What you need to know as south London train upgrades set to take place

Works are set to take place between October 26 and November 1, impacting multiple services in south east London, as Network Rail carry out upgrade work to tracks and signalling systems as part of a £400 million investment programme.

The work will run on parts of the National Rail and London Overground Networks for a seven-day period between Crystal Palace, Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye, affecting Thameslink, Southern and London Overground Services.

This follows on from a previous upgrade Network Rail completed between East Croydon and London Victoria in 2022, which they say “cut’ delays by more than half.

As a result, 11 stations will have no Southern services for seven days, 16 stations will have no Thameslink services for seven days and 5 stations will have no London Overground services running for seven days.

Disruption to Thameslink services

During the half term week, 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 their journeys.

Travel advice for Southern passengers

On Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, October 27, no Southern services will run between Balham and London Bridge; London Victoria and West Croydon (via Crystal Palace); or London Bridge and Streatham.

No trains will run between London Bridge and Beckenham Junction, with replacement buses running. between London Bridge and Streatham Common, via Peckham Rye and Tulse Hill.

Southern customers are being advised to use tickets on local bus routes instead to complete their journeys.

From Monday, October 28 until Friday, November 1, no trains will run between London Bridge and Streatham nor London Bridge and Beckenham Junction.

Instead, trains normally running between London Bridge and London Victoria, and between London Victoria and West Croydon (via Crystal Place), will only run between London Victoria and Streatham Hill.

Trains will also not run between London Bridge and Sutton via West Croydon.

There will also be a replacement bus service running between London Bridge and Streatham Common, via Peckham Rye and Tulse Hill.

Thameslink has advised that paper tickets will be accepted on London Buses for all other routes.

Disruption on London Overground

From October 26 until November 1, London Overground services between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction will be replaced by buses for seven days.

London Overground trains between Sydenham and Crystal Palace will also be suspended between Saturday, October 26 and Tuesday, October 29.

Customers travelling to and from Crystal Palace on Saturday to Tuesday are being advised to travel on local buses via any reasonable route to complete journeys.

From Saturday, October 26 to Tuesday, October 29, London Overground will operate an amended service on routes between Highbury & Islington and West Croydon and New Cross.

From Wednesday, October 30 to Friday, November 1, some Crystal Palace and New Cross services will be re-timed with customers advised to check before travelling.

Which stations will be disrupted:

These stations will have no Southern trains for seven days from Saturday, October 26 to Friday, November 1:

• South Bermondsey
• Queens Road Peckham
• Peckham Rye
• East Dulwich
• North Dulwich
• Tulse Hill
• West Norwood
• Gipsy Hill
• Crystal Palace
• Birkbeck
• Beckenham Junction

16 stations will have no Thameslink trains for seven days between Saturday, October 26 and Friday, November 1 inclusive:

• 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

5 stations will nave no London Overground train services between Saturday, October 26 and Friday, November 1:

• Queens Road Peckham
• Peckham Rye
• Denmark Hill
• Clapham High Street
• Wandsworth Road

In addition, no London Overground services will run from Crystal Palace between Saturday, October 26 and Tuesday, October 29 inclusive:

Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, said: “It’s vital that we continue to invest to modernise our assets and give passengers the delay free journeys they expect.

“Signalling upgrades between East Croydon and London Victoria in 2022 saw delays cut by more than half and 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.

“We know the work means days of major changes to journeys for passengers and we are sorry for the disruption. Please plan ahead, look out for further updates and follow travel advice.”