From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bakerloo line extension to Camberwell is a proposed extension of the London Underground to Camberwell in South London by extending the Bakerloo line to Camberwell from Elephant & Castle. It was due to be built in the late 1940s, but the project was cancelled. In recent years, Transport for London officials have acknowledged that the project is being revisited, but it has yet to appear in any official documents.
[edit] Background
Both Camberwell and neighbouring Walworth are very poorly served by rail. While both once had stations on the main line into Blackfriars at Camberwell[1] and Walworth[2] these both closed in 1916.[3] Currently residents rely on buses for journeys, and the possible future Cross River Tram. It has commonly been proposed that either the Bakerloo or Northern Line, or even both, should be extended south through Camberwell and beyond.[citation needed]
[edit] 1947 extension
Since opening, it had always been envisaged that the Bakerloo line would be extended into South London. In 1931 an extension to Denmark Hill via Camberwell was approved, but only a small amount of work had taken place before the outbreak of the Second World War. The enabling powers were renewed by the government in 1947 under the Special Enactments (Extension of Time) Act, 1940.[4] A projected extension as far as Camberwell was shown on a 1949 edition of the Underground map but no further work was done.[5] The train describers at Warwick Avenue station showed Camberwell as a destination until the 1990s.[6] The proposal was allowed to gradually fade away. Extensions and new stations were not in favour post-war, as road use increased massively. The plan was briefly revived in the 1950s with an intermediate station at Walworth.
The original desire to extend to Camberwell was not solely driven by the wish to serve the area. At that time the Bakerloo line had two northern branches and was running at full capacity. The need to terminate trains at Elephant and Castle was the factor that limited line capacity. By extending to Camberwell, where crucially there would be three platforms, the whole line would have benefitted from an improved frequency. Post-war austerity, the levelling off of demand and, crucially, the disproportionally high cost of the project with a 3-platform deep-level terminus and the need to purchase 14 further trains and build a new depot for them meant that the project became unaffordable.[7]
[edit] Recent activity
After more than half a century of lying largely dormant, with only the occasional proposal to extend to Peckham in the 1970s[8], the plans have recently been re-awakened. In 2006 the then Mayor of London announced that within twenty years Camberwell would have a tube station.[9] Transport for London have indicated that extensions, possibly to Camberwell, could play a part in the future transport strategy for South London over the coming years.[10]
[edit] References
