New timetable and more trains for Crofton Park

New trains come into service soon

A completely new timetable will apply to Crofton Park trains from Sunday, May 20th.

And since there is nothing harder and more confusing than trying to write about train timetables for a service you don't use, the Cinderella Line campaign for better rail services through Crofton Park has summarised it instead. They say:

Thanks to everyone, from 21st May we will be enjoying our well-deserved 4 trains an hour on the Cinderella Line, doubling current capacity and giving us vital new services across London.

Here are the key changes:

Our core service

4 trains an hour all day every day Monday – Saturday. Sunday will initially have 2 trains an hour increasing to 4 once Network Rail have completed some engineering works that will allow Thameslink to run the full service on Sundays too.

You can read more about the engineering works here.

Two of our services will terminate at Blackfriars and two will go beyond to Kentish Town, linking us up to Farringdon for Crossrail and Kings Cross St Pancras.

Weekday mornings into London

On weekday mornings we will have 4 trains an hour and Crofton Park and Bellingham will also have some direct services to London Victoria:

The 4 Thameslink services will be spaced at 10 and 20 minute gaps. This is to pave the way for eventually increasing our service to 6 trains an hour and we're going to be pushing for this to happen.

Just imagine: a train every 10 minutes!

But there is a catch if you want to go to Victoria

From Crofton Park there are currently three direct services to London Victoria on weekday mornings departing at 7:36, 8:23 and 8:43. In the new timetable from May, these times have been amended to depart at 7:46, 8:15 and 9:21, so our third service will be more than 30 minutes after it currently is.

We have raised this with Southeastern Railway and the reason for this is that under the new timetable with all of our core services through Blackfriars, it is not currently possible to have a train that stops at Crofton Park at around 8:45 to Victoria as this could cause a knock-on delay to other services.

And the new services won't be fully operational straight away

From 11th June the initial phasing will be complete and our services will run as planned. During the phasing in period, some of our services will either start from Blackfriars or Terminate there, but after 11th June they will run the full length of the route.

For the full rundown of changes, click here.

You shall go to the ball, four times an hour

The Cinderella Line campaign to improve train services through Crofton Park station will be celebrating a major victory from May, as frequency of service will be increased to four trains per hour during off-peak periods. They explain:

Despite a week of snow, nearly 100 local residents braved the weather and made it to the Rivoli Ballroom on Saturday to hear about the future of rail services at Crofton Park. For those who couldn't face the cold, or who made it but want to hear about it all over again, here are the highlights:

Local MP Vicky Foxcroft made the introductions and Michael from the Cinderella Line campaign talked about the achievements of the last few months and future plans.

Brilliantly, for the second and third rounds of the consultation, Crofton Park provided the highest number of responses across the whole network of 140 stations - beating Brighton, London Bridge and London Victoria in the 'having our say' stakes - a real tribute to Crofton Park power.

As a direct result: from May this year, we are getting FOUR TRAINS AN HOUR! This will effectively double our off peak services. In addition, we will also get two extra peak time services in the morning and two more in the evening, with scope for this to be increased in line with passenger needs in the future.

This is the culmination of years of work from the campaign, but as Michael mentioned, although we have achieved what the campaign set out to do, there are still a lot of hills to climb and we are willing to keep pushing for further improvements to the services and the station, as always, with your support.

Close the gap in Crofton Park

Reader Emily wants to do something about the large gap between the trains and the northbound platform. She writes:

"I am always a bit nervous of the gap - it’s huge - when I get on or off trains on the northbound platform at Crofton Park station.  I’m tall, wear sensible shoes with low heels, travel light, know the station well, but still get nervous. The platform at Crofton Park is curved and some of the doors on carriages further back from the driving engine are not visible to the driver, at least just by him just looking behind him.

"To make things worse, the platform is often really poorly-lit after dark and I’ve heard people gasp - and not in a good way - as they step out into the void as they disembark on winter evenings."

"Crofton Park station is not unique in this regard.  I’ve long worried about gaps between platforms and the floors of certain models of newer trains at a number of stations.  Nunhead, Catford, Beckenham Hill - the only ones on that line that I use regularly and am au fait with - all bigger than I find comfortable, all with vertical gaps way bigger than I would like to lift a baby buggy or bicycle up or down from."

"These gaps can be fixed. The gap on Platform 4 at Elephant & Castle station used to be huge and I thought it was really dangerous as the platforms and trains were often more crowded than at the stations I’ve mentioned.  I was very pleased when I noticed that this gap was hugely reduced a few years ago - by adding a gently sloping platform on top of the existing platform to raise it and - possibly - extend it out towards the track.

