'˜Passengers affected by railway works should get free travel' says MP

Network Rail and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) announced this morning (January 10) that a ‘once-in-a-generation’ upgrade to the southern end of the Brighton Mainline would take place in October this year and February 2019, as part of a £300m government-funded programme to tackle delay hotspots and boost the reliability of the railway in the south east.

But no trains will run between Brighton and Three Bridges when work takes place, which will have an impact on many of the 300,000 passengers that use the Brighton Mainline each day.

The works are set to go ahead on Saturday October 20 2018 to Sunday October 28 2018, and Saturday February 16 2019 and Sunday February 24 2019.

Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: “Though major improvements are clearly needed on the line, I’m deeply concerned about the scale of disruption set to hit passengers. I’ve spoken to Network Rail about these plans - and urged them to keep disruption to a minimum. I’ve also demanded that passengers with season tickets are given a two week discount, and that those without season tickets are permitted to travel on replacement buses and alternative lines for free.

“Passengers using this line have faced years of chaos and will welcome improvements - but it’s absolutely vital that such upgrades are done in a way which minimises disruption.”

Network Rail said the improvement work will focus on four Victorian-era tunnels – Balcombe, Clayton, Patcham and Haywards Heath – and the railway which runs through them.

A major programme to stem leaks into the tunnels and provide reliable drainage away from the tracks will take place, while the track, third rail power system and signalling will all be replaced or upgraded.

Elsewhere, track is set to be renewed, sets of points, which enable trains to switch between tracks, will be replaced and fencing will be improved to deter trespassers.

Without this programme of work Network Rail said reliability on the Brighton Mainline will deteriorate in the months and years ahead, leading to more delays for passengers travelling between London and the south coast.

It added that the closures have been ‘carefully planned’ for school half-terms, when passenger numbers are lower and some people may be able to be more flexible with their travel plans or take holiday.

Passengers wishing to travel on these dates should expect to use either diverted trains via longer routes or a replacement bus or coach to connect with rail services.

John Halsall, managing director of Network Rail South East route, said: “This is a long-overdue upgrade to one of the most unreliable parts of the south east’s rail network. Southern and Thameslink passengers deserve better and this work will help us deliver that for them.

“We know closing the railway will be unpopular and I’d like to assure passengers that this decision has not been taken lightly. We explored a range of different options, but the only alternative to weekday closures would have required us to close this part of the Brighton Main Line for 84 weekends. Clearly, that’s not acceptable to passengers or the region’s economy – but neither is doing nothing.

“We’re giving people as much notice as possible to enable them to start thinking ahead, particularly as we know many people will already be making plans for the rest of the year. We’ll continue to work closely with GTR, Transport Focus and passenger groups to make sure passengers get the best possible service during these two planned closures and we keep disruption to a minimum.”

Keith Jipps, Govia Thameslink Railway’s infrastructure director, said: “This route is the most congested and intensively used in the country and Network Rail’s work is essential to give our passengers the reliable, on-time services they want and deserve.

“We’ll be ensuring there are multiple options for passengers to make their journeys, including alternative transport to other rail stations and with other train operators. However passengers need to know that they will have significantly longer journeys over this period of time.”