Passengers, businesses and residents from across Sussex, South London and further afield have overwhelmingly come out in support for Network Rail’s proposals to unblock the railway bottleneck at Croydon.
Every weekday, over 1,700 trains and 300,000 passengers pass through Croydon, making it one of the busiest and most congested parts of the UK’s railway network.
The Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme (CARS) would provide a step-change in timetable reliability through this critical bottleneck and on the Brighton Main Line railway as a whole.
The plans, which also support the ongoing regeneration of Croydon, would see additional tracks built north of East Croydon station, as well as the construction of flyovers so trains can move more freely, plus a rebuilt station with two additional platforms, a larger concourse with improved facilities for passengers.
More than 90 per cent of respondents to Network Rail’s first phase of consultation, which ran from 5 November to 17 December 2018, either agreed or strongly agreed with proposals to reconfigure the railway through Croydon.
Only two per cent of respondents opposed the scheme, while seven per cent were undecided. The most common response to the consultation was for Network Rail to move forward with the project and improve services on the Brighton Main Line.
The most common concern raised was around the impact construction work would have on train services and the local area; this is useful feedback which is now helping to shape the proposals.
John Halsall, managing director for Network Rail south east, said: “Regular travellers on the Brighton Main Line are aware of how busy and congested this section of railway is, so while we are extremely pleased with the overwhelmingly positive response to our proposals, I’m not surprised that people are eager for us get on with it and make the improvements needed.
“But, we are still at a very early stage in developing these plans and will be undertaking further detailed consultation with the people of Croydon and passengers and businesses from across the region in the year ahead to ensure any concerns are understood and responded to.”
The first phase of consultation closed in December. Network Rail is now analysing the feedback and using it to inform proposals, before a second round of consultation on more detailed proposals for specific elements of the scheme in the summer 2019.
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