Derailment disruptions unacceptable, says MP

"Months of significant disruption" to rail passengers following a train derailment near Lewes are "unacceptable", an East Sussex MP says.

The line connecting Haywards Heath and Lewes, between Eastbourne and London, was temporarily shut after the derailment on 13 August and passengers faced speed restrictions and cancellations.

Eastbourne's Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde says he wants to see "rail bosses doing everything possible to minimise disruption and restore reliable services as quickly as possible".

A spokesperson for Network Rail and Greater Thameslink Railway (GTR) apologised.

They said they understood people's frustrations and were "doing everything possible to minimise the impact".

Phil Hobden, who commutes to London three times a week from Eastbourne, says the journey is about one hour and 40 minutes.

However, since the derailment the train service had been a "nightmare", he said.

"I don't think I've had a journey over the last two months, and even before that, that was less than two [hours] and even up to two and a half hours," he explained.

Babarinde had a meeting with rail bosses and said he pushed to get "urgent works completed quickly so that we can get our rail line back on track".

The MP said Network Rail was undertaking a range of measures including reinforcing sections of track, removing excess vegetation and carrying out essential repair works until mid-October.

The spokesperson for Network Rail and GTR said: "Safety must remain our priority, which is why Network Rail is carrying out essential work to address the track conditions that have affected services following the hottest and driest summer on record."

GTR says its standard delay repay scheme for people on journeys delayed by 15 minutes or more is also in place.

A defect was found on railway tracks near Lewes following the derailment, which left 30 people injured, an initial report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) found.

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