A Lewisham councillor has branded Bromley Council "bonkers" for allegedly opposing plans to extend the Bakerloo line to Hayes.

Sydenham ward councillor Liam Curran has accused Bromley councillors of trying to deny tens of thousands of residents access to the London Underground.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Transport for London launched a public consultation into plans to extend the Bakerloo line from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, Bromley and Hayes on September 30.

Councillor Curran says Bromley councillors do not want the Bakerloo line to run further than Bromley town centre to Clockhouse, Elmers End, Eden Park, West Wickham or Hayes.

He has accused them of opposing the extension to Hayes on the basis residents will lose direct train services to central London.

He explained: "I am slightly flabbergasted as to why. It doesn’t have to be 'either or' it should be both.

"People want to be near the tube. We have campaigned for decades.

"It is frankly bonkers to oppose the tube line going to Hayes on the argument residents will lose a direct train service to London Cannon Street, Charing Cross or Waterloo."

News Shopper:

Lewisham Council fully supports the Bakerloo Line extension, believing it will free up capacity on the rail network and utilise spare capacity on the existing Bakerloo Line.

Earlier this year, West Wickham ward Councillor Nicholas Bennett commented on News Shopper's website saying the extension would not provide a better service.

He said: "Bringing the Bakerloo Line to Hayes and West Wickham doesn't provide a better service than the one currently enjoyed.

"It removes the link to London Bridge and replaces full size trains with tube trains.

"Bromley Council supports the extension of the DLR to Bromley North or if too expensive the extension of the overground from New Cross via a tunnel or flyover at Grove Park to Bromley North."

In January 2012, Bromley Council said it was unlikely to support any extension to Hayes which resulted in the loss of direct services to Charing Cross, Cannon Street or London Bridge.

Have they said yes or no? You decide: Despite News Shopper asking Bromley Council FIVE TIMES to make its stance on the Tube extension clear, we received a lengthy response which didn't answer the question. 

Bromley Council leader Councillor Stephen Carr said: "There are clearly many factors which need to be considered in this proposal and interested residents should respond directly to the TfL’s consultation.

"Although the council’s priority has always been and continues to be the extension of DLR to Bromley North, the questions about the prohibitive cost of this, which was supported and included in the Mayor’s Manifesto 2012, are surely lessened when compared to the costs of the Bakerloo extension which is significantly more expensive than the DLR proposal.

"There are other discussions though about improving Bromley North services and the Hayes Bakerloo proposal too.

"We will listen very carefully to what TfL are proposing and look at the data being presented as there are real capacity issues and questions about access into the city and west end potentially being compromised not only for our residents but all those using the service along the line.

"We must and we will continue our discussions to bring about much needed improved transport infrastructure for our residents."