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Wednesday 24 May 2023

Network Rail is reminding customers travelling between Feltham, Wokingham and Basingstoke to check before they travel ahead of important engineering works this weekend

Region & Route:

Southern

| Southern: Wessex

A range of engineering work this bank holiday weekend will mean buses replace some train services across the Wessex route with customers reminded to plan ahead and check before travelling.

On Sunday 28 May the railway line between Woking to Winchester and Basingstoke to Andover will be closed to enable Network Rail engineers to complete vital track work that will help reduce delays for customers.

Work will involve removing what the industry calls “wet beds” - sections of track where the stones and sleepers are so wet, they cause uneven and bumpy train rides for customers.

Engineers will also be completing routine maintenance to improve the overall reliability of the railway and testing new equipment that has been installed over the last month.

This is part of a wider eight-week programme of work to bring more smooth and reliable journeys on the South West Main Line in the Basingstoke area.

So far, engineers have introduced two new switches and crossings - the moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another - at Great Western Junction, as well as laying new track, repairing earthworks to prevent landslips, and tamping, which is the process of compacting the stones that support the track.

On Sunday 28 May, buses will replace South Western Railway (SWR) trains between:

• Woking and Basingstoke
• Woking and Winchester via Basingstoke
• Woking and Andover via Basingstoke

Alongside this, work to upgrade the signalling - the railway’s traffic light system - between Feltham and Wokingham will also continue, which is part of a four year £375m investment to further improve reliability.

Elsewhere across the Wessex route, the line between Hounslow to Virginia Water and Windsor & Eton Riverside to Staines will be closed all day on Sunday 28 and Monday 29 May to facilitate the renewal of around 90 metres of track.

From Sunday 28 to Monday 29 May, buses will replace trains between:

• Hounslow and Virginia Water via Staines
• Hounslow and Windsor via Staines

Mark Killick, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said: “I’d like to thank customers for their patience while we carry out these improvements.

“I recognise there is never a good time to close the railway, but we have chosen to carry out this work over the bank holiday weekend as we know there are generally fewer customers travelling than on a weekday on this busy and important stretch of line.

“I’d like to remind customers to check before they travel as some bus replacement services will be in operation.”

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s chief operating officer, said: "Customers should please check their whole journey before they travel this bank holiday weekend, as essential engineering works mean buses will replace trains in parts of London, Surrey, Berkshire, and Hampshire on the Sunday and Monday.

"We are sorry to customers for the extra time that this will add to their journeys, but the upgrades to track and signalling will modernise equipment and improve the reliability of services going forward."