Clapham High Street Could Gain Direct Overground Routes To Victoria Station

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Clapham Nub News.

These two paragraphs introduce the article.

Local councillors and the Clapham Transport Users Group have been in discussions with Network Rail about the direct route once the current ‘Networker’ trains are replaced.

Clapham High Street lost its direct services to Victoria in December 2012 when the South London Line was withdrawn in favour of the London Overground to Clapham Junction.

This forces passengers onto the Northern Line, which through Clapham has two dangerous-looking stations; Clapham Common and Clapham North.

I have a few thoughts and observations.

Clapham High Street Station

These pictures show Clapham High Street station.

Note.

1. The station is Grade II Listed.
2. There are four tracks through Clapham High Street station.
3. Only the lines used by the London Underground have platforms.
4. I don’t think it will be difficult to add platforms to the other two tracks.
5. The platforms will probably take five-car trains.
6. Access to the platforms is by a subway, which could probably be extended to the other side of the tracks.
7. A second entrance would be closer to Clapham North station.
8. I suspect step-free access would not be too difficult to install.
9. The tracks are over railway arches, which could be developed to add to the quality businesses in the area.

This Google Map shows the station.

Note.

1. Clapham High Street station is in the North-West corner of the map.
2. Clapham North station is at the Eastern edge of the map in the middle.
3. There seems plenty of space for two more platforms.

I think there is a lot of scope to improve this station.

Tracks Through Clapham High Street Station

This map from cartometro.com shows the tracks through Clapham High Street station.

Note.

1. The Overground tracks are shown in orange and black.
2. The fast lines, which are to the North of the Overground lines are shown in black.
3. Shepherds Lane and Voltaire Road  junctions allow trains on the fast lines to call in Clapham High Street station.

I suspect full digital signalling will be employed for efficiency of handling the junctions.

Services Through Clapham High Street Station

These services run through Clapham High Street station.

• London Overground – Dalston Junction and Clapham Junction – four tph – Goes via Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye
• Southeastern – London Victoria and Ashford International – one tph – Goes via Brixton, Herne Hill and West Dulwich
• Southeastern – London Victoria and Dartford – two tph – Goes via Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye, Nunhead and Lewisham
• Southeastern – London Victoria and Dover Priory – one tph – Goes via Brixton, Herne Hill and West Dulwich
• Southeastern – London Victoria and Gillingham – one tph – Goes via Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye, Nunhead and Bromley South
• Southeastern – London Victoria and Orpington – two tph – Goes via Brixton, Herne Hill and West Dulwich
• Southeastern – London Victoria and Ramsgate – one tph – Goes via Brixton, Herne Hill and West Dulwich

Note.

1. tph means trains per hour.
2. The London Overground services could be increased to 6 tph.
3. Only the London Overground services stop in Clapham High Street station.
4. The Dartford, Gillingham and Orpington trains are pathed for 90 mph trains.
5. The Ashford International, Dover Priory and Ramsgate trains are pathed for 100 mph trains.

It is a comprehensive timetable.

Southeastern’s New Trains

In Battery EMUs Envisaged In Southeastern Fleet Procurement, I wrote about Southeastern’s proposed new trains.

Full details haven’t been announced yet, but I think we can be sure of the following.

• The first trains to be replaced will be the Networker trains, because they are the oldest and slowest.
• The new trains will have selected door opening (SDO),  as this a feature of nearly all modern trains.
• I also suspect the trains will be capable of running at 100 mph and will be five cars long, with the ability to run in pairs.

This will enable the new trains to cross over from the fast lines to the Overground lines to stop in Clapham High Street station.

How Many Trains Would Stop At Clapham High Street Station?

Currently  trains passing through the station are as follows.

• London Overground – 4 tph – Stopping
• Southeastern – 3 tph – 100 mph services to Ashford International, Dover Priory and Ramsgate – Non-stop
• Southeastern – 5 tph – 90 mph services to Dartford, Gillingham and Orpington – Non-stop

Note.

1. It is likely that the London Overground service will go to 6 tph.
2. Would 100 mph services always go through without stopping?
3. In an ideal world would it be best if services alternated?

I suspect that a better service could be provided between Clapham High Street and Victoria with very little expenditure on infrastructure.

High Speed One Issues

An article in the July 2017 Edition of Modern Railways is entitled Kent On The Cusp Of Change.

The article suggests that Fawkham junction, could be used to allow Southeastern Highspeed services to access Victoria as a second London terminal, to increase capacity on High Speed One.

The route could be via Clapham High Street, Denmark Hill, Bromley South, St. Mary Cray, Swanley and Farningham Road.

The Arches Underneath

There are several railway arches underneath the tracks at Clapham High Street station.

Some of the businesses look good and there are several other arches that are boarded up.

Railway arches are now generally owned by The Arch Co.

In Findlater’s Corner At London Bridge – 11th February 2023, I wrote about the company’s restoration of some arches at London Bridge station, which included these pictures.

I suspect that a similar restoration in up-market Clapham could be a good investment for The Arch Co.

A Four-Platform Clapham High Street Station

Consider.

• There is space for two new platforms alongside the fast lines.
• The station entrance is in an arch, that goes right under the tracks.
• Putting lifts in an arch would not be the most challenging of tasks.
• A second entrance in Gauden Road would be nearer Clapham North Underground station.
• It should also be remembered that the Government is giving out levelling up funding.
• Hackney is to receive this type of funding and I wrote about it in Hackney Central Before Levelling Up.

I can see a fully-accessible four-platform station being built at Clapham High Street station.

