The project is now expected to be completed before the London 2012 Games. The 10-13 September weekend closure is no longer necessary.

Essential works to upgrade the northbound Blackwall Tunnel are set to be completed six months ahead of schedule, Transport for London (TfL) announced today.

When work started in February, it was expected to take three years to complete the £70m refurbishment of the 113-year-old tunnel.

However, TfL and its contractor, BAM Nuttall, have made excellent progress on the refurbishment which means the safety upgrade will be finished in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in July 2012.

Work completed so far includes the installation of new ventilation fans and concrete floors in two of the tunnel’s four shafts, and the installation of temporary lighting, CCTV and communications systems throughout the tunnel, which will allow the old systems to be removed.

Work to install the permanent systems, which will bring the tunnel up to current standards, will begin later this year.

Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor of London’s Transport Adviser, said: ‘We understand the frustration that drivers feel when a closure affects their journeys.

‘But this refurbishment is essential to their safety when using the 113-year-old tunnel.

‘Credit should go to the engineers whose rapid progress now means those works may be able to finish six months earlier than scheduled, and in time for the 2012 Games.

Reducing closures

Garrett Emmerson, Chief Operating Officer for London Streets, TfL, said: ‘The teams carrying out and managing the refurbishment of the northbound Blackwall Tunnel have made exceptionally good progress.

‘Because of this we expect to complete the essential safety and security upgrade at least six months early, in time for the London 2012 Olympics.’

‘We remain committed to completing these works as quickly as possible and with the minimum amount of disruption for drivers who use the tunnel.’

Because of the excellent progress of the refurbishment programme, TfL has cancelled the previously advertised weekend closure for 10-13 September.

TfL has also confirmed that there will be no overnight closures of the Blackwall Tunnel for refurbishment works during the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The final weekend closure of 2010 will now take place from 21:00 on 15 October, to 5:00 on 18 October.

This will allow our contractor to carry out work on the ventilation shafts that can’t be done during normal weeknight closures.

The closure has been planned to avoid any major local events and closures on the Jubilee line, Docklands Light Railway or other river crossings in London.

TfL also expects to be able to reduce the number of weekend closures required next year.

A final decision on this will be made after the October weekend closure.

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Transport for London Blackwall Tunnel northbound refurbishment to be completed six months early

Between 11 and 12 September, London’s river services will be providing a frequent service to piers along the South Bank, including London Eye, Bankside, Westminster and London Bridge, to help move visitors to the annual Mayor’s Thames Festival.

The festival is a stunning, free celebration of London and its world famous waterway and is a key highlight in the city’s cultural calendar.

Activities take place all over the weekend on the River Thames, the riverside, walkways, roads, bridges, docks and open spaces from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge and beyond.

Savings on fares

To help you make the most of the celebrations London River Services’ piers will be operating throughout the weekend, helping to provide fast and picturesque journeys along the river, passing the London Eye, The Royal Festival Hall and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre along the way.

Furthermore, passengers with a valid Travelcard, or an Oyster card loaded with a valid Travelcard, can get a third off single fares on most scheduled services.

On Thames Clippers, Oyster pay as you go passengers can get a 10 per cent discount off the normal adult fare.

London’s river services will operate normally throughout the weekend.

Enjoy the activities

Andy Griffiths, Head of London River Services, said: ‘With a whole host of activities around the river this weekend for both Londoners and visitors alike there is never a better time to enjoy the Thames Festival than from a scheduled River Bus or River Tour service.

‘With a range of discounts available and the introduction of clearer passenger information it has never been easier to make the most of the world famous Thames.’

For more information about the event and London’s river services, visit www.thamesfestival.org and www.tfl.gov.uk/river

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Transport for London It’s all hands on deck as London’s river services get ready for the Thames Festival

Two new night bus services also introduced

From Saturday 28 August there will be changes to several bus routes designed to give passengers a better service, and to reduce the numbers of buses on Oxford Street.

There will be major changes to routes 15, 159 and night-time services N15 and N159.

On the same day, two new night bus routes will be introduced the N64 between Thornton Heath Pond and New Addington, and the N109 between Croydon and Oxford Circus.

• Will be shortened to start at Regent Street instead of Paddington Basin
• Will continue to run to Blackwall via Trafalgar Square, Tower Hill and Commercial Road, with route N15 continuing at night to Romford
• These changes deliver a further reduction in the number of buses using Oxford Street

Route 159

• Will be extended from Marble Arch to Paddington Basin following the current route of the 15
• Will become a 24-hour service between Streatham Station and Paddington Basin
• The night service will operate every 20 minutes

Route N159

• This service will no longer run
• Between Streatham and the West End it is replaced by the 24-hour service on route 159 and new route N109
• New route N109 will also replace the section between Streatham and Croydon
• New route N64 will serve Thornton Heath Pond, Croydon and New Addington

Route N64 – new service

• This new night bus service will run between Thornton Heath Pond and New Addington (Homestead Way)
• It will use the same roads as day service 64, except in New Addington where it will serve the same roads as the current N159
• Route N64 will operate every 30 minutes

Route N109 – new service

• This new night bus service will run between Croydon and Oxford Circus
• It will use the same roads as day service 109 between Croydon and Brixton and then continue via route 159 to Oxford Circus
• Route N109 will operate every 20 minutes
• Together routes 159 and N109 will give six buses per hour at night between Streatham and Oxford Circus via Brixton and Westminster

John Barry, Head of Network Development, London Buses, said: ‘These changes follow a detailed review and consultation with boroughs, London TravelWatch and others.

