Bellenden Residents' Group (BRG)

Southwark News 3rd December 2009; by John Prendergast   read article

Champagne corks were popped for the threatened South London Line on Tuesday; but they were to celebrate its centenary rather than stopping the route from being axed. Campaigners met at 8am at Denmark Hill station to enjoy some drinks and nibbles, to toast the 100th anniversary of the line becoming electrified.

Message from the Save the South London Line Campaign*:
 
At a meeting on 24th November 2009 with stakeholder groups in South London, TfL recognised one of the main objectives of campaigners, the need to keep radial services to Central London for current South London Line stations. TfL has proposed a variety of short-listed options for keeping service to Victoria, including diverting the East London Line from Clapham Junction, introducing a Victoria-Bellingham service and making current Victoria-Dartford services run all day, guaranteeing for Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye all day trains to Victoria. This is in contrast to TfL's earlier assertions that SLL passengers should take ELLX to Clapham Junction and change for Victoria there.

Letter to Modern Railways magazine  (read article)    From:    Graham Feakins

Just who is this man, emboldened with the title of "London Rail Chief Operating Officer" and by name of Howard Smith, who can dismiss in two short sentences the total future of the South London Line (MR Dec. 09) by stating that Network Rail has 'already said' that the London Bridge end will be cut off in 2012, there has been "some controversy" and that the Victoria enhancement will not even

 Mayor's Question Time – 18 November 2009 Transcript: Mayor's Oral Update

Boris Johnson (Mayor of London): … Of course the Members who came on the delegation [regarding the South London Line] to see Sadiq Khan [Minister of State for Transport] will know exactly what happened. I think it was, on the whole, a successful mission. The Government certainly heard our points and it heard the points that we were able to relay to it about the concerns of rail travel users in south London, and it is agreed that the Department of Transport (DfT) will give serious consideration to finding alternatives following the withdrawal of the South London Line mandated by it. In this whole story and in this conversation that has begun about rail travel in south London I think there is a danger that we will miss the big good news point - and I think I am entitled to stress the good news as the Mayor - that the extension of the East London Line, connecting it up with the North London Line, will hugely increase capacity for rail users in south London… 

Does the Mayor then just take the TfL line that the new East London Line is more important for South London than the direct links into central London? Read full transcript here.

Letter in today's South London Press (27th November 2009) from SRUG thanking all 4,192 people who signed the petition to Save the South London Line. This was delivered to Mayor Boris Johnson on 11th November 2009. He had agreed after months of refusal to meet with us as a campaign. Those present were 4 London Assembly Members one from each of 4 main political parties, and 3 representatives from the rail user groups and hospitals.   Read the letter here.   See the photo here.

South London Press     Thursday, 26 November 2009  read article

A GOVERNMENT proposal to rescue a threatened train service has been sent to City Hall. Ss we reported, a meeting between transport minister Sadiq Khan and London Mayor Boris Johnson this month has given hope to those fighting to save the South London Line.

TUESDAY 1st DECEMBER at 8am     at Denmark Hill station   (yes 8am!)
On 1st December, it is 100 years since the South London Line became the first in the country to be electrified. The Save the South London Line Campaign is going to celebrate our local London metro service. Join us at 8am outside the pub at Denmark Hill Station for half an hour or so.There will be

Southwark News  19 November 2009   John Prendergast  read article

A crunch meeting regarding the South London Line’s (SLL) future has thrown the under threat route a lifeline.  Transport Minister Sadiq Khan has put forward an interim measure that will see trains continue to run on a substitute route until 2014, before being reviewed regarding its future usage at that date.

 London Connections blog 20 November 2009:  read blog

Last week saw Simon Hughes and Martin Linton bring up the question of the South London Line in Parliament. Although it doesn't really add hugely to the debate, the dialogue between themselves and Chris Mole, representing the Department for Transport, does neatly set out some of the perspectives on both sides of the SLL debate. With this in mind, I believe it's worth summarising it here...

Southwark News  12 November 2009  John Prendergast

More than 200 demonstrators attempting to Save the South London Line (SLL) descended on Mayor’s question time in Brixton to quiz Boris Johnson about the under threat route, writes John Prendergast...
On Monday, the same day as his appearance at a public question and answer session at the Brixton Academy, the Mayor issued a statement stating he would take the campaign group’s battle to a meeting at the Department of Transport (DfT) yesterday.  But as the week unfolded a blame game commenced between the DfT and Transport for London (TfL) about the under threat route... read article