Brighton Main Line to close for nine days over February half-term 2027

The Brighton Main Line will close between Three Bridges and Brighton or Lewes for nine days, from Saturday 13 to Sunday 21 February 2027, over the February half-term. Replacement buses will run on the closed section, and a direct London Victoria–Brighton service will be diverted via Horsham and Littlehampton, with longer journey times.

Network Rail gave three months' notice in a statement published on 10 November. Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink passengers are all affected.

What will be done

The closure allows a concentrated programme of work on one of the busiest corridors in the country. New rails will be laid at Plumpton and Preston Park, and track, switches and crossings will be renewed at Keymer Junction near Wivelsfield. The Haywards Heath cutting and the Balcombe Stamford rock cutting will be strengthened to reduce the risk of landslips and rock falls.

Structural work is planned in Balcombe Tunnel, and new rails will be installed through Clayton Tunnel. A new conductor rail, the third rail that powers the trains, will be fitted between Clayton Tunnel and Preston Park. The level crossings at Spatham Lane near Westmeston and at Hamsey in East Sussex will be renewed and receive new signalling.

How to travel during the closure

Replacement buses will run between Three Bridges and Brighton, calling at all stations; between Three Bridges and Lewes via Haywards Heath and Cooksbridge; between Three Bridges and Haywards Heath; and between Haywards Heath and Plumpton. A bus will also link Lewes and East Grinstead on weekdays. Timetables on the East and West Coastway routes will change.

Passengers travelling between Brighton and Hove and Gatwick Airport or London are advised to use the diverted train rather than the buses. Journey planners such as National Rail Enquiries are due to show the revised times later this month.

Why a nine-day closure

Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail's Sussex route director, said the extended closure lets the work be delivered "at once", rather than through repeated disruption over many weekends or in the busy summer season. Southern's Jenny Saunders asked passengers to save the dates and, where they can, to plan to work flexibly that week.

The trade-off is a harder week for leisure travellers and for anyone heading to Gatwick from the south coast. The route will also see work around Redhill over Christmas and New Year, so passengers face two disrupted periods within two months. Elsewhere in Britain, this month also brings the West Highland Line closure for upgrade work.

Sources: Network Rail, "THREE MONTHS TO GO: Brighton Main Line investment will close railway between Three Bridges and Brighton/Lewes for nine days over February half-term", 10 November 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.

Photo: the Ouse Valley Viaduct near Haywards Heath, on the London–Brighton line, 27 August 2023 — HJ Mitchell, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited, and reviewed by the TrainsNews editorial team before publication.