Network Rail will carry out major engineering works between Three Bridges and Brighton / Lewes / Hove.
Supporting work will take place at weekends before and after the main closures.
What area is impacted?
No trains will serve the following stations:
- Balcombe
- Haywards Heath
- Wivelsfield
- Burgess Hill
- Hassocks
- Preston Park
- Plumpton
- Cooksbridge
Replacement buses will run between Three Bridges and Brighton / Lewes.
What dates are affected?
- Sunday 3 April 2022
Please note services on the Brighton Main Line may be affected outside of these dates for other engineering work and the current reduced timetable. We ask you to plan and re-check before you travel.
What does this mean for my journey?
There will be changes to train services across the Southern and Thameslink networks and significantly longer journey times for some passengers, so please allow extra time if travelling on these dates.
While the work takes place, a train service will run between Brighton and London Victoria in both directions, using a diverted route via Littlehampton and Horsham. If you are travelling between Brighton or Hove and London, you can use this direct train service to avoid the need to change between buses and trains at Three Bridges.
On all dates, replacement buses will be running across the closed sections of line to help you complete your journeys.
Buses will run in both directions on the following routes:
- Three Bridges – Balcombe – Haywards Heath – Wivelsfield – Burgess Hill – Hassocks – Preston Park and Brighton. Some buses will run non-stop between Three Bridges and Brighton. Capacity on these buses will be limited and you may have to queue. These buses will be announced locally at stations on the day.
- Three Bridges – Haywards Heath – Cooksbridge and Lewes
- Haywards Heath and Plumpton
- Plumpton and Lewes
Please plan and re-check your journey at nationalrail.co.uk
Will my ticket be accepted on other routes?
Thameslink and Southern tickets will be accepted on each other’s services via any reasonable route for journeys affected by the closure.
Ticket acceptance is also in place for valid tickets on the following alternative routes:
- Metrobus services in the Horsham - Crawley – Three Bridges - Gatwick Airport – Horley - Redhill areas
- Brighton & Hove Buses via any reasonable route within the Brighton & Hove city boundary, and between Brighton - Seaford - Eastbourne on services 12, 12A and 12X and between Brighton – Lewes - Uckfield on services 28 and 29
- Passengers holding valid tickets between Brighton and & East Coastway stations and London Terminals, London Thameslink or London Zones 1-6 Travelcards may also use Southeastern train services from Hastings via Tunbridge Wells.
This ticket acceptance does not apply if you are paying for your journey using KeyGo. If you are using KeyGo you will be charged the best day fare calculated for all individual journeys made, including on Metrobus and Brighton & Hove buses. Therefore, in some situations you will find it cheaper to buy a rail ticket for your entire journey.
Will there be any car park closures?
To allow us to safely operate replacement buses, there will be changes to car park facilities at the following stations:
Lewes
The ‘20 minute waiting’ bays at the front of the station by the main entrance will be unavailable on all closure dates. The main car park will remain open as normal.
Why is this work happening?
The closures are so that Network Rail can renew a junction near Haywards Heath, carry out track replacement in the Burgess Hill area and upgrade some drainage systems near Balcombe, all work that can only be done when trains are not running. These improvements will help to avoid future disruption to your journeys in the area.
Engineers will also use the time to construct a new pedestrian underpass underneath the railway near Hassocks, and to carry out embankment stabilisation works to reduce the risks of landslips in future.
Where can I find more information?
You can read more about the works here.