Thursday 24 May 2018
Passengers reminded to check before travelling over bank holiday weekend as Network Rail delivers £2 million investment
- Region & Route:
- Southern: Wessex
- | Southern
Rail passengers planning to travel over the forthcoming bank holiday weekend are reminded to check journeys before travelling as Network Rail replaces a bridge over the railway in Compton near Guildford, as part of the Railway Upgrade Plan.
Bus replacement services will be in operation between Guildford and Haslemere from Saturday 26th May through until Monday 28th May to allow Network Rail’s team orange engineers to install the new structure on the B3000.
A revised train timetable will also be in operation between Haslemere and Portsmouth Harbour throughout the bank holiday weekend.
The current Victorian bridge has reached the end of its design life and must be replaced to continue to provide a safe and reliable railway for passengers.
Stuart Kistruck, director of route asset management for Network Rail, said:
“I’d like to thank passengers in advance for their patience over the bank holiday weekend as we put in a new road bridge as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan.
“After we’ve installed the bridge we will begin diverting utilities, such as electric and water, before we can re-open the road to cars in July.
“This is an important part of the rail network with more than 900 passenger trains passing through each week, so it’s vital that we protect the railway here in the long-term with this £2 million investment.”
Passengers are urged to check journeys before travelling throughout the long weekend at southwesternrailway.com or National Rail Enquiries as some planned service alterations will be in place.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Service alterations
The lines between Guildford and Haslemere will be closed throughout the Holiday weekend.
Saturday and Sunday service
The normal train service will run between London Waterloo and Guildford.
Buses will run between Guildford and Haslemere.
A revised train service will run between Haslemere and Portsmouth Harbour.
Holiday Monday service
The Saturday train service will run between London Waterloo and Guildford.
Buses will run between Guildford and Haslemere.
A revised train service will run between Haslemere and Portsmouth Harbour.
Traffic congestion due to the Surrey County Show may affect the bus services on the Holiday Monday. Please allow extra time for your journey if planning to use these bus services.
Long distance passengers between London Waterloo, Woking and Portsmouth should use the through train service via Eastleigh and Fareham to avoid the buses.
Great Western Railway services between Guildford and Gatwick Airport are not affected by this work.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - James Crook
Senior Media Relations Manager
Network Rail
07732 644202
james.crook@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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