Transport for LondonLondon Overground

Southwark Rail User Group

Monday, 17th November 2008

The missing link

The Orbital Railway

East London line update

• East London line closed on 22 December 2007

• Extension to Dalston Junction, West Croydon, Crystal Palace and New Cross will be complete in 2010, with four new step free access stations

• TfL will manage the stations on the line from September 2009

• Train testing is due to start in spring 2009. Twenty brand new air conditioned trains will come into service in 2010, with up to 12tph between Surrey Quays and Dalston Junction

• The connection of the East London extension to Highbury & Islington, in 2011, will be the beginning of a new orbital railway

• The project is progressing on time and within budget

Thameslink & DfT’s South Central Franchise

• The Thameslink scheme involves the complete remodelling of London Bridge station starting in 2012, with the number of terminating platforms reduced from nine to six, enabling more through services

• Network Rail’s RUS analysis demonstrated that the South London line services between Victoria and London Bridge carried the fewest passengers of all services to London Bridge, and would therefore be removed

• Confirmed in DfT’s published South Central franchise

The need for the ELL extension

• Offers an alternative to the population of south London who have a limited tube network

• The extension would allow stations on the South London line to be served with an enhanced service (four trains per hour, instead of two)

• Passengers from Denmark Hill and stations to the west travelling to/from London Bridge will be able to change at Peckham Rye without changing platforms

• The scheme would help the DfT and Network Rail by ensuring a service is provided on the South London line when Thameslink construction works start at London Bridge

Funding• We started with a capital cost of approx £ 105million.

• Through ongoing negotiations with DfT, the funding gap for the scheme has been significantly reduced.

• The current funding gap ranges between £25-30m.

• The London Mayor and the Secretary of State for Transport, Geoff Hoon discussed a possible 50:50 cost split, on 22 October.

• We are currently awaiting a response from the DfT.

• If approved, the scheme could still be developed and constructed in time for replacing the London Bridge – Victoria South London line service, which we now understand to be October 2012.

Any Questions ?