The Public Transport Liaison Forum is scheduled to convene to discuss updates from transport providers and address questions raised about transport issues in Lewisham. The meeting will cover topics such as the performance of various transport operators, accessibility improvements, and future investment plans. Additionally, the forum will address specific concerns raised by residents regarding services provided by Lime, Southeastern/Network Rail, Stagecoach, and Transport for London (TfL).

Southeastern/Network Rail Performance and Investment

Southeastern and Network Rail, now operating as South Eastern Railway (SER), are scheduled to provide performance updates, including journey numbers, delays and cancellations, accidents and incidents, crime and anti-social behaviour, and customer satisfaction.

SER is expected to outline short, medium, and long-term investment plans for assets and services in Lewisham. These plans include a £10 million upgrade to Class 375 Electrostar trains, including LED lighting, USB charging points, and energy meters. Longer-term investments include a £1.35 billion infrastructure renewal programme across the South Eastern Railway network between 2024 and 2029, with specific projects in Lewisham for 2026/27 including:

• Rewiring and relighting of Catford Bridge station
• Platform and building refurbishment at Deptford station
• Footbridge refurbishment at Grove Park station
• Canopy refurbishment and relocation of platform 1 ticket gates at Lewisham station to alleviate congestion.

A major £28 million investment at Hither Green station to make it fully step-free is also scheduled to be discussed.

The report pack notes that there are also plans to re-signal the Parks Bridge area at a cost of £90 million, which includes the lines via Catford and Catford Bridge, as well as the line between Hither Green and St Johns.

The meeting will also address questions about bringing the north bound platform station house at Catford Bridge Station back into use, and what is being done to improve the degraded commercial assets at the corner of the A205 and Ravensbourne Park Road.

E-Bike Management by Lime

Lime is expected to address measures to reduce the problem of abandoned e-bikes obstructing footways. Lime's £20 million London Action Plan includes a £13.4 million investment in operations, increasing the on-street team by 60%, resulting in 20 staff working in Lewisham to manage e-bike parking. Lime also has a £5 million parking infrastructure fund available to support Lewisham in building additional parking locations.

Lime reports that they warn and/or fine almost 1,000 riders in Lewisham each month for poor parking, and their teams clear, move, and remove hundreds of vehicles daily.

Lime's response to questions includes a link to their insurance information, and to their user agreement, which states that failure to abide by the Highway Code may result in fines, penalties, or suspension or termination of your account.

A follow-up question asks whether Lime will expand resources sufficiently for abandoned vehicles to be tidied away into official bays in order to protect pedestrians. Lime's response indicates that this will be established within the new Memorandum of Understanding that is agreed with the Council.

Bus Services

Stagecoach

Stagecoach is scheduled to respond to concerns about buses using residential roads in Lee Green as standing points. Stagecoach says that controllers are authorised to use the Lee Green curtailment point for service control, but that this is only allowed as a 'turning point only'. Stagecoach says they will remind their drivers and controllers of the operating restrictions.

Superloop

TfL is scheduled to respond to a question about the SL4 Superloop bus route terminating at Grove Park, instead of connecting to the SL3 and SL5 routes at Bromley. TfL says that there is no business case to extend the SL4 service from Grove Park on to Bromley, and that additional bus standing areas would be required in Bromley Town Centre to make the extension of the route possible.

TfL notes that Route 261 provides connectivity to Bromley Town Centre which parallels the SL4 between Lee and Grove Park, and that there will be interchange opportunities for Lewisham residents with the proposed SL11 which will be introduced in early 2026.

Other Transport Matters

Accessibility

TfL is scheduled to respond to a question about a petition asking for an accessible entrance to New Cross Gate station at Platform 5. TfL says that New Cross Gate is a National Rail station rather than one that is owned by TfL, and that as the station already has step-free access to all platforms via the main entrance, it is unlikely to be prioritised under the DfT's Access for All (AfA) scheme.

Southern/Thameslink

Southern/Thameslink are scheduled to discuss increasing peak capacity on the route between Sydenham and London Bridge, with additional weekday peak Southern services between Norwood Junction and London Bridge via Sydenham.

Declarations of Interest

At the start of the meeting, members are expected to declare any personal interests they have in the items on the agenda, as outlined in the Council's Member Code of Conduct.