In the course of nine days, Network Rail teams battled storms Eunice and Franklin to deliver a £15 million project spanning 30 worksites on the Brighton Main Line.
Network Rail’s route director for Sussex, Katie Frost, said: “Dealing with the worst storms we’ve seen in years was a massive challenge, but our teams battled through and worked more than 35,000 hours to deliver £15 million of investment at more than 30 work sites, and handed back the railway on time for trains to run again on Monday morning.
“We are really grateful to people who had to manage longer journeys and changes to services, and also our railway neighbours who have experienced nine days of major engineering work next to their homes.
“This work will deliver vital safety and reliability benefits for passengers on what is among the UK’s busiest and most congested routes. And, by using an extended closure to do work, we have avoided the alternative of 20 weekends of disruption on the Brighton Main Line.”
Bus replacement services were put in place during the work with the help of Southern and Thameslink.
Chris Fowler, customer services director for Southern, said: “Network Rail have completed an enormous amount of work that will improve service reliability for our customers across the region, well into the future. With the lines reopened, we have already been able to resume direct services between Brighton and London Victoria.
“We’ve worked hard to keep people moving during the work, with special diverted trains and up to 50 buses an hour running from a huge temporary bus hub. Roughly 50,000 journeys were completed by bus, and 100 extra customer services staff have helped to make those journeys as smooth as possible. We’re very grateful to all our customers for your patience, whether you travelled with us or made other arrangements.
“People returning to our services can travel with confidence, knowing that we continue to use powerful virucides giving long-lasting protection at stations and on trains.”
Engineers used 8,000 tonnes of ballast and 1,500m of new track to rebuild an important rail junction, which controls the movement of trains in and out of Brighton and the Ardingly freight branch. They also upgraded track at Burgess Hill and Clayton tunnel.
Teams also removed 4,500 tonnes of earth at Hassocks from the railway embankment, and 24 concrete sections were lifted into place to create an underpass that will provide people with safe access under the railway. The new underpass replaces the old Woodside pedestrian crossing, which closed in summer 2021 due to safety concerns.
About 500m of reinforced protective walls and more than 1,000 soil nails were used to stabilise around 1km of an embankment at Haywards Heath, Balcombe and Hassocks and one cutting at Lewes. The work will protect passengers from delays caused by landslips.
Drainage was rebuilt in the Balcombe tunnel to stop flooding and water build-up, which has damaged the track and delayed trains in the tunnel since its construction in the 1840s. In the Clayton tunnel, meanwhile, 200m of brickwork was repaired to prevent leaks and stop loose bricks from falling onto the railway.
As part of a longer-term railway biodiversity programme, several improvements, including bird and bat box installation, the removal of scrub and non-native species and reseeding areas with a colourful native wildflower mix, have begun at Haywards Heath, Wivelsfield, Burgess Hill and Hassocks.
Furthermore, a programme to install high-capacity fibre-optic cable on the Brighton Main Line has made “great” progress, Network Rail says. When complete, passengers and people living close by can look forward to faster and uninterrupted internet and mobile connectivity from Brighton to London.
