Railway open for business this August bank holiday weekend in Sussex and Surrey – but passengers asked to plan ahead and check before they travel
The vast majority rail network across Sussex and Surrey is open for business this August bank holiday weekend – but passengers are asked to plan ahead and check before they travel as some journeys may be longer as a result of essential upgrade work.
The line between Three Bridges and Horsham will be closed all day on Sunday, August 24, so that level crossing resurfacing work can take place at Roffey Road in Horsham.
Buses will replace trains between Three Bridges and Horsham, and trains will run between Horsham and Bognor Regis.
Work will continue on the Redhill to Tonbridge line over the long weekend, ahead of its reopening on Tuesday, August 26 following a ten-day closure, with buses continuing to replace trains along the whole route.
Network Rail is currently working to replace 13 miles of high voltage power cables between Nutfield and Leigh, protecting the track from landslips, replacing worn-out rails near Edenbridge and undertaking maintenance works to improve the resilience of railway structures and equipment.
Near Edenbridge, where landslips have caused significant disruption to rail services in recent years, the railway embankment will be strengthened with a 360-metre-long steel wall either side of the track.
The wall will be further strengthened with 226 soil nails, each nine-metres-long and driven into the ground.
Elsewhere along the line, 11 bridges will undergo detailed structural inspections and 200 metres of rail will be replaced at Godstone.
David Davidson, chief operating officer for the South Eastern Railway, said: “The vast majority of the rail network in Kent and Sussex remains open for business over the August bank holiday, but with vital upgrade work necessary at a few locations on the network, our message to customers in south-east London and parts of west Kent and East Sussex is to please check before you travel as your journey may take longer.”
Travel information
Three Bridges to Horsham
Southern:
- Buses will replace trains between Three Bridges and Horsham.
- Trains will run between Horsham and Bognor Regis.
- Trains between London Victoria and Portsmouth Harbour will run to an amended timetable with extended journey times, and will be diverted via Hove. These trains will be joined to, and form part of Littlehampton trains between London Victoria and Worthing.
Littlehampton/Portsmouth Harbour and Ore route trains will both call additionally at Three Bridges to provide bus connections.
Journey times will be increased when using replacement buses.
Thameslink:
All day on Sunday, no Thameslink trains will run between Three Bridges and Horsham.
Redhill to Tonbridge
Southern:
Customers can use their tickets at no extra cost on Southern replacement buses to complete their journey.
Until 5am on Tuesday, August 26, buses will replace trains between Redhill and Tonbridge.
At Edenbridge, that the bus stops are at Main Road/Swan Lane. The bus stop at the Swan Pub will be for buses towards Redhill, and the opposite side of the road will be for buses towards Tonbridge.
Ticket acceptance:
Tickets for journeys to/from stations on the Redhill and Tonbridge line will be accepted on:
- Southern services between Edenbridge Town and East Croydon
- Southern and Thameslink services between East Grinstead and East Croydon
- Southern and Thameslink services between Redhill and East Croydon/London Bridge
Tickets from stations between Redhill and Tonbridge to/from London will also be accepted on:
- Southeastern services between Tonbridge and London Bridge/Waterloo East/London Charing Cross