PETERSFIELD passengers are facing months of rail misery at weekends after massive problems with Network Rail's multi-million pound signalling system. Passengers travelling from the town towards Portsmouth face restricted services and having to complete journeys by bus after rail officials admitted that new signalling equipment was not safe enough to use yet. The £100m project to update the signals on the Portsmouth to Waterloo line were supposed to take six weeks to install, but this week Network Rail was unable to confirm when the work would be completed. Some sources have said it will take up to a year before normal serivce is resumed on the Petersfield to Portsmouth section of the line. A spokesman said there were technical issues which had yet to be resolved as the signalling system was "not working as it should". In a statement, Network Rail said: "Further work and testing is necessary before the new signalling system in Portsmouth can become fully operational. "Although much work has already been done, more time is needed to complete the installation and testing of the new signalling system." The over-running engineering work will mean rail users in some areas will be forced to use replacement bus services and staff on the trains are having to change the signals manually. Network Rail has also confirmed that there will be no trains services at Petersfield station over the weekend of Saturday, March 17, and Sunday, March 18. The line will be closed between Portsmouth Harbour and Petersfield, Fareham and Chichester on Saturday, March 17, and this will be extended to include Liphook and Haslemere on Sunday, March 18. This week, the chairman of the Portsmouth to Waterloo Rail Users' Group, Dr Brian Keefe, told The Herald that he would be asking for a full undate on the delays at the next meeting: "All I know at the moment is that it is going to take longer than expected, and the reason I have been given is some of the new equipment is faulty and some has not been delivered on time, but I have no more information at present." Passenger services to Portsmouth Harbour, which were to be cancelled will now run on Thursday, March 15, and Friday, March 16. And on Saturday, March 31, the lines between Fratton and Portsmouth Harbour will be closed and on Sunday, April 1, no services will be running between Hilsea and Portsmouth Harbour. The work will also mean a reduced service for passengers travelling from Petersfield to Portsmouth, with three passenger trains an hour running from Fratton to Portsmouth Harbour, until Sunday, April 1. These will be made up of two South West Trains services and one First Great Western. All southern services will end at Fratton. After Sunday, April 1, extra measures will be put in place, which are expected to allow extra passenger services to run through to Portsmouth Harbour. This arrangement will continue indefinitely until all parties are confident the Siemens system is fully operational. Replacement bus services will continue to supplement rail services and Network Rail is "working with all train operating companies to ensure passenger disruption is kept to a minimum and that travellers are kept fully informed about how the works will affect their journeys". David Pape, route director for Network Rail, said: "We apologise to passengers for the disruption and inconvenience this will cause. "We appreciate they have already been patient, but we are asking for them to bear with us while we get the delivery of the project exactly right. "We have identified some technical issues with the new signalling system and until these are being ironed out, it is not yet ready to take over train operation." Christian Roth, the managing director of Siemens Transportation Systems, said: "We regret and apologise for the disruption to rail users. We are working hard with Network Rail to minimise further delays. Our efforts continue to be focused on the delivery of a robust and reliable railway for the future." The project to improve the signals in the Portsmouth area is part of Network Rail's £1.5bn nationwide investment in signalling over the next three years. It will mean a major overhaul of signalling and track equipment along a 50 mile section of the network, from Portsmouth to Petersfield and Bedhampton to Portchester, some of which dates back to the 1960s. New equipment will be installed and a state-of- the-art signalling control centre will be built at Havant. Network Rail claims the project will mean big benefits to passengers in the form of a better and more reliable railway infrastructure for the future. The investment in the signalling system was initially announced in March last year and Network Rail had planned to carry out the engineering work in three stages between Christmas and February, but the final phase of this has now been extended. In a statement, South West Trains said: "Network Rail has informed us that the engineering work has suffered a further setback. "Unfortunately, Network Rail is unable to confirm at this stage when the project will be completed. "We share our passengers' frustration at this latest setback and we are pressurising Network Rail to complete the work as quickly as they can so we can restore a normal service. "What we do know is that the planned engineering work for Thursday, March 15, and Friday, March 16, is now cancelled and that the current weekday train service will operate. "The engineering work planned for Saturday, March 17, and Sunday, March 18, will go ahead. "Network Rail has informed us that there will be further work carried out between Saturday, March 31, and Monday, April 2. "Once we receive further details from Network Rail this will enable us to put together a definite train plan for the period from Monday, April 2, onwards, and we will inform our passengers of the changes as quickly as we can."
