summit of world cities, to the benefit of all Londoners. This type of investment is essential if London, throwing off the shackles of recession, is to emerge with the ability to grow, prosper, and secure its position at the summit of world cities, to the benefit of all Londoners."


Platform view at Shoreditch High Street

Oyster cards work on the new trains which have no doors separating the carriages, meaning passengers are able to walk the length of the train. The opening is the first phase of the £1bn extension. Engineering works are continuing to extend the East London Line to Highbury and Islington by the spring of 2011. An extension of the line to Clapham Junction, in south-west London, is planned by 2012.

London's transport commissioner Peter Hendy said: "Not since the (Underground's) Jubilee line was extended over 10 years ago have we seen such a transformational transport project delivered in London.”The new East London route has been eagerly awaited by people who live in, work in and visit the areas it serves. It delivers four new London Overground stations and a huge increase in the number of travel possibilities to residents and travellers in a single day. It is also an important part of the 2012 (Olympic) transport network and has been delivered ahead of schedule and on budget."


Inside the carriages which are open the full length of the stock

Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokeswoman Caroline Pidgeon said: "Right in the middle of a General Election campaign, the mayor is desperate to claim credit for something he didn't initiate.”The East London Line opening will be welcomed by many Londoners, but must not be used as a political football. The fact that two 'official openings' have already been postponed on technical grounds clearly demonstrates that political convenience has been the key factor driving the date of the official opening. Transport for London would do everyone a favour if they stayed well clear of political stunts relating to the opening of the East London Line."

The line will form part of a planned wider London Overground orbital network, which will allow passengers to travel around London on the line without having to enter central areas of the city. With the completion of the new station and interim terminus at Dalston Junction residents of this area can look forward to the benefits of new transport links rather than the near permanent traffic jams the construction of the station has caused. Wherever possible the Line has reused existing rail routes.


A driver's cab view of Haggerston station, like much of the East London Extension the track here follows existing railway lines


For the full story of London’s newest “Old” railway see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/04/east-london-line-goes-overground.html

For a history of this Line prior to closure and rebuilding and Marc Brunel’s famous tunnel where modern tunnelling was invented see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/12/east-london-line.html


The way we were - Metropolitan Line "A" Stock on the line before refurbishment near New Cross

East London Line goes Overground

Shadwell Station

In December two years ago I reported on the disquiet in London at the impending closure of the second oldest “Tube” line, The East London Line on the 22nd December 2007 until 2010. Part of this disquiet related to the Line being more widely used with its connection to the extended Jubilee Line at Canada Water as well as its long standing connection to the District Line at Whitechapel. In truth the East London Line has always been somewhat unique being the only Underground Line which doesn’t go through Central London, having two termini only 600 metres apart and having the oldest tunnel on the system, the Thames Tunnel designed by Marc Brunel, father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel dating from 1843 which along with the Tower Hill subway was the first sub-aqueous tunnel in modern times – there is reference to a tunnel in Babylon, but no archaeological evidence. More importantly it was the tunnel where modern tunnelling methods were developed and though underground is a listed building!




See the full story and history of the Line here;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/12/east-london-line.html

This spring, the route formerly known as the East London line will make a bold return, now co-opted into the orange livery of London Overground, and extending past its original, curtailed route to the giddy northern heights of Dalston and the southern climes of Croydon. London Overground anticipates in 100,000 people will use the Phase One trains every day during 2011, many of them cutting the time of journeys they make at present and also travelling more cheaply as a result. About one billion pounds has been invested in the project, whose origins lie way back in the 1990s (a fact that highlights the significance of Mayor Johnson's mothballing of other infrastructure development work at TfL.)

Not often mentioned, this - it's a pre-Livingstone project, which he had the good sense not to can on inheriting it. It's also a PFI, but a working one. There are lessons to be drawn from that, particularly since Boris's party seem to have taken violently against PFI recently, despite inventing it. The extensions are planned in two phases. Phase 1 sees trains running between Highbury & Islington in the north and New Cross, Crystal Palace and West Croydon in the south. Phase 2 includes the fourth branch via Peckham Rye to Clapham Junction in the south.


Route maps at Shadwell: the extensions to Highbury & Islington and Clapham, due to open in 2011 and 2012 respectively, are shown on these maps.

