Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
(Picture: PA Wire)Sadiq Khan had to follow his own advice and avoid non-essential travel on Monday morning when he ditched plans to attend the opening of an extension to the London Overground.
The £327 million extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking line opened as planned, with the first trains running along the 2.8-mile track to new station Barking Riverside at about 6am.
But an official opening, featuring the Mayor and Transport for London commissioner Andy Byford, has been delayed, probably until later this week, due to the heatwave.
The extension is the first to the Overground in seven years.
We are delighted to announce that the new Barking Riverside Overground station has opened today.
— Barking Riverside London (@barkingriver) July 18, 2022
Full train timetables are available on the @TfL website. pic.twitter.com/NA6H9o3c4s
The new line - known as the GOBlin - will provide a seven-minute link to Barking town centre, where passengers can interchange with the Tube and C2C rail services.
There will be four trains an hour. Early visitors to the extension on Monday morning received souvenirs. One boy was allowed to sit in the driver’s cab.
If you get up really early in the morning to visit the new Barking Riverside station and wear your best TfL clothing, the train driver lets you have a moment to sit in the drivers cab.
— ianVisits (@ianvisits) July 18, 2022
(photo taken with permission from a very happy dad) pic.twitter.com/VT4KK4Avue
The Barking Riverside area, a 443-acre former industrial site, is being transformed into a new neighbourhood of more than 10,000 homes, alongside schools, businesses and leisure facilities. A riverside pier connecting it with central London has already opened.
It is the third recent addition to the capital’s infrastructure, after the £700 million upgrade of Bank station and the £20 billion Elizabeth line opening.
