Passengers in the south east advised to plan their journeys ahead of major rail upgrades this Christmas and New Year: London Bridge - track laying in September 2017

Monday 2 Oct 2017

Passengers in the south east advised to plan their journeys ahead of major rail upgrades this Christmas and New Year

Region & Route:
| Southern

With Christmas less than twelve weeks away, passengers across the south east are advised to plan ahead as there will be major changes to rail services and significant closures throughout the Christmas and New Year period.

As part of its Railway Upgrade Plan, Network Rail will be undertaking several major projects across the region, including:

  • Major Thameslink Programme engineering work between London Bridge, Charing Cross and Cannon Street, and London Blackfriars and St Pancras International, from Saturday, 23 December until Monday, 1 January 2018
  • Improvement work at Sevenoaks Tunnel between Tonbridge and Sevenoaks from Saturday, 23 to Tuesday, 26 December
  • Work to complete the new platform at Redhill station from Saturday, 23 December to Monday, 1 January 2018.

Southeastern, Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express services will be affected, as well as other train operators. No services will run in the south east on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, including High Speed trains to and from St Pancras International.

Passengers travelling into central London over this period or to Gatwick Airport on Boxing Day could be severely impacted by the work and will need a ‘plan B’ to complete their journeys.

John Halsall, Network Rail’s South East route managing director, said: “This Christmas and New Year our engineers will be working day and night to improve the railway for passengers across the south east. As part of the Thameslink Programme, we’ll be bringing the remainder of the brand new, modern concourse into use at London Bridge and carrying out major resignalling work on the surrounding railway. Elsewhere, we’ll be finishing the new platform at Redhill so more trains can run in future and continuing our work deep inside Sevenoaks Tunnel, one of the longest and oldest on the network.

“This will be the final significant stage of work at London Bridge that will affect train services on working days and I would like to thank passengers for their patience as the final countdown begins to an entirely rebuilt, totally accessible station fit for the twenty-first  century.  I strongly advise passengers to plan ahead and to check before they travel as we continue our Railway Upgrade Plan.”

Nick Brown, Chief Operating Officer for Govia Thameslink Railway which operates Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express, said: “There are significant changes to our train services this festive period, particularly at Redhill and Gatwick Airport. This supports our programme to modernise the network with new infrastructure, new trains, new technology and new, faster, seamless journeys. I would urge passengers to check and plan head.”

Ellie Burrows, Train Services Director, Southeastern said, “We know that our passengers will already be thinking about their travel plans over Christmas and New Year.  We want to give them plenty of notice now about the available options. We encourage everyone to plan ahead and try to avoid travelling during peak times if possible.”

For travel advice, including alternative rail and bus options and ticket validity, passengers should visit www.ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk/2017 or check with their train operator.

New year, new station – final part of London Bridge concourse opens

As the railway reopens in the New Year, passengers at London Bridge will be greeted by the remaining section of the brand new concourse and newly completed platforms 1-5. Southeastern services will operate on a new timetable and Southeastern trains to and from Cannon Street will once again stop at London Bridge, meaning that tickets will no longer be accepted on TfL alternative routes.

The Thameslink Programme has already delivered longer, 12-car trains between Brighton and Bedford, platform lengthening at several stations, track work and upgraded stations at Farringdon and Blackfriars. The redevelopment of London Bridge station, a £1bn project that has been ongoing since 2013, is the cornerstone of the Thameslink Programme.  After the Christmas and New Year period, the project enters the final countdown to completion; there will still be work to do in the station and on the tracks, but this will be completed during evenings and weekends, rather than working days. Once complete, London Bridge will be a modern, spacious and fully accessible station, fit for the 21st century and able to support the new timetables, meaning better journeys, more reliable services for passengers and, from May 2018, Thameslink services to new destinations

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Notes to editors

Southern

For Southern passengers, a reduced service will operate to and from London Bridge from 27 December to 1 January 2018.From Saturday 23 December to Monday 1 January inclusive, there will be no train service in the Redhill area  at Coulsdon South, Merstham, Redhill, Reigate, Earlswood, Salford or at stations between Redhill and Tonbridge. Buses will serve these stations. Services between London, Gatwick and the coast will continue to operate, but to a reduced frequency. Great Western Railway services will not operate between Reigate and Gatwick.

Gatwick

Passengers planning to spend Christmas abroad will also need to check before they travel due to a reduced timetable between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport from 27 December to 1 January 2018. As normal with all operators there will be no service on Christmas Day but the usual limited service to Gatwick operated by Southern and Gatwick Express on Boxing Day will not run; instead there will be only a very limited replacement bus service between London Victoria and Gatwick on Boxing Day with queuing systems in place.  Train services to other London airports and St Pancras International will also be affected by closures.

Thameslink

From 23 December to 1 January 2018, Thameslink services will not run through central London and will instead be terminating at Blackfriars, London Victoria or London Bridge if coming from the south and at St Pancras International if travelling from the north.  There will be no Thameslink service at either City Thameslink or Farringdon throughout this period.

No service in the Redhill area: From Saturday 23 December to Monday 1 January inclusive, there will be no Thameslink train service at Coulsdon South, Merstham or Redhill. Buses will serve these stations. Services between London, Gatwick and the coast will continue to operate, but to a reduced frequency.

Southeastern

Southeastern services will not run to or from Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Waterloo East, London Bridge, Deptford, Greenwich, Maze Hill, Westcombe Park, New Cross and St Johns for the entire period of 23 December to 1 January. An amended Southeastern timetable with a significantly reduced service will operate to Victoria, Blackfriars and Waterloo from 27 December to 29 December. There will be some additional high speed services to St Pancras International and non-high speed tickets will be accepted on these dates.

As well as closures of stations in the London area, there will be changes to all Southeastern trains over the Christmas period, including high speed services. There will be no high speed services running on Boxing Day this year. London Victoria is expected to be very busy, especially during the morning and evening peaks on 27-29 December and passengers are strongly advised to avoid travelling via London Victoria at these times if possible.

 On 23/24 December and 1 January additional work will be taking place, with buses replacing trains at several locations on the Southeastern network.

For travel advice, including alternative rail and bus options and ticket validity, passengers should visit www.ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk/2017 or check with their train operator.

Contact information

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

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - Alexandra Swann
07734 650735
Alexandra.Swann@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.

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