"I would love it if there could be a discussion leading to change on this front. I think the recent tragedy could be a catalyst for a debate.

"It seems to me like it would be quite a cheap and easy matter to raise train platform heights.  It seems curious that so much effort goes into installing lifts and incorporating step-free access at new tube stations but nothing is done to just make access ‘step-not-too-huge’ at train stations."

"I would like to hear from other Brockley Central readers, to know if they share my concerns and would support a campaign to get something done?"

Crofton Park train campaigners aim high

Michael from the Cinderella Line campaign group, which campaigns for better train services through Crofton Park, writes:

Thameslink have proposed to run four trains to Crofton Park every hour at the weekend, which is great, but they are suggesting we'll have to wait until December 2018. Bah! Humbug! We think that's way too long to wait.

In the last round of their consultation, Crofton Park had the highest number of responses, closely followed by Nunhead in third place, and Catford in fifth. Brighton came in sixth and given how much trouble they have had over the last year it just goes to show what a sweet sound our community makes when it comes to singing from the same carol sheet.

But we need to raise our voices one more time while the weekend services are within our grasp.

We have to respond by 20th December so please get your vote in now.

But they want even more! They continue:

A little while ago now, the Cinderella Line campaign and the local community successfully pushed for services into Victoria during morning peak times on a weekday. ​

That's helped curtail a lot of commutes but imagine if Southeastern trains on the Cinderella Line went to Victoria on a weekend too?

You can sign our petition for this change here.

You shall go to Blackfriars - join the campaign for Crofton Park trains every 15 minutes

A Cinderella Line - it has a logo and everything

Local action groups aren't supposed to be this successful. The Cinderella Line is a campaign to improve the frequency and quality of services that run through Crofton Park Station.

They scored an impressive early win with the recent decision to offer more trains during morning rush hour. Now they want your help to do more. They say:

"We’re fighting for improvements on the Catford loop trains. Now is the time for action.

"Thameslink Railway are in the middle of the biggest timetable consultation in a generation and want our thoughts on their proposals. This is our chance to get four trains an hour as a minimum standard for Crofton Park and the Catford Loop. A chance to get trains every 15 minutes, so you can just turn up and go.
​
"But to get all of this we need your help. We need to get 1,500 responses by 8th December so we can show how much demand there is for our service.
​
"All you need to do to respond is sign your name and say you support our request for a minimum of 4 trains an hour, through Blackfriars, all day every day.
​
"You can of course add your own comments and suggestions too. Just click here to go to the response survey."

Major improvements to Crofton Park trains from December

The Cinderella Line is the campaign group working to secure better train services through Crofton Park. The current service is as infrequent as it is unreliable and they believe the people along that route deserve better.

The group has been working with Vicky Foxcroft MP and Southeastern Trains to introduce a new timetable and has had a stunning success. They say:

"From December 12th, four new trains will stop at Crofton Park between 7-9am . Three will go on to Denmark Hill and Victoria and one to Elephant & Castle and Blackfriars.

"The Victoria services currently pass through Crofton Park but don’t stop there, so they will now make the additional stop at Crofton Park.

"We have also been pushing Thameslink to introduce new Class 700 trains, with 30% more capacity than the trains we currently have. The first of these will appear from the end of November and then replace our current trains at the rate of one per week.

"These stations were chosen as they have the least number of trains on the Catford Loop. The services will be weekday mornings only – for the evening, people can change at Denmark Hill and the journey time will be 25 minutes from Victoria to Crofton Park.

"By January next year, all our peak time services should be the new trains which offer 30% extra capacity to the current ones."

Times for the new services are as follows:

07:36 Crofton Park – Victoria
07:58 Bellingham – Victoria
08:24 Crofton Park – Victoria
08:43 Crofton Park – Victoria
09:01 Crofton Park - Blackfriars

Follow the Cinderella Line team on Twitter here.

TfL plan to take control of South London trains includes new Brockley hub

TfL's vision for its expanded empire

Mayor Khan today presented the Secretary of State for Transport with the business case for the further devolution of London’s suburban rail services to Transport for London (TfL) and a plan, which includes a potential interchange between Brockley Station and the upper line which has been earmarked to reopen as part of a new orbital rail service.

The plan sets out how a better integrated and more reliable suburban rail network would improve services for millions of passengers, many of whom are being severely let down by suburban rail services out of stations like London Bridge and Waterloo.

