TfL is trying to cover its tracks over lack of information

5:05pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

I WAS amazed to read the response of Transport for London (TfL) to our press release concerning the September engineering works closure of the Barking-Gospel Oak Line (Train line row brews', May 8).

They accused the Barking-Gospel Oak Line User Group of being "wilfully inaccurate" in complaining about lack of information.

If anyone is being wilfully inaccurate here, it is TfL itself.

We have not met with anyone from TfL for many months, and the last meeting with their train-operating contractors London Overground (LOROL) where the September closure was discussed was on February 26.

The last communication on the subject from TfL was an email of March 26, saying details were being finalised and would be explained at a stakeholder meeting in early May.

That meeting took place on May 8. We were not invited and TfL tried to refuse entry to one of our committee who was there in another capacity.

We felt that we could remain quiet no longer when details of the closure appeared in the summer and autumn national timetable on the Network Rail website.

This gives far more detail than TfL's own timetable booklets, which state vaguely that works will be taking place between September 1 and November 16, affecting the normal service.

That is an understatement - these are major total closures over a period of weeks, which will affect thousands of people.

Meanwhile, Sunday services between Gospel Oak and South Tottenham are suspended and replaced by buses for the next few weeks. Nobody told us about that either.

Graham Larkbey, Secretary, Barking-Gospel Oak Line User Group.

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