Engineering work to improve Sussex and south London’s railway over Christmas and New Year 2025/26

Network Rail is advising passengers to plan ahead as they deliver vital improvements for a more reliable railway during the Christmas and New Year period.

Over the festive period, Network Rail engineers will be working around the clock on a series of upgrade projects. The works are scheduled for the quietest time of year on the railway, helping to minimise disruption while delivering long-term benefits for passengers.

Key changes to journeys

As usual, no trains will run on Christmas Day, and only a limited service will run on Boxing Day on some Southern routes.

The time when passengers are away from the railway will be used to replace conductor rail, the third rail that powers trains, at East Croydon. At Gatwick and Three Bridges, vital rail junctions will undergo heavy maintenance, to ensure they are safe and reliable for passengers.

From Saturday 27 December 2025 until Sunday 4 January 2026, South Bermondsey station will be closed as the platforms are rebuilt. The platforms date back to the 1970s, when the original 1928 wooden platforms were replaced with the current precast concrete trestle construction which is in a very poor state. No Southern trains will call at the station during this period and passengers should use local London bus services instead.

Additionally, from Thursday 1 January to Sunday 4 January 2026, buses will replace Southern trains between London Bridge and Tulse Hill via South Bermondsey and Peckham Rye. On Friday 2 and Saturday 3 January, Beckenham Junction services will only run between Tulse Hill and Beckenham Junction.

To allow signalling upgrades and essential maintenance, no Thameslink trains will run between London Blackfriars and Bellingham, and London Blackfriars and Sutton via Mitcham Junction or Wimbledon from Saturday 27 December to Wednesday 31 December 2025. Replacement buses will run between London Bridge and Bromley South via Bellingham, and rail tickets will also be valid on local London Bus, Tram and Underground services.

On Sunday, 4 January, engineering work means buses will replace trains between Purley and East Grinstead and between Oxted and Uckfield. Trains between London Victoria and Reigate will only run between Redhill and Reigate.

Also on Sunday 4 January 2026, no Thameslink trains will run between London Blackfriars and Sutton / Wimbledon.

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink, said: "With Christmas just around the corner, I would like to urge all our passengers to please check online now and plan ahead for the changes being made to our services during the festive season."

Lucy McAuliffe, Sussex route director, Network Rail Southern Region, said: “The festive period gives us a rare chance to make the most of lower passenger numbers to carry out vital work on the railway. The areas of track and infrastructure being worked on this Christmas are normally some of the busiest sections of railway in the country, so we will make the most of this window of opportunity to work while the railway is closed, as we aim to give passengers safer and more reliable journeys.

“I would like to thank passengers for their patience while these works are carried out and I would also like to thank our teams, who will be working hard throughout the festive period to deliver these railway improvements”.

ENDS