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Global Warming An Issue For The Tube
Posted: 06.11.2006
One of the biggest issues facing the London Underground network as it modernises will be rising temperatures caused by global warning, Tube Lines CEO Terry Morgan told a group of senior figures from the property world, and there were no cheap options to be had.
Mr Morgan warned the Cambridge University Land Society Urban Regeneration Forum, chaired by Cyril Leonard Senior Partner Douglas Blausten, that trying to keep the tube system cool was a major challenge and there were no easy solutions. Fitting air conditioning to trains was no answer as it would just pump heat into the stations.
Other major problems included station upgrades and the installation of step free access for the disabled.
Tube Lines has been responsible for the rebuilding and refurbishment of the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Northern Lines since its formation as a Public Private Partnership in 2002. It inherited no real improvement plan on a system that just ran on a day to day basis. London Underground had previously found itself in a very difficult position with no clear picture of its assets or of the future.
“The private sector was brought in to enable the upgrading of the network through long term planning, underpinned by long term funding,” said Mr Morgan. Today it had world class project management expertise. The company holds the franchise for 30 years with 7.5 year tranches of funding.
The tube had a massive infrastructure and another decade of heavy engineering work was required, said Mr Morgan. Work was always hindered by the fact that engineers can only work on the lines between 1.00 am and 5.00 am which led to a number of difficult issues.
But huge progress had been made through innovative ways of delivering projects. Tube escalators used to take up to 40 weeks to rebuild. Tube Lines has brought that time down to eight weeks and is working on reducing the period still further to six weeks.
Traditional manual ways of testing track were being replaced by investment in a special testing train and old ways of manually testing heated points above ground in winter had been replaced by a helicopter with thermal imaging equipment.
Of the 100 stations Tube Lines operates it has to date updated 31. The other 69 would be completed by 2011 with 40 stations currently under renovation.
By 2011 capacity should be increased by 40% on the Jubilee Line, by 30% on the Northern Line and by 20% on the Piccadilly line. |
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Terry Morgan, CEO of Tube Lines with Douglas Blausten of Cyril Leonard
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