page under construction
Our rail services to central London and to the Tube connections come from several different directions and are run by several different rail companies. The Tube map [link] shows none of these connections because TfL does not run any of those rail services, and the Tube map shows just TfL operated services. London's Rail & Tube services map [link], which shows Rail services and Tube lines, is too detailed to get a clear picture about our Tube connections.
So we have produced our own local map showing the rail services that connect us to the Tube. This is in two forms:
We are advised by TfL that there will be no gap between the ending of the SLL and the beginning of the ELL. So if the SLL ends before the end of December, the ELL will begin operating in December 2012.
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SRUG map up to December 2012 with SLL
click on the map for a full size |
SRUG map from December 2012 or January 2013 with ELL
click on the map for a full size |
These show the many direct links there are in fact to the tube in central London from SRUG stations. TfL's planned Tube map for 2013 (see below), with the new ELL extension to Clapham Junction, shows Queens Road Peckham, Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill completely disconnected from central London. So our pocket size maps will be a useful addition to the Tube map for visitors to know how to navigate this part of the system as it is now. We will produce pocket sized maps for post 2012 in preparing for the arrival of the ELL. The second map below shows how it would have been if the South London Line (SLL) were to be retained when the ELL comes into operation, which we produced when trying to save the SLL. We will try to get it back again in 2019 when London Bridge is back in full operation after rebuilding so we will keep the map available here.
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TfL's Tube map from Dec 12/Jan 13
TfL’s Tube map shows the way TfL sees our rail services - Queens Road, Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill disconnected from central London. |
Tube map showing ELLX & SLL
Our Tube map shows the South London Line on the map as a key part of integrated Zones 1 & 2 south London transport infrastructure, if it were not to be axed from December 2012. |
TfL run the Underground, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and the East London Line (ELL) (part of London Overground). TfL’s Tube map shows only the connections between these three systems. The existing Tube map therefore does not show SRUG stations even though they are so close to central London and with good direct connections to the Tube system. This becomes even less helpful when the new tube map by 2013 will show Queen’s Rd Peckham, Peckham Rye, Denmark Hill on the Tube map for the first time see above, but show them as if totally cut off from central London.
Residents and visitors to our areas of Southwark are not served well by these official maps. This is why we are now developing our own from a local user perspective. Users, when travelling, are not interested in who runs the services but simply where we can get into the rail/tube system and the connections we can make.
The rail system is very complicated with numerous interacting routes and different train companies. We have decided to focus in our maps first on educating everyone how our SRUG stations are very well connected into the Tube system. The two obstacles in seeing this are that there is no handy diagram in our heads or our visitors' heads to remind us when we are out and about and planning our journeys. The other is that the rail services on our rail tracks are irregular and not frequent enough. To realise their potential as part of the integrated rail/tube systems we need regular and full services spanning the same hours as the Underground.
TfL are committed (page 35, 8.1.2) to achieving for all rail services in Greater London the same standards in coverage and regularity as the Underground including mimimum frequency of 4 trains an hour, but they are not responsible for all the relevant services. We need therefore to support their aims by drawing attention to the deficiencies at each stage when they might be remedied, eg when new rail service franchises are being drafted. We also need to help the user to become much more familiar with seeing our rail services and stations as part of the integrated rail/tube interconnections.
We hope our maps will contribute to this.
Seeing the two maps side by side, it is easy to see how the ELL will replace the SLL. From Dec 2012/Jan 2013 the ELL opens up new journeys east–west, but closes down some current ones going into central London. Some stations (Battersea Park, Wandsworth Rd, Clapham High St, Denmark Hill) will lose their links completely to London Bridge, others (Sth Bermondsey, Queens Rd Peckham) will lose the links to Victoria, and at Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill, the services to London Bridge and Victoria will be significantly reduced, and to Victoria, on current plans, will become irregular and infrequent outside daytime on weekdays Mon to Fri.
The maps also help to understand the complications in describing the effects of changes and cuts in the services into Victoria, London Bridge and Blackfriars/St Pancras, as they come from different directions. These services all come through and affect Peckham Rye, and they all go through some of the other SRUG stations. All services at the other SRUG stations come through Peckham Rye. This is why it makes it worthwhile to produce a map solely from the perspective of users of these 7 SRUG stations. In describing the effects of any changes in future we will be able to refer to the SRUG maps directly to make it easier to understand the complications.
Of course, the SRUG map(s) then have to be read alongside all the other maps showing the other rail systems - Network Rail + Train Operating Companies, and TfL’s DLR (Docklands Light Railway) , London Overground, and Underground - that our local SRUG system connects to. We will continue to explore the development of our local maps for the benefit of local rail users.
