Railway between Hastings, Bexhill and Tunbridge Wells closes as major engineering works start for 9 days; passengers urged to plan ahead
Major engineering works on the railway between Hastings, Bexhill and Tunbridge Wells start today (Saturday, October 25), closing the line for nine days.
Buses will replace Southern trains between Bexhill and Hastings and Southeastern trains between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings from today to November 2.
Jenny Saunders, Southern’s customer service director, said: “The line between Eastbourne and Ashford provides important connectivity for the towns along its route, and these works will help ensure the infrastructure stays reliable for years to come.
“There is never a good time to close the railway, but we will have plenty of staff, and buses, to help passengers complete their journey.”
David Davidson, chief operating officer for Southeastern, said: “We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this essential work.
“We’ve invested significantly in the Hastings line in recent years to address challenges that go back to the line’s construction over 170 years ago, and the work we are doing at the end of October is part our continued commitment to improving journeys for passengers.
“We know that closures are disruptive, and we’re doing everything we can to keep people moving with replacement buses and clear travel information. In addition, our integrated railway means we can also take the opportunity to do other work, including refurbishing the footbridge at West St Leonards stations, at the same time to further minimise future disruption.
“We know from previous experience that carrying out work over consecutive days allows us to do more work, more efficiently and with less overall impact on our customers.”
Jenny Saunders, Southern’s customer service director, said: “The line between Eastbourne and Ashford provides important connectivity for the towns along its route, and these works will help ensure the infrastructure stays reliable for years to come.
“There is never a good time to close the railway, but we will have plenty of staff, and buses, to help passengers complete their journey.”
Two tunnels near St Leonards Warrior Square station will be repaired.
The footbridge at West St Leonards station will also be refurbished.
Nearly a kilometre of old rails, sleepers and ballast will be replaced between Etchingham station and Mountfield tunnel and the ballast, the stones that form the track bed, is being replaced between Castle Bridge and Riverhall, helping to reduce faults and delays.
At Frant station and Wadhurst tunnel, engineers will refurbish the moveable rails, known as switches, that allow trains to change path. The track circuits, the part of the signalling system that detects a train’s location, will also be replaced.
Vegetation will be cleared and rock anchors added to the cutting slope on the approaches to the Mountfield tunnel.
Between Strawberry Hill and Frant station, and from Crowhurst station to Mountfield tunnel, overgrown vegetation will be cleared to keep track safe from debris and falling trees.
A replacement bus service will operate between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings, and between Bexhill and Hastings.
Trains will run between Hastings and Ashford International and between Bexhill and Brighton/London.
Replacement buses will run between Bexhill and Hastings/Ore.
Full details of the alternative travel advice is available on the Southeastern and Southern websites.