Plan ahead – engineering work in London and Portsmouth affects South Western Railway services

On both Sunday 2 & Sunday 9 Feb, Network Rail engineers will finish work to renew approximately 800 metres of track, ballast, & sleepers between Wimbledon & Earlsfield. Journeys between London Waterloo, Exeter, Portsmouth & Weymouth will all be affected.

• Services on the South Western Railway network will be revised and diverted due to engineering work on Sunday 2 and Sunday 9 February
• Journeys between London Waterloo, Exeter, Portsmouth and Weymouth will all be affected, taking longer than usual
• Customers should plan ahead at southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey and allow extra time to complete their journeys

SOUTH Western Railway is advising customers to plan ahead of Sunday 2 and Sunday 9 February.

Engineers will complete maintenance in the Wimbledon area, affecting services across the SWR network. Services between London Waterloo, Exeter, Portsmouth and Weymouth, will take longer than usual as trains will be diverted.

On both Sunday 2 and Sunday 9, Network Rail engineers will finish work to renew approximately 800 metres of track, ballast, and sleepers between Wimbledon and Earlsfield.

They will also replace points (moveable sections of track that allow trains to move from one line to another) and install 100 meters of conductor rail, which powers trains.

When complete, the work will improve the reliability of the track in the area. It will also reduce the number of faults caused by rail and wheel wear and provide customers with a smoother ride as the layout of the track is improved.

Separately, engineering work in Portsmouth on Sunday 9 will mean further changes to train services.

Services on both Sunday 2 and Sunday 9 will be amended as follows:

• London Waterloo to Weymouth services will be revised and diverted, taking approximately 30 minutes longer.
• London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids services will be revised and diverted, taking approximately 30 minutes longer. Some services will start from Basingstoke.
• London Waterloo to Alton services, and stopping services to Basingstoke, will start from Woking and will run hourly.

On Sunday 2 only:

• London Waterloo to Poole and Portsmouth Harbour services will run to Poole only. These services will be diverted, taking approximately 30 minutes longer, and will call additionally at Farnborough.
• A revised service will run between Eastleigh and Portsmouth Harbour.
• London Waterloo to Portsmouth via Guildford services will be revised and diverted, taking approximately 30 minutes longer. Some services will start from Woking.

On Sunday 9 only:

• London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh services will be diverted, taking approximately 30 minutes longer, and will be replaced by buses between Fareham and Portsmouth.
• London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour via Guildford services will be diverted, taking approximately 30 minutes longer, and will be replaced by buses between Havant and Portsmouth.

Services on SWR’s suburban network will also be affected and many will be replaced by buses. Customers should check at southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey.

Peter Williams, South Western Railway’s Customer and Commercial Director, said:

“We’re once again advising customers to plan ahead, this time if they’re intending to travel on our services on Sunday 2 and Sunday 9 February.

“With engineering work continuing in the Wimbledon area, and a closure in the Portsmouth area, many of our services will be revised, diverted or replaced by buses.

“When this vital maintenance is completed, our customers can expect better journeys and a more reliable railway. We appreciate our customers’ patience and once again would like to encourage them to check before travelling.”

Mark Goodall, Network Rail’s Wessex Route Director, said:

“There’s never a good time to close the railway, and I’m sorry we are impacting passengers over consecutive Sundays.

“We always try and find the least disruptive window to deliver these essential engineering works. Completing these upgrades back-to-back is the most efficient and cost-effective option for the taxpayer.

“If you're planning to travel on these Sundays, please plan ahead and check your journey at www.nationalrail.co.uk or with South Western Railway for the latest journey information and travel advice.

“We would like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out these vital improvement works.”