Stealth Tax For East London, says Biggs

Posted by Now London on Aug 1, 2011 in Dartford Tunnel, News, Transport | 0 comments

Dartford tunnel costs are set to rise. For car users the costs will go up 66% (£1.50 to £2.50), while small vans (£2 to £3) will go up by 50% and HGVs (£3.70 to £6) will pay 62% more.

Local London Assembly member, John Biggs, who has today written to the Department for Transport to object to their plans to increase the Dartford Toll, said: “I am concerned about the proposed changes for three reasons.

“First, it is unnecessary, as the current charges and income more than cover the operating costs of the crossing.

“Second, although a discount applies to residents of the local authorities at either end of the crossing, for many motorists in adjoining areas it remains the only feasible crossing of the Thames.

“Third, the increased charges are exacerbated by the lack of alternatives for many users but they will have the additional effect of encouraging a greater number of travellers with a choice to use alternative crossings, and particularly the Blackwall Tunnels.

“I hope that users of the Dartford Crossing will join me in objecting to the increase in charges.”

Full fleet of brand new Victoria line trains now in service

Posted by Now London on Aug 1, 2011 in News, Transport | 0 comments

The 180 million passengers who use the Victoria line each year are now being served by a full fleet of brand new trains, following the successful phasing out of the old 1960’s stock.

 

The new higher capacity trains are more accessible with wider doors and more spaces for wheelchair users, and on-board audio and visual electronic information for hard of hearing and visually impaired passengers. They also feature CCTV in every carriage and are a crucial part of the upgrade of the line.

 

Once work to remove the old signalling is complete next year the upgrade will mean a 21 per cent increase in capacity – the equivalent of space for an extra 10,000 passengers per hour.

 

The completion of the roll-out of the new stock comes forty years after the Victoria line was completed from Victoria to Brixton in July 1971. The line was the first automated train line in the world and, with its ticket barriers and special new ticket machines – it was ahead of its time.  The first section of it opened in September 1968 from Walthamstow Central through to Highbury & Islington.  The second section which included King’s Cross St. Pancras, Euston and Warren Street, opened in December 1968.

 

The line was officially opened in March 1969 when  the line arrived at Oxford Circus, Green Park and Victoria Underground stations – declared open by the Queen who travelled in the driver’s cab as well as sitting in a Tube train carriage. However the Victoria line was not completed through to Vauxhall, Stockwell and Brixton until two years later.

 

David Waboso, London Underground’s Capital Programmes Director said: “This is an upgrade we have inherited from the PPP, which we have managed so it is now well ahead of its contractual schedule of being completed by 2013.  It is fitting that as we celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Victoria line being completed to Brixton we now have such a huge improvement for passengers in the form of a fleet of new trains running virtually every two minutes.

 

“In two months we will be running an additional two trains per hour for a large part of the week, with further increases to come starting next spring when we’ll be running 30 trains every hour ahead of the Olympics. When the upgrade is complete we will have provided capacity for an additional ten thousand passengers each hour – meaning better, less crowded, journeys.”

 

Cooling the deep level Tube lines is a huge challenge that TfL continues to face – especially with the Victoria line, which is the only line on the network that is entirely underground from end to end and which had suffered from under-investment in ventilation fans to move the warm air to the surface. On the deep-level lines, which are unique to London, the heat generated by trains has been passing into the tunnels and the clay surrounding them for many years, meaning the tunnels retain heat. They were also built with only enough room for trains and with no space for air-conditioning outside the trains, and very little inside without sacrificing seats.

 

Work to double the capacity of the fans at all the main ventilations shafts serving the Victoria line is due to be completed later this year. A total of eleven fans have already been completed and the work on the final two is currently underway. The new Victoria line trains are now operating an environmentally friendly regenerative braking system, which returns power to the rails while the train is braking so that other nearby trains can use it for accelerating. This will also reduce the amount of heat that is generated.

 

However, at present there is no one cost-effective short term solution for cooling the Tube. TfL is looking to the future and working with the train industry to develop the next generation of Tube trains, with the aim of making them lighter so that that they generate less heat and include space so that a cooling solution could possibly be implemented.

National Audit Office to investigate £1.4 billion Thameslink contract

Posted by Now London on Jul 28, 2011 in News, Thameslink, Transport | 0 comments

Reports that the National Audit Office will be investigating the award of the £14. billion Thameslink fleet contact to German company Siemens has been welcomed by rail union leader, Bob Crow.

The NAO may be looking specifically at the failure to factor in the wider costs to the economy from the loss of up to 20,000 jobs from shifting the work overseas and the RMT is seeking urgent confirmation on that point. The union is in no doubt that once those knock-on costs are added in that Bombardier will prove to be far better value to the UK taxpayer.

Members of the RMT parliamentary group, alongside local Derbyshire MP’s, have been in the forefront of demands for a forensic investigation into the real costs of effectively shutting down train building in the UK but have been met with a stone-wall from the Government when it comes to hard facts and figures as they hide behind the smokescreen of “commercial confidentiality.”

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“RMT welcomes the fact that there should now be a full and forensic probe into the real facts and figures behind the Bombardier stitch-up and we will expect no stone to be unturned in this investigation.

