South London Line report at City Hall
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.
The service runs through the heartland of South London between Victoria and London Bridge, but is earmarked for closure in 2012 as building works at London Bridge will mean there is not sufficient platform space for trains to arrive and depart.
A £24million replacement service running from Bellingham to Victoria, which would have called at many of the same stations, was scrapped after Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport agreed that the money should instead be spent on the East London line Tube extension.
But following the summit between Mr Khan and Mr Johnson, a rescue package was proposed that would see TfL fund the Bellingham line for two years from 2012.
If passengers numbers were sufficient, in 2014 the service would be included in the next Southeastern franchise.
Writing to Mr Johnson last week, Mr Khan said: “We all recognise the works at London Bridge will cause disruption to passengers.
“The extended East London line solves some of problems, but the reduction in frequencies into Victoria as a result of not implementing the Bellingham service will impact many passengers.”
Email: newsdesk@slp.co.uk