Bellenden Residents' Group (BRG)

Southwark News 15 October 2009  John Prendergast

Another blow was dealt to transport users in Southwark this week when the Cross River Tram (CRT) and the South London Line (SLL) were omitted from the Mayor of London's transport strategy.

Boris Johnson's transport plans for the next 20 years did not make a single mention of either project, suggesting both are far from being on his radar. The CRT, which consisted of 16.5km of tramway commencing at Euston and making its way down to Waterloo, branching off towards Peckham and Brixton, now looks like it will be removed from his agenda altogether. This is despite a vociferous and well run campaign backing it. Those in favour of retaining the SLL are currently attempting to make their voices heard at TfL, amongst other bodies.

The minor crumb of comfort for transport users in Southwark, as reported by the 'News' in March, is that the extension to the Bakerloo Line extension will be more seriously explored, although any movement on the project will not take place until at least 2020.

A spokesman stated details of extended routes were not available at this stage. He added: "The Mayor is well aware that Londoners living in the south of the capital are crying out for more tube services and research has shown extending the Bakerloo Line south from Elephant & Castle could have serious benefits in terms of regeneration and access to jobs.   read more...

Here is a map showing the Underground Tube map superimposed on a Google map. This shows how poorly served South East London is in terms of the Tube. It shows why the Overground services into the central London stations are so important for SE London - as they are our substitute for the Tube.

 The public meeting on 30th September 2009 was a historic event. see copy of agenda. Over 200 rail users turned up to the Institute of Psychiatry, at 16 De Crespigny Park, near Denmark Hill, to hear rail user campaigners explain the devastating impact of the cuts in direct rail services to central London, planned by the rail industry, and to hear how TfL and Network Rail explained the reasoning behind these plans. Further reports on the meeting will be posted later.

Key information given to the meeting by SRUG was:

• a Tube map showing the way TfL sees our rail services - with Queens Road, Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill totally disconnected from central London, but the new East London Line Extension taking us to Canada Water and Clapham Junction;
• a Tube map showing the South London Line on the map and as a key part of the integrated Zones 1 & 2 south London transport infrastructure.
• a comparison of the two maps - showing them side by side
• summary of the impact of the planned cuts station by station;
• summary of key actions to take to support the campaign.

Some comments on the Mayor’s Transport Strategy – the Statement of Intent May 2009         

 
Q 1: are there any other transport challenges facing London that the MTS should address?
 
Yes. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy (MTS) needs to include work towards removing some severe gaps in the public transport services in Inner South London. The overground rail services provide the opportunity to start this process using existing infrastructure. Inner South London, in this case, is the geographical area sandwiched between central London, and outer south London, and on the fringes of both. This is roughly a middle section of the boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth and part of Wandsworth.
 
Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor’s transport adviser, himself acknowledged on the recent TV programme ‘The Politics Show’ 28 June 2009, that there is a transport issue in South London, and he said “the key question is how to maximise the overground rail network in South London.” We agree that that is a key question, and suggest that it is a transport challenge that needs to be covered in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy.
 
Focussed attention on this would go a small way to compensate for the lack of the Tube in inner South London, as well as being a particularly effective way to maximise the use of the existing rail system. We would be very glad to discuss with the Mayor’s policy advisers some of the ways in which this could be achieved.
 

 Comments on South Central Franchise Consultation

12 August 2008
 
Introduction
The Southwark Rail Users Group (SRUG) is concerned with the issues faced by users of the stations in mid Southwark, who use the services routed through Peckham Rye – in addition to Peckham Rye itself, this is Denmark Hill, Queens Road Peckham, South Bermondsey, East Dulwich, North Dulwich and Nunhead. In addition to the services covered by the South Central franchise, services coming from Kent to Victoria and Blackfriars also go through Peckham Rye, which is therefore a major direct connection station for 6 Tube lines. The housing developments in the areas served by these stations are changing the demographics and will continue for the foreseeable future to increase significantly the number of rail commuters in rush hour and during the day. SRUG was established by local residents in 2007 as a result of raised awareness about rail planning through the South London RUS consultation.
 
These comments on the South Central Franchise Consultation respond to the request on Page 45 for information on locations where particular issues need to be addressed. The list below indicates some of the main areas which need attention, but is not necessarily comprehensive. The franchise should require the operator to work co-operatively with local user groups.

Objection to the South London Route Utilisation Strategy

14 May, 2008
 
Introduction
The Southwark Rail Users Group represents users of the stations in mid Southwark, who use the services routed through Peckham Rye – in addition to Peckham Rye itself, this is Denmark Hill, Queens Road Peckham, South Bermondsey, East Dulwich and Nunhead. SRUG was established in 2007 as a result of raised awareness about rail planning through the South London RUS consultation.
 
The proposal that caused most concern was the closure of the direct South London Line (SLL) that loops between London Bridge and Victoria via Peckham Rye. Although there are some welcome improvements in the overall RUS plan, the closure of this service is a serious deterioration for rail users in this part of South East London to which we need to register our formal objection. We question whether adequate information and evidence has been gathered about south London rail usage in this inner part of south London to justify this decision.
 

SOUTHWARK RAIL USERS’ GROUP (SRUG)

RESPONSE TO DRAFT SOUTH LONDON ROUTE UTILISATION STRATEGY
 
Southwark Rail Users’ Group SRUG is a newly forming community group bringing together users of several stations with services linked through Peckham Rye station: Denmark Hill, Queens Road Peckham, South Bermondsey, East Dulwich, Nunhead, & Peckham Rye itself. A major feature, which users of all these stations share, is that they use these services to connect to the Underground and other London rail services. These stations and services are de facto the inner south London equivalent of the Tube system. They form a crucial part of the public transport infrastructure used to make journeys that rely on interconnections with other rail and tube services in and around London in several directions.