“We understand that the NAO will report by October, well before the final sign off on this contract and giving the Government ample time to reverse the decision to effectively kill off train building in the UK regardless of the social and economic costs.

“The fight to save Bombardier in Derby and UK train building is far from over.”

Keith makes a special delivery on route 145

Posted by Now London on Jul 28, 2011 in Human stories, Local News, News, Off Beat, Transport | 0 comments

London bus driver, Keith Emery, delivered more than his passengers when his bus doubled as a delivery room on Saturday (23 July) for a woman to give birth to a baby boy onboard.

 

The baby was born on a Stagecoach London operated route 145 bus in Hedgemans Road, Dagenham at about 6.50pm.  Driver, Keith Emmery, was on his last run of the day when the woman, who was sitting in a seat at the back of the bus, went into labour.  He was alerted to the woman’s plight by the wife of another Stagecoach London bus driver Sharon Eve who was a passenger on the bus at the time.  He pulled over into the next stop, called for emergency help and ushered the 20 passengers off the bus.

 

Mr Emmery, who has been driving buses for 25 years said: “It really took me by surprise, it all happened so quickly.  It was all very calm and was quite exciting in a way.  The lady who delivered the baby, Mrs Eve, deserves all the credit.  She did an amazing job.  I made the call at 6.35pm and the baby was born at around 6.50pm.  We wrapped the baby in a cardigan, he was quite tiny.  They’re all calling me ‘baby man’ at work now.  I’m waiting for my little granddaughter to be born this week too I think we must have started off a baby boom.”

 

Mr Emmery said the woman had told him the baby was a week overdue.  The ambulance arrived a couple of minutes after the baby was born and transported the mother and baby to a local hospital.

 

It is only the second time a baby has been born on a bus in London.  In October 2009, Emiloju Fatimah Lawal gave birth to a baby boy on a route 394 bus in Hackney.

 

TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport Leon Daniels said: “We would like to extend our congratulations to the mother and her family on the birth of their baby.  It’s not every day a woman gives birth on a London bus, but she was in great hands by all accounts.  Mr Emmery and Mrs Eve both did an outstanding job of helping deliver this new arrival.”

Euston air vent fire raises staffing concerns

Posted by Now London on Jul 27, 2011 in Transport | 0 comments

A fire in the air vents at Euston station has raised concerns about staffing levels on London Underground says Rail Union RMT

A year away from the London Olympics, tube union has raised staffing concerns again following a fire alert incident at Euston station just over a week ago.

The most recent fire at Euston was in the air vents and comes almost exactly a year after an escalator fire at the same station. The latest incident was tackled by a large team of fire fighters who warned just how easy it is for flammable material to find its way into the air vents.

Last year’s escalator fire was picked up by member of staff, as the fire detection system was defective. This year, the fire also coincided with defective equipment. The Public Address system was not working, so staff had to hurry around the station with megaphones to get everybody out.

The training and experience of the station based staff ensured a safe evacuation.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“Almost exactly a year on from last year’s fire in an escalator machine room, Euston station has had yet another reminder of the constant risks to safety and the need for staff on the Underground. This is a wake-up call for Boris Johnson and Transport for London just a year away from the Olympics

“With the ever-present risk, and the problem of unreliable detection and evacuation equipment, the only thing that stands between safety and a major catastrophe is the presence of staff.

“RMT will continue to defend safe “section 12″ staffing numbers, and to fight for more staff, to reflect the real numbers needed in a real-life evacuation as passenger numbers continue to rise and we begin the countdown to the London Olympics.”

Stratford Bus Station prepares for a new and improved look

Posted by Now London on Jul 27, 2011 in News, Transport | 0 comments

Work to transform Stratford bus station in time for the London 2012 Games begins on 1 August.

Transport for London (TfL) and Newham Council are working closely together to improve the station; replacing the bus shelters, installing better lighting and improving footpaths – allowing passengers to move more easily around the station.  The bus station will be thoroughly spruced-up from top to bottom including a full repair and resurface of all roadways.

The works will benefit the 20 million passengers using the bus station every year. In addition, many thousands of extra passengers will use Stratford bus station during the London 2012 Games because of its close proximity to the Olympic Park and easy interchange with the Central and Jubilee Lines, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and mainline services.

Mike Weston, Operations Director, London Buses said:  “Stratford bus station is already a very important transport hub in East London and as we move closer to the London 2012 Games it will have an ever bigger part to play ensuring visitors have easy access to the Olympic Park.  With this in mind it is important we provide world class facilities for the travelling public and to do this we need to close the bus station for several weeks to make important improvements.  TfL and Newham Council will work closely together to ensure the disruption to passengers is minimal.”

The bus station will close from 1 August 2011 until the end October 2011, with temporary changes to local stopping arrangements for bus services.

Buses will use other bus stops around Stratford town centre whilst the works are undertaken, and TfL will have Customer Service Assistants readily available to help minimise any passenger disruption and assist passengers with their onward journeys.  Full details of revised stopping arrangements will also be on display locally and on the TfL website www.tfl.gov.uk/livetravelnews.

TfL and Newham Council will work hard to ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum during these improvements. Work will be carried out on a phased basis and is due to be fully completed by February 2012.