Merton + London-wide stories

Caroline welcomes cancellation of August Northern Line closures

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat Assembly Group and transport spokesperson, commenting on Transport for London’s sudden decision to cancel most weekend closures on the Northern Line during the month of August after their review of required weekend closures, said:

Caroline joins Lib Dems from across London and the UK at Pride 2010

Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the London Assembly Lib Dems, joined senior Lib Dems including Lynne Featherstone MP, Sarah Ludford MEP, and party president Ros Scott, at the Pride London 2010 event on Saturday 3rd July - the UK's largest annual LGBT event.

Caroline Pidgeon receives pledge that a new approach will be considered for upgrading the Northern Line

Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, today received an assurance from the Mayor that following the end of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for London Underground he will now “look at all options” over how to upgrade the Northern Line.

Caroline Pidgeon, who has been a long-standing advocate of the use of temporary blockades to complete the upgrades, said:

Five-point plan for a better Northern Line upgrade

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee, has proposed a five-point plan to get the Northern line upgrade completed with the minimum possible disruption to residents and businesses who rely on the line.

In a letter to Ed Fordham, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn, Caroline makes these proposals:

  1. All current upgrade plans be immediately suspended for 3-4 months, allowing a full consultation to be conducted, enabling local residents and businesses to have their views heard.
  2. Replace months of early evening and weekend closures with short, sharp bursts of work on sections of the Northern line (blockades lasting several weeks).
  3. Keep the Northern line open when the London Overground rail network or the Jubilee Line are closed for upgrade work.

Waterloo International platforms – a wasted resource

As part of the London Liberal Democrats' Campaign For Better Stations, Caroline Pidgeon joined south-west London MPs Ed Davey, Tom Brake and Susan Kramer on a visit to Waterloo station.

The Waterloo International platforms, which Eurostar trains used until their move to St Pancras in 2007, are still completely unused - in such a congested station as Waterloo, this is a wasted resource which should be put to use to improve services for commuters from south-west London.

Across London, the Lib Dems have a 5-point plan for better rail stations:

London press covers Dial-a-Ride failures

The London press has given wide coverage to the failures of TfL's Dial-a-Ride service, revealed by Caroline Pidgeon's questioning of the Mayor.

Caroline commented then that:

“Three years ago Transport for London promised disabled Londoners a far better deal from Dial-a-Ride. They specifically promised that the number of refused trips would halve in just two years. Yet instead of falling the number of refused trips have actually gone up by more than 50%. It is simply appalling every day of the year more than 400 trips are now refused to Dial-a-Ride users."

The story has been covered in:

Northern Line could close from 10pm on weekdays

The Evening Standard reports on plans for sections of the Northern Line to close at 10pm on weeknights, as signalling systems are replaced over the next two years.

In the article, Caroline gives her views:

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib-Dem transport spokeswoman on the London Assembly, encouraged TfL and Tube Lines to “think outside the box” and suggested that full-line closures, lasting several weeks at a time, may be more efficient than repeated weekend shut-downs.

Caroline tackles Network Rail over the state of Raynes Park and Wimbledon Chase stations

Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, is urging Network Rail to tackle the graffiti and extensive rubbish at Raynes Park and Wimbledon Chase train stations.

Caroline looks at transport issues in Wimbledon

On Saturday 11th July, Caroline visited Wimbledon with Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Shas Sheehan, to campaign on local transport issues.

Caroline, Shas, and local Lib Dem activists collected signatures for the One Hour Bus Ticket petition. They also investigated air quality issues in Raynes Park, and litter problems around Dundonald Road Tramlink station.

Has Boris backed down on a promise?

Commenting on Mayor Johnson’s pledge to intervene on the issue of the possible closure of South West Trains’ ticket offices, Caroline Pidgeon AM, the transport spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat Group at the London Assembly, says: “I’m extremely disappointed to see Mayor Johnson hasn’t personally got involved in this matter when he quite clearly said he would.

“Getting his minions at TfL to do his work simply doesn’t have the same impact as if the Mayor of London gets involved. I want to see the Mayor sticking to his promises.”