BML2 renews plea for investment in South East routes

A group campaigning for a second main line route from London to Brighton is urging “massive investment” in London and the South East, with route reopenings.

It argues that closures of the London-Brighton line in October this year and February 2019 will be “sorely felt”, although it acknowledges that “a business case cannot be made solely on alternative routes in times of need”.

Brighton Main Line 2 (BML2) says that recent and future developments at Royal Albert Docks and in the Docklands will add to the pressure, and that its London phase will reduce congestion at London Bridge and on the Thameslink route. The London phase would include a tunnelled link between East Croydon and Stratford, while the Brighton Main Line 2 itself would run via Oxted, Crowborough and Uckfield.

The group is also calling for the reopening of the route between Ashurst/Eridge and Tunbridge Wells, some of which is used by the heritage Spa Valley Railway.

Should the entire project be built, it would enable passengers to travel direct from Tunbridge Wells West to Canary Wharf, shortening journey times and eliminating changes onto the Jubilee Line at London Bridge.

In response to Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling’s pledge to work with the private sector to develop infrastructure schemes, the group claims that its backers have said they can keep project costs and risks off the Treasury’s books.

It also points out that Network Rail’s South East Route Strategic Plan says that 12 of Britain’s busiest 15 flat junctions are on the South East Route. With this in mind, BML2 is sceptical about the viability of ambitions to further increase the number of trains running on the existing network.

In a statement, BML2 said: “The rail industry must cease deluding everyone into thinking they can manage with the existing trainset. Serious investors are keen and willing to get involved, and a proper co-operating partnership between government, investors and Network Rail to build BML2 is long overdue.

“We need more than government ‘support’ - we need real leadership and a true sense of direction displayed.”