As housing developments lead to population growth, councillors have urged TfL to look to invest for the future.
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£500 million improvement
Community Partnerships Specialist Jasmit Jabbal and Engagement Officer James Kealey of Transport for London attended the Overview and Scrutiny meeting of Epping Forest District Council on Tuesday (29 October).
Commencing with a short explanation of the technical issues affecting rolling stock since the Pandemic, Mr Jabbal apologised for some of the delays to improvements previously promised for the Central Line.
Councillors raised the £500 million improvement promise made by the Mayor of London prior to the pandemic. The Central Line runs some of the oldest trains on the Underground. At the moment, Mr Jabbal said TfL was awaiting a long-term funding deal. Although 85 trains are currently in stock, only about 55 are in service. Some are out of service for refurbishment, while a separate motor failure issue has led to further trains going out of service.
As new homes are built, councillors believe more demand will be placed on the Central Line as the population of Epping Forest District grows. Overcrowding, reliability and track quality are causes of concern for councillors. Mr Jabbal suggested that councillors and residents will see improvements in service over the next 4 years or so as investment in better trains continues.
Station premises
Councillors complained about management of surrounding areas as well as station premises, including litter and sub-standard toilet facilities. Fare dodging needs to be tackled. Disabled access is poor and carparking charges have gone up. Mr Jabbal undertook to raise concerns with station managers. He appealed for people to report fare-dodging.
Service frequency for the Chigwell loop line is considered particularly poor.
Better pricing services including use of Oyster Cards in neighbouring areas could reduce overdemand on the Central Line. Councillors are also concerned about overcrowding and lack of staff on platforms. Better platform information would be welcomed.
Councillors challenged the lack of access for people with disabilities. TfL has an ambition for as much step-free access as possible.
Anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour on the Central Line is a concern for women especially. Begging and vandalism including graffiti are other issues. TfL works in partnership with British Transport Police and other policing partners. Mr Jabbal acknowledged the underground can be a rowdy environment, especially late at night.
Mr Jabbal was not aware of any TfL plans to extend parking provision at any of its local stations. He was hopeful new Central Line stock may have air-conditioning.
Councillors argued that investment to catch and deter fare dodging could improve income and capacity for investment on the network. Comparison was drawn with management of fare evasion on the Docklands Light Railway.
Mr Jabbal assured councillors he would be happy to engage with representatives of the Epping Ongar heritage line.
Bus services
Waltham Abbey previously benefited from bus service connections to underground and mainline stations. Residents without access to a car particularly struggle to access public transport. Mr Jabbal was hopeful that legislative changes would allow Essex County Council to encourage renewal of bus links. He was also happy to work with ECC on bus routes.
Most Essex TfL bus services run at a loss. Mr Jabbal suggested some financial contributions by ECC would be helpful.
Further information
After almost an hour and a half of questions and answers, Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairman Councillor Roger Baldwin thanked Mr Jabbal and his colleague for their time. TfL will provide written replies to questions raised by councillors before the meeting. The Council will publish Mr Jabbal’s written responses as soon as they become available.
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