London Underground Confirms Extra Five Trains on District Line

December promises to be easier for the District Line peak time commuter!

London Underground today confirmed that additional  services will be introduced on the Wimbledon branch of the District Line starting in December.  The extra five trains will run during the morning peak from Wimbledon Station into central London – a 12% boost to passenger capacity.

The news will be welcomed by thousands of Wandsworth residents who board the heavily congested service at Wimbledon Park, Southfields and East Putney Stations.

The improved timetable have been made possible through the withdrawal of the weekday shuttle service between Kensington Olympia and High Street Kensington. These trains carry an average of just 26 passengers but seriously restrict service capacity on other parts on the District Line.

Public consultation took place earlier this year and nearly 18,000 customers, local business and stakeholders took part in the consultation with almost 80 per cent supporting the changes.

Wandsworth Council has been leading a campaign for the proposal to get the go-ahead since it first put out to public consultation.  Wandsworth Council leader Ravi Govindia said:
"This is terrific news for people living in Putney, Southfields and Wimbledon who have had to put up with increasingly overcrowded trains in recent years. They can now look forward to a more frequent service and more room to breath on their way into work.   The new timetable will also help to reduce frustrating bottlenecks at Earl's Court Station and improve service reliability on the entire line.” 

 
Richard Tracey, Assembley Member for Wandsworth & Merton said:

" This is a great result for District Line travellers in Wimbledon and Putney. It is the result of hard work by a large number of Conservatives lobbying TfL and the Mayor. Boris has delivered for us."

As a result of the changes there will also be further capacity for more than 800 people on services to Ealing Broadway in the evenings and an enhanced late evening service on the Wimbledon branch with six trains per hour until 11.30pm.

The Olympia shuttle service will continue to operate at weekends and special services will operate to serve major weekday events at the Olympia exhibition centre.

September 28, 2011