Infrastructure
suited for fast running up to 100mph. Electrification could be a continuation of existing third rail, although we’ve been advised to consider electrification, using over head line equipment, for numerous reasons and advantages. The London Phase is intriguing. Of
course, all BML2 trains could operate through East Croydon – if there was the capacity – but there isn’t. So, like Redhill, which needed bypassing in 1900, Croydon requires the same. Non-stopping services do nothing for East Croydon and those who aren’t alighting have no wish to go there. It’s the same scenario whereby the BML’s Quarry Line avoids blocking Redhill.
Obviously there would have to be cross-
connections south of Croydon to enable BML services to run to Canary Wharf, Stratford and beyond. But because so much interchange occurs at East Croydon (second only to Clapham Junction) we suggest ‘Croydon Gateway’ is considered where a well-designed major transport hub could be allocated on industrial land. This could include fast lines, over or under, to allow airport shuttles to pass through. Admittedly it’s a big project, but we have a very big problem. The plan is to enable passengers from
Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Eastbourne, Lewes, Brighton, Worthing, Chichester, Horsham, Gatwick and so on, new access to expanding eastern areas of the capital and Crossrail. Diversion of services in emergencies would also be possible, particularly useful as pressure increases on East Croydon.
Croydon Tramlink
We’re often asked about Tramlink. The one-mile section between Lloyd Park and Lebanon Road on the New Addington branch would need relocating to release the tunnels for heavy rail operation. But it’s important to note that this simultaneously benefits Tramlink. North of the tunnels, the corridor is wide enough for Tramlink to run alongside the fast lines. Trams descend to serve Addiscombe stops, but the railway would maintain the level on a new 300metre-long overpass in lieu of its bulldozed embankment. At Elmers End, Tramlink terminates,
whereby the Hayes branch would then continue alongside. The proposed £3.5bn Bakerloo line extension, involving taking over the Hayes branch, might be better invested in BML2, while Lewisham has already expressed interest in having a station. We now need TfL and the Mayor to investigate what BML2 could do for London. Network Rail says once it has sorted
out capacity problems at Croydon and into Victoria, then reopening the Uckfield to Lewes line makes perfect sense, but they’re missing the point. There is nothing to gain by further delay because we need an
alternative route now, not in another 25 years. It’s also imperative that it also goes through the South Downs directly into Brighton, because BML2’s business case is significantly stronger. For instance, the off-peak market
would be extremely buoyant and the commercial returns substantial for any train operator running trains along the well-populated Uckfield line corridor throughout Surrey, Kent and Sussex into the heart of Brighton, as well as Lewes and Eastbourne. The additional cost of the South Downs link is relatively insignificant, yet it provides the greatest return. Once the Sussex Phase is underway
then the Kent Phase is justifiable and once that goes ahead the London Phase makes even greater sense. It should also be appreciated that the Sussex Phase is critical for London’s expansion, because no matter what additional capacity provision is provided in south London, without BML2 the insurmountable constraint south of Three Bridges remains.
Additional platform
Network Rail proposes a possible additional platform at East Croydon and maybe a dive-under, with grade separation at Windmill Bridge Junction to the north and also at South Croydon. But we think this will be inadequate – certainly by the 2030s with the predicted 30 per cent increase in demand. And that figure applies not only to ordinary rail services, but expanding Gatwick too. We don’t feel they have properly appreciated the rate of growth, while passengers shouldn’t be regularly forced to stand for long distances.
Railways are more important than ever and will always be the supreme mode of land-based travel. Even if cars could be made to run on tap water or fresh air, there’s no way English roads and towns could ever accommodate such traffic growth, even if we concreted over the entire south east.
The contraction of the south’s rail
network between 1960 and 1990 left us with an unfortunate legacy, barriers to growth, inflexible operation, increasing passenger anger and dissatisfaction. All the DfT and rail industry can now offer is ‘Super-Peak’ fares, imagining they can choke-off and ‘manage’ demand. We aren’t seeing that ‘solution’ applied to the airline industry.
The DfT doesn’t appreciate business
markets and civil servants aren’t captains of industry capable of making good commercial decisions. A unified industry, free from political influence, would be in the position of going to the banks and arranging long-term loans for infrastructure, but this disconnected set- up with no overall control means no one can decide the future. Railways need long-term planning and
whether this lies in re-nationalisation resembling something like Network South East or proper privatisation in a return to the ‘big four’ is highly debatable. I’d say ‘unification’ – because the current structure is costly and wasteful and damaging the industry. It is also preventing critical decisions coming forward to deliver the system that England is most certainly going to need.
Brian Hart is the project manager of the campaign group BML2:
www.bml2.co.uk
DECEMBER 2012 PAGE 37
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