Two weeks’ notice: Network Rail set to renew parts of the track between Guildford and Gatwick Airport station this November

Friday 27 Oct 2023

Region & Route: Southern | Southern: Wessex

Customers are being reminded to check before they travel as the railway between Guildford and Gatwick Airport will be closed from Saturday 11 to Friday 17 November.

Over the seven-day period, Network Rail’s engineers will be renewing the railway track on the North Downs Line which links Reading and Guildford with Redhill and Gatwick Airport stations to improve reliability for Great Western Railway (GWR) customers.

During this time, a range of work will be completed, including upgrading 332m of 1970s track, as well as the rails, sleepers, and ballast (track stones) and replacing 16-wheel timbers over the river Wey (sections of wood that provide extra support to the rails running over the bridge).

The investment of just under £1m to this line will benefit customers for years to come as it will extend the life expectancy of the railway infrastructure and will reduce the need for speed restrictions, allowing GWR to continue running smooth and reliable services.

During the closure, trains will continue to operate between London, Redhill, Reigate and Gatwick but the line between Guildford and Reigate will be closed. Customers on this route will be required to use rail replacement services which will operate between Guildford and Gatwick Airport.

Mark Killick, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said: “Running a safe and reliable railway is my ultimate priority, and this work is critical to keeping the North Downs Line fully functional.

“Taking this decision to close the railway was not taken lightly, but our engineers will use this time effectively and carry out additional renewals to other parts of the track which will benefit customers for years to come.

“I’d like to thank customers and residents for their patience whilst we carry out this work.”

Steven Hawker, Great Western Railway’s regional station manager for the line, said: “These works are essential to maintaining and improving the railway and we thank those travelling for their patience during this time.

“Buses will replace Great Western Railway trains between Guildford and Gatwick Airport while Network Rail carry out these improvements, and we encourage passengers to check their journey beforehand.”

Notes to Editors

For more customer information visit GWR.com/check or nationalrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain’s railway infrastructure; that’s 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK’s largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country’s train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain’s railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation’s railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced – a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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