Cross River Tram (formerly Cross River Transit) was a Transport for London (TfL) proposal for a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

system in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It was planned to run on a north–south route from

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

in the north, via King's Cross, to

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

and

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

in the south. The Cross River Tram scheme was proposed to relieve overcrowding on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

and was due to begin operation by 2016. The project was cancelled by then mayor of London

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

in 2008 due to funding problems. A 2016 review of the CRT plan by subsequent mayor Sadiq Khan concluded that the CRT project would not be reopened at that time.

Overview

The tram was planned to relieve overcrowding on the London Underground, and to improve transport in areas currently without good public transport, such as the

Aylesbury Estate The Aylesbury Estate is a large housing estate located in Walworth, South East London. The Aylesbury Estate contains 2,704 dwellings, spread over a number of different blocks and buildings, and was built between 1963 and 1977. There are approxi ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, to support

regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

. Trams would have run up to every 4 minutes on each branch, giving a 2-minute service through central London at peak times. Despite following the same route, it was not envisaged that the Cross River Tram line would use the former Kingsway tramway subway.

Cancellation

On 18 July 2007,

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...

told the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

that he had asked TfL to consider splitting the implementation by building the southern section in advance of the northern section; it was not, however, clear where such a split would be. In May 2008, Livingstone's successor as mayor,

, announced that he intended to review the project in light of the lack of

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

funding for the planned route. On 6 November 2008, Transport for London announced that the Cross River Tram would not be built. In a statement, it said: "Given the lack of funding available to implement the project and the likelihood of not securing additional third party funding, TfL is not in a position to develop the scheme any further." The £1.3bn project was cancelled in 2008 as part of a move to save £2.4bn of transport-related funds. Official announcements from TfL in 2009 stated that the project was "on hold", and that TfL would be explore alternative schemes, including increased capacity on Underground lines. In June 2016,

Caroline Russell Caroline Russell, Lady Keating (born 10 August 1962) is a British politician and activist serving as Leader of the Green Party in the London Assembly since October 2018, and a Member of the London Assembly (AM) for Londonwide since May 2016. ...

, a Green Party member of the London Assembly, asked new mayor of London Sadiq Khan to review the business case for a tram service via Waterloo Bridge and Elephant & Castle. Khan subsequently stated that he had no plans to revive the cancelled tram scheme, and expressed the view that improved Tube services and the extension of the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...

through south London suburbs, along with the proposed re-opening of Camberwell railway station, would meet the transport needs along the corridor that would have been served by the Cross River Tram.

Proposed route

In late 2006 and early 2007 TfL consulted residents on their views of the following route options: *Camden Town to Waterloo

–

Mornington Crescent Mornington Crescent is a terraced street in Camden Town, Camden, London, England. It was built in the 1820s, on a greenfield site just to the north of central London. Many of the houses were subdivided into flats during the Victorian era, an ...

–

Euston station Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...

–

Tavistock Square Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. History Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Francis Russell, 5th Duke ...

–

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. Almost exactly square, to the ...

–

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

–

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it in central London, England, within the City of Westminster. The street starts Points of the compass, east-northeast of Charing Cros ...

–

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

– Waterloo *Waterloo to Brixton Waterloo – (either Lambeth North/

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

Kennington Cross Kennington Cross is a locality in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is at the junction of two major roads, Kennington Lane that links Vauxhall Cross with the Elephant and Castle and Kennington Road that runs from Waterloo to Kennington Park. At ...

Elephant & Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...

) –

Oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

– (either

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...

Brixton Road Brixton Road is a road in the London Borough of Lambeth (south London, England), leading from the Oval at Kennington to Brixton, where it forms the high street and then forks into Effra Road and Brixton Hill at St Matthew's church at the junction ...

) –

(either Pope's Road or Brixton St Matthew's Church) *Waterloo to Peckham Waterloo – St George's Circus – Elephant & Castle – Heygate Street – Thurlow Street – (either Burgess Park/Chandler Way or Wells Way/Southampton Way) –

*Euston to King's Cross Euston – (either Crowndale Road or Somers Town) – King's Cross On 11 September 2007, TfL published the results of their 2007 consultation:Transport for London. Public consultation on route options September 2007
/ref> * Euston to King's Cross – the majority of respondents preferred the route via Somers Town, except Somers Town's residents who preferred the Crowndale Road route * Euston to Camden Town – the majority of respondents preferred the route via

Camden High Street The A400 road is an A road in London that runs from Charing Cross (near Trafalgar Square, in London's West End) to Archway in North London. It passes some of London's most famous landmarks. The Northern line ( Charing Cross and High Barne ...

* Waterloo to Oval – the majority of respondents preferred the route via Elephant & Castle * Oval to Brixton – most respondents preferred the route via Brixton Road * In Brixton town centre – the majority of respondents preferred the route via Effra Road * Waterloo to Peckham – the majority of respondents preferred the route via Burgess Park * In Peckham town centre – the majority of respondents preferred the route via Jocelyn Street and north of

Peckham Library Peckham Library is a library and community building situated in Peckham in south-east London. It was designed by Alsop and Störmer,

and Cerise Road as the terminus

References

External links

Cross River Tram Official TfL page
(defunct, archived page)
Cross River Tram – Cross River Partnership tram page
(defunct, archived page) ;Official consultation documents
Camden-EustonEuston-King's CrossEuston-WaterlooWaterloo-Oval-Brixton
(defunct, archived page)
Waterloo-Peckham
;Local campaigns
Cross River Tram – Peckham Vision
(local community group wiki)
PDF of proposed routes superimposed on map
* {{UK light rail Abandoned light rail projects in the United Kingdom Trams in London