The Swiss Newspaper 'Le Temps' runs a story on the founder of The Old London Underground Company

"Ajit Chambers, the Genevan who is reviving the ghost stations of London"

Ajit Chambers left working for a financial organisation in Geneva to dive into the rehabilitation of London's disused Underground stations. He founded for this purpose the Old London Underground Company and has spent two and a half years shooting down 'one by one' the obstacles to make available 26 new abandoned underground sites to benefit London's tourism economy.

Last week 'Le Temps' followed him in the depths of the Brompton Road station, where no train has passed since the 30's.

Between his trips to Geneva he has spent serious time preparing his financial model ready for the worlds investors to see on the 2nd of September. Ajit has also received a pledge from the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, that the project will go ahead ''as long as it doesnt cost a penny of public money''. The Mayor has regularly renewed his support for the project, notably last spring on BBC Parliament TV in his own office he called Ajit ''A brilliant Gentleman''. In parallel, Ajit Chambers began negotiations with L.U. (London Underground), the local government entity responsible for the transport system in Greater London to obtain leases of these "ghost stations" to create a group of tourist attractions that will benefit London's economy and pay directly back into London Undergrounds budgets.

...then there is no doubt that in a few years, these abandoned spaces will be included in the circuit of every tourist that visits London.

http://www.letemps.ch/Page/Uuid/85ad4a9e-caa5-11e0-b417-0e5b26dd3a7b

The Economist reports on The Old London Underground Company

"The scrum of rush-hour on the Tube is often inhumane. But London's empty stations can be as intimidating as its overcrowded ones. The vacant rooms at Brompton Road are hung with stalactites and light-blubs that have been switched off for half a century. The air is musty and mote-filled, rippling only when trains pass through the defunct platforms..."

Read the full article at

http://www.economist.com/node/18897709

TOLUC uses 5D BIM for presentation to the Mayor of London

What is 5D BIM?

Well, the simple explanation for 5D BIM (Building Information Modeling) is – a three dimensional software-based representation of the construction project, incorporating the fourth and fifth dimensions of Cost Planning and Schedule Planning with all their intricacies such as quantities and resource linked to the graphical model in their relevant planning/project management charts - with the ability to introduce change and see its effect on multiple work streams.

For those of you interested in the detail, this more complex explanation by Clive Jordan may take a few minutes to watch but we guarantee it is worthwhile: http://bit.ly/5D-BIM-for-Dummies

The Old London Underground Company (TOLUC)’s founder, Ajit Chambers foresees the development of ‘cost effective 5D BIM’ and agrees with Paul Morrell, the government chief construction advisor when he mentions BIM becoming mandatory on all future government projects within 5 years.

"One of the challenges in sourcing investment for large scale engineering and building works is to be able to demonstrate to stakeholders the engineering requirements, work schedules and costs over a time scale and then present these in an accessible and visible way. TOLUC was no exception in needing to source this sort of expertise ready for its presentation to Mayor Boris Johnson, also Chairman of TfL, and has chosen Rapid 5D for this task."

- Ajit Chambers

"Our first step was to model the project site, in this case one of the currently disused stations. Using 2D plans to recreate the station in a 3D and BIM environment, we then used software that enables us to map the cost plan and other variables such as resource and quantities. This provides 5D visibility on the project, supporting the risk management process, making it possible to track cost allocation and time scales, ensuring a fully integrated and totally visible construction management package for TOLUC."

- Stephen Brunning, MD Rapid 5D www.rapid5d.com

The Mayor of London agrees to meet The Old London Underground Company CEO

During the Talk London public meeting, as always well hosted by Nick Ferrari from LBC (on the 2nd of June 2011) Ajit asks The Mayor of London if he would consider holding our previously arranged meeting at the offices of The Old London Underground Company instead of in the Mayors office.

During this meeting the Mayor (also the Chairman of TFL) will be shown the inner workings done over the past two years that have led to this Legacy Project including our current use of 5D BIM which will be mandatory on virtually all government construction projects within 5 years.

We will also make visible our financial model that funds a consortium of companies to create sites beneficial to London 'at cost' in the early stages of the project, before their profit margins appear during the recovery where inclusion of foreign investment will bring significant revenue into the capital.

The Times of India reports on The Old London Underground Company

News of The Old London Underground Company reaches Delhi, home to the newest underground train service in the world, and the Times of India runs a short piece interviewing Ajit Chambers on May 22nd 2011.

Bridging & Commercial feature The Old London Underground Company

Multimillion pound 'underground' development opportunity emerges

Sitting dormant and disused beneath the streets of London lies the City's largest asset, according to Ajit Chambers.

The entrepreneur and former banker believes that thousands of square metres of abandoned underground locations could provide London with the plots which it so badly needs.

Ajit Chambers is now in talks with Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and various other government officials as he moves one step further to bringing his exciting plans to fruition.

Katie-Jill Rowland speaks to Ajit Chambers, businessman and founder of The Old London Underground Company.

http://www.bridgingandcommercial.co.uk/featuredetail?id=1569&title=multimillion_pound_underground_development_opportunity_emerges