Greenwich to Greenwich Village via Blackwall Tunnel and City Airport

Scenes of joy in south east London today greeted the news that British Airways plans to start its exclusive service from London City Airport to New York JFK airport on 29th September, 2009.

A resident of the London Borough of Greenwich and regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us "This is fantastic news. It will be possible to go from Greenwich to City Airport via the stunning beauty of the Blackwall Tunnel, jump on a plane and just hours later take a short detour via another of the world's finest road tunnels, the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, to reach Greenwich Village. We are so lucky to have City Airport so close by to benefit from this service. I plan to start saving up for a ticket now".

London City Airport is located around 3 miles to the east of the northern entrance of the Blackwall Tunnel. The existing flight schedules to several UK and European cities will soon be complimented by the airport's first transatlantic destination.

Ranger Under Fire as Tunnel Users Faced Misery

A vehicle breakdown in the northbound Blackwall Tunnel during the rush hour during the morning of 11th June compounded the congestion problems already provoked by the 48 hour tube strike by members of the RMT union which Tory London Mayor, Mr Boris Johnson, took no action to resolve.

In an apparent pursuit of a party political agenda, Mr Kulveer Ranger, who holds the unelected position of Director of Transport Policy in the Mayor's administration, when interviewed on the BBC London breakfast show on Thursday morning^* said that he was proud of the "amazing spirit" of Londoners and their determination to "pulverize the strike". A regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us "That is a ridiculous claim by Mr Ranger. The only aim I had was to reach my place of work. I had no desire to pulverize anything or anybody. London commuters are the victims in this union-bating game being played by Mr Johnson".

Mr Ranger, former Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party, receives a salary of £102,750 for his work as the Mayor's unelected Director of Transport policy. Investigations for the TunnelBore blog failed to identify which part of the job description for Director of Transport was being fulfilled by Mr Ranger's intervention on a prime time radio show to attack the position of a union and its members.
Nobody at the Mayor's office has been contacted for comment.

^*Comments by Mr Ranger can be heard 2 hours 5 minutes 45 seconds into the BBC London Breakfast show from Thursday 11th June, which is available on line for a limited period.

Johnson Posturing Brings Capital to a Standstill

Furious London commuters are directing their anger at Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson today following his failure to intervene to prevent the 48 hour tube strike called by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union. Traffic gridlock was reported in several parts of the capital this morning, with millions of tube users forced to seek alternative routes to work. Queues on the southern approach of the Blackwall Tunnel were reported to reach as far south as the stretch between the Kidbrooke and Sun-in-the-Sands junctions this morning.

A regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel and occasional user of the London Underground told us "I think Mr Johnson is guilty of playing party politics in forcing stalemate between those responsible for the London Underground and the union. It is a similar action to that taken by Mrs Thatcher 25 years ago when she chose to face down the National Union of Mineworkers before crushing the nation's coal mining industry. Mr Johnson was elected as Mayor of London and should be acting in the interests of London's residents, workers and businesses. Instead, he is engaging in 1980's style political posturing pitching the Tory party against the unions to suit his own ambitions. His actions are forcing transport misery on millions. He should resign immediately before his actions damage the capital further."

Johnson's Failure Set to Hit Tunnel Users

Millions of London commuters will face 2 days of misery when a strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union from 1859 BST this evening will bring the London Underground network to a halt for 48 hours.

Struggling Tory London Mayor, Boris Johnson, had announced his intention in his election manifesto in 2008 (page 24) his intention to introduce no-strike deals and binding arbitration to resolve disputes between London Underground and the unions. Failure to deliver on this election promise is set to cause transport chaos in the capital. The Blackwall Tunnel is set to bear its share of more congestion than usual between the 9th and 11th June when masses of tube users will be forced to find alternative methods to reach their places of work. London's trains, buses, roads and pavements are also braced for additional load.

A regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us "I am sick of Mr Johnson's continued failures. The Prime Minister Gordon Brown may be struggling, but if there is one politician who needs to resign immediately it is Mr Boris Johnson. He continues to leave election promises unfulfilled and only seems able to bring chaos to the capital losing businesses millions of pounds and causing long term harm to our great city".

Johnson's River Crossing Plans Sunk

Speculation on this blog eleven months ago that struggling Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson was seeking biblical solutions to resolve rush hour congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel has surfaced again following the release by the BBC of video footage showing Mr Johnson attempting to walk on water.

A regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us "The cover story for this appears to be that Mr Johnson was launching a drive to urge London residents to volunteer. To me, it looks more like early shallow water trials for pedestrian crossings of the River Thames. The fact that the experiment ended disastrously with the Eton educated London Mayor up to his armpits in water means the plans have now probably been sunk for ever".

