As part of our long-term plans to upgrade the Brighton Main Line we’re proposing to unblock the Croydon bottleneck to give Brighton Main Line passengers faster, more reliable services and improved connections across the region.
This animated video shows our proposals consulted on in summer 2020. Further development is now taking place to understand changes in passenger behaviour following the pandemic.
Programme revision
Further development of CARS has been affected by issues such as the significant uncertainty about future passenger behaviour and demand following the COVID-19 pandemic and funding constraints following the Governments 2020 Spending Review.
Given the significant investment required to deliver this scheme, we are now taking time to consider how the pandemic may affect passenger behaviour and travel patterns in the future, and how any such changes should be reflected in infrastructure investments such as this.
Background
The Croydon area is the busiest, most congested and most complex part of the country’s rail network.
The lack of capacity at East Croydon station and the complex series of junctions north of Croydon, the Selhurst triangle, delays trains across the Brighton Main Line and the wider network every time an incident occurs.
It also means that journey times will always be constrained, and we won’t be able to run the additional trains needed to meet passenger demand or serve new destinations, in the future.
Our proposals
CARS is the largest and most complex part of our longer-term Brighton Main Line upgrade proposals. CARS would remove the Croydon bottleneck. Our proposals consist of the following:
The station currently has six platforms which means that incoming trains often have to queue outside the station for a platform to become available, resulting in delays.<\/p>\n
Accessibility at the station is limited as the existing access ramps are steep and congested, the small concourse regularly becomes overcrowded and passenger facilities are limited.<\/p>\n
Our proposal<\/h4>\n
A rebuilt station with two additional platforms, a larger concourse with improved facilities for passengers and better connections with the town centre and other transport links, supporting the ongoing regeneration of Croydon.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"\u2018Selhurst triangle\u2019 remodelling","description":"
Current constraints<\/h4>\n
The frequency of trains and large numbers of flat junctions in this area make it one of the most complex parts of the rail network. Trains often have to wait at red signals for other trains to pass causing delays and making it difficult to recover the service when an incident occurs.<\/p>\n
Our proposal<\/h4>\n
We propose to grade separate junctions by building new viaducts, bridges and dive-unders to separate the tracks as they cross each other. This means trains will no longer have to wait at a red signal for others to pass.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"Lower Addiscombe Road\/Windmill Bridge reconstruction","description":"
Current constraints<\/h4>\n
To provide more platforms at East Croydon station and allow the Selhurst triangle junctions to be remodelled, we need to expand the railway north of East Croydon from five to eight tracks.<\/p>\n
Our proposal<\/h4>\n
We propose to rebuild the bridge over the railway, increasing its span, to provide space for three additional tracks.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"Norwood Junction station upgrade","description":"
Current constraints<\/h4>\n
The current track and platform arrangements limit the number of fast services able to call at Norwood Junction. This is because stopping and non-stopping services share the same tracks. The current subway is also in a poor condition and does not meet accessibility requirements, making it difficult for passengers to change platforms.<\/p>\n
Our proposal<\/h4>\n
We propose to modify the track layout to provide dedicated tracks for fast and non-stopping services, lengthen and widen platforms to allow longer trains to stop at the station for the first time and build two footbridges, one with lifts, to provide step-free access to the platforms.<\/p>\n
These works are not proposed to form part of our Transport and Works Act Order application for the Scheme.<\/p>\n
The benefits
More tracks and remodelled junctions would also mean we would be able to speed up some services through the Selhurst Triangle.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"More services","description":"
Once we deliver our proposals to unblock the Croydon bottleneck to improve the reliability of existing services, we would then be able work with train operators to consider running more trains.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"A boost to the regional and national economy","description":"
As the main route connecting the capital with Gatwick Airport and the south coast improving the Brighton Main Line will provide a significant boost to the regional and national economy.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"An expanded and enhanced East Croydon station","description":"
The expanded and enhanced station would deliver better passenger facilities, improved transport links and support the ongoing regeneration of Croydon.<\/p>\n"}]" :key="i" :i="i" :title="item.title" :icon-name="item.icon" :description="item.description" :is-expanded="slotProps.activeItem === i ? true : false" @expand="slotProps.handleExpand">
Public consultation
Where our proposals require work to take place outside the railway boundary we need to submit a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) application. These elements of the wider CARS proposals are known as the ‘East Croydon to Selhurst Junction Capacity Enhancement Scheme’ and we’ve ran two public consultations on these proposals.
We held our first public consultation in 2018 where more than 90% of respondents supported the proposals. You can read a summary of feedback here –View the feedback summary report
From Monday 1 June to Sunday 20 September 2020 we ran our second public consultation.
We received 1,428 responses and overall, with 90 per cent of respondents indicating they either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with our proposals.
The five most common themes in the feedback we received are:
- Desire to complete the project and deliver the benefits quickly
- Concerns over service disruption during construction
- Concerns about highways disruptions
- Matters related to impacted land and property
- Integration with buses, trams, taxis and cycling at East Croydon station.
Download summary of the consultation (777 KB, PDF).
This feedback, along with other ideas and suggestions will help shape our final designs.
While further development work is now needed, we will continue to engage with local people and stakeholders as our plans develop.
Programme revision
Further development ofCARShas been affected by issues such as the significant uncertainty about future passenger behaviour and demand following the COVID-19 pandemic and funding constraints following the Governments 2020 Spending Review.
Given the significant investment required to deliver this scheme, we are now taking time to consider how the pandemic may affect passenger behaviour and travel patterns in the future, and how any such changes should be reflected in infrastructure investments such as this.
Please get in touch
For more information on our proposals you can email us at crsouthern@networkrail.co.uk. You can also visit ourcontact us pageor call our 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or you can contact us on Twitter at@NetworkRailSE