Festive upgrades disrupt Network Rail Wessex route services

Friday, December 22, 2023

Network Rail is advising customers about planned engineering upgrades set to impact certain services between Christmas and New Year. While most of the rail network across the country will maintain regular operations during this period, Network Rail’s Wessex route, encompassing areas such as south west London, Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire, will undergo significant upgrades.

Signalling Maintenance and Renewals – Southampton Area

Engineers will work continuously from Sunday, December 24, to Friday, December 29, to conduct essential maintenance and renewals on the signal system in the Southampton area. This crucial work involves replacing over 12,000 meters of outdated cable with modern multicore cables, extending the signalling equipment’s lifespan by 50 years. Consequently, the railway line between Southampton Airport Parkway and Brockenhurst, as well as between St Denys and Fareham, will be closed during this period. Replacement buses will operate between Eastleigh, Southampton Airport Parkway, Bournemouth, Southampton Central, and Fareham on specific dates.

Landslip Stabilisation – Woking and Brookwood

Between December 27 and December 29, Network Rail engineers will continue stabilizing the recent landslip between Woking and Brookwood by installing additional piles to fortify the cutting. As a result, South Western Railway (SWR) services between Woking and Basingstoke will be significantly reduced. Passengers traveling through Woking and Basingstoke are encouraged to assess their travel necessity and carefully plan their journey using an updated journey planner.

Signalling Upgrades – Guildford to Petersfield

From December 30 to January 1, the railway line between Guildford and Petersfield will be closed as engineers proceed with signal system upgrades under the wider Portsmouth Direct Upgrade program. The scope of work includes installing signal structures and piles, setting up Relocatable Equipment Buildings (REB) at specific stations, enhancing safety at level crossings, and improving drainage at Wormley cutting. These upgrades aim to enhance reliability, safety at level crossings, reduce travel time, and pave the way for potential increased train services in the future. Replacement buses will operate between Guildford and Petersfield via Haslemere during this period.

Matt Pocock, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said: “Our passengers want and deserve a safe and reliable railway, which is why thousands of our engineers will be working during the Christmas and New Year break to complete these important upgrades for the benefit of our customers.

“Significantly fewer people travel over Christmas, which is why we do this scale of work at this time of year. However, more than 96% of the rail network will be open over the festive period but for those customers who plan to travel by train, please check with your train operator or through the National Rail enquiries website before you travel.”

A South Western Railway spokesperson, said: “With essential maintenance and improvement work taking place on parts of our network, it is important that customers check before they travel over the Christmas period. While repairs continue at the landslip near Woking, our advice to customers whose trains travel between Woking and Basingstoke, between Wednesday 27 and Friday 29 December, is to only travel if absolutely necessary. We’d like to thank our customers for their continued patience and we look forward to seeing them travel with us in the new year.”

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