Great Western Railway services will be affected by important rail improvement works taking place in the Southampton area at Easter.
Network Rail plans to stabilise embankments and carry out track upgrades between Southampton Central and Fareham, as well as carrying out other essential maintenance.
These works will impact train services from Saturday 12 to Sunday 20 April (Easter Sunday):
- GWR trains for Portsmouth Harbour will use an alternative route between Romsey and Fareham on all dates – stopping at Eastleigh instead of Southampton Central
- SWR trains can still run between Eastleigh and Southampton Central from Monday 14 to Saturday 19 April
- SWR trains can also run between Romsey and Southampton Central on Saturday 12 April, plus Monday 14 to Saturday 19 April
- Buses replace trains between Southampton Central and Fareham on all dates
- Replacement buses are planned between Southampton Central and Eastleigh on the weekend of 12/13 April, plus Sunday 20 April
- Replacement buses are also planned between Southampton Central and Romsey on Sunday 13 April, plus the weekend of 19/20 April
Jordan Welsby, GWR Station Manager for Westbury, said:
“This improvement work forms part of an ongoing programme of investment, helping to ensure we continue to provide consistent and reliable services.
“GWR trains will continue to operate between Portsmouth Harbour and Bristol Temple Meads or Cardiff Central by using an alternative route instead.
“Replacement bus services will be provided when trains are not running to or from any stations affected.
“It’s important that customers are aware these alternative travel arrangements may make journey times much longer, so please plan ahead.”
Mark Goodall, Wessex Route Director for Network Rail, said:
“We understand that shutting down such a large stretch of railway along the south coast will cause disruptions, and we sincerely apologise to passengers for any inconvenience.
“Traditionally, the school holidays see fewer people using the railway, so it is better for the passenger and taxpayer to close the line to make these improvements over the course of nine days, rather than have several weekend closures.
“During this time, we encourage passengers to plan ahead and check before you travel.”
Further engineering work is planned in the Southampton area on Sunday 27 April.
For the latest information, visit GWR.com/Wessex
Image credit: GWR
