No trains via Sevenoaks until approximately 08:00 

Route(s) affected

Southeastern between Hastings / Tunbridge Wells / Ashford International / Dover Priory / Sevenoaks / Ramsgate and London Charing Cross

Thameslink between Sevenoaks and London Victoria

Description

Urgent repairs to the track in the Sevenoaks area means that trains are unable to run via this station. As a result, trains running between Tonbridge and Orpington, and also between Sevenoaks and Swanley will be cancelled, revised or diverted.

Disruption is expected until approximately 08:00.

Southeastern customer advice:

What's happened?

A broken rail has been identified during a safety inspection in the Sevenoaks Tunnel and is being replaced. The line will be closed between Tonbridge and Orpington until at least 08:00 to allow repairs to be completed.

How does this affect my journey?

Trains cannot run between Tonbridge and Orpington via Sevenoaks.

Trains between Sevenoaks and London Charing Cross will not run between Sevenoaks and Orpington.

Trains between Hastings and London Charing Cross will not run between Tonbridge and London Charing Cross.

Trains between Dover Priory / Ramsgate and London Charing Cross will not run between Tonbridge and London Charing Cross.

What should I do?

Replacement buses will run between:

• Tonbridge and Orpington

• Borough Green & Wrotham and Swanley

Alternative routes:

For details of alternative routes that may be available to complete your journey, please refer to our Alternative routes during disruption maps.

How can I stay up to date?

You can follow Southeastern on Twitter (X) @SE_Railway or follow the Southeastern WhatsApp channel.

Thameslink customer advice:

Services running to and from Sevenoaks will now start and terminate at Orpington instead.

This means the following stations will have no service until approximately 08:00:

• Bat & Ball

• Otford

• Shoreham (Kent)

• Eynsford

• Swanley

• St Mary Cray

Alternative journey options:

Southeastern services are also affected. However, they have replacement buses in place running between Borough Green and Swanley to call at Shoreham and Eynsford which you will be able to use with your existing ticket.

You can also use your ticket at no additional cost on Southeastern services between Swanley and Bromley South.

Please speak to station staff, where available. If there are no staff, you can use the emergency button on the station help point instead, or speak to Thameslink on social media.

Planning your journey:

You can see live departure boards.

You can view a live map of the network.

You can also see the alternative route guide.

If you're travelling in the London area, you can plan journeys on alternative routes by using the TfL Journey Planner.

The app will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

There has been a report of a possible issue with the track in this area. Network Rail's engineers are attending as quickly as possible to carry out a detailed inspection.

There are various different types of defects, and the first advice usually comes from drivers or other staff travelling through the area. Response staff will check the location which has been specified and find out whether the track is still supported correctly, whether the rails themselves are in the usual condition, and if there are any problems with the fixings and metalwork which attach the rails to the sleepers.

Until this is done, trains have been stopped from running in the affected direction. This is a necessary safety precaution.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner.

For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page.

You can find the pick-up and drop-off location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page.

Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.

Compensation:

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.