Major changes to trains in Sussex this Christmas as investment in improving railway continues: Upgrading the Brighton Main Line - Christmas 2013

Tuesday 20 Oct 2015

Major changes to trains in Sussex this Christmas as investment in improving railway continues

Region & Route:
| Southern

Passengers are being urged to check before travelling over the Christmas period as a major programme of improvement work on the railway means that train services between London and Sussex – including Gatwick Airport – will be disrupted over the holiday period. As a result, passengers travelling to and from the airport are being advised to allow more time for their journey.

A major project by Network Rail to completely replace a busy junction at Purley, to the south of Croydon, will mean significant changes to trains to Gatwick Airport, Brighton and stations along the south coast from late on Christmas Eve to Sunday, 3 January 2016 inclusive, which includes three working days (December 29-31). Trains will continue to run and passengers will still be able to travel to and from London, but some journeys may take significantly longer.

Network Rail’s South East Route managing director Alasdair Coates said: “With more and more people travelling by rail every day, our work to modernise and expand the railway is absolutely vital to the region’s economic health.

“The work we are doing this Christmas is a crucial part of our Railway Upgrade Plan and will mean a better, more reliable railway for passengers when they return to work in the new year.

“I’m sorry that our work will mean changes to services over Christmas and New Year, but with fewer passengers travelling than at other periods the holiday gives us the chance to do this major improvement work while minimising the impact on the travelling public.”

David Scorey, Southern’s passenger services director, said: “We're putting arrangements in place to keep passengers moving while these essential works are being done, but it will mean some passengers' journey times will be extended, so please check before you travel.”

From late on Christmas Eve until 3 January 2016 inclusive, the major railway junction at Purley will be replaced with modern, more reliable track and signalling equipment to give passengers more reliable, comfortable and quieter journeys. In addition a bridge at Old Lodge Lane, Purley, will be rebuilt.

As a result, there will be no trains between South Croydon and Redhill, and the Gatwick Express service will be suspended. There will be a mixture of diversions and bus replacements to keep passengers on the move. For example, passengers for Gatwick Airport will travel by train to East Grinstead for a bus link to the airport, or catch a train from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport via Horsham. Passengers travelling between London and Brighton will catch a train to East Grinstead for a bus link to Three Bridges and then a train to Brighton. Passengers travelling from Brighton to Gatwick Airport are unaffected. However, passengers travelling from Brighton to London Victoria will be able to travel to Three Bridges for a connecting bus to East Grinstead, where they will board a train to complete their journey.

Emma Rees, Head of Surface Transport at Gatwick Airport said: “We will be working closely with Network Rail and Southern to ensure passengers are aware of any disruption to their journey when travelling to and from Gatwick over the festive period through digital communications and poster displays throughout the airport, while staff will be briefed to deal with any passenger enquiries.  

“These works are an essential part of plans to double rail capacity at Gatwick by 2020 and treble capacity by 2035 and, to avoid disruption, we are advising passengers to check updates before they travel and to allow extra time when travelling to or from the airport.”

Passengers are encouraged to check with www.nationalrail.co.uk or their operator before they travel.

NOTES

In addition to the work at Purley over Christmas, there will be some disruption to Southeastern services as a result of the Thameslink Programme’s work at London Bridge.

Between 8pm on Christmas Eve and 3 January 2016, the government-sponsored Thameslink Programme will be making major changes to the tracks and signalling at London Bridge and bringing a new viaduct at Borough into use for the first time. As a result, there will be no Southeastern trains at Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Waterloo East and London Bridge. London Bridge will remain open for Southern and Thameslink services.

Contact information

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020 3357 7969
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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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