A lingering hope that the Northern line could be extended southwards from Morden has been killed off in favour of a Tram extension instead.
Realistically, the cost and difficulty of extending the London Underground had already made it an unlikely option, but a public meeting last week confirmed that as far as Transport for London (TfL) is concerned, it’s a dead option.
It was one of 185 different options for improving public transport south of Morden, which were reduced to a shortlist of 5 more realistic suggestions.
The tube extension, which was actually planned back when the Northern line was being built, would see tube trains run over mainline tracks down to Sutton. However, even if funding were possible, the difficulties of squeezing the tube platforms into the small space available at Sutton Station pretty much ruled it out of contention.
At the Sutton Local Committee meeting, it was confirmed that TfL will be seeking to push ahead with a Tram extension running from South Wimbledon through Morden to Sutton, which was always their favoured option anyway.
If the plans are approved, and critically, funding is available, then work could get underway in 2022 and the tram would be up and running in 2025.
TfL says that it has committed £70 million to the scheme with another £30 million split between Merton and Sutton councils. However, the TfL funding is not a specific budget, but could be made available through TfL Growth Fund, which then means any funding is dependent on there being commercial developers willing to pick up the rest of the bill.
With the Tram extension actually projected to cost around £330 million, that’s a sizeable shortfall to be met by developers.
That’s just for the South Wimbledon to Sutton town centre extension. A planned second extension of the tram further south to the Royal Marsden Hospital site which is being promoted as a London Cancer Hub would cost an additional £100 million.
One funding idea that is being looked as as a possible way of funding a “major infrastructure project” is a Development Rights Auction Model (DRAM), where large plots of land around transport hubs are built up by TfL, and then sold off, with TfL taking a share of the profits.
The currently preferred tramlink route seeks to integrate the extension into proposed major new developments coming forward in the borough. This includes developments at St Helier Hospital, the North Sutton sites (the Gas Holders and Zurich House) and the South Point site which is the safeguarded terminus for the route with a possible future pedestrian connection to Sutton Station.
Next month, an eight-week public consultation will open with three shortlisted options. The first is the Sutton to Wimbledon tram and the second two include “bus rapid transit” options.
A consultation on the final option will take place next Summer, with the intention to issue the necessary Works order in 2020 to allow construction to start in 2022.
Extending the Northern line to Modern shouldn’t be too difficult as most of that is Depot, the most difficult of that would be the Sharp Curve to the Platform at Modern South. However if you directed the Onwards trains along the Northern Edge,v while a few buildings would be lost, it would be to much Benefit of the Local Transit Network. That Section between Wimbledon and Sutton or Morden South I believe is under used for an Urban Railway, that could be used for part the Tram Network.
The biggest problem is the total absence of anywhere to put the trains in Sutton without a massive and hugely expensive rebuild of the station.
If the LU trains terminate at Morden South, then couldn’t the rest of that line become Part of the London Overground Network, that would do away with the need to Rebuild Sutton Station. The other option as I see it is conveting that line to part of the Tram Network. So LU uses the West Face and Trams use the East Face.
Do you think that Sutton could do with a Tramlink. Because Sutton station is always been served with Thameslink operating on the St. Albans City-Sutton/Wimbledon via using the Sutton Loop. And Southern trains serving Sutton station to/from London Bridge and London Victoria stations. But if it does happen then I think it would benefit Sutton on having the Tramlink which would have a new spur link connecting onto the existing tram line towards Croydon.
The tram service is about providing public transport to the areas between South Wimbledon and Sutton, not just Sutton town centre. The council document linked to in the article explains why those areas will benefit from improved public transport option.
How does a 2km extension to the Royal Marsden warrant £100M, even with a few extra trams added in? That makes the Edinburgh tram look dirt cheap by comparison.
It’s impossible that the tram.is more frequent and less expensive that the tram. The for the tram.you will need to build a lot more tracks, break up roads for that. The Northern line you could easily extend from the depot to Morden south, with a sharp curve. And the it can follow the existing route to Sutton. (All you need to do then is electrify the route between Morden Soth and sutton, and make the stations available for the tube)