It seems that most of our recent newsletters have mentioned the Bakerloo line extension, despite the fact that it won’t actually come to Forest Hill. However, there is little doubt that the Bakerloo extension would mean a lot for South East London, and particularly north Southwark and Lewisham.
At the end of 2015 TfL announced the preferred route would go to Lewisham via two stops on the Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate. At New Cross Gate there would be an interchange with Southern and Overground services to Forest Hill.
In reality this line would make little difference in journey times for Forest Hill commuters, as the interchanges at London Bridge and Canda Water would continue to provide better connections.
TfL have decided that the case for extending beyond Lewisham has not been made successfully, but that should not delay the extension to Lewisham.
The Forest Hill Society believes that although an extension to Hayes remains hard to justify on the existing line through Catford, consideration should be given to an underground extension to Catford or Bell Green, where growth in housing could justify the cost. It would also take some pressure off Lewisham as an interchange station for SouthEastern, Bakerloo, and DLR.
The TfL document also recommended a new station at Camberwell on Thameslink and interchange at Brockley, to the Nunhead to Lewisham line that goes over the station. This is part of a wider plan where TfL will take over much more of the London rail network, just as they have done with Overground. This would happen over many years starting from 2019, as franchises come to an end. Potentially this could result in new stations (Camberwell), more frequent services for commuters (Crofton Park), and many other possibilities.
While we await more details, we will continue to lobby for better services on the existing network - regardless of who runs it.
At the end of 2015 TfL announced the preferred route would go to Lewisham via two stops on the Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate. At New Cross Gate there would be an interchange with Southern and Overground services to Forest Hill.
In reality this line would make little difference in journey times for Forest Hill commuters, as the interchanges at London Bridge and Canda Water would continue to provide better connections.
TfL have decided that the case for extending beyond Lewisham has not been made successfully, but that should not delay the extension to Lewisham.
The Forest Hill Society believes that although an extension to Hayes remains hard to justify on the existing line through Catford, consideration should be given to an underground extension to Catford or Bell Green, where growth in housing could justify the cost. It would also take some pressure off Lewisham as an interchange station for SouthEastern, Bakerloo, and DLR.
The TfL document also recommended a new station at Camberwell on Thameslink and interchange at Brockley, to the Nunhead to Lewisham line that goes over the station. This is part of a wider plan where TfL will take over much more of the London rail network, just as they have done with Overground. This would happen over many years starting from 2019, as franchises come to an end. Potentially this could result in new stations (Camberwell), more frequent services for commuters (Crofton Park), and many other possibilities.
While we await more details, we will continue to lobby for better services on the existing network - regardless of who runs it.
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