A lorry has overturned after striking a notorious bridge in Farnham. Wrecclesham Road is currently blocked with the large vehicle having tipped on its side.

In a post on social media, Surrey Police's road unit said the driver had failed to adhere to the height restrictions. This resulted in the HGV striking the bridge and flipping over.

They've warned drivers that clearing the vehicle may take some time. Motorists might want to find a different route in the meantime or allow extra time for their journey.

Disruption between Fareham and Eastleigh

What's going on
Due to a low speed derailment in a depot between Fareham and Eastleigh the line towards Eastleigh is blocked. Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.


What We're Doing About It
We have been informed of a low speed derailment of a freight train within a depot between Fareham and Eastleigh. This means that the line towards Eastleigh is blocked and trains are unable to call at Botley and Hedge End when travelling towards London. From approximately 09:30 trains will also not call at Botley and Hedge End when travelling towards Portsmouth.

Until further notice the following alterations will be necessary:
Trains from Fareham to Eastleigh will be diverted via Southampton Central and may not call at some other stations
From approximately 09:30 trains from Eastleigh to Fareham will be diverted via Southampton Central

To assist you with your journey your ticket will be accepted, at no extra cost to yourself, on the following services:
Xelabus routes X4 and X9 in the affected area

We have arranged replacement buses to run on the following routes:
Fareham - Eastleigh in both directions (ETA 08:30)

For further information or onward travel advice please speak to a member of staff or use a station help point.

We are very sorry for any delay that this may cause to your journey.

Passengers are set to benefit from an additional 2,000 seats per day on the St Ives branch line and a more reliable mainline in Cornwall following the completion of a number of recent improvements to the railway.

Over the past nine days, Network Rail and its contractor BAM Nuttall have extended the station platforms at Lelant and St Erth as part of a £1.14m investment into this ever-popular branch line. These upgrades will enable GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to run longer five-carriage trains which will then be able to stop at all stations along the St Ives branch line.

The ability to operate trains with an additional carriage means a 25% increase in capacity, providing an additional 2,000 seats and a total of 10,000 seats to and from St Ives during peak summer days.

This extra provision will greatly support business and tourism in and around St Ives, with this iconic railway line transporting large numbers of passengers to and from this picturesque harbour town, particularly during the busy summer months when thousands of tourists visit this part of Cornwall.

At Lelant the existing platform has been extended by 13 metres while at St Erth the platform has been extended by six metres. The platforms are expected to be commissioned and approved to welcome the first five-carriage trains later this year with GWR planning on operating these longer trains following the May 2022 timetable change during the peak summer months.

These upgrades are the latest example of Network Rail’s continued investment into the railway in West Cornwall and in particular the St Ives branch line, following the £3m track upgrade in February 2021 which saw Network Rail complete the biggest track investment on the St Ives branch line in 60 years.

On the mainline between Truro and Penzance, Network Rail’s team of engineers also renewed 1.8km of new track, sleepers and ballast, helping support the reliability and lifespan of this important mainline railway into Cornwall, while also replacing the life expired Bodriggy bridge in Hayle.

Statement from the MHR Board

The tragic events that are currently taking place in Ukraine have led the Watercress Line to consider whether to continue with plans to hold our annual 1940s event “War on the Line”. The MHR Board has looked very carefully at the issue and has decided that to proceed under the current circumstances would send a wholly inappropriate message to our customers and the wider public. We have therefore taken the decision to cancel these events until further notice. We appreciate that this will be disappointing to many, particularly as significant planning has already been carried out for the 2022 event. However, we strongly believe that this is the right thing to do for the railway and to continue with these events at the present time would be morally wrong.

Ash level crossing closure costs set to rocket to £40m

A delayed scheme to close the Ash level crossing could now cost £40million, nearly double the original estimates.

Councillors heard at a meeting of Guildford Borough Council's overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday (March 1) that works to replace the "dangerous" level crossing with a bridge were now likely to cost more because of delays approving the plans.

Councillor Fiona White (Liberal Democrat, Westborough) asked for an update on plans to replace the level crossing because of "huge amounts of development" taking place in the area and traffic levels increasing after the coronavirus pandemic, saying "the holdups are getting bad again."

Land to the south and east of Ash and Tongham was allocated for a total of 1,750 homes in the council's 2019 local plan.

Councillor John Rigg (Residents for Guildford and Villages, Holy Trinity), lead councillor for regeneration, said one of the first things he did when he took over the major projects portfolio was to look at costs, and that he found the cost of the bridge was "no longer £20m, it was likely closer to 40 million."

He added: "After an awful lot of negotiations, we got a grant of £23.7m. There's still a lot for us to find."

He said that delays approving the bridge on the Network Rail side were increasing the cost of the project.

No representative from Network Rail was present at the meeting, and the company has been contacted for comment.

Cllr Rigg said a "shortage of resources" and a recent meeting cancelled because of train cancellations during storms were causing delays but that council officers were "pressing them hard".

He asked: "How long will Network Rail take to approve a bridge, a simple straightforward bridge, designed by our expert consultants? How long is a piece of string? It's very disappointing."

Earlier in the meeting he had said: "We're delivering infrastructure for Surrey County Council, and to remove a dangerous level crossing for Network Rail.

"Neither are contributing to the cost. Network Rail, through delays in approving our bridge design, are causing serious concerns and cost price inflation."

According to an earlier council timeline, works on the bridge should have already started in the winter 2021/22, with a projected opening of spring/summer 2023.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "Closing a level crossing is not a straightforward process and it always involves a lot of work for both ourselves and the local authorities.

"We are very pleased to be working with Guildford Borough Council to close this level crossing, which has a history of misuse by pedestrians. The proposed footbridge will also make it easier for passengers at Ash to change between services on the Alton and North Downs lines."

Looks like a fairly standard gravel board install to protect the trough route from embankment encroachment, it is also posible it is being installed in readiness for an additional trough route

But when using diesel power the traction motors can only provide enough power if the alternators can supply that power.  If the diesel engines or the alternators are not powerful enough it doesn't matter how powerful the traction motors are. 

But they were using electric traction not diesel.

A friend at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has said 769s are having problems on the gradients of the NDL and that's just the empty test runs. Little confidence at GWR that a train full of passengers and suitcases just won't make it. Slim to zero chance of the 769s entering service on this route apparently.