TRANSFORMING THE TUBE

OCTOBER 2007 NUMBER 17

London Underground is changing – by2025 the city’s population is expectedto grow by around 800,000 people, withtravel on the Tube expected to increaseby around four million journeys.

To meet this growing demand, LU isundertaking an ambitious programme ofupgrades, renovations andrefurbishments, introducing newtechnology to an ageing network.

Work being done or planned includesnew trains, new signalling systems andmodernising of stations, with revampedcontrol rooms, more customer help pointsand improved accessibility andinformation for customers.

Upgrading the entire network is amammoth long-term task. Some work,such as that on the Central line, is alreadycomplete, and work on the Northern,

Victoria and Jubilee lines is underway now.“ To succeed, eve ry department in the

U n d e rg round will need to work together asone team to deliver improvements andchange in the order of six times the rate weh a ve ever done befo re,” says Paul Kilius-Smith, Head of Operational Upgra d e s .

For example, the work nowhappening on the Jubilee line, whichwill be complete in 2009, includes

continued on page 2

TRANSFORMING THE TUBEHow London Underground is facing the future

continued from front cover

T R A N S F O R M I N GTHE TUBEchanges in seve ra la reas to create am o re frequent, morereliable Tube serv i c e :■ a third platform is

under constructionat Stanmore,providing theincreased reversingcapability needed torun a more reliabletrain service

■ although the Jubileeline trains are toonew to needreplacing, as willhappen on someother lines, they willstill be fitted with anew on-board displayfor train operators, aswell as new controls,communications and under-floorequipment

■ new station safetyfeatures will beinstalled from 2008,such as passengeremergency stopplungers on eachplatform to enablepassengers or staffto stop anapproaching train inan emergencysituation

■ new signalling sys t e mthat will help incre a s ethe speed andf requency of serv i c e .

Equipment beingb rought in to make iteasier for staff to prov i d ea good service toc u s t o m e rs includes theConnect radio sys t e m .Connect enables betterradio communica t i o nu n d e rg round, helping toreduce serv i c edisruptions. Some linesa re already up andrunning on the sys t e m ,with the remainder dueby early 2008.

The level of change isexpected to peak in theperiod between 2009 and2 0 1 5 .

All this activity meansperiods of disruption fo rstaff and customers, soit’s important to checkthat the service you wantto use is running befo reyou attempt to tra vel –either online ath t t p : / / w w w . t f l . g ov . u k / t f l /l i ve t ra ve l n e ws / re a l t i m e / tu b e / t u b e - a l l - f u t u re . h t m lor through signs andleaflets available atstations.

pensioner news

CONTACT DETAILS FOR PENSIONER ENQUIRIES

2 otm p e n s i o n e rs’ edition O C TOBER 2007

■ The meeting was given an update on the Metronet situation fo l l ow i n gM e t ronet Rail BCV Limited and Metronet Rail SSL Limited going intoa d m i n i s t ration on 18 July 2007. The Mayor of London had stated that hewished to protect pensions and the main task would be to ensure thatindividuals retiring shortly and dependents becoming entitled to pensionsfor the first time did not suffer as a result. It was acknowledged that theposition was ex t remely complicated and that the Trustees, TfL, the PPPA d m i n i s t rator and their re s p e c t i ve lawye rs we re working together toa c h i eve both an interim solution and a full Scheme Rescue as quickly aspossible . The meeting was re a s s u red that the public sector section of theTfLPF would be unaffected because the Fund is set up on a sectionalisedbasis, meaning that each section operates in its own right, and also allpension payments we re secure as pensioners either remain as or becomem e m b e rs of the public sector section when they re t i re .

Fo o t n o t e : A full Scheme Rescue was successfully proposed and agre e dby the Pension Protection Fund on 5 September 2007. TfL are pro p o s i n gto bid to take over the BCV and SSL contracts as a means of exiting fro mthe current public-private part n e rship administration arrangements andRothschild bank has been appointed to undert a ke a valuation ofM e t ronet on behalf of the administra t o rs. The administrator will thenconsider whether it is appropriate to invite bids for the business fro mpotential purc h a s e rs .

