Major rail works will wipe out train services through Lewisham, Hither Green, New Eltham and Sidcup over the Christmas holiday and into the new year.
An £8 million upgrade programme will see points replaced south of Lewisham, hitting rail services on the Sidcup, Hayes and Orpington lines for eight days between 27 December and 3 January.
On the Sidcup line, buses will replace trains between Lewisham and Dartford on Bank Holiday Monday and Tuesday, and between Lewisham and Sidcup on Wednesday, Thursday and New Year’s Eve. On New Year’s Day, 2 and 3 January, buses will again replace trains between Lewisham and Dartford.
Buses will run between Lewisham and Hayes for all eight days; while they will run between Lewisham and Orpington on Bank Holiday Monday and Tuesday as well as New Year’s Day, 2 and 3 January.
Network Rail’s route director for Kent, Fiona Taylor, said: “For those of us who work on the railway, or travel on it, rebuilding the railway is as much a Christmas tradition as mince pies and paper hats and I appreciate everyone’s patience again as we get cracking on our latest improvements.
“Lewisham is such a busy area that even small improvements to reliability can have a major impact. That’s why we’re working through a package of improvements to all aspects of our railway there to improve reliability for passengers.
“It’s still a quieter time for passengers and still the best time for us to do major engineering like this, where we have to take lines out of service.”
Passengers are advised to check before they travel on the Southeastern website.
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