Railway open for business this Easter, but passengers are advised to check before they travel in parts of Sussex and South London

Network Rail has issued the following press release about engineering works which will affect Southern services over the Easter holiday.

While most trains will operate as normal over the Easter weekend, essential engineering work will take place in Sussex and in south London.

Passengers are urged to plan ahead this Easter as essential engineering work takes place across Sussex and South London.

From Friday 3 to Monday 6 April, Network Rail engineers will be working tirelessly to renew outdated switches and crossings (the moveable sections of track that guide trains from one line to another), refurbish key assets and undertake critical earthworks to prevent landslips on the Sussex network.

Passengers are urged to plan ahead this Easter as essential engineering work takes place across Sussex and South London.

On Easter Sunday, Southern services between London Victoria and Portsmouth Harbour, Brighton and Southampton Central, and Littlehampton and Bognor Regis will also be affected.

The critical works across the region include:

• Soil nailing at Stone Cross cutting to reduce the potential for landslips. Soil nailing is a ground engineering technique where high strength steel bars are drilled into the soil to stabilise steep slopes and embankments.

• Refurbishing switches and crossings at Bognor, the crucial pieces of kit that enable trains to change track.

• Works on the footbridge at Ivy Lane and installing a new footbridge at Birch foot crossing near Bognor Regis

• Reinstalling the footbridge at Hampden Park station following refurbishment works conducted offsite since early February.

• Refurbishment of switches and crossings between Tulse Hill, Sutton and Wimbledon.

Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex Route Director, said: “I would like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out these important upgrades over the Easter period.

“There is never a suitable time to close the railway, but we have chosen to complete this work over the Easter weekend, when passenger numbers are typically lower, to help minimise disruption.

“These works are vital to maintaining the network so trains can run safely and efficiently, helping to reduce delays and improve reliability.

“I encourage anyone intending to travel by train over Easter to please plan ahead and check their journey with their train operator.”

Jenny Saunders, Southern’s Customer Service Director, said: “We really appreciate our customers’ patience while Network Rail carries out these improvement programmes, and we are sorry for the inconvenience and additional journey time some passengers will experience. We are working closely with Network Rail to plan this work for when it is least disruptive, and the result will mean more reliable journeys for everyone.

“We’re advising people to check journey planners in advance.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Friday 3 April to Monday 6 April

Engineering work will take place between Eastbourne and Hastings, closing all lines.

• All day Friday, Saturday and Monday, no Southern trains will run between Eastbourne and Hastings. On Easter Sunday, no trains will run between Polegate and Hastings. Replacement buses will operate between Polegate / Eastbourne and Hastings / Ore.

• Trains that usually run between Eastbourne and Ashford International will only run between Hastings and Ashford International.

• Times of services between London Victoria and Eastbourne and Brighton and Eastbourne will be amended.

• From Saturday to Monday, tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on Southeastern services between Hastings and London.

Sunday 5 April

Engineering work will take place between Arundel / Angmering / Littlehampton and Chichester, closing all lines.

• No trains will run between Arundel / Angmering / Littlehampton and Barnham / Bognor Regis / Chichester.

• Replacement buses will run between Littlehampton and Barnham / Chichester, and between Barnham and Bognor Regis.

• Trains will run to an amended timetable between London Victoria and Arundel / Littlehampton, and between Brighton and Littlehampton.

• Services will also be amended between Chichester and Portsmouth Harbour.

Check online at southernrailway.com before travelling.