London Bridge: TfL could add station to London Overground network to ease overcrowding

London Bridge may be added to the London Overground network to help ease overcrowding during peak hours.

Transport for London (TfL) raised the prospect of running services between Crystal Palace and London Bridge in correspondence with Lewisham Council earlier this month.

A written question was submitted to TfL by the council raising the issue of overcrowding at Brockley, in south east London.

The lack of a local Tube stop and the withdrawal by Southern Railways of half of its hourly services, “leaving just two an hour”, were given as likely causes of the issue.

Asked what it would be doing to tackle the issue, TfL stated it is “considering how best to mitigate this by providing additional capacity”.

Two options have so far been considered: running additional services during peak hours between Crystal Palace and Dalston Junction/Highbury and Islington via Canada Water, or between Crystal Palace and London Bridge, and so filling the slots left by the Southern Railways cuts.

On the latter proposal, TfL wrote: “This would represent a new routing for London Overground services that would necessitate significant changes to operational arrangements and driver training. Further work is therefore required to establish the feasibility and business case for this change.”

The authority confirmed there are currently no timescales for either option.

TfL earlier this year said all six Overground lines will be named by the end of 2024.

As reported by LondonWorld, TfL had set aside £4 million in its 2023/24 budget to give each line its own name, with the hope this would make it easier to navigate the routes.

None of the London Overground lines currently have their own name, leading to confusion among passengers. Mayor Sadiq Khan included the initiative in his 2021 manifesto.