STARTING SATURDAY: Vital engineering work in the Portsmouth area to close the railway for a week

Network Rail has issued the following press release about engineering works between Portsmouth, Havant and Fareham next week - affecting Southern Services along the coast .

From Saturday 15 to Friday 21 February 2025, parts of the railway between Portsmouth and Havant and Fareham will be closed and rail replacement buses will be in operation, while Network Rail completes critical engineering upgrades to the railway.

During the seven-day line closure, Network Rail engineers will be working around the clock to upgrade the railway in the Portsmouth area across a number of different worksites, including:

• At Portcreek Junction, engineers will lay 390m of new track and 450m of conductor rail (the part of the track that provides power to the trains), and replace two sets of points -moveable sections of track that allow trains to move from one line to another.
• At Landport Viaduct, which supports the trains at Portsmouth & Southsea station, the wheel timbers (long blocks that supports track across a bridge) will be replaced with a synthetic alternative (Fibre-reinforced Foamed Urethane) that will last 30 years longer than the current wooden versions and will require less maintenance.
• At Bedhampton, new track will be laid and ballast installed at the level crossing, which will also be given a fresh lick of paint.
• Between Quay Viaduct, Fareham and Portchester sub-station, a number of dead, diseased and dangerous trees will be removed to reduce leaf fall onto the railway and help keep trains running safely and on time.
• Fratton footbridge will be also refurbished to bring it up to modern loading standards, with scaffolding erected to allow engineers to work on the exterior elevations of the structure including painting the underside of the bridge.

These upgrades and specifically the replacement of new track will help reduce the need for temporary speed restrictions and boost the reliability of the railway in this area, making for smoother, quieter, more comfortable and reliable journeys for passengers in the future.

How will this work impact train services?

Saturday 15 – Tuesday 18 February: A rail replacement bus service will be running between Havant and Fareham and Havant and Portsmouth Harbour. Southern passengers can use South Western Railway trains between Fareham and Southampton Central. When these are not running in the early morning and late evening, Southern will run rail replacement buses between Havant and Southampton Central.

Saturday 15 – Friday 21 February: A rail replacement bus service will be running between Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour.

Passengers are advised to check with their train operator, South Western Railway, Great Western Railway or Southern, for more information about rail replacement services.

Mark Goodall, Network Rail’s Wessex Route Director, said: “There’s never a good time to close the railway but the February half-term will see fewer passengers using our services.

"Our engineers will be working across a number of worksites to complete a range of really important upgrades that, once complete, will make for more reliable and enjoyable journeys for the many passengers who travel on this busy and critical part of the rail network.

“I’d like to apologise to any passengers impacted by this work and thank them for bearing with us while we carry out these vital improvements to our railway.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Service Director at Southern, said: “Please be sure to plan ahead and allow plenty of extra time for your journey if you’re travelling west of Havant with Southern this February half term. We have all the information on our website southernrailway.com.”

Peter Williams, Customer and Commercial Director for South Western Railway said: “We’re recommending that customers check before travelling if they are using our services in the Portsmouth area, as rail replacement buses will run from Fareham and Havant, and also between Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour.

“We’re sorry for the disruption, however, the work our colleagues at Network Rail will carry out during these closures will result in a more reliable railway and smoother journeys.”