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by Ross Lydall
24.11.09

Passengers using the Jubilee line face another six months of weekend
closures to allow a botched upgrade to be completed.

The firm working on the line has admitted it needs at least 10 weekend
shutdowns next year to introduce a satellite navigation signalling
system.

The line, the Tube's newest, has been disrupted more than 100 times in
two years, leaving maintenance firm Tube Lines at loggerheads with
Transport for London over its request for further closures.

Mayor Boris Johnson criticised Tube Lines when it became obvious it
would over-run its 31 December deadline, while the O2 arena at North
Greenwich — where spectators have faced disrupted journeys — branded
the firm “clowns”.

The improvements will allow peak trains to run every two minutes,
increasing capacity by up to 40 per cent. They will make the Jubilee
line the Underground's “workhorse”, carrying up to 800,000 passengers
a day as other lines are rebuilt.

Tube Lines' chief executive, Dean Finch, said: “Yes, the Jubilee line
is going to be late. But I don't think it's right that Tube Lines
should be judged just on that. We have got a tremendous record of
success over the last six or seven years.

"I live on the line. I know how painful it is when the Jubilee line is
closed. We need probably about six more weekend closures to get our
bit done, but we will have to have more closures to train the drivers
and get operators familiar with the system.”

The line will part-close every weekend until Christmas, when it will
shut for four days. It will also close for a weekend in January and
for four days at Easter. Tube Lines, which is also responsible for
maintaining and upgrading the Northern and Piccadilly lines, faces a
£10 million penalty for each month it works into next year.

Geoff Symonds, of the O2's owners, AEG Europe, said: “Any additional
Jubilee line closures are hugely frustrating for us and our customers.
All we can do is continue to work with TfL to minimise the disruption
by providing a robust alternative transport plane.”


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