Following the completion of maintenance work over 9 days between Petersfield and Havant, services have now resumed.

The line saw new drainage installed along with renewed track and signalling equipment.

Numerous aspects of work were carried out in one closure to help reduce future disruption.

Preparatory work was also carried out for future projects, including upgrades in the Havant area, as the signalling equipment is at the end of its operational life.

Further work in Portsmouth will see buses replace trains between the 29th March and 2nd April.

More details of other planned closures around the May Bank Holiday and around the end of October will be released soon.

“Thank you to passengers for their patience while we carried out these works between Petersfield  and Havant. By bringing several upgrades together in one closure, we’ve been able to maintain and modernise key parts of the railway in a coordinated way.

“Following the completion of the Farncombe to Petersfield upgrade, we are now moving into the next planned stage of improvements on the Portsmouth Direct Line. This is part of a long-term programme to renew ageing infrastructure and improve reliability for passengers travelling between Portsmouth and London.

“Some elements of this work can only be completed when trains are not running. We plan these closures carefully across the year so engineers can carry out major upgrades safely and reduce the likelihood of unplanned disruption in the future.” “Some work can only be done when trains are not running, so we plan access carefully across the year to minimise repeated disruption for passengers.”

Speaking on behalf of Network Rail and South Western Railway, Tom McNamee, Infrastructure Director