Fareham and Havant to Portsmouth area improvement work

Our engineers are strengthening the railway infrastructure to keep trains running safely in the Portsmouth area

What did we do between Monday 25 and Friday 29 May?

Between Monday 25 and Friday 29 May, we renewed 18 of the wheeltimbers on Portcreek Viaduct, following our work to strengthen the viaduct at the end of March. We also installed new tracks between Portcreek Viaduct and Moat Bridge.

In addition to this we:

• Continued our renewal of Fratton station footbridge – renewing the stairwells and landings, as well as painting the bridge.
• Burrfield Bridge – jet washing, graffiti removal and concrete repairs
• Prepared for the Havant re-signalling project – distributing materials and cutting back overgrowth
• Renewed 4 points at Fratton Yard and Freight Depot
• Carried out canopy cleaning at Platforms 1 and 2 at Portsmouth and Southsea on Landport Viaduct

We also trialled a new switch surveying machine called Felix. The machine was used at “switches”, where trains change tracks, and was used to measure any twists in the rail, changes in gauge, among other things. This represents a more efficient way of working, quickly and precisely measuring track dimensions. This frees up track staff who could be carrying out other tasks elsewhere.

Why was the work needed? 

The wheeltimbers on Portcreek Viaduct were old and more prone to breaking or being damaged by fast trains running over the structure. As this viaduct carries trains into and out of Portsmouth, any problems on the structure could result in large delays for people wanting to travel into the city.

This was particularly evident on 13 March 2026 when a wheeltimber was damaged following an electrical burst from the rail that powers the trains. The damage meant that trains had to run slower over the viaduct for the safety of passengers and to not damage the wheeltimber any further.

Though we made a temporary fix, we needed to renew the timbers to make sure the viaduct was more durable for passengers in future.

What did we do between 28 March and 2 April?

To find out more about what we completed in March 2026, take a look at the video below:

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