Network Rail has awarded Atkins Réalis a three-year contract worth EUR 113.2 million (GBP 98 million) to upgrade the signalling and telecommunications systems along the 43 km Wessex line between Portsmouth and Southampton. The contract covers design and project management tasks for the renewal of old signalling systems, as well as the reorganisation and centralisation of operations control from the Havant interlocking system to the Basingstoke regional operations centre. The work will take place during several track closure periods between 2026 and 2028 and will involve 11 stations, ten interlocking systems, four level crossings and the associated signalling power supply and telecommunications equipment. The contract was awarded as part of the EUR 4.6 billion funding framework for train control systems, for which Atkins Réalis was selected in September 2024. The project is also part of the EUR 2.3 billion investment programme by South Western Railway & Network Rail Wessex to modernise the railway line from the south-west to London, which will be carried out between 2024 and 2029.