Southeastern

Timetable changes for Southeastern services: Travel advice for passengers
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date 7 January 2015
source Southeastern
type Press release

Rail passengers using Southeastern services are being urged to check before they travel as a major timetable change comes into effect from Monday 12 January.

On that date work will start on Southeastern’s platforms at London Bridge as part of the £6.5 billion government-sponsored Thameslink Programme – which will dramatically increase capacity on one of Europe’s busiest stretches of railway once complete.

As a result, Charing Cross services will be unable to stop at the station until August 2016. The new timetable from Southeastern includes service changes required to accommodate the construction work and also includes new long-term improvements that provide extra services and new journey opportunities.

The principal changes to services to accommodate the Thameslink Programme include:

· Charing Cross trains won’t stop at London Bridge from January 2015 until August 2016. If passengers need London Bridge they should catch a Cannon Street service or interchange enroute.

· Charing Cross services to and from New Cross, St Johns, Deptford, Greenwich, Maze Hill and Westcombe Park will be permanently diverted to and from Cannon Street. There will be fewer peak trains (two fewer trains in the morning peak, and four fewer trains in the evening peak). The line will be served by longer trains to boost capacity in peak hours

· Charing Cross services to Plumstead, Woolwich Dockyard, Belvedere and Erith will also be diverted to run to/from Cannon Street

· Some trains will be diverted to or from an alternative London terminal

· Longer metro trains to increase capacity

· Longer opening hours for Cannon Street station (0500-0100), including all day opening on Sundays. (Cannon Street tube station to also offer longer opening hours)

· Diversion of some trains from Rochester, Broadstairs, Ashford, Dover and Orpington into London Blackfriars

· Since 20 December, Rochester to Bedford and Ashford to Bedford services (and vice versa) will start and terminate at London Blackfriars

· Catford Loop services no longer part of the Southeastern timetable (as these will have transferred to the new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in December)


Long-term service improvements include:

· Highspeed:

o A new high speed ‘rounder’ service improving connections between London and North / East Kent, providing another choice of London terminal

o Highspeed trains will stop at Snodland, Birchington-on-Sea, Martin Mill and Walmer for the first time

o Extra seats on the high speed service (with 698 seats at Ashford in the morning peak and 349 extra seats from Ebbsfleet.)

o Two additional high speed trains from Margate and Broadstairs creating a half hourly service at these stations in the morning peak

o An additional high speed service from Ramsgate via Canterbury to St Pancras

· A reduction of splitting and joining on the mainline and high speed services

· A new hourly direct off-peak service between Maidstone East and Canterbury West

· A new fast service from Hastings to Charing Cross departing at 0804 and a Charing Cross to Hastings service departing at 1620, offering a 90 minute journey time

· A new peak service from Maidstone East to Blackfriars departing at 0845

· A new Blackfriars to Maidstone East service departing at 0719

· New additional services between London Victoria and Dartford at 0640 and then new later services half hourly from 1905 until 2308 (Victoria to Dartford) and from 2039 until 0009 (Victoria to Dartford)

· A new direct through-service between London Victoria and Sheerness-on-Sea (two trains in the morning peak and two trains in the evening peak)

Southeastern has worked together with the transport industry to co-ordinate planning and an arrangement is in place for rail tickets to be accepted on specific London Underground, bus and Docklands Light Railway routes to ensure that passengers can get to London Bridge at no extra charge while Network Rail is doing this crucial work. More details can be found on the Southeastern website.

David Statham, managing director of Southeastern, said: “The project to rebuild London Bridge station will provide a brand new station with a concourse the size of the pitch at Wembley Stadium, new journey opportunities to the north and south of England, and it will untangle the railway lines to remove the bottleneck we experience today.

“This will however, mean our passengers, particularly those who use London Bridge station will need to change their travel patterns while the work is carried out. Our new timetable is designed to provide a service that meets demand at a time when track capacity has much reduced, whilst also providing new journey opportunities, longer trains and later services.

“We consulted with our customers and stakeholders to develop our plans and this timetable balances the competing needs of passengers with the infrastructure constraints.”

Passengers can check for changes to their services at www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/thameslink/january2015/.



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For further information contact:

Alison Nolan, Michelle Ulyatt, Ben Ward

Southeastern Press Office

Ph: 0207 620 5080 (24-hours)

Email: press.office@southeasternrailway.co.uk

Website: www.southeasternrailway.co.uk



Notes to editors:

There is a rolling program of changes at London Bridge station affecting different operators and services at different times. For a list of the key dates and when services will be affected visit the Thameslink Programme website: www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk



About Southeastern:



Southeastern runs train services into London from Kent and East Sussex, operating some 2000 trains a day, carrying more than 570,000 passengers a day, serving 179 stations and covering 540-miles of railway infrastructure.



Southeastern is owned by Govia, a joint venture between the Go-Ahead Group (65 per cent) and Keolis (35 per cent).



Govia is the most enduring partnership between transport operators delivering rail franchises in this country.



It is the UK’s busiest rail operator, responsible for 28.7 per cent of UK passenger rail journeys through its three rail companies, Southern, Southeastern and London Midland. Further information on Govia is available at: www.govia.info



Go-Ahead Group plc is one of the UK's leading providers of passenger transport services operating in the bus, rail and aviation services sectors.



Keolis is a French-based operator of transport services in 13 countries worldwide and is owned by SNCF, AXA Private Equity, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and Keolis management.




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Southeastern is the trading name of London & South Eastern Railway Limited. London & South Eastern Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Govia Limited of which The Go-Ahead Group plc is a shareholder.

London & South Eastern Railway Limited is registered in England and Wales with company number 04860660, The Go-Ahead Group plc is registered in England and Wales with company number 2100855 and Govia Limited is registered in England and Wales with company number 3278419. The registered office for each of the aforementioned companies is situated at 3rd Floor, 41-51 Grey Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 6EE.

Railhub Archive ::: 2015-01-07 SEA-001