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London Mayor gives go-ahead to new trams and busways:
Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, has today given the go-ahead for two new tram schemes and also two new bus schemes across London.
The two tram schemes are:
This will be a tram route running from Uxbridge to Shepherds Bush via Acton, Ealing, Hanwell and Southall town centres. This route which is expected to be completed by 2009 will carry 50 million passengers a year and cost approximately £200 million.
75% of respondents from consultation said they would be willing to see less space for general road traffic in return for public transport.
This will be a tram route running from Kings Cross and Camden, via Euston and Waterloo, to Peckham and Brixton. This route which is expected to be completed by 2011 will carry 72 million passengers a year and will cost approximately £300 million. 92 % of respondents from the consultation favoured the scheme.
Further details can be found on our Cross river page
This will be a dedicated busway. The first stage will run between Ilford, Barking, Barking Reach and Dagenham Dock Station and is expected to be completed by 2006. The first phase will cost £35m and is expected to carry 6 million passengers a year. Later stages will extend the scheme to Barkingside, Romford, Rainham, Harold Hill, Gallions Reach and Collier Row. Support for this scheme is extremely high with 94% of respondents to the consultation favouring the proposal.
This will start operating between North Greenwich and Abbey Wood by 2008 using 1.8km of busway already in place on the Greenwich Peninsula and 6km of new busway to be built from Woolwich Town Centre through Thamesmead to Abbey Wood. Later phases would extend the busway westwards from Woolwich Town Centre to the Greenwich Peninsula and south-westwards from the Dome to Greenwich Town Centre. This scheme could ultimately be upgraded to tram technology if justified by long-term development. The first phase will cost approximately £25 million and carry 10 million passengers per year.
This scheme and the tramway option were covered in T&UT July 2001.
"People have been talking about these schemes for seven years; I am going to implement them. The West London and Cross River Trams will provide faster and more reliable public transport in these heavily congested areas of London. Each of these schemes will carry the same number of passengers as carried on the Docklands Light Railway. These schemes follow from the success of the Croydon Tramlink where a recent study showed that 19 percent of Tramlink passengers had previously used a car for their journey."
To avoid placing an unmanageable burden on the available resources and the existing roads and transport network, these scheme will be phased over the next eight to nine years. Transport for London will seek powers to construct and operate the West and East London transit schemes immediately, while simultaneously continuing development of the Cross River and Greenwich Waterfront schemes, with the intention of applying for powers as soon as possible. All the transit schemes will use a mixture of existing infrastructure and new build. There will be further consultation of residents and businesses on the detailed scheme development.
The full text of the TfL press release can be found on the Transport for London Website
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The bus schemes are:
Announcing the new schemes Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, said:
29 May 2002
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