Urgent repairs at Wivelsfields means all lines will be blocked. Disruption is expected until Friday 10 January.
Customer Advice
Both lines through Wivelsfield will be closed overnight on the following nights:
- Wednesday, 8 January into Thursday, 9 January (tonight)
- Thursday, 9 January into Friday, 10 January
with no trains running through the area between approximately 23:30 and 05:15.
Additionally, there will be a limited service between Brighton and Haywards Heath until 05:45 on both mornings.
(Friday evening services will not be affected)
Travel advice:
Please plan your journey in advance and leave extra time for travel in this area. Your journey will involve a bus or diverted train, meaning that it will take about 45-60 minutes longer than usual.
We are working to make sure that journey planners are showing all the train service alterations and replacement buses.
We have confirmed that our suppliers can provide buses to replace all of the affected trains. Our bus operators will be Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus.
Changes to services:
Buses will replace late evening trains and most early morning trains on the direct route between Haywards Heath and Brighton (in both directions - northbound and southbound).
Buses will also replace a very small number of late evening trains on the route between Haywards Heath and Eastbourne / Hastings, and between Haywards Heath and Worthing.
During the closure, some trains will still run between London Victoria and Brighton via a diversion route. These trains will divert via Littlehampton, not calling at any of the usual stations between Balcombe and Preston Park (inclusive).
Can you tell me more about the incident?
Network Rail engineers have been working since Christmas Day to repair a damaged railway embankment near Wivelsfield. Wherever possible, trains have been running in the area, with a temporary 20mph speed restriction on the northbound line. This has included the vast majority of our usual daytime services in the area.
We have been working with Network Rail to limit the disruption. However, some closures of the railway are unavoidable. When the closures are in place, the most significant works in the programme will be able to occur. The work involves driving steel piles into the embankment and then filling the embankment damage with about 5,000 tons of stone.
Progress updates and more information can be found on Network Rail's Twitter feed here.
Check before you travel:
You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner
Twitter:
If you would like to follow this incident on Twitter, please use #Wivelsfield
Compensation:
You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.
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