New Works Programme
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The "New Works Programme, 1935 - 1940" of London Transport was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board, commonly known as London Transport. The programme was to develop many aspects of the public transport services run by London Transport which had been created in 1933 to coordinate tube, tram, trolleybus and bus services in the capital and the surrounding areas. The investment was largely backed by government assistance as well as by the issuing of financial bonds.
The programme saw major reconstructions of many central area tube stations, such as Aldgate East, as well as extensions of several lines. These included the eastern and western extensions of the Central Line, the Highgate - Finchley extension of the Northern Line, as well as the creation of the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo Line. On the city's roads, the programme was to see the large scale abandonment of trams and their replacement by trolleybuses, creating the world's largest trolleybus system at that date. There was also much investment in infrastructure, such as electrical systems as well as rolling stock, including the 1938-tube stock trains.
Although the Programme delivered much, certain aspects were delayed. The tram replacement scheme was delayed by the advent of World War II in 1939, with the tram routes (mainly covering South London) not finally scrapped until 1952. And the tube works, such as the Central Line extensions, were also delayed by the outbreak of the war. These delays led to the post-war abandonment of one major part of the plans - the most northerly sections of the proposed Northern Line extensions in the north of the city. The introduction of the Town & Country Planning Act of 1947 prevented the mass building of houses over land intended to be covered by this final section and therefore rendered the extension unnecessary.
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