Strong growth in passengers on Greenwich line
Latest station usage figures across the UK have been released. In SE London they show strong growth on all three Dartford lines as well as the line to Hayes. Today will cover the Greenwich line, and growth is no surprise with many developments along the line. Last years numbers, for comparison, were covered in a post here. Here’s the latest figures:
Major growth appears to be centred on stations further out, with Slade Green the stand out at 16% annual growth. Could this be people driving in from Kent to save money and reach oyster zones, and will the recent addition of Dartford to Oyster change that? Another factor is likely to be additional housing developments by these stations. Expect much more usage of these stations in coming years with a big jump in housing planned with 2000 homes, mainly in Erith, coming in the near future.

Deptford’s growth slowed from the previous year’s 11.7% but was still a respectable 6.31%. It too has a number of housing schemes nearby that will soon complete. One in particular is ‘The Deptford Project’, directly adjacent to the station, which is now seeing the final touches ready for opening in early 2016. Passenger numbers at the station have more than tripled in 10 years, yet it still has ticket office opening times and staffing more suitable to a station with a third of the passengers.
It should also be noted that the figures only cover the beginning of 2015. Those areas with large developments opening later in the year, such as Maze Hill and Westcombe Park which have seen much new housing completing at ‘Greenwich Square’ and ‘The Peltons’, will not show subsequent increases in passenger numbers as a result of that in these figures.

Following posts will show figures on other lines. One stand out is Kidbrooke, which saw 17% growth after 19% the year before. And as towers on one side have only just begun, and TfL look to build a 20 storey tower the other, high growth levels will continue in coming years.
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