Owner Transport for London Operation will start Abandoned proposal Track gauge Standard gauge | Transit type Tram System length 10 mi (16 km) | |
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Locale Camden, Southwark & Lambeth, London, England | ||
Cross River Tram (formerly Cross River Transit) was a Transport for London (TfL) proposal for a 10-mile (16 km) tram system in London. It was planned to run on a north-south route from Camden Town in the north, via King's Cross, to Peckham and Brixton in the south.
Contents
The Cross River Tram scheme was proposed to relieve overcrowding on the London Underground and was due to begin operation by 2016. The project was cancelled in 2008 due to funding problems.
In June 2016, A Green Party member of the London Assembly Caroline Russell had asked new mayor of London Sadiq Khan to review the business case for a tram service via Waterloo Bridge and Elephant & Castle. However, in July 2016, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said he does not intend to revive the Cross River Tram project cancelled by his predecessor Boris Johnson.
Overview
The tram was planned to relieve overcrowding on the London Underground, and to improve transport in areas currently without good public transport, such as the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark, to support regeneration.
Trams would have run up to every 4 minutes on each branch, giving a 2-minute service through central London at peak times.
Despite following the same route, it was not envisaged that the Cross River Tram line would use the former Kingsway tramway subway.
On hold
On 18 July 2007, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone told the London Assembly that he had asked TfL to consider splitting the implementation by building the southern section in advance of the northern section; it was not, however, clear where such a split would be. In May 2008, Livingstone's successor as mayor, Boris Johnson, announced that he intended to review the project in light of the lack of central government funding for the planned route.
On 6 November 2008, Transport for London announced that the Cross River Tram would not be built. In a statement, it said: "Given the lack of funding available to implement the project and the likelihood of not securing additional third party funding, TfL is not in a position to develop the scheme any further."
Possible Revival
In June 2016, A Green Party member Caroline Russell of the London Assembly has asked new mayor of London Sadiq Khan to review the business case for a tram service via Waterloo Bridge and Elephant & Castle.
Proposed route
In late 2006 and early 2007 TfL consulted residents on their views of the following route options:
Camden Town – Mornington Crescent – Euston station – Tavistock Square – Russell Square – Holborn – Aldwych – South Bank – Waterloo
Waterloo – (either Lambeth North/Imperial War Museum/Kennington Cross or Elephant & Castle) – Oval – (either Stockwell or Brixton Road) – Brixton (either Pope's Road or Brixton St Matthew's Church)
Waterloo – St George's Circus – Elephant & Castle – Heygate Street – Thurlow Street – (either Burgess Park/Chandler Way or Wells Way/Southampton Way) – Peckham
Euston – (either Crowndale Road or Somers Town) – King's Cross
On 11 September 2007, TfL published the results of their 2007 consultation: