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Thursday 5 Nov 2020

Remember, remember, we’re working on the railway this November – with big improvements planned in and around Bournemouth

Region & Route:

Southern: Wessex

| Southern

This weekend marks the start of a series of improvements to the railway in and around Bournemouth and Hants for better journeys for passengers.

Across the next three weekends, Network Rail engineers will work at several sites to improve the track, signals and clear graffiti and litter from the railway from New Milton in Hants to Brockenhurst in Dorset, providing passengers with a more reliable and more welcoming railway.

This means changes to services up until the weekend of 21/22 November, so passengers should note the following:

• On Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, just over 640 metres of track will be replaced at New Milton station. Further down the line, a weekend of maintenance will see engineers renew points (which move trains between tracks) between Bournemouth and Branksome and also clear graffiti and litter from tracks in both the Parkstone and Branksome areas.  
• Between Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November there will be revised services on the line from Eastleigh to Micheldever due to maintenance and improvements to track and tunnels.
• Finally, over the weekend of Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November, new electrical equipment will be installed in Lymington and New Milton to improve the power supply to trains travelling between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth. Drainage will be inspected at Sway, while at three sites between New Milton and Christchurch, engineers will work to reduce instances of ‘wet beds’ - sections of track where ballast and sleepers become saturated by water, leading to track defects and delays to train services.

Mark Killick, Network Rail Wessex route director, said: “We know changes to train services can be disruptive but the work we’re doing will provide a more reliable railway for the Dorset critical workers and passengers who depend on the railway. In addition to replacing older railway equipment, we’re also cleaning up our railway, as we know that is important to passengers and our neighbours too.

“We really appreciate our passengers’ patience while we do the work, and ask that they plan ahead and check the latest travel advice before starting their journeys.”

Last weekend (31 October to 1 November) engineers carried out track maintenance between Holton Heath and Wareham and between Upwey and Dorchester, vegetation was cut back around the railway in order to reduce instances of trees, branches and leaves falling on the railway in bad weather which can often lead to delays.