RAIL users are on track to benefit from extra services through Andover – but due to planned maintenance their introduction will be delayed.

South Western Railway is set to launch its new train timetable on Sunday, May 19, providing hundreds of new services on the network.

The improvements include additional evening services on the London to Salisbury route, which passes though Andover, and a new Sunday service between Salisbury and Reading which will also travel via Andover.

However, engineering works are also scheduled for May 19.

Replacement buses will be running between Andover and Salisbury meaning the proposed new Sunday service will not kick in until the following weekend.

Normal service will resume the following day, meaning passengers will be able to enjoy the additional evening services planned for the London to Salisbury route.

South Western Railway say the improvements will add additional capacity, provide faster journey times and improve service frequencies for Andover.

Andy Mellors, Managing Director of South Western Railway, said: “There will be substantial changes to our next timetable starting in May, which will bring over 300 additional train services a week for our customers across the network.

“Many of these service enhancements are based on extensive consultations and feedback sessions that were undertaken previously with local stakeholders, businesses, community groups and customers.

“We are very pleased that these enhancements will come to fruition shortly and we will continue to work on refurbishing our existing fleet and introducing brand new state-of-the-art trains in to service by the end of the year.”

Full details of all timetable changes for May 2019 are available online at southwesternrailway.com or nationalrail.co.uk.