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What you need to know as two major London stations shut for three weeks

News imageEPA Two Southeastern trains stopped at platforms at Charing Cross station. The station building is in the background with the letters SR written on itEPA
The two stations will be shut for 22 days from Sunday

London Charing Cross and Waterloo East will close for 22 days from Sunday, affecting train services across the Southeastern network.

No trains will call at the two central London stations between 26 July and 16 August while a £20m engineering project takes place.

Some Southeastern services will instead be diverted to other London stations, while others will terminate at London Bridge.

Trains will also run at different times to normal with passengers advised to check before they travel.

How will the station closures affect passengers?

News imageNetwork Rail Two dark blue Southeastern trains travel on tracks on a bridge over a road which has cars and vans travelling beneath itNetwork Rail
The £20m project will improve reliability of services, Network Rail says

No Southeastern services will call at either London Charing Cross or Waterloo East from Sunday until Monday 17 August.

Trains will instead be diverted to London Victoria, London Cannon Street, London Blackfriars, or end their journeys at London Bridge.

Timetables across the Southeastern network are set to be affected with trains operating at different times to normal, with fewer running on some routes.

The first and last trains leaving the capital will also change during the three-week period with passengers warned to check in advance.

Southeastern says people should "plan ahead, check before they travel, and make sure they know their last train home".

You can find a full list of how each route is affected here, or use Southeastern's journey planner.

Why are the stations being closed?

News imageGetty Images Hungerford Bridge seen under patchy grey clouds from the south bank of the Thames with Charing Cross station in the distanceGetty Images
Engineers will make structural repairs to the Victorian-built Hungerford Bridge during the works

The works are part of a major £20m project which Network Rail says will improve reliability and safety for train users.

Some 1.8km (1.1 miles) of track are set to be laid and 16 sets of switches and crossings, which allow trains to move from one track to another, installed between Charing Cross and Waterloo East, replacing rail equipment that has been used for 36 years.

The ends of the platforms at Charing Cross nearest to Hungerford Bridge will also be rebuilt with new foundations. These are currently subsiding, and the concrete surfaces are deteriorating, according to Network Rail.

Waterloo East will see upgrades to track drainage in order "to maintain track quality and a smooth ride at full line speed for passengers".

The three-week closure will also allow engineers to make structural repairs to Hungerford Bridge, which dates back to 1864 and takes the railway over the Thames and provides two footbridges for pedestrians.

Network Rail says recent faults on the line have "caused over 21,000 minutes (350 hours) of delays to customers" and "completing the work in one extended closure will avoid a much longer period of repeated weekend disruption".

Southeastern told BBC Radio London the work is being carried out over the summer because passenger numbers are 20% down compared with the rest of the year, and it would otherwise take 60 weekends of closures to complete the same amount of work being undertaken.

What routes can Southeastern passengers use instead?

News imageGetty Images Two people in the brick archway of the entrance to Waterloo East stationGetty Images
Both stations will reopen on Monday 17 August

Southeastern says it encourages "those who are able... to cycle or walk to complete shorter journeys", or alternatively ticket holders will be able to use these methods:

  • Jubilee line services between London Bridge and Waterloo
  • Circle and District line services between Victoria, Blackfriars or Cannon Street and Embankment
  • Thameslink trains between Elephant and Castle, London Bridge and St Pancras International
  • Southern services to/from London Bridge and Victoria
  • Bus route 24 between Victoria and Charing Cross via Westminster
  • Bus route 26 between Victoria and City Thameslink
  • Bus route 139 between Waterloo and Charing Cross
  • Bus route 148 between Elephant & Castle and Victoria via Westminster
  • Bus route 188 between London Bridge, Elephant & Castle and Waterloo
  • Bus route 453 between Elephant & Castle and Charing Cross via Westminster

Things get more complicated depending on whether passengers use paper tickets or eTickets, sTickets and Smartcards.

Network Rail says paper train tickets will be accepted on the above London buses and at most train and Tube ticket gates.

However, eTickets, sTickets and Smartcards will not be accepted. Southeastern says it will have staff at the above London Tube stations to check and validate these tickets, but warns that this will not always be possible.

In those cases, passengers are advised to claim a refund for that part of the journey using a claim form available on the Southeastern website from Sunday.

Will the stations shut again in the future?

While services will return to normal at the two stations on Monday 17 August, further closures are planned on two weekends later in the year.

Charing Cross and Waterloo East will be shut on 22 and 23 August, with no services also calling at either station on 10 and 11 October.

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