HOLIDAYMAKERS heading to the south coast during the half-term school holidays are set to face travel chaos.
The train line between London and Brighton will close for nine days in February next year, coinciding with the school half term holidays.
No trains will run on the Brighton Main Line between Three Bridges and Brighton or Lewes from February 13 to 21.
The closure is taking place for engineering works to be carried out.
Network Rail and train operators are urging passengers to plan ahead.
There will be some replacement buses on the routes though.
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And the direct route between Brighton and London Victoria will be diverted via Horsham and Littlehampton – with a longer journey time.
Replacement buses available during the railway line closure include:
- Between Three Bridges and Brighton, calling at all stations
- Between Three Bridges and Lewes, via Haywards Heath and Cooksbridge
- Between Three Bridges and Haywards Heath
- Between Haywards Heath and Plumpton
- Between Lewes and East Grinstead, on weekdays only
Travellers heading between Brighton and Hove and Gatwick or London are being encouraged to use the trains still, rather than the replacement buses.
Works being carried out include replacing the rails at Plumpton and Preston Park and renewing the track, switches and crossings at Keymer Junction near Wivelsfield.
Balcombe Tunnel will also undergo structural work and the Clayton Tunnel will get new rails.
Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, said: “We know closing the railway is an inconvenience, but the extended closure over February half-term 2027 allows us to deliver a huge volume of work at once, avoiding repeated disruption across multiple weekends or during the busy summer season.”