Southampton – Nuneaton rail freight upgrade complete

The scheme enables freight trains to transport goods around the UK in a quicker, cheaper, greener and more practical way using the larger, modern containers preferred by many global shipping companies.

The project involved knocking down and rebuilding sixteen bridges, lowering or slewing the track in 22 places, adjusting eleven station canopies and two station platforms, and setting the track through Southampton Tunnel in concrete to create more space for the larger containers to pass through on standard freight wagons.

The project has been delivered more than £11.5 million below the original £71 million budget, largely as a result of the innovative approach used to lower the tracks through Southampton Tunnel.

The route takes freight trains from Southampton to the West Coast Main Line near Nuneaton, via Winchester, Basingstoke, Didcot, Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Warwick.

The Port of Southampton is home to the UK’s second largest deep-sea container terminal and a key entry point for millions of products imported into the UK.  Currently, around 25% of containers handled at Southampton are moved by rail. In order to increase this, it was necessary to upgrade the railway to be able to carry 9′ 6" high-cube containers on standard wagons, which are the most economical method for shipping goods, particularly from the Far East.

With the mainline route now complete, Network Rail will start work later this year to upgrade 28 structures and adjusting the tracks in fourteen locations on the line from Southampton to Basingstoke via Romsey, Salisbury and Andover. This upgrade will allow freight trains to continue transporting the high-cube on any occasion when the main line is closed, for example when rail improvement works are being carried out.