03.07.09
Northern line picks up second award
Tube Lines, Alstom and London Underground win second award for improvements to Northern line performance
At the Modern Railways/Railway Forum Innovation awards held on 26 June, Tube Lines, Alstom and London Underground were named as the winners of the award for cross industry partnership in recognition of the improvements made to the Northern line. Earlier this year the three companies were also awarded the prize for Transport partnership at the London Transport Awards.
The Northern line is today one of the best performing lines on the Underground. This has been achieved thanks to a joint commitment from the three companies to improve the infrastructure, fleet performance and operations.
The oldest deep tube line, with parts dating back to 1890, the Northern line runs deeper than any other line with a highly complex layout. It is the busiest railway line in the UK; with the fleet of 106 Alstom-built trains carrying over 800 000 passengers every day. However, performance levels in 2006 resulted in the lowest customer satisfaction for several years. The line needed significant improvement.
London Underground operates the line, controls services, manages stations and drives trains. Tube Lines maintains and upgrades all infrastructure, whilst Alstom manages fleet maintenance and availability. Working closely together, the three organisations have analysed every element causing delays and implemented action plans for each in order to drive up performance. These include track replacement, station and signalling upgrades, predictive maintenance techniques, improved train management systems and overhaul of the train doors.
Along with timetable changes that have reduced average journey times by around a minute, the action plans have resulted in a 50% reduction in delays. Customer satisfaction has increased by 10% and the line regularly operates over 98% of its 12 million scheduled kilometres annually compared to under 90% two years ago.
Martin Higson, Alstom Transport Customer Director said: “We are delighted with the endorsement of the strong partnership with Tube Lines and London Underground which has been fundamental to the improvements made in Northern line performance."
Stewart Mills, Northern Line Infrastructure Manager at Tube Lines said: “Co-operation is at the heart of this partnership and has been a key factor in turning the Northern line around. We can now say that the Northern line consistently outperforms all other lines on the London Underground network and that in itself is a huge achievement and a real testament to a successful partnership.”
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