Network Rail – Haslemere to Havant Line Closure- Saturday 22nd to Sunday 30th October

Between Saturday 22 and Sunday 30 October, Network Rail will be carrying out a large programme of work on the line between Haslemere and Havant, as part of the Portsmouth Direct Upgrade.
Between Monday and Friday, the line will be closed between Haslemere and Havant, extending to Guildford on weekends. South Western Railway will be running rail replacement bus services throughout and there will also be minor adjustments to timetables.  Full information can be found on this webpage.

The focus of the closure is to allow engineers to continue the Farncombe to Petersfield resignalling
programme (F2P), which will introduce a modern, digital signalling system to replace the 1970s system in use today. Engineers will be working around Petersfield, Princes Bridge and Sheet level crossings, as well as at Haslemere station.

Also at Petersfield, a set of switches and crossings, which allow trains to move from one track to another, will be upgraded. This, along with the new signalling, will allow trains to travel on this section of the line at faster speeds, bringing both faster and more reliable journeys.

At Witley a team will be working to install a retaining wall at a vulnerable railway cutting. This will help prevent landslips that could force the line to close. At Rowlands Castle we will be carefully restoring the waiting shelter on platform two, to give passengers a better station experience.

Finally, making the most of the uninterrupted access to the railway, we will also carry out routine
maintenance such as track refurbishment and replacement, drainage improvements, vegetation
management and conductor rail renewals (to improve power supplies for trains), to improve reliability.