Overground from Imperial Wharf to Victoria

[ImperialThrust]

I recently moved to Imperial Wharf area in London, and was disappointed to see how poorly it is connected to Central London.
It is a large block of residential dwellings built over the past 30 years, parts of which are still being developed.
Yet its overground connection leads only to Clapham Junction or northbound towards Shepherds Bush.
Due to the poor transport links it takes about 45 minutes to Westminster, while the car ride is only about 25 minutes.
I had a close look at the Google maps satellite images and did some research online. There appears to be a direct railway corridor between Imperial Wharf and Victoria station, without any stations in between.
I will try to upload a map indicating this route below.
I am sure there are people at this forum who are much more knowledgeable about this subject.
What would take for TfL to change the terminal station for some overground trains from Clapham Junction to Victoria?
Alternatively, what else could be done to introduce a rail connection between Imperial Wharf and Victoria using this route?
This would be a life saver for all of us who live in this neighborhood, but feel that the connection is as if we are outside of M25.



I just had another look at openrailway maps.
The route goes like this:
Imperial Wharf station, following West London line to:
Latchmere No. (SW) Junction (left),
Latchmere No. 1 (Main) Junction (left),
Latchmere No. 3 (Waterloo) Junction (right),
Merging West London line into Brighton Main line at Longhedge "B" Junction,
Keep left at Longhedge "A" Junction (getting off Brighton Main line),
Follow railway next to Stewarts Road
Then merge again into either Brighton Main line or VIR Chatham Main line, just before Grosvenor Bridge, going into Victoria Station.

 

[rebmcr]

It's only showing on the Journey Planner as a ~45min journey because it's prioritising the River Bus to encourage social distancing. The rail route to Westminster station (changing from Overground to District at West Brompton) can be as little as 19 minutes. To Victoria (with a single change at Clapham Junction) can be as little as 13 minutes.

The reason there are no direct services are because the entire service from the south west coast all the way into inner south west London converges at Clapham Junction, and the tracks north of there are effectively full. Services from your line don't out-compete them for the best use of capacity, especially because your ability to change is enhanced by those very same services passing through — sometimes at a rate of more than one per minute, making waiting time pretty much nonexistent. Changing lines anywhere on London's rail network is widespread and simply a way of life that's barely given a second thought by its residents.

Other possibilities include rail from Clapham Junction to Waterloo and a short walk over the bridge to Westminster. It's well worth learning the walking opportunities for various journeys and connections, as the tube map can often send you the 'long way round' by what it shows as the most direct path.

 

[John Griffiths]

What about the No 19 bus - goes right through the centre of town.

 

[Bald Rick]

This would be a life saver for all of us who live in this neighborhood

Err, why would it be a lifesaver?

As others have said, it’s about 20 minutes maximum allowing for the change at Clapham Junction. A direct service wouldn’t be much less than 15 minutes given the lines it would have to traverse. (Low speed, lots of junctions). And that’s before the fact that the lines into Victoria are full.

Given what the line is used for, for every one prospective passenger from Imperial Wharf to Victoria, there will be a couple of hundred who would prefer the terminus to stay at Clapham, as it provides connections from almost all of south and south west London plus Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire, to Brompton and Shpeherd’s Bush.

A final point - there very nearly wasn’t a station there at all. The deal almost fell through. So be thankful you have any station, even if the service doesn’t go directly to where you want it to.

Besides, it only takes 35-40 minutes to walk from Imperial Wharf to Victoria.