Latest Rail News

30.09.16

Passengers warned to ‘start planning ahead’ for major Waterloo works next summer

Passengers can expect significant disruptions at London Waterloo from 5 to 28 August 2017 to allow for major upgrade work, Network Rail and South West Trains (SWT) have warned.

Platforms 1-9 at the station will be closed while work is carried out to extend platforms 1-4. This is intended to allow 10-car trains to run between Waterloo and Reading.

Network Rail and SWT will publish a temporary timetable next year, but said passengers should start planning ahead.

Stuart Kistruck, route managing director at Network Rail, said: “As there will be major impacts on services, we want everyone to have plenty of time to plan ahead while we invest for better journeys down the line.”

Christian Roth, managing director at SWT, added that the Waterloo and South West Upgrade is the “biggest investment in this railway for decades and will provide more trains, more seats and more space for tens of thousands of passengers every day”.

“We are doing everything we can to minimise the impact on passengers while the work is carried out but there will be some changes to services next summer, particularly between 5 and 28 August 2017,” he said.

Waterloo’s former international terminal will also be brought back into use, with platforms 20-24 reopening during August.

The changes are part of a wider £800m improvement programme for SWT, which will also include enhancements to Vauxhall and Surbiton stations and to depot and maintenance facilities.

RTM reported last year that a planning application to enable more trains to run in and out of London Waterloo was submitted in July, with London TravelWatch shortly afterwards calling the upgrades ‘vital’.

A similarly ambitious programme of upgrades at London Bridge has now been completed, with two-thirds of the new concourse opening, but they contributed to significant delays for London rail services.

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Comments

Andrew Gwilt   30/09/2016 at 12:43

Its good to see that the former Eurostar platforms to be refurbished and to be reopened as 30 Class 707's are soon to be delivered and platforms 1-4 to be extended for 10-car suburban trains. The Class 707's will be delivered by late 2017 or in early 2018 whilst the former terminal gets the revamp and should be completed in 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_707

Jimbo   30/09/2016 at 15:04

The upgrade of platforms 1-4 to support 10-car trains is for the mainline and nothing to do with the Reading lines upgrade of the Eurostar platforms and new class 707's - these are two separate projects being done at the same time. Of course, bringing platforms 20-24 back into service provides the additional capacity to allow the upgrade of platforms 1-4, but Reading services do not use platforms 1-4.

Andrew Gwilt   01/10/2016 at 18:02

Platforms 20-24 should be ready to be reopened properly late next year or early 2018 to cater for 10-car trains (including Class 707's) that will be using the former Eurostar terminal platforms with a new concourse and new link connecting from the station concourse to the reopened Platforms 20-24 to ease congestion and Platforms 1-4 is also to be extended and reopened to cater for 10-car suburban metro trains.

Lutz   26/11/2016 at 18:27

It is beyond belief that NR and/or SWT think it is realistic to cancel rail services to outlying stations for the entire duration of this outage. NR seriously needs to re-plan this work.

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