London road tunnels upgrade awarded

26 September 2014


GREAT BRITAIN - Transport for London (TfL) has appointed Indra to modernise the technology for the control and operation of the 12 road tunnels in London, some of which are more than 100 years old, as well as 90km of approach roads, the public authority stated last week.

The new contract covers the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of a new integrated system to support the London Streets Tunnels Operations Control Centre (LSTOC).

Currently, LSTOC uses multiple control systems to operate and control safety and traffic control systems, communicate with road users, emergency and maintenance services people and to manage safety and minimise disruption.

The new system is expected to improve how real-time information is presented to and used by LSTOC and the London Streets Traffic Control Centre (LSTCC), who work with other incident responders such as the emergency services to deal with traffic incidents.

These improvements will also allow for real-time information about incidents in the tunnels to be obtained, allowing TfL to minimise the knock-on effects these can cause across London's streets.

Dana Skelley, director of roads at TfL, said: "This new system will help to improve the safety and efficiency of all the tunnels that we manage in London. This is part of our wider programme of investing in tunnel improvements and roads as a whole. We are committed to keeping London moving and this is just another step to making sure that people can get around quickly and safely."

London's roads account for 80 per cent of all journeys and 90 per cent of all goods moved in the capital. TfL stated that the upgrade is expected to allow for more efficient control of day-to-day running of London's road tunnels and enable emergency situations to be dealt with more promptly.