London Banter - View Single Post - Diversion of the South London Line from London Bridge

Colin Rosenstiel · October 19th 07, 12:30 AM posted to uk.transport.london

In article .com,
(John B) wrote:

On 18 Oct, 13:05, MIG wrote:
I really can't see what "improvements for the greater good" are going
to be achieved by diverting trains from already overcrowded routes
into central London into a stopping service to Hackney.

The dream of an orbital railway is being pursued in a very blinkered
way. There may be a need for one, but when people agree to the need
for a new service, it's wrong to infer that they mean "and existing
services should be taken away".

The fact that railways developed as they did, with radial routes
having precedence over orbital ones, is a clue to which are more
important.

s/"are"/"were at the time railways developed". Employment is
decreasingly concentrated in central London, and congestion is making
rail an increasingly important alternative for commuting in outer
London.

And AIUI Denmark Hill would keep its Blackfriars and Victoria to
Sevenoaks and Dartford trains (just losing the Victoria to London
Bridge SLL trains) under the Orbirail proposals, so nobody would be
denied access to town...

The original comments mentioned medical courses run jointly between
King's, for which Denmark Hill is much the nearest station, and Guy's
which is near London Bridge.

When I was born at King's and my father and later brother taught there,
Guy's was a great rival but today they are parts of the same institution
so presumably generate quite a bit of direct Denmark Hill-London Bridge
traffic.

--
Colin Rosenstiel