The campaign is for a link in the Croydon area to Docklands and thence to Stratford and Stansted Airport. The re-opening of the Uckfield- Lewes Link on available land would result in trains arriving in Lewes and having to reverse to travel on to Brighton. To overcome this problem a direct line from the Uckfield route to the Lewes-Brighton line is proposed. The line from Tunbridge Wells West would the re-opened, in one direction to the Tunbridge Wells station on the Tonbridge-Hastings route and in the other direction to a triangular junction with the Uckfield-Oxted line.
The proposal has a number of benefits.
- It would enable through travel to Docklands, which is now a major destination and avoid the centre of London. Have you ever tried catching an Eastbound Jubilee Line train at London Bridge in the morning rush hour?
- It would alleviate pressure on the current London-Brighton route and Tonbridge-Orpington route, both are full to capacity at peak travel times.
- It would open up much quicker rail links between West Kent, East Sussex and Brighton. At the time of the closure of the Uckfield-Lewes line more passengers travelled towards Brighton from Uckfield than north towards Oxted.
It is time the government and Network Rail began to think strategically about improving rail links between Brighton, West Kent and Docklands.
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