Connecting The Bakerloo Line Extension At Lewisham To The North Kent And Bexleyheath Line
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines in the area of Lewisham station.
Note.
- The multi-track line going North-West to South-East is the South Eastern Main Line .
- The double-track line going South-West to North-East is the Hayes Line.
- The double-track going East are the North Kent & Bexleyheath Lines
- I think it is quite likely that the overrun tunnels for the Bakerloo Line Extension will be under the Hayes Line.
The North Kent & Bexleyheath platforms are as follows.
- Platform 3 is the Up platform
- Platform 4 is the Down platform
Services running on the lines include.
- Dartford to London via Platform 3
- Slade Green to London via Platform 3
- London to Dartford via Platform 4
- London to Slade Green via Platform 4
In Connecting The Bakerloo Line Extension At Lewisham To The Hayes Line, I showed that it would be reasonably easy to connect the overrun tunnels for the Bakerloo Line to the Hayes Line.
So could the Bakerloo Line Extension be connected to the North Kent and Bexleyheath Lines?
If the Lewisham Underground station was deep under the current station, it might be possible to create a junction, which would enable the Underground trains to go in the direction of both the Hayes and Bexleyheath Lines.
But having been on a train between Lewisham and Bexleyheath stations, it would appear that there is little space for the Bakerloo Line to emerge from the ground and join the surface railway.
These pictures show the viaduct and other structures that support Platforms 1 and 2 at Lewisham station.
The pictures seem to confirm that linking to a line under Lewisham station would be extremely difficult and very expensive, and would require a long closure of the North Kent and Bexleyheath Lines through Lewsiham.
If this is the case, this must mean that the Hayes Line is the only place, where the Bakerloo Line can go.
The Anonymous Widower 
What do you think about sending it, underground/subsurface, towards Greenwich Peninsula, New Charlton, Woolwich and Thamesmead (+possibly over to Creekmouth/Barking Riverside)? It would open up a huge amount of development areas along both sides of the river, and create far better cross-connections between East and South London. If the metropolitan line is extended in future, that would be better extended to Hayes/Bromley North.
Comment by LR | October 9, 2018 |
I’m not sure at the moment and I’m on a sleeper going North to Edinburgh. I’ll reply fully when I get back to London at the weekend.
Comment by AnonW | October 9, 2018 |
I know this wasn’t intended for me but I’ll put it out there anyway
It would be better to create a new branch of the Jubilee Line from North Greenwich to Thamesmead. It’s much nearer than the Bakerloo Line and it’s an old plan so it was built with passive provision for it (with its 3rd platform). The DLR is now planned to extend to Thamesmead from Gallions Reach but with developers intending to build 15,000 new homes on the Thamesmead Waterfront, it’ll quickly need relief. Well there’s a tube line nearby that goes all the way to Central London, why not make use of it?
You could potentially find a way to send the Jubilee down to Abbey Wood Station after Thamesmead, with DLR extending further to Belvedere Station via Southmere Square
The Bakerloo is much better off doing what TfL are already proposing to. It definitely needs to terminate somewhere in Bromley borough. Now whether it should take over the Mid-Kent Line past Catford to Hayes or tunnel further past Hither Green then take over the Bromley North branch is another question entirely but we all know it’ll be Hayes in the end
Comment by ZB | April 9, 2026 |
I am a member of the new cross gate action group fighting a development proposal by Sainsburys with Mount Anvil for high density, high rise accommodation and a new store on the site which is proposed for the Bakerloo extension to reach New Cross Gare station. We think the Bakerloo Line may not be extended if this development is agreed. I am writing to you to find out if you know of community , commuter or residents groups along the Hayes Line which you suggest is the most viable route and in Bexley who might wish to object to this obstacle to the Bakerloo Line being extended as TFL have
Outlined.
You can find us as a group on Facebook.
Thanks
Comment by Sallly Panter | September 11, 2019 |
I suspect that the planners will probably decide the high-rise etc and the extension will both be built.
I had a long chat on a train with a developer, who said that the profits, cash flow and customer satisfaction are so much better when you build a development on top of a station. You also don’t have to provide as much expensive and space-wasting car parking, as many people these days are giving up cars, as I have. I live in Hackney and was stopped from driving after a stroke ruined my eyesight. I don’t miss cars one bit, as the money saved means I can use taxis and First Class rail if I feel fragile.
