After World War II, which ended in 1945, Britain experienced a period of prosperity and optimism epitomised by the Festival of Britain in 1951, which was a celebration of the present and the future.

London transport planned a new Tube line in 1948 to run from Walthamstow to Brixton. The economic climate changed however, funding became harder to secure and it took until 1971 to complete the Victoria line.

Since then there has been a continued lack of investment in the Underground and only one other line has opened, the Jubilee Line. Despite this line also been first conceived of in the 1940s the first section from Charing Cross to Baker Street did not open until 1979 and it was not completed until the end of 1999.

The Jubilee Line connects the West End to the former dockyards of the East End, now the commercial quarter known as 'Docklands'. It is also the only line on the Underground that connects with every other. The stations on the final stretch of the line, through Southwark and Docklands, have won numerous design accolades and are the most architecturally important since the Holden designed stations of the 1930s.

Docklands is also home to another interesting transport development, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which opened in 1987. It has been a great success but was passed from London Transport to a private corporation in 1992.

The inter-war years of growth and investment in London Transport gave the system a solid infrastructure that has stood it in good stead. However in recent years poor service, increasing passenger numbers, aged stock and safety fears have pushed it to the top of the political agenda. This is combined with growing concern regarding congestion and pollution (London has the highest pollution of anywhere in the UK). In 2000 London Transport was replaced by Transport for London, part of the Greater London Authority, headed by the Mayor of London. Transport for London aims to combat the problems besetting London’s transport system. It is responsible for buses, taxis, cycling and pedestrian concerns, river services and in the future the operation of the Underground.

The Government is dividing London Underground into a publicly owned operating company and three privately owned companies who will be contracted to maintain and enhance the existing network. This scheme is known as PPP (Public Private Partnership). The idea is to ensure a flow of private investment into the system.

It will be many years before any improvements to the Underground system are visible in terms of better service. In the interim, the Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, has tried to ease London's transport problems by encouraging people to use the buses.

The buses have traditionally subsidised the Tube as they are much more profitable, but as car ownership increased in the post war period the roads became more congested and bus usage dropped. In an attempt to reverse this there has been more investment in the buses, more red routes (priority lanes for buses and taxis) and, most controversially, the congestion charge was introduced in February 2000. It remains to be seen how successful this will be although early indications show a marked improvement in traffic overall. Average traffic speed in central London in 1999 was nine miles per hour, the lowest recorded speed since the horse and cart era.

Road building dominated transport policy in the 1960s and 1970s as car ownership rose. The first stretch of the M1, Britain's first motorway, was opened in 1959 between St Albans and Birmingham. Today the M1 stretches from North London to Leeds and is used by over 88,000 vehicles a day.

In the 1970s new ring roads were built that cut across London and often had a huge and detrimental impact on the areas they cut through. The A501 through Islington and Hackney blighted homes in the area and the A12 East Cross Route to the Blackwall Tunnel, completed in 1979, cut through Hackney Wick dividing the east and west parts.

An interesting approach to solving London’s traffic problems, and a throw back to London's past, is the reintroduction of the tram. Croydon Tramlink, which opened in 2000, is a joint venture between Croydon Council and London Transport. It cost £200 million. This may seem a lot but is a tenth of the cost of an equivalent underground railway. Another solution to London’s transport problems currently being pursued is the Thames 2000 River Bus service.

Most importantly for Hackney though is the approval of the extension of the East London Line. As well as extending the line southward to link to and then run on existing rail track, four new stations and track will be built northward (see map on right). These are Bishopsgate (Shoreditch High Street), Hoxton (Cremer Street), Haggerston (Lee Street) and Dalston (Dalston Lane). At Dalston the line will continue, meeting the North London railway track and rather than have to change trains, passengers will continue on this to Highbury and Islington, and Finsbury Park.

The line has the advantage of using existing track and also of bringing existing but unused track in the City area back into service. It also skirts central London so avoiding the busy central stations. £600 million is needed to build it and maintain it for the first 30 years.

Click here to view a map of the complete proposed development on the Tube.com website.