Over the Easter weekend, there will be no trains between East Croydon and London Victoria because of engineering work at Streatham, with most Southern services diverted to London Bridge, and Gatwick Express services cancelled.
From Friday, 7th to Monday, 10th April, Network Rail engineers will be renewing outdated switches and crossings at Streatham to improve their safety and reliability. With Gatwick Express services cancelled, passengers travelling to Gatwick Airport should use Thameslink or other Southern services.
Replacement buses will run between Clapham Junction and East Croydon via West Croydon. Some late-night buses will be extended to run to/from London Victoria.
Trains will be diverted to operate to London Bridge and run to an amended timetable with some extended journey times on the following routes:
- Brighton,
- Eastbourne / Ore,
- Portsmouth Harbour / Southampton Central / Bognor Regis,
- Littlehampton
- East Grinstead
- Horsham / Dorking, but will run non-stop between Mitcham Eastfields and London Bridge.
Trains will run to an amended timetable between:
- Streatham Hill and Sutton via West Croydon.
- London Bridge and Caterham / Tattenham Corner via Purley.
Uckfield services will operate to/from East Croydon on Friday, Saturday and Monday; passengers should use alternative trains between East Croydon and London.
There will be no trains between London Bridge and:
- London Victoria via Crystal Palace,
- Beckenham Junction
Trains between Selhurst and Epsom Downs will run via Sutton and West Croydon.
There will be no direct services between London and Reigate. Trains will run between Reigate and Redhill., but passengers should use alternative trains between Redhill and London.
Trains will not call at stations between London Bridge and East Croydon via Sydenham, but passengers can use their tickets on London Underground services between London Bridge and Canada Water and on London Overground between Canada Water and Crystal Palace / West Croydon via New Cross Gate and Sydenham.
Trains will not run between East Croydon / Clapham Junction and Watford Junction, but tickets will be accepted on:
- Southern replacement buses between East Croydon and Clapham Junction,
- London Underground between London Victoria and Clapham Junction / Balham / London Bridge / Euston,
- London Underground services between Victoria, London Bridge, and Clapham Junction stations.
- London Bus route 255 between Balham and Streatham Hill, and routes 170 and 319.
- South Western Railway between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction.
Other Southern services in south London and to Sussex will run to amended timetables, with details available on Southern's website which can also be accessed here.
Further work is planned on the weekends of 22nd/23rd April and 29rd/30th April which will also affect services.
Lucy McAuliffe Network Rail's Sussex route director, said: “I'd like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out these important upgrades over the Easter period. There is never a good time to close the railway but we have chosen to complete this work over the Easter weekend when passenger numbers are generally lower to help minimise disruption.
“The upgrades we're making as part of the London Victoria signalling programme are vital in modernising the dated track and signalling into London Victoria and the railway in south London. More reliable equipment that is less likely to break and is easier to fix will mean passengers will benefit from fewer delays and more reliable journeys.
“I encourage any passengers that are intending to travel by train over Easter to please plan ahead and check their journeys with their train operator.”
Jenny Saunders, GTR's Customer Services Director, said: “We really appreciate our customers' patience while Network Rail carry out these major improvement programmes, and we're sorry for the inconvenience and extra journey time some passengers will experience. We're working closely with Network Rail to plan this work for when it's least disruptive, and the result will be more reliable journeys for everyone using Victoria in the future.
“We're advising people to check journey planners in advance, and for those travelling in and out of central London to use London Bridge or Blackfriars – we've arranged ticket acceptance for our customers to use Tube links to and from Victoria as necessary.”
