Rail line set to close Monday

RAIL pasengers are bracing themselves for weeks of delays and winter misery with the Rye line closing down from this Monday.

There will be no trains running from Hastings to Ashford for nine weeks as work to repair the Ore Tunnel gets underway.

It will mean long journeys for commuters travelling to London and many students who attend college at Hastings.

But rail bosses say the work is part of a package of improvements that will lead to faster, more reliable journeys in the future.

The nine-week programme centres on essential maintenance work in Ore Tunnel to improve the drainage and repair lining to the inside of the structure to prevent water seeping through.

In order to take full advantage of the track closure, Network Rail engineers have re-scheduled a wide range of other improvement works to avoid further disruption in the future and allow better services for passengers in the years to come. These include:

n Renewing the track through the tunnel and around the Ore area; three quarters of a mile of track between Rye and Winchelsea; and around one mile of track between Ashford and Ham Street. This will result in old, noisy jointed track being replaced with smooth continuous rails.