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Monday 24 Aug 2020

Sussex and south London passengers advised to check before they travel ahead of August bank holiday weekend

Region & Route:

Southern: Sussex

| Southern

• Thousands of Network Rail staff will work around the clock to deliver a multi-million-pound programme of work
• Most of the railway in Sussex and south London will remain open over the bank holiday weekend (29 – 31 August) but some routes will be affected

Network Rail is advising passengers to plan their journeys in advance of the weekend. The majority of services will run as normal but there will be changes on some routes. This programme of work will allow Network Rail to deliver more reliable infrastructure, improved facilities and better services for passengers.

John Halsall, route managing director at Network Rail Southern region, said:

“This August bank holiday weekend, thousands of rail workers will be working round the clock to deliver crucial upgrades to the rail network. This will lead to faster, better services and help relieve over-crowding on the busiest parts of the railway.

“While most of the network is open for business as usual, some routes are heavily affected and so we strongly advise passengers to plan ahead.”

Chris Fowler, Customer Services Director for Southern and Gatwick Express, said:

“We thank customers whose journeys are affected by these vital infrastructure improvements for their patience over the bank holiday weekend.

“We’ll be continuing to help and encourage everyone to travel safely. As well as wearing a face covering, maintaining social distancing and keeping hands clean, that means checking your route in advance to avoid the busiest times, buying tickets in advance if possible, and allowing more time for your journey."

From Saturday 29 August to Monday 31 August, repair and renewal work is taking place on the Oxted Viaduct between South Croydon and East Grinstead, closing the East Grinstead and Uckfield lines.

Replacement buses will run between:

• Purley and East Grinstead (calling at Upper Warlingham and Oxted)
• Upper Warlingham and Woldingham
• Oxted and East Grinstead (all stations)
• Oxted and Crowborough (all stations)
• Crowborough and Uckfield (all stations)

Replacement buses will not call at Sanderstead or Riddlesdown, where customers should use TfL buses or an alternative station.

Passengers should change at Purley (or East Croydon if using TfL buses) for trains to / from London. Tickets will also be accepted on Southeastern services between Tunbridge Wells and London Bridge.

On Sunday 30 August, buses will replace trains between Three Bridges and Horsham, where drainage renewal work is taking place in the Crawley area.

A breakdown of how journeys will be affected can be found by visiting National Rail and following #AugustBHWorks on Twitter. The programme of work is part of Network Rail’s railway upgrade plan – a multi-billion-pound investment in the rail network which will improve passenger journeys in the months and years ahead.