The principle of the further devolution of suburban rail services has already been agreed by the Government in a joint DfT/TfL prospectus in January 2016. The business case presented today sets out how further Rail devolution would also deliver substantial economic benefits, supporting the development of 80,000 new homes while remaining cost neutral to central government.

The business case states how rail infrastructure in south London has been under-utilised, with low levels of capacity, poor service provision and increasingly crowded services. The case explains how, working closely with partners, TfL could apply its experience of successfully running the London Underground and London Overground networks to substantially improve travel for millions of rail passengers.

Improvements TfL believe they can deliver include:

• More frequent services, including increasing services longer term between Orpington and Victoria from 6 trains to 8 trains an hour, and trains from Bexleyheath to London from 7 trains to 9 trains per hour  
• Integrated fares and ticketing, with any freeze in TfL fares also being applied to devolved rail routes within London.
• Cleaner, refurbished and safer stations with all day staffing, turn up and go services for those with accessibility needs, and more reliable trains
• Installing more ticket gates, introducing Oyster and contactless payment where they’re not already available, and providing more or better ticket machines

The biggest impact of this would be in south London where house building rates are less than half the rest of London due to poorer transport connections.

The plan proposes the "provision of a new interchange facility at Brockley between Southeastern, Southern and London Overground services to enhance network flexibility and the additional journey opportunities this provides."

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said:
 
“For too long, London’s rail commuters have been getting a bad service – with nightmare delays, cancellations and overcrowding increasingly the norm on our suburban rail routes. Today’s business case sets out in detail the huge benefits Londoners will feel from devolving suburban rail routes to TfL. Our plans will not only use TfL’s skills and expertise to improve the daily commute for millions of Londoners, but act as a catalyst for new jobs and homes in outer London."

Southern proposes one fewer rush hour train from 2018

Southern Rail has published a consultation document regarding services from 2018, when the London Bridge upgrade is completed. The reward they're offering Brockley commuters for the years of disruption they have experienced is a reduction in service from 5 trains per hour during peak time to 4 trains per hour. All Brockley services will terminate at London Bridge.

The reduction in peak time capacity is likely to be offset by two more East London Line trains from 2018, but given that this route is already hugely overcrowded and usage has been growing fast, it would be a shame to lose an overland train.

The consultation states:

"Analysis has also revealed that passengers travelling from stations between Norwood

Junction and New Cross Gate in many cases travel beyond London Bridge to stations such as London Charing Cross, London Blackfriars and City Thameslink. Whilst this route ranked third in terms of passengers travelling to Thameslink stations, London Overground are expected to operate additional services to meet this demand. Introducing Thameslink trains on this route is not appropriate due to the direct interaction with other high frequency trains on the East London Line and a lack of suitable turnaround facilities. 

"Alternative high frequency Thameslink and Southeastern trains will be available at London Bridge where passengers will be able to easily interchange, for onward destinations, between trains using step-free access." 

On the up-side, there is also continued recognition that the Crofton Park service needs improvement, with the consultation noting:

"The Catford Loop line generates significant passenger demand but currently is only served by two trains per hour throughout the day. It is recognised that this route requires a more frequent service than is currently provided."

In 2021, TfL will take control of these routes and save us from Southern.

Crofton Park train campaign meets today

Click here to visit the website

The great railway journey

Crofton Park commuters launch campaign for better trains

If the recent slew of positive stories about transport infrastructure in South East London have taught us one thing, it's that Crofton Park Station and the Thameslink services that rattle through it are at the top of no-one's to-do list.

The Catford Loop line rarely gets mentioned in any talk of upgrades or restructures and the line's poor capacity, frequency and reliability are such that unless you work in Blackfriars or Denmark Hill, then a walk to Honor Oak or Brockley stations is often a better better bet.

Thus, a new petition has been launched by Crofton Park residents who have "had enough" and want the line to be treated as a priority. They say:

Residents of Crofton Park and the surrounding areas have come together to call for change from Thameslink. We've done our research - looking at timetables from the 1950s we have discovered that today there are fewer, less frequent trains despite the growth in commuter numbers. 

There are 36% more passengers than just 4 years ago - but no improvement in trains, the timetable, and even worse performance. We want to see:

- a reliable service, an end to frequent delays
- 8 carriages on all trains in the morning and evening peaks
- 4 trains per hour each way in the morning and evening peaks

Click here to sign the petition or attend the public meeting on Saturday 6th February from 3pm at the Rivoli with Brockley MP Vicky Foxcroft.

Crofton Park flood

The stretch of road near Crofton Park Station is currently covered in water thanks to a massive leak beneath the pavement. Thanks to Molewife for the photo.

