Funding provided for Croydon improvement plans

Network Rail has received Government funding to provide detailed designs for flyovers and extra tracks at East Croydon.

The Croydon Area Remodelling scheme is part of the planned Brighton Main Line upgrade programme. Under the plans, flyovers will be built north of East Croydon to remove bottlenecks that NR says currently delay as many as 300,000 passengers per day.

Two additional platforms would also be built at the station, taking the number to eight. And new concourse areas will be built, improving access to platforms.

The funding enables NR to produce detailed designs for the track and station in the Croydon area, to produce an outline business case to inform decisions on future funding, and to carry out a full public consultation.

NR South East Route Managing Director John Halsall described the project as the only practical way to improve reliability on the Brighton Main Line.

“The Croydon bottleneck is now the biggest cause of congestion and delays to passengers on this vital rail artery, and means that the railway is now effectively full at the busiest times of the day,” he said.

Halsall added that 50% more passengers pass through East Croydon per day than on the busiest parts of the East and West Coast Main Lines.

Croydon Council leader Tony Newman said: “These enhancements are desperately needed and, if approved, will significantly improve travel for Croydon residents while attracting more people and businesses into our town centre.”

Coast to Capital Chief Executive Jonathan Sharrock said: “Our region’s economy desperately needs better, more reliable rail links to London.” He said the Brighton Mainline Alliance strongly supports the plans.

Angie Doll, Passenger Services Director for Southern, said: “This section of railway has more train movements over it than anywhere else in Britain, making it a major factor in delays and disruption to our services.”

The funding confirmation follows the Department for Transport’s publication of the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Capacity Study last year.

NETWORK RAIL. An aerial view north of East Croydon, looking towards London on February 23. An eight-car Gatwick Express Class 387/2 is passing a Southern pair of Class 455s, while a little further north is a 12-car Thameslink ‘700’. In the centre is Selhurst depot,...