Signalling disruption: Network Rail is shutting down most of the rail network in south London at the end of October
If you were hoping to plan any trips by train for the October half-term week – forget it.
There will be no train services on parts of the railway and London Overground network across a large part of south London for seven days at the end of October, as Network Rail conducts works to upgrade its signalling system.
Services to stations affected will include London Bridge, Crystal Palace, West Croydon, Gipsy Hill, Beckenham Junction, Streatham, Mitcham Junction, Carshalton, Sutton and Wimbledon.
Network Rail says, “Upgrade work will mean that no trains will run on parts of the National Rail and London Overground networks for seven days from Saturday October 26 to Friday November 1.”
This is autumn half-term week.
“The upgrades taking place between Crystal Palace, Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye are part of a £400million programme of investment in track and signalling upgrades that Network Rail is delivering in south London,” says Network Rail.
A previous phase of signalling upgrades between East Croydon and London Victoria in 2022 saw signalling related delays cut by more than half. Network Rail hopes the current phase of upgrades will deliver similar benefits for passengers.
Travel advice for Thameslink passengers
During a seven-day closure from Saturday October 26 to Friday November 1, 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.
Travel advice for Southern passengers
On Saturday Oct0ber 26 and Sunday October 27, there will be no Southern services between Balham and London Bridge; London Victoria and West Croydon (via Crystal Palace); or London Bridge and Streatham.
There will also be no trains between London Bridge and Beckenham Junction. Replacement buses will only run between London Bridge and Streatham Common, via Peckham Rye and Tulse Hill.
For all other routes, paper tickets will be accepted on local London Buses.
From Monday October 28 to Friday November 1, no trains will run between London Bridge and Streatham nor London Bridge and Beckenham Junction. Trains which usually run 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.
Additional trains will run between London Bridge and Sutton via West Croydon.
Replacement buses will only run between London Bridge and Streatham Common, via Peckham Rye and Tulse Hill. Paper tickets will be accepted on London Buses for all other routes.
Travel advice for London Overground passengers
London Overground services between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction will be replaced by buses throughout the seven-day closure from Saturday October 26 to Friday November 1.
In addition, London Overground trains between Sydenham and Crystal Palace are also suspended from Saturday October 26 to Tuesday October 29 to allow the improvement works to take place.
If you are travelling to and from Crystal Palace on Saturday to Tuesday, you should use local buses via any reasonable route.
From Saturday October 26 to Tuesday October 29 there will be an amended service on routes between Highbury and 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. Please plan ahead and check before travel.
Further disruption
There will also be some weekend closures in the same area before and after the October half-term closure. These are needed to allow engineers to get the new signalling system ready and then to remove redundant equipment that is no longer required.
Signalling control of the Crystal Palace, Peckham Rye and Tulse Hill areas will move from the Victoria Area Signalling Centre to the state-of-the-art Three Bridges Rail Operating Centre from November.
The switch-on of the new signalling is the culmination of three years of work. Network Rail have installed 65 new signals, new signal gantries, two new power supply points and hundreds of kilometres of signalling, telecoms and power supply cables.
The following stations will have no Southern trains for seven days between Saturday October 26 and Friday November 1 inclusive:
South Bermondsey
Queens Road Peckham
Peckham Rye
East Dulwich
North Dulwich
Tulse Hill
West Norwood
Gipsy Hill
Crystal Palace
Birkbeck
Beckenham Junction
The following 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
The following stations will have no London Overground train service for seven days between Saturday October 26 and Friday November 1 inclusive:
Queens Road Peckham
Peckham Rye
Denmark Hill
Clapham High Street
Wandsworth Road
The following station will have no London Overground service for four days between Saturday October 26 and Tuesday October 29 inclusive:
Crystal Palace
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
FREE ADS: Paid-up subscribers to Inside Croydon qualify for a free ad for their business, residents’ association or community group, just one of the benefits of being part of our online community. For more information about being an iC subscriber, click here for our Patreon page
PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our near 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, which is featured on Google News Showcase and followed by 16,000 on Twitter/X, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
Sounds like a skeleton service.