Sadiq Khan has said when Londoners can expect to be riding new trams as Transport for London (TfL) works to procure a new fleet. The Mayor of London also apologised for an ‘awful service’ caused by damage to trams due to debris on the track.
On May 16, officials said that engineers were working to fix trams ‘as quickly as possible’ after issues arose on several services. Passengers were experiencing ‘minor delays’ on parts of the network, while a section had also been closed.
Locals were urged to check before they travel and special London bus services were set up. MyLondon understands that services had been affected by the issue since around May 4.
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Now, Mr Khan, who is Chair of TfL, has provided an update. The topic was raised at Mayor’s Question Time on Thursday (May 23) by Conservative London Assembly Member Neil Garratt.
He said: “I’m sure you’re aware, the rolling stock for the London Tram is basically end of life, and needs renewing during this [mayoral] term. So is that going to be a priority for you, funding, it’s about 50 million quid, we think, funding the replacement rolling stock for the Croydon tram?”
Locals have endured ‘awful service’
Mr Khan replied: “Yeah, can I apologise through you to your constituents who’ve suffered an awful service in the last weeks. You’ll be aware of the causes, with the debris in the wheels and so forth.”
He added: “You’re right as well to remind me that the rolling stock needs to be changed and TfL are committed to changing that rolling stock, committed to doing that in this mayoral term.” The mayor then explained that the stock is ‘made to order, not off the shelf’.
AM Garratt joked that manufacturers would need a ‘big shelf’. Mr Khan then used Nottingham’s tram system as an example, saying that TfL’s order will be going through ‘as soon as possible’, as Croydonians can expect new stock ‘sooner rather than later’.
Mr Khan added that ‘lessons will be learned’ from how the trams were damaged by the debris in the way that they were.
MyLondon was told on Monday, May 20, that trams started running to every destination once again.
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