As hundreds of thousands of tennis fans head to Wimbledon over the next two weeks, London transport bosses are hoping to avoid a repeat of the disruption on the District line of last year’s Championships.
It was so bad that Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler branded the delays as an “international embarrassment” as thousands of fans were left unable to get to the tournament on time.
In response, transport chiefs have upgraded the District line with a series of measures to improve its reliability.
Fast-track teams will also be ready to be deployed to deal with signalling or other problems which could impact travel to the tennis tournament.
Temperatures are set to drop from the record high of 36C on Friday to 24C on Monday.
Transport for London and Network Rail have implemented a series of measures to boost the resilience of the District line including:
* Engineering works to improve signalling equipment
* Heat-protective coatings to safeguard sensitive signalling equipment from heat-related issues
* Upgraded communication systems to improve the quality of information received from infrastructure, enabling earlier fault detection and more targeted maintenance
* Upgraded track circuits, alongside ongoing drainage works, to further improve overall system reliability
TfL’s chief operating officer Claire Mann said: “We are determined to do all we can to support customers travelling to and from the Wimbledon Championships this year.
“We have worked with Network Rail to make an investment of £500,000 to strengthen signalling on the District line and will continue to work closely with Network Rail and all other partners to minimise disruption wherever possible.”
She added: “The measures put in place with Network Rail are designed to improve reliability and support a faster and more effective response should any issues arise.”
TfL Travel Ambassadors will be present during the Championships to provide additional support to fans.
They are encouraged to plan ahead using Transport for London’s official travel app, TfL Go, or the TfL website and Journey Planner when travelling to and from the tournament.
Last year, platforms on the District line were ten people deep as fans faced long waits after a track fault at Tower Hill caused havoc on several days.
Trains were brought to a complete standstill between Tower Hill and Whitechapel on one day, forcing fans to take lengthy diversions as they tried to reach the world-famous tennis tournament.
The disruption was made worse when severe delays hit the rest of the District line, including on trains to Southfields station and Wimbledon Park near the tournament.
