Bellenden Residents' Group (BRG)

Letter published in Southwark News 18 June 2009

One of the wonderful things about living in Peckham is that Peckham Rye station is like a Tube station.  It is one of the most under-utilised assets in marketing Peckham, as a place to live, to ork and to visit.

It has enough direct trains to central London Tube stations to be like a turn up and go station to the central Tube network. Every 5 to 10 minutes a train arrives that can take the user within 9 to 15 minutes to one of 4 central London stations connecting with six different Tube Lines - Victoria, District, Circle, Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern (both loops).

Unfortunately this is now threatened. Between 2008 and 2012, the trains to London Bridge and Victoria will be cut in half, and there will be none in the evening to & from Victoria. TfL's secret plan, to replace trains to central London by the East London Line orbital east-west connections to Clapham Junction and Canada Water and Shoreditch, is misplaced. These orbital connections are useful, but they can't replace our direct trains to the central Tube connections.

This serious deterioration in Peckham's connections to central London needs to be reversed. Southwark Council is consulting on the Peckham Area Action Plan. Peckham is, in spite of the recession, still alive with cultural and creative life. Keeping our direct connections to central London Tube stations is vital for building on that, and attracting the innovative commercial investment that Peckham town centre needs.

We call on all users of Peckham Rye station to support the campaign to save our rail services to Victoria and London Bridge.
* write to the Rail Minister: andrew.adonis@dft.gsi.gov.uk and Boris Johnson: Mayor@london.gov.uk
* sign the petition at http://tinyurl.com/SouthLondonLine
* join the SRUG mailing list - SRUG@bellenden.net

Eileen Conn, Southwark Rail Users Group
more info here.