Forget everything you thought you knew about Crofton Park Station. History Starts Now

The Partnership grows

This week, Crofton Park became the first station in the Thameslink network to be adopted a local community group.

The Crofton Park Railway Group had already established a garden on spare land at the station and the signing of the Station Partnership formalises the commitment between the two to work together further.

The station garden includes flowers, as well as vegetables, and is looked after by the Crofton Park Railway Group. Thameslink has agreed to let the group expand further on the station, and will also pay for an in-depth survey of the space to support the group's aspirations.

The garden has helped transform an overgrown area of the station which, historically, was plagued with litter, including a number of old mattresses. Since the creation of the garden, fly-tipping has reduced significantly and the group has plans to make it even more attractive to the 700,000 passengers who travel through the station each year.

Perhaps Thameslink will hold up their end of the bargain by throwing some extra trains into the mix.

Two more trains to Crofton Park by 2018

@BrockleyCentral More Crofton Pk trains 2018? pic.twitter.com/67gEpXjva2

— BeBazzled (@barryls69) October 16, 2015

Getting reliable information about what is actually going to happen to our rail services in the future is needlessly and infuriatingly difficult, so we're reduced to leaping on vague scraps of information given out by customer relations teams on Twitter.

In response to huffy Tweets by Crofton Park commuters fed up with lousy service, Thameslink appears to have confirmed that there will be two more trains per hour calling at the station by 2018. That would be a 50% increase in capacity and take the service up to a respectable frequency.

Crofton Park - A love story for the ages

Via Patrick.

Crofton Park Station to get new operator

Transport operator Govia has been awarded the TSGN rail franchise, by the DfT for a seven-year period, starting in September 2014. TSGN is the largest rail franchise in the UK in terms of passenger numbers, trains, revenue and staff and covers the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern Services.

As part of the deal, Crofton Park Station will be transferred away from Southeastern and operated by this franchise. The transfer will take place in December 2014.

Thanks to @Trainwatch for the information.

The Gold Medallion of Crofton Park

Jack writes:

I found this St Christopher medallion at Crofton Park Station , this is real sentimental jewllery. There is an inscription on the back. I tried my luck to advertise it at Crofton Park Station but was not allowed to do it, so here I am to try my luck to find his/her owner. Please email me if you are the owner and can tell me what the inscription on the back is.

Crofton Park seeks 100 years of train upgrades

BCer William says this is a pivotal moment for Crofton Park transport and wants residents to join his campaigning group. He writes:

The Department for Transport is inviting tenders for the biggest rail franchise in Europe. This franchise will include provisions of trains from Crofton Park station. We are within sight of a world-class system but currently Crofton Park gets a terrible deal - amongst the worst in London, considerably worse than what was delivered in 1950s Britain and on par with Edwardian era provision. 

Our group is fighting for a fair deal in the new franchise specification, with the support of Lewisham Council, local MPs, local GLA members and TfL. More information on our website: www.cptug.org

New bike racks for Crofton Park

Lucy tweets: "They're installing bike stands at Crofton Park station as I type."

That is all.

Crofton Park train services - the facts

Following Patrick's article about the future of Crofton Park trains, following the Thameslink construction, another BCer, David, did some further digging and has been able to confirm that Crofton Park services will return to a similar pattern to the one they enjoyed before works began. He says:

I emailed Thameslink and have just got a relatively detailed reply about exactly what will happen to the Crofton Park line. I thought it may be of interest for the site. Fundamentally trains to Blackfriars will resume in May, but they will not run the line through the Thameslink core (though presumably we will be able to change on to the other lines at Blackfriars so it is hardly a disaster.

Thameslink said:

Regarding evening and weekend services between Crofton Park and Sevenoaks: the Service Development Planner has confirmed that currently this is one of those services which falls into a gap between two operators. 

The existing weekday joint services between Sevenoaks and Kentish Town etc. will be maintained in the May 2012 timetable. In addition Southeastern will run some later services to and from Sevenoaks and Blackfriars. 

These are late evening services, which currently originate or terminate at Victoria because there is no access to Blackfriars due to engineering works. At weekends from May, Southeastern will revert their current London - Sevenoaks via Catford service to originate or terminate at Blackfriars instead of Victoria.

As these are purely Southeastern services, they do not appear as part of our Thameslink project publicity, which is concerned with the First Capital Connect Thameslink route. First Capital Connect certainly, and we believe Southeastern, have both looked at extending the through services to include weekends, but we were not able to make a commercially viable business case, and I suspect that Southeastern were not able to either.