Network Rail has announced that it will reopen the railway between Redhill and Tonbridge two weeks earlier than expected after a landslip at Edenbridge.
The railway will reopen once repairs to the Edenbridge landslip have been completed on Monday, 16 March.
Since the railway closed on 22 December, engineers have been working round the clock to repair the landslip near Edenbridge.
Southern have been running weekday shuttle trains from Edenbridge to Tonbridge, and buses over the rest of the route.
What did the officials say?
Network Rail's route director for Kent, Fiona Taylor, said:
“This has been an incredibly challenging landslip for us to repair and it has been a difficult time for passengers too. I'm so grateful to them for their patience and understanding they've shown to us this winter and I'm really pleased we are able to open their railway sooner than we expected. It's a huge tribute to all the people who are working so hard on site to get this job done.”
Southern Customer Service Director Chris Fowler said:
“The early reopening of the Tonbridge-Redhill route through Edenbridge is good news for our passengers whom we have kept on the move with shuttle trains and buses.
“We want everyone whose journeys have been delayed by 15 minutes or more to claim the compensation they are due. We have a simple claim form online and passengers can make up to five claims at a time.
“Many passengers will additionally be entitled to claim enhanced compensation because they will have been delayed many times.
“Furthermore, we declassified first class throughout the period to create as much space as possible and so passengers with first class tickets can claim the difference as well. All this information is posted clearly on our website www.southernrailway.com.”
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