Funding arrangements were agreed for this phase 1 which is scheduled to be in place fully for June 2010, comfortably before the possible Olympics in East London. It will have a soft opening with a reduced timetable from 15th April 2010. On 5 September 2006, the Mayor moved the northern section from Dalston Junction to Highbury & Islington from Phase 2 into Phase 1. However, this extra link will not be delivered for about 18 months after the line has opened as far as Dalston Junction.


The complete proposed Overground Network providing orbital routes in London to complement the Tube network Double Click to enlarge

Without the extensions, demand would rise to 11.6m passengers per year in 2011; with the original Phase 1 to Dalston Junction and Croydon, this increases to 35.4m, and with the original Phase 2 to Clapham Junction and Caledonian Road, to 50m. The original Phase One was estimated to cost around £1bn, which is being spent by Transport for London as part of its five-year investment programme based on loans backed by the Treasury. The original Phase Two would cost around £275m, the northern section comprising £200m, and the southern section to Clapham Junction comprising £75m (excluding stations at Brixton and Loughborough Junction).


Control Room @ New Cross

The refurbished line has a rebuilt New Cross depot and the new control room, a gleaming modern building whose exterior looks for all the world like a giant Meccano set and the reopened line boasts sleek new trains. The route runs the same 378 models recently introduced to the North London line, albeit in four-car configuration rather than three-car, and there's a distinct sense of vertigo to be had looking the length of the walk-through carriages as the vehicle is in motion.


Class 378 rolling stock

In the maintenance building next door at New Cross the new trains stand in gleaming expectation. The ELL is the biggest addition to the capital's transport network since the Jubilee Line in 1999. Around 130 drivers have been recruited, two-thirds of them brand new "off the street." Representatives of the operator LOROL, the Chinese company which has the contract to operate the line, speak of their eagerness to work and learn. As part of the deal to operate the ELL this most historic of Underground Lines was taken out of London Underground’s control and it does seem strange that Chinese companies and German State Railways are operating parts of the rail system in the country which invented railways. It will be noted that there are no British companies operating trains in China or Germany.



The Overground is operated by a private company, LOROL. Following a model similar to that already used for the Docklands Light Railway, TfL invited tenders for operation of the Overground. Unlike National Rail franchisees, TfL would set fares, procure rolling stock and decide service levels. The operator would take an element of revenue risk: TfL take 90% of the revenue risk, 10% of revenue is retained by the operator, and the operator is responsible for revenue collection.


Shadwell ticket hall


Shadwell platforms retaining the murals

Aside from the new orange-trimmed roundels, regulars on the old East London line will see little difference at platform level: but at street level Shadwell is entirely transformed, with an additional exit on the north side of the ticket office meaning access to the nearby DLR station is much easier (welcome news to anybody who recalls the miserable side street that had to be navigated in the past).



New Shoreditch Station

At Shoreditch High Street, a colossal grey battleship of a station is parked on the old Bishopsgate Goods Yard. The platform is long enough to accommodate up to eight carriages (not that a train of such length is ever likely to pull in), and the spacious ticket hall reflects the expectation that - with an optimum location and excellent access to Spitalfields, Shoreditch, Old Street, and the City - this will be one of the more popular stations on the network. The final part of the new line goes along the viaduct toward Dalston Junction and back, offering new vistas of Kingsland Road and affording the more eagle-eyed trainspotter a glimpse of the original Old Street station.

TfL expect around 100,000 people to use the service daily once it is fully operational, and in offering a link between parts of the capital that have long been ill-served by transport connections, the line should be a success. It does, however, pose a significant hazard to pub quiz-masters and Underground trivia hounds: should London Overground be counted as a proper Tube line or not?


The new station at Hoxton

The section between New Cross Gate and Dalston Junction is currently scheduled to open in April 15th and the full service is due to welcome passengers on May 23rd.
When the extended East London line links up with the Richmond to Stratford line at Highbury & Islington in 2011, the beginning of an orbital railway around the Capital will be created. Transport for London will complete the orbital railway by extending the East London Line from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction. This work is due to be completed in 2012. With four new, air-conditioned trains per hour, it would take less time to get to Canary Wharf and Broadgate.


