Closure of Shepherd's Bush Tube Station
You might not know that the Central line Station is closing for 8 months from February next year. This has only just been sprung on us commuters by TfL (I live in Acton, but have always used Shepherd's Bush, via the 207, actually my easiest station to get to).There are so many reasons not to close the station. Please read my letter to TfL(and the Mayor and Peter Hendy)below for my views. If you agree, please write to them too, plus the local press and politicians.Thanks,SeanDear TfL/Mayor/Commissioner, I am outraged at the plan to close Shepherd’s Bush Central Line Station from February for 8 months (or more probably, especially as no specific reopening date has been given).There are many questioned to be answered on this matter by you. Most importantly, are the actions of TfL inspired by the interests of the travelling and wider public, or by pressure from the shopping centre developer? I am sure that the new development will be a great benefit to the economy of West London, but to penalise local people, businesses and commuters in order to expedite access to a shopping centre is unacceptable (and have we any assurances that the shopping centre will open on time anyway?). Closing the station for such a long period will inconvenience millions of passengers; it will also affect the livelihoods of the small independent businesses nearby, and could even force the departure of larger players such as the cinema and other big stores. Will this inevitable damage to the economy of Shepherd’s Bush be reversed the moment the station re open? Clearly no, by then, if a cinema is closed, it is closed, and it would take a hell of an effort to restore such amenities (which might be beneficial for the new shopping centre, providing profitable alternatives, moving the centre of gravity to their premises out of the Uxbridge Road).I am also disappointed that TfL has sprung this news on passengers so near to the closure date, no doubt a fait accompli which any amount of public outcry cannot change (and the contracts have been signed presumably?). And you haven’t yet even spelt out what the alternatives for passengers will be.I suggest that you think again about the totally closure of the station. Escalators can be replaced one by one, as is done at most other stations (including those with only two escalators and one fixed stairway between them, as at Shepherd’s Bush), and surely it is not beyond the wit of your civil engineers and architects top design a building plan that retains the shell of the current station, ensuring minimal closures for the general public.If you do go ahead of this egregious closure, you must supply alternatives beyond a pathetic shuttle bus. Bus routes must be extended to Notting Hill, Holland Park and White City where possible. Buses such as the 70 and 266 (from my point of view in Acton, as a daily 207-Central Line commuter) must be massively augmented to cope with the displacement of passengers using the 207 (for example) to get to the station (and frankly both those routes, particularly the 266 need a general upgrade, the reliability and frequencies on weekends can be shocking, and crowding is endemic)I call on local community, business and political organisations, as well as individuals, the local authority and the press to join with me in calling for a rethink, and certainly for the best possible alternatives for the travelling public if the closure must go ahead. Mayor Livingston and Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy should put the public first and put a halt to this unnecessary closure, we don’t need a new Central Line station; we do need to be able to get to work and home everyday. I am sure that the vast majority of passengers would be happy with escalator works and the station resembling a building site for a year or more, even if that means forgoing a fancy new station (and I cant believe that the new overground station can’t be built without closing the Central line).The interests of the taxpayers, fare payers and the local community should be TfL’s first priority, and the closure of a major tube station for such a long time is most certainly against these interest.Yours sincerely,Sean Rillo RaczkaActon, W3Cc: local press, local political representatives; chamber of commerce; transport groups
Sean Rillo Raczka ● 6449d8 Comments ● 6415d