Southeastern is replacing late‑night trains with accessible replacement buses between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings on the nights of Tuesday 3 February and Wednesday 4 February 2026. Network Rail is carrying out essential overnight maintenance and safety checks on the Hastings Line; Southeastern is operating the replacement transport and advising passengers.
For the affected nights, Southeastern says replacement buses will run from around 00:45 until the end of service. Passengers should check Southeastern’s service updates or National Rail Enquiries for the exact timings for their journeys. Replacement services on these nights are being operated as three routes: a Tunbridge Wells–Hastings service calling at Wadhurst, Battle, West St Leonards and St Leonards Warrior Square; a Tunbridge Wells–Robertsbridge service calling at all stations on that section; and a Battle–Crowhurst minibus shuttle. Journey times by bus may be significantly longer than by train — passengers should expect their journeys to take up to around 45 minutes longer.
The overnight works are being carried out by Network Rail to keep the line — a Victorian route completed in 1852 — safe and reliable for daily use. Southeastern says carrying out these repairs at night helps avoid daytime closures when more people travel.
This routine maintenance follows a major improvement programme in late 2025 that cost about £9 million to repair tunnels and embankments on the Hastings Line. Engineers say the local High Weald ground is clay‑heavy and prone to slips and movement, which requires regular attention to prevent soil movement from damaging the track and structures.
Passengers planning to travel late at night should check the Southeastern service updates, the National Rail Enquiries engineering works pages or the Southeastern app for specific bus departure times and stop locations, and allow extra time for journeys to account for slower speeds on local roads and possible bus loading times.
