Tim Bellenger of The Friends of West Norwood Station has kindly provided this update on our local train service and safe train travel:
Local services
Monday 17 May 2021 sees a return to a sort of normal timetable for trains calling at West Norwood, Gipsy Hill and Tulse Hill. Sort of normal is the best description because it is not quite the full set of services that we had before the last lockdown. So for example all the Beckenham Junction to London Bridge services are restored to their previous every 30 minutes frequency every day Monday to Saturday and similarly on Sundays the London Bridge – West Norwood – Crystal Palace – London Bridge service comes back. The London Victoria – West Norwood – Crystal Palace – London Bridge services is reinstated but only at peak hours (roughly 06:00 to 10:00, 16:00 to 20:00) on Mondays to Fridays, but all day on Saturdays. This is because this service needs a larger number of drivers to operate it than is currently available. Bringing back the remaining services will be dependent on passengers returning and staff being available.
So if you are travelling to stations between Sydenham and New Cross Gate at off-peak times during the week you will need to either travel via Crystal Palace or London Bridge.
The best source of live information on what trains are actually running is the National Rail Journey Planner website and App. The TfL website is only updated once a week and is also not as reliable for journeys that involve going outside of the London area.
Travel safe
Travelling by train should be a relatively safe experience for everyone if everyone looks out for other passengers and the staff. This means wearing a face mask at all times (unless exempt) when on the train or in the station: using the hand sanitisers and also social distancing. This is really important for West Norwood where only seven out of 10 coaches can be accommodated within the platform. So remember if you are coming from Victoria or London Bridge or Clapham Junction or Balham make sure you count the coaches from the front! The same applies for Thameslink trains arriving at Tulse Hill from London where only 5½ out of eight fit along the platform.
All trains except the older class 455 trains have air-conditioning with filters that catch the airborne droplets that the Covid virus is transmitted through. The class 455 trains have opening windows (please keep them open) and this plus the frequent opening and closing of the doors means that air circulation is maximised on all the trains.
Daily cleaning regimes also keep the trains and stations clean. Please also remember to use handrails on trains and stations to safely get off and on trains or using stairs. Slips, trips and falls are the biggest category of injuries on the rail network for passengers not infections!
Station and rail improvements
During the past year the Passenger Benefit Fund has come into its own – new seats and shelters at stations, especially the massive new longer canopy at Tulse Hill on platforms 2 and 3. In the coming year there will be a major re-signalling project affecting all our lines into Victoria and London Bridge. This will mean quite a lot of weekend and late evening closures and use of rail replacement services.
The Friends of West Norwood station recently spent some time replanting and cleaning the little rose garden and fixing up some bird boxes and bee & bug hotels.
Friends groups
There are active station adoption groups: Friends of West Norwood Station and Friends of Gipsy Hill – if you would like to be part of their activities please look up their Facebook pages. All are welcome.