No trams between East Croydon and Beckenham Junction, Elmers End or New Addington from 24 October to 5 November, across half term. Here are the buses.
There will be no trams east of East Croydon for 13 days from Saturday 24 October. TfL has booked a closure of every branch to Beckenham Junction, Elmers End and New Addington, running until Thursday 5 November.
That covers the whole of the October half term, which in Croydon’s schools runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October (Croydon Council term dates).
TfL added the closure to its planned works on the afternoon of 29 September. Its notice reads: “Saturday 24 October to Thursday 5 November, no service between East Croydon and Beckenham Junction / Elmers End / New Addington” (TfL line status API, tram). TfL has not said what the work is.
Which stops lose their trams
TfL’s notice lists the affected section stop by stop. On the Beckenham and Elmers End side:
- Lebanon Road and Sandilands
- Addiscombe, Blackhorse Lane and Woodside
- Arena and Harrington Road
- Birkbeck, Avenue Road, Beckenham Road and Beckenham Junction
- Elmers End
On the New Addington branch, every stop from Lloyd Park to the terminus:
- Lloyd Park and Coombe Lane
- Gravel Hill and Addington Village
- Fieldway, King Henry’s Drive and New Addington
Trams will still run west of East Croydon, through the town centre to Wimbledon.
The replacement buses
TfL says two rail replacement bus services will run (TfL tram status).
Service T2, to Beckenham, calls at:
- Wellesley Road, for the town centre
- East Croydon
- Addiscombe and Blackhorse Lane
- Arena
- Elmers End (Tesco) and Elmers End station
- Birkbeck and Beckenham Road
- Beckenham Junction
Service T3, to New Addington, calls at:
- Wellesley Road, for the town centre
- East Croydon
- Lloyd Park and Coombe Lane
- Gravel Hill, but not towards New Addington from 24 October to 1 November
- Addington Village Interchange
- Fieldway and King Henry’s Drive
- New Addington
TfL’s published bus routes do not name Lebanon Road, Sandilands, Woodside, Harrington Road or Avenue Road. If you use one of those stops, check the signs at the stop before the closure starts.
Southern trains will still call at Birkbeck throughout, except on Sundays, TfL says. Birkbeck is on Southern’s Crystal Palace to Beckenham Junction line.
Three other tram closures come first
The half-term closure is the fourth tram closure TfL has booked on the Croydon side in October (TfL tram status):
| When | What is closed |
|---|---|
| 23:00 Friday 2 October to Thursday 8 October | Town centre loop: no westbound trams from Church Street to Wandle Park, no eastbound trams from Wandle Park to Centrale |
| Sunday 4 October | No trams between Arena and Elmers End |
| Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October | No trams between Sandilands and New Addington |
| Saturday 24 October to Thursday 5 November | No trams east of East Croydon, on all three branches |
For New Addington that means two separate closures in eight days. The branch is shut on 17 and 18 October, reopens for five days, then closes again from 24 October.
TfL has changed tram closure dates at short notice before. When the town centre was shut for track renewal in August, it moved the end date back a week. Check TfL’s live status before you set off.
What it means for you
- Travelling from New Addington or Addington in half term? Allow extra time on the T3 bus, and remember it skips Gravel Hill towards New Addington until 1 November.
- Using Beckenham Junction or Birkbeck? Southern trains are the alternative, except on Sundays at Birkbeck.
- Going into town? Both replacement buses start from Wellesley Road, so you can reach the centre without changing.
- Driving instead? Several roads near the tram corridor have works of their own in late October, including a proposed closure of Sherwood Road in Addiscombe from 19 October. Our Croydon roadworks and travel page has the current list.
We will update this story when TfL says what the work is for.
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