Network Rail Engineers will be out working on improving signalling this summer between Hounslow and Barnes via Brentford.

Engineers will be working for four days (Saturday 13th to Tuesday 16th August) so bus replacements will be put in place.

Covering more than 80 miles of railway, the £375 million re-signalling scheme will also have over 500 pieces of signalling equipment.

The work will include installing new bases for signals and new cabling. The scheme, which is planned to be complete in 2024, works to replace 1970s signalling, which controls the movement of trains and is known to be fault-prone, so modern signals will be more reliable.

The work will continue onto other parts of the line to ensure that all signals are updated and trains are more reliable.

Network Rail‘s managing director for Wessex route, Mark Killick, said: “This is part of a massive £375m scheme to improve the railway in the area. Resignalling schemes like this one, and the track work that goes with it, are one of the best ways we have of improving the reliability of our network, so it’s really important we do the job and I’m grateful to our customers for their patience.

“By doing this work over four days, rather that splitting it up between weekends, means we can get much more done and we can make more progress on improving the railway with less disruption to our customers.”

Christian Neill, customer experience director for South Western Railway, commented: “The modernisation work that Network Rail is carrying out will significantly boost the reliability and performance of the railway for many years to come.

“The decision to close the railway for four days, including two working days on the Monday and Tuesday, has not been taken lightly. We urge all customers intending to travel from Saturday morning until the end of Tuesday to check before they travel and make use of the alternative transport options available.

“We’d like to thank those customers impacted by these works for their patience and understanding as this vital upgrade is carried out.”