Save our services
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Registered with the Civic Trust uMember of London Forum
Registered with the Civic Trust uMember of London Forum
Sydenham Society
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The Sydenham and Forest Hill Societies are running a hard-hitting campaign aimed at preventing the unacceptable cuts to our existing services once the East London line arrives. Over 7,000 leaflets have been handed to commuters at Sydenham, Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park stations warning of this threat. To date, over 1,000 people have signed the "save our services" petition. If you haven't already done so visit www.sydenhamsociety.com to sign the petition, complete our travel survey and find details of how you can write to Jim Dowd, MP and GLA member, Len Duvall to register your protest at the proposed cuts.
25% fewer trains
At the end of January, members of the two Societies met Peter Field, Director of London Rail Development, to discuss the cuts. A blueprint of the post-2010 rail timetable has just been released which shows that we will lose over 25% of our current services to London Bridge, spelling misery for commuters on this already overcrowded line, particularly during rush hours. The Societies' travel survey shows that over two-thirds of commuters will want to continue to use London Bridge rather than East London line trains after 2010. London Rail agrees with these figures but argues that there will be no overcrowding on any trains - either London Bridge or East London line - after 2010. We don't believe that this is a credible argument.
The new timetable indicates that the "loop" line from London Bridge to Victoria will be axed once the ELL arrives.
Widespread support
We are grateful for the support given to our campaign by MPs Joan Ruddock and Jim Dowd, GLA member Len Duvall, local councillors and Lewisham Council. Local MP Jim Dowd remains upbeat about the proposed cuts and maintains that there will be more not fewer trains to and from London Bridge once the East London line arrives. Peter Field, the man in charge of the project doesn't think so but we very much hope Jim turns out to be correct!
More trains...late trains….
Additional services
Jim Dowd has ascertained that once Eurostar services transfer to St Pancras in November 2007, the tracks previously used by the international services will be used by South Eastern to provide additional capacity on the network. 34 additional trains will operate between London Victoria and Beckenham Junction on weekdays and 48 additional trains will operate over the same route on Saturdays. In effect this will mean two additional trains during operating hours will stop at Sydenham Hill and Penge East, providing a welcome improvement to the current half hourly service at these stations.
One in four trains late
The Southern Stakeholders December 2006 Brief for the four weeks up to the 9 December shows that the set target is 90% punctuality at peak time; performance in reality was 74.70%, a reduction on last year's figure of 75.35%.
Southern Railway explains, "Last period was very disappointing in terms of trains arriving on time. The main cause was a condensed autumn leaf-fall period (happening over four weeks as compared to the usual eight weeks-plus) and extreme wet weather causing slippery rails and the consequent need for drivers to slow down. Whilst the industry has vastly improved its resilience to the autumn period over recent years, it still has more to do. Since the end of the leaf-fall period, performance has started to improve."
New Year 2007
25% fewer trains
At the end of January, members of the two Societies met Peter Field, Director of London Rail Development, to discuss the cuts. A blueprint of the post-2010 rail timetable has just been released which shows that we will lose over 25% of our current services to London Bridge, spelling misery for commuters on this already overcrowded line, particularly during rush hours. The Societies' travel survey shows that over two-thirds of commuters will want to continue to use London Bridge rather than East London line trains after 2010. London Rail agrees with these figures but argues that there will be no overcrowding on any trains - either London Bridge or East London line - after 2010. We don't believe that this is a credible argument.
The new timetable indicates that the "loop" line from London Bridge to Victoria will be axed once the ELL arrives.
Widespread support
We are grateful for the support given to our campaign by MPs Joan Ruddock and Jim Dowd, GLA member Len Duvall, local councillors and Lewisham Council. Local MP Jim Dowd remains upbeat about the proposed cuts and maintains that there will be more not fewer trains to and from London Bridge once the East London line arrives. Peter Field, the man in charge of the project doesn't think so but we very much hope Jim turns out to be correct!
More trains...late trains….
Additional services
Jim Dowd has ascertained that once Eurostar services transfer to St Pancras in November 2007, the tracks previously used by the international services will be used by South Eastern to provide additional capacity on the network. 34 additional trains will operate between London Victoria and Beckenham Junction on weekdays and 48 additional trains will operate over the same route on Saturdays. In effect this will mean two additional trains during operating hours will stop at Sydenham Hill and Penge East, providing a welcome improvement to the current half hourly service at these stations.
One in four trains late
The Southern Stakeholders December 2006 Brief for the four weeks up to the 9 December shows that the set target is 90% punctuality at peak time; performance in reality was 74.70%, a reduction on last year's figure of 75.35%.
Southern Railway explains, "Last period was very disappointing in terms of trains arriving on time. The main cause was a condensed autumn leaf-fall period (happening over four weeks as compared to the usual eight weeks-plus) and extreme wet weather causing slippery rails and the consequent need for drivers to slow down. Whilst the industry has vastly improved its resilience to the autumn period over recent years, it still has more to do. Since the end of the leaf-fall period, performance has started to improve."
New Year 2007
Why not make your voice heard and join today? Print, complete and post a membership form, or e-mail the membership secretary for more information.