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Friday 20 Dec 2024

STARTING MONDAY: Lymington Branch Line to close for two weeks for vital pier improvements

Region & Route:

Southern: Wessex

| Southern

Buses replace trains between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier from Sunday 22 December with trains returning to service on Monday 6 January 2025

The line between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier will be closed for the second phase of our work on the line over the festive period. Buses will replace trains between Brockenhurst and Lymington between Sunday 22 December and Sunday 5 January.

Following the successful re-railing done on the line in late October, we will be strengthening the bridge across the Lymington River between Lymington Town and Pier stations. We will also be refurbishing, strengthening, and repair works to heavily corroded critical steel elements of Lymington Viaduct carried out from pontoons and underslung scaffold. The wheel timbers, which support the track across the viaduct, will also be replaced.

Engineers will also be re-railing the line over Lymington Town Level Crossing. This means that, on Sunday 29 December, the level crossing will be closed to road traffic. A temporary bridge will be built near the level crossing for passengers. South Western Railway’s rail replacement service will call at Lymington Town in the Brockenhurst direction only. A shuttle bus will run between Lymington Town and Lymington Pier.

On Christmas Day and Boxing Day only, when no passenger services are running, Network Rail staff will carry out improvement works at Brockenhurst Level Crossing and also tamping, condensing the ballast underneath the tracks, across the junctions at Brockenhurst station.

Mark Goodall, Wessex Route Director for Network Rail, said: “We appreciate that there is never a good time to close the railway, however the statistics show that fewer people travel during the festive period. Once this work is completed, passengers using the branch line will benefit from smoother and more reliable journeys. We have been working closely with South Western Railway and Wightlink to ensure passengers travelling between Lymington and Newport, on the Isle of Wight will have minimum disruption during this period.”