Inside the new train. Photo: Melanie Mcleod

Looking East from the roof of the control room, you can just catch the sun glinting on the spire of Nicholas Hawkmoor’s Christ Church in Spitalfields in the heart of bustling East London. To the south, you can see the densely packed streets of Lewisham and, in the distance, the suburbs of Croydon.

In between, there are the gleaming new tracks of the East London Line, which from the 23rd of May –  now the official opening date of the ELL -  will link these disparate parts of east and south London, creating a whole new community along the line.

Yesterday, East London Lines was among the first group of media representatives to be given a sneak preview of the newest addition to London’s transport network, which has cost £770m to complete.

The new trains themselves are a feat of modern design and engineering. The standard East London Line train has 4 cars, and is designed for maximum capacity, with lots of standing room. Allan Ramsay, press officer for TFL said: “The journey length of the train is an acceptable length of time to stand, and this is why so much standing space has been made available.”

The trains have been designed to match those of the Underground network. Even the seats are laid out in the same way as seats on the tube. This makes getting on and off the train far more efficient than with the airplane style seating, seen on most overground trains.

And with these new trains the warning of ‘mind the gap’ is a thing of the past: all of them have a sloped door entrance, so wheelchair users can alight easily.

Even the East London Line colour scheme has had thought put into it: “We kept it the same as the original line colour scheme so the re-use of the old signs would be easy” said Clare Mann, the general manager of the ELL.

As well as taking a ride on one of the new trains, the party was given a guided tour of the East London Line trains depot and the Operations Building Complex (OBC).

The OBC is a large minimalist grey building, with a glass roof and yellow metal meshing covering it ‘like a honeycomb’, Ms  Mann observed. The building houses the driver accommodation, as well as the administrative side of  ELL and the signal room.

The signalling system is one of the most advanced available – the long term aim being to link with the EU, and have trains from countries such as Poland running along the East London Line track.

Since 2007, 100 new drivers have been employed, mostly all new to the railway, the majority recruited locally from areas along the East London Line. In total 275 new staff members have been employed across the line, making up the 400 strong staff. Many new jobs have been created, such as station hosts, controllers, cleaners, route cleaners, supervisors and managers.

Nowhere are these new staff positions more present than Shadwell station, our first stop on the train. Anyone familiar with the old station will remember the lack of staff presence, and the horrible decor. Tony Baker, Stations Operations Manager for Transport for London shows us a small store cupboard telling us this used to be the station managers office. The staff are now clearly visible, in the ticket office, where customers will see them immediately. “There will now always be at least two visible members of staff,” Mr Baker said.

The ticket office holds a monitor for all CCTV cameras and live PA announcements can be made from the office. All the computers are touch screen for ease of use.

Mr Baker said: “It is a remarkable transformation. Out with the avocado greens last seen in 1970’s bathrooms…’’ Sam Russell, the station delivery manager, added: “We’re really keen to get down and use the station… we’re looking forward to day one.”

Musicians play at the Victorian fancy fair at the Thames Tunnel. Photo: Melanie Macleod

Over the weekend the public had a “never again chance” to take a step back in time, and look into the future… of the East London Line.

The Thames Tunnel, which will form part of the new East London line, opened for the public to walk through for the first time in 145 years.

The tunnel was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and hailed as the eighth wonder of the world upon its construction in 1852. As the finale to the East festival, the tunnel opened its doors to the public with a Victorian fancy fair and guided walks through the tunnel.

The Thames Tunnel stretches 396 metres under the river, from Rotherhithe to Wapping, Tower Hamlets, was built in the Victorian era and is believed to be the first tunnel to have been built beneath a navigable river.  Brunel Museum Director, Robert Hulse, said the tunnel is “the birthplace of the tube system”.

In 1869 it was converted from a thriving shopping arcade and entertainment centre into a railway tunnel for the East London underground line. This year the Thames Tunnel will see trains running through it once more as the redeveloped East London Line goes live once more.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “We are delighted that the works on the East London Line are working so well to time that we have been able to put them on hold for two days so that the public will get this never-again chance to walk through the Thames Tunnel.

“Brunel’s achievements taught us that it is vital to invest in transport infrastructure, the benefits of which are preserved for Londoners for generations to come.”

The fancy fair harks back to Victorian times, when the tunnel captured the imagination of the city, attracting exotic dancers, sword swallowers and tightrope walkers. Speaking to visitors, Robert Hulse described the scenes of yesteryear: “Imagine this echoing with laughter and screams of delight, and parties of people. This is a Victorian rave, this is vaudeville, a party place.”

The modern day fancy fair, held at the Brunel Museum, Rotherhithe, boasted Victorian Strongmen, jugglers, acrobats and fire eaters, steams organs and Brunel themed cocktails and jellies.  Visitors were also treated to model painting and authentic Victorian costume and photography at the event.

Lawrence Wakefield, 21, a musician from Lewisham, said: “This event is a great way to get a feel for the Victorian era, I especially liked the Victorian strongmen – they were really entertaining and energetic. The Brunel museum was good too, really informative about the tunnel.”

