Engineering work and closures on the Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line is the direct rail route between Brighton, Haywards Heath, Gatwick Airport and East Croydon. The route splits at East Croydon into different branches, running to and from London Bridge or London Victoria.
This page provides an overview of some of the upcoming major closures that will affect services on the Brighton Main Line.
For full details, always check and plan your journey using our app, or at nationalrail.co.uk
Sunday 1 February 2026
Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 March 2026
Sunday 3 May 2026
All lines closed between Three Bridges and Lewes / Brighton / Hove via Haywards Heath
No trains will run between:
- Brighton and Three Bridges
- Hove and Three Bridges (via Haywards Heath)
- Lewes and Three Bridges
On these dates, replacement buses will run between:
- Three Bridges and Preston Park calling at all stations
- Three Bridges and Lewes calling at Haywards Heath and Cooksbridge
- Balcombe and Brighton calling at all stations
- Haywards Heath and Plumpton and between Plumpton and Lewes
- (And only at the start and end of the day when direct trains via Littlehampton are not running) Three Bridges and Brighton
A diverted Southern train service will run between Brighton and London Victoria calling at Hove, Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing, Angmering, Littlehampton, Horsham, Three Bridges, Gatwick Airport, East Croydon, Clapham Junction.
If you are travelling between the Brighton area and London, you are strongly advised to use this train service rather than the limited replacement bus service.
Journey times will be extended so please plan your journey carefully and allow extra time.
Journey planners such as nationalrail.co.uk are generally updated with changes to services 12 weeks in advance.
Other closures
In addition to the major works shown above affecting the core Brighton Main Line route, there may also be closures on other parts of the network that could affect your journey. Changes to late night or early morning services may also have an impact.
Details of these will always be shown in our planned works calendar.
Why are these closures taking place?
The Brighton Main Line is a key route used by most, or all, Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink trains running between Sussex, Surrey and London. It is one of the busiest rail routes in the country, used by hundreds of trains a day which carry hundreds of thousands of customers a week.
With so many trains running day and night, infrastructure such as tracks, signalling systems, bridges and tunnels endure a lot of wear and tear. They require constant work to keep them operational and ensure our trains can run safely and reliably. Most of this work is done overnight when there are fewer or no trains running.
However, sometimes our partners at Network Rail – who maintain and upgrade the infrastructure – need more time to carry out larger pieces of work that cannot be done overnight. When this is required, we need to close parts of the route to give engineers the time and space to carry out this work safely.
We know there is never a good time to close such a critical railway line, but the work is planned to avoid the busiest times of the year, such as the summer months when large numbers of people travel to and from the coast or Gatwick Airport.
When the line is closed for planned works, trains may not be able to run or may need to be diverted. Replacement buses may also be provided. Journeys will also take longer, so you will need to allow extra time.
Further information
Visit our planned works calendar for more information about the date you’re travelling and always check and plan your journeys using our app, or at nationalrail.co.uk.