South Western Railway (SWR) is advising customers to plan ahead if you intend on travelling to London by train in the next two weekends of January, as rail maintenance works in the Wimbledon area will cause ’30 minute diversions’ to services across the SWR train network, most notably on journeys to London Waterloo.
On the weekends starting January 18 and 25, long distance services between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour, Weymouth and Exeter St Davids will be revised and diverted, with much longer train journeys to be expected. Additionally, suburban services in Surrey and South West London will have rail replacement buses.
This is due to engineering works taking place on the track between Wimbledon and Earlsfield. On these weekends Network Rail engineers will renew approximately 800 metres of track, ballast, and sleepers. Additionally, engineers will be replacing the moveable sections of track that allow trains to move from one line to another, and installing a 100 metres of conductor rail, the part of lines which powers trains.
According to Network Rail, these works aim to “improve the reliability” of the track in the area, in turn, reducing the number of faults caused by rail and wheel wear. Once these works are completed, they are expected to provide travellers with “a smoother ride”.
Peter Williams, South Western Railway’s Customer and Commercial Director, commented on the effect these works will have on train users. He said:
He said: “Customers should plan ahead if they intend to travel on these weekends in January, as engineers carry out vital maintenance at one of the busiest parts of our network.”
“There will be a large number of service changes, with rail replacement buses operating on our suburban routes, and with long-distance services revised and diverted. Diverted services will take around 30 minutes longer than usual, so customers should allow extra time when travelling.”
Direct trains will run to and from London Waterloo on the weekends starting January 18 and 25, however, according to Network Rail, they will take longer than usual. As well as this, suburban services in South West London and Surrey, will be replaced by buses. This includes destinations such as Chessington South, Dorking and Hampton Court.
If you are travelling in these areas on upcoming weekends in January, it is advised that you plan your journey ahead of time using the South Western Railway’s ‘Plan my Journey’ feature here.
The services which are due to be affected on these weekends are:
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London Waterloo and Alton will start and finish their journeys at Woking. On Sundays, these services will run hourly.
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Stopping services between London Waterloo and Basingstoke will start and finish their journeys at Woking. On Sundays, these services will run hourly.
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London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids will be revised and diverted, taking longer than normal. Some journeys will start and finish at Basingstoke.
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London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour via Guildford will be revised and diverted. Some services will start and finish their journeys at Woking.
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On Saturdays, London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh will run between Basingstoke and Portsmouth Harbour only. On Sundays, services will run between Eastleigh and Portsmouth Harbour only.
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Services between London Waterloo and Weymouth will be revised and diverted.