Passengers advised to plan ahead as Brighton Main Line engineering takes place over two weekends

Passengers using the Brighton Main Line are advised to plan ahead as a series of winter maintenance closures means changes to services and buses replacing trains over two weekends in February and the last weekend in March.

Network Rail will use the time to work at multiple sites to complete vital maintenance to track, signalling, power supplies and structures, including the Balcombe, Patcham, Haywards Heath and Lewes tunnels.

On Saturday, February 15, a reduced Southern service will be running to and from Victoria all day. Many Southern trains will instead divert to run to or from London Bridge. Trains towards London Victoria will not call at Battersea Park.

On Sunday, February 16, no trains will run between East Croydon and London Victoria. Rail replacement bus services will run between East Croydon and Clapham Junction. Thameslink and Southern services to Gatwick Airport from London Bridge will continue to run.

No Gatwick Express train services will run.

On Saturday 22 and Sunday, February 23, buses will replace trains between Three Bridges, Brighton and Lewes. Passengers are advised to take a direct train between London Victoria and Brighton, running via Horsham and Littlehampton.

Tim Leighton, Network Rail’s operations director for the Sussex route, said: “We know closing the railway at any time of the year causes inconvenience for passengers, but with the Brighton Main Line being a key route for the leisure and tourism industry on the south coast, we only work in the summer months when we have no alternative.

"That means that every winter we have a series of vital maintenance closures on sections of the Brighton Main Line.

“We had a closure in the Gatwick area last month which allowed us to complete hundreds of vital maintenance activities to give passengers safer and more reliable journeys.

“Similarly, we will make the most of these upcoming closures at the northern and southern end of the line to ensure track, power supplies, signalling and structures are safe and reliable for our passengers.”

Jenny Saunders, customer service director for Southern and Gatwick Express, said: “These closures will impact a lot of people over two weekends this February, and I’d like to apologise for any disruption they might cause.

“The work, by Network Rail, is essential and will keep our services running punctually and reliably.

“While we will have buses, these will be very busy, so we’re encouraging people to beat the queues and take diverted train services wherever possible.

“Please plan ahead, using a journey planner like the Southern website, and check for updates before setting off for the station.”

From Saturday 29 to Sunday, March 30, buses will replace trains between Three Bridges, Brighton and Lewes as Network Rail replaces track at Haywards Heath and rail on the Ouse Valley viaduct.

It will also undertake brickwork repairs and inspections on the Balcombe, Patcham, Haywards Heath and Lewes tunnels as well as other maintenance activities.

The Brighton Main Line is among the most complex and congested routes in the country, with the infrastructure on the line also being some of the oldest and most intensively used.

This means that without significant investment, performance and journey times will be constrained.

This work is part of our £900m Sussex Railway Upgrades investment programme to 2029 to modernise track, signalling, stations, structures and earthworks.