SOUTH Western Railway (SWR) is advising customers not to travel between Southampton and Basingstoke on Wednesday 10 May following a landslip.
Shortly after 5:30pm on Tuesday 9 May, extreme rainfall caused a landslip in the Wallers Ash area, between Winchester and Micheldever.
A large amount of soil and debris was deposited across one of the two tracks, which blocked the line to SWR services in both directions.
Network Rail engineers expect the line to be cleared by Wednesday afternoon. It will then re-open to trains with a speed restriction on one of the two tracks, with disruption expected until the end of the day.
While the landslip is cleared, a very limited rail replacement bus service will operate between Winchester and Basingstoke. Due to the ongoing national shortage of bus drivers, there will not be enough buses to meet normal demand.
Additionally, only a limited number of trains between London Waterloo and Weymouth, and between London Waterloo and Portsmouth via Basingstoke, will be able to be diverted. SWR is therefore asking customers not to travel between Southampton and Basingstoke on Wednesday.
The following services will run on Wednesday 10 May, however customers are advised that short notice delays and cancellations are possible:
- A very limited rail replacement bus service will operate between Winchester and Basingstoke
- A limited number of services between London Waterloo and Weymouth will be diverted via Havant
- A limited number of services between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour via Basingstoke will be diverted via Havant
- Services between Bournemouth and Winchester will run as normal
- Services between Bournemouth and London Waterloo are likely to be cancelled
Alex Foulds, SWR’s Projects and Change Director, said: “We’re very sorry to ask customers not to travel between Southampton and Basingstoke tomorrow, Wednesday 10 May, following the landslip this evening.
“We have explored all options to provide services through and around the affected area, however with a limited number of buses and only a small number of trains able to be diverted, we have to ask customers to avoid travelling.
“The line between Winchester and Basingstoke is likely to re-open on Wednesday afternoon, however the knock-on impact will mean that services in this area are unlikely to recover until the end of the day, as trains and their crews will be displaced.
“Once again we’re very sorry for the disruption and would advise customers on the rest of the network to check before travelling tomorrow.”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are really sorry for the disruption passengers experienced on the network over the past 24 hours. Extreme rainfall caused a landslip on the line between Basingstoke and Winchester, and a number of flooding incidents across the network.
“Engineers are now at the landslip site and will be working through the night to stabilise the cutting, clear debris from the tracks and get the line open for passengers as quickly as possible.
“Please plan ahead and check your journey before setting off tomorrow.”
Customers should check before travelling at southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey.
