We’re improving the Thameslink route through central London this Christmas – to give you smoother and more reliable journeys.
Better journeys in Central London
Our teams are replacing track on the Thameslink route between London St Pancras station and Herne Hill station from Christmas Day Wednesday 25 December to Sunday 29 December.
The rails between St Pancras International and Blackfriars station were installed in 2011. Thousands of trains have passed over them in the thirteen years since. That’s why we’re replacing the worn rails with new ones that will help prevent faults delaying your journeys.
Engineers will install 1,670 metres of new rails on the track between Farringdon and Blackfriars – helping keep your journeys running smoothly.
A greener railway
We’ll also recycle any scrap rail left over after the building of the new track has finished.
This will help us achieve net zero by 2045 in Scotland and England by 2050 by cutting carbon emissions across the railway.
It also helps us build a more circular economy where we use products repeatedly and use less raw materials – giving you a greener railway.
Take a look at some other recent examples of how we’ve repurposed and reused across our railway here.
Check before you travel
Between Christmas Day Wednesday 25 December to Sunday 29 December, the line from St. Pancras International to Herne Hill is closed.
Trains between St Albans City and Sutton via Mitcham Junction and Wimbledon will not run.
Trains between Bedford, Luton and Three Bridges will not run. On Saturday 29 December, the service will only run between London Bridge and Three Bridges (one train per hour).
Trains between Bedford and Brighton will only run between London Bridge and Brighton (two trains per hour).
Trains between Luton and Rainham will only run between London Bridge and Rainham (one train per hour).
Trains between London Blackfriars and Sevenoaks will run between London Victoria and Sevenoaks (one train per hour).
Works taking place north of St Pancras this festive period will affect some major routes, with no trains running between St Pancras and Harpenden from Saturday 21 to Sunday 29 December.
Rail replacement buses will be operating on some routes, but these will be limited, and they’re expected to be extremely busy.
Services to and from airports will be affected during this period with fewer trains serving Gatwick Airport and Luton Airport Parkway.
We encourage you to plan ahead if travelling to or from one of these airports over the festive period and check with nationalrail.co.uk for more information.
Thank you for bearing with us during this work and please check before you travel.
