Waterloo disruption updates – live: Signal failure fixed but rush hour commuters still warned to stay away
Commuters told disruption will continue ‘for rest of day’
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A signal failure which threw Britain’s busiest railway station into turmoil has been fixed but evening rush hour is still set for major disruption.
Commuters have been urged to stay away from London’s Waterloo station this evening, as only one or two trains an hour will run on busy routes.
Mark Killick, route director for Network Rail Wessex, said: “We found a 600 metre cable which had a defect in it. The good news is, that we have managed to make temporary changes to reinstate the signalling system.
“We’re working closely with South Western Railway to re-introduce train services, but we are advising customers there will be disruption for the rest of the day.”
The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder was at the station on Thursday morning and reports that ticket acceptance is in place which allows South Western Railway passengers to use Southern, CrossCountry and GWR trains to make journeys by reasonable routes, with tickets also valid on London Underground trains where appropriate.
Travellers will be able to claim full refunds if they are unable to travel, and season ticket holders will get money back for the day.
Good morning, we’ll be using this live blog to keep you updated on the disruption at London Waterloo, which has suffered a “major signalling fault”.
Full report: Commuters warned to stay away from London Waterloo due to ‘major signalling problem’
Rail passengers have been warned to avoid Britain’s busiest railway station, London Waterloo, due to a massive signal failure, our travel correspondent Simon Calder reports.
South Western Railway is told commuters on Thursday morning: “A major signalling problem that developed overnight at London Waterloo means that a significantly reduced service will operate to and from Waterloo this morning.
“We’re advising customers not to attempt travel to or from London Waterloo this morning as a result. We’re sorry for the disruption this morning. Engineers are working to restore signalling however we expect disruption to last for most of the day.”
Many trains from across the network, covering Surrey, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset, have been cancelled.
Commuters warned to stay away from Waterloo due to ‘major signalling problem’
Train cancellations will hit Britain’s busiest station for the rest of the day
‘Disruption is expected until the end of the day'
Our travel correspondent Simon Calder has been at Waterloo this morning. He reports:
London Waterloo is extremely quiet, with tens of thousands of rush-hour commuters unable to reach the station because of a major signalling failure.
Initially, the train operator South Western Railway told commuters: “We’re advising customers not to attempt travel to or from London Waterloo this morning as a result.
“We’re sorry for the disruption this morning. Engineers are working to restore signalling however we expect disruption to last for most of the day.”
But at the station, the message has now changed to: ”Disruption is expected until the end of the day.”
Alternative routes
With a prediction of disruption for the remainder of the day at the UK’s busiest rail station, London Waterloo, passengers are being told of alternatives.
Ticket acceptance is in place that allows South Western Railway passengers to use Southern, CrossCountry and GWR trains to make journeys by reasonable routes, with tickets also valid on London Underground trains where appropriate.
Travellers will be able to claim full refunds if they are unable to travel, and season ticket holders will get money back for the day.
Signalling power supply failed at 3am
The main power supply to the signalling system for the lines to and from platforms 1 to 14 inclusive failed at 3am, The Independent understands.
A team from Network Rail has been at the site since 4am but has not been able so far to identify the source of the problem and begin repairs.
Which trains are still running?
Until further notice, a significantly reduced service will operate to and from London Waterloo on a very limited number of lines, according to National Rail. Here is the current list:
- 2 services per hour between Reading and London Waterloo
- 2 services per hour between Windsor & Eton Riverside and London Waterloo
- 2 services per hour between Weybridge and London Waterloo via Staines
- 2 services per hour between Shepperton and London Waterloo via Richmond
- 2 services per hour between Ascot and Aldershot
- 2 services per hour between Farnham and Guildford
- 1 service per hour between Portsmouth and Southampton
- 1 service per hour between Salisbury and Romsey via Southampton Central
- 2 services per hour between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier
- 1 train per hour between Exeter St Davids and Wimbledon
- West of England Shuttles between Basingstoke and Salisbury will run as booked
- Queenstown Road will not be served
‘It's par for the course, isn't it?’ says disappointed traveller
Kevin Skilton, a construction manager from Tunbridge Wells, arrived at London Waterloo to discover that his planned trip to New Milton has been scuppered by the signal failure that has wiped out most of the morning rush hour at Britain’s busiest station.
“Total disruption,” he told The Independent. “Most of the lines out of here are not running. I shall either go to our London office or travel back home and work from home.
“Bad luck on my part because I haven’t travelled by train for eight or nine days.
“It's par for the course though, isn't it? We rely on technology so much, you know, things happen. We have to just make alternative plans.”
Train leaves London Waterloo for Portsmouth
The signal failure at London Waterloo affects a large majority of passengers. The closure of platforms 1 to 14 means that all the normal services on the main line to Wimbledon and Woking are disrupted. South Western Railway and Network Rail are endeavouring to run some trains on the unaffected platforms, 15-19.
Trains on the line to Reading from platforms 20-24 – the former Eurostar part of the station – are running with delays and cancellations.
One train has just left London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour, the first main line service of the morning to depart on the main line.
Signs in the station warn of “Major Disruption” on all lines.
‘A very worrying situation, to have such a major failure causing so much social and economic damage’
In his daily travel podcast – recorded at London Waterloo – The Independent’s travel correspondent, Simon Calder, says:
“There will be tens of thousands of people hit by the closure today. It will also continue the destabilising of passenger confidence. Bear in mind that we've had dozens of days of no trains due to the strikes which have been taking place over the past 10 months.
“We are also seeing failings such as the Nuneham viaduct in Oxfordshire, which is the main line from Manchester and Birmingham to the south coast, closed at least until June because of damage to the viaduct.
“It does suggest that the reliability of the railway is such that, as I've been picking up from various comments on Twitter: ‘Why would anybody attempt a journey with other ways of working?’
“This is a very worrying situation, to have such a major failure causing so much social and economic damage. This is going to wipe out millions of pounds in ticket revenue.
“I think it demands some answers: How can it happen? Why did it happen? What is being done about it to stop it happening again?
“Meanwhile, if you are traveling anywhere today, the very best of luck to you.”
‘New technology to make trains more efficient and improve punctuality’ was installed at Waterloo in 2017
In the summer of 2017, most of Waterloo station was closed for 24 days to extend some platforms and install “new technology to make trains more efficient and improve punctuality”.
It was described by Network Rail as: “One of the most significant and complex engineering projects at Waterloo Station in the last century.”
The project was part of the £800m Waterloo & South West Upgrade, aimed at increasing capacity as well as improving reliability.
At the time, Network Rail said: “During the morning peak more than 600 passengers arrive each minute, equivalent to a full double-decker bus arriving into the station every eight seconds for three hours.”
Passenger numbers dwindled almost to zero during the Covid pandemic, and remain well short of the figures in the 2010s.
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