Rail timetable changes after substation fire

Train times have been altered on a line as a result of a substation fire in July.

The blaze, between Hinton Admiral and New Milton, on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire, damaged equipment supplying the third rail, South Western Railway (SWR) said.

Repairs may take months and the number of trains in the area has had to be restricted while they use alternative power, the operator added.

Services including trains between London Waterloo and Weymouth have been rescheduled, sometimes with longer journey times and different stops.

The changes began on Monday and are until further notice, SWR said.

The fire, early on 7 July, initially closed the line and caused lasting disruption to rail services.

There was "significant damage" within the substation building and to electrical equipment, the rail operator added.

In a statement, SWR said: "Engineers will need to make the substation building safe before commissioning and testing new equipment, while also upgrading and repairing the power control system between New Milton and Eastleigh.

"We are still able to run trains by using alternative power supplies, but for safety reasons, the amount of power must be restricted.

"This affects the number of trains we can run in the same area at the same time."

The operator said the changes would allow it to run the normal number of services.