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REPORT ON PUBLIC MEETING
THE EAST LONDON
RAILWAY
NABORHOOD CENTRE SYDENHAM ROAD
WEDNESDAY 14TH MARCH 7.30PM
Organised by the Sydenham Society &
supported by the London Borough of Lewisham
Peter Field, Director,
London Rail Development, gave an overview of the new situation. Mike abrahams
of the Forest Hill Society also gave a presentation on the impact of the
proposed reduction in the London Bridge NationalRail service. Here is the
report and a summary of the Q&A session with thanks to Annabel & Barry
of the Sydenham Society.
The London Overground is the first national railway
in London to be operated by TfL. From Nov 07 the former Silverlink/North
London Line will be handed over to TfL. It will be operated under the name of
the London Overground and services will appear on the London Underground map -
both north and south. The new East London Line Railway will link the North
London Line to West Croydon, Crystal Palace and Dalston - creating the first
part of an orbital service around London.
TfL's values will be reflected in that services
must get better; improved safety and security (staffed stations, unlike
national rail stations). The Mayor has said that all national rail stations
operated by him will be staffed. There will be frequent services - with a
minimum of 4 trains an hour and hopefully more; use of Oyster cards from day 1;
improved quality of service in terms of access for mobility-impaired people; a
programme of upgrading - 5 new stations will all have better access for
mobility-impaired people from day 1.
These lines pass through areas of significant social
deprivation - which is a major problem in London. Rail routes cover 20
London boroughs with some of the most deprived wards in the country. 26% of all
people within 15 minutes walk of a station live in the top 10% of the most
deprived areas. By 2016 new services will mean that many more people are within
a 60-minute commute of half a million jobs.
£1.4bn is earmarked for London Overground
services. TfL is inheriting approximately 60 stations from Network Rail,
some of which are extremely rundown (Sydenham is not one of the worst - some
north of the river are far worse!)
We want to bring the stations up to London
Underground standard from day 1 - this will initially involve cleaning up
and refurbishment. Our intention is to bring them up to the standard they were
at when they were built, then modernise them one at a time.
From January 09, you will be able to use Oyster
cards - possibly sooner. We are working with the local authorities to
ensure that your journey is also better as you approach the station - with
enhancements such as dropped kerbs and improved pedestrianised traffic
crossings etc.
TfL is buying 44 new trains, 20 of which are
dedicated to ELLR; there is also the option to buy more. The new trains
will be built in Derby and maintained at the new depot at New Cross Gate, where
200 new jobs will be created. The new trains will have greatly improved
sightlines within them - like a "bendy bus", passengers will be able to see all
the way along them. They will be air conditioned, have lateral seating (like a
tube train), and lots of accessibility with wide doors and big congregating
areas. All will have on-board CCTV and facilities for disabled users. All will
be driver-operated.
TfL have already started the construction work to
link the North London Railway and the East London Line, including
rebuilding a section north of Shoreditch that was closed in the Beeching cuts
in the 60s. The line at New Cross Gate will have to close for a period and we
apologise for that - there will be alternative bus services, but accessing
London Bridge via the Jubilee Line might be a better alternative. The link to
Highbury & Islington is expected to open in 2011 - the money is in place
but it is an engineering challenge.
Service changes: there will be 8 ELL trains an hour,
7 days a week. We will operate the first and last trains to the same
timetable as London Underground. The new service will call at all stations - it
is a 'turn up and go' service. There will be faster journey times to Canary
Wharf - we believe that by 2016 50% of all passengers will be heading towards
Canary Wharf and the new City. In this period there will be a 79% growth in the
Sydenham corridor towards Docklands. Over the next 30 years there will be a 30%
increase in demand for services to Central London - but you will benefit from
the new links at Canada Water and Shoreditch (from where it is a short walk
into the east side of the City).
Other links - TfL understands that Network Rail
are undertaking consultation about the structure of their services. They are
going to increase the number of coaches from 6 to 8 (Government have just
announced purchase of new coaches); ultimately the intention is to increase
train lengths from 8 to 10 coaches.
