Urgent engineering works will close the Brighton main line on Sunday, 13 July.
Replacement of deteriorating rails north of Gatwick will see all four tracks closed, which means no trains between Gatwick and East Croydon.
Buses will be running between East Grinstead and Three Bridges, and Network Rail is warning this will add considerable time to passenger’s journeys.
Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, said: “We know closing the railway is frustrating, and we’re really sorry for the disruption this causes. We always try to avoid doing this kind of work during the summer, but replacing this section of track is essential to keep services running safely and reliably.
“If we don’t do the work now, there’s a risk we’d have to bring in speed restrictions or even close the line at short notice, which would mean even bigger delays to passenger and freight services.
“The Brighton main line is usually very busy, so if you’re travelling on Sunday, 13 July, please plan ahead and check before you travel as your journey will take longer.”
The works, to replace switches and crossing, the moveable rails that allow trains to switch track, will take place at Stoats Nest Junction between Purley and Coulsdon South.
Customers travelling between London and Gatwick Airport should use Southern trains between London Victoria and East Grinstead for frequent bus services between East Grinstead and Gatwick Airport / Three Bridges.
Customers travelling between London and the South Coast should use train services to/from East Grinstead, where replacement bus services will be running to/from Three Bridges for onward journeys.
Direct Southern trains will also run between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport, via an alternative route. Please note, this will take considerably longer than the usual service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport
Replacement buses will run between East Croydon and Redhill /Tattenham Corner and between Redhill and Tonbridge.
Queuing systems will be in place, and space may be limited on buses, so passengers who must travel should leave plenty of time to make their journey.
Jenny Saunders, Customer Service Director for Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “I know that these works will be very disruptive for our passengers, and I am very sorry for any plans which may have to change as a result of this.
“It’s important that our colleagues at Network Rail replace these points as soon as possible.
“Hundreds of our services cross this section of track each day – and it is vital to have reliable infrastructure which is less susceptible to closures at the last minute.
“For those who must travel on the Sunday, we’ve put a lot of work into planning services to work around the closure. This could include buses, and journeys will take longer than usual.
it’s a shame line closed for 1 day you should try living in highlands line just open after 1 month closed for track work
Thameslinkrailway ,this year is the worst one.. poor service, and weekends issues as usual. IMPROVEMENTS IS JUST For the tickets prices increase
Time the did the work over night were the can why have to do this now then as in the summer too wich the tain tickets go up again to make us pay for this work now or have we pay for it to make if happen now then
They do work overnight. Friday through to Monday morning.
There are things that need to be done that means taking the whole system off line and can not be done in bits.
Engineering works are planned years in advance and posted well in advance so people can make alternative arrangements if they need too.
When is a good time to do engineering works, overnight and that is exactly when works are done, but as I stated above there are things that require the line to be closed.
Perhaps you would prefer the line closed during the week when people use the trains for school or work ?
I’m sorry Jo, but this isn’t new, most weekends buses replace trains somewhere on the network and been going on since the 1990’s at least.
Network rail post Engineering works at every station with at least 16 weeks notice. If people can’t be bothered to check the posted details then that’s their problem. All too often the lazy people complain the trains are off and want their money back.