Sunday rail services between Woolwich and Lewisham are set to be reinstated this December, four years after they were scrapped because of government cutbacks.
Southeastern Metro trains will now run through the Blackheath Tunnel seven days a week once again, connecting Abbey Wood, Plumstead, Woolwich and Charlton with Blackheath and Lewisham.
The restored Sunday train will enable easy journeys to Blackheath Farmers’ Market and interchanges with other services across south London at Lewisham, including trains to Denmark Hill and Victoria.
The new timetable in December is also due to include the return of “rounder” trains linking Eltham and Sidcup with the Elizabeth Line at Abbey Wood, and extra Charing Cross trains for Blackheath, Kidbrooke and Eltham.
In February, The Greenwich Wire had been told that the Sunday Lewisham-Woolwich trains were not returning, but they appeared in online timetables earlier this month.
Southeastern has now confirmed they are returning. A spokesperson said: “The current December timetable plans include the restoration of Sunday services between Lewisham, Blackheath and Charlton, which would bring back a direct link between Lewisham and the Woolwich line.
“As with all timetable changes, these are subject to final confirmation ahead of publication, and we’ll be setting out full details closer to the December change.”
While Southeastern is restoring services in SE London, it has been a different story for Thameslink, which is reducing the frequency of its off-peak Greenwich line trains for the summer holiday period. It could also do the same for the October half-term and other school holidays.
However, Thameslink confirmed this week that it had scrapped a proposal to cut train services on Fridays too.
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