Dear Mr Harris

Thank you for your enquiry.

I understand that London Underground has already replied to you and

provided you with a provisional list of closures on the Northern line. As Dean
Finch no longer works for Tube Lines please allow me to follow up on their
response, clarify a number of points and at the same time hopefully answer
your questions.

Background facts on the Northern line

Since Tube Lines took over responsibility for maintenance on the Northern
line in 2003 it has become one of the best performing lines on the entire
Underground; delays have been cut by 65% with trains running more reliably
than ever. London Underground (LU) provides performance related data for
all Underground lines which verifies this trend and which can be found on its
website.

What has been delivered to date on the Northern line represents a significant
achievement in its own right, however, given the increasing level of passenger
demand, it is an achievement which can only be sustained and improved
upon with an upgrade which will increase capacity and improve
performance.

LU has estimated that by 2024 use of the Underground is expected to

increase to roughly 1.4 billion journeys per annum (up from its current total of
just over 1 billion journeys). With the new signalling system we are installing
LU will be able to run a more reliable service, operating more trains per hour
at greater speeds. For passengers, this will mean less waiting times on station
platforms and faster journey times – capacity will increase by 30% and
journey times reduced by 18%. If this upgrade does not take place we will, as
LU has stated, be facing a “30% decrease in capacity as more people use an
aging network”

It is worth remembering that the Northern line is one of the oldest and most
complex lines on the network and currently has a signalling system designed
and installed over 60 years ago. Compared to the Jubilee line, it is nearly
40% longer (58 route km compared to the Jubilee line’s 38 route km), has
almost 50% more stations, 40% more trains and carries 40% more
passengers each year.

Access to the line for upgrade work

We are acutely aware that closures can cause disruption to passengers we
simply cannot complete the upgrade work on the Northern line without them.
The installation part of the upgrade can be carried out during the limited
engineering hours each night but the testing phase of the project requires
significantly more time than the short few engineering hours available each
night which on some parts of the track can be as little as one hour 30
minutes. With some of the testing, for example, it take more than eight hours
just to prepare and set the track and trains up for test conditions.
It is not only Tube Lines that utilises closures to carry out upgrade work. LU
itself, which now manages the Victoria line upgrade, has granted itself in
excess of 56 weeks of extended engineering hours that start at 10:30pm,
more than 52 full line closures and 42 part line closures to carry out a similar
upgrade on a line that is only a third the length of and has two-thirds fewer
stations than the Northern line .

I think it is worth mentioning that agreeing access to the line which will enable
us to complete the work on time whilst minimising disruption to passengers is
an ongoing process involving lengthy discussions with LU. LU considers each
application for closure and ultimately it alone decides whether or not it will be
granted. If LU deems the closure requests unsafe, unduly disruptive, or that it
clashes with other closures on the network then it rejects them. It is important
therefore that we can be flexible with our work programme and adapt to the
constraints placed upon us with respect to access. To that end, we have
been discussing a suitable closure programme with LU since mid 2008 and
first presented it with a very specific plan back in early summer 2009 which
we believed would have kept weekend closures to a minimum which was
rejected.

Access situation today

As of today, LU has granted us extended engineering hours starting in July
2010 and finishing in November 2011, Monday to Thursday on the Northern
line north of Kennington. The line will be closed from 11.30pm – one hour
earlier than the normal timetable. We are also discussing weekend closures
of which we believe that there will be a need for in the region of 65 between
now and January 2012.

This is a similar closure strategy to that currently used on the Victoria line.
When you take account the length and complexity of the Northern line when
compared to the Victoria line you can see that we are looking to carry out a far
bigger job with significantly fewer closures which shows the efforts we are
making to keep disruption to a minimum.

I would also like to make the point that many lessons have been learnt from
our experience on the Jubilee line which are being factored into our delivery of
the Northern line upgrade with as little disruption as possible. For example,
together with our supplier Thales we have developed a test-train simulator
which carries the same on-board computer equipment as a newly fitted out
train. Using this test-train we expect to be able to carry out important tests
during standard engineering hours helping us to reduce the need for more
weekend closures.

Furthermore, we will be carrying out the maximum number of software tests

(80 plus%) offsite in factories and at our test track facility at Highgate to
reduce the requirement for on-track testing. We also believe that the
knowledge and skills of those who have worked on the Jubilee line who will be
moving onto the Northern line which will also help speed up key installation
activities.
Should you be interested we would be more than happy to take you and your
fellow Liberal Democrat PPCs on a visit to some of our off-track facilities
where we can show you exactly what it is we are already doing to deliver the
Northern line upgrade on time and with a little disruption as possible.

‘Optioneering’ analysis
We do not have any one single document which could be described as an
‘optioneering’ document as you describe it. We have to request access to the
track 222 days (but not more than 18 months) in advance of every single
closure. We make these requests and then meet with LU on a very regular
basis to discuss, analyse and review the requests, the options and the closure
programme. These ongoing, detailed and continually changing discussions
do not result in any one all encompassing document.

I hope that this information is useful in helping you understand the proposed
closure programme for the Northern line upgrade. Should you have further
questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Yours sincerely

Vincent McGovern

Vincent McGovern
Head of Public Affairs
Tube Lines
15 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4HD