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| Re: London's five-year plan (8472) | |||
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Re: London's five-year plan |
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Posted by David Fairthorne on Tue Oct 12 12:40:22 2004, in response to Re: London's five-year plan, posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Mon Oct 11 23:36:54 2004. According to the Evening Standard:Commuters are to get air-cooled Tube trains as part of a £10 billion plan to transform the capital's transport network. Ken Livingstone unveiled the scheme today, along with plans for a new Thames road bridge and to extend London Underground and Docklands Light Railway lines. The Mayor's capital investment programme, as it is formally known, must be approved by the Transport for London board later this month and is also subject to consultation. But thanks to a groundbreaking five-year funding deal with the Government, the schemes are now almost certain to go ahead - with many due to be finished by 2009. The projects will funded by £3 billion in new borrowing, £4 billion from PPP contracts and a further £3 billion from government grants and fare rises. They include: Building the first new Thames road bridge in 70 years - the Thames Gateway, linking Greenwich and Newham. Extending the East London line and DLR for the Olympic bid. Pushing out the Metropolitan line to Watford Junction to link with the national rail network. Constructing a showcase Tube station at Wembley Park. Expanding the congestion charge zone westwards. Widening the North Circular. Banning polluting lorries and vans from Greater London. The Mayor claimed that the longawaited proposals - funded by the biggest increase in spending since the Second World War - will give Londoners a 21st-century public transport system. But there are some key omissions, such as the Crossrail scheme to link west and east London. Transport for London also made clear that there is not yet enough money to pay for the proposed West London tram link and Cross River tram. Mr Livingstone's hopes of an earlier takeover of suburban rail routes such as the North London line appear to have been dashed. Cooler Tube trains are a key feature of the five-year project. Mr Livingstone confirmed he would fund new air-conditioned trains on the District, Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines. Deeper lines are more difficult to cool but London Underground will fund pilots to fit cold-water pipes along tunnels to tackle the problem. Every summer, millions of Tube commuters suffer from overheating. The experimental scheme will help to cool stations as well as trains. |
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