Half the platforms at Victoria Station will be closed over the Christmas holiday, as engineering works at Battersea cut them off from the rest of the network.
This disruption if due to track improvement work that will be taking place at the “Battersea Pier Junction”, which is where the two branches of the railway join up just south of the Thames.
The works taking place over Christmas will see the old track removed and replaced with 1,300m of plain line track and 1,800m of conductor rail. They will also be renewing 12 Switch and Crossing units and replacing 10 point machines and their associated cabling and power supply.
As a result, platforms 9 to 19 at London Victoria station will be closed between Sunday 23rd December and Tuesday 1st January.
If you’re offering (or required) to be working over Xmas and use Victoria Station, you might want to change your plans.
As a result:
There will be no Gatwick Express, while other trains to Gatwick will run from Blackfriars and London Bridge.
Most Southern services will divert to London Bridge.
A limited Southern service will run to Clapham Junction. Buses will replace train services for local journeys between Clapham Junction and Victoria.
All other services at Clapham Junction are expected to be very busy.
Also, the London Overground between Wandsworth Road and Denmark Hill will close between Monday 24 and Thursday 27 December.
When completed, the renewed junction shouldn’t need to be closed again for another 35 years.
As an aside, the junction is also home of one of a small handful of tiny railway stations known as a “Halt”, which is only about a metre long and only for use by staff.
Do we know what days there will be a train service this Christmas? Previous years have had a limited service from London towards Gatwick and Croydon on Boxing Day but last year they withdrew this entirely and had nothing until the 27th
Bet that’s going to be a pain for passengers using Gatwick Express travelling from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport as well most of Southern services also to be affected. Which could also have a knock on effect with Southern and Thameslink services to/from London Bridge and elsewhere.
There will be a Gatwick Express service from London Bridge.
Citation needed – as Network Rail say otherwise at the moment.
Could this mean that Gatwick Express could operate not just from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport but also to operate from London Bridge to Gatwick Airport as well Brighton-Gatwick Airport.
Don’t expect clarity from Network Rail. I checked a few days ago re a late Saturday train from Preston Park (Brighton line)to London, and it was shown as running. Elsewhere on their web site there was a notice saying the line would be closed and no trains at all on both Sat and Sun ……
Am I right in presuming trains from Bromley South to Victoria will be running.ie platforms 1-5??