Lewes, East Sussex - derailment of train, 20 injured, 13 August 2026

[whole diary]

[grahame]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) feed https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cly5252xqdvt

Transport Secretary 'deeply concerned' about derailment

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said on social media that she is "deeply concerned" of reports of the derailment, which took place at about 15:55 BST.

She added: "Grateful to emergency services who are on the scene supporting those impacted. We are working quickly with the rail industry and local partners to assist passengers."


Picure - Laura Arnold / X

British Transport Police statement in full

Here's the full statement from the British Transport Police on the train derailment near Lewes:

"Officers are currently on scene close to Lewes railway station following reports of a derailed train at 3.54pm today (13 August).
"We’re responding alongside paramedics and the fire service and will provide more information as soon as we can."

[grahame]

Victoria to / via Eastbourne service. Still from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) live / helicopter feed.



Edit to add - reported as 1F34, 14:24 from Victoria comprising units 387172  (GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) Livery) and 387304, site not far north of Lewes. More facts to follow (and others welcome to pass them on / quote them). Please do not speculate.   Reports suggest as a minimum some injuries - thoughts with those hurt, their friends and family, and staff and others involved.

[JayMac]

It is the three rear vehicles that have toppled. Unclear at this point if any of the front 5 also derailed.

[Mark A]

Given the heatwave conditions, there'll be a lot of people on other trains need looking after too.

Mark

[broadgage]

Video taken at the scene by passengers, strongly suggests that buckled track was to blame.
source is BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) live:

Two seriously injured, with 18 others hurt, after train derails in East Sussex

[grahame]

Video taken at the scene by passengers, strongly suggests that buckled track was to blame.
source is BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news.

Indeed, but we yet we don't know whether that part of the scene shown was cause or effect.  We should really await the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch). I'm sure, bearing in mind the current hot weather, they will issue an urgent safety alert if appropriate.

[grahame]

Given the heatwave conditions, there'll be a lot of people on other trains need looking after too.

Mark

I only looked a few hours later, but it may well have been geographically fortunate that the accident (which we are assuming it was) happened on the Haywards Heath to Lewes cutoff. There do not appear on the ("do not use for safety critical decisions") public sites to be any other trains stuck on the line.  With the exception of Plumpton and Cooksbridge stations / passengers, all journeys remain possible by rail and "ticket acceptance ..."s which should be automatic were in place by 17:30.

[grahame]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) live this morning - sharing a "checkpoint" on where we are

A major incident was declared following a train derailing near Lewes in East Sussex shortly before 16:00 BST yesterday.

Emergency services said about 150 people were on board the train, with two people sustaining serious injuries and a further 18 with less serious injuries. All of the passengers were evacuated from the train.

Photos from the site showed emergency workers around the train on its side in a field next to the tracks, with one passenger saying it "felt like a car crash" and another saying the train derailed from carriage five.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch)) deployed a team of inspectors to the site.

and

Southern Railway has issued advice to passengers hoping to travel in the area today.

Trains are unable to run between Lewes and Haywards Heath, so those travelling to or from Cooksbridge, Plumpton, Hastings or Ore have been told their journey is likely to take longer than usual.

Rail replacement buses are running between Haywards Heath and Lewes, calling at Cooksbridge and Plumpton, and those travelling in the area are being told to allow at least an extra 60 minutes of journey time for their trip.

People travelling towards Eastbourne or Hastings today will also need to change trains at Brighton, with extra carriages being added on services between Brighton and Hastings, and Brighton and Seaford.

Tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on Southern services between Brighton and London Victoria, Thameslink services between Brighton and London Bridge, Gatwick Express services between Brighton and London Victoria, on the London Underground between London terminals, and on Southeastern services between Hastings and London terminals.

Rail tickets will also be accepted on Brighton and Hove Buses’ 28, 29, 29B, and 29X routes, which run between Brighton and Eastbourne, and Brighton and Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

[GBM]

Superb drone footage taken by Eddie Mitchell on another forum.

[ChrisB]

He was only allowed around 60 seconds to grab that footage before the Police enforced a no-fly zone.

[grahame]

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service-disruptions/polegate-20260814/

A safety inspection of the track between Lewes and Eastbourne means that all lines are closed.

As a result, trains are unable to operate between these stations.

This is expected until the end of the day.

Customer advice:

No trains can run between Lewes and Eastbourne until further notice. You will need to use an alternative route to reach your destination.

You should allow at least an additional 60 minutes to complete your journey today.

Please talk to station staff, look at the information boards or check your journey planner for the most recent information.

How are Southern changing their service?

While this disruption is ongoing, Southern will be making the following changes to services:
Trains that normally run between Ore and Brighton will now run between Ore and Eastbourne.
Trains that normally run between Eastbourne and Brighton will now terminate at Polegate and restart back to Brighton.

[Trowres]

The fault seems to affect only the eastbound line between Polegate and Hampden Park?

An excursion returning to Derby from Eastbourne traversed the westbound track at about 17:35; seemingly, the only train to run on this line for quite some time.

[grahame]

An excursion returning to Derby from Eastbourne traversed the westbound track at about 17:35; seemingly, the only train to run on this line for quite some time.

Reminds me of tales of the "Sunny South Express" trains 100 years ago bringing holiday makers from the Midlands to the South Coast

From Sankey Scenics

This train was very popular with holiday makers heading for the south coast in the 1920s and 30s. It was a direct service from the north avoiding the inconvenience of crossing London. Starting at Manchester at 10.40 a.m. and Liverpool at 10.35 a.m., the two sections joined at Crewe and then headed south. At Willesden a locomotive from the Southern took over the train and then proceeded to skirt through west London on its way to Brighton, Eastbourne, Bexhill and Hastings.

[infoman]

Just wondering if passengers if going south(and North)
will be advised to travel to Brighton then onto Lewes as opposed to using the bus replacement service/s?