Rail replacement buses laid on as Network Rail shuts Lymington Branch Line for two weeks over Christmas and New Year for pier track enhancement works
RAIL passengers will have to travel by bus as the Lymington Branch Line shuts for two weeks of engineering works over Christmas and the New Year.
From Sunday 22nd December to Sunday 5th January 2025, Network Rail is carrying out the next phase of its project on the line between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier after it was re-railed back in October.
This includes strengthening the bridge across Lymington River, between the town and pier stations.
Engineers will also be refurbishing, strengthening, and carrying out repair works to heavily corroded critical steel elements of Lymington Viaduct. They will be working from pontoons and underslung scaffold.
The wheel timbers, supporting the track across the viaduct, will also be replaced.
As well as this engineers will be re-railing the line over Lymington Town’s level crossing, shutting it off to road traffic on Sunday 29th December.
A temporary bridge will be built near the level crossing for passengers.
South Western Railway’s rail replacement service will call at Lymington Town in the Brockenhurst direction only. A shuttle bus will run between Lymington town and pier stations.
Further work on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, when no passenger services are running, will see engineers improving Brockenhurst level crossing.
They will also be condensing the ballast underneath the tracks across the junctions at Brockenhurst station.
Mark Goodall, Wessex Route Director for Network Rail, said: “We appreciate that there is never a good time to close the railway, however the statistics show that fewer people travel during the festive period.
“Once this work is completed, passengers using the branch line will benefit from smoother and more reliable journeys.
“We have been working closely with South Western Railway and Wightlink to ensure passengers travelling between Lymington and Newport, on the Isle of Wight, will have minimum disruption during this period.”
Normal train services are expected to resume on Monday 6th January.
