The Wessex route covers the major commuter area of south-west London as well as from London Waterloo to the south and south-west of England
This route is one of the busiest on the rail network, taking in all or part of the counties of Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.
Peak-time capacity is Wessex’s main challenge, specifically with on-train crowding for passengers to and from London. Passenger numbers on the route have more than doubled in the last 20 years, with over half a million people using it every day. There are nearly 200 million passenger journeys on Wessex route each year, including nearly 80 million to or from London Waterloo.
The Wessex route also supports high levels of passenger traffic to and from many other important regional centres, such as Bournemouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, Guildford and Basingstoke.
Off-peak business and leisure travel has shown continued growth in recent years, and the railway through Wessex route is also important for rail freight, linking Southampton Port and Airport with the Midlands and North of England.
We work closely with local communities to promote safety by the railway. Find out more on our community safety page.
Wessex railway upgrade plan
Over the next 5 years, we’re investing over £2bn to modernise the railway across the South West and into London. RRV replacing track on the Heart of Wessex Line, September 2024 Between 2024 and 2029...
Heart of Wessex line upgrades
We're making major improvements from Castle Cary to Weymouth Since February 2020, we've been renewing key stretches of track, replacing bridges and carrying out essential maintenance at our stations. Recent line closure March 2025 What...
Portsmouth Direct Upgrade
We're upgrading signalling and track from Woking to Portsmouth Harbour to improve reliability, journey times, and capacity. From early 2022 to 2025, we will carry out a large programme of work. This includes a major...
Wessex Access for All schemes
We will be completing multiple Access for All projects across the region. The Access for All programme is a £350 million scheme to provide an obstacle free, accessible route to and between station platforms. Why...
Improving London Waterloo station
Improving the experience for passengers at London Waterloo This summer, we'll start work renewing the escalators as we continue to make good progress replacing the 100-year-old station roof. We're also improving customer information systems, upgrading...
West of England line improvements
Embankments strengthened and drainage improved during February closure What work took place? During a 7-day closure in February 2025, we stabilised embankments at both sides of Gillingham Tunnel. Our engineers worked on the line from...
Island Line Improvements
We’re making improvements to the Island Line so that passengers can enjoy the benefits of a reliable railway, linking the Isle of Wight and the mainland. On Friday 2 May 2025 we re-opened Ryde Pier...
North Downs Line signalling upgrade
We’re renewing level crossings and signalling between Shalford and Gomshall for a safer, more reliable railway. Project latest From Sunday 14 to Saturday 27 September 2025 we will be completing the final stage of our...
Portsmouth and Portcreek area improvement work
Our engineers worked during the February Half Term to improve journeys in the Portsmouth area. What work took place? From Saturday 15 to Friday 21 February 2025, parts of the railway between Portsmouth and Havant...
Staines to Windsor improvement work
We upgraded the railway between Staines and Windsor, improving reliability for passengers. Project timeline Our engineers worked between Saturday 22 and Friday 28 March 2025 to complete a range of projects. What work took place?...
Southampton to Fareham line closure
Essential earthworks took place during the Easter holidays to improve the reliability of services between Southampton and Fareham What work took place? Over 9-days, our engineers worked round the clock to stabilise 300 meters of...
