Improvments to South Central metro services

[Sad Sprinter]

What improvments can be made to Southern's metro services? It's a bit of an awkward system with many routes running in long semi circle patterns, i.e Sutton to Victoria via West Croydon and Beckenham Junction to London Bridge. Could the services be any simpler?

I think interchange stations at Streatham Common and Leigham Court are musts, allowing perhaps, a 6-8tph London Bridge to Sutton service and 6tph to Victoria on the Norbury and Crystal Palace line.

I really think that Thameslink should ditch the Sutton Loop and run via Crystal Palace or Norbury. Balham station is often shut due to overcrowding in the morning when a Southern train dumps a trainload of people onto the Northern Line.

 

[JonathanH]

You aren't the first to think this but the battle is between services from everywhere to everywhere and having to change trains at major interchanges.

There was this report https://www.centreforlondon.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Turning_South_London_Orange.pdf

and this one http://content.tfl.gov.uk/strategic-case-for-metroisation.pdf

However, your suggestion of Thameslink to Crystal Palace or Norbury and London Bridge to Sutton completely ignores the track layout at Tulse Hill and the fact that changing the routes would introduce a conflict that doesn't exist at the moment. It also doesn't observe the fact that the existing Southern / Thameslink timetable puts eight car trains on eight car routes and ten car trains on ten car routes.

 

[Meerkat]

I liked the idea of having a fast line tunnel from Battersea to at least Dulwich, to remove the non-stoppers from Brixton and Herne Hill.
Obviously expensive but not needing underground (or any) stations keeps the cost down.