Agenda item

Resolved: the Committee agreed to share its views with Mayor and Cabinet as follows –

·         The Committee welcomes the newly developed vision for rail, however it would like to see lobbying for the extension of the Bakerloo line to Hayes become a priority for the Council.

·         The Committee recommends that considerations about accessibility be broadened to include a wider range of issues, not just step free access (to include braille signage and support for people with cognitive impairments). The Committee also recommends that support for the provision of accessible public toilets at stations be included in the vision for rail.

·         The Committee welcomes the ambition to improve Lewisham’s stations but it recommends that officers should be tasked with undertaking a station by station analysis of options for land that could be safeguarded for future public transport, cycling and pedestrian accessibility.

·         The Committee recommends that the proposal for the relocation of Lower Sydenham station be included in the vision.

·         The Committee supports the possible future transfer of services from rail operators to TfL and recommends that this be included in the vision for rail.

·         The Committee recommends that further consideration be given to the impact of rail changes on different socio-economic groups in the borough, with consideration given to affordable options for Lewisham residents to access their places of work.

·         The Committee believes that reference should be made in the vision to the night time economy in the borough, including both the benefits to the economy and the importance of cultural activities.

·         The Committee would welcome further information about timelines and potential dates for action and implementation to be included in the vision.

·         It was also agreed that, the Committee would ask the transport liaison committee to consider the recent incident at Lewisham station during poor weather during which passengers were forced to walk on the rail tracks.

4.1      Simon Moss (Service Group Manager, Transport and Highways) introduced the report, the following key points were noted:

·         It was hoped that the document would draw together ideas that had been raised as the Council responded to various consultations recently.

·         The document was still a work in progress and could be added to or amended as things changed.

·         The vison drew on the work for the Lewisham interchange study, which would gain increasing significance as the plans for the extension of the Bakerloo line progressed.

·         Much of the work used to inform the development of the vison had been drawn from existing sources (such as Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail) rather than by the Council.

·         Lewisham had an expansive rail network but there were questions about the network’s fitness for purpose given the level of development anticipated to take place in the borough.

·         Once of the recent key changes officers wanted to capture was the development of the Mayor of London’s transport strategy, which strongly featured Lewisham.

·         In the Mayor’s strategy, Lewisham station was highlighted as one of the four key regional interchanges.

·         Ambitions for a Brockley interchange were also included in the strategy. This was positive because future plans might lead to a link between the Overground network and the rail network.

·         The vison also included a number of goals, including the ambition to: provide better links; ensure sufficient rail capacity; provide rail capacity between all areas of the borough and employment areas; improve rail access to and from growth areas; improve rail connectivity across the borough (especially east/west links); improve the quality and accessibility (particularly relating to step-free access) of stations and to improve connectivity between stations and their local areas.

·         The report also included ambitions for rail enhancements, including: potential ‘metroisation’ of services, which might streamline links and improve rail frequencies.

·         Ambitions for the Bakerloo line and the potential extension of the Overground to Lewisham were also included.

4.2      Simon Moss responded to questions from the Committee, the following key points were noted:

·         Officers had asked TfL to consider the potential for the relocation of Lower Sydenham station (towards Bell Green) in past responses to consultations on the Bakerloo line.

·         Officers has drawn on the ‘turning south London Orange’ work to develop the vison, but greater focus was being placed on the potential for ‘metroisation’ of the railway.

·         Selections from the Mayor’s transport strategy had been included in the vision, including the Mayor’s ambition to increase capacity on the Overground network by up to 50% through improved signalling and increased frequencies.

·         There were some aspects of the ‘turning South London Orange’ work which were a cause for concern, including the threat to the spur of the Overground that extended to New Cross.

·         Officers would contact TfL to discuss the options for 24 hour operation of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

·         There were a number of significant capacity improvement proposals for the DLR.

·         It was recognised that the document was not a holistic view of public transport services in the borough.

·         Officers in highways and transport were working with the planning department to help develop the transport assessment for the new local plan.

·         Work was taking place to develop the new local implementation plan, this would include consultation with stakeholders and the public.

·         It was agreed that in the south of the borough there was a lack of public transport options, there was currently work taking place to extend the 225 bus route in the south of the borough. Options were also being considered for potential improvements that could be delivered at the same time as the second phase of the Bakerloo line extension to Hayes.

·         It was recognised that there were a number of potential opportunities for interchanges and connections in the borough.

·         It was recognised that there were issues with estimations of capacity and overcrowding on the rail network.

·         Further consideration would be given to the potential dates of implementation and activity in the vision. Officers were cautious about committing to delivery dates given that the Council was not in control of the development or delivery of rail services.

4.3      In the Committee discussion, the following key points were also noted:

·         Members emphasised the importance to take a holistic overview of public transport in the borough, ensuring that: the expected increase in development; possible reduction in bus frequencies and the implementation of the ultra-low emission zone were taken into account.

·         There was concern about the provision of station facilities, particularly for disabled travellers.

·         There were also concerns about the provision of public toilets at stations.

·         Members were concerned about the impact of reducing early morning and night time transport services (like night busses) in favour of operating the night tube or night time rail services.

·         The Committee highlighted existing poor level of public transport services in the south of the borough.

·         The Committee was extremely supportive of the potential to extend the Bakerloo line to Catford via the Hayes line to Bromley.

4.4      Michael Woodhead (Chair of the Cinderella line campaign) addressed the Committee, the following key points were noted:

·         The campaign was pleased to see the vision for rail.

·         There was concern about the data used to calculate capacity figures on the network. Especially on the Catford loop line- because it had been shown that a limited set of data was used to estimate passenger numbers in the absence of ticket barriers on the route.

·         The intention to ensure step free access should be broadened to cover all accessibility impairments. It should also include work to ensure that train operators committed to minimising the gap between the train and platform edge.

·         On ‘metroisation’, the campaign believed that options for a range of terminus stations in central London should be protected.

4.5      Resolved: the Committee agreed to share its views with Mayor and Cabinet as follows –

·         The Committee welcomes the newly developed vision for rail, however it would like to see lobbying for the extension of the Bakerloo line to Hayes become a priority for the Council.

·         The Committee recommends that considerations about accessibility be broadened to include a wider range of issues, not just step free access (to include braille signage and support for people with cognitive impairments). The Committee also recommends that support for the provision of accessible public toilets at stations be included in the vision for rail.

·         The Committee welcomes the ambition to improve Lewisham’s stations but it recommends that officers should be tasked with undertaking a station by station analysis of options for land that could be safeguarded for future public transport, cycling and pedestrian accessibility.

·         The Committee recommends that the proposal for the relocation of Lower Sydenham station be included in the vision.

·         The Committee supports the possible future transfer of services from rail operators to TfL and recommends that this be included in the vision for rail.

·         The Committee recommends that further consideration be given to the impact of rail changes on different socio-economic groups in the borough, with consideration given to affordable options for Lewisham residents to access their places of work.

·         The Committee believes that reference should be made in the vision to the night time economy in the borough, including both the benefits to the economy and the importance of cultural activities.

·         The Committee would welcome further information about timelines and potential dates for action and implementation to be included in the vision.

·         It was also agreed that, the Committee would ask the transport liaison committee to consider the recent incident at Lewisham station during poor weather during which passengers were forced to walk on the rail tracks.