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Wednesday 29 Apr 2026

Customers asked to check before they travel if travelling by train this early May bank holiday as engineering work takes place to deliver a better railway across the south east

Region & Route:

Southern

| Southern: Kent

| Southern: Sussex

The vast majority of trains will run as normal but upgrade work will take place on some parts of the railway in Kent, Sussex and south London.

Most trains will run as normal across Kent and Sussex over the early May bank holiday weekend, but customers are asked to plan ahead and check before they travel.

In Kent and south east London:

From Saturday 2 to Monday 4 May, Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations are closed, with trains that normally run to Charing Cross diverted to London Victoria or London Cannon Street (except Sunday when Cannon Street is closed).

• When trains are diverted, track will be replaced at Hither Green and Grove Park, signalling upgrades in the Lewisham area will continue, and a new footbridge will be installed at Hither Green as part of the Access for All scheme.
• On Sunday 3 May, trains between Charing Cross and Dover Priory via Tonbridge will only run between London Victoria and Headcorn. Hourly trains from Ashford will be diverted to run via Maidstone East. Accessible replacement buses will run between Headcorn and Ashford International, calling at Pluckley.

On the Sussex route:

• Engineering work is taking place between London Victoria and Balham from Saturday 2 to Monday 4 April. A reduced train service will run between London Victoria and Clapham Junction/East Croydon as the track through platforms 16 and 17 is replaced at Clapham Junction. No Southern trains will run between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction, because of this work, as well as work taking place in north London around the Willesden and Harlesden areas.
• On Sunday 3 May, buses will replace trains between Three Bridges and Lewes/Brighton because of work to improve the reliability of the switches and crossings at Preston Park and Keymer Junction, and drainage repairs. Customers travelling between the Brighton area and Gatwick Airport or London should use a diverted Southern train service that will run via Horsham and Littlehampton.
• On Sunday 3 May, essential track improvements mean no Southern trains will run between Balham and Sutton via Mitcham Junction. Replacement buses will run between Sutton Common and Sutton, calling at Mitcham Eastfields, Mitcham Junction, Hackbridge and Carshalton

David Davidson, chief operating officer for the South Eastern Railway, said:  "This work on our railway will deliver more reliable journeys, improve performance and accessibility, and help modernise critical railway infrastructure.

“There is no ‘right way’ to do major work on our railway, but bank holidays are still among the least busy times for us in terms of passenger numbers and freight services. Those extra days with fewer customers give us an opportunity to do longer projects that we couldn’t do in a normal two-day weekend or overnight.

“While most of our railway is open as usual over the bank holidays this May, there are some exceptions, and I’d advise everyone to plan ahead and check before they travel.”

Jenny Saunders, Southern’s Customer Service Director, said: “With the forecast for the bank holiday weekend looking promising, it’s a great opportunity to discover somewhere new by train.

“Engineers will also be making reliability improvements to the tracks, which will affect a small number of our services over the long weekend, particularly those between London Victoria and London Bridge and between Brighton and Three Bridges on Sunday.

“We’ve arranged rail replacement buses and ticket acceptance to keep people moving, and our staff will be out to help passengers. Take a look on the Southern or Thameslink website to plan your journey, and find inspiration on where to visit over the weekend.”

Travel advice for passengers

Southeastern

Saturday and Monday:

Paddock Wood Line: Trains between London Charing Cross and Ramsgate / Dover Priory via Tonbridge will be diverted to / from London Victoria and will stop additionally at Hildenborough.

Hastings Line: Trains between London Charing Cross and Hastings will run to / from London Bridge and run nonstop between London Bridge and Tonbridge via an alternative route. Trains which usually only run between London Charing Cross and Tunbridge Wells will not run.

Maidstone East Line: Trains between London Charing Cross and Maidstone East will run from London Victoria, and call additionally at Bromley South.

Bexleyheath Line: Trains between London Victoria and Gravesend via Bexleyheath will run normally. Services between London Cannon Street and Slade Green, and London Charing Cross and Dartford via Bexleyheath will not run, so trains on the Bexleyheath line will run every 30 minutes.

Woolwich Line: Trains between London Cannon Street and Gravesend via Woolwich Arsenal will run at different times than usual and will run via Greenwich.

Trains between London Cannon Street and Slade Green via Greenwich will be extended to run to / from Dartford and will run at different times than usual.

Grove Park Line: Trains between London Charing Cross and Sevenoaks will be diverted to run to / from London Victoria and will run nonstop between London Victoria and Petts Wood.

Services between London Cannon Street and Orpington will not run.

Sidcup Line: Trains will only be able to run between Sidcup and Dartford, every 30 minutes.

Hayes Line: Trains between London Charing Cross and Hayes will run from London Victoria and will run every 30 minutes.

Bromley South Line: Stopping trains between London Victoria and Orpington via Beckenham Junction will run at different times than usual.

Bromley North Line: Trains between Grove Park and Bromley North will not run.

Sunday

Paddock Wood Line: Trains between London Charing Cross and Ramsgate via Tonbridge will be diverted to / from London Victoria and will also run via Maidstone East because of further engineering work at Pluckley.

