For a nine-day period during the half term of 2023, planned works taking place between Crystal Palace, Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye will mean that no trains will be able to run on parts of the National Rail and London Overground Networks.
What’s happening?
These changes will affect a number of stations in the south London area with services on Thameslink, Southern and London Overground not able to run at certain stations during the nine-day period.
These works are part of a major signalling upgrade scheduled to take place in February 2024, as part of a £400 million programme of investment in track and signalling upgrades that Network Rail is delivering across south London.
The planned work will replace the former signalling equipment from the 1980s with newer technology, to improve journeys for passengers in the south London area.
Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, said: “Signalling upgrades between East Croydon and London Victoria, delivered last Christmas, have seen delays cut by more than half which really goes to show how vital it is that we continue to invest in to modernise our assets and give passengers the delay free journeys they expect from us.
“We are expecting this phase of signalling upgrades in the Crystal Palace, Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye areas to deliver a similarly impressive reduction in delays when it comes into use in February.
“We know the work means up to nine days of major changes to journeys for passengers and we are sorry for the disruption.
“While there is never a good time to close the railway, the half term is significantly quieter, and by the doing the work on consecutive days we can minimise the overall impact on passengers.
“So please plan ahead, look out for further updates and follow the travel advice.”
Which stations are affected?
No Southern services at 16 stations
From Saturday, February 10 until Friday, February 16, sixteen stations across south east and south London will have no Southern trains.
These are the stations:
- South Bermondsey
- Queens Road Peckham
- Peckham Rye
- East Dulwich
- North Dulwich
- Tulse Hill
- West Norwood
- Gipsy Hill
- Crystal Palace
- Sydenham
- Forest Hill
- Honor Oak Park
- Brockley
- New Cross Gate
- Birkbeck
- Beckenham Junction
No Thameslink trains services at 16 stations
From Saturday, February 10 until Friday, February 16, sixteen stations across south east and south London will not have any Thameslink services.
These are the stations:
- Tulse Hill
- Streatham
- Mitcham Eastfields
- Mitcham Junction
- Hackbridge
- Carshalton
- Sutton
- West Sutton
- Sutton Common
- St Helier
- Morden South
- South Merton
- Wimbledon Chase
- Wimbledon
- Haydens Road
- Tooting
No London Overground services at five stations
From Saturday, February 10 until Sunday, February 18, five stations across south east and south London will not have any London Overground services during these days.
- Queens Road Peckham
- Peckham Rye
- Denmark Hill
- Clapham High Street
- Wandsworth Road
Alternative Travel
Thameslink
During the seven-day closure from Saturday, February 10 to Friday, February 16, Thameslink passengers travelling between Herne Hill, Wimbledon and Sutton are being advised to use London Buses or alternative National Rail, London Trams or London Underground routes to complete journeys on these days.
Southern
Southern passengers travelling between London Bridge and Streatham or Streatham Hill can use alternative routes on London Buses, and a “limited” replacement bus service will be running.
Passengers travelling on the West Norwood and Crystal Palace to Norwood Junction or Beckenham Hill lines will be able to use alternative London Buses, London Trams and London Overground routes to complete their journeys.
London Overground
London Overground services between Canada Water and Clapham Junction will be suspending from Saturday 10 to Sunday 18 February to allow the planned works to take place.
A rail replacement bus service will be run to help passengers to complete their journeys on the affected days.
In addition to these works, there will also be planned weekend closures in the same area in the lead up to the closure in February, to allow for works to be carried out.
Signalling control of the Crystal Palace, Peckham Rye and Tulse Hill areas will move from the Victoria Area Signalling Centre to the Three Bridges Rail Operating Centre from February 16.
Jenny Saunders, customer services director for Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “While this major investment in modern signalling is inevitably disruptive, earlier phases of the programme have already brought huge reductions in delays for our customers on other South London routes.
“We’ll be making details of recommended alternative routes available over the coming months, and I thank passengers in advance for their patience while the work is under way next February.”
Rory O’Neill, TfL’s general manager for London Overground, said: “I appreciate closures of the railway are never easy for our customers but this continued investment in infrastructure by Network Rail will help ensure we can continue to operate a safe and reliable service for many years to come.
“We would like to thank customers for their patience while this work takes place and ask them to check before they travel and allow extra time for their journeys.”
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/24023006.south-london-trains-set-9-days-half-term-disruption/
