the Southern Railway. The Southern Railway had more miles of third rail track than overhead line so in 1928 the electric traction system on the route was switched. After nationalisation of the railways the line and station became part of the Southern Region of British Railways. East Brixton station made a brief appearance in the 1948 comedy film A Date with a Dream. It is seen in the background of a scene in which two soldiers (played by Len Lowe and Bill Lowe) walk along Barrington Road. Over the years the station became progressively neglected and lost passengers from 1971 when Brixton Underground station opened nearby as the southern terminus of the new Victoria line. With declining passenger numbers and the station requiring extensive repairs to the wooden platforms and buildings it was decided that the expense was not justified. There was a fire in 1975 which temporarily closed the station but the station reopened and was finally closed on 5 January 1976. The platforms and its buildings were demolished shortly after closure. Nothing now remains of the station at track level: there are some arches and windows in the viaduct of the still used line. Reopening proposals In 2012, most of the South London Line service was incorporated into the London Overground network as part of the East London line extension project. Trains now run from Clapham Junction to Wandsworth Road, follow the same route to Queens Road Peckham, then join the East London line core route at Surrey Quays. This service runs through Brixton, East Brixton and Loughborough Junction without stopping. The plans were criticised for missed opportunities to create new interchange stations with Thameslink and the Victoria line. No stations are planned at these locations as the line is on high railway arches, making the cost of any station construction prohibitive. In 2014 it was suggested that a re-opened East Brixton station could provide a form of interchange with the Victoria line and Thameslink as it would be located almost exactly in the middle of the two lines. This was the subject of a petition to parliament. In March 2017, Lambeth Council started a review to see if there was a business case for reopening the station, working with Transport for London and Network Rail. In August 2017, Labour MP for Vauxhall Florence Eshalomi and Conservative member of the London Assembly, Andrew Boff called for the station