London Underground: should lines be completely shut to speed up engineering work? (Twickenham & Richmond Liberal Democrats)

London Underground: should lines be completely shut to speed up engineering work?

August 26, 2009 10:23 AM

pidgeon tube • [Jul 18] CAROLINE Pidgeon explains why modernising the underground is so important and why new ways of undertaking the upgrades might now be necessary: 'At London's City Hall I'm leading an Assembly investigation into overcrowding on the Tube and what Mayor Boris Johnson can do about it . . '

. . Upgrading the Tube is the key to ending overcrowding. With state of the art signalling, renewed track and new communications systems London Underground will be able to run many more trains per hour much more reliably. But Gordon Brown's failed PPP led to Metronet going bankrupt, and even Tube Lines are under great pressure to complete vital re-signalling and other upgrade work on the Jubilee Line by Christmas 2009.

. . Lib Dems and Londoners need to face reality: would you prefer a six week closure of a section of Tube line and get the work over and done with (more efficiently and so at lower cost), or do we stick with 19 weekend closures and take four months ? We have many years of this work ahead so it is perhaps time Boris made up his mind.

What would YOU want him to do ?

Go to www.london.gov.uk/assembly/scrutiny/transport_experience.jsp and have your say. Let me know too (caroline.pidgeon@london.gov.uk) and together we can develop Lib Dem transport policy for London.

Caroline Pidgeon is the Liberal Democrat Assembly Assemby Spokesperson Spokerspon and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee.

Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats: