What is BML2?
BML2 is a proposal to create a second Brighton Main Line to London. However, it’s actually a lot more than relieving pressure on one of the country’s most overcrowded rail routes for the benefit of Brighton commuters travelling into London or restoring a rail link between Uckfield and Lewes.
The BML2 Project can be broken down into three phases:-
- restoration of rail link between Uckfield and Lewes, providing a direct route from Eastbourne to London via Uckfield, releasing train paths and increasing capacity on the Brighton Main Line
- building of new rail link between Uckfield and Brighton via Falmer – home of Brighton and Hove Albion’s Amex stadium and Brighton and Sussex universities, making them accessible from the northern parts of East Sussex and South LondonSussex phase:-
- Kent phase:-
- Re-instatement of Tunbridge Wells West and linking in to the core BML2 route, relieving pressure on the Tonbridge Main Line into London (also one of the most overcrowded rail routes in the country) and making Brighton and Eastbourne accessible
- London phase:-
- Re-opening Selsdon to Elmers End to rail travel to avoid the East Croydon bottleneck and provide direct link from Kent and Sussex to Canary Wharf and East London, relieving pressure on the London Underground
- Creation of Croydon Gateway station – a possible amalgamation of Purley Oaks, Sanderstead and South Croydon, providing an interchange between BML and BML2 and relieving pressure on East Croydon – the country’s second busiest rail interchange
- Linking into Thameslink 2 between Stratford and Lewisham, providing a rail link between Gatwick and Stansted airports (“StanWick”) and opening up a rail corridor between East Anglia and Sussex, Surrey and Kent, relieving more pressure on the London Underground and improving links between these counties.
