Work by Network Rail to upgrade old signalling systems in order to bring them in line with modern standards will be ongoing this February half term. The ongoing work will see a dual railway closure for 9 days from Saturday the 11th to Sunday the 19th of February. Whilst the closure is underway, rail replacement buses will be in operation from Staines to Windsor & Eton Riverside. During the latter weekend, rail replacement buses will also run from Hounslow to Virginia Water.
From Monday the 13th to Friday the 17th of February, a midweek rail closure will also take place between Reading and Bracknell and Reading and Guilford simultaneously.
Mark Killick, Network Rail's Wessex route director, said: “It's really great to see phase three and four of this huge resignalling project taking place. The current signalling system dates back to the early 1970s and during a long-term programme, we've been modernising it to improve reliability across the Southern region.
“We're aware that the Wessex route can sometimes be one of the worst affected in terms of signalling issues and completing this work will help prevent those incidents and will allow us to increase capacity for trains with fewer delays, improved safety and lower running costs.
“We'd like to thank customers for their patience and bearing with us.”
Whilst the rail closure is underway the following work will also take place:
- Painting of the canopies at Windsor & Eton Riverside
- Renewal of the footbridge at Ashford station
- Renewal of Star Lane Level Crossing
- Vegetation clearance along the line including litter clearance
- Surveying of the railway infrastructure.
Passengers are advised to check their travel plans ahead of making a journey by visiting nationalrail.co.uk
Christian Neill, South Western Railway's service delivery director, said: “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by these closures, but these works are essential for the maintenance and improvement of the railway, and customers can look forward to more reliable services once this new signalling system is fully delivered. We advise customers to check before travelling and to allow extra time to complete their journeys using the rail replacement buses that will be operating.”
Steven Hawker, Great Western Railway's station manager for the North Downs Line, said: “These works are essential to maintaining and improving the railway and while it has been timed for half-term to interrupt as few customers as possible, we thank our customers for their patience during this time.
“Great Western Railway services between Reading and Gatwick Airport will be affected from Monday 13 to Friday 17 February as well as Sunday 19 February, so we encourage passengers to check their journey beforehand.”
The work being carried out comes as part of a £375m programme which began in 2021 and will cover 80 miles of railway and 500 pieces of signalling equipment. Follow-up work will be ongoing for stage five of the project which is set to be finalised in early 2024.
