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Tuesday 16 Nov 2021

Passengers across South East London and Kent asked to check before they travel ahead of £8m rail upgrade over festive period

Region & Route:

Southern: Kent

| Southern

• £8m upgrade to South East London’s railway through the Lewisham area being carried out over Christmas and New Year
• Improvements will help to provide a reliable service for passengers in heavily-congested part of network
• Service changes from Monday 27 December 2021 to Monday 3 January 2022 inclusive

Passengers in South East London and Kent who would like to travel by train over the festive period are being asked to check before they make plans, especially if their journey goes via Lewisham station.

From Monday 27 December 2021 to Monday 3 January 2022 inclusive, the timetable through the Lewisham area will be affected. Buses will replace trains on the Hayes line during this time and there are partial closures on the Grove Park line from Orpington and along the Sidcup line from Dartford.  A bus replacement service will be in operation.

More details about all the closures over the festive period, including some across Kent, can be found on the Southeastern website - Christmas and New Year services | Southeastern (southeasternrailway.co.uk)

Network Rail engineers use will use this time to upgrade the track and signalling systems while fewer passengers are travelling.

As usual, the railway will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day with work taking place across the area.

Engineers are upgrading the switches and crossings which are the moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another and allow them to cross paths, along the St Johns / Lewisham route to Grove Park and along the Sidcup line.

Work also takes place at other locations across the Southeastern route, including wheel-timber renewals on the bridges between London Bridge station and Cannon Street, and a strengthening of the railway cutting at Ramswood in Swanley to prevent landslips.

Network Rail’s Kent Route Director, Fiona Taylor, said: “I’d urge passengers to check before they travel and allow extra time for their journeys on those routes affected and thank them for their patience while we carry out this vital upgrade work.”

Southeastern Train Services Director, Scott Brightwell, said:

“Our key focus is winning back those passengers that stopped travelling by train during Covid and I hope the timetable changes over the festive period don’t cause too much inconvenience.

“This essential work does help to improve the reliability of our service and when we can’t run trains a replacement bus will be operating.”