| Topic: | Re:Grove Park potential crossing closure!!!!! | |
| Posted by: | Paul Allen | |
| Date/Time: | 03/11/14 15:43:00 |
| Passengers travelling on South West Trains along the Hounslow Loop are set to benefit from another injection of cash to provide longer trains and more frequent services - though as usual you'll have to wait a while for the benefits to arrive. Plans for a £210m fleet of new trains took a big step forward today (Wednesday) as SWT revealed it was teaming up with manufacturer Siemens and leasing company Angel Trains to deliver the improvements. Stations which currently are served by four and eight carriage trains will see platforms extended and other changes to accommodate five and 10 carriage services. The first of the 150 new carriages will begin arriving in 2017 and all will be in service by early 2018. Around 140 new jobs will also be created as a result of the new trains order. The 30 new five-carriage Desiro City trains will boost capacity, providing for more than 18,000 extra peak-time passengers every day travelling into London Waterloo, the country’s busiest station. The train order will also allow for a further 6,000 daily peak-time passengers once infrastructure upgrades are completed on the mainline and Hounslow loop. Stations such as Feltham, Hounslow, Isleworth, Brentford and Kew Bridge all see demand soar during commuter times of day, with Syon Lane in particular demand due to its proximity to Sky's London HQ and Chiswick also packed with pupils heading to Chiswick High School. Over the last two decades, the number of passengers using South West Trains services has more than doubled and now over 222 million passenger journeys are made on the network every year. Upgrades already planned for the Hounslow Loop of stations include a complete overhaul of Kew Bridge in preparation for the opening of Brentford FC's new 20,000 seater stadium in Lionel Road South. There have also been calls in the past from Hounslow councillors on the Isleworth and Brentford Area Forum to reduce the cost of parking at weekends at Isleworth and to introduce an early morning service at Syon Lane. Sep 03, 2014 15:46 By Chris Longhurst |