Kent and south London passengers advised to check before they travel ahead of late May bank holiday weekend: Men working on track

Friday 24 May 2019

Kent and south London passengers advised to check before they travel ahead of late May bank holiday weekend

Region & Route:
Southern
  • Thousands of Network Rail staff will work around the clock to deliver a multi-million-pound programme of work
  • Most of the railway in Kent and south London will remain open over the bank holiday weekend (25 – 27 May) but some routes will be affected

As people prepare for the bank holiday getaway, Network Rail is advising passengers to plan their journeys in advance of the weekend. The majority of services will run as normal but there will be changes on some routes.

This programme of work will allow Network Rail to deliver more reliable infrastructure, improved facilities and better services for passengers.

John Halsall, Route Managing Director at Network Rail south east, said:

"I know passengers feel we are always working on the railway but the work we do really is essential, and Bank Holidays are simply the least-worst time to do it, when the fewest people are travelling on our trains.

“Our route is the busiest in the country and we carry 510m passengers every year. The only way we can keep doing that reliably and safely is by constantly improving and renewing the railway and we really appreciate passengers’ patience while we do it.

“Train operators will be running as many trains as they can, but I would urge passengers to check before they travel as there will be some changes.”

Ellie Burrows, Train Services Director for Southeastern, added:

“The work that Network Rail are undertaking this weekend is vital to keeping our trains running as reliably as possible. We’d ask that all of our passengers check the Southeastern website, our Twitter feed @Se_Railway or our app before they travel.”

Kent and south London upgrade works affecting Southeastern trains

From Saturday 25 May to Monday 27 May:

  • Due to re-signalling works in the Angerstein area, trains between Lewisham / Deptford and Plumstead will not run. Buses will replace trains between Lewisham and Plumstead via New Cross and Greenwich.
  • London Cannon Street to London Cannon Street services via Bexleyheath will not run. On Saturday and Monday, additional services will run between London Cannon Street and Dartford via Bexleyheath.
  • London Charing Cross to Hayes services will call additionally at Lewisham on Saturday and Monday only. Customers may use their tickets on Docklands Light Railway services between Lewisham and Greenwich.
  • On Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May, buses will replace trains between Faversham and Dover Priory via Canterbury East. This is due to track renewal which will improve reliability.

Sunday 26 May:

  • Due to re-signalling works in the Angerstein area, trains from London Charing Cross to Dartford (via Woolwich) will be diverted to run via Bexleyheath. London Charing Cross to Gravesend services via Sidcup will call additionally at Lewisham.
  • Trains between London Victoria and Orpington will be diverted to run via Denmark Hill and Catford, running non-stop from Denmark Hill to Shortlands.
  • Trains via Maidstone East will be diverted via an alternative route between London Victoria and Bromley South.
  • Replacement bus services will run between Denmark Hill and Bromley South, calling at all stations between Herne Hill and Shortlands.

Brixton station will be closed all day. Customers may use their tickets on London Underground Victoria Line services between Brixton and London Victoria.

A breakdown of how some journeys will be affected can be found by visiting nationalrail.co.uk/May and following #MayBHworks on Twitter.

The programme of work is part of Network Rail’s railway upgrade plan – a multi-billion-pound investment in the rail network which will improve passenger journeys in the months and years ahead.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Leonard Bennett
Leonard.Bennett@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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