RESIDENTS are celebrating after receiving promises rail services in the area will be maintained.

The 400-member Forest Hill Society has been campaigning with the Sydenham Society to keep their area's current level of services to London stations after the extended East London Line is introduced in 2010.

Since work on the East London line began, the residents' societies claim the network has seen more Southern trains arriving late and overcrowded with extra passengers.

Commuters have been sharing their experiences on the SE23.com community website.

On January 29 one wrote: "Squeezed on the 8.13 but could hardly breathe, people from Brockley got angry, people from New Cross Gate got angry.

"I thought I was going to pass out.

"Then at London Bridge the doors wouldn't open and someone had to pull the emergency door opener and force the doors because people were panicking."

Last autumn, Network Rail published its Draft Route Utilisation Strategy.

This set out proposed levels of rail services from 2010 and suggested a significant reduction in services to London Bridge.

But following the societies' campaign, the total number of trains running from 7am to 10am is set to remain at the current level of 18 trains.

In addition, all trains are planned to have eight carriages, whereas some currently only have six.

Forest Hill Society chairman Michael Abrahams said: "I hope Southern can get back to the performance we had been used to.

"With the closure of the East London Line for the next two years there are significantly more pressures on our line.

"Rather than running longer trains or more trains, exactly the opposite appears to be happening."

In an email to Mr Abrahams, a Southern railways spokesman said: "In the short term there isn't a clear solution to the increase in demand with all rolling stock and paths to London Bridge in use.

"In the medium term, Network Rail's south London route utilisation strategy is looking at how to increase capacity on those lines where it is most required."