Media centre

Wednesday 13 Apr 2016

May Day rail investment programme promises less disruption for passengers in the south

Region & Route:

| Southern: Wessex

| Southern

Passengers are being asked to Check Before You Travel over the May Day bank holiday as Network Rail continues to deliver its £40bn Railway Upgrade Plan.

The work will include a £1.6m upgrade in Axminster to replace a mile of track, providing smoother and more reliable journeys for passengers. Network Rail will also be upgrading a key track crossing in Weybridge, where trains are able to switch from one line to another, and continuing its improvement works to a number of bridges in the Stour and Avon area as part of its efforts to improve track quality and prolong the life of structures including the Stour viaduct.

John Halsall, Route Managing Director for Network Rail, said: “I’m pleased to say that 96% of the rail network across the country is open this May Day bank holiday, but passengers should still check before they travel.

“We have a few key upgrades to carry out, and as fewer than half the usual 4.5m daily passengers use the trains over bank holidays we use this relatively quieter time to keep improving the network to increase resilience and ensure more reliable journeys.”

Nationally over 11,000 members of Network Rail’s orange army will be working over the long weekend (30 April to 2 May) to deliver £33m of the £40bn Railway Upgrade Plan to provide a better, more reliable railway for passengers and businesses across Britain.

Paul Clark, operations delivery manager and a member of Network Rail’s orange army, who is the ‘face’ of Network Rail’s bank holiday poster campaign said: “With passengers numbers continuing to grow and the demands being placed on our railway getting ever greater, it’s vital that we get big chunks of time to get onto our railway to carry our heavy maintenance work and complete big investment schemes. This will keep the network ticking over and make it safer and more reliable for the millions who rely on it every day.”

Buses will replace trains between Crewkerne and Exeter on Saturday and Sunday, and will run between Honiton and Exeter on the holiday Monday. There will also be a replacement bus service between Southampton and Bournemouth.

Journeys between Woking and Clapham Junction via Surbiton will be subject to changes and longer journey times on Sunday due to the work at Weybridge. This will affect services to Weymouth, Exeter, Basingstoke and Portsmouth.

Passengers should check nationalrail.co.uk or southwesttrains.co.uk for travel advice.