Tfl on the opening of the Silvertown Tunnel
Future Cities Forum is delighted that David Rowe, Interim Director of Investment Delivery Planning, will be joining our 'Infrastructure, Energy and Construction 2025' forum at the London offices of DLA Piper.
He will be speaking alongside the Infrastructure & Projects Authority's Karl FitzGerald and NESO's Alice Etheridge, among other contributors, on the opening of the new Silver Town Tunnel, new station delivery for HS2 and the Capital as well as TfL's Healthy Streets campaign.
David is responsible for championing the delivery and realisation of benefits and outcomes for TfL’s Investment Programme – sponsoring a range of complex programmes and projects across the TfL network. This includes Crossrail, major LU station upgrades, new and improved Surface assets and renewals, along programmes delivered under the Healthy Streets, Assets, Air Quality, Technology, and Public Transport portfolios.
Previously he was professional sponsor lead for TfL Surface Major Projects (including DLR fleet renewal, London Overground extension to Barking Riverside, Silvertown Tunnel and HS2), together with asset renewals (including bridges and other structures, tunnels, roads, traffic signals, lighting and other assets).
Transport for London (TfL) and Riverlinx Limited, the consortium designing, building, operating and maintaining the new tunnel, have recently confirmed that the Silvertown Tunnel is planned to open on 7 April 2025. New bus routes serving the tunnel, which will be free for at least the first year, will also launch the same day. The introduction of these new buses, including the Superloop 4 (SL4) between Canary Wharf and Grove Park, will increase the hourly number of buses able to cross the river in the area from six to 21, meaning more Londoners will benefit from using the tunnel.
With construction work on the Silvertown project now coming towards a close, and operational readiness testing underway ahead of the tunnel opening, work is moving to installing the infrastructure which will support the new zero-emission bus routes that will serve the Silvertown Tunnel - including the new cycle-shuttle service under the Thames. For at least 12 months from 7 April 2025, the new cross-river bus routes serving Greenwich, Newham, and Tower Hamlets - including the new Superloop SL4 which runs from Grove Park to Canary Wharf, will be free.
TfL will also shortly begin to install the new shelters and cycle racks for the zero-emission cycle-shuttle service, which will have a bespoke design to support cyclists and distinguish them from the regular bus network. The service will operate every 12 minutes, seven days a week from 06:30 to 21:30. It will have two stops, one on each side of the river, with the 'north' stop located on Seagull Lane close to Royal Victoria DLR station, and the 'south' stop located on Millennium Way near the junction with Old School Close.
In further news, Transport for London (TfL) and the London Marathon Foundation have awarded more than £580,000 of funding to 55 new projects run by community groups as part of the Walking and Cycling Grants (WCGL) programme.
Each investment will make a difference to communities across the capital, funding local organisations to deliver projects that get more Londoners walking and cycling. More than £328,000 of the funding has been awarded to 134 existing projects, to continue their important work in the community.
WCGL aims to make walking and cycling more representative of London's diverse communities, with successful projects targeting a wide range of traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. These include those from minority ethnic backgrounds, those living with disabilities, people on low income, homeless people, refugees, asylum seekers and people from the LGBTQ+ community.
Below: Silvertown Tunnel construction in 2024 (courtesy Johnzammit.co.uk Absolute Photography Ltd)
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