There are a couple of short notice changes to train calling patterns on Saturday 4th February.

The currently advertised Horsham to London Bridge service previously diverted to Victoria will now terminate and start at Norwood Junction. The service will longer call at Selhurst

This means that the London Bridge to Horsham service normally leaving London Bridge at 03 and 33 minutes past the hour will start from Norwood Junction for Horsham at 16 and 46 minutes past the hour.

The Horsham to London Bridge service leaving Horsham at 00 and 30 minutes past the hour will now terminate at Norwood Junction.

The currently advertised East Grinstead to Victoria service previously diverted to London Bridge will now be reinstated to run to and from Victoria. This service will no longer call at Crystal Palace, Norwood Junction and New Cross Gate.

This means that the previously advertised London Bridge to East Grinstead service at 03 and 33 minutes past the hour will now start from Victoria at 23 and 53 minutes past the hour as originally planned

The previously advertised East Grinstead to London Bridge service leaving East Grinstead at 07 and 53 minutes past the hour will now terminate at Victoria as originally planned.

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Short notice alterations – this Saturday 4th February

Part of a £5million overhaul of the entire Class 180 fleet, all four of the company’s trains, along with those of other train operating companies, will go through a comprehensive programme to enable us to offer an improvement to our reliability in the future.

Work will include improvements to the provision of on-board heating and air conditioning, the fitting of new bogies to improve ride quality and enhancements to ensure that electrical supplies are constantly maintained within the passenger areas of the train. Overall the programme involves 15 “mini-projects” on each train unit with the work taking approximately three weeks per train and the whole programme should be completed by early summer 2012.

The first train unit has already started the programme at Loughborough and to support the remaining fleet an alternative unit has been acquired to allow First Hull Trains to minimise delays and disruption and to help us continue to deliver an on-time service everyday.

It is the intention to use the additional train on a minimal basis as without facilities such as Wi-Fi and at seat electrical sockets we are unable to offer our full range of services and those that our regular customers would expect. As the train is not one of the recently refurbished First Hull Trains services, the interior seating and general environment along with the external livery will also look and feel different.

However, our exceptional customer service will still be provided by the company’s onboard staff who will do everything possible to make sure that the journey experience is as good as ever. Our café bar will remain open with great meal deals and special offers to tempt passengers on their way, whilst those passengers travelling in First class will continue to enjoy complimentary food and refreshments served to their seat.

First Hull Trains’ management team and staff would like to thank customers in advance for their patience while they continue to improve the trains so that they can provide an even better service in the future.

For further information and to book tickets for travel, please visit www.hulltrains.co.uk.

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First Hull Trains £5million modification programme

Transport for London (TfL) has today published its Festive Travel Guide to help Londoners and visitors travelling around the Capital between Christmas and New Year.

Those travelling in and around the city over the festive period are urged to check the Guide before they travel as there will be some changes to normal services.

The guide contains details of Tube, London Buses, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) Tramlink, London Overground, Riverboat services, Barclays Cycle Hire and the Congestion Charge throughout the entire festive period from Christmas Eve Saturday 24 December 2011, to Bank Holiday Monday 2 January 2012.

The guide will be available at all Tube stations and online at www.tfl.gov.uk/festivetravel and at information points at bus stations, DLR, Tramlink and London Overground stations.

Travel will be free on all journeys between 23:45 on New Year’s Eve and 04:30 on New Year’s Day on Tube, London Buses, Tramlink and DLR services.

London Overground Services will also be free from 23:45 until last train times.

The Mayor of London and TfL last week announced a  partnership with Diageo to support free New Year’s Eve travel for next three years, including a responsible drinking promotion from 9 December until the New Year.

Barclays Cycle Hire members and casual users will be able to hire bikes as normal, although some docking stations will be temporarily out of service during the holiday period, particularly on New Year’s Eve for safety reasons.

Essential Tube and London Overground engineering works will be taking place over the festive period, we advise all passengers to check before they travel at www.tfl.gov.uk where details of line closures can be found.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, Saturday 24 December, a Saturday service will operate on the Underground until 7pm, and then a reduced service for the rest of the evening.

Last trains will run at Sunday times.

A Saturday service will operate on the bus network with some exceptions. There will be no night buses and on 24 hour routes, buses will operate until just after midnight.

On the DLR, buses will replace trains between Bank/Tower Gateway and Poplar/West India Quay.

Other routes will operate a modified Saturday service until 7pm, after which a reduced service will operate with last trains at Sunday times.

On the London Overground a Saturday service will operate with last trains departing about 9.30pm (8.30pm on the Stratford – Richmond/Clapham Junction route).

On London Tramlink, a Saturday service will operate, but with a reduced timetable from 8pm.

Riverboat services will be running a reduced timetable.

Many coach operators will reduce services from early evening, with last departures from Victoria Coach station leaving at around 9pm.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, Sunday 25 December, there will be no service on the Tube, London Buses, DLR, London Overground, Tramlink or on the river.

Boxing Day

On Boxing Day, Monday 26 December from 8.30am a reduced service will operate on all Tube lines with last trains at Sunday times.

On London Buses from about 8.30am a Sunday service will operate on all routes.

Additionally on routes 81, 90, 105, 111, 140,203, 222, 285, 350, 423, 482, 490, A10, H25, H26, U3 and X26 a Sunday service will operate from about 5.30am in order to serve Heathrow Airport.

There will be no service on route 84. A weekday night service will operate on all 24 hour and night bus routes.

On DLR, buses will replace trains between Bank/Tower Gateway and Poplar/West India Quay.

On other routes, trains will run every 15 minutes between about 8.30am and 11.30pm.

There will be no services on London Overground.

On London Tramlink a Sunday service will operate with the frequency increased between Wimbledon and East Croydon.

There are no Riverboat services except: Westminster – London Eye – Tower – Greenwich, which will run a normal service.

Bank Holiday, Tuesday 27 December

A Saturday service will operate on the majority of Tube lines.

On London Buses a Sunday service will operate on the majority of day routes while the rest will run a Saturday service.

A weekday night service will operate on all 24 hour and Night bus routes.

London Tramlink will be operating a Sunday service with the frequency increased between Wimbledon and East Croydon.

There will be no Riverboat services except: Westminster – London Eye – Tower Greenwich, which will be running a normal service.

New Year’s Eve

Revellers who want to see in the New Year in central London are advised to plan ahead and in particular be prepared for large crowds, and long waits for the designated viewing areas for the fireworks display.

Peter Hendy, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “The New Year’s Eve fireworks display that takes place at the EDF London Eye provides spectacular entertainment and is enormously popular, attracting large crowds that should be prepared for a long wait at the designated viewing areas along the Thames. As a result people with young children may wish to consider celebrating nearer to home.

“For those wishing to brave the crowds and long waiting times, public transport will be the best way to get around the Capital on New Year’s Eve.

“I’m pleased we can continue to offer this for free not just this year, but for the next three years thanks to our partnership with Diageo, but I urge revellers to plan their journeys well in advance.”

There will be free travel on all journeys between 23:45 until 04:30 on the Tube, DLR, London Buses and Tramlink.

Tube, DLR and Tramlink services will run all night on New Year’s Eve.

Some selected Tube stations will be closed completely or for periods at a time, the Festive Travel Guide lists these closures.

A Saturday night service will operate on night bus and 24 hour routes, subject to road closures in central London.

Free travel will apply on London Overground trains running after 11.45pm until last train times.

Riverboat services will run mainly normal services but London Eye will not be served after 2.30pm in order to prepare for the firework display.

Some routes will operate on New Year’s Day, but a normal service will not resume until Sunday 2 January.

Some Barclays Cycle Hire docking stations will be temporarily out of service for safety reasons at various times throughout the holiday period including New Year’s Eve.

For the latest information on docking station availability, users should check online at: www.tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire

There will be a reduced number of UK coaches departing from Victoria Coach Station with last coaches leaving at around 8pm.

National Rail will operate modified timetables with additional late night departures and a limited number of routes will operate until about 5am. Normal rail fares will apply.

Congestion Charge

From Saturday 24 December until Bank Holiday Monday 2 January inclusive, the central London Congestion Charge will be suspended and motorists will not have to pay.

Dial-a-Ride

Dial-a-Ride will be operating every day over Christmas and New Year and all members have been sent details of how to book journeys over this period.

