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The Northern
Line, which runs through my constituency, has long been
beset with problems and I have been campaigning for the
necessary investment to ensure that the quality of service
is increased. This year refurbishment of the escalators has
been completed at both Tooting Broadway and Tooting Bec
stations.
However the
urgency for a full programme of improvements was highlighted
when the Northern Line was suspended for two full days in
October 2005. Concerns were voiced by drivers about the
repeated failures of a secondary braking system on the 106
trains employed on the line.
The
suspension was responsible for causing undue stress and
inconvenience to thousands of people in Tooting. I therefore
did my utmost to ensure that a full Northern Line service
was resumed as soon as possible.
I was in
frequent contact with senior staff members within Transport
for London and London Underground. On Monday 17th
October I met with a senior official at Tube Lines, the
company is responsible for the maintenance and upgrade of
the Northern Line.
This
situation had unacceptable consequences for St George’s
Hospital. On the first day of the stoppage, many hospital
employees were unable to get into work, which resulted in
some operations being cancelled and wards being
short-staffed. I requested assurances that extra buses would
be provided between Oval and Tooting Broadway and more buses
to take commuters from Tooting Broadway to Wimbledon where
the District and Circle lines were still running.
Furthermore I lobbied Robert Kiley, the Commissioner of
Transport for London, outlining the problems experienced by
St George’s Hospital and demanding urgent action.
Tube Lines
have advised me of the work that will be carried out on the
Northern Line to prevent a repeat of this fiasco:
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The
three stations located within my constituency (Tooting
Broadway, Tooting Bec and Balham) are all due to be
refurbished by 2010. Work will commence in advance of
that target and entail the upgrade of PA systems, CCTV
cameras, staff facilities, repairs and redecoration.
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The
whole Northern Line will have a completely new
signalling system in place by 2011. Capacity will be
increased by 30% and journey times will be reduced. In
the short-term parts of signals and tracks will be
replaced to ensure that signal failures are reduced.
In the
short-term I will continue a dialogue with all the key
players to ensure that the Northern Line is able to
transport Londoners safely, efficiently and without
disruption.
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