Rail passengers of the Bexleyheath line have been invited by Network Rail to four public drop-in events during the months of November and December.

The event will allow passengers to hear about Network Rail’s major closure of the Bexleyheath line lasting 9-days from Saturday the 15th to Sunday the 23rd of February 2020.

Network Rail will use this closure to work on a project to protect passengers that are on the line from disruptions that would be caused by landslips.

The work follows four landslips that occurred in the last 10 years which in fact caused significant disruption to passengers.

The drop-in sessions will be held along the Bexleyheath line on:

• Monday the 25th of November, 4 pm to 8 pm, St Martin’s Church, Erith Road, Barnehurst, Bexleyheath, DA7 6LE
• Tuesday the 26th of November, 4 pm to 8 pm, One Space Community Café, Kidbrooke Park Road, SE3 9YY
• Monday the 2nd of December, 4 pm to 8 pm, St Mary’s Community Centre, Eltham, SE9 1BJ
• Tuesday the 10th of December, 4 pm to 8 pm, Welling Library, Bellegrove Road, Welling, DA16 3PA

Members of the projects team and representatives from South-eastern will be on hand at these drop-in sessions to answer questions from local residents and passengers about the work and the impact on train services.

Buses will be used in order to replace trains on the Bexleyheath line during the 9-days of closure and passengers are advised that they should plan ahead. To keep people and trains on the move during the work, the Woolwich and Sidcup lines and the Charlton to Blackheath link will stay open.

Capacity on these lines will be increased by running extra train services or longer trains where possible, however, passengers are advised that they should travel outside of peak times if they can and that they should allow themselves more time for their journeys.

What did the officials say?

Dan Athol, programme director for Network Rail, said:

“After four landslips on the Bexlyeheath line in recent years, we need to provide a permanent long-term solution to prevent further disruption to passengers.

“We’ll aim to do that by building a concrete and steel wall along with reducing the steepness of the cutting over the 9-days in February and follow up weekends.

“We will need to work 24 hours a day over the closure to make sure the work finishes on time. Our activities will be noisy at times and trains will not run on the Bexleyheath line so I encourage people to attend one of the events to find out more, or visit our website.“

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