Rail passengers warned of delays in south London for signal works

Passengers warned of train delays for signal works

Rail passengers are being warned signal upgrades in south London are expected to cause delays for a week.

No trains will run on parts of the National Rail and London Overground from 26 October to 1 November, the same time as the half-term school holidays.

The £400m investment works will take place between Crystal Palace, Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye.

Thameslink, Southern and London Overground trains will be affected.

Rory O’Neill, Transport for London's general manager for London Overground, said: "Major investment in modern signalling is key to ensuring we can continue to offer a safe and reliable service while maintaining sufficient capacity to meet the growing demand for our services.

"There will also be some weekend closures in the same area before and after the October half-term closure."

Previous system amendments between East Croydon and London Victoria in 2022 saw signalling related delays cut by more than a half with rail operators hoping for the same success this round.

What train services will be delayed?

Thameslink:

Delays between Hearne Hill, Wimbledon and Sutton for the week.

Passengers are advised to use the London Underground, National Rail, London trams or bus services.

Southern Railway:

On 26 and 27 October, there will be no services between Balham and London Bridge, London Victoria and West Croydon (via Crystal Palace), or London Bridge and Streatham.

No trains between London Bridge and Beckenham Junction.

On 28 October to 1 November, no trains will run between London Bridge and Streatham nor London Bridge and Beckenham Junction.

Trains between London Bridge and London Victoria, 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.

A replacement bus service will be in place running from London Bridge and Streatham Common via Peckham Rye and Tulse Hill.

Paper tickets will be valid on local buses for all other routes.

London Overground:

No services between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction for the week.

Replacement buses will be in place.

From 26 to 29 October there will be no trains between Sydenham and Crystal Palace.

The local bus service is considered the alternative transportation.

An amended service between Highbury and Islington, West Croydon and New Cross will be in place from the 26 to 29 October.

Crystal Palace and New Cross services will be rescheduled on 30 October to 1 November.

An additional two trains an hour will operate between Highbury and Islington and West Croydon on 26, 28 and 29 October.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk