This weekend will see the start of a nine-day closure which will help deliver a major upgrade designed to cut delays for South Western Railway passengers.
The Portsmouth Direct line will be blockaded between Guildford and Petersfield from Saturday 12 to Sunday 20 February as engineers work round the clock on track maintenance, and upgrades to signalling, level crossings and stations.
Bus services will replace trains during this time.
The work is part of a £94 million programme of improvements between Farncombe and Petersfield that will eventually replace the 1970s signalling – the traffic lights of the railway – with a state-of-the-art system controlled from Basingstoke Rail Operating Centre.
Mark Killick, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said: “When the resignalling is finished in 2024, passengers travelling between London Waterloo and Portsmouth will enjoy a much more reliable railway, with fewer delays.
“There’s never a good time to close such a busy part of the network, but doing the work over nine consecutive days means we can minimise disruption for passengers, the people who live by the railway and the wider economy.
“We’re working closely with South Western Railway to make sure people can still travel, but I would encourage passengers to plan ahead and check before you travel.”
Network Rail’s Wessex Route successfully carried out two extended line closures last year, delivering major improvements much quicker than the traditional approach of a series of weekend closures over many years.
Christian Neill, SWR’s Customer Experience Director, said: “The work taking place on the Portsmouth line marks the start of a huge investment in railway infrastructure which will improve customer journeys for years to come.
“I realise these works will mean disruption for our customers; however, replacement buses will be in operation wherever lines need to be closed and I’d encourage anyone traveling with us to check to see if their journey will be affected. I’d also like to thank our customers for their patience whilst these essential works are carried out.”
During the closure, engineers will carry out much of the preparation work for the resignalling programme, including laying new cables at Farncombe East, Milford, Haslemere, Princes Bridge and Petersfield level crossings.
When the whole programme is complete in 2024, 12 level crossings on the route will be upgraded to make them safer for drivers and pedestrians.
Engineers will also carry out critical track maintenance work, including drainage improvements to reduce flood-related delays, as well as replacing the wheel timbers on the bridge over the River Wey.
To squeeze as much work into the closure as possible to reduce future disruption to passengers, engineers will also be resurfacing Liss level crossing, resurfacing both platforms at Witley station, as well as installing tactile paving for blind and partially sighted people, and brightening things up with a lick of paint.
They will also resurface the car park at Godalming station and repair the canopy on platform 2 to keep passengers dry while they wait, plus a fresh coat of paint.
The resignalling scheme, combined with new and improved switches and crossings at Petersfield and Haslemere, will increase the speed at which trains can travel on the line.
All combined, Network Rail hope this will provide a more reliable railway, faster train services and more capacity, providing the opportunity to run more trains when work is complete in 2024.
