The Anonymous Widower

Penge Interchange

This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines through Penge West and Penge East stations.

The two stations are a valid out-of-station interchange, but neither is step-free.

Penge East station could be difficult to make step-free, as the footbridge is listed.

I think that it is one of those structures that Network Rail wouldn’t miss, if it was decided to install it at the National Railway Museum.

This Google Map shows the two stations and their distances from, where the two lines cross.

Note.

1. Penge West station is in the South-West corner of the map on the East London Line.
2. Penge East station is in the East of the map on the Chatham Main Line.
3. The new Penge Interchange station could be located, where the East London Line and the Chatham Main Line cross.
4. The two tracks of the Crystal Palace branch of the Overground can be seen either side of the East London Line.

Could this be one of the reasons, why it has been suggested by Transport for London, that a new station be built, where the lines through the two Penge stations? cross?

• The station would be built on railway land.
• The station could be a step-free four-poster station like Smethwick Galton Street station, which I wrote about in Birmingham’s Four-Poster Station.
• It would have four tph between Victoria and Bromley South stations.
• It would have four tph between Highbury & Islington and West Croydon stations.
• It would have two tph between London Bridge and Caterham stations
• It might also be possible to have platforms on the Crystal Palace branch, thus adding six tph between Highbury & Islington and Crystal Palace. stations.
• The station could have Thameslink platforms.

I feel it would offer the following benefits.

• Better connection between South East and North London, by changing at Penge and Whitechapel.
• Better connection between South East London and Crossrail, with all its connections, by changing at Penge and Whitechapel.

Penge Interchange might allow the two older Penge stations to be closed.

These are some further thoughts.

Southeastern Stations Served From Penge East

These stations are served from Penge East station.

• Beckenham Junction
• Bickley
• Brixton
• Bromley South
• Herne Hill
• Kent House
• Petts Wood
• Shortlands
• Sydenham Hill
• West Dulwich

Each station would get four trains per hour (tph) with two on Sundays.

What Does Artificial Intelligence, Think Of Penge Interchange?

I asked Google AI and received this answer.

Penge Interchange refers to a long-proposed but unbuilt Transport for London (TfL) project to create a major new railway station in Penge, London, combining Penge East (Chatham Main Line) and Penge West (Overground) stations, allowing seamless, step-free transfers between the East London Line (Overground) and Southeastern services, potentially linking to Thameslink, to improve capacity and connectivity in South London. Currently, there’s an “out-of-station interchange” (OSI) between Penge East and Penge West, requiring a walk.

Connecting to Thameslink could be worthwhile.

Note too, that Google AI refers to the East London Line by its traditional not its woke name.

What Does Artificial Intelligence, Think Of Brockley Interchange?

I asked Google AI a similar question for Brockley and received this answer.

“Brockley Interchange” can refer to two main things: the busy M1 Junction 4 near London (a motorway junction with the A41) or proposed future transport links for Brockley railway station in South East London, aiming to connect more rail lines, possibly reusing the old Brockley Lane site for better links to the Nunhead-Lewisham line. The current Brockley Station serves London Overground and Southern Rail but lacks step-free platform-to-platform access, with a proposed interchange potentially fixing this.

Note.

1. The reference to the M1 Junction 4 is of course not relevant here.
2. Brockley station also doesn’t have an entrance on the Up side.

This Google Map shows Brockley station and the Nunhead-Lewisham Line over the top.

Note.

1. The East London Line runs North-South.
2. The Nunhead-Lewisham Line runs East-West.
3. Brockley Lane station was just to the East of the East London Line.
4. There is quite a few hectares of spare land along the Nunhead-Lewisham Line.
5. A development called Brockley Yard has been given planning permission to the West of Brockley station.

It looks like the station could be redeveloped to join the two lines, with a certain amount of housing above the station.

Conclusion

It strikes me, that there are possibilities for station and network improvements, that would benefit passengers at both Penge and Brockley, that would release sites for housing.

The developments could also be self-funded, by property sales and more passengers on the rail network.

 

 

September 13, 2019 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Brockley Lane Station, Brockley Station, East London Line, Housing, nunhead-Lewisham Line, Penge East Station, Penge Interchange Station, Penge Stations, Penge West Station, Thameslink