Wednesday 27 Oct 2021
Essential maintenance on the Brighton Main Line this weekend - check before you travel
- Region & Route:
- Southern: Sussex
- | Southern
Passengers travelling between Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport are advised to check before they travel this weekend as Network Rail continues work on a major upgrade of the Brighton Main Line.
Network Rail are upgrading the line between Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport which will improve track and signalling and provide faster and more reliable journeys on the Brighton Main Line.
While this essential work takes place, a limited train service will be running between these stations on the following weekends:
- Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October
- Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 November
- Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 November
Passengers are advised to plan their journeys, as no Southern services will run between Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport on these dates. One Thameslink service each way per hour will run between Brighton and London, with an additional service each way every two hours.
A limited replacement bus service between Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport will supplement the reduced train service.
Katie Frost, Sussex route director for Network Rail, said:
“I’m sorry for the disruption to passengers’ journeys from this work, but only by doing this kind of job can we continue to offer reliable journeys for passengers. I'd encourage passengers to take every opportunity to plan for their journey to make sure they can get to their destinations on time or make alternative arrangements."
David Coates, Govia Thameslink Railway’s head of customer service improvement, said:
“Service changes and reductions on these weekends will mean that most journeys through Gatwick Airport and Three Bridges stations will take considerably longer than normal, so we are encouraging customers to check service routes and times, and plan ahead before they travel. Together with Network Rail, we thank our customers for their patience during this vital work.”
Additionally, all lines between Three Bridges and Brighton, Lewes and Hove will be closed on Saturday 13 November. This is to allow Network Rail to carry out routine maintenance work.
Notes to Editors
Train service changes on the Brighton Main Line – details
On the weekends of 30/31 October, 6/7 November and 20/21 November, a very limited train service will operate between Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport:
- One Thameslink service will run between Brighton and London each hour in each direction, supplemented with another service in each direction every two hours
- No Southern services will run between Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport
- Services from Littlehampton via Hove, and from Eastbourne via Lewes, will be altered and will terminate at Three Bridges; Southern services from Victoria, and a reduced Thameslink service from London Bridge will terminate at Gatwick Airport
- A limited replacement bus service will supplement the reduced Thameslink service between Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport; journey planners will show the best option for each journey
- Southern services to/from Southampton/Portsmouth/Bognor Regis via Horsham will be diverted at Horsham to run non-stop via Dorking to/from London Victoria
- Thameslink will provide a shuttle service between Three Bridges and Horsham
On Saturday 13 November:
- Southern and Thameslink services will be reduced and amended
- Southbound trains will terminate at Three Bridges or Haywards Heath, or be diverted via Littlehampton
- Replacement buses will run between Three Bridges and Brighton/Lewes
Advice for customers
Passengers should check service routes and times at www.nationalrail.co.uk to plan ahead before they travel. Journey planners for the weekends of 30-31 October and 6-7 November are being updated this week to show the rail and replacement bus options available on the affected routes.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Leonard Bennett
Leonard.Bennett@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
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.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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