■ The pensioners’ re p re s e n t a t i ves ex p ressed their continuing satisfa c t i o nwith the pensioners’ edition of o t m. They we re informed that the nameof the company producing the magazine had changed from Tr i d e n tC o m m u n i cations to Engage, but we re assured that eve rything elseremained the same.

■ The pensioners’ re p re s e n t a t i ves we re given an update on the Ill HealthPension issue and the threat of strike action by the RMT. Managementex p ressed a hope that the issue could be re s o l ved amica b l y, which hassubsequently proved to be the ca s e .

■ Management informed the pensioners’ re p re s e n t a t i ves that they hadonce again rev i e wed the timing of the annual pay slip and had decidedthat it should continue to be issued in April. However the Pension Fundoffice would assist in providing any information necessary in advance ofthis for the assessment of state benefits.

■ Management also updated the meeting on the final outcome of the2006 Actuarial Va l u a t i o n .

Here are the main points from the meeting held on 9 August 2007

TfL Pension Fund020 7918 3733Pensioner Liaison & Staff Travel0800 015 5073Other useful numbers:Hospital Saturday Fund020 7928 6662Hospital Savings Association01264 353211

Simply Health0800 072 6719Transport Benevolent Fund0870 0000 172/3Transport Friendly Society020 7240 8886Tax queries – HM Inspector of Taxes0845 300 3939 (quote ref 083/LT7 andyour National Insurance number)

The opinions and views ex p ressed in the adve rtisements in this magazine are in no waythose of London Underg round Ltd or Tra n s p o rt for London. The opinions ex p ressed inthis magazine do not necessarily re p resent the views of London Underg round or theeditorial team. All rights re s e rved. No part of this magazine may be copied or pro d u c e din any form, including photocopying, without the consent of the holder of the copyright.A d ve rtisements or other inserted material are accepted subject to the approval of thep u b l i s h e rs and their current terms and conditions.

The publishers will accept an adve rtisement or other inserted material only on thecondition that the adve rtiser warrants that the adve rtisement does not in any wayinfringe copyright or contra vene the provisions of the Trade Descriptions Act. All copy issubject to the approval of the publishers, who re s e rve the right to refuse, amend,w i t h d raw, or otherwise deal with adve rtisements submitted to them at their absoluted i s c retion and without explanation. All adve rtisements must comply with the BritishCode of Adve rtising Pra c t i c e .

We’re always keen to hear from you, so send us your news, story ideasand letters by writing to:otm pensioners’ editionEngage Group3 Selsdon Way, City Harbour,London E14 9GLEmail: [email protected]: 020 7918 3388 or 020 7536 8900

FORUM UPDATE

Why is this called a Dolly Stop?Chris Mallam, whoworks in the LondonBuses InfrastructureDevelopment Office,was lost for an answerwhen one of hiscolleagues asked himwhy temporary busstops were called‘dolly’ stops. So hecontacted former buscolleagues, includingseveral TfL pensioners,to see if they knew theorigins of the term.The most credibleresponse was onegiven by Mick Kerford,a pensioner now livingin South Africa.

Mick recalled that as a

child his mother used towash clothes using a‘dolly tub’, a corrugatediron barrel, and a ‘dollypeg’, a large three-footwooden peg with ahandle at the top and awooden cross at thebottom. Clothes wereimmersed in hot waterin the tub with soapshavings and his motherused the dolly peg in apestle and mortarmovement to pound the clothes.

Mick always assumedthe items were called‘dolly’ because the tubwas squat, much in theway that a doll is smaller

than life-size andexaggerated in girth.

It is believed that thesimilarity between thedolly peg and the baseof the portable bus stopwas the instigatingfactor in transferring theterm to temporary busstops, but it is not clearwhen or where the ‘dolly stop’ termoriginated, although theterm is known to havebeen around since pre-war days.

