Kent and Sussex rail lines to close for half-term

Southern services between Bexhill and Hastings will be affected by the shutdown

Two of the South East's main railway lines are to be shut for nine days in the autumn.

The Tunbridge Wells to Hastings and Bexhill to Hastings lines will have no rail services between 25 October and 2 November, with buses replacing trains.

The shutdown is so Network Rail can carry out repairs on the track and tunnels.

The work has been timed to coincide with schools' half-term, and will affect trains run by Southeastern and Southern.

Brickwork will be repaired and drains upgraded in the Bo Peep and Hastings tunnels, while a kilometre (0.6 of a mile) of rails, sleepers and ballast will be replaced between Etchingham and Mountfield.

More modern rails and signalling equipment is to be installed at Frant and Wadhurst, where embankments will also be strengthened.

West St Leonards station footbridge will be refurbished and vegetation cut back along several lines.

Southern will be operating a shuttle rail service between Hastings and Ashford, while on the weekends of 11 and 12 October and 18 and 19 October buses will replace trains between Bexhill and Ashford.

Southeastern services to Hastings will be suspended for nine days

David Davidson, chief operating officer for the South Eastern Railway, said: "We know that closures are disruptive, and we're doing everything we can to keep people moving with replacement buses and clear travel information.

"Getting work done over consecutive days allow us to do more work, more efficiently.

"We've invested significantly in the Hastings line in recent years to address challenges that go back to the line's construction over 170 years ago."

Passengers travelling to Hastings are being advised to check ahead of their journeys

Jenny Saunders, Southern's customer service director, said: "The line between Eastbourne and Ashford provides important connectivity for the towns along its route, and these works will help ensure the infrastructure stays reliable for years to come.

"There is never a good time to close the railway, but we will have plenty of staff, and buses, to help passengers complete their journey."