There will be an earlier start and slightly different route for this year’s London Marathon – but engineering works on a key rail route through the capital will mean disruption for people heading to watch the race.
Organisers hope this year’s race, beginning from Blackheath, will be the biggest yet, surpassing the 53,700 people who took part last year.
But to squeeze all the entrants in, this year’s event will start at 8.50am with the elite wheelchair race, 25 minutes earlier than last year.
The elite women will race from 9.05am, with the elite men from 9.35am. But most runners will be starting in a series of waves, with the mass race start times ranging from 9.35am to 11.30am.
The route has also been altered at Canary Wharf, with runners now using the Wood Wharf area to the east of the financial district.
But there will be some disruption to train services, as Network Rail will be closing the main Thameslink route through central London, which usually carries 11 trains per hour on Sundays, for engineering work. The line will be closed between London Bridge and St Pancras International, meaning no through trains from north London to the Greenwich line. This will also mean no trains at Blackfriars, which is close to the 24-mile mark.
There will be frequent extra Southeastern trains to Greenwich, Maze Hill and Blackheath to carry runners to their start points. But the engineering works mean those planning to cheer them on near Charlton or Westcombe Park stations will have a less frequent service than a normal Sunday, with just three trains an hour after about 10.30am: two Southeastern trains to Cannon Street and one Thameslink train to London Bridge.
But Maze Hill, Greenwich and Deptford stations will have extra Southeastern Metro trains during the morning, heading into central London only, to bump the service up to five trains an hour until about 1.30pm.
There is limited capacity at London Bridge to terminate Thameslink trains and its drivers are not trained to take their services into Cannon Street, where Southeastern’s Greenwich line trains run to.
Network Rail, Southeastern and Network Rail said in a joint statement to The Greenwich Wire: “Vital signalling and track maintenance means that Thameslink trains will terminate at London St Pancras International and London Bridge.
“To ensure the London Marathon is well served, Southeastern are running additional services to the start areas at Blackheath, Greenwich and Maze Hill. Trains and stations will be very busy and extra staff will be on duty to help reduce congestion and to provide travel assistance.
“Alongside the train operators, we work closely with London Marathon Events Ltd and plans for the London Marathon have been worked through for many months.
“Tickets will be accepted on the London Underground and London Buses for passengers travelling between St Pancras International and London Bridge.
“All passengers are advised to plan their journeys at nationalrail.co.uk or at tfl.gov.uk. We’d like to wish all runners taking part the best of luck.”
Road closures
The main start areas at Shooters Hill Road and Charlton Way will close from 4am while roads in Greenwich, Blackheath, Woolwich and Charlton will close from 7am. Crossing points will be available at various points on the route until shortly before the first wheelchair racers arrive.
Roads south of the river are expected to reopen between 2.30pm and 4pm. More details are on the London Marathon website. If your car has been towed away, visit trace.london to find it.
National Rail and Docklands Light Railway
Extra Southeastern Metro trains will run from Charing Cross to Blackheath and Cannon Street to Greenwich and Maze Hill from just before 7am. Some extra trains will also run in the opposite direction on the Greenwich line from Dartford. More information is on the Southeastern website.
After about 10.30am a normal service will run through Blackheath, while five trains an hour will run from Maze Hill, Greenwich and Deptford stations to Cannon Street until about 1.30pm. After that, a reduced service of three trains per hour will run on the Greenwich line because of engineering works.
Extra Docklands Light Railway trains will run from Bank and Tower Gateway to Lewisham until 4pm. Woolwich Arsenal trains will run to Stratford International, Beckton trains to Poplar.
Tube services will run as normal. The Elizabeth Line through Woolwich and Canary Wharf will also run a normal service, but trains west of Paddington will be affected by Network Rail works.
Cutty Sark DLR station
Cutty Sark station – where the escalators are out of service – will be entry-only, with arrivals directed to Greenwich station. The station is closing next month so new escalators can be installed, with TfL hoping to have it open again for next year’s marathon.
Greenwich Foot Tunnel
The Greenwich Foot Tunnel – where the lifts are extremely unreliable so expect to use the stairs – will be open northbound only (towards Island Gardens) from 10.30am to 12.30pm with queues expected. Spectators heading south will need to use the Docklands Light Railway from Island Gardens to Greenwich. Both lifts are out of service as of Thursday – the latest status is on the Greenwich Council website.
Buses
Buses in the area will be cut short, diverted or will not run at all while roads are closed. Notable changes include the 53, 89, 177, 180, 422, 472 and 486 services running via the South Circular Road, the 286 being diverted to North Greenwich and the SL4 running to Canning Town. In Kidbrooke, there will be no route 335 to North Greenwich while roads are closed, but the 108 will be running via Kidbrooke Park Road. Check each route on the TfL website.
Canary Wharf route change
Those used to watching the race from near Canary Wharf DLR station will have to change their habits this year as the route has been moved. Instead of running under the station as before the route will now loop around the estate’s Waitrose store before running via Montgomery Street, Water Street and Charter Street in the new Wood Wharf district, before returning to the old route at Trafalgar Way.
Where to watch?
If you’re new to our part of London or cheering on loved ones, The Greenwich Wire‘s favourite spots are… outside the Rose of Denmark pub on Woolwich Road, Charlton (just before the 5-mile mark, near Charlton station) to enjoy the scenes with a Guinness; at the bottom of Westcombe Hill in east Greenwich (just after 5 miles, near Westcombe Park station) to hear the Taiko Meantime drummers under the flyover; and the north end of Deptford High Street (7½ miles – near Deptford station, New Cross is easily walkable for Windrush Line trains to Wapping and Shadwell), once the field has become a bit more spread out.
Sadly one much-loved marathon day pub, Hardy’s Freehouse near Maze Hill in Greenwich, closed at the start of the year for conversion to a hotel.
When is next year’s marathon?
If this year’s date has caught you out, then next year’s marathon is on Sunday April 26, 2026. The ballot for next year’s race opened on Friday.
If you can’t wait that long, there is also The Big Half, which begins at Tower Bridge and ends at the Cutty Sark. The community half-marathon takes place on Sunday, September 7.
Updated at 4.40pm to include Network Rail/Thameslink/Southeastern statement and details of extra trains at Maze Hill, Greenwich and Deptford stations, and on Thursday to update the section about the foot tunnel.
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