I know there’s an old longer topic about this from
last year, but does anyone know the current status of this service?
I need to start travelling between Forest Hill and Pimlico, and was planning to get this train. But it seems to have vanished during the lockdowns and not been reinstated.
Very confusingly, the route appears on the Southern website but no trains for it are listed.
Thanks in advance
It has been reinstated but at a reduced frequency.
There are a few services in each direction during the morning “peak” and evening “peak” Mon- Fri and all day Sat. Check National Rail website or app for specific times
Thanks for taking the time to reply. National Rail app only offers to go via Whitechapel (Overground the tube). Even if I force “no changes” on the route.
I just requested FOH - VIC depating tomorrow at 0800 on the NR app and the direct route shows at 0812 and 0842. Times should be roughly the same for the earlier hours. Sorry I can’t check in detail for all times but I’ve had no electricity since last night and only have a mobile to communicate with which I’ve already had to ask a neighbour to recharge for me once today!
Thank you! Just found two trains using this search. They seem to be the only ones for the whole morning which is crazy seeing as this service used to be like twice per hour. After all that effort I think I will have to take a different route as not sure I can deal with my first commute in 16 months being on a super packed 8am train…
Thanks again, and hope you get your power restored soon.
I’d be surprised if the train is packed as it never used to be pre Covid and from Crystal Palace onwards there’s additional trains which have started at Beckenham Junction. I’ve just checked the app again and there is a 0742 direct from Forest Hill as well as the 0812 so I don’t know why you couldn’t see anything else unless you were looking for later than 0842.
Yeah I was looking later. I have a new client in Westminster and will be travelling to see them. Both they and I won’t travel at peak time so I was hoping for a train that arrives at 1030 or something, but they appear to be truly peak time only (0740–0840).
New plan is to cycle to Sydenham Hill and get the very regular service from there.
Hopefully this service will be restored fully as demand for trains grows again after July 19.
EDIT: there’s actually a warning on the National Rail app saying avoid these trains if possible as they get super busy, which cements me taking another route.
I usually get the train to East Croydon and then change platforms to get a fast train to Victoria. I don’t think it’s that much different to the London Bridge/Victoria line which is lovely, but slow. Taking the underground is fastest: Canada Water - Green Park - Pimlico. Or even better Canada Water - Westminster. But I must admit, a lottery in terms of busyness.
During peak time it was standing only from gipsy hill, from what I recall. So if there are only two peak time services and people are going back to using it, it will be crowded.
I have to say I am deeply suspicious as to Southern’s motives in this one. I’m not really clear why they are not reinstating this now and I am suspicious they are using COVID as a route to cut the service altogether. I don’t have evidence of that but their explanations and information about it seem a little shady and the fact that they are running only peak services now when we are still otherwise advised to try not to travel at the busiest times doesn’t seem overly consistent. I hope I’m wrong because I used this service everyday pre lockdown but I also remember the direct service to Charing Cross being cut!
I remember the direct service to and from Charing Cross. I think it was cut because the trains crossed other railway lines.
I am suspicious that this is the motive in this case.
It is difficult to get straight answers as to why services are cut, or not running to schedule.
I have just been looking at the map and many train lines cross each other, including the services to Victoria from Crystal Palace, and other services that travel through Lewisham to Charing Cross. If this is the reason for the dwindling services, it is not a reason that has been cited before, to me at least. However I am no expert in train lines it has to be said.
In other London boroughs, transport providers are actually challenged and held accountable for delivering scheduled services, which results in better services for residents.
One recent example is below when TFL announced plans to close Balham station. TFL was challenged by the local MP, and this resulted in TFL very quickly proposing another plan. Just shows what can be achieved.
I think there are three peak time trains in the morning and that’s it. Def agree it will be crowded as a result, and I def don’t want to experience that after 16 months and an ‘at risk’ partner at home.
Got to say I agree with you regarding Southern likely taking the opportunity to reduce services and then say “these aren’t being used so we can cancel them entirely”.
Interesting regarding Balham station !
I got the 08:12 Victoria train yesterday, I only went as far as Balham, the train was almost empty.
What a drag of a journey though, I actually thought we were terminating at Crystal Palace as we sat there for so long.
All those massive London Bridge works a couple of years ago were to make sure that Victoria/Thameslink/Lewisham lines don’t cross each other any more. That’s why there’s no chance you’ll get a direct line to Charing Cross from Forest Hill - the signalling and potential for delays at London Bridge would be a nightmare.
Southern’s useless running (or not running) of the London Bridge-Victoria line started off as a lockdown thing, as things start to come back they should hopefully start to increase again.
