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Wednesday 22 Jul 2020

Passengers warned to check before they travel this weekend as vital engineering work will close railway between Winchester and Southampton

Region & Route:

Southern: Wessex

| Southern

This weekend there will be no train services between Winchester and Southampton via Eastleigh due to planned engineering work, with some trains diverted and some replaced by buses.

Engineers will replace a set of points - movable sections of rail allowing trains to move between tracks - between 25 – 26 July and will wrap up the work on Sunday, 2 August.

Passengers are encouraged to check before they travel, as buses will replace trains between:

• Winchester and Southampton Central
• Winchester and Fareham
• Southampton Central and Salisbury via Eastleigh

There may be a need to queue for buses at busy times to help people travel safely and keep social distancing.

The work will affect SWR, CrossCountry and GWR services and passengers are advised to check their journey before travelling.

Mark Killick, route director for Network Rail Wessex, said: “I am sorry for the disruption this will cause passengers this weekend, however the work we’re doing is vital to keep trains running reliably through Eastleigh.

“I would advise passengers to check your journey before leaving home, and to travel safely and wear a face covering.”

Alan Penlington, customer experience director for South Western Railway, said, “Whilst these works will be disruptive, they are essential for our railway.

“If you are travelling on these dates, we’d ask that you check before you travel and follow the latest guidance on social distancing and face coverings so you can travel safely.”

There will also be a number of amendments to other train services, including:

• An hourly South Western Railway (SWR) service will run between London Waterloo and Winchester
• SWR services between London Waterloo and Weymouth will be diverted, calling additionally at Guildford, Havant and Fareham – on Sunday 26 July and Sunday 2 August, these trains will depart London Waterloo earlier than normal
• The SWR stopping service from Romsey to Salisbury via Southampton will only run between Southampton Central and Salisbury