Wednesday the 12th of April saw a visit to Mountfield Tunnel from Rail Minister Huw Merriman alongside Network Rail colleagues.

The visit provided an opportunity for a progress update on work underway, with track upgrades and embankment strengthening on the vital line between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.

The event was hosted by Network Rail’s Kent Route director, Fiona Taylor and took place inside Mountfield Tunnel where the attendees could see the removal of the current track slab which is a concrete block which supports the track, conductor rail and tunnel structure after 50 years of wear and tear.

The project will go on to see a brand new track slab installed which will be reinforced with four tonnes of metal bars alongside 900 metres of specially coated track, which is designed for tunnel environments.

The line is seeing tireless work by engineers in order to complete a number of further essential upgrades, surveys, monitoring and general maintenance which all support the railway running reliably.

Wadhurst and Frant will see sections of the reinforced concrete wall put in place in order to stop trees and soil from getting to the tracks. Line close to Snape Wood will also see sections installed with 230 five-metre long soil nails into cuttings with 600m2 of wire mesh, which will prevent material from falling onto the tracks.

A third and final extended line closure is currently in place and began on Friday the 7th of April and will continue to Saturday the 15th of April, during this time, Southeastern trains will be replaced by buses between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings. 

Once complete, the vast project will see an increase in the reliability of the busy line, which was built 170 years ago.

Fiona Taylor, Network Rail’s Kent route director, said:

“It was a pleasure to welcome the Rail Minister to see first-hand the work we’re doing to improve the reliability of this important line between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings which carries around 120,000 passengers a week between Kent and London.

“It’s a really complex part of the railway which was built in the 1850s along very hilly ground, which meant that the Victorian engineers had to excavate steep cuttings, long tunnels and build miles of embankment. As a result of its age and geographical setting, this stretch of line has required regular repairs and upgrades to maintain its reliability.

“While there is never a good time to shut the railway, completing the work in an extended closure means that we can avoid causing more disruption to customers by having to close the railway over a series of weekends.

“We’d like to thank customers and local residents for their patience and understanding while we carry out these essential works.”

Rail Minister, Huw Merriman, said:

“The Hasting to Tunbridge Wells mainline is a key commuter route for those travelling across East Sussex and Kent and I was pleased to see the ongoing work to improve reliability for those passengers.

“From track upgrades to strengthening the embankments, these improvements will deliver a more resilient and dependable rail network for years to come, and I’d like to thank local residents for their patience while these works are carried out.”

Scott Brightwell, Southeastern‘s operations and safety director, said:

“We know that closing the railway for a short period isn’t ideal, but we’ll make sure that all of our customers know exactly how to complete their journey between Hastings and Tunbridge Wells while Network Rail carries out this vital work.

“Our message to our customers is to check their journey on the Southeastern website or app, and after the work’s finished they’ll return to a more reliable railway.”