East London Line closed for Development

 Work to bring Hackney’s first proper Tube link begins when the East London line closes for major extension work on 22 December.

The line will reopen by June 2010 with four new step-free stations in the borough at Dalston Junction, Haggerston, Hoxton and Shoreditch High Street.

It will be extended north to Dalston Junction, south to Crystal Palace and West Croydon, and will become part of the London Overground network.

The line will be further extended to Highbury & Islington by 2011.

From Sunday 23 December, passengers will be able to use special replacement bus services to get to Tube, DLR and National Rail services within Zone 2.

When the extended line opens, there will be new trains with more space, greater security, air conditioning and dedicated wheelchair bays. There will be four trains an hour to New Cross, Crystal Palace and West Croydon, and up to twelve trains an hour on the core section of the line between Dalston and Surrey Quays.

The work is part of a £1.4billion investment programme in London Overground by Transport for London, which has recently seen the take-over of the North London line.

By 2011, the extended East London line will connect to the North London line, in time for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This will create the beginning of an orbital railway around the Capital, with London Overground services running from Stratford in the east to Richmond in the west and West Croydon in the south.

It is hoped the orbital route will be completed with a link between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction by 2012, depending on funding being secured.

Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy said: “When complete, with the renewal and extension of the East London line due in 2010, the London Overground network will play a key role in our transport for the London 2012 Olympics.”

For more information and to download a leaflet containing details of rail replacement bus services, visit: www.tfl.gov.uk/ellc

03.12.2007