In response to the Deputy Mayor for Transport’s announcement at the Active Travel Summit, that construction of a major cycle route between Tottenham and Camden will begin during this Mayoral term, local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM, said:

“This is great news for Tottenham residents, providing a safer route for cyclists through major junctions on the way in and out of central London.

“This announcement from the Deputy Mayor marks a significant step in laying down the high-quality infrastructure needed to encourage more Londoners to get on their bikes, live healthier lifestyles and play their part in tackling congestion and cleaning up our air.”

In response to calls from the Deputy Mayor for Transport that the operator of Great Northern, Govia Thameslink Rail (GTR), should have its services devolved to TfL, local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM said:

“Govia have failed time and time again to deliver a consistent and reliable service to my constituents. The recent and ongoing fiasco with the new timetable has caused such huge and protracted disruption to the lives of so many Londoners.

“The residents of Enfield and Haringey deserve better. This is why I have consistently called for the devolution of Great Northern services and have recently written again to the Secretary of State for Transport urging him to make this decision. I have also lobbied the Mayor to keep up the pressure on the Government to hand the service to TfL Overground.

“The Deputy Mayor’s latest intervention shows that she has listened to the frustrations of beleaguered commuters, who have simply had enough. Hopefully, the Government will finally see sense on this and put the control of Great Northern services into capable hands”.

In response to today’s London Assembly Transport Committee meeting, where senior officials from Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail were questioned about the sustained disruption to train services caused by recent timetable changes, local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM, said:

“I have been very disappointed and frustrated with the huge level of disruption caused to commuters in Enfield and Haringey by the continuous delays and cancellations to Great Northern line services.

“Today, I raised the significant issues that Govia have had with the training and recruitment of drivers in anticipation of the recent timetable changes. I asked a senior Govia official about their plans to resolve this and ensure that staffing levels are adequate.

“Govia still have a lot to answer for on their shambolic handling of the changes and their failure to mitigate the resultant chaos.

“I have recently written to the Government to reiterate the case for the devolution of Great Northern services- the sooner the franchise is handed over to TfL, the better for local people”.

Local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM has renewed her call for control of the Great Northern Line to be devolved to Transport for London (TfL).

Ms McCartney has written to Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, following the recent chaos caused by the introduction of a new timetable by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs Great Northern and Thameslink services in Enfield and Haringey. This revised timetable was designed to improve services, however, hundreds of trains have been cancelled as a result of the changes, causing significant disruption for commuters.

Ms McCartney has consistently called for devolution of the line which runs out of Moorgate and through Enfield and Haringey. An independent report by Non-Executive Director of Network Rail, Chris Gibb, published in 2017, corroborates this, recommending that the line should be handed over to TfL so that it becomes part of the London Overground.

The Mayor has previously remarked that he had seen a new willingness from the Department for Transport to engage in conversations and he is hopeful of progress.

Local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM, said:

“I am very concerned and disappointed with the disruption caused to local people by the recent delays and cancellations to Great Northern Line services. I completely share the frustration following the new timetable changes, not least because they have affected my daily commute too.

“To hear that the chaos could last until September with a temporary timetable which is greatly reduced, and has many of the new services simply missing altogether, is not acceptable. This was meant to provide a huge boost to our rail capacity, but instead it has turned into a nightmare.

“I have written to the Secretary of State for Transport, GTR and TfL to ask for them to explain what has happened and to look at the case for devolution again. TfL have a proven track record of improving services, including the Lea Valley lines which also run though Enfield and Haringey and are now part of the London Overground. I would like to see this standard of service brought to more members of our local community.”