If any reader canprovide a more definitiveanswer to the origins ofthe term ‘dolly stop’then please let us know.

The Crime andDisorder Unit, Platformfor Art (PFA) andMetronet are workingwith two schools in theBorough of Barkingand Dagenham toaddress anti-socialbehaviour (ASB).

PFA approached twoartists – Anna Boggonand Carl Stevenson – towork on projects withpupils aged 14-18 atBarking Abbey andDagenham ParkCommunity School.Their artwork has beendisplayed at DagenhamHeathway & Upney

stations, and a galleryin Barking.

Carl Horsman,Crime and DisorderManager, said: “Themajor issues on thispart of the line areroute crime and anti-social behaviourwithin the station.We wanted todeliver a crimeprevention messageby a non-traditionalapproach. Thoseinvolved within theproject were notnecessarily thoseengaging in ASBbut we knew word

would soon spreadaround the schools. Thekids have put a lot ofeffort into their workand are proud of whatthey’ve achieved.”

The pupils were alsoinvited to visit the twostations to see how theyare run. They wereshown the quality of our

CCTV images and madeaware that additionalpolice officers aresituated in and aroundthe stations.

Carl added: “This wasto show that badbehaviour will be dealtwith by the variousenforcement agencies

and also to reassurethose who may befearful of using publictransport. The projecthas been a goodexercise and may getrolled out into otherareas where we havesimilar problems.”

O C TOBER 2007 p e n s i o n e rs’ edition o t m3

Creative crimefighting


people


Closures no obstacle to good service

The re-launch of the Pensioner Liaison Schemewas held on 20 July.

Thanks to Maria Antonio, Group HR Dire c t o r, NikiMalik, Pensioner Liaison and Staff Tra vel Manager,and Chris Godbold from the Tra n s p o rt Benevo l e n tFund who each addressed the meeting. JohnIngleton and Linda Arwood also explained their ro l e son the various committees they attend, and Johnwas also able to give valuable advice and tips ton e wer reps on some of the questions they raised.

Many more reps are still needed. You might beone of them! If you can give some of your time tom a ke a diffe rence to the lives of PLS members whol i ve close by, please get in touch with me.

O ver 100 members each week change addre s s ,some loca l l y, some to another country. Bybecoming a rep, you get the opportunity to meetand make friends with other members of the TfLfamily who live close to yo u .

It is only with the invo l vement and commitmentof our members that this scheme will continue tog row. Our members need YO U !

Yvonne Ke rc h o f fPensioner Liaison Manager4th Floor, Western House237-239 Oxfo rd Stre e tLondon W1D 2LS( U K only) Freephone 0800 015 5074

Our members need YOU!

With 40 of the most lightly used ticke toffices proposed for closure fro mM a rch 2008, otm caught up with oneof the stations that has been livingwithout a ticket office for some time.

Roding Va l l e y, at the north-east end ofthe Central line, closed its ticket office inN ovember 2006, along with otherstations in the are a .

Station Supervisor Carlos Gonzalezs a ys that, as he is no longer tied to thet i c ket office, he can deal with pro b l e m sa round the station much more pro m p t l yas they arise.

He says: “I’m on the gateline a lot nowand am able to give customers a lot ofhelp there. Being tied to the ticket officeis unnecessary in this day and age. We ’ ve

had no problems with the changes here ,but our customers we re educated over aperiod of time about it.”

G roup Station Manager Gary Tr i m m e rs a ys Roding Valley has become one ofhis top perfo r m e rs since the change asstaff have had more time to make goodannouncements and have fa c e - t o - fa c econtact with customers .

