Two major UK train stations are set to close for 22 days from Sunday as engineers carry out a £20million programme of essential works. London Charing Cross and Waterloo East will not be served by Southeastern trains from Sunday, July 26, until Sunday, August 16.
Passengers urged to plan ahead
Services that would normally run to Charing Cross will instead operate to London Bridge, Cannon Street, Blackfriars or Victoria, while revised timetables, service frequencies and first and last train times will affect much of the Southeastern network. Scott Brightwell, Safety, Planning and Performance Director at South Eastern Railway, said: "We know closing two of London's busiest stations for more than three weeks will be inconvenient for many of our customers, and we'd like to thank them for their patience while this essential work takes place. The good news is that customers will still be able to travel into central London throughout the closure using alternative routes, although journeys and train times will be different."
Why are Charing Cross and Waterloo East closing?
The closure will allow engineers to replace almost two kilometres of track that has been in use for 36 years, as well as rebuild sections of platform at Charing Cross and improve drainage. Structural repairs will also be carried out on the pedestrian link bridge between Waterloo East and London Waterloo and on Hungerford Bridge. The work is intended to ensure the railway remains fit for use for decades to come as part of efforts to provide a safer, better and more reliable network at a reduced cost to taxpayers.
Network Rail said carrying out the programme during one extended summer holiday closure, when commuter numbers are around 20% lower, would affect fewer passengers overall. The alternative would have involved completing the engineering work across 60 separate weekends. Mr Brightwell added: "Engineers will undertake extensive work to replace track and platforms that have been in use since the 1990s, as well as essential structural repairs, and by carrying out the work in one block, means we’re not needing to close the railway over 60 weekends which would have been the alternative."
What passengers need to know during the closure
Passengers with tickets will be able to use alternative transport during the main 22-day closure. Ticket holders can travel on the Jubilee line between London Bridge and Waterloo, as well as the Circle and District lines between Victoria, Blackfriars or Cannon Street and Embankment. They will also be able to use Thameslink services between Elephant and Castle, London Bridge and St Pancras International, along with Southern services to London Bridge and Victoria. Passengers are being advised to check their journeys before travelling, with train times and service frequencies changing across much of the network and first and last trains differing on many routes.
Which Southeastern services will be affected?
- Hayes line: Trains running via Lewisham will operate to and from London Bridge, while other services will be diverted to and from Blackfriars and additionally call at Lewisham and Elephant & Castle. The last trains serving stations on the line will leave London Bridge at 12.16am and Blackfriars at 10.50pm.
- Grove Park line: Services that normally operate between Charing Cross and Orpington or Sevenoaks will instead start and terminate at London Bridge, with some running via Lewisham. Cannon Street services to and from Orpington will continue, although a small number of additional peak-time trains will not run. The last Sevenoaks service via Grove Park will leave London Bridge at 10.37pm, while the last Orpington service will depart at 12.59am.
- Bromley South line: Victoria to Orpington services will operate every 30 minutes instead of every 15 minutes. Peak-time trains between Blackfriars and Beckenham Junction will continue at revised times, with the final train to Orpington via Bromley South leaving Victoria at 12.27am.
- Maidstone East line: Trains that would normally run to and from Charing Cross will instead use London Victoria and additionally call at Bromley South. Other Victoria services will continue at different times. The last train for stations to Ashford International during the closure will leave at 11.35pm, although later services may vary because of overnight engineering work.
- Hastings line: Services will run between London Bridge and Hastings, with some peak-hour trains operating to and from Cannon Street. Trains that usually begin or end at Tunbridge Wells will instead run to and from Victoria and additionally call at Bromley South. The last trains will depart London Bridge at 11.48pm and Victoria at 10.23pm.
- Paddock Wood line: Trains will operate between London Bridge and Dover Priory or Ramsgate via Ashford International, with some peak-hour services running to and from Cannon Street. The last Dover Priory service will leave London Bridge at 11.39pm, while the final Ramsgate service via Canterbury West will depart at 10.39pm.
- Bexleyheath line: Services will continue between Cannon Street and Barnehurst and between Victoria and Gravesend, with some timetable changes and additional Cannon Street trains during the morning peak. The last services will leave London Bridge at 12.34am and Victoria at 12.33am.
- Sidcup line: Services that usually start or finish at Gravesend will run to and from London Bridge and additionally call at Lewisham. Trains starting and terminating at Dartford will not operate, although extra off-peak services will run between Dartford and Cannon Street via Sidcup without calling at Lewisham. The last trains will leave London Bridge at 12.38am and Cannon Street at 11.40pm.
- Woolwich line: Trains will continue to serve Cannon Street, although some will run at revised times, particularly during the morning peak. A small number of peak services will be retimed, cancelled or diverted via Blackheath rather than Greenwich. The last trains to Dartford via Woolwich will leave Cannon Street at 11.36pm and London Bridge at 12.30am.
- Sole Street line: Victoria services will continue with some trains retimed, while peak services to Cannon Street will also operate with timetable changes. The final Dover Priory service will leave London Bridge at 10.10pm and the last Ramsgate train will leave Victoria at 11.40pm, although later departures may vary because of overnight engineering work.
- Medway Valley and Sheerness lines: All trains on the Medway Valley and Sheerness branch lines will operate as normal.
- Highspeed via Ashford and Gravesend: All Highspeed trains will operate as normal.
