A TRAIN operator serving Dorset is asking travellers to check before they board as maintenance works impact trains to and from Weymouth this weekend.

Trains between London Waterloo and Weymouth will start and terminate at Eastleigh today (Saturday, February 18) and tomorrow (Sunday, February 19) due to routine maintenance in the Southampton area, Network Rail said. 

Buses will operate between Eastleigh and Bournemouth, with a revised train service between Weymouth, Brockenhurst, Bournemouth and Poole. 

Engineers have also been working 'around the clock' to repair a large landslip at Hook, Hampshire, which gave way on January 14.

South Western Railway (SWR) services between Weymouth and London Waterloo have been severley impacted by these works over the past month. 

A 580-metre-long access road has needed to be built across fields to get materials and machinery to the site due to the landslip's remote location. 

They have built a 60-metre retaining wall, made up of one hundred 12-metre long ‘sheet piles’ driven into the ground to stabilise the embankment.

As well as using 9,000 tonnes of stone in the repair, workers will also regrade the steepness of the embankment slope to reduce the risk of material falling.

Trains travelling towards Basingstoke were able to call at Hook again from Monday at a reduced frequency.

But until Thursday, February 23, engineers will close the railway between Farnborough and Basingstoke early each night to restore the track layout.

This has resulted in alterations to late night and early morning services, with the last through services between London Waterloo and Weymouth departing much earlier than usual. 

Network Rail has been working to ensure all of the four lines impacted back operational by Friday, February 24.

Stuart Meek, SWR’s chief operating officer, said: "As we approach the last stage of the landslip repairs in Hook there will be some service changes this weekend.

"We’re advising customers to check before travelling, allow extra time to complete their journeys, and to travel earlier if at all possible.

“There will again be an early shutdown from Monday, February 20 to Thursday, February 23 before our normal timetable is reinstated. We will reinstate some services sooner if it is possible.

“We’d like to thank our customers for their continued patience during this disruption - which will be further complicated by important maintenance in the Southampton area at the weekend - but we are nearing the end of this challenging period.”