G a ry says: “The first six weeks we redifficult, but the duty managers and Iwe re all out there talking to customersand explaining what we we re doing. Noweve ryone’s used to it, it’s not a pro b l e m .With superv i s o rs out and about, re g u l a rc u s t o m e rs are starting to get to knowtheir names and vice ve rsa – the serv i c eis becoming a lot more pers o n a l . ”

Out of the office:Carlos Gonzalez ison hand to help outat Roding Valley

❂ Doreen Bolt (néeCarr) January 2007,aged 83. Fares andCharges Office (later renamedCommercial Office).

❂ Leonard Cain (Len)17 August 2006, aged84. Worked over 20years as a cablelinesman at Earls Court.

❂ John Hill (Ron)7 November 2006,aged 79. Poplar Garage,bus driver, served 35 years.

❂ Bryn Jones (Buck)Worked at RuislipGardens for 20 years.

❂ Jane Lyo n s 27 July2007, aged 61. Janejoined TfL in 1998, leftM a rch 2002. She was aR evenue Pro t e c t i o nOfficer mainly in thesouth west area, wo r k i n gout of Putney Gara g e .

❂ William W SmithApril 2007, aged 83.Fares and ChargesOffice (later renamedCommercial Office).

❂ Eddie Storman23 July 2007, aged 67.Eddie was a leadingrailman and laterstation assistant at thewest end of thePiccadilly line. He wasknown for his winningentries in the StationGardens Competition,especially the garden atNorthfields.

❂ Richard Sullivan(Dick) 3 August 2007,aged 81. Joined LT in1941 as apprenticearmature winder at

Acton Works. JoinedC.E. Engineers TrainingScheme in 1962. In1960 promoted to shiftsupply engineer atCromwell Curve andlater to the ControlCentre in LeicesterSquare until he retired in 1990. 49years service.

❂ Eric West 11 August 2007, aged80. Eric served LT for anumber of yearsworking as a seniormanager in Industrial

Relations, RailwayOperating and LTInternational.

❂ David LeslieWilliams (Les).17 July 2007, aged 88.Les worked inAldenham Works inHertfordshire, first as abodymaker and then asan inspector, beforeretiring in 1983. Heworked for TfL for 34 years.

FONDLY REMEMBERED


news

The new iBus system is being rolled out acrossall 8,000 buses and more than 90 garages overthe next two years. Using a combination ofsatellite tracking and GPRS data transfer it willkeep track of where buses are and provideaccurate information for passengers.

This new system provides on-board “next stop”visual displays and audio announcements. These areof particular help to passengers who are visually orhearing impaired, infrequent travellers or passengersfacing language barriers.

It will also help improve countdown predictions atbus stops and provide London Buses’ 24/7emergency command and control centre,CentreComm, with the ability to communicatedirectly with passengers.

iBus represents one of the largest ever changes to the way London Buses operates and the projectwill revolutionise how bus services are delivered and monitored.

i B u s : a new way to trave l

After a two year closure and a £21million refurbishment andre d evelopment project, London’s Tra n s p o rt Museum is preparing for itsg rand re-opening on 22nd Nove m b e r.

The museum closed back in September 2005 and has since seen its galleryd i s p l a ys tra n s formed and the museum’s Victorian Grade II listed buildingi m p roved. Set in the refurbished Victoria flower market in the heart of Cove n tG a rden, the museum will now have 25 per cent more display space and a thre e -fold increase in the number of objects on display, telling the story of thed evelopment of the city, its communities and the tra n s p o rt sys t e m .

For the first time, Harry Beck’s original 1930s art work for the wo r l d - fa m o u sU n d e rg round map will be on public display, while gems from the Museum’svaluable poster collection, including works by Man Ray, McKnight Ka u f fer andA b ram Gaves will be show cased in the new “CBS Outdoors” gallery.

Old fa vourites, including the only surviving steam train from the world’s firs tU n d e rg round ra i l w a y, and seve ral tube driving simulators, will return to the newmuseum. New galleries will also ex p l o re London’s social history, examining thed evelopment of London’s suburbs and how tra n s p o rt has shaped Londoners ’

working lives and leisureover the last 200 ye a rs .

