London Tramlink services around the Croydon loop will be suspended for 17 days around Easter to allow for the local Council to undertake works as part of its Connected Croydon programme. No trams will run between Reeves Corner and East Croydon in either direction between 28th March and 13th April and there will also be eight weekends between mid March and early July where the service is suspended.
The Connected Croydon programme is “about public realm improvements to make the place look better” but for safety reasons it has been decided it isn’t possible for this to take place without suspending the tram service. As part of these works it is planned that the platform at West Croydon will be widened and that there will be works at East Croydon to provide better access. Exact details of how either of these improvements will be achieved have not been revealed.
During the Easter closure period Transport for London will also be taking the chance to undertake some rail replacement works on Addiscombe Road and Tamworth Road to “minimise disruption”.
During the closure period trams will run between New Addington/Beckenham Junction/Elmers End and East Croydon and from Reeves Corner to Wimbledon. As is usual when trams from the east of the network can’t access Therapia Lane there will be no service to Elmers End early morning or late evening to allow for the stabling of trams. Although it remains to be seen how the Addiscombe Road works over Easter can be completed with this service pattern as it is east of East Croydon!
Although this news has now been released the only closure date added to the TfL website has been the first weekend of 14th and 15th March but there will be a further seven weekends of disruption along with the 17 days over Easter.
If they have money to “make the place look better” and the tramway will be closed to do it, they could have taken the opportunity to replace the heavy girder overhead supports in the centre of Croydon with some standard tram poles as in other UK cities.
I heartily agree with Nigel, the overhead masts are the one thing that spoils the Croydon system. All the other UK systems have poles. Ugly RSJ girders belong on the railways. At least all the on-street girders should be replaced in keeping with the token three at the North End/ Crown Hill junction.
Why don’t they just run them via George street and Church street tram stops. It would have been easier to do that then people will not have to walk far from Reeves Corner to East Croydon or they should run replacement buses from Reeves Corner to Sandilands.