We have done some quick analysis on the timetable from January 2015 while the Southeastern side of London Bridge is rebuilt.
Update 20 October: The link above is now broken: Southeastern have withdrawn the timetables from their website, saying that they were “draft”. New (final?) timetables are now promised in November.
Here is (was) our initial view:
- The SER timetable published today reveals the scale of the challenge facing Sevenoaks area commuters while London Bridge station is rebuilt. From January 2015 to August 2016 trains to Charing Cross and Waterloo East will not be able to call at London Bridge which will be served only by Cannon Street services.
- Charing Cross and Cannon Street termini are both fully utilised during the morning and evening peaks so SER had limited options for diverting services between termini.
- SRTA expressed serious concern during the consultation prior to the publication of the timetable about the need to provide adequate capacity to reach London Bridge from Sevenoaks. SRTA believes that SER has failed to provide adequate capacity. Commuters who use London Bridge and Cannon Street are likely to find their services carrying additional numbers of passengers and there is likely to be heavy overcrowding on some morning peak services.
- Sevenoaks commuters who use London Bridge to change to and from the Jubilee line are likely to find it more convenient to change at Waterloo East to reach Southwark station on the Jubilee line by using Charing Cross services. In addition, commuters may sometimes find it more comfortable to use the slow service rather than the fast service.
- SRTA is disappointed at the absence of any plans to upgrade information services to assist all passengers with changes to their travel arrangements during the £6Billion project.
- SRTA welcomes the extended opening hours for both Cannon Street mainline and tube stations. However, SRTA is calling for free transfers between London Terminus stations (Charing Cross, Waterloo, London Bridge, Cannon Street and Victoria). This gives passengers more options to avoid overcrowding. It is also vital if there are disruptions to services – as there inevitably will be from time to time. Given that Cannon Street will have only a half hourly service to Sevenoaks a cancelled train will lead to unacceptable delays for customers who should not need to pay to reach Charing Cross to find an alternative service.
- SRTA welcomes the option at off-peak times to change at New Cross to reach London Overground services running directly to Docklands and north London without passing through London Bridge. This opens up numerous new journey opportunities. Extending these opportunities to the peak period would have provided a substantial benefit for commuters: SRTA regard this as a missed opportunity.
Roger Johnson, SRTA Vice-Chairman, spoke about the new timetable on BBC Radio Kent this morning.
We would welcome your comments – please use the box below.
I welcome the idea of trains stopping at New Cross. However, why can’t the peak Cannon Street trains stop there too. Seeing that these trains will only drift through the station at 30 mph wouldn’t it seem sensible to open up all possible connections during this disruption.
I’m hoping there’ll be space on board the Chelsfield connection trains for Dunton Green passengers heading to Charing Cross…
The overground doesn’t go to the Docklands. A better solution would have been to stop some peak trains at Lewisham so that there is a connection to the DLR (in a similar manner to Essex trains stopping at Stratford).
Unfortunately, Jubilee line trains are generally full when they arrive at Southwark, and few people leave the train. You sometimes have to wait for several trains before boarding during peak times. I would think that people will end up walking to the Waterloo Jubilee station.
I note there is no reference in the proposals or the SRTA comments to the impact on Southern passengers who change and use the SouthEastern services to get from London Bridge to Charing Cross. Once upon a time we had direct trains to Charing Cross, but we lost those and have for the last few years had to put up with the inconvenience of changing at Charing Cross. But what do we do now?
My main worry is that we might have to use the East London Line from New Cross/New Cross Gate to Whitechapel and then take the District Line. This service is however already crowded to excessive levels in the rush hour resulting in passengers not being able to get on the services – and often standing room only outside the rush hour. Even a slight increase in the number of people using the East London Line could potentially be catastrophic.
The alternative is the Jubilee to Waterloo and walking. But the Jubilee line too is packed beyond capacity.
Has the idea of a continuous Cannon Street – Charing Cross shuttle been considered?
Perhaps, my south London friend, you could travel earlier or take an alternative route. Of course, there are buses too – we don’t have similar frequency like that here in west Kent. I’m sure there’s lots of different options and probably at not much extra expense considering the TFL fare structure.
Good luck!
I’ll be stuck at Chelsfield waiting to get to Waterloo East wishing I’d stayed on the Dunton Green to Cannon Street train.