08.05.17
GOBLIN electrification expected to be pushed back further by NR
Electrification work on the London Overground between Gospel Oak and Barking is expected to be delayed even further after Network Rail confirmed earlier this year that work would not be finished on schedule.
Though the infrastructure owner was unable to comment on exactly when works would be complete, TfL director of London Rail Jonathan Fox confirmed that “a number of options are being considered and we will make a more detailed announcement in due course when Network Rail can assure us that plans to complete the delayed works are robust”.
He added: “We continue to work with Network Rail to understand how they will complete the remaining work to electrify the Gospel Oak to Barking Line with the absolute minimum further disruption to our customers.”
Work finally began in July last year, and was meant to be finished by the end of next month, but errors, including incorrect designs and late delivery of the masts to carry the power cables, have led to the completion date of the project being pushed back.
The line was closed for six months in September last year to accommodate for the ambitious upgrade, but today’s news may well mean that commuters will have to wait even longer for the work to be completed.
Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem member of the London Assembly and leader of its transport committee, said that between TfL and Network Rail something had gone seriously wrong with the electrification of the line.
“This has been increasingly clear for many months. Passengers were promised a year ago that the upgrade work would be finally completed by the end of June 2017,” she explained.
“A year later, Network Rail is now blatantly seeking to use the general election as a fig leaf to cover up their incompetence.”
Have you got a story to tell? Would you like to become an RTM columnist? If so, click here.