There will be severe disruption to train services between Gatwick Airport and the Sussex coast next Sunday, 30th November.

The disruption will affect Southern, Thameslink, and Gatwick Express services between Gatwick Airport and Brighton, Hove, Lewes, and Horsham.

Train services will be replaced by buses between:

• Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport.
• Brighton and Three Bridges.
• Horsham and Three Bridges.
• Lewes / Cooksbridge / Plumpton and Haywards Heath and Three Bridges.

A Southern service will operate between Brighton and London Victoria, but will be diverted from its normal route, and will call at Hove, Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing, Angmering, Littlehampton, Horsham, and Clapham Junction.

Passengers travelling between Brighton and London should use this service instead of the limited rail replacement bus service.

Passengers using rail replacement buses on routes between Brighton, Lewes, Haywards Heath, and Gatwick Airport will need to change buses at Three Bridges for a separate shuttle bus service between Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport.

To make space for the rail replacement bus services, the car park at Three Bridges station will be closed from the evening of Saturday, 29th November until early morning on Monday, 1st December.

The one-day closure of the Brighton Main Line is to enable Network Rail to lay new tracks at Tinsley Green Junction near Crawley, at Three Bridges, and between Copyhold Junction and the Ouse Valley viaduct, renew drainage at Wivelsfield station, and undertake maintenance at Keymer level crossing.

In July, the Brighton Main Line was closed north of Gatwick Airport because of urgent engineering work.

“We know closing the railway is frustrating, and we are sorry for the disruption this causes. This work is essential for us as we try and prevent speed restrictions or emergency closures occurring in the future, which would cause even bigger delays at these locations and on the wider rail network. Thank you for your understanding, and please do plan ahead and check before you travel if you are travelling on Sunday, 30 November, as your journey will take longer.”

Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex route director