No direct trains from Brighton to Three Bridges on Sunday 29 November

No trains will run between Brighton and Three Bridges on Sunday 29 November, while Network Rail¹ works on the track and the line’s structures. Trains from Hove via Haywards Heath and from Lewes to Three Bridges are off too.

For London, Southern² will run a diverted service between Brighton and London Victoria. It calls at Hove, Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing, Angmering, Littlehampton, Horsham, Three Bridges, Gatwick Airport, East Croydon and Clapham Junction. Both Southern and Network Rail strongly advise taking that train rather than the replacement buses, which they call limited. Journeys will take longer.

Replacement buses will run from Balcombe to Brighton and from Three Bridges to Preston Park, both calling at all stations. Others link Three Bridges and Lewes via Haywards Heath and Cooksbridge, and Haywards Heath, Plumpton and Lewes. A bus between Three Bridges and Brighton runs only early and late in the day, when the direct trains via Littlehampton aren’t running.

The closures are planned for winter to keep the line open in summer, when large numbers of people travel to the coast and to Gatwick, Southern says. “We know closing the railway at any time of the year causes inconvenience,” its project page says.

Two more dates are worth noting now. On Sunday 10 January 2027, no trains will run between Gatwick Airport and Purley or East Croydon. Details of buses and diversions will follow nearer the time.

Then comes a nine-day closure from Saturday 13 to Sunday 21 February 2027, with no trains between Three Bridges and Brighton, Hove (via Haywards Heath) or Lewes. Network Rail says the work is too large for ordinary weekend closures. It includes new rails at Preston Park and through the Clayton Tunnel, new conductor rail between the Clayton Tunnel and Preston Park, and work at Balcombe Tunnel and the Haywards Heath cutting. Plans for buses and diverted trains are still to come.

Journey planners such as nationalrail.co.uk usually show changes about 12 weeks ahead, so check the Southern app or National Rail before setting off.