Kent

Our teams will also take the opportunity to build new gate lines to reduce congestion at the station itself and continue the installation of brand new signalling systems in South London.

During this time, buses will replace London Overground trains between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction. Supporting weekend closures took place on 16 and 17 December, and will take place again on 6 and 7 and 13 and 14 January.

The railway is significantly quieter over the Christmas period and we therefore choose this time to carry out essential maintenance and repairs across the network to improve reliability.

Elsewhere, between Hurst Green and Uckfield we are placing additional blocks along the side of the cutting to protect the railway from falling debris. To allow us to carry out this work, there will be no service between Oxted and Uckfield between 27th – 28th December.

On the lines between Selhurst and Tattenham Corner we are carrying out track maintenance, litter and graffiti removal, inspections, switches and crossings maintenance with tamping and structures work. This means the lines will be closed from 24th December at 23:00 to 29th December at 23:00.

Please make sure you check before you travel this Christmas.

Work is due to begin in late January 2024 and the majority of work will take place on Monday to Friday during daylight hours and will not affect train services.

There may be some occasions where we will have to work overnight or during weekends when trains are not running, but our teams will endeavour to keep any disturbance to a minimum.

Residents and stakeholders will be updated as the work progresses and if additional works need to be undertaken outside of normal working hours, but the station will remain open throughout and hoarding will be installed on both platforms to segregate our works from commuters. 

To find out more about the project, please click here.

The groups comprise of different members of the community, who all share the same aim of promoting and improving the railway. With the help of our counterparts at train operating companies, projects and ideas are created and delivered at stations and other areas of railway land. 

Thanks to the team at the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership (SCRP) , visitors to Gatwick Airport Station were able to see a wonderful exhibition, showing the timeline of how Gatwick came into being. With most of the research carried out by local historian Bruce Healey, and the panels for the exhibition designed and produced by 35 Creatives, this exhibition was the brainchild of GTR Change Manager, Paul O'Brien and SCRP Community Development Officers, Sharon Gray and Rowena Tyler.

Sticking with the SCRP but moving east to the 1066 Line, Andy Pope and their Education Service run a series of workshops throughout the south east on behalf of GTR and on the North Downs Line for GWR.  They offer 4 different workshops delivered free to Year 6, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) students and community groups.  Students can enjoy a station visit and ride on a train, where they can put their new found knowledge into practice.  They work in conjunction with railway staff to provide a valuable learning experience.  

This year, the SCRP have extended and improved their Railway Careers workshop and the trials in Year 6 and SEND colleges were very successful. They have also added a film of a “typical “ journey to their ‘Planning a Journey’ workshop. This film allows the students to see each part of the journey from the safety of their classroom before embarking on the real thing.  They allow the students to discuss each stage of the journey using picture cards.  This has increased their confidence when travelling for real.

At Hastings, in collaboration with Sara Grisewood and the Marshlink Line , the SCRP are building relations with East Sussex College and the charities Littlegate Farm, The Parchment Trust, Hazel Court School and Aspens. All of whom have enjoyed “try a train” trips, building on the trainees experience and travel confidence.  

Along the coast on the Sussex Downs Line, Paul Bromley and the line group have created a specially designed map and leaflets to help passengers with onward travel information. The project was the initiative of Southeast Communities Rail Partnership following feedback that people arriving at Seaford station at the end of the line had little information about the next leg of their journey.

An integrated travel map has been created on the station platform, showing walking, bus and cycle routes to the town and destinations beyond including the iconic Seven Sisters chalk cliffs. There are matching double-sided leaflets available from the ticket office and Town Council offices plus ‘Welcome to Seaford’ window vinyls at the station exit to promote the bus connections. The map and leaflets were designed and produced by Riffle & Pool Press.

On the Arun Valley line, 30 locals from across the community have devoted an average of 100 volunteer hours per month to transforming the wider station area at Arundel with native, pollinator-friendly hedgerow plants and wildflowers. These volunteers form the group known as the Arundel Green Team, with other local groups and schools willing to get involved at the station. Primary school children in Arundel grew nasturtiums from seed, while students from Six Villages Academy and Seaford College spent a day at the station litter-picking and watering. 

Hopping over to Kent and the Kent Community Rail Partnership , this year was a big year for the CRP, as officers, members, volunteers, and friends both past and present celebrated the CRP’s 20^th year. The celebration event started on Thursday 14 September with a trip along the Swale Rail Line. Along the way, details were shared of projects carried out by the CRP at each of the stations, as well as snippets of local history.    

During the afternoon, the group visited the newly refurbished Masters House in Sheerness for presentations and conversations. Current Chair Chris Fribbins, past Chairs Mike Fitzgerald and John Wright, and Southeastern Community Relations Manager Matt Fraser each explained how they had seen the Partnership grow over the years, delivering improvements to station environments and opportunities for communities through collaborative working.

At Hollingbourne Station, the former ticket office and booking hall has been given a new lease of life after being repurposed into a dedicated space for the local community. After sitting empty for 32 years, the building has been refurbished to create a new community space following an 18-month long project between the CRP, Southeastern, the Railway Heritage Trust and Hollingbourne Parish Council.

An invitation to attend the Faversham Festival of Transport offered an opportunity to bring Kent Community Rail Partnership to a new audience. The CRP were there in the prime location of the historic Guildhall alongside Railfuture and the Faversham Model Railway Club. The knowledge of the CRP's volunteers and the team from Railfuture enabled them to answer many queries relating to train travel and future plans for the railway in Kent.

On Wednesday 29 November, the CRP took a group of thirteen students from Sheppey College to the Travel Safe Travel Smart rail safety centre at Margate. Hard hitting videos from the You vs Train educational resources reinforced the messages to keep off the tracks and stay behind the yellow line as being key to staying safe from the dangers of moving trains and the electricity that powers them.  

Thanks to the involvement of the White Cliffs Community Rail Partnership, a number of artworks have started to appear at Folkestone West, as part of a project called The Resident Platform. The project is the brainchild of Cheriton based community arts company Strange Cargo and their Artistic Director, Brigitte Orasinski. 

So far ten bronze sculptures have been installed on the obsolete roof canopy plinths that line the station walls. Five of the sculptures have been made by local people and five by professional artists, who have come to Cheriton to observe how Strange Cargo deliver their specific brand of community engagement. The community artworks have been made by around 100 local people (with the addition of a group of French children who partnered with a local school).

We would like to thank all of the Community Rail Groups across Kent & Sussex for their hard work and for their efforts to promote the railway in their local communities. We look forward to working with you all once again in the New Year.

As always if you have any questions or require any assistance, please feel free to email the Southern Region Stakeholder Team at SouthernRegionStakeholders@networkrail.co.uk

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