Thread by @NetworkRailSE

It’s Friday but we know that for many @se_railway
passengers, it’s not been a happy one, after problems at #Lee and #Lewisham
last night. Many people have asked us about #Lewisham so here is a VERY LONG
THREAD with some colourful diagrams to leaven the technical detail. 1/

#Lewisham is the confluence of several routes + the pic
below is the immediate area. The track and signalling dates from the 60s-70s and it has been busy in all that time. Control has been moved to Three Bridges and the kit is constantly being maintained and worked on. 2/

Because of its location, trains through Lewisham can
suffer delay caused elsewhere and congestion builds as trains queue
for a slot onto the London Bdg approach (pic). That part of the railway is reliable now and congestion caused by problems
elsewhere is the issue there. 3/

To the North is Blackheath/Charlton, controlled by London
Bdg and what we know as the Angerstein Interlocking. This will be completely
replaced and control moved to Three Bridges next year. That will help improve reliability in the area, at a cost of around £50m. 4/

To the South is Hither Green area, controlled from
London Bridge, and due for replacement in 2020, including the area that caused
us problems in #Lee. This will mean all areas surrounding Lewisham will be
improved + services will be more likely to present themselves on time. 5/

Significantly, off to the West is the area signalled
from Victoria (actually in Clapham) which is being progressively resignalled
over the next 5 years. After Hither Green, Balham-Streatham is being worked on –
a £100m scheme on its own (map shows geographical relationship). 6/

So what of Lewisham? Although it may surprise you, Lewisham’s kit has had a lot of love and attention over the past years and is in better nick than many others. Wiring used when Victoria was resignalled many years ago has not stood the test of time and is degrading rapidly. 7/

There are only so many signalling technicians to go round + we simply could not work on a wholesale replacement of Victoria + Lewisham at the same time . So – we are focussing on improving reliability in the area by working on keycomponents, such as points and other kit. 8/

We recently completed a scheme to replace bonds (see earlier thread) in the area and we are focussing on key areas that affect performance, while we replace older, poor condition Angerstein and Hither Grn areas. Thank you for your patience + for following this thread. 9/

If you made it this far and you would like to get
involved in making our railway better, we are recruiting in the South East for
technicians, operatives and team leaders on the front line. Check out the jobs
here:

networkrail.co.uk/careers/