Critical engineering work means that trains around Woking will be seriously disrupted throughout the end of December and into the new year. Key upgrade work at Brookwood, between Farnborough and Woking, will mean significantly longer journeys over the festive period.
Network Rail is encouraging passengers to plan ahead as upgrades from Monday, December 23, 2024 until Monday, January 6, 2025, mean train services will be revised.
Over this period, engineers are completing a range of upgrades which will require workers to use a variety of specialist equipment including 19 engineering trains, two tampers and a rail-mounted crane.
The work includes:
Laying 3,000 metres of new conductor (third) rail, which powers the trains
Installing more than 100 new track panels (fixed sections of rails and sleepers) which will be around 2,000 metres of track
Laying more than 5,000 metres of new electrification cabling
Upgrading a number of track circuits and installing new heating equipment to help prevent the points – the equipment that allows trains to switch tracks – from freezing during the cold, winter months.
Engineers will also be carrying out work to strengthen embankments in the area, reducing the chance of landslips and also to improve drainage between Brookwood and Farnbrough by installing new pipes into the embankments.
This work means that SWR services will be altered or diverted and some journey times will be significantly longer. Rail replacement buses will be:
Monday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 24 – Farnborough to Woking
Friday, December 27 to Friday, January 3 January – Farnborough to Woking
Sunday, January 5:
Aldershot to Weybridge
Basingstoke to Weybridge
Andover to Woking
Winchester to Woking
Weybridge to Guildford
Journeys between London Waterloo and Southampton Central, Poole and Weymouth will be diverted via Guildford, so will take around 45 minutes longer. There will also be no direct services between London Waterloo, Salisbury and Exeter St Davids.
Services between London Waterloo and Alton, Guildford and Farnham, and London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour via Basingstoke will also be affected.
There will be no train or bus services on the SWR network on Wednesday, December 25 (Christmas Day) and Thursday, December 26 (Boxing Day).
Mark Goodall, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said: “We’re urging passengers to plan ahead and check before they travel over the festive period while we carry out these essential improvements to the railway.
“Our teams will be working around the clock to upgrade the railway for the long-term benefit of our passengers, which once complete, will mean smoother and more reliable journeys.
“We know there is never a good time to close the railway. However, the festive period presents us with an opportune time to complete more complex upgrades such as these, as fewer passengers are travelling and the railway is closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
“I would like to thank passengers in advance for their patience and understanding while we complete this work.”
Peter Williams, South Western Railway’s customer and commercial director, said: “It’s important that customers plan their journeys in advance and check before they travel over the Christmas and New Year’s period.
“There will be significant changes to train services that travel between Woking, Farnborough and Basingstoke, changing as engineering work progresses. Rail replacement buses will operate, train services will be diverted or altered, and journeys will take significantly longer. We’re sorry for the disruption this will cause and are very grateful for our customers’ patience.”
