What happened to the trains yesterday? I was at Honor Oak Park. There were no mainline trains as expected. But three Overground trains went through without stopping. One of the staff had to phone the Controller to get the next train to stop!

There was a signal failure at Sydenham which has a knock-on effect for a while. With extra services running, my guess is that they needed to get trains back to where they were supposed to be ASAP.

Cancellations went on till late.
My friend missed a train from Islington before 9.00pm and then the next one was cancelled.

On Saturday they had somebody trespassing on the line at New Cross Gate, and then signal failure yesterday.
As a result I have learned how to travel back from New Cross on the buses:
Take the 171 or 172 from Marquis Of Granby (bus stop T) - half way towards New Cross Gate http://www.tfl.gov.uk/bus/stop/490009689...-of-granby
171 will take you to Stanstead Road, where you can pick up the 185 or 122 or 176
172 will take you to Honor Oak Park where you can get the 122 or the P4 (if you're heading in that direction)

For greater disruption, to get from Canada Water or Surrey Quays to New Cross you can take the 225 bus, which runs at 15 minute intervals.

Alternatively from Canada Water you can get a Jubilee line train to Canary Wharf, change to the DLR and head to Lewisham, where you can get the P4, 122, or 185. TfL suggest this as the fastest route but it will take over an hour.

Any other suggestions on routes to get home with no trains and without stealing a bicycle?

We arrived at FH at about 1710 last night on our way to St Paul's Cathedral, were told there were no trains, took a 185 to the Oval, then the Northern and Central lines, and got to St Paul's earlier than we were scheduled to do if the Overground had been running!

This post was last modified: 29-08-2014 10:37 AM by robin orton.

If you can get on the Clapham branch then I suggest
Take train to Peckham Rye and catch the 197 on Rye Lane.
Take train to Denmark Hill and catch the 176 or 185.

Good route Michael - I did the 172 route yesterday as impossible to get the 171 (full).

I think you can also get the P12 from Surrey Keys - I think near the Decathlon store but can't remember.

TFL's communications were pretty poor yesterday. Got on train at Shoreditch, saying it was going to West Croydon. Then told it would terminate at New Crosss Gate due to late running. Then two stops later it was going to New Cross instead of NCG. Then get off and told no more trains past New Cross Gate.

If you are still in town, you can of course try and get a train to Crofton Park and then get the 122 or other buses up from there. Think they leave from Blackfriars but I may be wrong.

To be fair to TFL (which is a first for me) it was on their website at 5:00 that the Overground was suffering severe delays and suggesting that alternative routes were used. I found the DLR and 185 route acceptable if a little slow and slightly overcrowded.

Hillstop,
That's a great route via Peckham Rye and you also have the 363 to Horniman and 63 to Forest Hill Road/
I hope I don't get to try it out soon!

I think the P12 takes such a convoluted route that you might be better walking (I did this once as far as Crofton Park).

The other route I tried on Saturday was the train from New Cross to Catford Bridge and then the 185. But that was a rather long journey, mainly spent waiting for trains and buses.

I think the Peckham Rye route from Surrey Quays will take around 45 minutes to the centre of Forest Hill.
The 172 route is likely to take about the same, although I think I did it slightly faster yesterday using the P4.

Meh, perhaps they could all at least all agree on the same story...when I got to HOP station yesterday afternoon at around 4.30pm, trains showed up as "delayed" but station staff said there were no trains at all (rail or OG) and to take a bus instead, because "someone stole a piece of the tracks". Umm, ok. Novel.

As another alternative, again depending on where you're coming from/going to, if the trains are stuffed in the morning I sometimes get the 176 to Elephant and Castle and then on to the Bakerloo. The bus takes ages - but I work in Paddington so once I'm at E&C I'm not doing too badly on that route.

I saw the tweets last night regarding the chaos. Never did I think I'd be grateful for being sent away by work to stay in a hotel at the last minute...

This post was last modified: 29-08-2014 06:45 PM by MightyMouse.

I took a train from London Bridge to Ladywell ant then caught a P4 though 122 also an option from there. Could equally well have gone to Lewsham for P4, 122 or 185.

I've been rather enjoying it this week, getting on P4/122/rail replacement with my train ticket from Stondon Park (Brockley Rise area) to Ladywell for the 9.05 train to Charing Cross, getting into work 5 mins earlier than usual, and on a half empty train! Might start walking to Ladywell from now on...

I might start using Catford Bridge again as it gives me a train directly to Charing Cross.

don't forget anyone using Ladywell/Catford Bridge schools start again next week - it's not been too crowded this week

Catford Bridge/Ladywell or even Lower Sydenham may become a more viable option from January 2015 when the Charing Cross platforms at London Bridge close until August 2016.

However be warned that through services from Charing Cross to Hayes will no longer operate after 8.30pm from January, nor on Sundays as they're diverted to Cannon Street.

I walked from London bridge to Rotherhithe and stopped in 7 pubs for refreshment. By the time I reached Rotherhithe the problems were solved (at least I think they were. Hic!!)