NEWS
24-hour Tube promised by 2015 – but ticket offices to close
A new 24-hour service will be introduced on the Tube from 2015, TfL has announced in its ‘vision for the future’. But rail unions are up in arms about plans to close most ticket offices and cut 750 jobs as part of a radical restructure, bringing staff out into the ticket halls.
The ‘Night Tube’ will run on Friday and Saturday nights, initially on the Piccadilly, Victoria, Central and Jubilee lines as well as on key sections of the Northern line. It will be expanded in later years.
The vision also sets out the closure of most ticket offices, with around 750 jobs losses expected. TfL said that less than 3% of all Tube journeys involve a visit to a ticket office. Staff will be moved onto platforms and all stations will continue to be staffed.
TfL stated: “No longer will [staff] have to be confined to station control rooms or ticket offices in order to serve customers, manage stations and ensure the highest standards of safety and security. A new, simplified staffing model will reflect the fact that customers have different needs at each of the
different types of station across the network.”
The latest technology will be used to monitor and manage stations “on the move”, it added.
The vision talks of a 20% increase in capacity on the Northern line, plus a peak-time 33tph service on the Jubilee line, and 36tph on the Victoria line.
LU managing director Mike Brown said: “Our vision is for a Tube network and service that is truly fit for London and our customers in the 21st century – a better face- to-face service at our stations, a 24-hour service at weekends, with easier and more personalised ways to plan and pay for journeys, on and off our network.”
The RMT is balloting its members to take action over the cuts, with the ballot closing on 10 January. Its general secretary, Bob Crow, said: “Those planned staff cuts impact on every single member of Tube staff both in terms of future employment prospects, recruitment freezes and in terms of the safe and efficient running of Tube services.”
East Midlands Trains cuts London journey times
to run at 125mph for the first time.
Faster journeys to London have been launched by East Midlands Trains (EMT), with the fastest service cut by six minutes.
The new timetable has been facilitated by a £70m investment programme by EMT and Network Rail. The work includes upgrading track, replacing level crossings, minor resignalling and realignment of part of the track, allowing trains
North west
electrification phase 1 delivered
The first phase of the North West Electrification Project has been delivered successfully, Network Rail has announced.
Electric trains can now operate between Newton-le-Willows and Castlefield Junction. Direct electric services operated by FTPE have been running from Manchester Airport to Glasgow since 30 December.
The five-phase, £400m project will see over 350km of track upgraded by December 2016, covering journeys from Liverpool to Manchester via Newton-le- Willows and Wigan, Preston to Blackpool, Manchester to Preston, and Manchester to Stalybridge, as well as Stalybridge through Huddersfield to Leeds, York and Selby.
Network Rail’s route managing director Dyan Crowther said: “This is the first railway line to be electrified in England in over a decade. We have delivered this complex project, using modern standards and state-of- the-art technology, in four years from inception.”
8 | rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 14
FTPE programme director Chris Nutton added: “This is a significant and important milestone which marks the start of a major improvement programme which will bring great benefits to the north of England.”
Timeline Phase 1: Between Castlefield Junction and Newton Le Willows by December 2013 Phase 2a: Between Liverpool and Newton Le Willows Phase 2b: Between Huyton and Wigan
Phase 2c: Between Ordsall Lane and Manchester Victoria, all by December 2014 Phase 3: Preston to Blackpool, by May 2016 Phase 4: Manchester Victoria to Preston (Euxton Junction), by December 2016 Phase 5: Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge, Guide Bridge to Stalybridge, December 2016
Clare Burles, HR director for EMT, said: “These latest improvements to our timetable highlight just how much service levels have improved since we launched our franchise in 2007. The launch of our December 2008 timetable was the first stage in delivering faster journey times, then through a successful partnership with SYPTE, we brought two trains an hour to the Sheffield-London route in 2009. The launch of today’s timetable will see a further seven minutes knocked off the average journey time to London, which is a great step forward for our passengers.”
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