South Western Railway services are being disrupted across the day after a signalling fault at Brockenhurst forced trains to run at reduced speed toward Southampton Central. Journeys between Bournemouth and Southampton Central may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes, or revised, with disruption expected until the end of the day.
Passengers on CrossCountry are also affected. South Western Railway said engineers have identified the issue and expect to fix it before the start of service tomorrow, Saturday 20 June.
Bournemouth and Southampton Central
The fault is hitting the route between Bournemouth and Southampton Central, where trains on all lines toward Southampton Central have to slow down. CrossCountry services will only start from or terminate at Southampton Central, and will not serve Bournemouth and Brockenhurst.
For passengers trying to keep moving, CrossCountry tickets can be used on South Western Railway services and on road transport between Bournemouth and Southampton Central in both directions at no extra cost. Tickets can also be used at a different station at no extra cost if travel has to shift because of the disruption.
Sway and Brockenhurst
South Western Railway has also said trains will be required to run at a reduced speed between Sway and Brockenhurst on the line toward Southampton Central. Services running in that direction will not call at Sway today, while long-distance and mainline services through Sway toward Southampton Central are expected to be delayed by at least 30 minutes.
To limit delays, services will only be able to call at Sway in the direction of Bournemouth. South Western Railway services to and from Lymington Pier are not directly affected, but they may still be delayed or cancelled if train crew are caught up in the disruption.
South Western Railway and CrossCountry
A limited rail replacement transport service has been requested, but it is very limited. One bus from Bournemouth at 7.30am is running directly to Southampton Central.
That leaves passengers choosing between slower train paths, revised stops, and a small amount of replacement transport while the fault works through the day. Whether additional road transport is added later is not answered in the current advice, so travellers heading for Bournemouth, Southampton Central, Sway, Weymouth, London Waterloo, or Southampton will need to check before they go.
