Thameslink Christmas travellers told to plan ahead as central London track replacement set to take place

Network Rail has issued the following press release:

Passengers asked to plan ahead and check before they travel between 25-29 December with rail replacement buses running on some routes and diversions on other routes.

Track replacement on the Thameslink route in central London means that from Christmas Day to Sunday 29 December, the line from St. Pancras International to Herne Hill is closed.

During that time, Network Rail engineers will install 1,670m of new rails on the track between Farringdon and Blackfriars, and recycle any scrap rail left over after construction of the new track has finished.

Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex Route director said: “The rails between St Pancras International and Blackfriars were installed in 2011, and after 13 years and thousands of trains passing over the track, the rails are worn and need replacing with brand new rail to prevent faults delaying passenger journeys.

“With the railway closed anyway on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, engineers will get a head start on the work ready for this crucial route to reopen.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Service Director for Govia Thameslink Railway said: “We know how important this time of the year is to our customers, which is why, with such a lengthy period of improvement work planned over the festive period, we want to give them as much time as possible to plan ahead. It really is vital to consider your options now. Thank you for your patience.”

Passenger advice

• Trains between St Albans City and Sutton via Mitcham Junction/Wimbledon will not run.
• Trains between Bedford/Luton and Three Bridges will not run. On Sunday 29 December, the service will only run between London Bridge and Three Bridges (1 train per hour).
• Trains between Bedford and Brighton will only run between London Bridge and Brighton (2 trains per hour).
• Trains between Luton and Rainham will only run between London Bridge and Rainham (1 train per hour).
• Trains between London Blackfriars and Sevenoaks will run between London Victoria and Sevenoaks (1 train per hour).

Additionally, work taking place north of St Pancras over the festive period means some major routes will be affected from Saturday 21 December until Sunday 5 January, with the greatest impact being on the Thameslink route between London and Bedford, where there will be no trains between St Pancras and Harpenden from Saturday 21 to Sunday 29 December.

Rail replacement buses will be operating on some routes, but these will be limited, and they are expected to be extremely busy.

Services to and from airports will be affected during this period with fewer trains serving Gatwick Airport and Luton Airport Parkway.

Passengers are asked to plan ahead if travelling to or from one of these airports over the festive period and check with nationalrail.co.uk for more information.