"Prepare for half term disruption" with railway closures planned on Portsmouth to London Waterloo line for essential works

During the half-term holiday, Network Rail engineers will be working on the railway between Petersfield and Havant, with additional impacts to services to and from Portsmouth Harbour and Guildford on alternative weekends.

Works include drainage improvements to help protect the railway from flooding, track renewals, signalling, power and telecoms work and some follow up work needed after the recent Farncombe to Petersfield signalling upgrade.

How journeys will be affected

Throughout the closure:

• the railway will be closed between Petersfield and Havant from Saturday 14 to Sunday 22 February.
• the closure extends between Havant and Portsmouth Harbour on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 February only).
• services will not run between Guildford and Havant from Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February.

During these dates buses will replace trains between these stations and journey times may be longer than usual.

Following the completion of the February half-term works, Network Rail will return in Spring to continue planned improvements to key parts of the railway in the Portsmouth area, with woks pencilled in to take place at the end of March and in May.

Tom McNamee, Infrastructure Director for Network Rail Wessex and South Western Railway said: “We’re continuing to invest in maintaining and renewing the Portsmouth Direct Line to support a safer and more reliable railway. This work builds on improvements already delivered and forms part of a longer programme of activity across the route.

We know there is never a good time to close the railway, and we’re sorry for the disruption this will cause. By carrying out this work during the school half-term, when passenger numbers are typically lower, we can complete a significant amount of essential work more efficiently and reduce the need for repeated closures later on.”