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The Mayor’s Office

The Queen’s Walk

More London,

London SE1 2AA

29^th September 2011

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your letter of the 21^st September to my colleague Austen Hawkins regarding the removal of the weekday District Line service to the Kensington (Olympia) Underground Station. 

Today I have found out that you have decided to end the weekday services. This closure will seriously undermine Olympia, but I am disappointed to note that you have either ignored or simply failed to grasp this.  The implications for the events industry are huge – this is a multi-billion pound industry that creates jobs and wealth for London.

Earl’s Court will likely close in the next few years, and in this context, the decision you have made to end the regular Kensington (Olympia) Underground Service will seriously undermine the historic exhibitions and events industry in West London.  Hundreds of local businesses and thousands of jobs could disappear from this area of London because of this.  Sadly it seems you haven’t listened to the industry at all.

I cannot help but notice what I fear is a bias in favour of East London.  With money  pouring into the development of the Olympic Park in Stratford and a sustainability pledge that must be fulfilled, it seems to me that West London jobs and prosperity are to be sacrificed to ensure  that the Olympic site can be used as an exhibitions and events venue to complete your 2012 legacy.  Your legacy for West London will be one of decline.

Olympia is a hugely successful venue that brings in around half a billion pounds in revenue to the area and 1.1 million visitors each year.  The local community is clear that the investment and visitors brought in by Olympia are crucial for the survival of jobs and businesses in the area.  The Earls Court Centre will likely soon become a site for thousands of luxury apartments, rather than the engine for jobs it currently is. Do you want the same thing to happen to Olympia?

You state that the service will still be active at the weekends and special services will be organised for events that attract "sufficient demand" during weekdays. Please can you outline what "sufficient demand" actually constitutes? 

There are a plethora of events taking place at Olympia during weekdays.  I include a sample from over the next month:

• Law Autumn 2011 – 27^th – 29^th September
• Healthcare Efficiency – 4^th October
• HR Performance 2011 – 4^th – 5^th October
• BT British Olympic Ball – 7^th October
• The Restaurant Show 2011 – 10 – 12^th October
• Ski and Snowboard Show 19 – 23^rd October

The fact that these events are taking place in just one month on week days highlights the need to service the venue with direct public transport throughout the whole week and not just weekends.  Again on the special services issue, how is this to be implemented if all trains have been rescheduled into the timetables of the Wimbledon or Ealing branches? 

We have been inundated with support from organisations and individuals highlighting their concerns about this decision.  One such individual is a TfL driver who raises a troubling issue:  

‘Between Putney Bridge and Wimbledon the line is signalled to Network rail standards and controlled from Network rail Wimbledon IECC. This means that the signalling is not capable of handling as many trains as LUL type signalling and basically the line is at capacity already... these extra two or three trains to/from Wimbledon would be unable to be placed at the busiest time in the peak due to capacity.’

If the Wimbledon line is running at full capacity during peak time, how can you add extra trains?  

You state that the changes would improve reliability across the District line. Please can you explain how this improves reliability for Olympia residents, thousands of whom use this service to get to work and  school.  Disabled residents will also suffer, as this is one of the only disabled stations in this area of West London. 

You are sacrificing the residents of inner-city Olympia, cancelling their service altogether, so that the residents of leafy Wimbledon and Ealing can enjoy yet more trains. 

I would urge you to reconsider your decision and so would like to request a meeting with you to highlight the importance of this decision to the Events industry, and to all of Olympia’s businesses and residents.

Yours faithfully,

Karim Halwagi

CEO of the Association of Event Organisers  

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