London Charing Cross and Waterloo East to close for 22 days for Engineering Work

For those of you in the South East of England, there are some major changes to travel as Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations close for part of the summer for engineering works during the next 22 days. 

This impacts train services operated by Southeastern, with no trains serving either Waterloo East or London Charing Cross. 

Instead, services will operate to London Victoria, Cannon Street, Blackfriars and London Bridge, with revised timetables, altered service frequencies and changes to first and last train times across much of the network.

Routes into London will be available during the works;  however, passengers are encouraged to check their journey before travelling and allow extra time where needed.

What’s happening?

Network Rail and its partners are planning major works, where engineers will replace almost two kilometres of 36-year-old track, rebuild sections of platform at Charing Cross, improve drainage, and carry out structural repairs to the Waterloo East–London Waterloo pedestrian link bridge and Hungerford Bridge.

This renewal will ensure the railway is fit for decades to come and is part of our wider commitment to delivering a safer, better and more reliable railway, at a reduced cost to taxpayers.

As for the timing, completing the work in one extended summer holiday closure, when commuter numbers are around 20% lower, means inconveniencing fewer passengers overall, and avoids the alternative of having to carry out the work across  60 weekends. 

Alternative routes

Southeastern Railway has published alternative routes for those who are impacted. Notably, with the stations closing, services will be diverted to other London Termini. As such, train times and service frequencies will change across much of the network, whilst first and last trains will be different on many routes.

Passengers are strongly advised to check ahead.

During the main 22-day closure, ticket holders can use the Jubilee line between London Bridge and Waterloo, and the Circle and District lines between Victoria, Blackfriars or Cannon Street and Embankment.

Ticket holders can also use Thameslink between Elephant and Castle, London Bridge and St Pancras International, and Southern services to London Bridge and Victoria.

Full details of ticket acceptance by ticket type, including acceptance on London Buses and refund information, are available at www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/CharingCrossUpgrades.

Divisions include:

Notable changes include:

• Hayes Line – Trains Hayes via Lewisham will run to and from London Bridge. Other trains will be diverted to and from London Blackfriars and will call additionally at Lewisham and Elephant & Castle.
• Grove Park Line – Charing Cross and Orpington or Sevenoaks will instead start and terminate at London Bridge, with some trains diverted to run via Lewisham. Cannon Street trains to and from Orpington will continue, but a small number of additional peak time trains will not operate.
• Maidstone East line – Services will operate from Victoria instead, calling additionally at Bromley South. Other Victoria trains on the route will continue to run but run at different times.
• Hastings line – Services will run between London Bridge and Hastings, with some peak hour trains running to and from London Cannon Street. Trains that usually start or end their journey at Tunbridge Wells will be diverted to run to and from London Victoria, calling additionally at Bromley South.
• Paddock Wood line – Trains will run between London Bridge and Dover Priory / Ramsgate via Ashford International, with some peak hour trains running to and from London Cannon Street.
• Bexleyheath line – Trains will continue to run between Cannon Street and Barnehurst, and between Victoria and Gravesend, with some changes to timings. Additional Cannon Street trains will run in the morning peak.
• Sidcup line –  Trains that usually start or end their journey at Gravesend will run to and from London Bridge and call additionally at Lewisham.  Trains that start and terminate at Dartford will not run; additional services will operate in the off-peak between Dartford and Cannon Street via Sidcup.
• Woolwich line – Trains on the Woolwich line will continue to run into London Cannon Street, with some running at revised times, particularly during the morning peak.
• Sole Street line –Victoria trains will run with some services retimed, whilst  Cannon Street peak trains will operate with some services running at different times.
• Medway Valley & Sheerness line – Normal Operation
• Southeastern Highspeed via Ashford & Gravesend All Highspeed trains will operate as normal.

In Quotes

Scott Brightwell, Safety, Planning and Performance Director, South Eastern Railway, said:

“We know closing two of London’s busiest stations for more than three weeks will be inconvenient for many of our customers, and we’d like to thank them for their patience while this essential work takes place.

“The good news is that customers will still be able to travel into central London throughout the closure using alternative routes, although journeys and train times will be different.

“Engineers will undertake extensive work to replace track and platforms that have been in use since the 1990s, as well as essential structural repairs, and by carrying out the work in one block, means we’re not needing to close the railway over 60 weekends which would have been the alternative.

“We would encourage everyone travelling during this period to check their journey before travelling and make sure they know the time of their last train home.”

Plan Ahead

On the railway, there is no “good” time to carry out major renewal work, with major work tending to be done over a number of weekends or at quieter times of the year.

However, for passengers affected, it’s time to check timetables and re-plan carefully, ensuring they know when their last trains are… as well as knowing where their trains are departing from.

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