For further information please contact Dial-a-Ride direct on 0845 999 1 999.

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TfL publishes annual Festive Travel Guide with free travel for New Year revellers sponsored by Diageo

The changes will include five additional trains on the busy Wimbledon branch providing space for 4,000 extra passengers during the morning peak, more trains during the evening service with six trains per hour until 23:30hrs and an additional train on the Ealing Broadway branch to get an extra 800 customers home during the evening peak.

The changes were the subject of a major consultation exercise earlier this year, in which nearly 18,000 customers, local business and stakeholders took part, almost 80 per cent of whom were in favour.

Smoother travel through Earl’s Court

The timetable has been designed to improve service for the 200,000 passengers who travel on the Wimbledon branch of the District line each day.

In particular, the removal of the poorly used weekday Olympia service will deal with bottlenecks in the Earl’s Court area which currently hold up more than 20 percent of District line trains entering Earl’s Court behind an Olympia train.

This wait in the tunnel, at one of the one of the most complex junctions on the Tube network, will be reduced, directly speeding up journeys for the 150,000 customers who are affected by delays at the station.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Hundreds of thousands of passengers will benefit from this practical and pragmatic change to markedly improve the most congested part of the tube network.”

Olympia services

Howard Collins, LU’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “The introduction of the new timetable in December will reduce delays across the whole line and, in particular, benefit the 150,000 passengers who are affected by delays at Earl’s Court each day by reducing congestion in the area.

“It will also provide more room for more than 4,000 passengers on the Wimbledon branch, the busiest branch on the line, during the morning peak and an enhanced evening service.

“The Olympia service will continue to operate during the weekend and we will also operate a special weekday service during the busiest events at Olympia.”

Passengers using Kensington (Olympia) already benefit from improved London Overground services, with four trains serving the station every hour carrying 600 passengers per train, and interchange to the Tube available at both West Brompton (District line) and Shepherd’s Bush (Central line) stations.

Southern services will also continue to serve the station.

During the week customers can use nearby Barons Court or West Kensington stations, both of which are close to the Olympia Exhibition Centre, and regular accessible bus services to High Street Kensington, and step-free stations Hammersmith, Fulham Broadway and Green Park.

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District line timetable improvements from this weekend

The screens show live bus departure information for each of the 35 stations enabling passengers to plan their onward journeys.

Project Manager, Richard Hands said: “One of the most frequent comments from passengers and stakeholders arising from Station Travel Plans is the need for real-time bus information at the station itself. So, we have worked closely with bus operators and local councils and where we have been able to link up to live bus departure information, we have installed screens to provide just that.”

Where it has not been possible to provide live information, Southern has installed info pods which link to bus operator websites, giving bus timetable information.

Stations that have the new systems are:

Aldrington, Angmering,

, Brighton, Burgess Hill, Caterham, Chichester, Crawley, Dorking, East Grinstead, Falmer, Fishersgate, Gatwick Airport, Haywards Heath, Horley, Horsham, Hove, Ifield, Leatherhead, Lewes, Littlehampton, London Road (Brighton), Moulsecoomb, Oxted, Polegate, Portslade, Preston Park, Purley, Shoreham-by-Sea, Southwick, Tadworth, Tattenham Corner, Three Bridges, Upper Warlingham and Worthing.

Richard added: “Our passengers at these stations now don’t need to turn up at a bus stop to find out if they have a wait for the next bus, they can see when the next bus goes at a glance before leaving the station.”

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New real time multi-modal information screens for Southern stations

First Hull Trains would like to advise passengers that they can still book tickets to and from the capital for dates over the holiday season, giving passengers the chance to prepare their travel plans for the Christmas period. However seats are filling quickly as travellers start to plan their journeys home for the festive season, and with high demand expected passengers are being encouraged to book up quickly.

In promotion of this announcement, Father Christmas himself has been out and about on the Hull-based rail operating company’s Hull to London service. Getting off at several of the stops en route, he made time to meet and greet station staff and passengers, bringing a touch of Christmas sparkle, to wintery days.

