Croydon Council and the CEO of London Gatwick urged the Government to tackle the longstanding rail bottleneck around East Croydon station to unlock the town’s potential
Croydon’s Executive Mayor has set out his ambition to make the borough “one of the best places in the South of England for a night out” by 2040, but says this depends on fixing a long-standing rail bottleneck at East Croydon first.
The bottleneck, described by Network Rail as the busiest and most congested part of Britain’s railway, is thought to be holding back billions of pounds in investment and job opportunities for Croydon and other areas along the Thameslink corridor.
Mayor Jason Perry and Gatwick CEO Pierre-Hugues Schmit have called on the Chancellor to fix the bottleneck as the airport prepares to expand with its multi-billion-pound Northern Runway programme.
Speaking at the Invest in Croydon Conference on Thursday (November 12), Perry told the audience how rail improvements could position the borough as a ‘staging post’ for London and the South East and make Croydon “a destination in our own right”.
“By 2040 I want Croydon to be known as the business events hub of the Thameslink corridor and one of the best places in the South of England for a night out,” he said.
“A town where an international hotel operator can see its next investment and a local chef can see it as the location for their first restaurant. I want people to get off the train in Croydon, because there is history, heart and hustle here.”
Perry also announced his intention to see the creation of a brand-new conference and event space in the heart of what he called “a conference and cultural quarter”, before adding that such a build would have to be delivered “at a price that makes sense”.
However, the Mayor was clear that such an ambition could only be realised if the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme (CARS) received government backing. First proposed in 2020, the scheme intends to ease a long-standing bottleneck on the Brighton Main Line in the Croydon area.
In March, Transport Minister Simon Lightwood confirmed the previous government had paused the project in 2022 without informing stakeholders. However, the scheme received a fresh boost in September when the Prime Minister pledged to get it “back on track”.
Now, in a joint letter, Perry and Schmit have written to John Healey to call for the bottleneck to be tackled as a priority. This move has been driven by the recent green light for Gatwick’s Northern Runway programme, which is expected to create around 14,000 jobs and generate an additional £1bn in economic benefits annually.
The pair, backed by local authorities along the Thameslink route and Croydon East MP Natasha Irons, hope CARS will enable London and the South East to capitalise on Gatwick’s growth.
“Reliable, convenient and affordable public transport is central to our growth and to ensuring that its benefits reach businesses and communities across the region,” said Gatwick’s Schmit. “Addressing the Croydon bottleneck would strengthen a vital connection between Gatwick, London and the wider country.”
Previous modelling has suggested that resolving the bottleneck could free up around £5.1bn in economic value for Croydon over 20 years. Supporters hope CARS will also improve access to other key sites along the Thameslink route, including the London Cancer Hub in neighbouring Sutton and the soon-to-be-built Universal United Kingdom theme park in Bedford.
Perry also stressed the urgent need for improvements, warning that the Brighton Main Line is projected to reach capacity by 2030. East Croydon is a key station on the line and one that handles more trains each day than all the intercity operators serving Euston, King’s Cross and St Pancras combined.
CARS is expected to increase capacity at East Croydon and Norwood Junction, while also remodelling the track layout around the ‘Selhurst Triangle’.
Acknowledging the current bottleneck issues, he said: “A delay at the junction can be felt from Brighton to Bedford.
“If people can’t count on getting to work, or businesses can’t count on customers and staff getting to them, we will miss out on growth. There is pressure on public spending and every project has to earn its place. We should weigh the cost of upgrading the railway against the cost to the country of allowing a bottleneck to hold back investment that is already coming.”
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