As time goes by - all that remains of the Line's previous terminus Old Shoreditch Station

It is a pity to see this Line move out of the Underground Network but there is no denying that since Transport for London took over the dismal North London Line and the appalling Silverlink services there has been a huge improvement with Underground standards of station improvements including lighting, CCTV, Ticketing including being part of the Oyster Card network and the London Zone system. More importantly there has been a phase shift in security and staffing at the stations and increase frequency of reliable services with brand new rolling stock.


The new Overground bridge being installed at Shoreditch High Street




The ticket hall and platforms at the new Shoreditch Station

This reopened link will also be an important contribution to the Olympic transport arrangements as the North London Line - will become part of "London Overground" and will see new rolling stock as well as new terminating platforms at Stratford serving the Olympic Park and an increase in services. Orbital routes are hugely important in a large World City like London giving an important alternative to the congested radial routes through the centre and linking the neighbourhoods of London.


Thames Tunnel from Wapping in 2005

But for railway aficionados who admire the scale of the raw Victorian engineering on the Line with deep cuttings lined with engineering brick and buttressed by cast iron girders leading to the unique Wapping Tunnel it will be a joy to see it come back to life to meet the changing transport needs of this great World City and its natives and visitors. The integration of this Line into the ambitious but much needed and appreciated Overground Network means this former Cinderella Line has at long last found its rightful place at the ball!

For the history of the unique East London Line see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/12/east-london-line.html

For more background on the worlds first Underground see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html


The Underground style interiors of the new rolling stock


Robert Hulse, director of the Brunel Museum, takes us on a tour of the Thames tunnel, described, when it first opened in 1843, as the eighth wonder of the world.



On the 14 / 15th March pedestrians were allowed to walk through the restored tunnel under the Thames for the the first time in 148 years!



Here is TfL's promo on the new line with excellent aerial shots which make sense of the route decisions;




For more on London Underground and its unique heritage and contribution to design see TUBEBLOGS in my Blog sidebar >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

East London Line.

There has been some disquiet in London at the impending closure of the second oldest “Tube” line, The East London Line on the 22nd December 2007 until 2010. Part of this disquiet relates to the Line being more widely used with its connection to the extended Jubilee Line at Canada Water as well as its long standing connection to the District Line at Whitechapel. In truth the East London Line has always been somewhat unique as the only Underground Line which doesn’t go through Central London, having two termini only 600 metres apart and having the oldest tunnel on the system, the Thames Tunnel designed by Marc Brunel, father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel dating from 1843 and which along with the Tower Hill subway was the first sub-aqueous tunnel in modern times. There is reference to a tunnel in Babylon, but no archaeological evidence. More importantly it was the tunnel where modern tunnelling methods were developed and though underground and largely inseen it is a listed building!


The plaque commemorating the tunnel construction at Rotherhithe Station

However there are sound reasons for closing the East London Line to develop the “London Overground” network an exciting orbital transport system for London. The purpose of these extensions and changes is to convert the line from a minor stub to a key transport artery that can be used to create an orbital railway linking London's suburbs.This is projected to be a catalyst for £10bn of regeneration in some of the most deprived parts of London, to ease traffic congestion on radial routes into central London and congestion at London Bridge station and as the first phase will be ready in 2010, to provide the infrastructure to support the 2012 Olympic games which will be based in East London.


Thames Tunnel from Wapping in 2005

The East London line extension will form part of the London Overground, an orbital railway around London. Connecting 20 of London's 33 boroughs, one in five Londoners will live within 15 minutes walk of an Overground station. As part of the plans for the construction of a London Overground network, work began to extend the East London Line to both the north and south, with the finished product becoming part of the new system and losing its London Underground status. The finalised plan consists of two phases, with the stage one to be completed by 2010. This involves the building of an extension to Dalston Junction from Whitechapel, with new stations being built at Shoreditch High Street, Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction. At the same time, the line will be extended from New Cross Gate onto the mainline tracks, allowing trains to serve all the stations between New Cross Gate and Croydon, as well as serving the branch off to Crystal Palace. These extensions will then be supplemented by an additional extension onto South London Line mainline tracks from Surrey Quays towards Clapham Junction, with a new station being built at Surrey Canal Road next to the ground of Millwall FC.