At Ashford International, a portion of carriages will be detached and will run between Ashford International and Dover Priory, calling at all stations.

Trains between London Charing Cross and Dover Priory via Tonbridge will also be diverted to run to / from London Victoria but will only run between London Victoria and Headcorn because of further engineering work. These trains will stop additionally at Hildenborough.

Additional trains will run between London Victoria and Tonbridge via Sevenoaks.

Hastings Line: Trains between London Charing Cross and Hastings will run to / from London Bridge and will run nonstop between London Bridge and Tonbridge via an alternative route.

Bexleyheath Line: Trains between London Victoria and Dartford via Bexleyheath will run at different times than usual and will be extended to run to / from Strood.

Services between London Cannon Street and Slade Green via Bexleyheath will not run, so trains on the Bexleyheath line will be every 30 minutes.

Woolwich Line: Trains between London Cannon Street and Slade Green via Greenwich will run to / from London Bridge but will be extended to / from Dartford.

Grove Park Line: Trains between London Charing Cross and Sevenoaks will be diverted to run to / from London Victoria and will run nonstop between London Victoria and Petts Wood.

Sidcup Line: Trains will only be able to run between Sidcup and Dartford, every 30 minutes.

Hayes Line: Trains between London Charing Cross and Hayes will run from to / from London Victoria.

Accessible replacement buses will run between:

• Greenwich and Sidcup calling at all stations including New Cross and St Johns
• Lewisham and Orpington calling at all stations. On Saturday and Monday these buses will stop additionally at Sundridge Park
• Grove Park and Bromley North non-stop (Saturday and Monday only)

Alternative travel options:

You can use London Underground between Victoria, Charing Cross, Embankment, Waterloo, Southwark, London Bridge and Cannon Street at no extra cost.

The following stations will be closed and will only be served via replacement buses:

• New Cross
• St Johns
• Hither Green
• Grove Park
• Elmstead Woods
• Chislehurst
• Lee
• Mottingham
• New Eltham
• Sundridge Park*
• Bromley North*

*These stations have no scheduled service on Sunday and will not be served by buses on Sunday 3 May.

Southern and Thameslink

On Saturday and Monday only:

No direct trains will run between London Victoria and London Bridge. Trains will instead run between London Victoria and West Croydon via Crystal Palace.

Trains between London Victoria and Uckfield will run between East Croydon and Uckfield only.

National Rail ticket acceptance at no extra cost will be in place between:

• London Euston and Watford Junction (London Northwestern Railway)
• London Waterloo and Clapham Junction ( South Western Railway)

Paper ticket acceptance will be in place at no extra cost on London Underground / Overground trains:

• London Euston – Watford Junction (Lioness line)
• Clapham Junction – Willesden Junction (Mildmay line)
• Crystal Palace – Canada Water (Windrush line)
• Vauxhall / Victoria – Euston (Victoria line)
• Victoria – Shepherds Bush (Circle and Central line)
• Victoria – West Brompton (District line)
• Oxford Circus – Harrow & Wealdstone (Bakerloo line)
• London Bridge – Canada Water (Jubilee line)

Paper rail tickets will also be accepted at no extra cost on the following London Bus routes:

• Victoria - Battersea Park (Bus route 44)
• Battersea Park - Clapham Junction (Bus route 156 & 344)
• Victoria - Clapham Junction (Bus route 170)

On Sunday 3 May only

Southern

No trains will run between Three Bridges and Brighton / Hove / Lewes.

Direct Southern trains will run between London Victoria and Brighton, diverted via Horsham, Littlehampton and Hove, with extended journey times.

A reduced number of trains will run between Brighton and Hove.

Replacement buses will run between:

• Three Bridges and Preston Park
• Three Bridges and Lewes
• Balcombe and Brighton
• Haywards Heath and Plumpton
• Plumpton and Lewes
• Three Bridges and Brighton (only at the start and end of the day when direct trains via Littlehampton are not running)

Tickets will also be accepted at no extra cost on Southeastern trains between Hastings and London Bridge.

Journey times will be increased when using replacement buses.

No Southern trains will run between Balham and Sutton via Mitcham Junction.

Replacement buses will run between Sutton Common and Sutton, calling at Mitcham Eastfields, Mitcham Junction, Hackbridge and Carshalton. Journey times will be increased when using replacement buses.

Thameslink

Buses replace trains between Three Bridges and Brighton.

Thameslink services between St Albans City and Sutton via Mitcham Junction will not run.

Thameslink services which usually run between Luton and Sutton via Wimbledon will run to a revised timetable on an alternative route, running between Luton and Wimbledon via Sutton, non-stop between Tulse Hill and Sutton.

Your tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on South Western Railway trains between London Waterloo and Wimbledon.

Paper rail tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on:

• London Bus services between Streatham and Sutton
• London Underground between Kentish Town and Morden, between Blackfriars and Wimbledon and between London Bridge and Waterloo.

Check before you travel:

You can plan your journey using the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner

You can plan your journey on London Underground / London Buses by using the Transport for London Journey Planner.