The project has seen a mixture of upgrades and maintenance at 120 different sites between Arundel, Horsham, Crawley and Dorking taking place in just 9 days from Saturday the 14th to Sunday the 22nd of August 2021. 

During the project rail replacement buses kept passengers on the move between Arundel, Horsham, Crawley and Dorking whilst the work was underway.

The largest part of the work was rebuilding the railway junction at Horsham, which has nine sets of points which allow trains to cross tracks from one line to another.

14 Signal heads were replaced between Horsham and Crawley, with the train detection system getting an upgrade in the same location. Earthworks such as cuttings and embankments underwent protective work at Ockley and stations got a thorough cleaning and decoration at Crawley, lfield, Faygate, Littlehaven, Holmwood, Ockley, Horsham, Christ’s Hospital, Billinghurst, Pulborough, Amberley, Arundel and Warnham.

Littlehaven’s platform 2 was also extended to enable them to accommodate 12 cars, which means that longer trains will now no longer over hang the adjacent crossing and passengers will also be able to disembark without having to move down carriages. These improvements will bring faster journey times and also provide increased safety for passengers and also motorists who use the crossing.

The extended 9 day line closure was the most efficient method of delivering the work and supported the investment case for the platform extension at Littlehaven, which had investment of £1.9m from the Department of Transport.

Littlehaven’s extended platform will finally come into use next year because trackside equipment which triggers the barrier to rise at Parsonage Road level crossing needs to be removed as they are sited just off of the end of the original shorter platform. Plans to move this equipment will be part of an upcoming upgrade of the crossing in 2022 and once complete, will mean trains can pull up to the full 12 car length.

Follow up work at Horsham will take place on Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th of September and also Sunday the 3rd of October 2021.

Network Rail Sussex route director Shaun King said: “This project was actually a series of many different jobs, spread out across the railway from stations, to track, to signals and earthworks.

“Through it all, passengers have been really understanding and patient with us as we know they would rather have been on trains and not buses.

“I know it was a big ask of them but by combining all this work in one 9-day package, we saved 15 weekends, or 30 days of disruption compared to doing it in the traditional way.

“We’ve also been able to use the efficiencies from this approach to build the business case for the extension of platform 2 at Littlehaven, a significant safety and passenger benefit we wouldn’t have been able to deliver using weekend and overnight working.”

Southern’s Customer Services Director Chris Fowler said “We’re grateful to our Arun Valley line customers for putting up with the inconvenience of longer journeys and replacement buses over the past nine days. It has allowed Network Rail to accomplish a huge amount and range of improvements to give customers a better travel experience in the years ahead.

“The extensive refurbishment of all the station buildings complements the new facilities we’ve installed as part of our network-wide improvement programme. Most Arun Valley stations now have more seats and shelters, and some have enhanced information screens, cycle parking or landscaping.”

Where Next?

RAILADVENT NEWS
The latest railway news
RailAdvent Plus
Railway Discounts, 4k Video, pictures and more!
FREE NEWSLETTERS
Signup to our daily and weekly newsletters
RAILADVENT SHOP
Railway Prints, DVD’s / Blu-Ray’s, books and more
LOCOSTOP COMMUNITY
Come and share your railway pictures
UK STEAM INFO
Upcoming mainline steam tours/loco movements
NETWORK RAIL
Visit their website