Press Release

Government will study South London Line options
11-11-2009   573

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has persuaded the Government to give serious consideration to finding alternatives to the withdrawal of the South London Line service. At a meeting with the Transport Minister, Sadiq Khan, today (November 11) the Minister agreed the Government will look at the recommendations to come out of a TfL study of options to mitigate the impact of the Thameslink programme on the south London Line.

Over the next seven years more than £6bn will be spent on improvements in rail services in south London. However, some residents in south London have expressed concern about one of the impacts of improvements to Thameslink services, which means the withdrawal of the south London Line service in 2012. Today the Mayor took their concerns directly to the seat of that decision – the Department for Transport.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "I am delighted to confirm that our mission to the ministry has been a success and the Government has agreed to look seriously at how we can provide an alternative service to the South London Line. Transport for London and the good folk of London Travelwatch are working to whittle 30 options down to a shortlist and we look forward to sharing those with the Minister.

"I want to see the maximum possible railway in south London. We need better overground services integrated with the underground and work is well underway on the East London Line that will create an Overground orbital loop for the first time in the capital’s history. Yet far more can be done and I must salute the Minister for his willingness to listen to our concerns and his agreement to act on them."

Ends

Notes to Editors

· TfL and London Travelwatch are undertaking a joint study of 30 options to mitigate the impact of the Thameslink programme on the south London Line. A short list of those options will be produced over the next few weeks.

· The shortlist will be discussed with Assembly members, local MPs, local authorities and their comments welcomed.  A list of the most feasible options will be developed from the shortlist, also discussed with stakeholders and published as a final report in the new Year.
 
· The Mayor’s Office and the Department for Transport will consider the options in the final report and decide on a way forward.

· The £6billion Investment from TfL, the Department for Transport (DfT) and Network Rail over the next seven years will connect communities south of the river to central London and beyond, as well as its major transport hubs like never before.

Funding will see:

· The completion of the East London Line (ELL) extension, with four trains per hour directly connecting Clapham Junction, the City and Docklands;

· Thameslink bringing 24 trains per hour through the centre of the capital connecting south east London and Kent, Sussex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridge;

· Longer 10-car trains out of Victoria and London Bridge, bringing increased capacity to destinations across south London;

· An increase in peak hour trains at Peckham Rye from 15 to 19 between 2010 and 2015.

These trains will link with:

· Tube, bus and rail interchanges at Victoria, Elephant and Castle and London Bridge;

· Bus and rail interchanges at Surrey Quays, Clapham Junction and Lewisham;

· Tube interchanges at Blackfriars, Farringdon, Canada Water and Whitechapel; and,

· The Docklands Light Railway at Shadwell.

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