David Townend, sales and marketing manager at First Hull Trains, said: “At First Hull Trains we want to make travelling as stress free as possible for our passengers. Therefore we want to give our customers the option to plan and book their journeys up to 12 weeks in advance of travel, giving customers the time to organise their Christmas and New Year plans. We are presently able to take bookings for travel right up to the 10th February, so even if you are planning a trip to the New Year sales you can make arrangements for that as well”

For more information and to book tickets visit, www.hulltrains.co.uk

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Book travel tickets for Christmas and New Year with First Hull Trains

Saturday 24 December (Christmas Eve)

A Saturday service will be in operation across the Southern network, but this will wind down early. Please check with National Rail Enquiries for the time of your last train on 08457 48 49 50 (Textphone 0845 60 50 600), or visit the National Rail Enquiries website.

There are no planned engineering works today.

Sunday 25 December 2011 (Christmas Day)

There will be NO TRAIN SERVICE across the Southern network.

A Gatwick Express coach service will be provided between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport non-stop every 30 minutes. Journey time is approximately 1 hour.

London Victoria to Gatwick Airport

First coach for Gatwick Airport leaves London Victoria at 06:30, arriving at Gatwick Airport at 07:30
Then every 30 minutes until the last coach leaves London Victoria at 16:30, arriving at Gatwick Airport at 17:30

Gatwick Airport to London Victoria

First coach for London Victoria leaves Gatwick Airport at 06:30, arriving at London Victoria at 07:30
Then every 30 minutes until the last coach leaves Gatwick Airport at 16:30, arriving at London Victoria at 17:30

Monday 26 December 2011 (Boxing Day)

A special BOXING DAY service will operate on the following routes only:

? London Victoria to Gatwick Airport – Non stop
? London Victoria to Brighton calling at East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill
? London Victoria to Sutton via Selhurst calling at all stations
? London Victoria to Croydon via Crystal Palace calling at all stations

Gatwick Airport and Brighton Services

London Victoria to Gatwick Airport (Gatwick Express Services)

A train service will operate between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport non-stop every 30 minutes.

London Victoria to Gatwick Airport

The first train for Gatwick Airport leaves London Victoria at 05:00, arriving at Gatwick Airport at 05:30
Then every 30 minutes until the last train leaves London Victoria at 22:00, arriving at Gatwick Airport at 22:30

Gatwick Airport to London Victoria

The first train for London Victoria leaves Gatwick Airport at 05:50, arriving at London Victoria at 06:20
Then every 30 minutes until the last train leaves Gatwick Airport at 22:50, arriving at London Victoria at 23:20

London Victoria to Brighton (Southern Fast Services)

A train service will operate between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport calling at Clapham Junction and East Croydon every 30 minutes. These services will be extended to/from Brighton calling at Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill every 60 minutes. These trains will be formed of 12 coaches.

Bridge replacement works at Three Bridges station on Boxing Day means that the station will be closed to passengers, but trains will be running through. For Passengers travelling to/from Three Bridges, an hourly bus service will operate between Three Bridges and Gatwick airport stations.

Towards Gatwick/Brighton from London Victoria

The first train for Gatwick Airport leaves London Victoria at 08:45, arriving at Gatwick Airport at 09:18
The first train for Brighton leaves London Victoria at 09:15 (calling at Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill), arriving at Brighton at 10:20
Then the same repeating pattern until
The last Gatwick train leaves London Victoria at 20:45, arriving at Gatwick at 21:18, but continues to Brighton (calling at Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill), arriving at Brighton at 21:50
The last Brighton train leaves London Victoria at 21:15, arriving at Brighton at 22:20
Towards London Victoria from Brighton/Gatwick

The first train for London Victoria leaves Brighton at 07:30, arriving at London Victoria at 08:33
The next train for London Victoria leaves Brighton at 08:00, arriving at London Victoria at 09:03
The next train for London Victoria leaves Brighton at 08:30, arriving at London Victoria at 09:33
Then the same repeating pattern until
The last train for London Victoria leaves Brighton at 19:30, arriving at London Victoria at 20:33
The last train for London Victoria from Gatwick Airport leaves at 20:30 from Gatwick Airport, arriving at London Victoria at 21:03

South London Services

London Victoria to Sutton via Selhurst and West Croydon

A train service will operate between London Victoria and Sutton every 30 minutes, calling at all intermediate stations.

