Line closure during the Christmas period
Line closure: Herne Hill, Brixton and Victoria 23 Dec – 1 Jan
Over several dates in December this year and January next year the line between Herne Hill, Brixton and London Victoria will be closed, along with Brixton station. Our trains will be diverted to and from Blackfriars, Cannon Street and Charing Cross.
During the closures major improvement work will be carried out by Network Rail (NR) engineers as part of the Victoria re-signalling programme, which will help to improve performance and deliver better journeys.
Line also closed on weekends before and after Christmas
Work is also taking place over several weekends before and after the 10-day closure, which means Victoria services will be diverted for the weekend of 16 and 17 December, then again on 6, 7, 13 and 14 January.
Service changes during Victoria closures
Victoria services will divert to Blackfriars, Cannon Street and Charing Cross. Trains between Victoria and Orpington will run from Blackfriars, calling additionally at Elephant and Castle. Brixton station will be closed all day.
Sole Street Line: Trains between Victoria and Ramsgate / Dover Priory via Chatham will run from Cannon Street and run non-stop between London Bridge and St Mary Cray / Swanley. Stopping services between Victoria and Gillingham will not run.
Maidstone East Line: Trains between Victoria and Ashford International via Maidstone East will run from Charing Cross and run non-stop between London Bridge and St Mary Cray. Trains which usually run between Charing Cross and Maidstone East will stop additionally at St Mary Cray.
Bexleyheath Line: Trains between Victoria and Dartford via Bexleyheath will not run. Additional trains will run between Charing Cross and Dartford via Bexleyheath.
Additional trains will run between Blackfriars and Orpington via Denmark Hill, Lewisham, and Bromley South.
Why is this work taking place now?
During the closure, more than 1,600 metres of track will be laid using nearly 1,000 tonnes of ballast and 2,600 new sleepers. Around 1,000 metres of conductor rail will also be replaced, along with 14 points.
A new signalling system will be replacing the older signalling that dates from the 1980s, scheduled to come into operation by January 2025, improving reliability on the line.
The extended closure over Christmas, when the fewest passengers will be travelling on the railway, enables more work to be carried out than repeated weekend closures over a longer period of time.
More information including ticket acceptance
Customers with valid Southeastern tickets will be able to use selected routes on the London Underground and Thameslink at no extra cost during the closure. Please click here for further information about the works taking place and ticket acceptance on Southeastern services.