20million

TWO major English train stations are set to close as they undergo renovations.

The commuter hubs will be unavailable to the public for 22 days next month as part of the regeneration works.

Both Charing Cross Station and Waterloo East Station in London will not allow travel for a number of weeks over the summer.

The stations’ decades-old tracks and platforms will be given a revamp.

The closures will take place between Sunday, July 26, and Sunday, August 16, as well as on Sunday, May 31, and Sunday, June 7.

There will also be a full weekend closure from Saturday, August 22, to Sunday, August 23, – and again from Saturday, October 10, to Sunday, October 11.

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On these dates, no trains will stop at Charing Cross or Waterloo East, although the Southeastern services will continue throughout the closures.

Trains that usually terminate at Charing Cross will be diverted to London Victoria, London Blackfriars, London Cannon Street or London Bridge. Tickets will be accepted on these alternative routes.

Meanwhile the London Underground service from Charing Cross will run as normal.

The closures will allow a £20million engineering project to be completed, with almost two kilometres of 36-year-old track set to be replaced.

Sections of Charing Cross’s platforms will undergo repairs along with updates to the drainage systems on the tracks.

Structural repairs to the Waterloo East to London Waterloo pedestrian link bridge and the Hungerford Bridge are also required.

Scott Brightwell, train services director at Southeastern Railway, said: “The £20 million investment we are delivering will see 1990s track and platforms upgraded to make journeys safer and more reliable, and Victorian era structures strengthened to remain fit for the future.  

“By consolidating the work into 22‑day closure, supported by preparation and follow‑up weekends, we can complete the work more quickly and with less disruption overall than the alternative options of 60 weekend closures or four to five 9-day closures.”

Urging passengers to “plan ahead and check before they travel”, he added: “We have planned the closure for the summer, when passenger numbers are around 20 per cent lower and schools are closed, to help manage the impact on customers.”

ONE of the longest piers in the UK has taken the next steps to reopen.

Southport Pier was forced to close back in 2022 due to safety concerns over the stability of it.

However it was announced last year that £20million was being put into its reopening, and works have now started.

Local website Stand Up for Southport confirmed that contractors are now doing pre-construction work, with the full restoration expected to take up to 16 months.

This includes replacing the decking, as well as adding new gates and CCTV, while fixing the steelworks as well.

Sefton Council said: “The first task contractors will have is to assess the current condition of the existing paintwork on the structure’s columns. We want to ascertain if there has been any deterioration since previous assessments were undertaken.

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“If the condition is good it can be left as is, however if not we will also need to repaint the whole structure as part of the repair works.

“This pre-construction work will take at least five days to complete. Following this we’ll shortly be moving onto the ground investigation stage within the coming weeks, which checks the stability of the ground underneath and around the Pier for materials like scaffolding.”

Southport Pier is the oldest iron pier in the UK, dating back to 1860, and is the second longest (only behind Southend Pier).

However, the original pavilion was destroyed in 1897 by a fire, with another fire in 1959 damaging the decking.

It was later given Grade II listing in 1975. with a new £7million tram in 2002.

Councillor Marion Atkinson, leader of Sefton Council, previously said: “The Pier is a symbol of Southport’s identity, history, and now, thanks to the Council and Central Government, secured for the town’s future too.”

And it’s not just the pier that was at risk, but Southport’s beach as well.

New studies have found that the increase in sand will lead to increased vegetation – essentially turning the coastline into mud.