Andrew Dismore

TfL’s planned grinding programme on the Victoria line

We have agreed to carry out rail grinding on a more regular basis between Highbury & Islington to King’s Cross St. Pancras, and between Victoria to Pimlico, with the intention to undertake this up to twice per year. Other areas of the Victoria line will be ground based on the measured rail roughness for each location, and the available capacity within the constraints of our network-wide rail grinding programme. Further grinding is scheduled to take place on the Victoria line in October and November 2020. We are not planning to carry out rail grinding between Oxford Circus and Warren Street during this period due to the relatively low levels of rail roughness, but we will continue to keep this area under review for future interventions.

Finchley Central

We are continuing to investigate fitting electrical lubricators to the track in this area, and I will provide you with a further update regarding this work as soon as further information is available.

Mornington Crescent

Due to the limited ventilation in this area, it is currently difficult to schedule rail grinding on this section of track. We are currently investigating options in terms of noise and vibration mitigation, and I will provide you with a further update regarding this work as soon as further information is available.

Kentish Town to Mornington Crescent (in-carriage noise)

The rail grinding machine is next due on the Northern line between February and March 2021, and this programme is currently being finalised. We will assess the level of rail roughness between Kentish Town and Camden Town, to help determine if rail grinding in this area would help to reduce in-carriage noise levels.

Due to the limited ventilation between Camden Town and Mornington Crescent, it is currently difficult to schedule rail grinding on this section of track. We are currently looking at options to mitigate in-carriage noise in this area, and I will provide you with a further update regarding this work as soon as further information is available.

Mill Hill East

Our Contact Centre has not received any complaints in this area since January 2019 – if you could please share any correspondence you’ve received from local residents, please do let me know and I will ensure this is looked into as a priority.

I would like to reassure you that we take the issue of Tube noise seriously, and are committed to doing everything we can to address concerns within our engineering and significant financial constraints.

If your constituents do get in touch about a noise issue, we would be appreciative if you could direct them to our Customer Contact Centre. Using this channel ensures your constituents will receive a response to their complaint, and allows us to identify any noise ‘hotspots’, which are then regularly reviewed. Residents can get in touch with the Contact Centre on 0343 222 1234 or at https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/contact-us-about-tube-and-rail.