Passengers urged to check before they travel over August Bank Holiday as vital work planned for South West London and Surrey: Engineering works

Monday 27 Jul 2020

Passengers urged to check before they travel over August Bank Holiday as vital work planned for South West London and Surrey

Region & Route:
Southern: Wessex
  • Network Rail engineering works will affect some services in SW London and Surrey as track and other equipment set for renewal
  • Passengers should check their journey before they travel.
  • Passengers should travel safely over the forthcoming August Bank Holiday, those who are travelling by rail should wear a face covering unless they are exempt. Passengers should maintain a distance from other passengers wherever possible

Network Rail is carrying out planned engineering works this August Bank Holiday to maintain and upgrade the railway for passengers which will affect some train services in South West London and Surrey.

The forthcoming August Bank Holiday weekend – which takes place between Friday 29 to Monday 31 August – will see upgrades between Epsom and Dorking, Hounslow and Twickenham, as well as replacing the footbridge at Ashford station.  This work will affect SWR and Southern services in these areas.

Passengers should check their journey before they travel.  Due to the amended timetable currently in operation across the network, train times may not be uploaded into journey times until closer to the work. However, summaries of the amended timetable, and bus replacement services are available at: https://www.southwesternrailway.com/August

Network Rail is also reminding passengers to continue following Government advice around the safe use of public transport, including the wearing of face coverings, and maintaining social distancing where possible.

Mark Killick, Network Rail Wessex route director, said: “This bank holiday, to make sure our railway is at its very best when we emerge from this pandemic, we are continuing to work on and invest in the rail network to make it more reliable for passengers. 

“That means some journeys may be different, so please travel safely and check your journey before leaving home.”

Alan Penlington, customer experience director for South Western Railway, said: “These works are vital to maintaining and improving the railway. We are working to keep everyone moving this bank holiday, with replacement buses in operation.

“We’re asking our customers to plan ahead, and follow the latest Government guidance so we can all travel safely.”

Details of the work taking place this August Bank Holiday:

  • Upgrades to points (which help train move between tracks) at Whitton Junction; including upgrades to the station. We’re also continuing work on the new SWR train depot at Feltham which will affect services between Hounslow and Twickenham and Twickenham and Staines. The work begins on the morning of 29 August and is due to finish early morning on 1 September when train services will resume.
  • Carrying out repairs and maintenance to the track, and strengthening a bridge at Station Road, Leatherhead between the morning of 30 August and morning of 31 August. The work affects services between Epsom and Dorking and between Dorking and Effingham Junction.
  • Work to replace the footbridge at Ashford station in Surrey and resurfacing work to the platform and car parks. During the work,  the station  is likely to be open  but passengers should check on the day they travel for the latest advice.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Martin Spencer
Martin.Spencer2@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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