TWO WEEKS TO GO: Network Rail begins next phase of upgrades on Portsmouth Direct Line

Network Rail has issued the following press release about signalling and track upgrades which will affect Southern services to and from Portsmouth.

Network Rail is continuing its major investment in the Portsmouth Direct Line and will carry out the next phase of signalling and track upgrades later this month. While this work takes place, buses will replace trains between Havant, Fareham and Portsmouth Harbour from Saturday 28 March to Thursday 2 April.

This latest phase will see an additional £120 million investment on the Portsmouth Direct Line, a multi-year programme to modernise the railway along this route. Once the full programme is completed in 2028, signalling will transfer from the Havant Area Signalling Centre and will be controlled from the Basingstoke Rail Operating Centre. This change will improve communication between signallers and enable a faster response to incidents, helping to deliver a more reliable railway.

The work follows the successful completion of the first phase in 2025, which invested £129 million to upgrade signalling between Farncombe and Petersfield to improve reliability and safety of services between London and Portsmouth.

What work is taking place during the line closure

Network Rail is upgrading the signalling system and strengthening critical pieces of infrastructure in the Havant and Portsmouth area.

During the six-day line closure engineers will carry out a range of improvements including:

• Repairs to cable troughing between Farlington and Cosham to better protect signalling equipment
• Structural repairs to Portcreek Viaduct, which connects the mainland with Portsmouth on the Isle of Portsea
• Renewing 48 wheel timbers, the long blocks which support the tracks, through Platform 2 at Portsmouth & Southsea station
• Replacing a further 14 wheel timbers outside Portsmouth Harbour station
• Tamping work, using a machine which lifts and moves the track, to improve the alignment through the Portsmouth area

In total, engineers will carry out around 1,378 hours of work during the line closure.

Changes to train services

During the works, train services will change as follows:

South Western Railway trains to and from Portsmouth Harbour will start or end at Havant or Fareham.

Southern trains to and from Portsmouth Harbour will start or end at Havant. Services to Portsmouth & Southsea will go to Bognor Regis instead. Southern trains between Brighton and Southampton will run as normal.

Great Western Railway trains to and from Portsmouth Harbour will start or end at Fareham.

Replacement buses will run as follows:

• five buses per hour between Havant and Portsmouth Harbour, calling at Bedhampton, Hilsea, Fratton and Portsmouth & Southsea
• two buses per hour between Fareham and Portsmouth Harbour, calling at Portchester, Cosham, Hilsea, Fratton and Portsmouth & Southsea

Tom McNamee, Infrastructure Director, speaking on behalf of Network Rail and South Western Railway, said: “Following the successful completion of the first phase of upgrades last year, we are now starting the next stage of modernising signalling on the Portsmouth Direct Line.

“Some of the signalling equipment in the Havant area is ageing and is increasingly prone to faults. Replacing it with modern technology will improve reliability and help reduce delays for passengers travelling to and from the south coast.

“Some of this work can only take place when trains are not running, so access is carefully planned to complete as much of the improvements as possible while minimising disruption.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Further line closures are planned around the late May Bank Holiday, with engineers returning again later in the autumn. More details will be announced closer to the time.

More information about the Portsmouth Direct Line upgrade can be found at: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/our-work/our-routes/wessex/portsmouth-direct-upgrade/