In Pictures: East London Line Opening

By · April 27, 2010 at 11:00 am · No comments · Latest News · Report an error ·

With able assistance from a jazz band and a troupe of Bollywood dancers, Boris Johnson arrived at Dalston Junction station this morning to officially open the East London line.

Arriving on a train into the station, Boris mugged and gurned for the cameras in his typical fashion, then made a short speech in which he proclaimed the line, which links Croydon in the south with Dalston and (from 2011) Highbury & Islington, as a “great leap forward for London”. Boris was justly proud of the line opening “on time and on budget”, though he protested just a little too much about the apolitical nature of this event; a reference to the insinuation that he had aimed to use the launch as a prop during the run up to next week’s election.

The only people scoring political points were a cabal of Ken Livingstone acolytes grouped outside on Dalston Lane, clutching banners that hailed the East London line as a project completed through Labour investment. It’s a fair point, and Boris’ performance for the cameras conceals the fact that London Overground is a project that Ken pushed through; but it doesn’t help the former Mayor’s cause to have his minions carping and moaning from the sidelines.

The first official train on the line runs today at 12:06 from Dalston Junction to New Cross Gate. From then on it will be open from 7am – 8pm, Monday to Friday, until May 23rd (or possibly before), at which point it will run in the early mornings, evenings, and weekends. The extension down to Croydon will also open on that date.

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  • http://undefined DeanN

    Dave Hill has a good report on the Q&A with the Mayor that accompanied the launch.

    Also, TfL have now updated the Tube map (PDF) to include the newly-opened line.

  • http://undefined Chris

    Those Labour protesters really need to get a life

  • http://undefined lockedintheattic

    Um, not really Chris – Boris has made a fuss of opening this in the middle of an election campaign, which is a bit dodgy, so I think the protesters have a fair point, really.

  • http://undefined BorisWatch

    “it doesn’t help the former Mayor’s cause to have his minions carping and moaning from the sidelines.”

    Why not? No one else is going to point it out, after all. The question no one will ask Boris is ‘where next’ – after all, his transport priorities emphatically do not include ‘spending a billion quid on a new railway’. It’s a cake/eat it scenario – Boris shouldn’t be able to ponce about in front of brand new multi-million pound engineering while complaining about the Labour ‘profligacy’ that paid for it.

  • http://undefined nm4471a

    i got the train from shadwell to dalston last night (it never occured to me they were using the same stations as before until i got there) – and man it is ACE. massive long cars and air conditioning, which means the stinkos are going to have to really put the work in to fog them up with stench, and hats off to the old boy on my one for having a right good go. shine on you crazy diamond!

  • http://undefined Adrian

    I hear that an Australian gentleman named Paul Coffa played a big part in the construction of the new East London line. No wonder Boris loves it!

  • http://undefined Kutch

    Legendary weightlifting guru Paul Coffa has spent the last few years working on the railways in the UK? I thought he was helping Pacific Islanders cook massive amounts of pig in umu’s, imu’s, hangi’s or hima’a’s in an effort to slim down for competition

  • http://undefined Slugabed

    Where’s the picture of my bike with that dog?

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