Southeastern Railway has announced that Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations will close for 22 days this summer to allow essential track renewals and infrastructure improvements to take place. The closure will run from Sunday July 26 to Sunday August 16.
While the two central London stations will be temporarily closed, routes into the capital will remain open. Trains will continue to operate, though services will be diverted, and journeys may take longer. Passengers are being urged to plan and check before travelling.
Services that would usually run into Charing Cross will instead be diverted to London Victoria, Cannon Street and Blackfriars, with some trains terminating at London Bridge. Ticket acceptance will be in place across alternative rail routes, London Underground and London bus services to help keep people moving.
The work will see engineers replace 1,800 metres of life-expired track between Waterloo East and Charing Cross, infrastructure last renewed in the early 1990s. In recent years, faults on the approaches to Charing Cross have led to hundreds of hours of delays. The programme also includes drainage improvements at Waterloo East and structural repairs to Hungerford Bridge.
Southeastern says a continuous 22-day summer closure, when commuter numbers are lower, is the most efficient and least disruptive option compared with multiple weekend or phased closures. The investment aims to deliver a safer, more reliable railway and reduce future disruption for passengers.
