Crofton Park station ‘gets a very poor deal’

crofton park

Scarse service at Crofton Park station. Pic: Dr Neil Clifton.

The Crofton Park Transport User Group (CPTUG) has initiated a campaign pushing for a better service at Crofton Park station.

As of now, the station receives on average two or fewer trains per hour, despite the annual number of passengers using the station being about 900,000. This means that passenger demands are not being met.

Crofton Park is one of only seven out of 149 Zone 3 stations with such a low frequency of trains.

The Lewisham suburb is an appealing area for families and young people, with attractions such as the Rivoli Ballroom and Brockley Jack theatre creating flow to and from the area.  Its proximity to the City- a journey time of 20 minutes to and from the City Thameslink- has made it increasingly popular.

Other South East London stations have benefited from the London recent Overground extensions upgrade, which has connected Highbury & Islington to Crystal Palace, West Croydon and Clapham Junction.

The CPTUG believes that overcrowding due to insufficient train frequency will only become worse once the Catford Greyhound Stadium housing development takes shape.

Ed Green, a CPTUG committee member, told East London Lines: “We always find people are shocked by how close we are to the centre of London yet how mind-bogglingly difficult it is to get there reliably – or to get back at all after a night out.”

He added: “Surely workers in one of the world’s leading financial centres in the 21st century should not be in a position where they have to wait an hour to get into work when a single train’s been cancelled?”

The CPTUG was set up by a group of  dissatisfied commuters, with the support of Lewisham Council, in 2010. They have since then demonstrated how  service frequency at Crofton Park station is underestimated by almost 50 per cent, with evidence showing that the service at Crofton Park station has fundamentally deteriorated over the past 40 years.

Now, the CPTUG is calling upon all local user groups, representatives of local authorities, as well as TfL to ask for ta fairer deal.

“The community can insist on a fair deal by asking their councillors, MPs and GLA members to write to the Transport Secretary, stating that all of London deserves decent transport”, said Green.

The goal is to upgrade the service by having at least four trains per hour stop at Crofton Park and a last train to Crofton Park at or after midnight.

Without change South London residents are getting less than half the service of other Zone 3 ticket holders for he same money.

Read and participate in the campaign.

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