Works on Brighton mainline to cause major disruption in February

Line closures, which have been advertised since October, mean there will be no trains from Brighton to Three Bridges between Saturday, February 19, and Sunday, February 27.

The works are the first in a series of Network Rail planned closures as it spends £15 million on an upgrade that will “give passengers a more reliable train service".

It will also be closing the Brighton mainline the weekend before and after the nine-day closure, on February 12 and February 13 and on March 5 and March 6, as well as Sunday, April 3.

• READ MORE: Commuters demand return of direct trains to Victoria after no weekday services since January 4

The lengthy closure means Southern and Thameslink customers will have to get rail replacement buses to Three Bridges. More than 200 buses will operate during the period and Southern said up to 54 buses will run per hour during peak times.

Commuters have recently expressed frustration over the direct weekday London Victoria service from Brighton, which has been non-existent since January 4 and will not run until February 21.

During the nine-day closure, customers will have to get a replacement bus or contend with a two-hour journey directly to London Victoria via Littlehampton.

Commuters can either get a rail replacement bus or two hour train via Littlehampton to get to Victoria, picture from Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Southern intends to bring back its normal direct service to Victoria via Three Bridges after maintenance is completed on February 27. The train operator has faced train driver shortages due to “Covid-19 and seasonal illnesses”.

Network Rail said the nine-day closure will allow it to “work around the clock” and cause less disruption than conducting the work over weekends and evenings.

Katie Frost, route director for Network Rail, told The Argus: “The Brighton mainline is not only some of the oldest infrastructure in the country, it’s also some of the most heavily used and that is why it’s so important we are doing these works.

Brighton commuters will face travel disruption over the coming weeks due to planned engineering

“Closing the railway for nine days will deliver the passengers the benefits a lot quicker, it’s a lot less disruptive overall and it’s also greater value for money as well."

The work will involve replacing over 1,500 metres of track, improving embankments to avoid landslips. There will also be work on Clayton tunnel, installing 5G fibre optic cables and replacing a collapsed culvert in Balcombe tunnel. An underpass will be built at Hassocks.

For more information, visit Southern Rail’s website.

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