‘They are designed to give a better overall service for passengers, and to deliver a further reduction in buses on Oxford Street.’

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Transport for London Major changes to routes 15, N15, 159 and N159

Transport for London (TfL) is continuing its upgrade programme of the London Tramlink during the August holidays with rail replacement works in central Croydon.

The work which will take place on the central Croydon ‘loop’ of the tram network is primarily to replace 110 metres of rails although other related maintenance and upgrade work will also be carried out.

TfL’s Director of London Trams, Phil Hewitt said: ‘Our Tramlink upgrade programme is essential work and will result in passengers getting a smoother ride with less disruption to their journeys in the future.

‘Tramlink is now 10 years old and the works are needed to replace rails nearing the end of their working life.

‘I would like to thank in advance Croydon residents, businesses and tram passengers for their patience during the upgrade. We have taken every step possible to minimise inconvenience to them.’

All works have been discussed and agreed with the London Borough of Croydon.

Tram services on the ‘loop’ section of the network which connects Reeves Corner, Centrale, West Croydon, Wellesley Road, East Croydon, George Street and Church Street tram stops, will be suspended from 21 August to 30 August.

Tram services will run on all other sections of the network during that period and tram tickets and Oyster cards will be accepted on all buses which follow routes around the central Croydon section.

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Transport for London London Tramlink investment continues with upgrade works

Track improvements and maintenance will be taking place all day between Sutton and Tulse Hill stations from Saturday 28 August to Monday 30 August. As a result, trains between London Victoria and Epsom / Dorking / Horsham via Mitcham Junction will not run and rail replacement buses will be in operation.

All day on Saturday 28 August and Monday 30 August, buses will run between Tulse Hill and Sutton, calling at Streatham, Streatham Common, Mitcham Eastfields and all stations to Sutton.

All day on Sunday 29 August, buses will run between Tulse Hill and Streatham Common, calling at Streatham and between Streatham Common and Sutton via Mitcham Eastfields.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

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Important information – Bank Holiday track improvement work – Sutton to Tulse Hill

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T77-V05-Steam Era N Gauge Layout – Duke Street.MOV

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T77-V12-N gauge Layout with Class 73 Mail Train

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west coast mainline

From Saturday 28 August route 320 will be extended to Catford.

There will also be changes to frequencies on routes 208 and 320. This will provide improved bus links for the Biggin Hill, Bromley and Catford areas.

Route 320, which currently runs between Biggin Hill and Bromley North Station, will be extended from Bromley to Catford via Downham.

It will no longer serve the stop outside Bromley North station.

Frequencies of daytime services will be increased Monday to Saturday to provide a bus every 12 minutes. Evening and Sunday frequencies will be increased to every 20 minutes.

Route 208 will run as a through service between Lewisham and Orpington rather than in two separate sections, Lewisham to Bromley Common and Catford to Orpington. It will operate every 12 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 15 minutes in the evening and on Sunday.

John Barry, Head of Network Development, London Buses, said: ‘These changes follow detailed reviews and consultation with the councils and London TravelWatch.

‘They are designed to give new links, good reliability and an easy-to-use network. We are sure that people will find the new links useful.’

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New links on route 320

Elaine Holt, Chairman and Chief Executive of Directly Operated Railways, and Chairman of East Coast, said:

“I’m very pleased that East Coast has been asked to commission the new Pendolino on the East Coast Main Line.  Whilst a final decision has not yet been made, if it goes ahead, the train would add extra capacity to our fleet – and we’re sure our customers would appreciate the comfort and facilities that the new Pendolino has to offer.

“We’re currently talking with the manufacturers Alstom, and other key industry partners to understand the challenges and opportunities involved in the commissioning and certification of the Pendolino on East Coast.”

Under the plan, East Coast Main Line Company Limited (East Coast), the publicly-owned company which operates Anglo-Scottish services on Britain’s premier long-distance rail route, would take delivery of the new train in July next year.  East Coast would operate the Pendolino in daily passenger service, principally between London and Edinburgh, for a period currently estimated to be nine months.

The new 11-car Pendolino Class 390 – which is being built by Alstom at its facility in Savigliano, Italy – forms part of an order for four such train-sets.  Alstom started work on the new order in early 2009.  The units will be very similar to the 52 Pendolino Class 390s, each of 9 cars, currently in service on the West Coast Main Line.

These train-sets were built by Alstom between 2001 and 2004 and are capable of speeds of up to 140 miles per hour*.

The 11-cars of the new Pendolino will be only slightly longer than trains in the existing East Coast fleet, enabling all current station stops to be utilised by the train without the use of Selective Door Operation.

Whilst the new 11-car Pendolino is being commissioned with East Coast, it would be fully integrated into the East Coast fleet and timetable – and would be maintained by the Alstom train care centre at Polmadie, in Glasgow.

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EAST COAST ASKED TO COMMISSION NEW 11-CAR PENDOLINO TRAIN