Half term rail disruption expected on Hastings and Tunbridge Wells line

Engineering work was carried out around Wadhurst last year to shore up unstable earthworks

Major engineering works will halt trains between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings during the October half term.

Rail replacement buses will be laid on for travellers during the line's nine-day closure from 22 to 30 October.

Network Rail said the line has been beset by problems since it was built in the early 1850s, including around its embankments.

Major landslips on the line in 2020 and 2014 led to earth movement sensors being installed on vulnerable sections.

Fiona Taylor, Network Rail's route director for Kent, said: "We're finally able to deliver sustained investment in this railway's civil engineering, really for the first time since it was built.

"When the engineers of the 1850s cut the tracks through the hills, they cut deeply and cheaply, leaving a legacy of unstable earthworks that have a history of collapse.

"We took a week last year to shore them up around Wadhurst and other locations, and we're going to be back doing more of the same work this time round, and again in April 2023."

Scott Brightwell, Southeastern's operations and safety director, said closing the line was not ideal but the work needed was "vital".

The final phase of engineering will take place next year.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].