Trains are running between Redhill and Tonbridge again after five days of landslip repairs near Godstone. Network Rail also lifted some speed restrictions on the line.

No trains will run between Redhill and Tonbridge from Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November. Network Rail is closing the line for five days of emergency work on a moving embankment near Godstone. Buses replace the trains.

Updated 3 November: trains are running between Redhill and Tonbridge again. Network Rail said on Monday 2 November that services had resumed after the closure (Network Rail). Engineers installed the 208 sheet piles along the 126m stretch of embankment. They also did extra track maintenance “to help remove some of the speed restrictions” that had been making trains run more slowly than normal. Network Rail did not say which restrictions remain. Nad Campbell, its project manager, thanked passengers and said engineers had “worked day and night”. Network Rail has not said whether all of Redhill station car park is open again. The next closure at Redhill is over Christmas, from 20 December to 3 January: see our Christmas closure story.

The closure was announced on Friday 23 October, at four days’ notice (Network Rail). Redhill station car park will also be partly closed from Sunday 25 October to make room for the replacement buses.

What is happening at Godstone

Godstone is in Tandridge, about five miles east of Redhill. Network Rail says engineers monitoring embankments in the area have detected movement in the ground beneath the track. A speed restriction is in place until the work starts.

During the closure, engineers will:

  • drive 208 sheet piles into a 126m stretch of embankment, each a 10m long sheet of metal
  • build what Network Rail calls “a metal wall that will prevent further ground movement”
  • carry out extra track maintenance, aimed at lifting some of the speed restrictions that slow trains on the line

“We’re sorry for the disruption and short notice,” said Nad Campbell, Network Rail’s project manager. “We know closing the line between Redhill and Tonbridge will frustrate passengers, and we have not taken this decision lightly.”

This is the second problem with the same stretch this month. A speed restriction between Godstone and Edenbridge added up to 20 minutes to journeys from 7 October until it was lifted on 12 October (National Rail).

How the replacement buses run

National Rail’s notice for the closure sets out the service (National Rail):

  • buses run hourly between Redhill and Tonbridge, with some extra buses at morning and evening peak times
  • they call at all stations on the line, including Nutfield, about two miles east of Redhill
  • they also call at Edenbridge Town, for connections with Uckfield line trains
  • replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, so allow extra time

Network Rail says journey planners were updated from Friday 23 October. Southern says it is arranging ticket acceptance as well as the buses, with details on its website.

A separate closure, long planned, shuts the Southeastern line between Tonbridge and Wadhurst from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November (Network Rail). Anyone heading beyond Tonbridge towards Hastings faces a second bus.

What it means for you

If you drive to Redhill station, expect fewer spaces from Sunday 25 October, and leave time to find somewhere else. Our parking in Reigate page lists the borough’s car parks and charges.

If you travel between Redhill and Nutfield, Godstone, Edenbridge or Tonbridge, your journey is by bus from Wednesday to Sunday, roughly once an hour. Check the bus times before you leave.

If you use the line to reach Tonbridge for London Bridge or Kent, compare the bus with going via Redhill and London instead. National Rail’s journey planner shows both.

If you are on the Brighton Main Line, Network Rail’s closure covers only the line between Redhill and Tonbridge.

The line should reopen on Monday 2 November. Bigger disruption comes at Christmas: Redhill station itself closes to trains from 20 December to 3 January, as we report in our Christmas closure story. Live closures in the borough are on our roadworks and travel page.

Sources