Over the festive period, Network Rail’s teams of engineers missed the festivities and worked tirelessly to complete a wide range of critical railway upgrades across Network Rail’s Wessex route, which serves the towns and communities in part or all of the counties of Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire.
Surrey – South West Main Line upgrades
In the Woking area, engineers completed a two-week programme of upgrades on the South West Main Line at Brookwood, between Farnborough and Woking, including:
- Installing new switches and crossings – moveable sections of track and the equipment that guide trains from one track to another – at Pirbright Junction, where the line to Aldershot leaves the South West Main Line towards Basingstoke.
- Laying 3,000 metres of new conductor (third) rail, which powers the trains
- Installing over 100 new track panels (fixed sections of rails and sleepers) totalling approximately 2,000 metres of track
- Installing approximately 2,800 new sleepers and 9,450 tonnes of ballast (the stones that support the track)
- Laying over 5,000 metres of new electrification cabling
- Upgrading a number of track circuits and installing new heating equipment to help prevent the points – the equipment that allows trains to switch tracks – from freezing during the cold, winter months.
Engineers also carried out work to strengthen embankments in the area, reducing the chance of landslips while maintenance teams will be carrying out tamping – the compacting of the stones that support the tracks – between Hook and Farnborough.
Lymington Branch Line upgrades
Further south in Dorset, a two-week closure of the line between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier enabled engineers to complete vital improvements to the branch line.
Following the installation of new track on the line in late October, the bridge across the Lymington River between Lymington Town and Pier stations has been strengthened. Engineers also refurbished and repaired heavily corroded critical steel elements of Lymington Viaduct, carried out from pontoons and underslung scaffold. The wheel timbers, which support the track across the viaduct, have also been replaced.
During this time, the track that runs across Lymington Town Level Crossing was replaced while improvement works at Brockenhurst Level Crossing were completed as well as tamping – the compacting of ballast (the stones that support the track) - across the junctions at Brockenhurst station.
Mark Goodall, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said:
“The work our teams have completed over the past couple of weeks is critical for the continued safe and reliable running of the railway and I’d like to pay tribute to the many men and women who have worked so tirelessly and forgone spending festive time with family and friends to complete this work.
“We’re committed to running a high-performing, reliable and punctual railway and I’m delighted to welcome passengers back to an improved railway in 2025.”
Image credit: Network Rail
