Residents call for TfL to manage foot tunnels

Escalate Now campaigners Karin Tearle, left, and Maureen O'Mara, right, said TfL would have "more clout" to fix the faulty lifts

A group of east London residents has called for Transport for London (TfL) to take over running two foot tunnels plagued by faulty lifts.

Greenwich Council currently operates and maintains the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels, which cross under the River Thames.

The south lift at Greenwich has been out of service since 24 September, and the north lift at Woolwich has been broken since August 2022. Greenwich Council said it hoped to have both lifts working "in the coming weeks".

Campaign group Escalate Now has launched a petition, claiming TfL would have "more clout" with contractors to fix the lifts. However, TfL said it had "no plans to take over management of the tunnels".

Escalate Now member Maureen O'Mara, who started the petition, said TfL would have "more authority and more experience to manage cross-river and cross-borough links, rather than one individual cash-strapped London borough".

However, Labour councillor Calum O'Byrne Mulligan, Greenwich's cabinet member for climate action, sustainability and transport, said: "TfL have been clear that they are not in a position to take the tunnels on.

"Our focus is on realistic action to deliver for users of the tunnels, rather than trying to score political points."

He added that the council hoped to launch live online status updates for both tunnels by the end of the year.

Greenwich Council pledged the lifts would be repaired "in the coming weeks"

Greenwich Council said it had received the parts to fix the Greenwich tunnel lift, but it was waiting for an installation date.

Meanwhile, it was planning a "major refurbishment" of the Woolwich tunnel lift, after it was vandalised and became irreparable.

O'Byrne Mulligan said this lift was a "historic asset that requires bespoke parts".

He added that repairs had been further complicated by the fact the foot tunnels are jointly owned by Greenwich, Tower Hamlets and Newham councils, which must agree and fund any works.

Escalate Now's petition, launched earlier this month, has reached almost 700 signatures.

The group previously successfully campaigned for TfL to replace the escalators at Cutty Sark Docklands Light Railway station, which will reopen next spring after a year-long closure.