"It is a really exciting time" - A behind the scenes look as Network Rail begin £120million re-signalling phase at Havant
Network Rail has begun a £120 million upgrade on an “underperforming route” in Hampshire as it looks to provide passengers with more reliable services.
The re-signalling work is a part of the project to upgrade the Portsmouth Direct Line, a main corridor into London Waterloo which is also part of the Wessex route covering much of the south and south-east. It follows on from last year’s £129 million pound upgrade work to re-signal between Farncombe and Petersfield.
While this is the first blockade closure for the works, more will be required to complete the upgrade which is expected to run from 2026 until 2028.
Tom McNamee, infrastructure director for South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex, said: “It’s an exciting time to be part of the railway. We are investing a huge amount of money to bring track and trade together on the Portsmouth Direct Line.
“We are doing two major re-signalling projects which we are about half way through. We finished Farncombe to Petersfield last year and now we are moving on to updating the signalling at Havant which goes all the way down to Portsmouth.
“It is going to take us a few years to deliver that scheme and we expect to commission that in about 2028. Overall, we expect to spend a quarter of a billion pounds on the Portsmouth Direct Line so we do ask passengers to bear with us.
“We appreciate that the line has not been performing as well as it should, it is improving but we still need some further access to complete the re-signalling scheme and deliver a holistic railway that is better performing and has a longer life.”
The upgrade has been moved forward by Network Rail due to the signalling at Havant being deemed “obsolete” making it incredibly difficult to maintain and leading to disruption. Once complete the railway company states a “more reliable and modern system” will be in place for customers.
Just as happened in Haslemere, Farncombe and Petersfield as part of last year’s upgrade, signalling at Havant will be moved to the Basingstoke Rail Operating Centre. Signallers from across the network will be based in the same office and work together with the view that it will be more efficient and cohesive.
While the Havant re-signalling scheme is in its infancy, the closure has allowed numerous other vital improvement works to take place across the five-mile stretch of track.
The News was invited to Portsmouth & Southsea Railway Station on Monday, March 30 to have a look behind the scenes at the work, with Network Rail revealing how important it was for the future of the vital rail link connecting the city to other parts of the country, including London.
Jeff Rose, blockade director for South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex, said : “We are carrying out a huge amount of work in the time that we have. At Portsmouth & Southsea we are changing wheel timbers which are all life expired and we are putting in new composite timbers which have a fifty year life-span.”
The same work is taking place at St George’s Road just outside Portsmouth Harbour station while repairs to cable troughing between Farlington and Cosham and tamping work throughout the area are also underway.
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Ports Creek railway viaduct is crucial in services running smoothly into the city, but having been constructed in 1897, it is in need of maintenance.
Jeff said “At Ports Creek there is a bridge which everything has to come over and that bridge is very old. With the salt from the sea and electricity passing over it there is degradation to the steelwork so we are carrying out repairs to ensure services can continue running into Portsmouth.
“We are doing all that work in six days so there is lots of work going on.”
The disruption over the Easter half time may be met with frustration by some passengers, however the timing of the closure is carefully considered to ensure the fewest amount of people are affected.
Tom McNamee said: “It is never a popular time to close the railway so we try and close it when it causes disruption to the fewest people. It is half term at the moment and we do apologise for the disruption but in terms of footfall, this is a commuter route, and more people take leave on a half term so there are fewer people commuting.”
The track between Havant, Portsmouth and Fareham is scheduled to open on Friday, April 3 with more blockade closures expected as the re-signalling project continues.
Tom added: “Please bear with us while we undertake these works, we appreciate it can be frustrating but it is a really exciting time to be here and we will be delivering a much higher performing railway for customers in the very near future.”