Norman Baker MP and Caroline Pidgeon AM - on the tube at night


Lib Dems Caroline Pidgeon AM and Norman Baker MP spent over 4 hours looking at works on the London Underground at night in November.

The visit included looking at escalator replacements works at Swiss Cottage, going deep down an underground tunnel at Chalk Farm to see sleeper replacement works and finally to Waterloo to see extensive station refurbishment. Norman even had a go at removing a wooden sleeper with a pneumatic drill! Caroline and Norman chatted to staff to fully understand the scale of works that go on at night on the Underground and how this is done in the most efficient way.

"It was fascinating to see how many hundreds of people work on the Underground system at night - upgrading the track and escalators and rewiring and decorating stations. With only a relatively short time window to carry out the work and very cramped working conditions, it was very amazing to see what could be delivered and the hard working teams of staff" said Lib Dem London Transport Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon.

Norman Baker MP, Lib Dem Shadow Transport Secretary said:
“I have enormous admiration for the guys who literally get their hands dirty every night. Working in cramped Victorian tunnels is far from an ideal working environment, and nor is the fact that have only a small window between the last and first trains. Indeed, by the time they have heaved all the equipment down the line, they can realistically only replace 5 yards of track a night before they have to heave it all back again. But they just get on with it, keeping our underground network safe.”