Minutes of ETUG Meeting - 20th August 2026 at 19:00hrs
Held in the D Block, Ground Floor, Room 1 of the Enfield Civic Centre
Chair’s Welcome
Ray Knight welcomed everyone to the meeting
Apologies
Members Present: Ray Knight, Dave Cockle, Sean Cirillo, Faye Medcalf, John Prior, Peter Jeffrey and Cllr Peter Fallart
Apologies: Chris Cole
Matters arising from previous meeting held on the 20th May 2026
DC: Raised a bus shelter enquiry on Slades Hill Stop P; TfL decided to not replace the bus shelter due to low demand for the bus stop
Updates from Train Operating Companies
I. Greater Anglia
88.04% of services arrived on time, with 2.82% of services cancelled
II. London Overground (Weaver Line)
94.4% of services arrived on time, with 0.4% of services cancelled
III. Great Northern & Thameslink (Welwyn Garden City to Sevenoaks)
88.4% of services arrived on time, with 5.8% of services cancelled for Great Northern Services.
86.6% of services arrived on time, with 3.9% of services cancelled for Thameslink Services
IV. London Underground
Piccadilly Line Closures
The email from Transport for London regarding the Piccadilly Line upgrade and maintenance highlights the following service disruptions:
No service between Cockfosters and Uxbridge:
Tuesday, August 18 – Thursday, August 20.
Tuesday, August 25 – Thursday, August 27.
Eastbound service disruption at Caledonian Road: No stops between Friday, August 21 and Monday, August 24.
Weekend service adjustments:
Friday, August 21: No Night Tube service on the entire line.
Saturday, August 22 (until 14:00): No service between Hyde Park Corner and Acton Town.
These works are to allow testing and upgraded works on the Piccadilly Line taking place.
Oakwood Station Car Park
The rear car park at Oakwood Tube station will be closed starting Monday, September 28, 2026, with an expected reopening date by the end of 2030. The closure is necessary to support essential construction work at the Cockfosters depot, which is part of the ongoing Piccadilly line upgrade. The front car park at Oakwood will remain open, though with a limited number of spaces.
SC: Asked whether the 4tph Great Northern Metro enhancement will include late-evening service?
FM: Announced the DfT taking over Great Northern from May 31st
RK: Raised problems with Oakwood Station Front Car Park, struggling to read signage
RL: Also raised an issue with the Seven Sisters escalator out of order on the Northbound platform.
DC: Dave Cockle raised wrong announcements at Seven Sisters and Edmonton Green for National Rail
RK: Raised that there are no paper timetables across the Weaver Line and a lack of a proper shelter northbound at Silver Street
Updates on Bus Services
I. Meridian Water Bus Changes
TfL will proceed with the planned adjustments to routes 192, 341, 444, 476, and W8. These changes include service extensions, rerouting, and restructuring to accommodate future passenger demand. Implementation will occur in phases aligned with the ongoing delivery of local housing and infrastructure.
II. Bus 259, 279 and 349 bus changes
Transport for London (TfL) has published the consultation report regarding proposed changes to bus routes 259, 279, and 349. Following a review of the feedback received, TfL has decided to proceed with the following changes:1
Service Changes: Route 349 will be withdrawn, while routes 259 and 279 will be adjusted to better align with current travel demand.
Improvements: Based on feedback, TfL has improved interchange options at Holloway and increased the early morning frequency for route 259.
Goal: These adjustments aim to address rising operating costs while maintaining a reliable network and providing necessary connections, despite some changes to journey patterns.
Timeline: The changes are scheduled to be introduced on 5 September 2026.
III. Proposed changes to Routes 67 and 149
TfL are proposing to change the routing of bus route 149 and to withdraw route 67.
The northern terminus of route 149 would change from Edmonton Green to Wood Green. It would still terminate as it does now at London Bridge at its southern end.
If the changes were to be introduced, subject to the outcome of consultation, the frequency of route 149 would also change.
On bus route 149 (Wood Green - London Bridge), it would:
Decrease the weekday peak frequencies from a bus every seven minutes to a bus every eight minutes
This would represent a frequency increase on the section currently covered by route 67 (Wood Green to Stamford Hill) and a frequency decrease for the section between Stamford Hill and London Bridge
V. Flibco Service Changes
Flibco Coach services have amended their service; rather than running every 45 minutes, services will be reduced to once every hourly with the service also no longer running 24 hours a day. The last service from Stansted Airport will depart at 10:00 PM, and the last bus from Enfield will depart at 10:50 PM. The first buses, however, will depart from Enfield at 02:55 AM and from Stansted at 05:00 AM. These changes are due to operational reasons; without specific reasons for the reasons for reductions, we don't know if this will be temporary or permanent.
VI. Bus Strikes
Strikes by over 1,500 Arriva North London bus drivers have been suspended following negotiations between the company and Unite the union. The key details are:
Reason for suspension: Strike action, which was scheduled to continue through Friday, 21 August, has been halted to allow members to vote on a new deal concerning working conditions.123
The dispute: Drivers at eight garages—Barking, Edmonton, Enfield, Greys, Palmers Green, Stamford Hill, Tottenham, and Wood Green—had walked out on 14 and 18 August in protest over working conditions during hot weather, specifically demanding more effective air conditioning in buses, as well as addressing issues regarding alleged bullying.123
Next steps: Unite members are currently balloting on the new offer. If members reject the offer, the union has indicated that strike action will resume on Tuesday, 25 August
RK: Raised a lack of consistent information for maps and timetables displayed at bus stops
Transport Accessibility
FM: Has received contact to set up a community service. To aim at aiding vulnerable users.
FM: Raised that the proposals for the new service weren’t adequate or questioned why she was asked to add what could make the proposals better.
The committee advised Faye to suggest that the person who contacted Faye contact Enfield Council for contacts or consultations.
ETUG’s Website & Subscription
ETUG’s Website
Total of 1.64k views in the last 3 months
ETUG’s Subscription
3 new members have been gained since the last meeting, bringing the total number to 49 members from 46
8. A.O.B
DC: Went to Hertford to find that TfL are consulting with the community on developing new names if TfL were to take over the Great Northern Metro services; options are the Palace Line, the Country Line and the Mayfly Line; these are not official as of yet but could potentially end up with the lines.
DC: Added that there is an option for TfL to contract Great Northern to run the metro, which may be a cheaper option than TfL directly taking over the service entirely. In particular, taking over the Great Northern routes will have impacts at Hornsey Depot and driver rotations with regional services.
FM: Raised on the Southgate Masterplan works involving getting rid of the circus.
ETUG has pledged to try and invite Cllr Maria Alexandrou and MP Feryle Clark to the next meeting on the 24th November
DC: Announced new signage for the Superloop at New Southgate Station, improving wayfinding from Superloop to National Rail Services
Ray Knight ended the meeting by thanking everyone for attending
Next Meeting 24th November 2026
