Rail passengers in Lewisham face the prospect of longer and more complicated journeys after train service providers announced a new reduced timetable from December.

Commuters from some Lewisham stations will need to change at London Bridge to get to Waterloo and Charing Cross and Thameslink passengers will have to change at Blackfriars to reach King’s Cross and the rest of the Thameslink lines.

Travelling south, passengers between London Bridge and Anerley will need to change at Norwood Junction to reach East Croydon, Gatwick or Brighton.  

Members of Lewisham Council’s transport committee and the Sydenham Society asked rail providers how local passengers will be provided for.

Committee officer Claudette Minott wrote to Govia Thameslink to ask why trains from Lewisham stations are no longer going beyond Blackfriars.

The company stated that the decision was made in response to “financial pressures” and that demand for travel at peak times has only returned to 70-75 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with demand concentrated from Tuesday to Thursday. It went on to say that there are no plans in place to restore services beyond Blackfriars.

Grove Park councillor Hilary Moore asked Southeastern about the lack of service to Charing Cross from New Cross and New Cross Gate stations.

Southeastern replied, explaining that said services haven’t run “since the completion of Thameslink in 2018”.

Trains through New Cross run to London Bridge and Cannon Street, while trains through New Cross Gate terminate at London Bridge.

Southeastern went on to state that London Bridge station has been improved with step free access, that during peak times there are trains from London Bridge to Charing Cross every few minutes and that the new timetable attempts to improve reliability and reduce congestion in the Lewisham area.

The Sydenham Society wrote to Southern Rail outlining the difficulty of changing trains at Norwood Junction, a station which is easily congested due to staircases and the narrow underpass between platforms and asking about improving access at the station.

Southern said that it is awaiting an announcement from the Department for Transport about improvement schemes, which won’t come until 2024 at the earliest.

The Society also asked if Southern were going to restore a full pre-covid timetable on the Croydon to London Bridge line.

Southern explained that due to financial constraints, it prioritised the London Bridge to Victoria service via Sydenham which it considers to be more useful because of the connections it provides at Clapham Junction.

It also stated that it would reopen some services if and when demand increases.