Transport
Watch – July 2010
So it looks as though
Crossrail’s
future has been confirmed and the work that has already started on many sites
can continue apace. Crossrail’s future may now be
assured but still no decision yet about the planned electrification of the line
between Paddington and
No firm decision appears to have been taken
about HS2, the proposed high speed rail line linking
After many years of hard negotiation the 120 bus service from Northolt to Hounslow through Southall is to see an improved service. Now from the 4th of September, weekday morning peaks will see the existing bus every 10 minutes service improved to a bus every 7 to 8 minutes. The evening peak service of a bus every 10 minutes will improve to one every 9 minutes but as the evening progresses the existing three buses an hour frequency will improve to four buses an hour, something which will greatly benefit the route’s many Southall passengers who work well into the evening. On Sundays, when Southall’s tourist, shopping and religious traffic rises sharply, the 3 bus per hour frequency of service improves to 4 buses per hour.
The Hammersmith to Edgware Road Line
will close on 24th July to enable major works, many of them centred at Paddington, to be carried
out. Until the 16th August Hammersmith and City trains will terminate at
Marylebone, the
There is more good news from Chiltern, but
also some less good news. Punctuality reached an annual score of 95.25 ahead of
the target figure of 95.17 set by the rail regulator. They have also received
the first of their new trains and this is undergoing trials and driver
training. On the negative side we understand that the draft May 2011 timetable
shows no improvement to services to the Sudburys and
still no weekend service to either station. If you live in the north of the
Borough, would you use the service if it was improved? EPTUG would be interested
in hearing from you. Please drop a line to EPTUG at
Heathrow Connect’s direct service to Terminal 4 at Heathrow has quietly been dropped and replaced by a service terminating at Heathrow Central, (for Terminals 1 and 3). A shuttle service, with a same platform change, is provided for Terminal 4 passengers and a similar need to change trains has always been necessary for Terminal 5 passengers. Running Connect trains right through to Terminal 4 made keeping to a strict timetable very difficult and in an industry where punctuality is judged by everyone from waiting passenger on station platform right up to the Minister of Transport himself, the move to terminate Connect trains at Heathrow Central was considered to be a very prudent one. However using the time saved could, EPTUG thinks, with a minor tinkering of the schedules, enable a stop at Acton Mainline to be introduced.
Londoners, it seems, are getting more forgetful and the number of items handed in to TfL’s Lost Property Office has risen to a record level. Last year a staggering 38,142 books were handed in along with 20,752 telephones, and 8618 umbrellas. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that these items could be found amidst the discarded newspapers, empty drink cans and half eaten take-a-way foods our fellow travellers leave behind them.
If you are planning to go to the Greenford
Carnival please do take time to visit the EPTUG stall and tell us what is good
and what is bad with transport in the area. We know the Greenford to Paddington
service will terminate at
Following the TfL
takeover of PPP plans, Amey, owned by Ferrovial, will continue to provide management and
maintenance on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly Lines, But
the company warns that some plans may be delayed and the Piccadilly Line,
already last in priority, may suffer as a consequence. Meanwhile London
Underground are anxious to tell us how the Underground
across
Inevitably, following the change of government at both national and local level, we can expect a change of policies affecting local transport. Already newly elected MP Angie Bray has called together stakeholders to discuss the redevelopment of Ealing Broadway in the light of information now known to her, whilst at local level Cllr Julian Bell is busy forming committees and drafting in expertise to oversee and implement future council policies. It is therefore an ideal time to make your comments and your wish list known. Please forward your ideas on transport issues to your MP or your local councillor but please be sure to copy those ideas to EPTUG and to the letters page of this newspaper.