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Substation fire leads to widespread rail disruption

BBC A departures board showing cancelled and delayed servicesBBC
The fire has affected services to London and Manchester

A fire in an electrical substation next to a railway track has led to widespread disruption on the rail network.

The blaze at New Milton in Hampshire has led to the closure of the line between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst with disruption expected until 18:00 BST.

South Western Railway (SWR) said Waterloo to Weymouth train services would end and restart at Southampton and Bournemouth and it was in the process of arranging replacement buses to stations in between.

It said Winchester to Bournemouth services would be cancelled until further notice while other services may be cancelled, delayed or revised.

National Rail said: "A fire next to the track in the New Milton area has caused damage to the signalling system meaning that all lines have been closed.

"Major disruption is expected to continue until 18:00."

In an update on its website, SWR said: "A fire next to the track has caused signalling problems on all lines between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst.

"At this time, we don't know when the lines are expected to reopen. Response teams are on site and investigating the problem.

"We are arranging replacement buses between Bournemouth and Southampton Central."

A free-standing illuminated display board in Southampton Central station warns of major disruption between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst.
Signs at Southampton Central warned travellers of disruption

Fire crews were called to reports of smoke at the substation shortly after 06:30.

Hampshire fire service said crews used ventilation fans to clear the smoke and were stood down at 08:45.

Affected routes include:

  • CrossCountry services between Bournemouth, Southampton, Birmingham, Nottingham and Manchester
  • Great Western Railway services between Weymouth and Paddington, between Basingstoke and Paddington via Reading, and between Southampton and Westbury via Salisbury, and Southern Railways between Southampton Central and Victoria via Havant