Over the early-May bank holiday weekend of Sunday, 4th and Monday, 5th May, train services in Hampshire through the Basingstoke area will be severely disrupted because of essential engineering work.

Throughout the weekend, there will be no trains through Basingstoke, with rail-replacement buses in operation instead.

During the closure, engineers will replace the track through Platform 4 at Basingstoke station and between Fleet and Farnborough stations, and install a new third ‘electric’ rail at Farnborough.

Other work will take place between Winchester and Worting Junction, where engineers will test and commission new power cables, and replace track and stabilise an embankment in the Bramley area.

Train service alterations

• Rail replacement buses will run between Woking and Winchester/Andover.
• Train services from London Waterloo to Weymouth will be diverted via Guildford and Havant, and other long-distance South Western Railway services will start from Winchester/Eastleigh.
• South Western Railway services from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids will start and terminate at Andover.
• There will be extra fast services between London Waterloo and Woking.
• There will be no stopping services to/from Basingstoke.
• Great Western Railway services between Reading and Basingstoke will be replaced by buses.
• CrossCountry services will be diverted via Guildford and Havant

Work will also take place in the London Area on Sunday, 4th May

• Buses will replace train services between Surbiton/Leatherhead and Guildford, and between New Malden and Shepperton/Twickenham.
• Queenstown Road (Battersea) station will be closed for track maintenance.

Last year, the line between Reading and Gatwick Airport closed for nine days for signal upgrade work, and the line between Woking and Basingstoke was badly affected by a landslip.

“We appreciate that these closures, especially in an area such as Basingstoke, are incredibly inconvenient to passengers and we apologise for the inconvenience this will cause. Generally, we see lower passenger numbers over Bank Holiday Weekends, which is why we complete this work at times like these. I encourage passengers to check with their train operator before they travel and please plan ahead.”

Mark Goodall, Wessex Route Director for Network Rail