Towards Sutton from London Victoria

The first train for Sutton leaves London Victoria at 08:43, arriving at Sutton at 09:27
Then every 30 minutes until
The 20:13 leaves London Victoria for Sutton, arriving at Sutton at 20:57
The 20:43 leaves London Victoria for Sutton, arriving at Sutton at 21:27
The 21:13 leaves London Victoria for Sutton, arriving at Sutton at 21:57
The last train leaves London Victoria for Sutton at 21:43, arriving at Sutton at 22:27

Towards London Victoria from Sutton

The first train for London Victoria leaves Sutton at 08:23, arriving at London Victoria at 09:06
Then every 30 minutes until
The 19:53 leaves Sutton for London Victoria, arriving at London Victoria at 20:36
The 20:23 leaves Sutton for London Victoria, arriving at London Victoria at 21:06
The 20:53 leaves Sutton for London Victoria, arriving at London Victoria at 21:36
The last train leaves Sutton for London Victoria at 21:23, arriving at London Victoria at 22:06

London Victoria to Croydon via Crystal Palace

A train service will operate between London Victoria and East Croydon every 30 minutes calling at all intermediate stations. Connections will be available at East Croydon for stations to Gatwick Airport and Brighton.

Due to rail improvement works between Balham and West Norwood, trains will be diverted after Balham via Selhurst and a rail replacement bus service will operate every 30 minutes between Balham and East Croydon calling at Streatham Hill, West Norwood, Gipsy Hill, Crystal Palace, Norwood Junction and Selhurst.

Towards East Croydon from London Victoria

The first train for East Croydon leaves London Victoria at 08:28, arriving at East Croydon at 08:57 (connects with 08:50 Balham to East Croydon replacement bus)
Then every 30 minutes until
The 20:28 leaves London Victoria for East Croydon, arriving at East Croydon at 20:57 (connects with 20:50 Balham to East Croydon replacement bus)
The 20:58 leaves London Victoria for East Croydon, arriving at East Croydon at 21:27 (connects with 21:20 Balham to East Croydon replacement bus)
The last train for East Croydon leaves London Victoria at 21:28, arriving at East Croydon at 21:57 (connects with 21:50 Balham to East Croydon replacement bus)

Towards London Victoria from East Croydon

The first train leaves East Croydon for London Victoria at 08:48, arriving at London Victoria at 09:17 (connects with 07:58 East Croydon to Balham replacement bus)
Then every 30 minutes until
The last train leaves East Croydon for London Victoria at 20:48, arriving at London Victoria at 21:17 (connects with 19:58 East Croydon to Balham replacement bus)

Tuesday 27 December 2011 (Bank Holiday)

A SATURDAY service will be in operation across the Southern network.

Overnight services will not operate and services will commence from 05:00.
Due to engineering works in the London Victoria area, buses will run between London Victoria and Peckham Rye calling at all stations to Denmark Hill and also East Dulwich.
Epsom / Epsom Downs to London Victoria (via Selhurst) – will not call at Wandsworth Common
London Victoria to London Bridge (via Denmark Hill) – service will not run
London Victoria to Horsham – will be retimed to start earlier
London Victoria to Sutton (via Crystal Palace) – will start from Streatham
For other planned engineering works for today, please see † below

Wednesday 28 December 2011 to Friday 30 December 2011

The off-peak service will be the same as a Saturday timetable, but peak periods will be modified so passengers are asked to check train times before they travel.
For planned engineering works for today, please see † below

Saturday 31 December 2011 (New Year‘s Eve)

A SATURDAY service will be in operation across the Southern network.

For planned engineering works for today, please see † below

Sunday 01 January 2012 (New Year’s Day)

A SUNDAY service will be in operation across the Southern network.

For planned engineering works for today, please see † below

Monday 02 January 2012 (Bank Holiday)

A SATURDAY service will be in operation across the Southern network.