Thanks for this info! Interesting to hear this train was so quiet but also so slow.
I ended up getting the Overground then tube for speed. The Jubilee line was stupid and I will be avoiding it in future, so many ppl crowding and not wearing masks.
I never thought the chx service would come back. Was simply pointing out that the Victoria service wouldn’t be the first service that FH has lost since I moved here!
I seem to recall there has always been a timetabled stop of several minutes at Crystal Palace when travelling towards Victoria but not in the opposite direction. However that stop increased to 6 minutes a couple or so years ago. I’ve always assumed the wait at Crystal Palace is something to do with the service using 3 separate rail lines which are all used by other Southern services as well. It has to get off the London Bridge - East Croydon line as soon as it departs Sydenham to enable other services to go through to Norwood Junction and East Croydon but then has to join the East Croydon - Clapham Junction line at the scheduled time.
There is a built in delay at CP towards LBG as well. Yesterday I was on the 16:58 ex Clapham Junction which departed on time, as often at peak times, picked up a growing set of delays arriving 6 mins late at CP. But there was 4 mins built in contingency which means it was only 2 mins late for Syd/FH.
I had assumed the reason was to minimise the inbound delays to the London termini with consequent knock-on impact to other services for which Southern would be penalised.
Chris, I’m so pleased there are inquisitive people like you in the world who obviously research issues that they may come across. I rely on people like you to get me through life!
That said even now I know why I’m sat at Crystal Palace for 6 mins, I will still be muttering under my breath bemoaning what I see as an unacceptable waste of my time. 
Very interesting re the waits in order to change lines. Which actually helps running of services.
And great info from @ChrisR – this is why I asked this question on this forum! Useful local knowledge and insight.
Hoping to see this service fully reinstated post Covid rules finish. Avoid the Jubilee line if you can!
For years pre-covid I commuted on the London Bridge-Victoria loop line and it was terrible. 3-4 times a week the service from Victoria was either cancelled or if it was running late everyone was turfed out at Crystal Palace so the train could go straight through to London Bridge without stopping!
Before the Overground it meant you were stuck there for 30 mins for the next train! My journey home become a lot less stressful when someone advised me to use the Victoria to Sydenham Hill/ Penge East line, bit of walking or bus ride at the end but still saves time/ grief compared to the loopy line.
I WISH I could!
Its a nightmare crowded once more and lots of maskless passengers.
I wish the Elizabeth line would get a move on so I’d have another option to get to Bond St but it looks like I’ll have retired by the time that starts running!
I agree it seems a waste of time sitting at Crystal Palace for 6 minutes going nowhere! However pre March 2020 when the service ran twice an hour throughout the day Monday - Saturday I usually always used the Victoria service when I had appointments in the Victoria area as well as when I was regularly travelling to Hampshire and could change at Clapham Junction onto South Western Railways. Although there are quicker routes I preferred the convenience of not having to change anywhere else especially when I’m travelling with luggage, and being able to to get a seat on less crowded services.
There’s only 1 minute timetabled for the stop at Crystal Palace on that service
Whereas the trains towards Victoria have 6 minutes wait timetabled at Crystal Palace:
I used to commute to and from Clapham Junction, so used that line. Mornings were usually fine but evenings really varied. Sometimes I ended up getting to Crystal Palace and just going for a bus, inevitably an evening where I’d been working late. I also spent a lot of time going up and down the stairs at Crystal Palace between lines!
My commute these days (to London Bridge) is so much easier!
Although the difference looks like 1min v 6min, it is worth tracking the time taken to get between Sydenham and Gipsy Hill - 11 min one way 14 min the other. Either way, this leaves plenty of time for train journey that should really take 7 mins maximum.
As @StuartG has said this wait was added to the timetable to help trains to catch up without spending time waiting in or outside London Bridge - where there is a lack of platforms. The idea is that by adding in this wait is less need for services to run fast to Crystal Palace to avoid impact to the next services.
It also means that it is slightly quicker to get to/from Victoria via Canada Water and Westminster, but it is much more hassle.
The ‘timetable’ is fudged to disguise the planned delay (from whom?). It doesn’t take anything like the scheduled 6 minutes to go from Gipsy Hill to CP. It’s more like 2. That’s why the train could easily make up 4 minutes from leaving Gipsy Hill to leaving CP without leaving the tracks.
The wait time is to allow it to catch up if it’s run late on one of the legs of the journey. When they got rid of it, they ended up running more journeys fast from CP to London Bridge and skipped out FH altogether so they put it back in again. I agree it’s a pain in the morning when it normally does wait but in the way back it’s rare to wait as the train used to be often delayed and then it went back to being on time again.
