On Apr 23, 1:44 pm, Mr Thant
wrote:

On 23 Apr, 13:10, Paul Corfield wrote:

Some very interesting details in two articles in Transport Briefing

I suggest reading the London Travelwatch press release (via London
Reconnections):
http://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/news.php?id=643

It includes links to the letters sent to and replies from the DfT and
TfL.


Very interesting - I hadn't seen either the London Reconnections piece
or the stuff from London Travelwatch before I posted my spiel. I note
that it seems to have all come out now as a result of the digging and
prodding done by Val Shawcross AM, whom I rate highly.

I note the DfT letter does carry a slight whaft of buck-passing - the
DfT state that TfL were given the role of communicating the changes
with regards to the withdrawal of the SLL service, in particular the
withdrawal of the previously proposed Vic-Bellingham service - though
actually it would appear that as part of the deal for ELLX2 funding
the buck had already been firmly passed to TfL on this matter.

The DfT do however intimate that they had nudged TfL with regards to
when TfL were planning on announcing all this. The DfT's reply is
perhaps subtly different from the reply from Ian Brown of TfL London
Rail with regards to this - the DfT suggests that "stakeholder
communications were to be scheduled later this summer" and passenger
communications happening later, however TfL say that "it is premature
to discuss detail at this stage".

I wonder who is included in the "stakeholder communication" (which may
or may not be happening later this summer) - if it is local residents
groups and also the hospitals in Camberwell (King's College and the
Maudsley) then the DfT and TfL know that the response will be one of
concern and annoyance, which IIRC was exhibited when Network Rail put
the South London RUS out to consultation. The hospitals - King's in
particular - are already losing a direct link to London Bridge (where
Guy's Hospital is located) via the SLL service, and they'll also see a
reduction from 4tph to 2tph on services to/from Victoria - of course
this is mitigated to an extent by the new interchange possibilities at
Clapham Junction that ELLX2 will bring, but only to an extent.

Also, as things stand there'll be no direct service whatsoever to/from
Victoria from the middle of the evening onwards, when the Vic-Dartford
service dies, or on Sundays, when it doesn't run at all. (Plus
services to/from Vic start a bit later in the morning than the current
SLL too). In my earlier post I pondered that this might mean the
service gets extended to run through the evening and on Sundays, but
the DfT's letter strongly suggests that's not part of the plan (and
shows they can't spell either) - it states that one of the key
requirements placed on TfL by the DfT is this:

‘TfL publically proposes the withdrawal of the Victoria – Bellingham
service including informing key stakeholders on the route whilst also
highlighting the impacts on current journey opportunities, especially
at evenings and weekends’.

I wonder if lobbying for the Vic-Dartford service to run all day every
day might perhaps be a realistic goal for campaigners to push for?

Anyway, I have to agree with Sharon Grant, the Chair of LTW, that TfL
and the DfT come out of this looking particularly slippery (though she
phrased it somewhat more diplomatically) - no surprise about the DfT
being murky like this, but one hopes for better from TfL than this. I
hope they've been stung hard by the exposure of this behaviour.


(And please don't link to Transport Briefing. It's a press release
mill)


I suppose one could argue there's nonetheless a place for a press
release mill - but I do recall you berating it for potential
plagiarism.