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Monday 29 Feb 2016

Check before you travel this Easter as Railway Upgrade Plan continues in London and Kent

Region & Route:

| Southern

Passengers planning to travel into London and across Kent this Easter should check before they travel as Network Rail will be carrying out a major improvement programme in the area over the bank holiday weekend. 

Members of Network Rail’s orange army will spend all four days of the Bank Holiday improving the railway from installing new signalling to continuing the vital upgrade of London Bridge station.

Alasdair Coates, Network Rail’s route managing director for the south east, said: “We are improving the railway for passengers but to do that we have to make service changes to trains over Easter.

“From new track to new signals, this work will play an important part in increasing the reliability of London and Kent’s railways.

“There’s no good time to do this work and we have to do it when the trains are quieter, such as weekends and bank holidays.  I’d like to thank passengers in advance for their patience as we deliver our Railway Upgrade Plan to provide a bigger, better, more reliable railway for passengers.”

Southeastern’s managing director, David Statham, said: “The improvement work that Network Rail is carrying out is vital to ensure the railway remains fit for our passengers into the future as capacity continues to increase.

“I would advise passengers to please check before they travel and ensure they leave enough time for their journeys.”

An amended timetable will operate throughout the Easter weekend. There are the following major changes:

All four days, Friday 25 to Monday 28 March

• No trains between Swanley and Faversham, Gravesend and Faversham, Strood and Maidstone West and Sheerness-on-Sea and Sittingbourne. Replacement buses will include a special service from Faversham, Sittingbourne, Newington, Rainham, Gillingham and Chatham to Maidstone East station for fast train connections to/from London Victoria.

This work allows Network Rail to bring new signalling equipment into use replacing signals and signal boxes installed in the 1950s with modern equipment to improve reliability. Over the bank holiday weekend a new platform will be brought into use at at Rainham and work will be completed on a new platform at Rochester.

• No trains between Plumstead and Dartford to allow work on the Crossrail project.

Opening in 2017, a brand new two-level station is being built at Abbey Wood with a bright and spacious concourse, improved lift access to all platforms and two new platforms dedicated to Crossrail services. Passengers will benefit from an additional 12 services an hour from Abbey Wood when Crossrail begins running in 2018, making it quicker and easier to get to a range of destinations across London.

• Buses continue to replace trains between Dover Priory and Folkestone Central/Folkestone West during ongoing repairs to the sea wall near Dover.

Friday 25 to Sunday 27 March only

• Work continues on the Thameslink Programme at London Bridge meaning there will be no trains from Cannon Street, Deptford, Greenwich, Maze Hill or Westcombe Park and no Southeastern services from London Bridge.

The work at London Bridge is in preparation for the next phase of changes in August when services to Cannon Street will stop calling at the station, services to Charing Cross will resume and the first half of the brand new street-level concourse will open.

Even if your route is not directly affected by work, the times of your trains may be different to usual.

Work taking place in Kent this Easter is part of a wider national investment programme when 15,000 members of Network Rail’s orange army spend all four days of the Bank Holiday improving the railway across the country.

Passengers can check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk/easter or www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/easter

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Additional service information

Sunday 27 March only

• No trains between Hither Green and Dartford via Sidcup

• No trains between Ashford and Dover Priory

• No trains between Battle and Hastings until approximately 1330

 About the Railway Upgrade Plan

The Railway Upgrade Plan is Network Rail’s £40bn spending plan for Britain’s railways for the five year period up to 31 March 2019. The plan is designed to provide more capacity, relieve crowding and respond to tremendous growth the railways have seen – a doubling of passengers in the past twenty years. The plan will deliver a bigger, better railway with more trains, longer trains, faster trains with more infrastructure, more reliable infrastructure and better facilities for passengers, especially at stations.

About the Thameslink Programme

The Thameslink Programme will transform north-south travel through London.

When complete in 2018 it will give passengers:

• New spacious trains running every 2 to 3 minutes through central London in the peak
• Improved connections and better options to more destinations on an expanded Thameslink network
• Robust new track and signalling systems offer more reliable journeys
• A completely rebuilt London Bridge station with more space and great facilities

Find out more at ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk  Follow @TLProgramme

About Crossrail and Network Rail

Network Rail is a key partner in delivering Crossrail. It is responsible for the design, development and delivery of the parts of Crossrail that are on the existing rail network. Network Rail’s work, which will integrate the new Crossrail tunnels beneath London with the existing rail network, includes upgrades to track, major civil engineering projects, new overhead electrification equipment and improvements to stations and bridges.

Three quarters of the Crossrail route will run above ground in outer London, Berkshire and Essex, bringing 1.5 million more people within 45 minutes of central London.

Crossrail will increase central London's rail transport capacity by 10 per cent, supporting regeneration and cutting journey times by providing new links with the Tube, Thameslink, National Rail, DLR and London Overground.