Southwark Liberal Democrats keep up fight to save rail services

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 1st Oct 2009

Simon Hughes MP, GLA member Cllr Caroline Pidgeon and local Lib Dem councillors and campaigners are continuing the fight to save the South London Line rail service which connects key parts of Southwark to London Bridge station.

The proposed closure of the line will significantly affect services across the borough, including at South Bermondsey, Peckham Rye, and Denmark Hill.

Cllr Paul Kyriacou, Lib Dem Executive member for Transport in Southwark, who this week responded to TfL's latest consultation on the closure of the service, said

"The South London Line is vital to those living, working and visiting Southwark.

"Its closure will have a big impact on the vision being put forward by local people for the regeneration of areas like South Bermondsey and Peckham, and will leave commuters in parts of East Dulwich and around Peckham Rye with fewer services each hour.

"I'm also concerned that TfL and the government have failed to grasp the big impact on some of Southwark's most vulnerable residents as many people use the line to travel between appointments at Guy's and King's College hospitals.

"I'm asking for a major rethink for the plans at London Bridge as I think the station is not being refurbished to its full capacity and that Southwark is once again getting a rough deal."

ENDS