This
is where we tell
you about our campaigns, and report on progress.
- Improved frequency of services.
There has been little success in the campaign to consolidate the route
network and increase the frequency of rail services, despite the
promises made by Govia back in 2000. Politically, there appears to have
been a slow move towards greater collaboration between the
Department of Transport (DfT) and the Train Operating Companies (TOCs).
Nevertheless, with the exception of the London Overground (see entry
for September 2006 below), the Mayor still has no direct powers over
London's National Rail network.
In
September 2004
the Strategic Rail Authority published a draft consultation document Brighton
Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy, the scope of which
included, to some extent, London suburban service patterns. The Sutton
Rail Users' Forum welcomed these developments and produced a response
(see Key Points box to the right). The Strategy was finally
published by the Department for Transport in February 2006.
The Railways Act 2005 extended
Transport for London’s (TfL) governance
responsibilities over London's rail network. This allows TfL to deliver
higher standards and services for London's rail users, as well as
facilitating closer integration between rail services and other modes
of public transport. The
following year there were signs that London's rail network
would come under the control of the Mayor, (see entry for February 2006
below) and Transport for London responded to the Government's
Rail
Review.
- June 2000: Govia bid for the franchise for the
Southern area and propose eight routes to operate with a frequency
of four trains an hour.
- May 2003: South Central increased the frequency of
service between Sutton and London Victoria via Carshalton, Hackbridge
and Mitcham Junction on Sundays from hourly to half-hourly (except
early morning). At the same time, the Monday to Saturday evening
service between Sutton and West Croydon increased from half-hourly to
every fifteen minutes.
- September 2003: Pilot scheme Overground Network
launched.
- February 2004: Representatives
from Govia Thameslink tell the Forum that there is not a "business
case" for
increasing the frequency of services between Sutton and Wimbledon.
(Interesting, because figures based on entry and exit counts
subsequently released by the Office of Rail Regulation show that, out
of the 318 stations in Greater London, Wimbledon and Sutton are the
14th
and 44th busiest respectively. Click
here to access data from the ORR.
Meanwhile passenger growth on the Croydon Tramlink between Wimbledon
and Croydon goes from strength to strength. In 2007/08 there were 27.2
million passenger journeys on the network up from 15 million in the
first year of operation 2000/01. Figures from Public
Transport Statistics Bulletin GB 2008, Table D, also show that growth
in passengers on Croydon Tramlink over one year 2006/07 to 2007/08 was,
at
11%, the highest of any rail system in the UK. Click
here
to access DfT statistics.
- May 2004: Transport for London publish London's
Railways - a response to Government's Rail Review
- December 2005: The Department of Transport
announce that FirstGroup has been successful in its bid for the new
combined Thameslink/GN franchise which will commence on 1st April 2006.
- February 2006: TfL to manage the North London
Railway from November 2007. Ken Livingstone Mayor Of London "Transport
for London can begin to revitalise London's overground rail services" Click
here to read more from BBC News
- March 2006: The Secretary of State for Transport,
Alistair Darling, confirms at Transport Questions in the House of
Commons that the availability of pay-as-you-go Oyster would form part
of the
invitation to tender for bidders of the South Western Franchise, due
for renewal in 2007: Click
here to read more from London TravelWatch
- September 2006: TfL launch London Overground -
A new era for London Rail. A clear sign of the good things to come,
with the North London Railway the first to benefit.
- November 2006: TfL publish Transport
2025: Transport vision for a growing city
(T2025), outlying a comprehensive programme of transport improvements.
The document identifys three transport objectives, consistent
with
the Mayor's vision for London:
- Supporting
economic development - by improving public transport, and managing the
road network to reduce traffic congestion;
- Tackling
climate change and enhancing the environment - by reducing CO2
emissions, improving air quality, reducing noise, and improving the
urban environment;
- Improving
social inclusion - by making transport more accessible and secure for
users.
- July 2007: DfT publish White Paper: Delivering a
Sustainable Railway.
- May 2008: The South London RUS becomes formally
established by the Office of Rail Regulation.
- October 2008: The National Audit Office publishes Letting
Rail Franchises 2005-2007. The report finds that the
Department
of Transport - which took over the franchising
process from the Strategic Rail Authority in 2005 – has
provided service specifications for Train Operating Companies that
reflect Government aims of improving railway performance while
controlling industry costs. Click
here to read more from the NAO.
- November 2008: Mayor of London,
Boris Johnson, launches Way to Go!,
his
vision of transport in the capital. This is the precusor to the Mayor's
Transport Strategy, and includes the aspiration of working towards
Tube-style frequencies, staffing
and policing for every suburban London station. Bring it on! Click
here to read more from City Hall.
- November 2008: Mayor outlines ten year plan for
massive transport expansion. In the TfL Business
Plan
a lot is said about the Overground concession, but
improvements to
other suburban surface rail routes appear somewhat
less evident.Click
here to read more from City Hall.
- May 2009: Boris Johnson publishes his Statement
of Intent draft of the Mayor's Transport Strategy.
"Surveys show that
businesses rate the reliability of transport journeys...as being of
greater significance than absolute journey time, hence the importance
of of 'smoothing' traffic flows and improving journey time
reliability" [quote from para. 35]. Great,
so let's smooth out the the irregularity in rail service
intervals! Click
here to read more from the Mayor's Office.
- June 2009: Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis
awards the South Central franchise to the incumbent operator Govia. The
new franchise is to run from September 2009 until July 2015, but if
perfomance targets are not achieved the DfT has the option to
terminate in July 2014. The franchise could also be extended
to 2017. A greatly improved quality of service is promised with more
regular trains, more trains at busy times and more station and
train security. Click
here to read more from the DfT Press Office, and click
here to read more from BBC News.
At long last,
could this really be a breakthrough for rail services in south
London?
- Better access to stations.
The Forum have suggested that one obvious way of making
rail travel more attractive would be to improve access to stations.
Some modest success can be reported.
- May 2004: The decision was finally taken by
Govia to keep the entrance on the southbound platform of Wallington
station open all the day! This gate had
previously only been open at peak hours on Monday to Friday. As a
result, ticket holders benefit from greatly improved access to and from
the south of the station at any time of the day. South Central said
that the entrance would remain open provided that this did not lead to
an increase in anti-social behaviour. Over five years later and
this gate remains open, so presumably this trial can be declared a
success. Meanwhile, at Carshalton
station a former entrance from West Street remains bricked up,
and at Sutton station the entrance constructed on the south side about
six years ago remains closed. The Forum will continue to
press for improved access.
- More stations.
Many lines just pass through, but do not serve, areas with relatively
high populated densities. The Forum believes that
surface rail in south London could have a bigger role to play,
especially considering the lack of Underground in many areas. Will
Camberwell be next after Mitcham Eastfields?
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