Thanks - this scheme needs bringing up every so often! I think it would be excellent, especially if connected to the Hayes line: it would give faster and more frequent trains to central (and NW) London from that area of SE London. I remember reading that the plan included using the existing branch to Beckenham Junction, which would link in Bromley and also the trams to Croydon, as well as Penge and Crystal Palace. Google Maps says that the nrmal Bakerloo service from E&C is every 4 minutes, so if half of those were to/from Hayes the othe half to Beckenham, that would be a major upgrade of the service, hopefully encouraging many people off the congested south London roads. I believe that one factor preventing more passenger trains from running from Lewisham is the amount of freight - one can easily see this by checking on RealTime Trains!
This line makes obvious sense from all points of view apart from financial - sadly the money just isn’t there, and isn’t in prospect because London projects are not popular with the rest of the country. Loss of supermarket land isn’t a problem - there is a lot of space along the Old Kent Road, as the area was developed with low intensity retail in the 1970s and 80s, some of which has gone under. and there would still be plenty of space for shopping. BTW did you spot that the TfL map is inaccurate? The gap between the first two planned stations, Elephant & Castle to Burgess Park, is much longer than shown here. This is presumably to reduce pressure for an additional stop at the Bricklayers Arms roundabout.
Thanks for the video. This really is a ridiculous situation where central government is pushing TfL towards insolvency and then saying it can not have things like the Bakerloo Extension and Crossrail 2 until after it becomes solvent. The same nonsense is going on in other parts of the UK and vital transport projects are being postponed and postponed because of this stupid logic from central government. We have a national housing shortage. We need to build houses. We need to have multiple transport projects proceeding. We have a climate emergency. We need cars off the road. And Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah died just nine years into her life because the air in Lewisham is so dirty. It's a national embarrassment that a transport project that would lower pollution deaths in Lewisham is going to be kicked down the road for sixteen years. How many other South East London people have to get ill or die early before Central Government does the right thing and gets this thing built. Even the extension to Lewisham is not enough. By 2040 it should be extended beyond that. Every single station beyond Lewisham will reduce car traffic to Lewisham.
Cannot agree more. I would like it to go to Grove Park and Bromley North via Blackheath and Lee! Forget about Crossrail 2. Work at Loughborough Junction and Queenstown road will get Thameslink South West will be far more effective!
But then Khan is freezing fares - if he wants more money to do things, he can put fares up. Otherwise Govt is effectively spending money earmarked for capital projects to prop up Khan's fares freeze.