Network Rail do intend to reduce the number of
services going in to central London from 8 to 6, but the services will be
starting closer to Croydon and will not be so full. The 2 trains that will now
not call at Sydenham and Forest Hill will take demand from West Croydon.
Colleagues at Network Rail tell us there will be sufficient capacity.
Question & Answer Session
Q. Why are trains on the
new East London Line only four carriages long?
A. Because many of the stations on the existing central
section - such as those at Shadwell, Rotherhithe, Wapping and Canada Water -
only have platforms long enough to accommodate four-carriage trains. The cost
of lengthening these platforms is prohibitive and health and safety regulations
will not allow longer trains to stop at these stations.
Q. When will Oyster
cards be available to use from local stations?
A. TfL and Southern have now agreed a deal to introduce
these by January 2009.
Q. When will we see
improvement to our local stations?
A. An announcement that TfL is taking over the running
of our stations is expected shortly. TfL will invest approx £300,000 on
improving each local station. Forest Hill station has also been awarded a
£300,000 grant from DfT's Access for All programme to improve access to
the station for disabled passengers. Once TfL takes over, local stations will
be staffed throughout the day, whilst trains are running.
Q. At present there are
some "fast" trains on the line that go direct to London Bridge from Forest
Hill. Will these continue in the future?
A. There will be no more "fast" trains after 2010. ELL
and London Bridge trains will stop at all stations between Sydenham and New
Cross Gate.
Q. The East London Line
will close in December 2007 for building and refurbishment and will only open
when the new line starts operating. Will the line to and from London Bridge be
closed at any time?
A. There are no plans to close the London Bridge line
during construction of the new service. Just before the new service starts, the
signalling systems for both lines will have to be linked and tested but this
work will take place outside the normal working day, probably at weekends.
Q. I currently change at
Canada Water during the rush hour to get to Canary Wharf. Eastbound-trains are
often packed and I find that I have to let two or three trains pass before I
can get on the service? What can be done to improve this before the new East
London line comes into operation?
A. In January, train lengths on the Jubilee line were
successfully increased from six to seven carriages. Before 2010, new signalling
on the Jubilee Line will increase the number of trains on the Jubilee Line from
the current 24 trains per hour in each direction to 32 trains per hour -
increasing the capacity of the line by one third.
Q. I travel from
Sydenham to Whitechapel daily via New Cross Gate. When the East London Line
closes for two years, I'll have to go via London Bridge in Zone 1 which will
increase my annual season ticket by £300. What can be done about this?
A. Alternative bus services will be provided to
Docklands from New Cross and New Cross Gate during closure. It will be almost
impossible to provide an offsetting financial compensation for only those
people affected. Goldsmiths has also raised this problem with us and we are
looking into it.
Q. The blueprint
timetable after 2010, mean cuts in off-peak services from six trains per hour
to four. I can see that there may be problems running trains during the rush
hour but why should these services be affected?
A. TfL does not support cutting off-peak services along
this line. There is simply no excuse for such cuts.
Q. Why do we have to
wait until 2016 for platforms to be extended so that London Bridge trains can
be 10 carriages long?
A. Funds for this need too be approved by the
government. We expect an announcement this summer and the work can then be
timetabled.
Q. I have impaired
mobility. When will you be introducing disabled access to Forest Hill Station?
When visiting Hornimans Museum, many families pass through the station and
require toilets - when can these be provided?
A. £300,000 will be spent on Forest Hill station
between 2009 and 2014 from the Access for All programme to improve access and
facilities. Cllr Susan Wise advised that there are currently locked toilets
within the station and PF said we will reinstate them.
Q. If the London Bridge
to Victoria Loop is axed, how will ambulant disabled travellers cope with the
change at Crystal Palace?
A. We are talking to Government about this at the
moment. ELL phase two which will open up access to Clapham Junction from Surrey
Quays is the London Mayor's top transport priority. |