Anyone wishing to find out more about the tunnel and Brunel’s other works can visit the Brunel Museum, on Railway Avenue, Rotherhithe.

Photo: Tfl - New DLR train from Lewisham-Bank

Congestion on the DLR Lewisham to Bank route will be eased by the introduction of the first three-car trains.

Extended platforms have now been completed on this section of the track. It will be the first section of the DLR to take advantage of 55 new carriages costing TFL £100million.

At the launch of the new trains on 3rd March, GLA transport adviser, Kulveer Ranger said: “We know the Bank to Lewisham branch is the most congested and heavily used and this will alleviate that demand and stress in rush hour.” He added: “This carriage feels a lot more airy, the doors have more glass, it’s a smoother journey, has better braking and, of course, more capacity.”

The expansion bodes well for Lewisham, with the Canary Wharf Group saying: “History shows that increased transport capacity in east London has stimulated regeneration, investment and new jobs, so today’s announcement is good news for all of the Docklands area.”

As well as benefiting the local community the expansion will also be a benefit for the Olympics, with the DLR expected to carry up to 500,000 people a day during the games, which is more than double the current weekday average.

Jonathan Fox, Director of the DLR, said at the launch of the new carriages : “Today marks another major milestone for DLR and its passengers as our network is further enhanced and improved. With the Stratford International extension set to open later this year, we are in great shape to meet passenger demand now and over the course of the next few years.”

Lewisham resident Francesca Waite, 20, agreed: “I think it is great. Summer is unbearable on a packed DLR train, so the new carriages will be a breath of fresh air.”

Despite the positive reaction of the majority, a poster on wharf.co.uk said: “the DLR has been severely congested for at least 8 years. At the moment, the majority of trains on the Bank – Lewisham branch are still two car. There only seems to be one three car train running. And lets not get started on the frequency of trains – during the rush hour the frequency of trains has actually decreased. Overall the DLR runs an extremely poor service and I fail to see why it is getting such praise.”

While at present only the Bank to Lewisham branch of the line has three car trains, the rest of the DLR network will be benefiting from the new trains over the coming year.

Barriers at Brockley station are causing dangerous overcrowding

Rail travellers have condemned new gates at Brockley train station which they say have caused overcrowding and an ’unpleasant atmosphere’ at busy times.

The station which was taken over by Transport for London in September 2009, had gates installed last year in the ticket office.

Users say the gates have been causing dangerous overcrowding at busy times.

Although the gates were put in place to catch those passengers attempting to travel for free, residents of Brockley say this  was a pointless exercise because when the area  becomes overcrowded, staff open the gates to let passengers through.

Passengers using the station are appealing for the gates to be open permanently in order to prevent the overcrowding.

Posters on Brockleycentral.blogspot.com “The Online Home For All Things Brockley” have voiced their concerns at the overcrowding.

One poster wrote “[this] is clearly ridiculous. The amount they save from fare dodgers would be negligible anyway compared to the lawsuit for someone falling down the stairs because of the overcrowding. The atmosphere is really unpleasant with all the pushing and shoving. It makes me dread using the train more than ever.”

Another wrote “The current situation is an absolute mess. If they can’t install a set of gates and a ticket office which are large enough to cope with the volume of people, then they shouldn’t force people through the gates/office. It’s as simple as that.”

In the long term Brockley station is due to be re-modeled, but  rail users want TFL to come up with a short to medium long-term solution.

A TFL spokesperson said: “The gates at Brockley station were introduced by Southern, and we inherited this system in September 2009. Since then, no accidents have been reported at the station. However, our stations team is due to go on site at Brockley in the next few weeks to observe passenger flows and determine whether action is required there.”

Hundreds have appealed against Croydon motoring fines. Photo: Flickr

Hundreds of motorists caught using a Croydon bus lane will appeal against fines running into thousands of pounds, claiming traffic queues left them no alternative.

Over £44,000 of fines were handed out by Croydon Council to drivers caught driving in the bus lane on Tamworth Road to avoid traffic near the town’s Centrale Shopping Centre.

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The Blackwall Tunnel is due to undergo a much needed facelift. Photo: Stephen Craven

TfL has announced a major £70m refurbishment of the Victorian-era Blackwall Tunnel in east London.

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New freedom pass for 2010. Photo: TFL

Lewisham Freedom Pass holders have something to look forward to this Friday as an exhibition roadshow will be touring Lewisham’s shopping centre to provide information and distribute application forms for current pass holders to renew their pass.

Paid for by London’s boroughs, the scheme allows Londoners aged 60 and over, and eligible disabled residents, to travel for free on all forms of public transport in the capital as well as on local buses across the country.

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Boris Johnson inspects a new East London Line train. Photo: Emily Jupp

Boris Johnson paid a visit to Shoreditch High Street station this week to see the last phase of its development before the new East London Line opens later this year. (more…)

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Road restrictions in place since last summer will continue to plague Dalston commuters in the New Year, East London Lines can exclusively reveal.

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The nightmare before Christmas. Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/

For all your London transport needs over the festive period ELL gives you the low down on the hold-ups across the boroughs: (more…)