Rush hour chaos as commuters are warned to avoid London Waterloo station this morning due to ‘major signalling problem’
South Western Railway is warning customers ‘do not travel’ after a ‘major signalling problem’ causes chaos at London Waterloo station.
Fourteen of the 24 platforms at the station are currently closed this morning. Many routes been cancelled and trains that are operating have been extremely delayed.
Some trains have been cancelled at Wimbledon and passengers were instructed to complete their journeys using the tube of Thameslink trains. Others were rerouted at Clapham Junction.
In a statement on Twitter, the operator apologised for the disruption and warned the impact would be widespread and ‘last for most of the day’.
South Western Railway has told customers to avoid using London Waterloo station this morning due to a ‘major signalling problem’. Pictured: A commuter walks past a South Western Railway train at Waterloo Station in 2019
In a statement on Twitter, the operator apologised for the disruption and warned the impact would be widespread and ‘last for most of the day’
The statement said: ‘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.’
South Western Railway will operate a significantly reduced service – on a ‘very limited number of lines’ – to and from London Waterloo until further notice.
Until further notice, a significantly reduced service will operate to and from London Waterloo on a very limited number of lines .
South Western Railway is understood to have made the following alterations to today’s routes:
- 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 Guildford1 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
Platforms 1 through 14 are out of use at Waterloo Station today. Operating trains are using the remaining 10 platforms but are subject to significant delays.
‘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.’
‘Disruption will affect other services on the wider network so please check before you travel,’ the network warned.
London Waterloo is the busiest railway station in Britain and sees about 41.4 million passengers travelling through each year.
Commuters have taken to Twitter to share their woes as they struggle to complete their morning travel journeys
‘Total chaos this morning at Waterloo st due to signal failure. It’s quite unbelievable how the staff didn’t have much of a clue of anything. Shambolic,’ one user wrote.
‘Would’ve been great for this “overnight” issue to have been made aware to commuters before boarding my 0540 service into Waterloo…’ another complained.
‘This is a long shot, but is anyone near Waterloo station rn? I’m gonna need a lift to work,’ one asked.
Another user compared today’s chaos to the ‘bad old days of commuting hell’. He shared a photo of a crowded bus and wrote: ‘Waterloo issues so everyone changes to bus & tube.’
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