Northern Line closure plans are slammed
IT'S one of the oldest Tube lines in London and every day it carries more than 566,000 passengers.
But from March, travellers on the Northern Line - whose first section opened in 1890 - will be plunged into hell.
For March 27 will be the first day of what maintenance contractor Tube Lines wants to be the first of 64 weekend closures.
And that's not all. For between July 2010 and November 2011, the 58km line will also close an hour earlier at 11.30pm on Mondays to Thursdays, and possibly on Sundays too.
Tube Lines says the months of misery are "essential" if the Northern Line's archaic signalling system - a kind of mechanical traffic light-run affair - is to be replaced by a computerised system.
The computerised system, already in action on the Docklands Light Railway, will enable trains to complete their journeys faster - increasing capacity by 20 per cent, which anybody who has found themselves jammed up against someone else's armpit will appreciate is needed. They will also enable the trains to be "driverless", although Tube Lines thinks drivers will still be employed.
The line is a key transport route for residents and workers in the Camden area, serving stations such as King's Cross, Camden Town, Chalk Farm,Tufnell Park and Archway.
Every evening closure will affect the Camden stretch, while the weekend closures will start affecting the Camden section from December 4, 2010 - and continue to blight it for almost every weekend until October 2, 2011.
Residents and businesses are concerned - with residents worried about how they will get home in the evenings, and businesses worried about shoppers staying away at weekends. But they have mixed feelings about shutting the entire line completely in the hope that the work will get done quicker. Most would prefer a really good rail replacement service.
They also want the work not to overrun - as it has with the Jubilee line. Tube Lines was meant to finish its share of the Jubilee line work by December 2009 but is now looking at May 2010.
Matthew McMillan, deputy chief executive of Camden Town Unlimited, which represents Camden Town's businesses - which attract thousands of tourists every weekend, said: "There is no doubt that capacity is a major issue. Camden Town is full to bursting most weekdays let alone weekends. But the current schedule is particularly business unfriendly.
"We want a rail replacement service. We want people to still be able to get here. We want a really well thought-out plan to get people here from King's Cross and the Eurostar."
Josie Kelly, of Camden Town Speaks Residents' Association, also wants a rail replacement service. She said: "If we want a better service, we have to put up with some inconvenience. We have to let the men get on with the job. But how are residents going to get home late at night? The buses are already packed.
"There will have to be some kind of rail replacement service.
"There are thousands coming off that Tube. This is going to inconvenience passengers dreadfully.
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