Caroline's news

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee, has proposed a five-point plan to get the Northern line upgrade completed with the minimum possible disruption to residents and businesses who rely on the line.

In a letter to Ed Fordham, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn, Caroline makes these proposals:

1. All current upgrade plans be immediately suspended for 3-4 months, allowing a full consultation to be conducted, enabling local residents and businesses to have their views heard.
2. Replace months of early evening and weekend closures with short, sharp bursts of work on sections of the Northern line (blockades lasting several weeks).
3. Keep the Northern line open when the London Overground rail network or the Jubilee Line are closed for upgrade work.

Caroline joined fellow Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates at a visit to Edgware on Thursday 1st April to see the upgrade works for the Northern line trains. Run by private partner Tubelines, the delegation talked to Tubelines staff about the problems with the proposed closures to the Northern line whilst it is upgraded and discussed other options such as closing smaller bits of the line for a week or two at a time to get the works done quickly and without damaging business for many traders as well as local residents.

“It was very interesting to see the upgrade works to the trains, in particular the huge amount of cabling that is hidden behind the walls of the trains! I hope that Tubelines and Transport for London will get together and find a way forward so that we can get the upgrades done as quickly and painlessly as possible for the sake of Londoners” added Caroline.

Caroline joined Southwark Liberal Democrats, Simon Hughes MP and special guest Theo Paphitis, from Dragon’s Den fame and former Chair of Millwall Football Club, to launch the Southwark Liberal Democrat campaign for the Council, and Simon Hughes's re-election campaign for Bermondsey and Old Southwark.

“It was wonderful to see so many local members and residents who came to support Simon and the team, as well as to meet Theo” said Caroline.

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem London Assemly Member, joined local Liberal Democrats for a large 'demo' outside Turnham Green Tube Station, continuing the Lib Dems' their campaign to get Piccadilly Line tubes to stop there all day.

Councillor Gary Malcolm handed a document to Caroline Pidgeon, which she will pass to the Mayor of London asking for a meeting to discuss the possibilities of a 6 month trial to extend the short early morning and late evening stops at the station (which are often unannounced so customers either get to the wrong destination or miss out).

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem London Assembly Member and Chair of the Transport Committee, met with campaigners to find out what the impact would be of Boris Johnson's plans to reduce the opening times at four of Epping Forest's Underground Stations.

During the meeting, arranged by the Liberal Democrat parliamentary campaigner Councillor Ann Haigh, Caroline spoke with many residents outside two of the affected stations, Buckhurst Hill and Epping.

Along with other local Liberal Democrats including Councillors Peter Spencer and Janet Whitehouse, Ann Haigh and Caroline Pidgeon handed out hundreds of petition slips to commuters.