Southwark Council are proposing to make permanent the one way closure of Champion Hill. The monitoring report of the trial can be downloaded here. The report concludes that for the monitoring dates the morning peak time traffic in Grove Lane has increased by 130 vehicles/hr, a clear dis-benefit for residents there. It also concludes that the trial has resulted in a net reduction of 200 vehicles/hr crossing the area which is a clear benefit to other residents and potentially will lead to a slight reduction in traffic related pollution around Dog Kennel Hill School.

Southwark Council are offering no mitigation for the residents of Grove Lane if the one way trial is retained.

The original purpose of the trial was to find a way that traffic levels in Champion Hill could be reduced sufficiently to allow it to be designated as part of Quietway 7. This Quietway has problems with routing as Camberwell Grove (part of the proposed route) is not a cycle friendly road, especially the up hill slog on the southern side of the bridge. The Council also propose to make changes to the cycle priorities at the Dog Kennel Hill traffic lights.

The consultation is open for comment until 15 March here.

Many members have complained about the litter in the bushes behind the railings on Champion Park, It is very unsightly, We have shown the state of the area to a representative from the management of NetworkRail and we understand that a budget is being put together to clear it. We will keep on the case until it's done.

NetworkRail say they have completed detailed design of the proposed new entrance. Two of the Camberwell Society committee members have been invited to view the designs and proposals in early January. We plan to write up what we see in the next edition of the Camberwell Quarterly due out in early March.

The Broken Rails report by Caroline Pidgeon and Florence Eshalomi of the GLA found that South London was not well served by rail, suggesting that TFL and NetworkRail were not working closely enough together. The two rail organisations have agreed to prepare a London Strategy report on a rolling basis, joining the dots between them. The organisations will be rebasing and sharing growth models and producing a market study for growth through to 2045.

Network Rail have commenced work. Their first phase will be a "state of the network" report covering corridors and pinchpoints. This would be delivered by early summer 2020. It will be followed by a long list then a short list of ideas for improvements. The aim is to improve frequency of services, even out clockface timing of services (see SouthEastern's timetable between Denmark Hill and Victoria) and move toward metroisation of services in a phased programme.

NetworkRail commented that capacity had to be increased by the use of longer trains (platform extensions), pinchpoint rationalisation and improved signalling. Currently passengers are being left on platforms at stations in Kent due to train over-crowding. It is difficult then to prioritise services in London when this is happening as Londoners often have alternative transport routes albeit less convenient.

We will be seeing improvement in services, it will however take time. In the meantime look out for short term improvements planned for Victoria Station including longer gate lines (to avoid queuing) and improved ambience (including fixing of the roof!).

Watch this space.

The GLA published a report in November 2018 calling for improved rail services in London. The report was published by the Transport Committee then headed up by Caroline Pidgeon and Florence Eshalomi. The report makes 6 main recommendations:

1. NetworkRail should deliver a plan to enable more frequent and longer trains
2. There should be a "Healthy Stations Charter" that promotes walking, cycling and the use of public transport to access stations. It should also promote stations to be pleasant, happy places.
3. Improved passenger engagement with the formation of station user groups. [Camberwell Society has formed a station partnership with GTR for Denmark Hill]
4. A single rail strategy for London developed between NetworkRail and TfL, including improved inter-connections and a drive toward "metroisation" (turn up and go services such as the Tube).
5. Improved Access for All
6. Improved funding