London Waterloo: Rail disruptions continue until the end of the day

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Jasmine Ruffo and Harry Low BBC News Apr 13, 2023 06:48 BST

Updated 15 minutes ago

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Network Rail said 14 of its 24 platforms had earlier closed

Rail disruptions at London Waterloo are expected until the end of the day, after commuters were urged to avoid the station due to signaling problems.

The South Western Railway (SWR) has issued a warning to customers trying to travel to and from the station, which is the busiest in Britain.

Although there is a temporary fix, the greatly reduced service continues to operate on limited lines.

The railway company said many platforms were closed throughout the day.

Two services an hour ran between Reading and London, while other stations including Queenstown Road and Hampton Court had no service at all.

Demand exceeded supply at the Railway Information Office all morning, and customers unable to travel outpaced it as new cancellations were announced.

The number of people who arrived with suitcases indicates that most of them remained unaware of the disturbance.

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Most of the services are down

Network Rail’s Wessex route manager Mark Killick said he was “working hard to reintroduce as many trains as possible” but warned of further disruption.

He said: “The thing that hits the Waterloo half is a major issue and [we] I fully realize this messed up people’s plans today, so I’m really sorry for the inconvenience.

“Our teams have been working since the wee hours of the morning to find and fix the problem and the good news is that we have now done that.”

Emma, ​​from Southampton, told the BBC she had been planning a day trip to London to visit the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum with her young daughter, but “everything’s been canceled and we can’t get to London unless we’re willing to do a three-hour detour.” “.

The trip had already been delayed once as a result of train strikes.

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Martin Benko said he would have to get an alternative train and taxi to get to his workplace

Travelers had difficulties getting to work. “I have a presentation in two hours,” said Martin Benko, and the signal failure at Waterloo would add “at least two to three hours” to his trip.

Others decide to abandon their travels altogether after realizing that there are no suitable alternative routes.

Gareth Dutton said he was supposed to fly to Southampton for a concert, but as he had to be there for a certain time, he decided to “go home”.

Another traveler, Anna Henderson, said she had to call her boss to “tell him I wouldn’t be able to make it”, because she was unable to make it to Wimbledon.

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London Waterloo is Britain’s busiest railway station

Peter Williams, SWR’s Customer and Commercial Director, said: “We are very sorry for the disruption this morning.

“While the problem is in the Waterloo area, we expect the wider network such as trains and their crews to be affected.”

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