Engineering works and rail strikes to hit travel over The Big Half weekend in Greenwich

Engineering works and strikes will seriously hit National Rail services in SE London this weekend, with tens of thousands of people expected in Greenwich on Sunday for The Big Half half-marathon.

No services will run at all on Southeastern Metro or Thameslink routes on Friday when the Aslef drivers’ union walks out in a long-running dispute over pay.

Limited services will run on Saturday because Network Rail engineering works will close Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations. Most trains will run from Victoria, although Greenwich line trains will run from London Bridge.  Industrial action by the RMT means that trains will stop running in the early evening on Saturday, affecting fans coming back from The Valley after the Charlton Athletic v Fleetwood Town match. 

While there will be no strike on Sunday, engineering works will also mean a skeleton service to Greenwich on the same day The Big Half takes place. 

More than 15,000 people are expected to take part in the half-marathon between Wapping and the Cutty Sark, but the only National Rail services to take them and their supporters home will be a half-hourly service between London Bridge and Dartford.

Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farah will be among those taking part on Sunday morning as he aims to finish his last London race. The event also includes the free, family-oriented Big Mile through Greenwich on Sunday afternoon.

Work to replace five sets of switches and crossings – which enable trains to move from one line to another – at New Cross means there will be no trains to Charing Cross or Waterloo East; while Thameslink trains to Blackfriars from Greenwich will also be cancelled.  Cannon Street station will also be closed. 

Docklands Light Railway services will run as normal through Greenwich on Sunday, although there will be no Elizabeth Line to Canary Wharf, Woolwich and Abbey Wood before 0800 – meaning the service starts about an hour later than normal.

More information about train services can be found at nationalrail.co.uk, while details of road closures for The Big Half are at thebighalf.co.uk.