Fallen Tree Blocks Medway Valley Line at Maidstone Barracks, Replacement Buses Running

A fallen tree blocked both lines at Maidstone Barracks on Tuesday morning, suspending Medway Valley Line trains between Strood and Paddock Wood/Tonbridge. National Rail first reported the disruption at 10.39am and was expecting it to clear by around midday, with replacement buses covering the gap in the meantime.

According to National Rail's own incident log, a tree fell onto the tracks at Maidstone Barracks and blocked the line in both directions. Response staff were sent to remove it and reopen the line, with the disruption expected to last until around 12pm. Source: National Rail

Replacement buses were requested and expected on site by around 11.15am. In the meantime, Southeastern said tickets would also be accepted at no extra cost on Arriva bus routes 71 and 101. National Rail is advising anyone travelling on the Medway Valley Line - including Maidstone Barracks, Maidstone West, Aylesford and Snodland in Tonbridge & Malling, and Paddock Wood in Tunbridge Wells borough - to check before they travel and allow extra time.

It's the second time in under a week that the Medway Valley Line has been shut between Strood and Paddock Wood - trains were suspended for more than five hours on Saturday 31 October after a person was hit by a train near Strood, as we reported at the time. Tuesday's closure is a much shorter, unrelated incident - a fallen tree rather than an emergency response - but it's the second time in four days that passengers on this stretch of line have had to find another way around.