Southern passengers face late-night disruption every evening this week, with trains cancelled and replaced by buses across Sussex as engineering work closes sections of the railway overnight.
The changes run from Monday to Thursday evenings, September 28 to October 1, continuing through to Friday morning, October 2. Services on routes out of London Victoria towards the south coast are among those affected, along with trains between Hastings, Ore, Rye and Ashford International.
Anyone travelling late is being told to expect longer journeys and to check before they travel, as buses take considerably more time than the trains they replace.
Brighton to Worthing line closed overnight
The main block of work is taking place overnight between Brighton and Worthing, where engineering crews are closing some lines.
From around 11.30pm each night, trains from London Victoria to Worthing will be diverted and will terminate at Brighton instead of running through to the coast. Replacement buses will then run between Brighton and Hove and Worthing and West Worthing to get passengers the rest of the way.
The 10.52pm service from Portsmouth Harbour to Brighton is also caught up in the works. It will terminate at Littlehampton instead, with a replacement bus running from Littlehampton to Brighton, departing at 11.52pm and calling at all stations.
Hastings and Ore buses replace trains
A second block of engineering work is closing all lines overnight between Hastings and Ore. From around 10.30pm until the end of service on each of the four evenings, buses will replace trains between Hastings and Ore.
Buses will also replace trains on the wider route between Hastings and Rye and Ashford International, so passengers travelling along the Kent-Sussex border will need to factor in the slower road journey.
The full list: what is affected
London Victoria to Worthing: from approximately 11.30pm, Monday to Thursday, trains terminate at Brighton. Replacement buses run between Brighton/Hove and Worthing/West Worthing.
Portsmouth Harbour to Brighton (10.52pm): terminates at Littlehampton, Monday to Thursday. Replacement bus leaves Littlehampton at 11.52pm, calling at all stations to Brighton.
Hastings to Ore: from approximately 10.30pm to end of service, Monday to Thursday, all trains replaced by buses.
Hastings to Rye and Ashford International: buses replace trains on Monday to Thursday evenings.
Advice for late-night travellers
The disruption lands on top of an already difficult week for Southern passengers. Monday morning saw services into London Victoria suspended because of a trackside fire near Clapham Junction, and while that incident has cleared, the overnight engineering programme means late travellers cannot simply assume a normal service.
If you are out in the evening, check the time of the last through train on your route rather than the last departure shown on a daytime timetable. Once the buses take over, usually from around 10.30pm to 11.30pm depending on the route, journey times stretch out and connections become tighter.
Allow extra time even if your train appears to be running: a service shown as terminating short, at Brighton or Littlehampton, still gets you most of the way, but the bus leg at the end is where delays stack up. Keep an eye on station departure boards and platform announcements, as late-night alterations are sometimes confirmed at short notice.
Drivers heading to or from the same areas can check this week’s planned M25 closures, with roadworks adding to journey times on the routes the replacement buses themselves have to use.
Why lines close at night
Overnight possessions are the railway’s standard way of carrying out track maintenance, inspections and renewals. Closing the line entirely lets engineers work safely and get more done in a single shift than would be possible between daytime trains, which is why the work is concentrated in the hours when the fewest people travel.
The trade-off is felt by night-shift workers, hospitality staff and anyone travelling home late. Southern advises passengers to check journey planners on the day of travel, as the exact timings of replacement buses can be adjusted at short notice while the work progresses through the week.
