When I first ran for Parliament in 2005 the issue of the poor service at Turnham Green Tube was one of the key local concerns raised with me by Chiswick residents. My Freedom of Information request at the time simply yielded a litany of excuses. Five years on and the problem remains unsolved by the incumbent Labour MP or Tory Mayor Johnson’s Transport for London.
With increases in population above the London average and many new housing developments in the area there is a real need to improve the tube network. This will help residents in the Hounslow, as well as the Ealing, part of Chiswick.
My view is that too much of the debate so far has taken place through the local print and online media. What we need are face-to-face conversations to unpack the issues and find some solutions.
With this in mind on Saturday, backed by dozens of supporters, Cllr Gary Malcolm and I handed our letter to Mayor Johnson to Lib Dem London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon – suggesting a meeting with the Mayor and his advisors. Today Caroline sent this to the Mayor with her own cover letter.
Gary said: “The local Liberal Democrats have campaigned consistently on this issue for many years as this is something residents in the area want strongly. If a genie gave me three wishes, I would use one of them to get the Piccadilly line to serve Turnham Green throughout the day. This would benefit many thousands of residents in the locality.”
Interestingly several decades ago when Lib Dem Jim Daly (now sadly deceased) chaired the GLC transport committee I understand one of his achievements was securing a full Sunday service at Turnham Green station — provision that was lost as the Heathrow service was extended.
The solutions that Gary and I have asked the Mayor/ Transport for London to respond to us on are:
1. Consider a trial that extends the early morning and the late evening stops at Turnham Green station, so that the station is served much more often. Then the outcome can be reviewed. This would show that Transport for London are really committed to assisting public transport in this area of West London and would be logistically possible due to fewer tubes running on the line at this time.
2. Consider moving the Piccadilly Line stop from one station (e.g. Barons Court) to Turnham Green station. This would still allow Barons Court station to be served, but by the District line, instead of both the Piccadilly and District lines. This would need no changes to the signalling and is possible logistically.
3. Bring forward the planned signalling and other works so that improvements can be delivered earlier. An early commitment on this would enable planning for the changes to take place faster.
We look forward to the Mayor’s response.
If you would like to support our campaign, please sign our petition calling for a regular Piccadilly Line service at Turnham Green.