Two major rail stations in London have reopened today after £20,000,000 worth of upgrades were completed – but more engineering work is coming.
and closed for a total of 22 days while upgrade works were carried out, causing travel disruption for much of the summer.
During the closure, trains across the Southeastern network were diverted to others across London.
As part of the upgrade work, engineers installed around 1,800 metres of new tracks as well as 16 sets of switches and crossings on the heavily used 36-year-old Southeastern line.
Track drainage was also upgraded at Waterloo East to ‘maintain track quality and a smooth ride’ at full line speed.
The country end of the platforms at Charing Cross, whose concrete surfaces are deteriorating, were rebuilt with new foundations and surfaces to ‘keep them safe’ and open for passengers.
Structural repairs were also carried out on the 175-year-old Hungerford Bridge, which takes trains over the Thames, as well as on the pedestrian link between Waterloo East and London Waterloo stations.
At the time, Network Rail said that the current tracks, which were last replaced in the early 1990s, were ‘increasingly unreliable’ and, if untreated, would ultimately lead to more faults and delays for commuters.
Although most of the work has now been completed and services have returned to normal, National Rail has confirmed that further planned engineering work will take place across two weekends between now and October.
More engineering work is coming
Following the main 22-day closure, services around Charing Cross and Waterloo East will once again be disrupted on the following dates:
Many of the routes into Charing Cross will instead be diverted to London Cannon Street.
National Rail has confirmed passengers affected can use the London Underground between Victoria, Charing Cross, Embankment, Waterloo, Southwark and London Bridge at no extra cost.
There will be no trains to and from Charing Cross and Waterloo East on the weekend of October 10 to 11 as engineering work is taking place between Charing Cross and New Cross.
National Rail has confirmed that a reduced service will run between London Bridge and Cannon Street, while on Sunday, trains will be diverted to and from London Victoria.
Replacement buses will be in operation between Greenwich and Sidcup, Lewisham and Orpington, and Grove Park and Bromley North.
New Cross, St Johns, Hither Green, Mottingham, New Eltham, Grove Park, Elmstead Woods, Chislehurst, Sundridge Park (Sunday) and Bromley North (Sunday) stations will all be closed.
Network Rail has urged everyone to check before travelling.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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