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Duke of York opens TfL control centre at Palestra in Blackfriars Road

London SE1 website team

Prince Andrew visited Palestra in Blackfriars Road on Monday morning to open Transport for London's new integrated control centre.

Palestra

The new Surface Transport and Traffic Operations Centre (STTOC) is now home to London Buses Command and Control Centre (CentreComm), London Streets Traffic Control Centre (LSTCC) and the Metropolitan Police Traffic Operation Control Centre (MetroComm).

TfL says that the co-location of these three control centres will enable them to work more closely together in their monitoring, controlling and policing of the capital's surface transport networks.

There are approximately 1,000 unplanned incidents each month which includes traffic accidents and emergency roadworks as well as around 750 major events a year such as Notting Hill Carnival and the London Marathon which all require special planning, diversions and road closures which need to be communicated to motorists and other road users.

"These control centres are vital to keep London moving," says David Brown, managing directo of surface transport at TfL.

"The work of the teams, which goes on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, goes unnoticed but without them the Capital's roads would grind to a halt.

"By bringing them together the teams can work more closely and enable us to react even more quickly to events, meaning shorter delays for all road users."

Transport for London shares Palestra, the distinctive office block opposite Southwark Station designed by Will Alsop, with the London Development Agency.

A new hydrogen fuel cell and combined heat and power plant recently appeared at the front of Palestra.

However the array of wind turbines on the building's roof remains incomplete more than two and a half years after they were temporarily removed for safety checks.

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