Denmark Hill Station

Denmark Hill station is the next station to the East of Clapham High Street station and after a rebuild is now a high quality station, with these features.

• Four tracks and platforms.
• Frequent trains to Ashford International, Clapham Junction, St. Pancras, Victoria and Whitechapel.
• Full step-free access with lifts.
• A solar roof.
• A Grade II listing.
• King’s College and Maudsley Hospitals are next door.
• A pub.

I wrote about the station in Denmark Hill Station – 4th September 2021.

These are a few pictures.

Note the solar roof. There’s more about the roof on this page of the BiPVco web site.

On the About page, there is a section called Our Story, where this is said.

BIPVco was established in April 2015 following five years of collaborative research between Tata Steel LCRI (Low Carbon Research Institute) and Swansea University with support from the Welsh government.

The research program developed ways of integrating thin-film CIGS PV cells directly onto the same substrates that make roofs and walls so that true BIPV functionality would become integral to the building envelope and could be achieved without having to resort to heavy on site mounting systems.

Our manufacturing processes were further enhanced to suit commercial production, and the products and procedures were tested and accredited before commercial launch.

Working with select partners, we designed and built many pilot PV integrated roofs between 2015 and 2017 in varying climates, including Nigeria, Canada, UAE and the UK, to demonstrate product suitability in all environments. The full commercial launch was effected in June of 2017.

They certainly seem to have taken solar panels to a new level.

I would also rate Denmark Hill station one of the finest suburban railway stations in the world!

Peckham Rye Station

The next station to the East of Denmark Hill station is Peckham Rye station.

Like many other stations and buildings in London, including the original Denmark Hill station, Peckham Rye station was designed by Charles Henry Driver.

These are some pictures, I’ve taken over the years at Peckham Rye station.

Note.

1. It is a very busy station.
2. I’ve read somewhere, that it is the busiest station in the UK, without any step-free access.
3. It could be a magnificent station.
4. One of the people driving this project is the architect; Benedict O’Looney.

This page on the Network Rail web site is entitled Peckham Rye Station Upgrade and it starts with this statement.

On 7th March 2022, we submitted Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent applications to upgrade Peckham Rye station to make it fully accessible with more capacity and better facilities for passengers.

It’s all a bit out of date, but these pictures, that I took this morning, indicate that something is progressing.

This article on IanVisits gives a few more details.

South London Crosslink

The South London Crosslink, doesn’t seem to have a website or a Wikipedia entry.

But it is mentioned in a question and answer to the London Mayor.

In response to this question.

Will you consider bringing the Victoria rail service back to Clapham High Street station and providing direct trains to Brixton, Herne Hill, and Bromley South?

The Mayor gave this answer.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is responsible for these services, as they run Southeastern railway as operator of last resort. Transport for London (TfL) is not opposed to the existing Southeastern services to and from Victoria making additional calls at Clapham High Street should the DfT, wish to take the idea forward.

There are however several practical issues that would need to be taken into consideration, and any changes to the service would be subject to cost-effective solutions being found to these.

The Clapham High Street platforms are too short for the eight-car trains used on the Victoria to Dartford and Orpington metro routes, and the existing rolling stock lacks a safety intervention called “Selective Door Opening” that enables trains to call at a station where the platform is shorter than the train. There are also technical restrictions, such as the frequent routing of these services along an adjacent pair of tracks which do not have any platforms, which would make implementation difficult using the existing railway infrastructure. Finally, there would need to be clear consideration on the wider capacity of the rail network and the robustness of the timetable. All of these concerns could affect the value for money of any proposal for these services to call at Clapham High Street station.

As I showed earlier, it looks like new trains will solve most of these problems. If they don’t, then the wrong trains have been ordered.

But there’s still not much about where the route will go after Peckham Rye, except for vague mentions of Dartford and Orpington.

I asked a friend and they said the South London Crosslink could possibly go to Bellingham.

This map from cartometro, shows the route between Denmark Hill and Crofton Park stations.

Note.

1. Denmark Hill station is in the North-West corner of the map.
2. Crofton Park station is in the South-East corner of the map.
3. The route would be via Peckham Rye and Nunhead stations.
4. It is not a very fast route with an operating speed of 50-60 mph.
5. In Nunhead Junction Improvement, I wrote about improvements needed at Nunhead junction to the East of Nunhead station to improve capacity for freight trains.

This second map from cartometro, shows the route between Crofton Park and Bellingham stations.

Note.

1. Crofton Park station is in the North-West corner of the map.
2. Bellingham station is in the South-East corner of the map.
3. The line going diagonally across the map from North-East to South-West is the Hayes Line to Hayes.
4. There are plans to create an interchange station at Catford.

This Google Map shows Bellingham station.

Note.

1. Bellingham station is at the top of the map.
2. Bellingham station is on the Catford Loop Line.
3. South of Bellingham station are a series of sidings.

Is the reason, that Bellingham station was proposed as a terminus, that with a proper interchange at Catford, it creates a very efficient operational railway with some convenient sidings thrown in?

This map from cartometro, show the track layout at Bellingham station.

I believe that the sidings could be used as a turnback siding for trains from both directions.

These pictures show trains in the sidings.

And these are of the station.

Note.

April 23, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Architecture, Bellingham Station, Catford Bridge Station, Catford Station, Clapham Common Station, Clapham High Street Station, Clapham North Station, Denmark Hill Station, Fawkham Junction Link, Hayes Line, High Speed One, Levelling Up Fund Round 2, London Overground, Peckham Rye Station, Railway Arches, Southeastern, Step-Free, The Arch Co, Victoria Station | 4 Comments