For planned engineering works for today, please see † below

†Planned Engineering work will take place between Coulsdon South and Merstham and between Earlswood and Three Bridges from Tuesday 27 December to Monday 2 January 2012

The following alterations will apply:

• London Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour / Bognor Regis / Southampton Central – trains will not call at Redhill
• London Bridge to Horsham – trains will run between Redhill and Horsham
• London Bridge to Reigate – trains will run between Redhill and Reigate
• London Bridge to Tonbridge – trains will run between Redhill and Tonbridge

Replacement bus services will operate as follows:

• A rail replacement bus will operate fast between Redhill and Purley every 30 minutes
• A rail replacement bus will operate between Redhill and Purley calling at all stations every 30 minutes

Passengers can travel to London via Gatwick Airport (not Gatwick Express)

Southern tickets will be accepted on First Great Western services between Redhill/Reigate/Gatwick Airport

Southeastern services can be used for London destinations

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Southern and Gatwick Express Christmas and New Year services

Northern line platforms at Tottenham Court Road will reopen on Monday 28 November after eight months of behind-the-scenes work to make it possible to build new access routes, new staircases and a lift.

When complete in 2016, station capacity will dramatically increase as part of the major station upgrade.

During the closure, since April 2011, a team of more than 100 people have been working around the clock to complete the critical structural works, involving the installation of more than 1,000 tonnes of new steel tunnel sections.

The work prepares the way for the full station upgrade which will transform the station by 2016 with increased capacity, new entrances and step free access.

Bear with us

David Waboso, Capital Programmes Director, said: ‘We would like to thank passengers for their patience whilst the Northern line platforms have been closed.

‘There is still further work to be done behind the scenes at the station and passengers will notice that the platforms only have a temporary render finish on the walls.

‘Our priority has been to reopen the platforms as soon as the heavy civil engineering works were completed and they could be used safely by customers.

‘As works to upgrade the station continue, we ask passengers to continue to bear with us.’

The £500m station upgrade is part of the Tube upgrade plan to ease congestion, improve accessibility and provide direct interchange with Crossrail services when they arrive in 2018.

Transforming the station

When Tottenham Court Road was built over 100 years ago, it was not designed to be used by the 147,000 people that now use it daily, or the 200,000 plus daily users expected when Crossrail comes to the station in 2018.

As part of the Tube upgrade plan, London Underground is transforming the station to:

• Increase the size of the ticket hall by nearly six times
• Introduce step free access from street to platform
• Provide four new or modernised entrances
• Deliver new escalators and improved interchanges between platforms
• Connect with a new Crossrail ticket hall at Dean Street.

View video updates of the works under way at Tottenham Court Road on YouTube or at tfl.gov.uk/tubeupgradeplan

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Northern line platforms to reopen at Tottenham Court Road

Southern’s winter timetable comes into effect on Sunday 11th December.

The new timetables can be picked up from any staffed Southern station and they are also available for download and printing from our timetable page.

On the page, you will see that both the current summer and new winter timetables are available. The winter versions are marked ‘From 11th December 2011’.

Large print versions of the new timetable will be posted on the timetable page shortly.

There are changes to some train services, times and calling patterns so please check before you travel.

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New winter timetable now available at stations and online

Passengers using the Central line will soon begin to benefit from a rejuvenation of their carriages.

After 19 years in service the current fleet of trains is being revamped to bring passengers cleaner, more comfortable trains to serve the next generation of passengers and beyond.

The overhaul of the fleet includes replacing 4,060 windows, replacing the side panels that make up the outside of the trains, and covering 23,144 seats with a new fabric.

The outside of every carriage on all 85 trains in the fleet will also be coated with a protective film that will make them easier to clean.

As part of the upgrade works the gearboxes and their housings have been modified, as have the frames which house the wheels and axles.

That work will improve the reliability of the trains and should mean the trains will be able to travel greater distances before experiencing a fault.

The work should potentially increase the distance Central line trains can travel before experiencing a fault by around another 1,000 kilometres.

The trains are being worked on in pairs so as not to affect normal services.

The work will cost £27m and the entire fleet will be complete before the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year, in readiness for an influx of passengers that will be heading to and from Stratford.

Peter Tollington, Central line Manager, said: ‘We are going to greatly improve the look of our trains and make them as comfortable as possible for commuters and visitors to the Olympic Park.’

London-based design company Wallace Sewell’s blue and red ‘moquette’ fabric is inspired by London landmarks.

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Central line trains overhauled for the 2012 Games and beyond