I take it you’ve seen that the government has given TfL funds to run two extra trains per hour (tph) between Whitechapel and Crystal Palace via New Cross Gate, so this will increase capacity to Whitechapel and Crossrail by 25%.
In the future, they plan to add another two tph to West Croydon.
There will also be another big increase of capacity through New Cross Gate and along the Hayes Line, when South Eastern replace the elderly trains, probably with British-built Aventras, as can be seen on Crossrail and the Goblin.
This could improve the capacity enough at New Cross Gate, to hold the fort until the Bakerkoo Line is extended. But new surface trains would add the capacity much sooner! And TfL won’t be paying for it, except for a few new trains for the North London Line, so the current trains can be put on thev East London Line.
I think this could be a cunning plan.
P.S. I don’t do Facebook!
Comment by AnonW | September 11, 2019 |
The Bakerloo line should be extended from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham and then run to Charlton,Woolwich,Thamesmead,Abbey Wood,Bexleyheath and terminate at Crayford. The Bakerloo line should run in new tunnels. The Southeastern mainline should be untouched.
The extension to the places I have mentioned such as Thamesmead have no railway station at all and the other stations like Woolwich and Abbey wood would provide an interchange with the Elizabeth Line and National rail services.
Also my idea for the extension is within the London boundary.
Hayes is not really London and do not support TFL services that run beyond London, its ridiculous.
My idea could have run as far as Dartford but again, its outside London and there are so many Southeastern trains which serve Dartford going to London. Every couple of minutes trains operate either going via sidcup,bexleyheath,greenwich or woolwich and lewisham via blackheath.
Comment by Nick | July 15, 2020 |
Hayes IS London however. It’s in the LONDON Borough of Bromley and has been since 1965! The NIMBY fuckwits of Bromley and Hayes all need to accept that they’re not in Kent anymore!
Unlike Dartford which is still in Kent today…
In the nicest way possible, your Bakerloo idea will never happen. I kind of get the logic behind it and you certainly have a point with Thamesmead but this is not a realistic prospect, considering the cost to tunnelling. It would make more sense as a DLR proposal due to the population density levels and cheaper costs for tunnelling and station building. Don’t forget that TfL finances are in a poor state at the moment because of both COVID reducing revenue and government cuts to funding.
Charlton – Abbey Wood via Thamesmead is more suitable for a Bus Rapid Transit project starting in North Greenwich. You’ve already got the link as the SL11, now we just need to make it better. Install signal priority, bus lanes all the way to Thamesmead (make sure they’re 24 hour!) and offboard payment (so people can enter and exit from all doors), and that would sort out most issues regarding unreliability. Ideally also convert to bendy buses because 1.) more standing room 2.) more doors to enter and exit from 3.) less time lost to people going up and down stairs (a trip hazard by the way, especially if it’s whilst the bus is moving!). These BRT measures would benefit other bus routes such as 161, 177 and 180 in particular but also 96, 99, 422 and 469! This is what should have been done instead of the half arsed Superloop that is still unreliable because it does nothing to combat congestion! BRT is perfect for TfL in their current state because it’s cheap, easy, quick to implement and yet it reaps major rewards for the buses that are already running.
Besides… there was an old plan to extend the Jubilee Line from North Greenwich to Thamesmead and it was built with provision for that. Why not recycle the old plan? Maybe take it to Abbey Wood with the DLR to Belvedere station via Southmere Square?
The Bakerloo SHOULD go to Hayes and Beckenham Junction. That is the big brain move and I hope Hayes residents realise this sooner rather than later. They really are just dumb if they protest against it!
Comment by ZB | April 9, 2026 |
I forgot to add that the DLR will need relief in Thamesmead since there is a plan to add 15,000 new homes at the Waterfront along with what already exists. Unfortunately the Overground is no longer an option because it requires demolishing modern infrastructure at Barking Riverside, there’s next to no chance that would be approved. Plus Thamesmead deserves a proper high capacity rail link that actually runs to Central London – that could only be the Jubilee Line, seeing as it’s already nearby!
Comment by ZB | April 9, 2026