Sussex and South London

 Although this represents a 15% decrease in the number of misuse incidents and a 3% decrease in the number of near misses on the previous year, safety remains our number one priority because even one near miss is too many.

Across Sussex, the hotspots for level crossing misuse are:

• Bewbush (on the outskirts of Crawley) = 12 incidents
• Crawley High Street = 9 incidents
• One O’Clock (in Burgess Hill) = 9 incidents
• Worthing = 7 incidents
• Clappers Lane (in Ferring, between Angmering and Goring-by-Sea) = 6 incidents
• Bourneview (near Kenley and Whyteleafe) = 4 incidents

More widely, across our Southern region which serves rail passengers and freight operators from Devon in the West to Kent in the East right across the South of England, longer term trends (since 2017) show the number of level crossing misuse incidents has decreased by 15%, but the number of near misses has increased by 31%.

This recent localised study has coincided with a wider campaign being launched across the country to promote level crossing safety. Our ‘Distracted? You’ve Crossed the Line’ safety campaign aims to positively encourage young adults to take responsibility for their own personal safety and illustrate distractions such as taking selfies, listening to music or looking at a phone when using a level crossing.

Five sets of old switches and crossings, and 1500 metres of track will be replaced with brand new equipment.  Switches and crossings are the moveable rails that allow trains to transfer between lines. We’ll also install 730 metres of new conductor rail and an additional 4000 meters of new signalling and telecom cables.

Rail passengers in South London should plan ahead as the upgrade work will affect services for 9 days. While the work is taking place, there will be no Southern trains at West Norwood, Gipsy Hill, Birkbeck and Beckenham Junction stations.

The work will also impact trains at stations from Streatham Hill to Norwood Junction / Sydenham.  There will also be a reduced Southern service through Peckham Rye, East Dulwich, North Dulwich, Tulse Hill, Norwood Junction and West Croydon stations. 

In the same area, there will be further planned resignalling work taking place this autumn. We will update you when the works are finalised. 

To find out more about the closure and the impact this will have on services in South London, please click here.

In partnership with Southeastern as part of our Alliance on the Kent route, we selected two routes in Kent for this daylight maintenance trial. The routes were chosen to strike the right balance between ensuring we gather valuable insights on the benefits of the trials while minimising the impact to customers.

The trial is to deliver a better, more reliable and sustainable railway and once it is completed, we will make an assessment on next steps and a potential roll our of this approach to Sussex and the wider Southern region.

The essential maintenance work in Ore tunnel will improve the drainage and repair lining to the inside of the structure to prevent water from seeping through. This will include concrete spraying of the lining of the tunnel, repair of the brickwork and replacement of some of the track through the tunnel. Elsewhere on the closed lines work will take place to protect the railway from landslips by soil and rock nailing,

To take full advantage of the track closure, our engineers have scheduled a wide range of other improvement works to avoid further disruption in the future and allow better services for passengers.  

We are working closely with both GTR & Southeastern to limit the disruption that these works may cause for passengers. Details of the rail replacement bus services and other travel advice for this time will be announced in due course. 

We will of course keep you updated in the next edition of our newsletter and there will also be a press release about these works. 

In honour of this historic day, the year 2025 will be Railway 200, a year-long nationwide campaign to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway and inspire a new generation to look to its future.

We are looking to celebrate the rich history of the railway in our route. Whether that be historic stations, key figures from the past or interesting stories that reflect the importance of the railway to local areas, we want to hear about it and help to celebrate the railway then, the railway now and the railway of the future. 

The title references the location and the River Thames, where flows of people converge, entering the city via the bridge and the rail station – one of the oldest and busiest in Europe.

The design process behind the construction of the mural invited many small contributions from local people through workshops. Additionally, over 400 school children contributed stories inspired by the artwork to Southwark Heritage Archives.

Over 21 million people are projected to pass by the mural over the course of a single year – three times the annual visitors received by the National Gallery. 

Dr Silvie Jacobi, Director of London School of Mosaic, led the delivery of the project, securing support from our teams here at Network Rail, The Arts Council England, Southwark Council, National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Shard, PwC and London Bridge.

Thanks to Stephen Norman Young for the brilliant photo. 

Work was also carried out on railway embankments between Redhill and Tonbridge, some of which was in preparation for work that will take place later this year.

Between Barnham and Havant junction engineers cleared vegetation, undertaking inspections on the track and structures along the track, as well as routine track maintenance.

Engineers also made repairs to Bletchingley Tunnel, between Nutfield and Godstone stations. Constructed in the early 1840s, it’s over 1,300 yards long and every so often, abseiling inspections are conducted to assess its condition.

At West Sutton, our engineers reinstated the cutting to support our lineside neighbour’s garden and boundary, having previously installed a sheet pile wall to stabilise the cutting and protect passengers from delays caused by falling soil and debris reaching the track.

Some of you may argue that we are yet to fully experience summer weather here in the UK. With a huge amount of wet weather at the start of the year and a distinct lack of hot sunny weather since, you could be forgiven for thinking that summer hadn't starter yet.

Regardless of whether we are seeing sun, wind or rain, we have specific teams to prepare for all eventualities. This may be in the form of painting track and rail to reduce heat, vegetation management ahead of high winds or the removal of leaves and ice from the tracks. 

Whatever the weather, we are encouraging passengers to also play a part in this preparation thanks to weather specific campaigns and advice. The key message throughout is to make sure that passengers are checking before they travel if weather conditions are more extreme than usual. 

We can't change the weather, but the weather can change your plans. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this month's newsletter. 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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