No Trains To Portsmouth Harbour For More Than A Week As Viaduct Work Continues

Sussex residents commuting through Portsmouth by train will face eight days of disruption from this Saturday (15 January).

Network Rail engineers will start work on Portsmouth's landmark Landport viaduct this weekend, meaning no trains to Portsmouth Harbour station for more than a week.

The 1876-built metal viaduct, which supports two platforms at Portsmouth & Southsea station, had ten of its seventeen spans strengthened in January 2021.

The remaining seven spans will now be strengthened during an eight-day closure between Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour, affecting South Western Railway (SWR), Great Western Railway (GWR) and Southern services.

Mark Killick, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said:

“Our long-term project to strengthen the viaduct at Portsmouth Southsea station is almost complete and this last eight-day closure will allow our engineers to improve the structure’s steelwork and keep trains running through to Portsmouth Harbour for years to come."

Advice for those using Portsmouth station services:

• From Saturday 15 to Saturday 22 January, buses will replace trains from Fratton and Portsmouth & Southsea to Portsmouth Harbour.
• On Sunday 23, buses will replace trains from Havant and Fareham to Portsmouth Harbour.
• On the weekends of Saturday 15 and Sunday 16, plus Saturday 22 and Sunday 23, services between London Waterloo and Portsmouth & Southsea will be diverted via Chertsey, with journeys taking longer than normal.

With the viaduct fully strengthened, trains will be able to continue running at full line speed through Portsmouth & Southsea, keeping services on time.