Tristán White wrote:
I took the Silverlink from Canning Town, my local station, last Saturday to
go to Camden Market, when I saw a poster saying that unless anyone objects,
the Silverlink will only go from Richmond to Stratford in future, as from
November 2006.

The period of objection was some time last year. But I can't remember
seeing that poster before, I certainly did not see any posters at all in
the main concourse about it, or people handing out leaflets or asking
opinions, and I used that station every day. I didn't see anything in the
Newham Recorder either, which I buy and digest every Wednesday.

There are posters advertising the T&WA notices and reports of closure
on the Silverlink platforms at Richmond station. I haven't seen them at
any other NLL stations yet.


So how did this creep in? And were there any objections that may have
stalled this idea?

It didn't "creep" in, it's been under active discussion for a long
time. The NLL service from Stratford to North Woolwich is a
low-frequency duplication of the high-frequency Jubilee Line between
Stratford and Canning Town and of the high-frequency intermediate-mode
DLR between Canning Town and Custom House/King George V. Transferring
the route to the DLR will not only remove this duplication, but also
provide a step-change in the regeneration of the London Borough of
Newnham along the Jubilee corridor.

Plans for the DLR takeover include several new stations, some of which
you have already mentioned, between Canning Town and Stratford, thus
enhancing the corridor's capacity and preventing it from remaining a
duplicate of the Jubilee Line. Once at Stratford (Regional) the new DLR
route will continue to Stratford International, providing a major link
between the two stations. Additionally, the new route will also be
served by trains from the Beckton and Woolwich branches, providing a
massive increase in capacity on both lines and creating additional
capacity on the DLR network, this easing the pressure at the Poplar
junctions.


Now I know that they are saying that the Silverlink south of Stratford will
be redundant because of the DLR extension which will go via Star Lane,
Abbey Road, Stratford High Street and Stratford International, but (a) this
has not been approved yet by the Transport & Works Act, and (b) it won't
happen until 2010 at the earliest. So between November 2006 and a date
possibly in 2010, this part of London will be shafted.

Nope, see above - the King George V route has already replaced the
remainder of the NLL route south of Canning Town, part of which was
already replaced by the Beckton branch. The Jubilee Line takes care of
the rest.


I think it's ludicrous to dissolve such a busy and useful service (and
quite punctual too) such as the Stratford to Woolwich service on the
Silverlink. Oh, that's another thing - Woolwich don't get their DLR
extension until 2009 - they're going to be REALLY marginalised. Property
values there will plummet.

"Busy"? Not anymore. And you seem to be confusing Woolwich with North
Woolwich. Woolwich is on the south side of the Thames, is served by
South Eastern Trains, and will get a DLR terminus accessed by the King
George V route in 2009. North Woolwich is north of the river, contains
the soon-to-be former terminus of the NLL route, and has been replaced
by King George V DLR station. The whole reason why Woolwich's DLR
extension will take 3 more years is the need to go under the river.

Both areas have probably already seen property rises, especially north
of the river - the DLR seems to trigger massive reconstruction and
upgrading of any place it goes near.


I think it's short-sighted of them to get rid of a service before a
suitable alternative is in place. And as for these Stratford High Street /
Stratford International stations, will it be relatively easy to jump onto
the Silverlink from these stations? Probably not.

International station doesn't need Silverlink, it has the Javelin and
the DLR. Stratford High Street will be a DLR station. Silverlink
passengers will need to take the first DLR train to Stratford Regional
and head for platforms 10, 11 and 12 for NLL services to Richmond.


So someone going from Woolwich to Camden really will have to find another
way of getting there in future, even when the DLR extension finally arrives
there in 2009, as taking the DLR to Stratford and then hopping onto the
Silverlink to Camden Road is not going to be that quick of a "hop" - and
probably will involve going through the shopping centre, or a long walk. So
the Woolwich person after 2009 will I guess take the DLR to Canning Town,
change to the Jubilee to Stratford, and change to the Silverlink to Camden
Road. Whereas s/he used to be able to go straight through. And they call
that progress?

Anyone going from Woolwich to Camden will take SET to one of the south
London termini and head for the Northern Line. Anyone in North Woolwich
who wants to go to Camden will probably take the DLR to Canning Town,
switch to a westbound Jubilee train to London Bridge and then get the
Northern Line; they may alternately choose to use the NLL if Camden
Road station is more convenient for them.

The removal of Stratford-North Woolwich NLL services is not the end of
the world for this part of London; it's an opportunity to improve
public transport in the area.