However it will not be just the Line’s commuters who will miss it during its absence but railway aficionados who admire the scale of the raw Victorian engineering on the Line which features deep cuttings lined with engineering brick and buttressed by cast iron girders leading to the unique Wapping Tunnel. For an Underground line it has a small scale and a somewhat unique atmosphere appreciated by enthusiasts for this line is a fascinating but working piece of industrial archaeology. The East London line is the only line not to enter Travelcard Zone 1 and it is the second-shortest line (after the Waterloo & City line), with an end-to-end journey time of only 14 minutes. Its total length is nine km (five miles), with nine stations, eight of which are currently open. The line runs in a contiguous tunnel from Shoreditch to Surrey Quays, with the remainder running on the surface or in cuttings. Much of the line is constructed in the cut-and-cover fashion that is typical of London's sub-surface railways. The deepest point is at Wapping station, constructed in the Thames Tunnel's original entrance shaft 18.29 m (60 ft) below the surface. The line is operated by just 6 train sets of 4 carriages each of Metropolitan Line “A” Stock dating from 1960/62. For a real display of industrial archaeology relating to the line you should visit the Brunel Museum beside the station in Rotherhithe. The museum is housed in the building which contained the pumps to keep the Thames Tunnel dry.



Until 2006, the East London line ran from Shoreditch station at its northern end to two termini at New Cross and New Cross Gate mainline rail stations to the south1. Originally opening as the East London Railway in 1869, the line began its life as a link from the mainline railway at New Cross Gate, and ran to Wapping via Brunel's Thames Tunnel. This tunnel was built between 1825 and 1843 and was one of the first foot tunnels under the Thames, but was converted for railway use after it was bought by the East London Railway company.



Previous tunneling attempts, in 1801 and 1807, were unsuccessful mainly because of excavation met quicksand, a sand through which fast moving water causes the sand to be held in suspension. The general opinion, formed in engineering circles at the time, was that there was no practical means of tunnelling under the Thames. In 1818, however, Brunel patented the tunneling shield, a device that made possible tunneling in safety through waterbearing strata. This led some twenty five years later to the opening of the first sub aqueous tunnel built for public use.

In 1825 operations began for building the Brunel-designed tunnel under the Thames River between Rotherhithe and Wapping. Brunel's Tunnel Shield covered the area to be excavated and consisted of 12 separate frames, comprising altogether 36 cells in which a workman was engaged working independently of the others. Propulsion for the device was a screw which drove the device forward in 114mm / 4.5in steps (the width of a brick). This scheme, which had no precedent, was halted a number of times but, fortunately the shield held. The stoppages did, however, place the scheme's finances under severe strain. At one point the operation was halted for seven years and the tunnel bricked up. When it was again started a much larger shield was used to cover the 120m/400ft of tunnel already constructed. At its lowest point construction took place only 4m/14ft below the river bed. The Thames tunnel was eventually opened in 1843. It was of a horseshoe construction with a height of 7m/23ft and width of 11m/37ft. It had a total length of 406m/1,506ft.

As a reward for his labours Marc Brunel was elected to the Royal Society and knighted, in 1841, for his services to the construction of the Thames Tunnel.



Thames Tunnel 25th March 1843
Built in 1825-43, the first tunnel under the Thames - or indeed under any river - was originally used by pedestrians but was converted to a rail link in 1869


In the first four months more than a million people passed through the long awaited tunnel. However whilst designed as a road tunnel the promoters ran out of funds to build the access roads and it was used as an unprofitable foot tunnel. The original access stairways can still be seen from the lift shafts in Wapping Station. The Metropolitan Railway bought the tunnel off the now bankrupt promoters and the first trains used the tunnel in 1865. The East London Line is not strictly a “Tube” Line as the stock used is the larger square surface stock as used on the Metropolitan Line used in a 4 car configuration.

The railway was extended further northwards in 1876 to reach the Great Eastern Railway lines at Shoreditch, and this tie-in allowed trains to pass from the south onto the East London Railway, and then run straight into Liverpool Street station. A regular service would run from New Cross Gate to Liverpool Street until the line was electrified in 1913, meaning that only non-Underground trains could then continue on into the mainline station. The point at which the line was severed in 1966 to improve running on other lines into Liverpool Street can be seen from Shoreditch station. The line was further extended in 1880 with a branch being built to the new New Cross station built by the South Eastern Railway. In 1884, a spur was built allowing trains to run from Shadwell to Aldgate East, thus allowing through services from other lines onto the East London Railway. In 1948, the East London Railway was bought by the London Underground, but only gained its own identity in the 1980s when the spur to the Metropolitan line became disused, and the line was named the East London line.



