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Tuesday 16 Oct 2018

Croydon residents urged to have their say on plans to boost rail reliability and transform East Croydon station

Region & Route:

| Southern

People in Croydon will be able to have their say on proposals for a major railway upgrade – including the expansion and redevelopment of East Croydon station – after Network Rail today announced a six-week public consultation will take place in November and December.

The proposals to remove the notorious ‘Croydon bottleneck’ are designed to provide a more reliable train service for the 300,000 passengers who travel to and through Croydon on the Brighton Main Line and its branches each day.

If approved, the scheme would see two additional platforms constructed at an expanded and modernised East Croydon station, additional tracks and a series of new railway flyovers to replace the current ‘spaghetti junction’ north of the station where lines from the south coast, Sussex and Surrey meet those to and from London Victoria, London Bridge and beyond. Step-free access would also be provided at Norwood Junction station for the first time.

The improvements to East Croydon station would mean a bigger concourse with improved facilities for passengers, better connections with the town centre and other transport links. It would also help the ongoing regeneration of central Croydon, with potential for new homes and offices to be built above and around the station.

The Croydon area is by far the busiest and most congested part of Britain’s rail network, with 30% more passengers and trains passing through it each day than London Euston and King’s Cross stations combined. Train punctuality on the Brighton Main Line is the lowest of any major route as the bottleneck magnifies the impact of even the most minor incident or delay.

From 5 November to 17 December 2018, passengers, businesses and members of the public will be able to take part in an online consultation by visiting networkrail.co.uk/croydon. Network Rail will also be hosting a series of consultation drop-in events at locations across the Croydon area from 6-22 November to enable the local community to find out more about the proposals and talk to the project team in person.

John Halsall, Network Rail route managing director for the South East, said: “A reliable railway is absolutely critical to Croydon’s economic future and our proposal to remove the Croydon bottleneck will mean significant investment for the benefit of local people, regardless of whether or not they travel by rail.

“For too long, train performance on the lines through Croydon have been below the level that passengers expect and deserve. While a number of factors have contributed to these issues in recent years, the basic layout of our railway through the Croydon area and the bottleneck it creates means reliability won’t ever improve to acceptable levels without significant changes.

“We want as many people as possible in Croydon to take part in this consultation, either online or at one of our local drop-in events, so we can make sure our proposal delivers a genuine transformation in rail services for passengers and businesses and supports the ongoing regeneration of central Croydon.”

Councillor Tony Newman, leader of Croydon Council, said: “Croydon Council has long been campaigning for more reliable rail services connecting Croydon with central London, the south coast and Gatwick Airport. We welcome the plans to invest in East Croydon station and the proposals are ‘must have’ to help us in our ambition to be London’s biggest growth borough.

“We’re well aware of the impact delays and cancellations can have on people living and working in our borough, as well as those visiting. We look forward to seeing the proposals and would encourage residents and businesses to join us in getting involved in the consultation.”

Jonathan Sharrock, Chief Executive at Coast to Capital Local Economic Partnership, said: “Promoting better transport and mobility is identified as a priority for investment in our Strategic Economic Plan ‘Gatwick 360’. Our ongoing area-wide Brighton mainline campaign aims to bring investment and long-term increases in railway capacity on the line which links our whole area and facilitates wider economic growth. The Croydon area remodelling scheme is critical to the success of this and we support the proposals. We continue to urge local businesses to join our Brighton Mainline Alliance and respond to the consultation.”

Angie Doll, Passenger Services Director for Southern and Gatwick Express, said: “Punctuality on Southern was, recently, the best it had been for five years and services on Thameslink are back on track too. However, a major investment of this scale is vital to improve services further for passengers and to future-proof this most-congested route.”

The proposed upgrade is a key part of Network Rail’s long-term strategy to ensure that the rail network can continue to support and drive UK economic growth, providing reliable, fast and frequent services for the increasing numbers of people predicted to travel by rail.

As part of a £300m government-funded programme to tackle delay hotspots and boost rail reliability in the South East, Network Rail is already carrying out a major project to renew and upgrade tracks and signalling on the southern end of the Brighton Main Line. Work is taking place at weekends as well as during a nine-day blockade in February 2019. Other ongoing improvements to the line include power supply upgrades across Sussex to allow longer and more frequent trains to run in the future.