Dates Kent train line will close for vital landslip safety works

-Credit: (Image: train_photos/Wikimedia Commons)
-Credit: (Image: train_photos/Wikimedia Commons)


Southeastern has confirmed that a busy Kent train line will close for multiple days this autumn as part of works to protect against landslides. From Thursday, October 31, a stretch of the Medway Valley line will shut for a total of four days.

Engineering works will be taking place at Teston, East Farleigh station and Maidstone West station. As a result, the line will shut between Paddock Wood and Maidstone West, up to and including Sunday, November 3.

While the route is closed, rail replacement buses will be in operation and passengers have been advised to “to plan ahead and check before they travel.” Crews will be building a 200m sheet pile wall along the railway line near Teston, sitting around 1km away from East Farleigh station on the Medway Valley line.

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Its purpose will be to stop soil and debris from reaching the track in the event of a landslip, which can occur during bouts of heavy rain and flooding. Additional works will be completed while the line is shut, including the repainting and refurbishment of East Farleigh station and the signal box, both of which were built all the way back in 1844.

Meanwhile, old and worn tracks at Maidstone West are to be replaced with new rails. When these works are being carried out, services between Paddock Wood and Strood will start and terminate at Maidstone West. Accessible rail replacement buses will run between Paddock Wood and Maidstone West between the Thursday and Saturday, stopping at all stations.

Then on the Sunday, buses will run between Tonbridge and Maidstone West. David Davidson, Network Rail Kent Route director said: “It’s important that we identify the sites prone to landslips to ensure that we keep passengers safe.

“Some of the slopes, or cuttings, on either side of our tracks, need to be strengthened by improving drainage or adding stronger materials to the slope itself, such as the sheet pile wall at Teston. We know there’s never a good time to close the railway, but with the work, we expect to improve resilience of the line as we come into the autumn. Please plan ahead and check your journey with nationalrail.co.uk.”

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