Queen's Road Peckham: James Laird

The withdrawal of the South London Line  train service between London Bridge and Victoria will definitely go ahead in 2012 according to Transport for London. The closure will, “assist improvements to the Thameslink Programme at London Bridge”.

Peckham commuters are amongst those likely to be hit hardest by. The closure of the service means that there will be no longer be direct trains between Queen’s Road Peckham and Victoria, which currently run twice an hour at 18 and 48 minutes past.

TFL are downplaying the closure and  highlighting the extension of the East London Line to Clapham Junction in 2012 and an increase in off-peak Thameslink trains by 2015 as a sign that London is becoming more accessible to commuters.

The Bellenden residents group in SE15,  have vociferously protested against the loss of services which, they say, will not be compensated by the new East London Line. They are concerned that:

“This will sever the direct link from stations between Victoria and Denmark Hill to London Bridge, and the direct link between South Bermondsey and Queens Rd Peckham to Victoria. It will also create a big gap in services to and from Victoria in the evenings and at weekends from Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill, when there will be no trains to Victoria at all.”

Joyce Martin, a local resident in Peckham, who uses the service to go shopping in Central London, said she was unaware of the changes being made in 2012, but that the trains were not regular enough to disrupt her plans.

“To be honest, this is the first I’ve heard about this service being cancelled. They never tell you anything until they’ve done it, do they?

“It is a useful train when it runs, but that’s only every so often.”

“But for those using it every morning and have been doing it for years, she added, it will cause unnecessary hassle.”

Will the withdrawel of the SLL service between London Bridge and Victoria via Queen’s Road Peckham affect you? Eastlondonlines wants to hear your views.

By James Laird