STARTING THIS WEEKEND: Staggered road and rail closures in Surrey and Hampshire as Network Rail start finishing touches on Farncombe to Petersfield signalling upgrade

Friday 26 Sep 2025

STARTING THIS WEEKEND: Staggered road and rail closures in Surrey and Hampshire as Network Rail start finishing touches on Farncombe to Petersfield signalling upgrade

Region & Route:: Southern: Wessex

A series of rail and road closures taking place at various times between 27 September and 13 November will affect rail users and drivers between Guildford and Portsmouth , as Network Rail engineers complete the final stage of the Portsmouth Direct signalling upgrade between Farncombe and Petersfield.

Following the upgrade, signalling control will be transferred to the Basingstoke Railway Operating Centre (ROC) to enable faster and more efficient train management. During the line closure, testing will begin on the 90 new signals and 17 new signalling equipment buildings that have been installed and constructed.

Between September and November, nine level crossings will be upgraded to make them safer for all road users, with new technology including Obstacle Detection (OD) and CCTV control being installed. CCTV means a signaller can check the crossing and lower the barriers when it is safe.

Changes to train services

Ahead of the new signals being commissioned, there will be line closures between Guildford and Havant over the next four weekends before a nine-day line closure at the end of October. The dates of these closures are:

Saturday 27 September to Sunday 28 September
Saturday 4 October to Sunday 5 October
Saturday 11 October to Sunday 12 October
Saturday 18 October to Sunday 19 October
Saturday 25 October to Sunday 2 November (9 day closure)

Passengers should check before they travel during these periods as services will be revised, taking longer than normal. Once this upgrade has been completed, passengers will benefit from more reliable railway.

Road closures

Drivers using level crossings between Farncombe and Liss should be aware of upcoming road closures as engineers carry out critical upgrades at nine level crossings to improve safety for road users and support a more efficient train service.

The improvements include:

Upgrading automatic half-barrier crossings to modern barriers with OD to improve safety.
Converting some crossings so they are monitored by CCTV or obstacle detection systems.
Updating footpath crossings with miniature stop lights for added safety.

To complete these improvements with as little disruption as possible, road closures will be carefully staggered across a six-week period. The first road closure is on Saturday 27 September at Liss Common Level Crossing, with the final works scheduled to finish on Thursday 13 November at Farncombe West.

Until the level crossings are fully operational, the safety of road and rail users will be ensured by dedicated staff on site 24/7.

Details of the closures are below:

Speaking on behalf of Network Rail and South Western Railway, Mark Goodall, Wessex Route Director, said: “We appreciate that there is never a good time to close the railway and we’re sorry for the disruption this will cause. However, these closures are essential to complete the vital upgrade of the Portsmouth Direct line. By carrying out the majority of work during the Autumn half-term - when fewer people travel – we can minimise disruption while delivering long-term benefits.

"Drivers in the area will need to plan ahead and will need to take alternative routes when the roads around level crossings are closed.”

Notes to Editors

These upgrades may result in slightly longer barrier downtimes but will significantly reduce the risk of accidents and injuries for pedestrians and drivers. The crossings that see increased barrier downtimes are:

Liss Common – An increase of two minutes, two seconds
Kings Fernsden – An increase of two minutes, 24 seconds
Princes Bridge – An increase of one minute, 38 seconds
Milford – An increase of one minute, 48 seconds
Petersfield – An increase of six seconds
Sheet – An increase of two minutes, 23 seconds

Contact information

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

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Tom Moore
Communications Manager
Network Rail
07354531500
Thomas.Moore@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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