When the wrappers come off the “new” line in 2010 it will be a far more useful and accessible transport link stretching from Dalston Junction in the north to West Croydon in the south providing an orbital route for East and South London on both sides of the Thames. It will feature bright accessible stations and will be an important part of the transport infrastructure supporting the 2012 Olympics in East London. More than that as an important component of the “London Overground” system it will be part of a whole complex of interlinked orbital rail links which will greatly add to London’s infrastructure and make for a more liveable city regenerating and reinforcing neighbourhoods throughout the capital. Whatever qualms the rail enthusiasts have the renewed East London Line and the London Overground Network will be the culmination of many decades of campaigning to renew and revitalise and reconnect many underutilised transport links in the capital. This is a considerable achievement which will improve the lifestyles of many Londoners and reinforce London’s position as a World City.

The historic stations on the existing line are:

Shoreditch

Shoreditch station opened in 1876 and closed in 2006, having consisted of a single platform serving a single track next to the disused Bishopsgate goods yard as well as the station building upon Brick Lane, a road notable for its wide variety of curry restaurants. The station was situated just to the south of the railway line into Liverpool Street, and the Underground line at Shoreditch used to continue onto the mainline tracks until the tube line was electrified in 1913. While open, the station was the northernmost terminus of the line, but due to a shortage of passengers, trains only called there during rush hours and at weekends. Shoreditch belongs to the long tradition of Underground stations with misleading names (Harrow on the Hill being below the Hill, Acton Town being a half mile from Acton Town, Watford being a mile from Watford etc) as it is not really in Shoreditch but at the top of Brick Lane and behind the old Goods yards.

Shoreditch - The end of the line



Shoreditch platform just before closure

Due to plans to extend the East London line to form part of the new London Overground network, Shoreditch station is now disused. Trains will leave the original route of the line to call at a new station at Shoreditch High Street while passing along the route of the old Broad Street viaduct, the only remaining structure from the old national railway station of the same name. The fact that the disused North London line runs along most of the desired route of the extension means that Shoreditch station really had very little chance of being included in the project.

Whitechapel





This station lies opposite the Royal London Hospital, and a street market lies just outside the station. The two 1876 East London line platforms are underneath and perpendicular to the four 1884 District and Hammersmith & City line platforms, although both lines lie in cuttings just beneath the surface. Some of the signs on the platforms are quite old, as is quite common in stations on the District Line - the station still features black boxes that light up to tell you which platform the next train will arrive on. This station used to act (before the closure of Shoreditch) as the terminus of the line except for peak hours when trains run north on the single line towards Shoreditch. During the late 19th Century, Whitechapel was infamous as one of the Jack the Ripper's favourite haunts, and later became an area frequented by the Kray brothers. The station is a short way east of the famous Brick Lane, which features Indian restaurants, clubs and a market, although Aldgate and Aldgate East stations are both much closer.


Shadwell

Built in 1876, this station is not actually connected to the Docklands Light Railway station of the same name, but passengers need only to walk round to the next street about 50 metres away, and there is a rather good pie & mash shop on the way. The tube platforms are only accessible by lift, and both stations are pretty much devoid of amenities. The surrounding area is mainly residential, although there is a market on nearby Watney Street.

Wapping


Built in 1869, this station lies on Wapping High Street just north of the entrance to Brunel's foot tunnel through which the East London line runs. There is therefore little room available for platform expansion, and so the station's future became uncertain when the East London line extension was announced. However, it has now been decided that the extended line will be served by four-carriage trains, and so the station will be able to remain open to serve the surrounding residential area. Wapping became well-known in 1986 as the site of the battle between Rupert Murdoch and the printer's unions, as it was the location of the so-called 'Fortress Wapping'.

Rotherhithe



From the same era as Wapping station, Rotherhithe lies just to the south of Brunel's tunnel just off the aptly-named Brunel Road, and as with Wapping the station's future was uncertain for a while due to the short length of its platforms. The original brickwork of the Thames Tunnel can be seen from the north end of the station, and those with some time to spare can visit the nearby Brunel Engine House museum on Railway Avenue. The surrounding area boasts a colourful history of body snatching, piracy and maritime tradition, with the Mayflower having set sail from Rotherhithe in 1620 on its way to North America.

