Easter rail works affect Weymouth routes

Train passengers travelling between Weymouth and London Waterloo will face disruption over the Easter weekend. Engineering work in the Eastleigh area means services usually running via Brockenhurst will be diverted. The changes run from Good Friday through to Easter Monday. Replacement buses will operate between Winchester and Southampton Central while the line is closed. Rail engineers say the work is needed to maintain track equipment and improve reliability on a busy route.

Train passengers travelling between Weymouth and London Waterloo will face disruption across the Easter weekend.

Engineering work in the Eastleigh area means services that normally travel via Brockenhurst will be diverted from Good Friday until Easter Monday, adding extra time to journeys on the route between Dorset and the capital.

The railway line between Winchester and St Denys will be closed while the work takes place, with buses replacing trains between Winchester and Southampton Central during the four days.

Network Rail says the work is needed because the route carries around 3500 trains every week and requires regular maintenance to keep services running safely and reliably.

Engineers will inspect the line and carry out work on switches and crossings to help prevent failures in a key part of the network.

Further work will include tamping and stoneblowing, which lifts the track and adjusts ballast beneath it to maintain correct alignment.

George Murrell from Network Rail and South Western Railway said the improvements will help deliver “better journeys for customers and a more reliable railway for freight.”