Nicholas Rogers, Conservative London Assembly candidate for the boroughs of Hounslow, Kingston and Richmond, has launched a campaign with London Mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey calling for a full Piccadilly Line service at Turnham Green Station, calling throughout the day, every day, not just at early mornings and late evenings.
Residents have campaigned for this change for decades and secured a promise from Mayor Boris Johnson in 2013 that this would finally happen when the Piccadilly Line signalling was upgraded. However, the current Mayor has postponed the Piccadilly Line upgrade indefinitely, along with full service at Turnham Green which his transport commissioner says might happen in the distant future.
This is unacceptable.
Five key reasons full service at Turnham Green is needed now:
- Convenience: better, quicker travel options for Chiswick residents travelling into Central London and to Heathrow.
- Safety: reduce dangerous overcrowding at Turnham Green, eliminate extra risks posed by need to change lines at Hammersmith.
- Fairness: Turnham Green is a busy station; all other stations, some far quieter, on the Piccadilly Line have full service – why not Turnham Green?
- Environment: This is exactly the sort of improvement to public transport that will encourage people out of their cars, reducing congestion and pollution.
- Ease: this only requires a timetable change. Transport for London make such changes regularly. There is no reason why this cannot happen immediately.
The Piccadilly Line not stopping at Turnham Green can also lead to dangerous overcrowding at Hammersmith as people have to change trains there. Moreover, as Turnham Green is in Zone 2 many people use it to save money, walking to or from it to avoid paying the Zone 3 fare at Chiswick Park or Gunnersbury. This puts even more pressure on the District Line and is yet another reason for the need for the Piccadilly Line to stop at Turnham Green.
Commenting, Nicholas Rogers said:
“Enough is enough. Chiswick residents have put up with decades of sparse service on the Piccadilly Line. They’ve been bounced from pillar to post on the issue. It’s time to end this once and for all and to introduce full service at Turnham Green Station.
“I’ve worked in rail operations for almost a decade. TfL simply need to make a timetable change – like they do regularly - to make this happen and to provide the full Piccadilly Line service at Turnham Green that residents want. There is no need to tie this to the wider Piccadilly Line upgrade.
“This petition is just the start; if elected to the London Assembly, I will not stop banging on about this issue until we make the change happen. Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey also supports this change and has pledged to make it happen if he is elected Mayor of London.”