Disruption expected ahead of 10-week closure to fix leaking Blackheath tunnel

Train services will be disrupted for 10 weeks this spring and summer as engineers work to fix leaks in Blackheath tunnel.

Network Rail has confirmed that the line between Charlton and Blackheath will be closed from May 18 to July 27, as it begins £10million of repairs to the 175-year-old Victorian-era structure.

Most trains will be diverted via the Greenwich line, where passengers can change for the DLR to Lewisham, with some rush-hour services running via Bexleyheath instead. 

The one-mile-long tunnel, which opened in 1849, is prone to leaks and water damage.

The freezing and thawing of rainwater which filters through the ground into the tunnel has affected the brickwork and damaged parts of the track and electrical equipment, causing delays and speed restrictions.

Over the past year faults in the tunnel have been the cause of around 1,000 minutes of delay to Southeastern passengers, Network Rail said.

David Davidson, Network Rail’s Kent route director, said: “We know there’s never a good time to close the railway, and that changes to services for a 10-week period is a long time.

“We are carrying out the repairs over a series of 10-week closures because working in cramped and narrow tunnels is incredibly difficult.

“If traditional weekend working was used engineers would spend at least 50 per cent of a weekend bringing materials in and out of the tunnel, leaving limited time for actual work.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by the closure, but this is a long-term project and this will be the last closure until we are back in to finish over summer 2027.”

The work follows a 10-week closure last summer, when engineers cleaned soot from the tunnel lining, carried out surveys and replaced thousands of bricks.

Over the course of the entire programme, Network Rail will install a new lining to stop water leaking through the tunnel as well as a new drainage system.

Pictured top: Workers inside Blackheath tunnel during 10 weeks of repairs last summer (Picture: Network Rail)