RAIL passengers across the South are reminded to check before they travel this weekend with Network Rail set to undertake one of the biggest investment programmes ever carried out on Britain’s rail network at Easter.

The work will include a £1.4 million project to replace eight sets of points, the equipment which allows trains to move between tracks, at Waterloo in one of the busiest and most crucial parts of the railway.

The work will improve the punctuality and reliability of the railway and has been timed to take advantage of a relatively quieter time of the year when, on average, less than half the usual 4.5 million people use the railway each day.

Although most of the network will be unaffected by planned improvement work, passengers are advised to check their journeys if travelling over Easter, particularly those wishing to travel to Putney, Barnes and Mortlake to watch the Cancer Research UK Boat Races on Sunday (March 27).

John Halsall, Network Rail route managing director for Wessex, said: “Hundreds of thousands of people across the South will benefit from the work, which forms part of Network Rail’s £40 billion railway upgrade plan to provide a bigger, better, more reliable railway for passengers.

“While the work will cause some temporary inconvenience, people in the South will ultimately benefit from an improved and reliable railway.

“While the majority of the railway will be open, passengers should check before they travel to avoid any problems getting to their destinations.”

Across the country, more than 15,000 members of Network Rail’s orange army will be working over the four-day Easter weekend to deliver a £60m slug of the £40bn railway upgrade plan to provide a bigger, better, more reliable railway for passengers and businesses.

The railway, however, remains firmly open for business as the vast majority of services will be unaffected by this programme with over 95 per cent of the network open as normal.

Nationwide more than 450 individual improvement projects will be carried out by Network Rail and its contractors across Britain over Easter, the majority of which will have no impact on passengers.

One such improvement works will take place at London Waterloo between the early hours of Good Friday morning through to Easter Monday night for a £1.4m project to replace eight sets of points. London Waterloo will remain open but some services may arrive into or depart from a different platform than normal and some journeys may take longer.

Where there are changes to services as a result of upgrade work, a comprehensive advertising campaign is under way to make sure passengers are able to make informed decisions about their travel.

Eleanor Lawrence, an apprentice technician, is the face of Network Rail’s nationwide ‘Check Before You Travel’ campaign which uses posters, billboards and digital screens at stations as well as online and print adverts to urge people to check for changes to their journeys over Easter.

She said: “I’ll be celebrating Easter and eating chocolate with dozens of other members of the orange army while doing essential work to keep the railway safe and reliable for passengers.

“I’ve been interested in the railway since I was a kid but since working for the industry I’ve been amazed and inspired by the people around me and their commitment to make the railways better. This is such a worthwhile job and makes a difference to so many people and carries such a huge responsibility to keep people safe and provide a good, reliable service. It’s a job and a career that really matters.”

The railway upgrade plan is Network Rail’s £40bn spending plan for Britain’s railways for the five year period up to March 31, 2019. The plan is designed to provide more capacity, relieve crowding and respond to tremendous growth the railways have seen – a doubling of passengers in the past 20 years.

The plan will deliver a bigger, better railway with more trains, longer trains, faster trains with more infrastructure, more reliable infrastructure and better facilities for passengers, especially at stations

Passengers can check their journeys if travelling over Easter online at www.nationalrail.co.uk.