13 January 2011

Transport Upgrades in 2011

We have recently heard from Caroline Pigeon that the Jubilee line upgrade (which was supposed to be delivered in December 2009 before the ELL reopened) will now be delivered this spring. When complete, the new system will enable London Underground to run more trains on the Jubilee line, increasing capacity by 33 per cent and cutting journey times by around 22 percent.

London Rail also informs us that work was undertaken over the festive period on the new extension to the Overground service between Dalston Junction and Highbury & Islington. Signalling systems and High Voltage Power systems were successfully commissioned, in advance of successfully running the first test train at the end of last week. The project is progressing well and is expected to open on schedule in spring 2011, with a 'soft start' expected at the end of February. Once the service is up and running, all the Overground trains from Forest Hill will run to/from Highbury & Islington at the northern end of their route instead of Dalston Junction. (The New Cross services will continue to run between New Cross and Dalston Junction)

The final phase of the East London Line upgrade (ELLX2 from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction) will not now be delivered before the Olympics in 2012. The original timetable for development had aimed for a May 2012 opening, but TfL have confirmed that this has now slipped and it will be the end of 2012 before we see the extension opened, as the timescales for the project were pushed back pending the outcome of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review. TfL have also had to take account of the restrictions on construction work being carried out before and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which have also affected the programme.

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