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Thursday 22 May 2025

THIS WEEKEND: Changes to train services in south London and Sussex over the late May bank holiday

Region & Route:

Southern

| Southern: Kent

| Southern: Sussex

Passengers in south London and Sussex are being asked to check before they travel this weekend as Network Rail carries out work to upgrade and improve the railway at various locations.

Work continues to repair the 175-year-old Blackheath tunnel this weekend and improvement work continues at Hither Green station, with a mile of new rails being laid, while work continues on improving accessibility to the station.

Network Rail is also upgrading the signalling – the traffic lights that control the railway - at Lewisham, and refurbishing the rails at Chislehurst.

 The work means that on routes via Lewisham, the line is closed between Lewisham and Orpington, and between Lewisham and Sidcup for the whole Bank Holiday Weekend.

Some trains will be diverted to other London terminals and accessible replacement buses will run between:

• Lewisham and Orpington, calling at all stations and Sundridge Park
• Lewisham and Sidcup, calling at all stations
• Grove Park and Bromley North non-stop (except Sunday)

From Saturday 24 to Monday 26 May Network Rail is undertaking repairs to the Edenbridge tunnel, refurbishing switches and crossings – also known as points - at Ashurst, laying over a kilometre of new rail at Edenbridge Town and undertaking drainage works on the tunnels to maintain the line between Oxted and Uckfield, closing all lines.

Buses will replace trains between Oxted and Crowborough, and between Crowborough and Uckfield. A reduced and amended service will run between London Bridge and Oxted (Saturday and Monday), and between East Croydon and Oxted (Sunday). Passengers can use alternative East Grinstead line trains to travel between Oxted and East Croydon / London, at no extra cost.

On Sunday 25 May, engineers will be undertaking track maintenance work between Three Bridges and Horsham, closing all lines.

For Southern trains, buses will replace trains between Three Bridges and Horsham. Trains between London Victoria and Portsmouth Harbour will run to an amended timetable, with extended journey times. These trains will be diverted via Hove, and will split from and attach to Littlehampton trains at Worthing.

On Thameslink, no trains will run between Three Bridges and Horsham but passengers can use their tickets at no extra cost on Southern replacement buses between Three Bridges and Horsham.

Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, said: “The vast majority of the rail network will be open for business this bank holiday weekend, but we’ll be using the opportunity to access parts of our railway when fewer people are travelling to undertake essential work such as track replacement and general maintenance, as well as upgrading our signalling systems. We’d ask that customers please check before they travel and would like to thank those customers who may be impacted by these works.”