Vicky Foxcroft MP for Lewisham Deptford & Shadow Minister for Disabled People
For the past few months I have been working with A Cinderella Line in their campaign for a better service for Crofton Park and the rest of the Catford Loop. If you live in Crofton Park, or anywhere on the Catford Loop, you won’t need me to tell you how badly served this line is. The population around Crofton Park is increasing year on year, but there were more trains in the 1950s than there are today. Most trains are dangerously over-capacity (some services are as much as 46% over capacity) and this is something the Cinderella Line campaigners and I have been lobbying to improve this year.
So I’m pleased to say that from December 12th we will see four new Southeastern morning services for Crofton Park! This will go to some way to relieve the pressure on the rush hour services – and hopefully will help you get to work quicker in the mornings.
Southeastern will be serving the Catford Loop in the mornings from December 2016 onwards
Alongside the existing morning services, these new Southeastern services will run at the following times on weekdays:
- 07:36 Crofton Park -; Victoria
- 08:24 Crofton Park -; Victoria
- 08:43 Crofton Park -; Victoria
- 09:01 Crofton Park – Blackfriars
The Victoria service will also stop at Denmark Hill which is helpful if you need to change on to the London Overground.
Since becoming the MP for Lewisham Deptford, I have spoken to hundreds of people who have told me about what effect poor transport links and services have on their lives. It’s not just paying through the nose for an overcrowded service that is often late or cancelled at peak times. It’s the fact that we end up constantly late to work, putting a strain on our jobs. It means we miss dinners and bedtimes with our families. I’ve spoken to people who have missed flights or have turned up late to job interviews. Rail providers are profiting from services which they fail to run effectively, which is why I support our Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan to devolve all suburban rail services to TfL.
So this is just the start – and we will continue to keep the pressure up on the rail providers to ensure we see more improvements over the coming months and years.
One way you can get involved and help is by contributing to the next Thameslink consultation service. If you live on the Catford Loop, A Cinderella Line have posted their own survey on their website and are hoping to get 1, 500 contributions by December 8th. To share your views and help campaign for a better train service locally, fill in their survey here.
Live in Crofton Park or along the Catford Loop? Get involved with the Cinderella Line campaign here.
I am also working with other transport users groups in the constituency. If you are setting up a transport users group in the constituency and would like some support from me, please also get in touch.