25.04.08
Imperial Wharf station saved
If Hammersmith & Fulham Council agrees the multi-million funding package that will mean that Imperial Wharf Overground Station, which has been talked about for nearly twenty years, will finally be built.
An H&F Council spokesman said: “It has been a long road to get here but after 15 years there is finally light at the end of the tunnel for Imperial Wharf Overground Station.
“Thanks to the collaboration of Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea councils we are nearly at the stage when construction can begin. We promised to work tirelessly to deliver this station and, if cabinet agrees this funding package, our construction partners can get on and start building this important station.”
The new station, on the west London line will, will be built by Imperial Wharf developers St George and the news will come as a boon to local people trapped in one of west London’s most notorious transport dead ends.
The area scores just two, out of six, in official ‘transport accessibility’ surveys and recent developments like Imperial Wharf, Chelsea Harbour and Lots Road Power Station are only adding to the number of people commuting to and from the area on a regular basis.
The council spokesman continues: “Without Imperial Wharf Overground Station the full development potential of the south of the borough is unlikely to be realised. More car traffic would be created adding to local congestion and pollution and those without cars would struggle to get around easily.”
If H&F Council’s cabinet agrees the funding package, at a meeting on April 28, the station will be built just north of the West London Line railway bridge over the River Thames. The station will allow residents much easier access to the Underground at West Brompton and the myriad of rail services at Clapham Junction.
The council spokesman concluded: “We aim to create a Borough of Opportunity in Hammersmith & Fulham and great transport links are vital in helping us to achieve this.
“If cabinet agrees the funding package, Imperial Wharf Overground will be back on track. The next step will be to continue our hardwork with St George, Transport for London (TfL), Network Rail, neighbouring boroughs and other partners to get this station up and running as soon as possible.”
Rail experts predict that the station should now be open in 2010
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