Kentish Express Ashford & District
Bank holiday disruption ahead
Holidaymakers and commuters are being warned to expect disrupted rail journeys over the bank holiday weekend.
Southeastern trains will not stop at Cannon Street, London Bridge, Charing Cross and Waterloo East over the holiday weekend as the busy London stations will close so Network Rail can continue works to the multibillion-pound Thameslink Programme, which is due to be completed in 2018.
The scheme involves a massive revamp of London Bridge station, one of the capital’s busiest.
All stations will reopen on Monday, August, 29, apart from Cannon Street, which remains closed through to Thursday, September 1. Trains will be diverted to Victoria, Blackfriars and New Cross.
Buses replace trains at Deptford, Greenwich, Maze Hill and Westcombe Park stations.
The train operator has “strongly urged” commuters to arrange different travel plans as there will be fewer trains, and services are expected to be much busier. Cannon Street has 600,000 weekly commuters.
A new timetable which comes into force will see no Cannon Street services stopping at London Bridge. Charing Cross trains will resume their service.
It comes as relieved Eurostar passengers were told a planned strike has been suspended while talks resume between bosses and the trade unions.
The industrial action affected a handful of services to the Continent last weekend.
The dispute over work-life balance meant workers from the TSSA and RMT unions were due to strike last weekend and over the bank holiday. Trains will now run as scheduled.