Medway Valley line improvements

Engineering works at Teston, East Farleigh station and Maidstone West station

What work took place?

A 200m sheet pile wall was built along the railway line near Teston. This is approximately 1km from East Farleigh station on the Medway Valley line.

The wall will stop soil and debris from reaching the track in the event of a landslip. These are often caused by flooding or heavy rain.

East Farleigh station and the signal box were both built in 1844 and both were repainted and refurbished. Worn rail was also replaced, with brand new rails at Maidstone West.

When did the work take place?

Thursday 31 October to Sunday 3 November (inclusive).

Why was the work needed?

Landslips can cause a lot of disruption and cause delays. A train can’t swerve to avoid debris on the line. So when there’s debris on the tracks after a landslip, we’ll often need to re-route services. This is why the work at Teston was crucial to prevent future delays.

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