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Monday 9 Sep 2024

Protecting the Medway Valley line from landslips

Region & Route:

Southern

| Southern: Kent

• Engineering works taking place at Teston, East Farleigh station and Maidstone West station 
• Between Thursday 31 October and Sunday 3 November the line is closed between Paddock Wood and Maidstone West with buses replacing trains
• People asked to plan ahead and check before they travel

A 200m sheet pile wall will be constructed along the railway line near Teston, approximately 1km from East Farleigh station on the Medway Valley line from Thursday 31 October to Sunday 3 November. The wall will stop soil and debris from reaching the track in the event of a landslip caused by flooding or heavy rain.  

To make the best use of the time when the line is closed, East Farleigh station and the signal box, both built in 1844, will be repainted and refurbished. Worn rail will be replaced with brand new rails at Maidstone West. 

The work means that from Thursday 31 October through to Sunday 3 November (inclusive), buses will replace trains between Paddock Wood and Maidstone West.  

Landslips can cause a lot of disruption and cause delays. A train can’t swerve to avoid debris on the line so when there is debris on the tracks after a landslip, we will often need to re-route services. This is why the work at Teston is crucial to prevent future delays.  

When work is taking place services between Paddock Wood and Strood will start and terminate at Maidstone West.  

Accessible replacement bus services will operate between: 

• Paddock Wood and Maidstone West, calling at all stations (Thursday to Saturday) 
• Tonbridge and Maidstone West (Sunday) 

David Davidson, Network Rail Kent Route director said: “It’s important that we identify the sites prone to landslips to ensure that we keep passengers safe.  

“Some of the slopes, or cuttings, on either side of our tracks, need to be strengthened by improving drainage or adding stronger materials to the slope itself, such as the sheet pile wall at Teston.  

“We know there’s never a good time to close the railway, but with the work, we expect to improve resilience of the line as we come into the autumn. Please plan ahead and check your journey with nationalrail.co.uk.” 

Scott Brightwell, Southeastern Operations and Safety director said: “We fully support the need to carry out this prevention work at a site more prone to the risk of landslips, which can lead to debris on the track and significant unplanned disruption. We will be running replacement buses to all the stations between Paddock Wood and Maidstone West over the four days of the line closure, as well as from Tonbridge on Sunday.  

“Please check before you travel and thanks in advance for bearing with us while this essential work is carried out.”