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London and South East

Jump to information about our branch meeting on 30 April.

Click on name to go direct to section: Area / Local Divisions / Branch news / Current campaigns / Current consultations / What’s on / London and South East rail user groups / Community Rail Partnerships / Heritage Railways / Train Operating Company liaison / Passenger representative groups / Other regional and sub-national authorities / Branch contacts / Neighbouring branches / Branch dashboard

Area

The regional branch covers London and most of the Home Counties:
Bedfordshire (now Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton unitary authorities), south Essex (including Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock unitary authorities), Hertfordshire, Kent (including Medway unitary authority), Surrey, East and West Sussex (other than south-west Sussex, which is overseen by Wessex branch), City of Brighton & Hove unitary authority, and Greater London.
Because of its size, the regional branch also has several local, largely county-based, divisions.

Local Divisions

Just click on the green links, here and below, for further information including details of Division meetings open to all:-
  • Eastern - south Essex and north-east & east London
  • Herts and Beds - Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire
  • Kent - including south-east London
  • London Metro - TfL zonal area plus Mayor's 'rail boundary'.
  • Surrey - including south-west London
  • Sussex and Coastway - East Sussex, Brighton & Hove, West Sussex, and South Downs National Park

Branch news

  • Click here to view our latest quarterly branch newsletter railse issue no.155 March 2022.
  • Click here to view our latest monthly branch e-newsletter inter-railse issue no.47 May 2022.
  • Click here to view or download any of our quarterly branch newsletters railse since July 2010, and our monthly branch e-newsletters inter-railse since July 2018.
  • Email roger.blake at railfuture.org.uk to subscribe to the monthly inter-railse.
  • See too details of our local Branch Twitter feed.
  • See also the quick-reference dashboards of all branch quarterly newsletters since July 2010, and all monthly e-newsletters since July 2018.
  • Click here to view our Manifesto for Rail for the May 2021 London Mayoral and Assembly Elections. We think (1) Focus on delivery; (2) Be flexible; (3) Make best use if what we have got; and (4) Plan for the future.

Current campaigns

Our primary campaigns are for:
  • Uckfield - Lewes reinstating a rail link to Bridge the gap between Uckfield and Lewes and enable residents of the Weald to travel to reach jobs and education in Brighton & Hove to support economic growth and spread prosperity in the county, create an additional route between London and the South Coast to help relieve the Brighton Main Line, and pave the way for Thameslink 2. Development of a new garden community in the area served by the line would both meet the need for new homes to satisfy Brighton's growing employment market, and justify reinstating the railway between Uckfield and Lewes to serve it.
  • Marshlink improved services, with quicker connections at Ashford International station with HS1 services (secured since May and December 2018 timetable changes), new track connection with HS1 at Ashford International, and comprehensive route upgrade for two all-day/every-day services (an hourly all-stations stopping service and an hourly limited-stop service) including line-speed increases, Rye passing loop extended to create dynamic loop, and then through high-speed services between London St. Pancras International and Rye, Hastings, St. Leonards-on-Sea, Bexhill-on-Sea, and Eastbourne.
  • A new Thameslink 2 metro route between East Croydon, Docklands and North London via tunnel between East Croydon and Addiscombe, the Hayes branch, and tunnel between Lewisham, Canary Wharf and Stratford, connecting to the West Anglia and Great Eastern main lines.
Click current campaigns for other campaigns in our branch area.

Click Rail investment planning for information on Network Rail, the ORR and the DfT planning and funding a bigger better railway.

Current consultations

  • TBA, expecting late May, Consultation on the future of the London Travelcard (anticipating a recommendation to demise). Read our article on the topic.
  • Monday 20 June will mark the start of a 12-week consultation by Transport for the South East on their draft Strategic Investment Plan, closing Sunday 11 September.
  • Possible move of Great Northern 'Inner' Services to TfL - An open letter from Railfuture on Passenger & Taxpayer needs (September 2020): view or download.
Comments, responding to the consultation questions asked, to Branch Vice-Chairman roger.blake at railfuture.org.uk unless otherwise specified

View or download our responses to past consultations in Consultation responses.

Whats on

Railfuture and other local, regional and national events, including conferences, and some key rail dates.

The next regional branch events will be:
~ On Sunday 5 June when we shall have our Bridge the gap stall at the Uckfield & District Lions Club's Platinum Jubilee Picnic, 12.00-18.00.
~ On Saturday 9 July when we shall have our Bridge the gap stall at the Uckfield Festival's Big Day, 10.00-16.00.

The most recent regional branch meeting was on Saturday 30 April 2022. We were in person and, in the morning, were online as well (as the main topic was of national interest).
In the morning we had a speaker and a panel:
  • Bridget Eickhoff from the Rail Safety and Standards Board spoke on the subject of the 'platform-train interface' - or 'step-free journeys from street to seat.' Her Presentation can be viewed here, or downloaded here (3540Kb).
  • Railfuture Directors took questions from the audience.
We undertook the formal business of the members' AGM at 14:00. Papers for the meeting are available: view or download (15 pages/518Kb). As well as the formal updates, we spent time reviewing priorities for the forthcoming year.
  • Annual nominations for Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer and up to six other members to be elected to the branch committee for 2022 had closed, and there was no election ballot.
  • Branch Standing Orders can be viewed here, or downloaded here (626Kb).
Our venue, as in 2019, was Wesley's Chapel & Leysian Mission, 49 City Road, London, EC1Y 1AU.
Wesley's Chapel London

The most recent regional branch event was over the weekend of 14/15 May 2022 when we were in Faversham's Guildhall in Market Place as we participated in the Faversham Festival of Transport.

The regional branch had a stall at the London Festival of Railway Modelling on 19/20 March 2022 at Alexandra Palace, London N22 7AY.

There was a regional branch meeting on Saturday 17th April 2021 on the theme Re-growing our railway. We were joined by guest speakers Linda McCord from Transport Focus, Alex Hellier and Mike Smith from Network Rail, and Steve White from GTR. It was held online from 11.00, and concluded with the brief formalities of an AGM. See our advance background briefing here, and the formal AGM agenda and reports here.

The 2020 AGM was NOT held on Saturday 25th April 2020 as had been planned.

The 2019 AGM was held after lunch on Saturday 27th April 2019. View or download the Agenda, and all reports for 2018 including Minutes of the 2018 AGM, separately viewable or downloadable. It was preceded by an open morning session on rail access to London's airports, with guest speakers Steve Costello from Heathrow Southern Railway (view presentation) and Transport for London's Aviation Strategy Lead Shamal Ratnayaka (view presentation).


L and SE rail user groups

includes the following groups affiliated to Railfuture, with benefits including access to Railfuture's Fighting Fund.


All other known rail user groups in our regional branch area can be viewed here (August 2020).

Community Rail Partnerships and Station Adoption Groups

in and around the London and South East region including:
under the auspices of the national Community Rail Network (formerly Association of Community Rail Partnerships) - 'engaging communities in their railways' - with support from the Department for Transport and from Network Rail.

Heritage Railways

in and around the London and South East region, including those with mainline interchange:
See also Preserved lines as public transport and reports from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail.

Train Operating Company liaison - Railfuture representatives

London & South East operators:
Long-distance operators serving London and the South East:

Passenger representative groups

Other regional and sub-national authorities

Branch contacts

Neighbouring branches

Branch dashboard

Full dashboard.

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