London Overground, Elizabeth line, buses, tunnels and towers: Popular posts in 2024
With another year drawing to an end it’s time once again for a look back at what was popular on the site during a tumultuous time for running a website.
I’m not sure this is a particularly revealing exercise as a story on one subject can go viral and then an update two months later garner just a tenth of views.
Still, if nothing else it draws my attention to subjects that may have completely slipped my mind and remind me to take another look for subsequent changes.
Now without further ado:
Lewisham Gateway development nears completion
A development long on the drawing board finally finished in 2024 having seen a contractor walk away in 2023 delaying the project for a year.
The post that gained most views this year in regards to this specific development was written back in April. This week I was back taking a took around the site is now much is fully accessible including the central pedestrianised spine, and I’ll put up a post about it soon all being well.
Many of the commercial units remain empty and changes are sure to continue in 2025. We may also find out the cinema operator after Empire cinemas went under.
The architecture has certainly raised many comments.
Woolwich town centre upgrade continues
Another ongoing story of a major south east London town centre project as work to transform various areas of Woolwich town centre continues.
Like Lewisham Gateway it saw constructor issues which has delayed the project and like Lewisham I’ve been about in recent days taking more photos as elements such as the market café are now ever more evident.
Will this upgrade succeed where a number of others failed? Some parts look very good such as Beresford Square. Other elements such as Powis Stret are already in a bit of a state and little thought was given to keeping it looking half decent.
Thamesmead DLR consultation
Transport for London launched a consultation on extending the DLR to Thamesmead this year. If you’ve followed this site you’ll know I have big reservations it’s the best answer for Thamesmead. The extension’s failure to link to Abbey Wood station ensure it’d be as remote for much of the town as Abbey Wood station already is, and for those who would live near it it’ll still be no quicker if not slower than heading to nearby Elizabeth line stations.
In 2025 a consultation is due to begin on a Bus Rapid Transit scheme from north Thamesmead to Woolwich station. In an ideal world that’d be a precursor to a high capacity, high frequency tram network to facilitate thousands of new homes in north Thamesmead and crucially link to Abbey Wood station alongside other planned areas of growth such as Belvedere and Erith where Bexley documents have forecast up to 15,000 homes. Something the DLR would not do.
In recent months the extension has seemed even less welcome as it’d halt an extension east of Beckton towards Dagenham (cancelled by Boris Johnson) through an area that has seen planned housing double from 10k to 20k in 2024. Is a four train per hour service of five carriages on the London Overground enough for such scale of development?
Woolwich business to vacate for forthcoming development
Delays are a common theme with these 2024 posts and here’s another. A major 801-home Woolwich development that would also include shops and a cinema within the former covered market was supposed to start this year. It didn’t.
Now businesses have been told to leave for a 2025 start. We shall see.
Greenwich Park’s Giant Steps
A rework of the area in front of what is London’s best vantage point (it is and I won’t hear otherwise!) was a popular upload.
The slope was transformed into steps and the most visible aspect of numerous park changes seen in recent years.
Silvertown tunnel construction
A perennially popular feature has been ongoing changes for Silvertown tunnel. Toll levels were revealed this year with the tunnel set to open in spring 2025.
I’ve been taking more photos of the site in recent days so again hopefully I’ll get those online soon enough.
Popularity of Woolwich Elizabeth line station
This year saw the Elizabeth line continue to grow and Woolwich has already been a victim of its own success.
Crowding meant measures were drawn up to cope with passenger numbers. The station should always have had two entrances but a reluctance to build it in the first place meant a compromise was made and it was built on the cheap.
Who could have foresaw doing that would cause issues? Well, many people but there you are. Good old short-termism ruled.
Abbey Wood too should have ideally seen two entrances, though at least that has the ground floor Felixstowe Road entrance to help. Incidentally if the line is ever extended east that probably need to be closed.
Back to Woolwich and overcrowding is likely to increase with a vast number of new developments proposed or underway in the town.
London Overground’s new line names
This year saw all London Overground lines gain new names.
The most popular post on the subject this year included the first signs that begun to appear at Canada Water station. Another area of vast development and an area that’ll no doubt be covered on this site throughout 2025.
Lewisham shopping centre redevelopment
Plans advanced throughout the year as consultation was undertaken before final plans were drawn up and submitted.
Meanwhile a separate plan – though part of the overall project – was submitted to demolish part of the site and built a short-term music and food area. It’s another spot I intend to cover soon having taken a few photos to document the area before the bulldozers roll in.
TfL plan trial London Overground journeys to London Bridge
This story was enormously popular as TfL raised the possibility of running services into London Bridge to alleviate overcrowding after Southern cut services.
This was one of those stories I discovered within a Lewisham Council report before the Transport Committee that I read a week after the meeting had taken place.
No one else had spotted it though as soon as I highlighted it many other outlets jumped on board. It’s why the rather dry process of reading council reports has merit as it unearths a fair bit of interest.
Eventually TfL did run trains on one day but Southern agreed to increase service frequencies. That brings us to another story that will play out throughout 2025 as Southern receive additional stock from Great Northern to bolster services, with 13 Southern trains in turn heading to Southeastern.
Bus company to cease all TfL routes
The most read story all year concerned a bus company that didn’t even serve the areas of London this site normally covers but one with wider resonance.
Sullivan’s pulled the plug blaming TfL for payment issues leaving a number of routes needing to find replacement operators.
One of the last posts this year looked at the grim picture for buses across London with ridership stagnant and costs rising, with a recent TfL report highlighting the unforeseen nature of expenditure.
That post garnered a mere fraction of the bus company pulling out and granted is a tad less dramatic but a key story on transport issues in the capital.
Onto 2025
Almost all the stories that captured attention in 2024 look set to continue generating interest as work progresses, whether its transport links or major new developments getting underway (or not given how many delays we often see).
Covering these stories and areas of change in London has been fascinating this past year as it no doubt will be in the next.
A big thank you to everyone who reads, comments (well perhaps not the abusive ones!) and emails in as well as those who chip in and donate to help fund costs and allow me to dedicate time to reading reports, writing posts and getting out and seeing what’s happening. It’s massively appreciated and in a world where many major corporations get preferential treatment it helps the little guys to keep going.
Thank you for all your post throughout 2024. If it was not for yourself John we would not know what is happening as we do not get information provided from anywhere else. So rely on local journalists like yourself.
So I wish you and your family very Happy Healthy Successful New Year. Good luck in 2025.