Easter upgrade work for Guildford rail passengers

Network Rail has announced that it will be carrying a large amount of upgrade work over the Easter period in Guildford area

The work will provide a more reliable railway for years to come.

The junction at Guildford last had an upgrade in the 1980s, however, engineers will be installing nearly a mile of track to deal with today's demand.

To provide power to trains, more than a mile of conductor rail will be installed whilst 41 track circuits will be upgraded – these tell the signalmen where the train is.

This project has taken more than two years to plan and will take 12,000 man-hours to complete.

Between Friday 10 and Sunday 19 April, services by South Western Railway, Great Western Railway, CrossCountry and Southern are affected as follows:

• SWR services between Woking/Guildford and Haslemere will be replaced by buses
• SWR services between Guildford and Aldershot will be replaced by buses
• GWR services between Reading and Gatwick Airport will only run between Reading and Ash, with buses replacing services between North Camp and Guildford/Gatwick Airport
• CrossCountry services between Newcastle and Guildford will terminate at Reading
• Southern services for Guildford will start and finish at Epsom, with passengers required to transfer to SWR services to travel on to Guildford
• SWR will run a limited service between London Waterloo and Guildford, via Cobham & Stoke D' Abernon, from Tuesday 14 April.

Passengers are advised to plan ahead and check before travelling as trains are subject to change and may take longer to complete.

What did the officials say?

Mark Killick, Network Rail Wessex route director, said:

“We would like to encourage passengers who travel through Guildford to plan ahead and check before they travel, as there will be a very limited number of services between Friday 10 and Sunday 19 April.

“We apologise for the disruption that our improvements will cause however this work is vital if we are to improve both the railway and train services in the area. Closing the line for 10 days will allow us to carry out much more work compared to a series of more limited weekend closures, which could take months.”

Alan Penlington, South Western Railway Customer Experience Director, said:

“These crucial works will increase the reliability of train services that travel through Guildford and help reduce disruption in the future. I realise there is never a convenient time to close the railway, but Network Rail has chosen to carry out these works over the Easter holidays when passenger demand is typically lower.”

“I really appreciate the patience of our customers whilst the improvement works are carried out and I urge anyone who is traveling via Guildford over the Easter period to check before they travel.”

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