Improved Underground and Overground services on the way
The planned upgrade of the Victoria Line will be sufficient to cope with the additional residents and workers brought about by the proposed developments.
The current Victoria line trains have been running for 40 years and carry 165 million customers per year. By 2025 it is estimated that customer numbers will rise to 213 million per year. To meet this extra demand and provide a faster, more reliable journey, both the trains and the line are being upgraded.
The upgrade, which is responsible for planned early evening closures of the line, has been underway since 2007 and is due for completion in 2013. As part of the plans, the existing fleet of some 43 trains will gradually be replaced, starting in autumn 2009, with 47 new state of the art trains. The new trains will boast higher capacities, better acceleration, improved accessibility, CCTV coverage in every carriage and enhanced on-train customer information. In addition the trains will be energy efficient, designed for easier maintenance, made from hard wearing vandal resistant materials and provide heating and ventilation systems for passengers. It is forecast that the changes will result in a 17% increase in train frequencies at peak times and a 16% improvement in journey times across the whole of the Victoria Line.
£35 million is also to be invested in the Gospel Oak to Barking line. In November 2007, Transport for London took over running of the line. TfL plans to increase the frequency of services over the coming years as part of a ‘London Overground’ network and to refit Blackhorse Road Overground Station to bring it up to standard.
