Network Rail is advising passengers who will be travelling between Tunbridge Wells and Hasting this Easter to check their travel ahead and to add more time than usual for journeys whilst the vital work takes place.

The embankment improvements will take place over a nine-day period from Good Friday on the 7th to Saturday the 15th of April.

The project will see a team of Network Rail engineers work around the clock in order to stabilise cuttings and embankments to prevent any effects from future landslips at:

• Wadhurst
• Frant
• Snape Wood

Whilst the work is underway, buses will replace Southeastern train services which operate between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.

Wadhurst and Frant will both see sections of reinforced concrete wall built in order to stop trees and soil from getting onto the tracks. Areas close to Snape Wood will have hundreds of five-metre-long soil nails driven into the cutting, which will help stabilise it.

During the period of work, 500m of track will be replaced alongside the rebuilding of sections of track slab in Mountsfield tunnel, which is close to Roberstbridge. The track slab acts as a track bed for the running rails, conductor rail and sleepers through the tunnel and also supports the tunnel structure itself. The current track slab was built in the 1970s and is now ready to be replaced after 50 years of use.

Wadhurst has already seen two extended line closures since October 2021 and this latest essential work marks the third.

The choice to close the line once again is the least disruptive approach for passengers and would require a number of weekend closures otherwise. The work comes as part of a multi-million-pound programme which tackles challenges in reliability for the Tunbridge Wells to Hastings line since its initial build 170 years ago.

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

“It’s great to see the huge investment being made to improve the reliability on the line between Tunbridge Wells to Hastings.

“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.

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

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience whilst we carry out these essential works.”

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

“We know that closing the railway for a short period isn’t ideal, but it is essential to complete the improvement works.

“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 individual journeys on the Southeastern website or app.”