A massive engineering scheme to untangle the tracks that cause the ‘Selhurst bottleneck’ was dumped by the Tory government. Croydon East’s MP has got it back on Westminster’s agenda.
By our transport correspondent, JEREMY CLACKSON

First up: Croydon, and the Selhurst bottleneck, were raised at Andy Burnham’s first PMQs by MP Natasha Irons

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told the House of Commons that he wants to look at unblocking the railway’s “Selhurst bottleneck” and get a long-standing engineering proposal “back on track”, recognising the importance of transport connectivity and public investment to stimulate growth.

Known formally known as CARS – the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme – the proposals from the rail companies were first raised more than eight years ago, but dumped by the previous Tory government.

The Selhurst bottleneck is reckoned to be one of the most heavily congested stretches of the railway network in the whole country. And with Gatwick Airport expansion approved, that degree of congestion can only get worse.

Just north of East Croydon Station, this bottleneck centres on a complex tangle of tracks at the “Selhurst Triangle”. The junction is where the Brighton Main Line splits into routes heading towards London terminuses, including Victoria and London Bridge.

The area handles roughly 1,700 trains and 300,000 passengers every weekday.

There have long been calls for public investment at this junction to improve the rail service, but also act as a stimulus of economic growth locally.

Burnham was speaking in the Commons on Wednesday in his first PMQs as Prime Minister.

He was responding to a question from Croydon East’s Labour MP, Natasha Irons – so it’s fair to assume that his response was well-prepared. He made no immediate undertaking to give the long-delayed green light to the CARS project.

MP Irons said: “A wise man recently called for ‘good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart’. In Croydon, these cannot come soon enough.

“Gatwick’s expansion could provide Croydon’s young people with world-class employment and training opportunities close to their homes, but the previous Conservative government’s cuts to rail infrastructure investment around East Croydon Station could still put them out of their reach as they cannot physically get to them.

Croydon question: Natasha Irons in the House on Wednesday

“Will the Prime Minister look again at the Croydon area modelling scheme, back my campaign to unblock the Croydon bottleneck and outline what this government are doing to give young people in Croydon East access to the opportunities they deserve?”

The Prime Minister responded: “We certainly will do that.

“I am in no doubt over the importance of good transport connectivity to young people’s life chances, and I will ask No10 North to make contact with my honourable friend so that we can get that scheme back on track.

“More broadly, we do need to change the way we support young people, and I have already announced a change to education so that we have a technical path for young people from 14 so that we give young people a path towards good T-levels, BTECs, work placements and degree apprenticeships, and we support them with travel costs, which is something that I did in Greater Manchester.

“Bringing back hope very much starts with our young people — give them a clear path from school towards a good job. That is something that the current education system that was put in place by Michael Gove has sadly failed to do.”

Read more: 39 trains are stopped in the Croydon Bottleneck in two hours
Read more: MP backs Network Rail plans to unblock Croydon bottleneck
Read more: Brighton mainline rail improvements to be axed in Tory cuts
Read more: East to go North – Network Rail wants to move a whole station

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