§ 14. Mr. DykesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will hold discussions with London Underground Limited on options for a special extra line service from Embankment to Charing Cross stations following any eastward extensions of the Jubilee line route.
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§ Mr. PortilloThe existing Northern line and Bakerloo line services from Embankment to Charing Cross stations will be unaffected by the proposed extension of the Jubilee line, and it is proposed that Jubilee line passengers will benefit from new interchanges at Westminster, Waterloo, London Bridge and points east of there.
§ 18. Dr. Goodson-WickesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to implement the major upgrading programme of London's Underground, proposed in the central London rail study.
§ Mr. PortilloAction to implement the £1.5 billion modernisation programme is in hand on both the Underground and Network SouthEast. Examples on the Underground include the modernisation of the Central line at a cost of about £720 million; the development of similar plans for the Northern line; improvements to increase the capacity of other lines; and works to increase the capacity of some of the most heavily congested stations.
§ 28. Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to how many London Underground stations have been closed for all or part of the day to staff shortages so far this year.
§ Mr. PortilloLondon Underground will close a station when insufficient numbers of staff are present to permit safe operation.
There were 153 station closures during the first four weeks of this year. Sixty-eight of these occurred during the first week, when additional staff had to be recruited to carry out the hourly fire inspections required by the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority.