Portsmouth railway passengers warned as South Western Railway plan to reduce services for urgent landslip repairs

South Western Railway is advising customers that a severely reduced service will run between Woking and Basingstoke from Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 December as landslip repairs in Brookwood continue. Services from London Waterloo to Basingstoke, Exeter, Portsmouth via Basingstoke, Salisbury and Southampton will all be affected.

Customers are asked to plan their journeys carefully using journey planners, which will be up to date by Saturday, December 23.

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Network Rail engineers will once again require access to two of the four tracks between Woking and Brookwood to repair a landslip that occurred in late November. With only two tracks available, services between Woking and Basingstoke will be severely reduced. On all three days, some of the first services from London Waterloo through Woking and Basingstoke will start later each day, at around 7am.

Customers whose trains run between Woking and Basingstoke are asked to only travel if absolutely necessary between Wednesday 27 and Friday 29 December. If customers must travel, they should check their journeys carefully using journey planners, which will be up to date by Saturday 23 December.

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s chief operating officer, said: “This is a complex repair that our colleagues at Network Rail have been working hard to complete. To make more progress, they will once again require access to two of the four tracks in the area which, while disruptive, is the best option available.

“As we will only have half the number of tracks available, we will need to reduce our services as we did some weeks ago. Our advice to customers is that, if their trains run between Woking and Basingstoke, they should only travel if absolutely necessary.

“Services to Basingstoke, Southampton, Portsmouth via Basingstoke, Salisbury and Exeter St David’s will all be affected. Please check very carefully if you do have to travel. We’re very sorry for the continued disruption and appreciate our customers’ patience.”

Services to and from London Waterloo on Wednesday 27, Thursday 28 and Friday 29 December will run as follows:

Wednesday 27 December:

London Waterloo to Alton: There will be no direct service between London and Alton. Instead, services between Farnham and Guilford will be extended to Alton. Customers travelling between London and Alton will need to change at Guildford.

Brookwood: This station will not be served by trains travelling from London. Customers will need to travel to Woking and change for a rail replacement bus service that will call at Brookwood, Farnborough (Main), Ash Vale and Aldershot.

London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids: Services will run once per hour in each direction and depart London Waterloo earlier than usual

London Waterloo to Southampton Airport Parkway: Services will run once per hour in each direction and depart London Waterloo earlier than usual

London Waterloo-Portsmouth Harbour via Basingstoke: Services to London Waterloo will terminate at Farnborough. Services from London Waterloo will start at Basingstoke.

London Waterloo to Basingstoke (stopping services): Services will run once per hour in each direction and depart London Waterloo earlier than usual

Thursday 28 and Friday 29 December:

London Waterloo to Alton: There will be no direct service between London and Alton. Instead, services between Farnham and Guilford will be extended to Alton. Customers travelling between London and Alton will need to change at Guildford.

Brookwood: This station will not be served by trains travelling FROM London. Customers will need to travel to Woking and change for a rail replacement bus service that will call at Brookwood, Farnborough (Main), Ash Vale and Aldershot

London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids: Services will run once per hour in each direction and depart London Waterloo earlier than usual

London Waterloo to Salisbury: Services will run between Basingstoke and Salisbury only. Customers for London should change at Basingstoke.

London Waterloo to Southampton Airport Parkway: Services will run once per hour in each direction and depart London Waterloo earlier than usual

London Waterloo-Portsmouth Harbour via Basingstoke: Services to London Waterloo will terminate at Farnborough. Services from London Waterloo will start at Basingstoke.

London Waterloo to Basingstoke (stopping services): Services will run once per hour in each direction and depart London Waterloo earlier than usual

Engineering work is also set to take place in the Southampton area, affecting services to Brockenhurst, Poole, Weymouth and Salisbury and Romsey via Eastleigh. Customers in these areas should check before travelling. On the rest of the network, a Saturday timetable will operate.