1,100 Buses for 800 London Trams
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CONVERSION ' of the South London tramways to oil-engined bus operation will call for 1,100 buses In replace the 800 trams now in use. Assuming that prices remain at the _ present level, it will cost nearly £10,000,000. This information was given by Lord Latham, chairman of London Transport .Executive, . last Friday.
Before this scheme could he started, however, it would be necessary first to replace hundreds or over-age vehicles. As new vehicles were coming into commission at the rate of only 20 per week, there was little possibility that even the first stage of the conversion scheme would be started before the end of 1950.
The project will be carried Out in nine stages, and will take two to three years to complete. The districts involved will cover a' wide area
bounded by ! Battersea, Clapham, Wimbledon. Tooling, Croydon, Purley,
Forest Hill, Catford, • Down ham, Fltham, Shooter's Hill and Abbey Wood. .Services running -along the Embankment, and those to Victoria, Manor House, the Angel and Highgate, will also come into the scheme. In all, 37 tram routes will be involved.
In the meantime, the trams must remain as a heavy burden on the. taxpayer, as the, cost of their upkeep is
about £1,000,000 per annum. • Two new garages will be built—one at Stockwell and the ether at Rye Lane. Peckham—whilst the existing tram depots at Wandsworth, Clapham, Camberwell, Thornton Heath, Streatham, New Cross and Abbey Wood will be converted.
Lord Latham also announced that London Transport would soon be starting preliminary work on an extension of the Bakerloo Tube, from the Elephant and Castle to Camberwell Green. The cost will be approximately £3,500,000.