Transport campaigners are calling on Transport for London officials to adopt a plan that would link Brixton to the successful Overground railway network that it runs.
At present Overground trains run through the closed Brixton East station, near where Barrington Road meets Coldharbour Lane, without stopping.
Clapham Transport Users Group (CTUG) says its plans would be cheaper than Lambeth council’s long-term plan to re-open the station – funded by development in central Brixton.
And it accused the council of being “lethargic” on public transport issues – “only reacting to transport plans when they are finalised rather than being pro-active in lobbying”.
CTUG said Lambeth town centres like Clapham and Streatham had lost out on projects like Crossrail 2 “because the council doesn’t engage with City Hall or government from the outset, leaving the borough’s transport needs abandoned as opportunities pass Lambeth by”.
TfL and central government have said Lambeth’s council’s aim of re-opening Brixton East station, which closed in 1976, is too expensive
CTUG will be pressing its case for direct rail links between Brixton and Clapham High Street at a public meeting in Clapham on 5 March that it is organising. TfL officers will be there.
CTUG said that although the meeting will be focused on Clapham, the area’s transport is interlinked with neighbouring town centres and improvements in Clapham could have wider benefits while addressing dangerous overcrowding at Clapham Common and Clapham North Tube stations.
“CTUG believes the only real way to address Northern Line overcrowding is to develop the bus network more fully and turn the overland Clapham High Street station into a hub with direct trains to Victoria, Brixton, Herne Hill and Bromley South, allowing Clapham commuters fast links to Victoria without needing the Tube, while also connecting Clapham to South London destinations.”
This plan would require additional platforms at Clapham High Street to allow Victoria to Bromley South trains that travel through Brixton to call at the station.
It would also have a major benefit for Brixton by giving residents access to London Overground services from Clapham High Street to the City and Docklands.
CTUG said this plan was far cheaper than the longstanding ambition to re-build Brixton east station which had been ruled out by TfL and Network Rail in the past as too costly.
The meeting is at Clapham Omnibus on Monday March 5 from 6 to 8.30pm. The venue is accessible.
Clapham Omnibus: 1 Clapham Common North Side London SW4 0QW. The nearest Tube is Clapham Common. The 322 bus from Brixton goes to the venue.
I find that most projects that are of benefit to the people and busineses get let down by slack Councils, Enfield is another one, but at least with the Overground it’s been allowed to take over past Cheshunt, so if there’s a rail replacement, we can benefit from a TFL Bus service to replace it unlike the rubbish that runs around Broxbourne, Waltham Cross area.
I also don’t understand why co-ordination is a lack luster thing in London, most other towns have trams, buses and private taxi firms but London is still very much backward in terms of being modern. Even Harare in Zimbabwe and certain regions in Nigeria and most other parts of Africa are miles ahead.
Come on UK, pull your finger out.
It’s blindingly obvious that better transport links for Brixton would be a good thing for both residents and businesses. It’s crazy we have a busy rail link going through the centre of Brixton and no station. This discussion has been rumbling on for years yet Lambeth seem to do nothing?