People interested indoing volunteer work atthe museum, includingc o n s e rvation wo r k ,f u n d raising or becoming aguide, should considerjoining the LondonTra n s p o rt MuseumFriends. The charity ca nbe contacted on 0207565 7296 orf r i e n d s @ l t m u s e u m . c o . u k

■ Free entry to the museum in Covent Garden when itre-opens

■ Discounted entry to the Depot open weekends ■ Discount in the museum shop■ 20% off souvenirs■ 10% off Books, models and videos

Museum opening hoursSaturday – Thursday: 10am to 6pm. Friday: 11am-9pmFor more information, go to: www.ltmuseum.co.uk

Retired staff who hold the retired staff Oystercard or their nominees who hold a nomineeretired staff Oyster card receive:

Onboard displays willgive drivers easy accessto information

Museum re - o p e n s


One LU train operator now has the right to drive sheep over London Bridge – theore t i cally atleast! Raymond Syal, based at Rickmanswo rth, has been made a Freeman of the City ofLondon, a title which holds some bizarre ancient privileges.

Raymond was nominated for the honour by his colleagues at the Old ComradesAssociation of the Special Constabulary. Raymond was a Special Constable for 15years and has been with the Association – which arranges charitable and historicalevents in the City and supports retired Constables – since 2000.

The historic title of ‘Freeman’ dates back to mediaeval times when craftsmen inthe City organised themselves into guilds. Freemen, who can be women, heldvaluable trading privileges, including exemption from certain taxes such as bridgetolls – hence the sheep connection. Although Raymond will not have thesespecial rights, he still sees the title as “the cherry on the cake” of his time in the Association.

The ceremony took place on 24 July in the Chamberlains Court, Guildhall. Raywas re q u i red to read aloud the Declaration of a Freeman and ac e rt i f i cate was then presented along with a book entitled ‘Rulesfor the Conduct of Life’. Finally, the Clerk of the Court offe re dRaymond ‘the right hand of fe l l owship’ and greeted him as ‘aCitizen of London’.

Raymond has balanced his time as a special constable with a2 6 - year ca reer at LU, and says the experience has helped himto mix with a wide range of people and given him new skills. “Il ove the City of London and I am honoured and privileged to beg i ven this Freedom,” he commented on the day.

O p e rator honoured withf reedom to flock

C o n g ratulations to Bob Gillman,R e s e rve Service Operator on theDistrict line, who has had his firs tbook published in July.

The book, aimed at 4-10 ye a rolds, is called Tales of Upchurc hS t a t i o n – a fictional stationb e t ween Upminster andH o r n c h u rch.

It has more than 50 illustra t i o n sand five short stories about thera i l w a y, featuring chara c t e rs such asSam the Signalman, Derek the Drive rand Stanley the Stationmaster.

The book came about when Bobused to write children’s stories in hislunch break at work and read them tohis grandson. After writing the firs ts t o ry, seve ral others started to form inBob’s imagination, but apart fro mreading them to his grandson, theywe re filed away.

Then by chance, he met a we l lk n own railway artist, Alan Wa rd, while onholiday in Somerset and they decidedto put Bob’s stories and Alan’si l l u s t rations together to make a book.

Bob says: “I am thrilled about thebook. Seeing the development of ithas been wonderful – it started off as

just jotting down stories in my lunchtime and now it’s in print! It’s a funbook about fictional characters at therailway station that will appeal toyoung children. Some situations arebased on things that actuallyhappened but most of it is fictional.”

The book costs £5.99 in bookshops,or direct from publishers post free byreturn. Please send a cheque toRailway Cat Creations, PO Box 299,Rainham, Essex RM13 8XT.

