Network Rail engineers worked around the clock over the Late May Bank Holiday to deliver vital rail upgrades across Kent, Sussex and Wessex.
Supported by a large fleet of engineering trains, road-rail vehicles and specialist machinery, teams completed essential upgrades to track and improvements to stations.
This programme of work across the Network Rail Southern Region will deliver a more reliable and safer railway with improved facilities for people who have to travel by rail and for freight services.
John Halsall, managing director for Network Rail Southern region, said: “I would like to thank all of our staff who worked tirelessly over the late bank holiday. I’m also delighted that there has been no overrunning engineering works, meaning lines were ready for passengers who needed to travel this morning.
“We need to continue with these upgrades as they are critical to keeping people and freight supplies moving and once again ask passengers to only travel if absolutely necessary.”
The work carried out between Saturday 23 May and Monday 25 May included:
Sussex route:
- Tunnel maintenance at Oxted, Edenbridge and Riddlesdown
- Switches and crossings upgraded at Lingfield and Woldingham along with track renewal at Oxted
Kent route:
- Maintenance and renewals work between Ashford to Rye and Hastings with more work also taking place between Dartford and Maidstone, and Bromley North branch
- At Brixton Junction where trains switch track on the approaches to London Victoria, we replaced old and worn switches, crossings, points, track, sleepers and ballast with new kit, helping to reduce faults and make the railway more reliable for passengers
Wessex route:
- Track renewal between Eastleigh and Fareham with nearly a mile of track replaced. As planned, work on this part of the railway completes on Friday 29 May
