Extended weekend running-times of the tube

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Public consultation until 22 April

Reacting to Transport for London’s consultation over extending weekend running-times of the Tube, Cllr Greg Hands is warning that a careful balance must be drawn between providing a good service to commuters and the needs of residents living near underground stations.

The most recent census revealed Hammersmith & Fulham to have the highest population of Tube users in London, with eight stations located in the area – Parsons Green, Fulham Broadway, Hammersmith, Ravenscourt Park, Barons Court, Goldhawk Road, West Kensington and Putney Bridge.

The first tubes generally arrive at central London stations at around 6am on Saturdays and 7:30am on Sundays, with last trains departing from the West End on Friday and Saturday nights at around 12.30am. Transport for London are proposing to make all these times one hour later, with first trains arriving at central London stations around 7am on Saturdays and 8:30am on Sundays, with last trains departing from the West End on Friday and Saturday nights around 1:30am. The start and finish times of the Underground on all other days would remain the same.

With a public consultation running from 22 February to 22 April 2005, Greg is also anxious to hear the views of Hammersmith & Fulham residents on the practicalities of the proposals and is urging local people to contact him with their views at mail@greghands.com.

Commenting, Greg said: “On one hand, it does seem bizarre that the Tube stops running well before the late-night bars and clubs of the West End shut down. However, I am concerned that later running times will cause significant disruption and noise to Hammersmith & Fulham residents living near Tube lines and stations. It is not fair for residents to be disrupted late into the night by the noise of tubes running at 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning.

Tube boss Tim O’Toole was at Hammersmith Town Hall on Wednesday (9 February) to hear the views of local residents, community groups and councillors on how the underground system can be improved. Mr O’Toole, managing director of London Underground Ltd, was joined by other senior tube managers at the council’s environment and regeneration scrutiny panel meeting at the town hall, which was attended by more than 60 residents.

Representatives from environmental and transport users groups sat alongside members of the scrutiny panel and put forward their ideas for improving the underground system.
Although the meeting was billed ‘tube services – the future’ many residents, councillors and lobby groups were keen to talk about the present – including issues which they felt needed to be tackled urgently.

Cllr Huw Davies, chair of the environment and regeneration scrutiny panel, said: “The underground is extremely important to us in Hammersmith & Fulham. Thirty eight per cent of our residents use the underground to get to work – the highest proportion in London - and most of the population of the borough lives within half a mile of an underground station. We wanted to make sure London Underground gets the Hammersmith & Fulham message so set up this consultation meeting with LUL to give local people, lobby groups and councillors a chance to say what they really think of the tube and how it can be improved.”

 

February 27, 2005