MAYOR SAYS YES TO WEST LONDON TRAM SCHEME

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, has given the go-ahead for a Tram scheme that will run from Uxbridge to Shepherds Bush.

At the same time he approved other transport schemes across London that will carry 138 million passengers a year, which he feels will encourage regeneration and give Londoners better access to jobs.

The scheme has strong support from the relevant local authorities and will require their continued cooperation to deliver the necessary traffic management measures. While the schemes are being built, improvements to local bus services will continue.

The West London Tram Scheme 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.

Announcing the new schemes Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, said:� 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."

He pledged to speak to the Government about speeding up the planning process and pointed to a recent study of the Croydon Tramlink system which showed 19 per cent of Tramlink passengers had switched from using a car to the tram for their journey.

Welcoming today�s announcement, Transport Commissioner Bob Kiley said:�These new tram and bus routes are designed to integrate into existing bus, rail and underground services as well as future developments such as Crossrail and the East London Line extensions. Their delivery will require active cooperation of the boroughs.�

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.

June 23, 2002

"The Uxbridge Road will get trams, Chiswick will get traffic." October 2001 ChiswickW4.com

Map of planned route (Adobe Acrobat required)