Tulse Hill Thameslink Saved!

Cllr Ann Kingsbury at Tulse Hill station

The plan to terminate the Thameslink  train service from Wimbledon to St Pancras at Blackfriars has been scrapped at the last minute! This important local service will now continue to run through Tulse Hill station – thanks to the efforts of  train passengers, Norwood Forum ,local councillors and local MPs who campaigned against the reduction in service.

Labour councillor  Ann Kingsbury said “This is fantastic news. Good train services are vital for the future of West Norwood.  Getting rid of the through service would have seriously inconvenienced many passengers. We will continue to campaign for better transport links for West Norwood.”

Last minute campaign to protect rail services from West Norwood

Tulse Hill Station

Do you regularly travel to north London through Blackfriars by train? The government (Department for Transport) is currently consulting on proposals to combine Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchises.

The proposals mean our “Wimbledon Loop” service of  four-trains-an-hour through from South London (Tulse Hill, Tooting, Streatham and beyond) to Thameslink, Farringdon and London St Pancras will  terminate at Blackfriars. So anyone wanting to travel further north will have to change trains at Blackfriars. The proposed termination of the Wimbledon Loop  at Blackfriars is caused by a massive upgrade to other parts of the Thameslink service for trains coming up from Brighton and Kent via London Bridge eg  Blackfriars Station has been remodelled and the viaduct across Borough Market extended.

There is a public consultation until Thursday 23rd August 2012  and it’s important that Thameslink rail travellers comment on the proposed service changes.

To comment, email thameslink@dft.gsi.gov.uk To see the proposals there is an 84 page  consultation document  available on
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2012-23/
  Page 30 asks  a key question – what is the most satisfactory way to manage the Blackfriars interchange?

For further information on the last-minute protest campaign to persuade government ministers to over-rule the plan campaign to terminate trains at  Blackfriars station please email  Cllr Jane Pickard [jpickard@lambeth.gov.uk]. Terminating our trains at Blackfriars is not necessary and is unfair to local people!

Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet in north London, is the Minister of State for Transport with responsibility for London – email:  theresa@theresavilliers.co.uk

Brightening up Norwood Road shopping centre

Cllr Jackie Meldrum at a consultation session

The council is now looking at improving the roads and pavements in West Norwood town centre between Tulse Hill station and West Norwood station. An early version of the plans will be on show at The Feast on Sunday 3rd July in St Lukes Gardens 10am to 4pm. Over the next few months there will be more chances for everyone to contribute to the improvement plans.

Norwood Road is eligible for funding by the London Mayor’s £50 million high street regeneration fund to strengthen the vibrancy and growth of London’s high streets and local areas.

Improving the environment of Norwood Road is an important part of the proposals in the West Norwood Masterplan and will help attract private sector investment into the area. Current public sector projects include the new primary school in Wolfington Road and the new leisure & health centre in Devane Way. The masterplan can be seen via Lambeth’s Future Norwood web. pages.

For more information contact Michael Hunte in Lambeth’s Regeneration team at futurelambeth@lambeth.gov.uk

Train Drivers end work to rule

Tulse Hill Station

After weeks of disruptions train drivers have accepted the revised pay offer from First Capital Connect who say trains should be back to normal ‘winter’ service from Monday 18th January.

Additional delays are due to the less reliable 20 year old Class 319s which have drive motors vulnerable to snow damage. First Capital Connect says ” We are looking at ways to accelerate the delivery of replacement components to repair the failed trains and a timetable has been developed which can be operated with a reduced fleet. This will provide customers with a more dependable service and allow us to carry out repairs to a number of trains at depots.”

As a result of this poor service users of Thameslink are calling for First Capital Connect to be stripped of the franchise on the e-petition here 

For latest Tulse Hill station timetables see  here 

Jane Pickard, Labour candidate for Knights Hill ward, and chair of Norwood Rail Users Group (NRUG) says ‘I personally support the petition as this dispute, which was so disruptive to passengers, can only be the result of poor management. NRUG is also trying to get Network Rail to change its plans to terminate our Thameslink service at Blackfriars in 2015.’ For more details contact : Jane.knightshill@hotmail.co.uk