Today Network Rail launched a public awareness campaign for passengers travelling on the Brighton Main Line who may be affected by a major programme of improvement works designed to reduce delays and provide better journeys for passengers between the south coast and the capital.
This campaign is being run jointly by Network Rail and the train operator Govia Thameslink Railway (including Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express), to raise awareness of the dates when the line will be closed between Three Bridges and Brighton and between Three Bridges and Lewes.
From today drop-in sessions will be held at 34 stations across East and West Sussex advising passengers about their journey options during the line closures. A digital awareness campaign will see information appearing in passengers’ social media newsfeeds, while a dedicated website www.brightonmainline.co.uk – will enable passengers to find out how the closures affect their journeys. Other traditional advertising methods are also being used to make sure that the widest possible audience is reached.
From September this year through to May 2019, the railway will be closed for a total of 34 days to enable Network Rail engineers to carry out the first major overhaul of the southern end of the Brighton Main Line in more than thirty years. This work is taking place as part of government-funded programme to boost infrastructure resilience and reliability on the busiest routes in the south east.
Most of these closures take place during weekends to minimise overall disruption to passengers, with the exception of an extended nine-day closure in February 2019, which includes the school half-term when passenger numbers are lower. This will enable engineers to complete the work without the need for significant further weekend closures and means passengers will benefit sooner from a more reliable railway.