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Monday 1 Jun 2026

JOB DONE: Railway reopened between Ashford and Borough Green & Wrotham following nine days of major improvement work

Region & Route:

Southern

| Southern: Kent

Rail passengers have been thanked for their patience following the successful completion of engineering work on the line between Ashford International, Maidstone East and Borough Green & Wrotham.

Over a nine-day period, improvement work took place between Ashford International, Maidstone East and Borough Green & Wrotham stations concluding on Sunday night.

Engineers used the time to complete over 50 projects along the route to deliver better journeys for customers in Kent, including:

• stabilising rock cuttings near Maidstone East station - installing new netting and bolts on 1,300 yards of cutting to reduce the risk of rockfalls.
• upgrading drainage along a three-mile stretch of track in the Maidstone East area. This will help protect the railway from water damage and reduce the risk of landslips.
• laying new switches and crossings – the points that move trains from one track to another - at platform 3 at Maidstone East to improve reliability.
• replacing nearly 2,286 metres of track between Harrietsham, Lenham and Charing to support smoother and more reliable journeys and installing new drainage at Lenham to reduce flood risk.

Engineers also inspected bridges at several locations between Bearsted and Ashford, carrying out maintenance over four miles of track, examining earthworks, tunnels and cuttings along the route and replacing the level crossing at Ryarsh Lane, near West Malling.

David Davidson, chief operating officer for the South Eastern Railway, said: “I want to thank everyone for their patience while we carried this work on this extremely busy part of our railway.

“We completed 53 individual projects over the nine-day closure rather than during a series of disruptive weekends, all of which will help to prevent unplanned closures and delays in the years ahead.”