Bob’s Tube tales for kids

H a ve your say

DEAR EDITO RBack in 1946 when I’d first joinedLondon Tra n s p o rt I’d fancied being abus drive r. For many ye a rs the nearest Igot was shunting trolleybuses aro u n dthe depot but by the early 1960s I hadpassed out from an LT driving course. Ithen operated the staff service, drivingm e m b e rs of staff home whose shiftsfinished in the early hours .

Then I became an adve rt fixe r. And somy nights became a long round of tea,beer and fags – ads that is! Ty-Phoo Te a ,Truman’s beer or Guinness (MyGoodness! – My Guinness!) are justsome of the regular ads. Over the ye a rsthough, tea seemed to give way tot ra vel – airlines and fo reign holidays.

My own fa vourite adve rts? The oneswith the fe west pieces, which meantfe wer trips up and down the ladder! Iremember when Pearl Assurance did abig campaign I pasted their bills onto 52buses, sometimes covering fo u rt e e nsides a night.

When I started the job I had to do mypasting out surrounded by stacks ofDunlop tyres. After Alperton's rebuild Igot a few square metres to call my ow n ,filled by hundre d weight bins of pastep ow d e r, a worktable and packets of bills.

The job invo l ved a lot of elbow gre a s e– scraping off old bills, pasting out andfixing new bills. It could also invo l ve alot of legwork on the ladder.Sometimes I had to be quite athletic.T h e re we re ra re occasions when I wasup a ladder and a driver slipped into thecab and started up. At which point I gotm yself down PDQ!

When the new bus-washing machines

l e t t e r sover to you

This is the page dedicated to you! Write a letter to: otm pensioners’ letters, Engage Group,3 Selsdon Way, City Harbour, London E14 9GL or simply email: o t m @ e n g a g e g r o u p . c o . u k– marking your email “otm pensioners’ edition”

DEAR EDITO RHaving read the article ‘Music to yourears’ in the July Pensioners’ edition, Iwould like to inform you that musicbeing played over the PA system wasfirst tried out in the early 1990s atTottenham Court Road (TCR). At thetime, I was a Station Master at TCR.From the onset, there were lots ofproblems. Not only with the music, butcustomer complaints.

T h e re was a cassette player installed inthe operations room. The musiccassettes we re of similar size to a VC Rcassette. We had a variety of music ofabout 10-12 cassettes.

The problem with the music beingp l a yed via the PA was that parity wasunable to be obtained throughout thestation. If it was loud in the booking hall,it would be quiet on the platforms andp a s s a g e w a ys. And as for customercomplaints, eve ry day people we reasking for it to be turned off, withcomments like “invasion of privacy”, “notwanted” etc. Then we re c e i ved a letterf rom a musicians’ union claiming themuzak was unlawful and thre a t e n i n glegal action. In the end, it was decided todiscontinue with it. I was ve rydisappointed with this decision as I hadtried hard for it to be a success.

I wonder how many re a d e rs alsoremember the video screens over theP i ccadilly line platforms at LeicesterS q u a re showing adve rtising and musicand the multi-screens on the tunnel wallat Heathrow terminal 4? It would bei n t e resting to know the response to themusic now being tried out. Hope theya re better than I got at TCR!

Kevin Fa r re l l

we re installed then vinyl coated billswe re needed. These had a peel-offbacking and needed a good eye and asteady hand.

O ccasionally I still got to do a little bitof bus driving, even if it was only to pickup a parcel of bills which had beend e l i ve red to Stonebridge. So I did get tobe a monarch of the road, sometimes.And I got to be lord of all I surve yed – inmy little wo r k room. And morei m p o rt a n t l y, I wo r ked among people Il i ked, doing work that I like d .

S i dA d ve rt Fixer at Alpert o n

If you are a retired employee and you wish to receive thestaff edition of otm every month, you can subscribe for £12and receive issues from November 2007 to October 2008. Please fill in your details and send with a cheque or postalorder (not cash or credit cards) for £12 payable to “London Underground” to: otm subscriptions, Employee Communications, 5th Floor, East Wing, 55 Broadway, London SW1H 0BD.

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