Network Rail will be carrying out several pieces of engineering work on the Wessex route over the coming bank holiday weekend, and is asking passengers to plan ahead and check before travelling.

Some of the work forms part of a wider eight-week programme to bring more smooth and reliable journeys on the South West Main Line in the Basingstoke area. Engineering work also disrupted train services in the area over the May Day bank holiday weekend and over Easter.

On Sunday 28 May, Network Rail engineers will be removing ‘wet beds’, which are sections of track where the stones and sleepers are so wet that they cause uneven and bumpy train rides.

Engineers will also carry out routine maintenance to improve overall reliability and will test new equipment that has been installed over the last month.

So far, engineers have introduced two new switches and crossings at Great Western Junction, and have laid new track and repaired earthworks to prevent landslips. They have also carried out tamping, the process of compacting ballast, the stones that support the track.

On Sunday 28 May, buses will replace South Western Railway (SWR) trains between:

• Woking and Basingstoke
• Woking and Winchester via Basingstoke
• Woking and Andover via Basingstoke

Alongside this, engineers will continue work to upgrade signalling between Feltham and Wokingham, which is part of a four year £375m investment to further improve reliability.

Elsewhere, trains will not run on the lines from Hounslow to Virginia Water and Windsor & Eton Riverside to Staines all day on Sunday 28 and Monday 29 May. The suspension of services will allow engineers to renew around ninety metres of track.

On Sunday 28 and Monday 29 May, buses will replace trains between:

• Hounslow and Virginia Water via Staines
• Hounslow and Windsor via Staines

Mark Killick, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said: “I’d like to thank customers for their patience while we carry out these improvements.

“I recognise there is never a good time to close the railway, but we have chosen to carry out this work over the bank holiday weekend as we know there are generally fewer customers travelling than on a weekday on this busy and important stretch of line.

“I’d like to remind customers to check before they travel as some bus replacement services will be in operation.”

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s chief operating officer, said: “Customers should please check their whole journey before they travel this bank holiday weekend, as essential engineering works mean buses will replace trains in parts of London, Surrey, Berkshire, and Hampshire on the Sunday and Monday.

“We are sorry to customers for the extra time that this will add to their journeys, but the upgrades to track and signalling will modernise equipment and improve the reliability of services going forward.”