Bellenden Residents' Group (BRG)

Message from Valerie Shawcross on behalf of the Save the South London Line Campaign

Dear South London Line Supporter 
Over the last few months thousands of people have signed a petition to Save the South London Line train service (SLL). I am writing to you now to bring you up to date on our progress and to ask you to help us keep up the pressure on Mayor Boris Johnson and Transport Minster Sadiq Khan MP to Save the South London Line by emailing or writing to them. 
I have attached a briefing on the current situation, but in summary at present Transport for London are considering 5 possible options for alternative services to compensate our area for the loss of the South London Line which they still insist is unavoidable.

Read: Southwark News  12 February 2010   Emma Alies

Campaigners battling to save the South London Line have published a report arguing that the line is vital if south London is ever to enjoy a train service which runs at tube-like frequency.
The report claims that scrapping the link would mean that King's College and Maudsley hospitals at Denmark Hill would lose all evening services to Victoria and lose their direct service to London Bridge.

Southwark News 4th February 2010

Another battle which is being fought around the regeneration of the London Bridge Quarter is between Southwark Council and Network Rail.  No final decision had been made regarding platform arrangements at London Bridge, which currently threatens the South London Line.

The campaigners battling to save the South London Line have published a short report which argues that it is vital to retain the line if South London is ever to enjoy a train service which runs at a tube-like frequency 

The report shows that key stations in South London will suffer if the South London Line is withdrawn.

Asembly Member Caroline Pidgeon wrote to the Mayor asking for his position on several aspects relating to the South London Line. This is his reply of 25th January 2010.

'Vital transport link proves its worth'  SLP report by Jenny Clover  12th Jan 2010

As many rail services were cancelled and disrupted during the cold weather, rail users reported that the one service that seemed to keep on going was the South London Line. Read the article.

The Mayor's draft transport strategy does not mention at all the crucial role that Overground Rail plays in inner south London transport network system!  TfL's lack of interest and concern for this is probably why they believe it is OK to cut the South London Line from 2012 and reduce radial services into central London stations. There appears to be no joined up planning in the rail industry of these Overgound rail links as part of the local inner south London transport system. SRUG has submitted comments on the Mayor's draft strategy asking for this ommisson to be rectified. Read the comments here.

Here is a useful map showing the geographical relationships between the South London Line, East London Line as extended, and Victoria - Bellingham service as proposed. 

• Under the original TfL plan all we would have in place of the current South London Line (the green line between Victoria and London Bridge) is the yellow line - East London Line.
• TfL have conceded in principle that we should have a direct link into Victoria (the red line), but have said they can't pay for it. The Rail Minister (DfT) has offered to get it paid for under the train companies' new franchise from 2014 so TfL would just have to pay for under two years from 2012. They still have not conceded that. We continue to lobby the Mayor to agree this.
• DfT and Network Rail current position is that they will not revive the London Bridge link with Victoria - the green line. The campaign to reverse that decision continues.

 Article from Nunhead Voice, the Nunhead Community Forum Newsletter Issue 20 Winter 2009 page 4

The campaign to Save the South London Line continues!

We have succeeded in getting the rail industry, Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT) in particular, to agree we need direct links to Victoria. The details of that are progressing, but we have a way to go to ensure that action is taken. However there is a big battle still to conclude on the links to London Bridge. It is Network Rail and DfT who have the keys to that. We now know that TfL puts a very high value on east-west orbital travel eg between Clapham Junction and Shoreditch (because it is their own over-ground rail service), and a very low value on our direct links to central London rail stations.

But Network Rail and DfT also seem not to care about our links to central London stations because they have fewer numbers and lower revenue than the long distance commuter trains. This rail industry alliance is really how the decision to cut the South London Line happened. This is what we have to get reversed for the sake of a sensible integrated transport strategy for our part (Zone 2) of inner South London.

Good news is that Southwark Council agreed (4th November) a cross party motion that fully and comprehensively supports the campaign. For details, visit www.southwarkrailusers.net and click on campaign information page, and click the link there under Campaign News/Southwark Council.To keep up to date with the campaign join the mailing list  SRUG@southwarkrailusers.net.

South London Press 4th December 2009 by Jenny Clover  photo and read article

Transport campaigners dressed in Edwardian garb celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first London electrified train line this week. The Save the South London Line campaigners met at Denmark Hill station Tuesday morning for a champagne breakfast. It was 1st Decemeber 1909 that the first electric trains carrying passengers ran on the line ...