The railway line near Lewes, East Sussex, where a Southern train derailed on 13 August, will reopen on 1 September. Recovery crews are using cranes to remove the derailed carriages under what Network Rail described as "very challenging circumstances," with the timeline aimed at restoring services before the end of the school summer holidays.

Three carriages at the rear of the train came off the tracks, injuring 30 people, 20 of whom were taken to hospital, including two with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. An initial Rail Accident Investigation Branch report identified a track defect, likely linked to buckling caused by extreme heat, as the train derailed on the hottest day of the year so far, with air temperatures around 27C. The line between Lewes and Haywards Heath remains shut while teams recover the train and preserve evidence, with officials citing the site's proximity to the River Ouse and local ecology as complicating factors.