Olympic torch: Flame rides on London Underground Tube - BBC News Olympic torch: Flame rides on London Underground Tube - BBC News
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Olympic torch: Flame rides on London Underground Tube - BBC News

Olympic torch: Flame rides on London Underground Tube - BBC News

The Olympic flame has ridden on the London Underground as it travels from Kingston to Ealing.

Service Operator John Light, 64, took the flame along the District Line from Wimbledon to Wimbledon Park in a train adorned with the Olympic rings.

The flame will visit Kew Gardens, Brunel University, Richmond, Ealing's Northala Fields and Walpole Park.

Torchbearers include James Cracknell, skeleton racer Adam Pengilly, skier Chemmy Alcott and cyclist Eileen Gray.

Double Olympic gold medallist and adventurer Cracknell, 40, will start the day's relay when he carries the flame at Hook Community Centre in Kingston shortly after 08:20 BST.

A total of 144 torchbearers will carry the flame on day 67 of the relay as it travels 43 miles through the London boroughs of Kingston upon Thames, Richmond, Hounslow, Hillingdon and Ealing.

Cycling legend

Double Olympian Pengilly, who won silver at the 2009 world championships and was elected by his fellow Olympic athletes to the International Olympic Committee Athletes Commission, will carry the flame in Kingston.

Also running with the torch in Kingston will be 92-year-old Eileen Gray CBE, a former mayor of Kingston who pioneered women's cycling in Great Britain, being one of the first three women to cycle for Britain.

At Kew Gardens around 11:00 BST, Oli Golding will carry the flame from the Palm House to the Orangery and the Olympic Rings flower display.

The 18-year-old from East Twickenham was the youngest junior British number one tennis player, the 2011 US Open Boys' champion, and is a Youth Olympic Games gold medallist.

At around 14:45 BST, singer Katy B and Grammy and Brit-award winning producer Mark Ronson will carry the flame at Brunel University.

Shortly before 16:00 BST, Michael Vaughan - statistically England's most successful cricket captain of the modern era - will carry the flame to the front steps of Hillingdon Leisure Centre.

Thirty-year-old Alcott - a triple Olympian and seven-time competitor in World Championships, will carry the Olympic torch in Ealing, shortly after German tennis star Boris Becker takes the torch at Northala Fields.

Tuesday is the fourth day of the flame's week-long circuit of the capital, during which it will pass through each of the city's 33 local authority areas and finish at the opening ceremony on 27 July.

About two million people are expected to line the torch route in London, taking the total who have seen the flame's journey to 11 million.

A team of students from Brentside High School, Ealing will carry the flame through Ealing on its penultimate leg before it reaches the Walpole Park celebration stage in Ealing.

Then at around 18:50 BST, the day's last torchbearer, Thomas Thacker, 30, from Southall, will light a celebration cauldron on stage.

Loick Essien and street dance troupe Twist and Pulse are set to provide the entertainment at the cauldron-lighting ceremony.

A total of 8,000 people will carry the flame during its 8,000 mile, 70-day journey to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London on 27 July.

On Monday, the Olympic torch was carried by Billy Mitchell, played by Perry Fenwick, in a special episode of EastEnders.



London mayor Boris Johnson committed to Wrightbus bus order - BBC News

The mayor of London has said he hopes a Ballymena bus company can provide buses for the city over the next four years.

In a letter to DUP MP Ian Paisley, Boris Johnson said he remains committed to "the roll-out of 600 production vehicles between now and 2016".

Mr Johnson said the deal marked "good news for manufacturing jobs in NI and for travellers in London".

There are currently eight prototype buses being used across the streets of London, built by firm Wrightbus.

If the trials go well, staff at the County Antrim company hope a substantial order will be placed.

Discussions are ongoing between Wrightbus and Transport for London, the organisation which has responsibility for public transport in London.

Wrightbus was originally awarded the contract in January 2010 to design a new bus for London.

It was the first time in 50 years that a new bus has been designed for London commuters.

A team of engineers at the factory's plant at Galgorm outside Ballymena came up with a design for the double decker which has three entrances and a double staircase.

The design is similar to the classic Routemaster bus which was withdrawn in 2005.

Mr Johnson, who has long campaigned for a new bus for London, visited Wrightbus last November and described the design as a piece of "world class technology".

Mr Johnson, now in his second stint as mayor of London, made his comments in a letter to the North Antrim MP earlier this month.

He said: "I remain committed to the rollouts of 600 production vehicles between now and 2016."

Mr Paisley said he was pleased by Mr Johnson's endorsement.

He said he was "delighted the mayor of London had responded in a positive way".



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