Train services between Portsmouth and Havant and Fareham will be severely disrupted for one week in February whilst Network Rail carries out vital engineering work in the area.

The closure will take place from Saturday, 15th to Friday, 21st February 2025, with rail-replacement bus services providing alternative services.

Work will take place at several sites, including:

• At Portcreek Junction engineers will install 390m of new track, 450m of conductor rails, and two sets of points.
• At Landport Viaduct, engineers will lay new wheel timbers on the railway bridge trains cross to reach Portsmouth & Southsea station. The new timbers will be replaced with ones made out of fibre-reinforced foamed urethane, and are predicted to last 30 years longer than the old wooden ones. Work to strengthen the viaduct took place in January 2022.
• New track and ballast will be installed at Bedhampton level crossing, which will also be repainted.
• Between Quay Viaduct, Fareham, and Portchester sub-station, dead, diseased and dangerous trees will be removed to reduce the risk of leaves falling onto the line.
• Fratton footbridge will be refurbished, with engineers working on the exterior of the bridge and repainting its underside.

The upgrades, and in particular the installation of new track, will help avoid the need for temporary speed restrictions and improve the reliability of train services in the area.

Effect on train services

Saturday, 15th to Tuesday, 18th February

• Rail-replacement bus services will operate between Havant and Fareham and Havant and Portsmouth Harbour.
• Southern passengers can use South Western Railway trains between Fareham and Southampton Central.
• Early mornings and late evenings, when South Western Railway trains are not running, rail-replacement buses will run between Havant and Southampton Central.

Saturday, 15th to Friday, 21st February

• Rail-replacement bus services will operate between Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour.

Further information about rail replacement services can be obtained from South Western Railway, Great Western Railway, and Southern websites.

“There’s never a good time to close the railway but the February half-term will see fewer passengers using our services. Our engineers will be working across a number of worksites to complete a range of really important upgrades that, once complete, will make for more reliable and enjoyable journeys for the many passengers who travel on this busy and critical part of the rail network. I’d like to apologise to any passengers impacted by this work and thank them for bearing with us while we carry out these vital improvements to our railway.”