Repair works to affect trains to London between Christmas and New Year

SOUTH Western Railway is advising customers that a severely reduced service will run between Woking and Basingstoke from Wednesday, 27th to Friday, 29th December. 

Network Rail engineers will once again require access to two of the four tracks between Woking and Brookwood to repair a landslip that occurred in late November. 

With only two tracks available, services between Woking and Basingstoke will be severely reduced. On all three days, some of the first services from London Waterloo through Woking and Basingstoke will start later each day, at around 7 am. 

Customers whose trains run between Woking and Basingstoke are asked to only travel if absolutely necessary between Wednesday 27 and Friday 29 December. 

If customers must travel, they should check their journeys carefully using journey planners, which will be up to date by Saturday 23 December. 

Services to and from London Waterloo on Wednesday 27, Thursday 28 and Friday 29 December will run as follows: 

Wednesday 27 December: 

• London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids (Via Salisbury): Services will run once per hour in each direction and depart London Waterloo earlier than usual 

Thursday 28 and Friday 29 December: 

• London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids (via Salisbury): Services will run once per hour in each direction and depart London Waterloo earlier than usual 
• London Waterloo to Salisbury: Services will run between Basingstoke and Salisbury only. Customers for London should change at Basingstoke.  

Engineering work is also set to take place in the Southampton area, affecting services to Brockenhurst, Poole, Weymouth and Salisbury and Romsey via Eastleigh. Customers in these areas should check before travelling. 

On the rest of the network, a Saturday timetable will operate. 

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “This is a complex repair that our colleagues at Network Rail have been working hard to complete. To make more progress, they will once again require access to two of the four tracks in the area which, while disruptive, is the best option available. 

“As we will only have half the number of tracks available, we will need to reduce our services as we did some weeks ago. Our advice to customers is that, if their trains run between Woking and Basingstoke, they should only travel if absolutely necessary. 

“Services to Basingstoke, Southampton, Portsmouth via Basingstoke, Salisbury and Exeter St David’s will all be affected. Please check very carefully if you do have to travel. We’re very sorry for the continued disruption and appreciate our customers’ patience.”