BRTA facilitated London Forum - help make the best even better!

 re: https://clondoner92.blogspot.com/2025/09/transport-for-london-reveals-update-on.html

The BRTA London Forum is on:

Saturday 27 September 2025 2pm lunch 3-5pm business

Venue The Barrel Vault, Unit 23, St. Pancras International Station, Pancras Road, London N1C 4QP

Venue Website: www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/london/the-barrel-vault-st-pancras

Phone: 020-7837-5151

Main convenor is Simon Barber: Email address: admin@brtarail.com

Phone (landline): 020-8940-4399

Phone (mobile): 07522-374740

Agenda can be downloaded from the website: https://brtarail.com/events/

BRTA has supported the reopening to passenger services of the Dudding Hill Lines, not just as a localised 'London' centric idea, but also - hence the dual use and versatility of railways - for a Luton Airport Parkway Station to Heathrow and Reading alternatively 'South Chilterns Link' avoiding changing in London and freeing up for capacity across the network. Likewise we want a rebuild of Kentish Town to Gospel Oak curve for integration with Thameslink Sutton Loop-Barking potentially or Stratford at least? We need support, we need volunteers and welcome donations/people to join.

London suffers from chronic congestion, the South East of which London is a part, is overheating, pollution rife and the public are being made ill by roads and the vehicle pollution congestion compounds. Given substantial growth and development - if we do not have the rail-base transport solutions, the negatives get worse. Therefore please email your MP to support our calls and ensure a switch from road to rail spending for schemes like these to be better developed, used and multiplied. LRT/Trams for Central London and the West End and also extension of Docklands along the North Circular corridor for linking East London with Brent Cross Shopping Centre and the new Brent Cross Railway Station on the Midland Main Line, would again give people quicker, cleaner and healthier choices to gridlocked, pollution exposure which is a daily issues.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/technical-note-20-what-are-the-main-health-impacts.pdf

We need a chairperson for the meeting and should convene 3-4 times a year. If we want a venue, we need funds or sponsorship to pay for it and a kind volunteer to help organise it with us. Thank you.

Meeting discussed as follows from Simon Barber, BRTA Convenor:

"Yesterday the BRTA held its London Forum at the Barrel Vault in St.Pancras and apart from our member David Ferguson, there was one other person that was in fact Peter McBeath. David Ferguson in fact chaired the meeting.

There were three apologies - Sam Moema (Greater London Authority), Andrew Bosi (Friends of Capital Transport Campaign) and Cllr. Adam Harrison (Camden Borough Council). Also David Start was unable to attend due to work commitments.

The following points were raised:

• Lower Thames River Crossing - This must be a road and rail crossing. This would link rail from Felixstowe Port to the Channel Tunnel to transport railfreight to/from UK to Europe and passenger services as well. Having redirected Mega Container ships to Felixstowe each ship carries 24,000 containers.
• Old Oak Common - Apart from an HS2 station, there must be access to the Elizabeth Line ( East - West Crossrail) including Heathrow and on to Staines and Woking, and also both the North London Line ( Stratford - Richmond) and West London Line ( Stratford - Clapham Junction) of London's Overground, Chiltern Railways, and  LT Central Line. 
• Willesden Junction Low Level - There is apparently space and capacity for new platforms which would be an opportunity for both London & North Western Railway services and Southern services from East Croydon to Watford.
• Docklands Light Railway - The extension to Thamesmead seems to be going ahead.
• Crossrail 2 (SW -NE) - The route should go from Clapham Junction, Victoria and Euston. Later the north-eastern extension should go on at least as far as Cheshunt where it joins up with the West Anglia Main Line which serves Seven Sisters and is already stretched to capacity. In fact the next station is White Hart Lane which is close to Tottenham Hotspur Football Ground and on match days that line is extremely busy.
• Croxley Link - Watford Stadium station is a top priority. Meanwhile I will write to both Watford Borough and Three Rivers District Councils to review the current situation.
• Muswell Hill Metro - I shall write to Haringey Borough Council to review the current situation.
• Extend LU Lines - The Central Line must be extended from Epping to Harlow.
• Sites close to railway lines offering potential locations for Railfreight terminals - There is spare land at Woking. Meanwhile there are plans for a new flyover separating the Portsmouth line and Southampton/Exxter lines.

Incidentally Peter McBeath also made a donation of £5 which included a copy of our London Pamphlet. Peter also mentioned that digital signalling on the railways will create capacity and real-time visibility more as well, and some of our rail network has already taken place like the ECML."