£8 million rail upgrade work to cause travel disruption in the Southampton area

£8 million rail upgrade work to cause travel disruption in the Southampton area

Tuesday 19th December 2017

Passengers travelling through Southampton this month reminded to check before travelling ahead of £8 million upgrade work.

South Western Railway passengers have been reminded to plan their journeys in advance from this Sunday (December 10) as Network Rail prepares to deliver an £8 million investment into the railway in the Southampton area.

Services through Southampton will be disrupted both this Sunday and next Sunday (December 17) as preparatory work takes place to allow for the safe and efficient delivery of the project.

From December 24 until January 1, Network Rail will be carrying out track engineering work in Southampton at Mount Pleasant Road next to the River Itchen, with all journeys through the Southampton area affected, including between London and Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth. Passengers can plan journeys in advance at Plan My Journey

The work will mean more reliable journeys for passengers in and out of Southampton, and quieter tracks for lineside neighbours near Northam Junction. It forms part of Network Rail’s biggest-ever Christmas investment in Britain’s rail infrastructure, with more than £160 million being spent nationwide.

Chris Loder, Head of Service Strategy for South Western Railway, said:
“We encourage passengers to check our website before they travel ahead of Network Rail’s preparatory works this Sunday 10 December and on Sunday 17 December. Buses will replace trains on many services in the Southampton area.

“We also encourage passengers to avoid travelling on Christmas Eve if they can and to be prepared for longer journey times between Christmas and New Year. We’re doing all we can to minimise disruption and make sure we get all our passengers to their destination over the festive period.”

Jason Bridges, Chief Operating Officer for Network Rail’s Wessex route, said:
“This vital work will improve the railway through Southampton. We appreciate there is never a good time to carry out work which disrupts passengers and we have worked closely with our colleagues at South Western Railway to keep disruption to a minimum and make information for passengers as clear as possible.

“Southampton is a critical part of our network, and by keeping the infrastructure safe and reliable we are meeting the needs of the communities our railway serves, both now and in the future.”