Strong rail recovery seen on the Woolwich and Greenwich Southeastern line

A strong rail passenger recovery has been seen at various Southeastern Metro stations with the latest figures out this week.

The ORR released station usage figures from April 2024 to March 2025 which showed double digit increases at a number of stations as post-covid recovery continues.

The biggest growth was seen at Deptford which was up 16.3 per cent on the previous year with Greenwich shortly behind at 14 per cent annual growth. Both though still lag numbers in 2019/20.

Maze Hill though is now above 2019/20 numbers and saw 12 per cent annual growth, with Westcombe Park up 12.3 per cent.

A few points to make regarding the above numbers; Abbey Wood is shared with the wildly successful Elizabeth line and Dartford of course sees three lines converge but I’ve added it for the sake of completeness. A 7.1 per cent rise isn’t too bad at all.

Woolwich Arsenal is up a healthy 8.4 per cent despite the Elizabeth line though someway short of 2019/20 levels.

Continued growth potential?

Woolwich Arsenal could be expected to keep growing given the sheer number of new developments located closer to the station than the Elizabeth line.

To give three examples, Brookhill estate rebuild is underway a short distance south, Woolwich Central is due to start imminently either side of Tesco after site clearance is complete and Greenwich’s Planning Board have just approved an increase in homes beside the new Woolwich leisure centre which opens on 1st January.

Growth can be expected at many stations not only due to new housing and a continual return to the office but also the fact Southeastern and Thameslink serve different destinations to the Elizabeth line.

One obvious example is London Bridge with further office developments under construction.

London Bridge is 23 minutes from Woolwich Arsenal.

It’s also the site of Kings College and plenty of student housing is being built along the Greenwich and Woolwich line. Greenwich and New Cross are also destinations not served by the Elizabeth line with large universities. Greenwich and Woolwich are seeing thousands of student rooms approved with another 930 student rooms in Woolwich approved just this week.

The train is far faster than the bus from Woolwich to Greenwich and New Cross.

The City

Another destination served by Southeastern is Cannon Street in the City and 27 minutes away from Woolwich. Slower than the fifteen minutes for Liverpool Street from Woolwich on the Elizabeth line but if working nearer Cannon Street and living closer to Woolwich Arsenal than Woolwich station, door to door times aren’t too different.

Other Southeastern stations such as Plumstead are seeing 2,600 homes in the vicinity, with the biggest being Lombard Square. A new college and housing is also metres away.

Next year should show further growth as none of the new homes were occupied in March 2025. Only now are people moving in. The same can be said for other sites and these station figures are already nine months out of date.

Take Woolwich Dockyard which was the station with the least users last year. Since then homes on a nearby 700+ estate rebuild project have welcomed their first residents.

Potential

Even the two stations that saw falls – Belvedere and Erith – plenty of new housing plans are approved. Bexley Council have one site approved directly beside Erith station.

Two others are nearby including the Post Office site.

Hundreds more homes are on the way at nearby Erith Quarry while Bexley Council also plan to build directly beside Belvedere station.

That’s in addition to 400 homes at the former gasholder site and outline plans for 1,250 homes to the east.

Reaping the rewards

The issue now is whether potential growth is to be captured or squandered. Most Southeastern station remain minimally staffed despite rapid local changes – revenue protection is as poor as ever – with many service cuts made in 2022 still in force.

It’s now down to government whether they support investment to seize the obvious potential. Southeastern have been quite clear in meetings with local authority’s that the nationalised operator has not been allowed to resume some cut services as the Department for Transport refuse to fund.

That’s despite route serving major growth areas such as Woolwich, Greenwich and Lewisham.

We’ve seen some welcome resumptions of service in the time period covered but not all cuts have been restored. They won’t be in the imminent December timetable change either, which means May 2026 is the next opportunity.

These latest figures are showing welcome growth but plenty more could be on the way if supported. The Elizabeth line is fantastic but doesn’t mean the Greenwich line is null and void. Don’t write it off. It serves plenty of growing areas and also acts to feed into the Liz line from outer London and north west Kent.

It’s still a key link in south east London’s transport – and offers great potential if the will and funds are there.