Siobhain has launched a campaign to get TfL to provide a Crossrail 2 station at Tooting Broadway, and has written to Dr Michele Dix, the Managing Director of Crossrail 2 at TfL, expressing her concerns.
You can download the letter
here, or read it below.
Click here to find out how to get involved with the campaign.
'Dear Dr Dix,
RE: Crossrail 2 consultation and move from Tooting Broadway to Balham station
I am writing as part of TfL’s consultation on Crossrail2, specifically to express my concern for the decision to move a proposed station at Tooting Broadway to Balham.
I understand that TfL has stated that this change of plan was made because of costs arising from ‘ground conditions’. However, I strongly feel that this decision is not in the best interests of the local area, and urge yourself and TfL to reconsider.
It seems that building a station at Tooting Broadway is being pushed out – but it’s still a viable option, and TfL needs to understand how detrimental it would be for our community to miss out on the chance of having better transport links further down the Northern Line.
We believe that a station at Tooting Broadway, between Wimbledon and Clapham Junction, would be best for the residents of Mitcham and Morden, and we are against TfL moving the proposed station to Balham.
That is why myself and a group of Colliers Wood councillors have launched a petition in favour of a Tooting Broadway Crossrail 2 station which we will be presenting to you before the end of the consultation period.
An interchange at Tooting Broadway would directly benefit our area in so many ways.
Easing congestion on the Northern Line
Having a Crossrail 2 station further down the Northern Line at Tooting Broadway, rather than Balham, would relieve the huge overcrowding for commuters on the Northern Line that is worst between Tooting Bec and Stockwell.
This ‘Clapham Squeeze’ (which sees this stretch of line practically unusable between 8-9am each weekday morning) would be hugely eased by giving commuters an additional choice of travelling on Crossrail 2 to Victoria, Euston or a number of other central destinations, from Tooting Broadway.
Balham is already a very well connected station. Via Southern Railway, commuters can get to London Victoria directly from Balham, as well as to the rest of South London.
However, no Northern Line stations from Balham to the end of the line at Morden have any direct rail connections. Therefore, a Crossrail 2 station at Tooting Broadway would transform the transport links at this end of the line.
Mitcham & Morden and ‘Regeneration’
A Crossrail 2 station at Tooting Broadway would transform the infrastructure of our area. For instance, Colliers Wood in particular is an area of ‘intensification’, and is being targeted by the Mayor’s Regeneration Fund.
While the Mayor’s remit focuses on improving the flow of traffic, cycle lanes, and reducing the congestion caused by buses, a tube station close by at Tooting Broadway would be much better, and closer, for our local community than one at Balham.
By improving access to Tooting Broadway, a new station would be attracting investment not just to Tooting town centre and its connecting roads, but the surrounding areas in Mitcham and Morden too, which would be more easily accessible for commuters.
Meanwhile, Balham town centre has already seen significant investment and regeneration on its high street in recent years. I hope that you agree that such opportunities for investment should be better spread across this area of South West London.
Better connections from Mitcham & Morden
Having the station at Tooting Broadway would also mean that residents will be able to get to Clapham Junction in just four mins and Euston/Kings Cross St Pancras in twenty minutes. This would serve to attract business investment into the more southern section of the Northern Line.
It would also improve the employment prospects of my constituents in Mitcham and Morden, who will be able to travel further afield for work.
This is because transport links from Mitcham, Morden and Colliers Wood, to Tooting Broadway are much better than to Balham. Currently, there is only one bus that connects Balham to Mitcham, but there are five buses that connect Tooting Broadway to Mitcham. This means a much-needed radical transformation for the areas of our constituency that are not served by a tube line, and would benefit most from this station.
Furthermore, I am disappointed to see that none of the public drop-in consultations are happening in Mitcham & Morden, despite the fact that the three neighbouring constituencies of Battersea, Tooting and Wimbledon are all represented in the consultation. I would appreciate TfL setting up a consultation on Crossrail2 in Mitcham & Morden to complement these, because my own constituents will be affected by these changes.
I would be very happy to talk through my concerns in person, if that would be helpful.
I very much look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Siobhain McDonagh MP'