Brighton Main Line closure: reminder about rail replacement in nine-day blockade affecting routes from Three Bridges to Brighton and Lewes

This means there will be no trains in this area, including Three Bridges to Lewes, for nine days.

Govia Thameslink Railway is now reminding passengers to check their routes before they travel.

“Customers living in this area needn’t worry,” said infrastructure projects manager Stuart Broom.

“We have set up a large rail replacement operation, which will be covering nine different routes,” he said.

Click here for full details and to find out how to plan your journey.

Stuart said there will be a bus hub at Three Bridges station and added that there will be more than 100 extra members of staff on hand to help people travelling.

He said: “The amount of work that will be delivered by Network Rail in this nine-day blockade would add up to 20 weekend and bank holiday closures and take more than two years, so it really is beneficial to consolidate the work to reduce the impact on our customers.”

The work includes replacing more than 1,500 metres of track, as well as more than 8,000 tonnes of ballast, and renewing eight sets of points.

Govia Thameslink Railway said Stuart is only 33-years-old but is already considered to be a railway veteran, having joined the railway 15 years ago.

“Like most people in rail, I’ve tried my hand at various roles,” he said.

“My career began in revenue protection at King’s Cross and since then, I’ve pretty much covered the entire Great Northern network.”

“Having worked at stations and in operations for a number of years, I decided a couple of years ago that I wanted to push myself to do something different,” Stuart added.

He asked to become involved with the team working on the East Coast Upgrade project and discovered that he enjoyed being part of the planning side of things.

“Luckily, I seemed to be quite good at it, which led to me securing a management role last year,” he said.

Along with the wider team, Stuart looks at engineering improvement work that will affect the railway and helps put plans in place for staff and customers.

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