Bit meloddramatic, what with there being trains running along it tomorrow... it's a change in the service, not a line closure!
Don't be so grumpy! It's not like they had a brass band playing and champagne corks popping, which would be way over the top. I thought it was a nice gesture to mark the end of an era.
It's probably more significant for staff than passengers (other than those using the stations en route who are clearly disappointed to see a direct Vic to London Bridge service disappear). For Control it was always a bit of a headache as it was one service that was almost guaranteed to never run to time especially in the peak, and for drivers South Londons were always infamous because of the way they were diagrammed - lots of intensive running back and forth for hours on end, with no break, minimal turnarounds, and no chance to even use the loo if you needed to! And because it was very common for drivers to PASS from Vic to London Bridge or vice versa, the delays could often have a wider impact than just on the SLL service itself. So in many ways I suppose the end of the South London line will be met with a sigh of relief. South becomes East.
Isn't the line via Crystal Palace also the South London Line? Just the outer version?
Technically that's the Outer South London line, yes, but as above, for staff 'South Londons' were the always (slightly problematic) Vic to London Bridge via Peckham Rye. And it makes more sense to call the service via Peckham the 'South London line' as half the journey is over the up/down South London. Going via Crystal Palace means running over the up/down London Bridge slow, then the up/down Sydenham Spur, up/down Crystal Palace and up/down Brighton slow.