A resident of the leafy, opulent outer London Borough of Bexley and occasional user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us "It is so typical of the left-wing Trotsky bias of the BBC that they should seek to ridicule Mr Johnson in this way by continually hounding him at all his photo opportunities to announce serious policy initiatives. I am also shocked that the BBC also chose to cover his attempt to claim for £16.50 for a Remembrance Sunday wreath on expenses when he was an MP. I believe Mr Johnson when he says this was an genuine mistake on his part."

Questions Over Cycle Plans for Tunnel

In London's pouring rain on Tuesday 26th May, a drenched Boris Johnson, the Tory Mayor of London, launched a package of cycling events for the summer. Having already slashed several of the capital's major transport projects that would have brought benefits to London residents of all ages and physical capabilities, Mayor Boris Johnson is set to pour a massive £111 million of cash-strapped public funds into projects from which only those fit and able enough to use two wheels for transportation will see any rewards.

In a display of confused public relations from the mayor's office, Eton educated Mr Johnson was accompanied at the cycling launch by ex-Olympic rower, Kingston Grammar educated James Cracknell OBE and not a member of the multi-Olympic medal winning British cycling team. No representative of the British cycling Olympic heroes has been contacted for comment on this apparent snub.

A regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us "This looks to me like another example of Mayor Johnson's detachment from reality. It would not surprise me if I heard he was planning to encourage cyclists use the Blackwall Tunnel while the Greenwich foot tunnel is closed for refurbishment."

Birthday Parade for Tunnel

Thousands of drivers are expected to flock to the Blackwall Tunnel this evening to participate in the parade to celebrate the 102nd anniversary of the official opening of what is now the western (northbound) bore of the Blackwall Tunnel. The original tunnel was officially opened by the Prince of Wales on 22nd May, 1897. The more modern eastern bore was opened 70 years later.

A regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us "The Blackwall Tunnel attracts thousands of visitors every day, but the rush hour period on the tunnel's birthday is always a special occasion. As this is the beginning of a holiday weekend, I am expecting even more people than usual to pay homage to one of the most beautiful pieces of London's transport infrastructure which still manages to stun visitors with its astonishing mix of aesthetics and functionality".

Tunnel Unscathed in Expenses Row

Unsurprisingly, the toll-free Blackwall Tunnel has not been mentioned to date in the thousands of column inches dedicated to the scandal surrounding the expenses claimed by elected members of the UK parliament. Top claims by Tory MPs include Sir Anthony Steen's reimbursement for 500 trees and Sir Peter Viggers' £1,645 claim for a floating duck island.

Despite the factual nature of much of the exposure of excesses, Tory backbencher Nadine Dorries has described how the revelations had bought MPs to a point that was "almost unbearable for any human being to deal with".

Nobody currently experiencing situations of extreme poverty, pain, or famine, or unlucky enough to live in one of the world's war zones was contacted for their opinion on what a constitutes a situation "unbearable for any human being to deal with".

Eton educated Tory leader David Cameron is now coming under fire for his attempts to prevent Conservative MPs from expressing their personal thoughts after issuing several threats to withdraw the party whip or forcing MPs to announce their retirement. A regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us "The Tory MPs obviously felt their excessive claims were right and appropriate at the time, so Mr Cameron's position strikes me as an attempt to conceal the true character of his party. The MPs are already in a hole, and should be allowed to keep digging. It could be a very cost effective way to construct a new tunnel under the River Thames".

Tunnel Traffic Emerges from Crisis

A fatal accident in the proximity of the junction between the A102 southbound and Woolwich Road during the peak evening period on Friday, 15th May 2009 was the first in a chain of events causing traffic chaos for several hours on both sides of the river. Southbound traffic was the first to be impacted with police eventually closing the southbound bore shortly after 6.30pm. During the same period, an incident reported as a bus breakdown the northbound bore led to both the north and southbound bores being closed for a period.

A regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us " I was lucky enough to have avoided the incidents completely. I am confident that normal service, and the normal congestion will be resumed for the morning rush hour on Monday."

Mayor Johnson's Transport Failure Hits Millions

Users of public transport in London are reported to be furious at the inability of Tory London Mayor, Boris Johnson, Transport for London and train operators to deliver the usage of Oyster Card Pay as You Go on national rail services in the capital before 2010. This failure is set to hit millions of journeys by road and rail users, with significant impact in south east London which depends heavily on surface rail services.

A regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel told us "Mr Johnson seems far more interested in sound bites and cyclists than the problems faced by millions of Londoners who use the roads and public transport every day . Being able to use Oyster cards on rail services could encourage more people to choose to travel by train instead of by car, and could result in shorter queues at the Blackwall Tunnel at peak times. The delay until 2010 is catastrophic. Having already killed transport improvement projects such as the Croyden Tramlink extension, Thames Gateway Bridge and Greenwich Waterfront Transit, Mr Johnson's approach to transport is looking disastrous for the capital".

Pay As You Go by Oyster card was introduced on the capital's bus, tube, docklands light railway and tram network in 2004. The office of Mr Johnson has not been contacted for comment.