Major disruption at London Waterloo to last well beyond afternoon rush hour
Passengers were warned to stay away from the station, the fourth-busiest in the UK, this morning due to a major signalling failure.
Heavy disruption now expected to last until 9pm, the railway body said in a social media post.
South Western Railway said equipment that routes trains in and out of Waterloo had failed, meaning they could not use platforms one to 14.
There are 24 platforms at the south London station, more than any other station in the country.
A statement from the nationalised operator said: 'Engineers are on site attempting to restore the use of the platforms, but with very few trains able to move in and out of London Waterloo and trains and crew already displaced, services across the network are severely disrupted.'
Trains leaving later in the day are 'likely to be subject to delays and alterations', though some trains are expected to run, it added.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in a post on X that signalling was restored this morning, but added: 'It will take time to get trains and crew back in the right place.'
Mike Egleton, whose train home to Petersfield in East Hampshire was cancelled this morning, said the disruption 'seems to be one of those things that happens more and more in this country'.
The 60-year-old told Metro: 'We've had a busy weekend, we just want to get home and relax now.'
He said he may be forced to take an alternative route back through Chichester, which would add 'two to three hours' to the journey.
Annabelle Clayton-Doyle, a 17-year-old student, told Metro she had been waiting for two hours to catch a train to Wareham where she is taking on her Duke of Edinburgh award.
She said: 'If we don't do it, we won't qualify, but I suppose if we arrive late then we'll miss time to get to know everyone else who's doing it with us.'
Services at Waterloo underground station were unaffected by the issues.
According to National Rail, the signalling issues were first reported just after 5.30am.
How can I get around while avoiding Waterloo?
Any unused tickets valid for today will also be valid for travel tomorrow due to the 'level of disruption', National Rail said.
The body has also outlined a number of train routes that can be used with the same ticket today:
CrossCountry between Reading and Bournemouth
Great Western Railway between Guildford and Reading; London Paddington and Exeter St Davids; Basingstoke and Reading; Salisbury and Westbury; and Weymouth and Westbury
Southern between Portsmouth Harbour and London Victoria; Southampton Central and Havant; and Dorking and London Victoria
London Underground from Waterloo to Wimbledon/Richmond; London Paddington; and London Victoria
A number of bus services are also accepting tickets:
Falcon Buses 28 between Guildford – Worplesdon – Brookwood – Woking
Falcon Buses 436 between Woking – West Byfleet – Byfleet & New Haw – Weybridge
Falcon Buses 514 and 515 between Kingston – Surbiton – Thames Ditton – Esher – Hersham – Walton-on-Thames – Weybridge
Falcon Buses 456 between Staines – Chertsey – Addlestone – West Byfleet – Woking
Falcon Buses 479 between Guildford – Clandon – Horsley – Effingham Village – Bookham – Leatherhead – Ashtead – Epsom
Falcon Buses 408 between Cobham – Oxshott – Leatherhead – Ashtead – Epsom
London Buses between, London Waterloo – Clapham Junction – Wimbledon – Subiton – Kingston – Hampton Court – Weybridge – Epsom – Shepperton
Morebus M1 and M2 between Bournemouth – Branksome – Parkstone – Poole
Morebus 8 and 9 between Poole and Hamworthy
Morebus 16 and 17 between Bournemouth – Branksome – Parkstone – Poole
Morebus 20 between Bournemouth – Branksome – Parkstone – Poole
Morebus N1 & N2 between Christchurch – Bournemouth – Poole
Morebus 30 between Wareham – Wool – Dorchester – Weymouth
Morebus 40 between Poole and Wareham
Stagecoach South 34 between Guildford and Woking
Stagecoach South 35 between Guildford and Woking
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