Bellenden Residents' Group (BRG)

As a result of the shocking news of the secret deal between TfL and DfT to axe the planned Victoria-Bellingham service (via Denmark Hill & Peckham Rye), local rail user groups - Southwark Rail Users’ Group and Clapham Transport Users’ Group - have come together with the major hospitals at Denmark Hill and local elected representatives to form the campaign to Save Our South London Line. The latest decision, like the one to axe the Victoria-Denmark Hill-London Bridge service in 2012, shows the low priority the rail industry gives to our inner south London connections into central London. We have to change that before 2012. First stage is the consultation on the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, and the European elections.  Take action now! 
 
The campaign urges rail users to:

• sign the web petition http://www.gopetition.com/online/27426.html
• email your views to:
  • Lord Adonis (the Rail Minister) at: andrew.adonis@dft.gsi.gov.uk
  • Boris Johnson at: Mayor@london.gov.uk 
  • cc to your elected representatives (click on Read More below to see Southwark list)
  • cc to the local press: letters@slp.co.uk, letters@southwarknews.org
• join the online Facebook group Save the South London Line between Victoria & London Bridge  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=5610272863
• print out some campaign flyers to give to fellow passengers at your station
• email SRUG@bellenden.net to get on the mailing list to be kept up to date.

Letters received by rail user groups from DfT show TfL reached a secret deal with DfT to axe the planned service between Victoria & Bellingham. This was to replace part of the Victoria to London Bridge service planned to be axed in 2012. Instead £24m from DfT for Victoria-Bellingham service will go to TfL for the East London Line Extension (ELLX2). SRUG said the backroom deal was "disgraceful. They did this without telling anyone. There has been a continuing reduction in our services and TfL doesn't seem to think [inner] South London matters."  Read more...

Latest news:

• TfL (Transport for London) have engineered with DfT (Dept. for Transport) the scrapping of the planned Victoria-Bellingham service
• this was done in secret without discussion with anyone else
• more information can be seen in the posting below
• a joint campaign with all stakeholders across Southwark & Lambeth is coming together and will be issuing information and advice on useful actions next week. The campaign includes SRUG, Clapham Transport Users Group, Camberwell Society, Kings College & the Maudesley (SLAM) hospitals, and local elected representatives.
• to join the campaign email SRUG@bellenden.net

'Rail line lost to plug gap'  - Southwark News reports on the news of the axing of Victoria-Bellingham service.

Read more...

 'Backroom deal' axes rail service - South London Press reports the news of the secret deal between TfL and Department of Transport to axe Victoria - Bellingham Line

Read more...

Funding for phase two of the East London Line extension was agreed under a secret deal in which Transport for London specified a reduction in National Rail train services, newly published letters from TfL and the Department for Transport reveal.

Correspondence earlier this month between TfL's managing director of London Rail Ian Brown, the DfT's director general of national networks Mike Mitchell and Sharon Grant, chair of passenger watchdog London Travelwatch, shows that a £75m funding package to allow phase two of the East London Line project to be completed in time for the 2012 Olympics was only agreed after TfL requested a reduction in planned National Rail services from Victoria station.

Rail users from Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill currently have 4 trains per hour (tph) to Victoria. They are not well spaced and two stop in the evening. From 2012 we were promised that 4tph would continue but would be at regular 15 minute intervals and continue for a full evening service. This was to compensate in part for the lost direct link between Victoria and London Bridge scheduled for 2012. The new 4tph service to Victoria was to be achieved by a new 2tph service between Victoria and Bellingham through Nunhead, added to the existing Dartford to Victoria serivce through Nunhead but extended to cover the evening as well.

The rail industry still plan to stop the all day and evening 2tph service on the SLL, in 2012. It would cut the direct link between Denmark Hill and London Bridge, the direct link between Queens Rd and Victoria, and reduce the trains to London Bridge from Peckham Rye by two an hour.  A major reason given for cutting the SLL is that there will not be enough terminating platforms space at London Bridge station after the rebuilding which is due to start in 2012. We discovered that it is in fact possible to increase the platform space to accommodate the SLL trains, and had this confirmed by Network Rail at the SRUG meeting.