Canada Water


This comparatively new station is named after the nearby Canada Water reservoir, and was built in 1999 to serve as an interchange between the East London line and the Jubilee line extension. The station's surface building consists of a large glass drum echoing Charles Holden’s famous designs on the Piccadilly Line, and a glass-roofed bus station which serves the local area. The underground part of the station consists of a large number of concrete struts, and was built to support the weight of possible future developments above ground.

Surrey Quays


Originally known as Deptford Road when it opened in 1869, this station lies in the middle of a large junction just off Lower Road, just to the east of Southwark Park. The station was renamed Surrey Docks in 1911, but was given its current name in 1989 when the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre opened nearby. The station was originally built due to the presence of the highly popular Surrey Commercial Docks, but since the redevelopment of the Docklands in the late 20th Century, Surrey Quays has been a mixed residential and commercial area, thus providing a sufficient demand for the tube station to remain.

Surrey Quays

South of this station the line surfaces and then divides into two lines leading to the southern termini at New Cross and New Cross Gate. After the East London line extension has been completed the line will split into three here instead, with a third branch heading off to a new station at Surrey Canal Road.

New Cross




This station lies on New Cross Road about 600m to the east of New Cross Gate station, and forms the only terminus of the East London line not scheduled for extension. The tube station was built in 1880 at the same time as the mainline station of the same name, which is served by South Eastern trains from Charing Cross via Waterloo East as well as those from Blackfriars and Cannon Street, with all trains to New Cross passing through London Bridge station to the north.

New Cross Gate

Situated on Goodwood Road just 600m west of New Cross, this station opened in 1869 and is currently a single platform terminus of the East London Line. The station also has four national rail platforms which are served by Southern railway trains running from Charing Cross, via Waterloo East and London Bridge stations, to Caterham and West Croydon in the south, and to Victoria via Clapham Junction. By approximately 2010, New Cross Gate will no longer be a terminus, and instead the Underground trains will switch onto these national rail lines and continue through to the mainline stations all the way to Crystal Palace and West Croydon.

The station was originally known as New Cross, but due to possible confusion with the nearby South Eastern railway station, the suffix 'Gate' was added and has remained to this day. New Cross Gate station is near to Goldsmith's College, part of the University of London, and so the station is often full of students.

St Mary's (Whitechapel)

This station used to lie between Aldgate East and Whitechapel in the days when the East London line was connected by a curve from St Mary's to Shadwell. The station was generally unpopular due to the cramped setting of the station and the tight curve on which the station stood. Service was slowly reduced until 1938 when Aldgate East station was moved further east, leading to St Mary's being surplus to requirements. The station building was hit by a bomb in 1940, and now all that remains are some emergency exit doors. When the St. Mary’s curve was operational for passenger service trains used to run on the District / Circle Line from Edgware Road and High Street Kensington via Victoria to New Cross. Now the connection is used just for stock movements and engineering trains.


Update on Clapham Extension – 12 February 2009



The planned extension of the East London rail line was today given the go-ahead by Boris Johnson, and Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon. The new line funded by the Government, Transport for London and City Hall will link Surrey Quays to Peckham and Clapham Junction, providing direct links to the City and Docklands.

The extension is intended to reduce congestion on radial routes, and at central London interchange stations. The Department for Transport is providing £64 million for the East London line extension and other transport improvements. The Mayor and TfL will contribute £15 million towards the cost of the scheme.

Mr Johnson said: "This is tremendous news. We can finally get cracking on a vital section of track that will orbitise our Overground rail services. "I promised Londoners that where funds were made available we would build the improvements they need. "And it will be a real achievement when our Overground services are fully oysterised. (Oyster is the name of the London wide stored value ticketing system) I am delighted a long hard slog of negotiations between us and the Department of Transport has borne fruit that will result in a superb new service for thousands of Londoners."

Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy said: "The East London line extension will deliver a key rail link south of the river and improve local transport for Londoners by providing more choice and better access to other parts of the capital."

"The extension to Clapham Junction will provide significantly improved access to the City and Docklands and will allow us to extend the high standards provided on our existing London Overground network - staff at all stations, Oyster pay as you go, and frequent services - to south Londoners."



Here is TfL's promo for the new line - the excellent aerial shots make sense of the route decisions;



For more on London Underground and its unique heritage and contribution to design see TUBEBLOGS in my Blog sidebar >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>