Rail lines close this weekend ahead of £15 million upgrade work
Lines between Three Bridges and Brighton/Lewes are closed this weekend
Train lines between Three Bridges and Brighton/Lewes are closed this weekend, so preparation work can take place ahead of a £15 million upgrade project on the Brighton Main Line.
The railway will close from Saturday the 19th to Sunday the 27th of February, as engineers work round the clock to rebuild a crucial junction, lay brand new track and shore up embankments to reduce the risk of landslips.
Katie Frost, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, said: “The Brighton Main Line is one of the UK’s busiest routes and the rail infrastructure is among the oldest and most intensively used. These works are absolutely vital to improving performance so we can give passengers a more reliable train service.
“Doing the work in a longer 9-day closure means we can get more work done, more quickly, avoiding 20 separate weekend, evening and bank holiday closures which would be even more disruptive to passengers, the people who live by the railway and the wider economy.
“We are working hand-in-hand with our colleagues at Govia Thameslink Railway to make sure people who do need to travel when the line is closed can still go where they need to.”
Main line services will start and terminate at Three Bridges, where there’ll be a major temporary bus hub, served by up to 54 replacement buses per hour at peak times. The operation requires more than 200 buses, and 100 additional customer service staff.