Brighton commuters warned they face 18 days of line closures

Disruption: Services from Brighton station will be affected
Robin de Peyer10 January 2018

Long-suffering commuters who travel in and out of Brighton face more disruption as 18 days' worth of line closures were announced.

Network Rail and train operator Govia Thameslink Railway urged passengers to make plans ahead of "once-in-a-generation" upgrade work on the Brighton main line.

The works will take place from Saturday October 20 to Sunday October 28 this year, and in 2019 from February 16 to February 24.

John Halsall, managing director of Network Rail South East route, said: “This is a long-overdue upgrade to one of the most unreliable parts of the south east’s rail network. Southern and Thameslink passengers deserve better and this work will help us deliver that for them.

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“We know closing the railway will be unpopular and I’d like to assure passengers that this decision has not been taken lightly.

“We’re giving people as much notice as possible to enable them to start thinking ahead, particularly as we know many people will already be making plans for the rest of the year."

The works will focus on Victorian-era tunnels at Balcombe, Clayton, Patcham and Haywards Heath. Network Rail warned that, without the upgrade, passengers would face more delays as the line deteriorates further.

Keith Jipps, Govia Thameslink Railway’s Infrastructure Director, said: “We’ll be ensuring there are multiple options for passengers to make their journeys, including alternative transport to other rail stations and with other train operators. However passengers need to know that they will have significantly longer journeys over this period of time.”

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