On 17 Oct, 19:39, Mwmbwls wrote:
http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk...londonheadline...

quote
Sign up to keep station on line
Oct 16 2007
By Jenny Clover

HUNDREDS of people are protesting against plans to cut a direct train
service to central London.
Nearly 300 commuters who use Denmark Hill station have signed a
petition to keep the service - which runs from Victoria to London
Bridge - saying it is vital for the community.
Network Rail has started a consultation on the future of train
services in South London and is proposing that the South London Line
be diverted from London Bridge to Lewisham or Catford, meaning Denmark
Hill would have no direct link to London Bridge.
Other stations, including Peckham Rye and Queens Road, Peckham, would
also be hit by reduced services.
Veronica Ward, councillor for South Camberwell, said: "This is a very
important line, not only for commuters, it also serves two enormous
hospitals. "King's College Hospital has a huge training programme that
links them to Guy's Hospital at London Bridge, so this is very
important to a lot of people.
"There's not a great deal of time to respond but people need to make
their feelings known to Network Rail by October 26."
Last year,Network Rail proposed taking the Victoria service away from
Denmark Hill station. After a campaign they bowed to local pressure
and it remained.
Cllr Ward was joined by council-lors Peter John and John Friary and
London Assembly Member Val Shawcross to hand out leaflets at the
station during the Monday morning rush hour.
A spokesman for Network Rail said: "One option would be to divert
Denmark Hill services away from London Bridge. It's important for us
to have consultations with local people."
He said if proposals were agreed they would go ahead over the next
10-15 years.
Visit http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petition...don-line-link-
at-denmark-hill.html to sign the petition online.
Or you can email Network Rail at southlondon.rus@networkrail. co.uk or
write to at South London RUS Consultation Response, National RUS
Consultation Manager, Network Rail, 8th Floor, 40 Melton Street,
London NW1 2EE.
unquote

Why are these diversions not being brought in with the next phase of
the ELL extension to Clapham Junction - Is this something to do with
the Thameslink works at London Bridge?


The issue of what will happen to the South London Line is actually
quite complicated, as plans to lengthen the other platforms at
Battersea Park (for trains between Victoria and Clapham Jn) would
likely mean that the SLL platforms there would be blocked off from
Victoria - so the SLL service could end up being diverted to Clapham
Jn, or miss out Battersea Park altogether (by using the alternate low
level Stewarts Lane route into Victoria) whilst the Victoria to
Dartford trains could have stops added at Wandsworth Road and Clapham
Jn so those stations retained direct trains to Victoria.

The various options are all discussed in the draft South London Route
Utilisation Strategy (RUS) - the whole ***5MB PDF*** of this document
can be obtained by following this link:
http://snipurl.com/southlondonrus

The problem is that it's all a bit complicated - something that local
campaigners perhaps don't really recognise or understand. I'd urge
anyone interested in this issue to look at the South London RUS - one
can relatively easily find what's relevant by using the Adobe Reader's
text search function to search for "south london line" or "SLL" -
though the range of options is a little mind-boggling at first.

However, whilst campaigners might not have got their head round this
all, I do have some sympathy for their cause. The earlier Cross-London
RUS was very dismissive of the South London Line - it is obviously a
route that is rather awkward for the planners to deal with. However it
is a well patronised service, with trains often packed in the peaks,
and I'm far from certain that the passenger numbers Network Rail
quotes reflect reality (I think they were gathered during a single
survey).

Anyway, the deadline for consultation responses on the South London
RUS is soon - the 26 October - so anyone with a considered view on the
SLL issue, or any other issue covered by the RUS, can write in.