Latest news with #SWR
The Independent
2 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
South Western Railway unveils ‘platform hoover' trains to tackle ‘extreme' Waterloo overcrowding
A fleet of new trains dubbed 'platform hoovers' are being rolled out in an effort to alleviate 'extreme overcrowding' on services to London's Waterloo. South Western Railway (SWR) invested £1 billion in the Arterio trains, which were supposed to be deployed in 2019, but only six were in operation at the start of the year. Now, a SWR spokesperson has confirmed that eight more trains have been launched in the past two months. 'As of today, we are running 14 Arterios on more than 160 services every weekday, on routes to Dorking, Guildford, Hampton Court, Kingston, Reading, Shepperton, Twickenham and Windsor & Eton Riverside,' the spokesperson told The Independent. 'We're looking forward to many more customers enjoying the increased capacity and comfort the Arterios bring to journeys as we introduce more trains into service over the coming weeks.' The announcement follows Labour MP Fleur Anderson's campaigning efforts to engage with rail operators about the issue. The Putney MP told the Standard: 'I have raised [the problem of] extreme overcrowding on the stations. 'As the Waterloo line gets closer to London, it's more full. By the time it gets to Putney, it is quite overcrowded but Wandsworth Town is really bad. Lots of people just can't get on the train.' She added that the layout of the Arterio trains means they are capable of fitting many more passengers onboard. 'They've been described as 'platform hoovers' – which everyone in Wandsworth Town will love to hear about,' she said. SWR had promised the new Arterio trains would 'transform every journey on our suburban network', with 'more capacity, quicker journey times and better reliability and punctuality for our customers'. But it wasn't until January 2024 that the first Arterio train carried passengers between Waterloo and Windsor – around five years later than planned. According to reports, the rollout of the new trains were delayed as existing drivers were required to run day-to-day services and were unable to get time off to attend training programmes. The trains, which were built by Alstom in Derby, have been designed to carry more than 50 per cent more passengers than the eight-car Class 455 trains they will replace.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- Climate
- BBC News
No trains to call at Crewkerne Station as weather disturbs tracks
Trains will no longer stop at a Somerset railway station after dry weather changed the levels of the tracks.A speed restriction had previously been introduced for trains using a four-mile stretch of the railway line at Crewkerne after clay embankments dried out and disturbed the Rail and South Western Rail (SWR) have now announced no trains will operate from Crewkerne Station from replacement buses will instead take people to connecting trains at Yeovil Junction and Axminster until further notice. Tom McNamee from Network Rail said repeated delays in the Crewkerne area can lead to widespread cancellations and gaps in services between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids."We have carefully studied the impact and unfortunately it will not be possible to operate a safe and reliable timetable while calling at Crewkerne," he added. SWR and Network Rail warned additional restrictions and timetable changes are likely to be necessary on the line between Salisbury and Axminster over the summer as dry weather continues."We will continue to carefully monitor [soil moisture levels] and give customers as much notice as possible," Mr McNamee said.
Time Out
a day ago
- Business
- Time Out
London Waterloo has unveiled a £1 billion fleet of ‘platform hoover' trains to tackle extreme overcrowding
If you commute via Waterloo Station, you'll know it's not usually a pleasant experience. As one of the capital's busiest train stations, the south London hub has been plagued with overcrowding for years. To curb this issue, dozens of new trains will soon be rolled out along routes that serve Waterloo, and the bosses are calling them 'platform hoovers'. Not the most appealing metaphor, we'd say. If you're imagining thousands of travellers being sucked up by a giant Henry, that's sort of the idea. The vacuum analogy has come from the fact that the £1 billion fleet will be able to carry about 50 percent more passengers than the current trains in service. This has been a long time coming, and harried commuters are still patiently waiting for the new fleet to be rolled out – it was first promised in 2019 by South Western Railway (SWR), but currently only 14 of the proposed 90 Arterio trains are in service. When they do arrive, the 10-carriage locomotives will be air-conditioned and fully walk-through. They will also have wi-fi, charging points at every seat, real-time information and accessible toilets. SWR hasn't confirmed when the full fleet will come into service, but promised that 'more' trains would be rolled out 'over the coming weeks'. This announcement came after Labour MP Fleur Anderson raised concerns about platforms at Putney and Wandsworth Town stations becoming so busy that people are unable to board trains, which she called 'extreme overcrowding'. 'These new trains, which are great, have been announced several times. They're coming,' Anderson told the Standard. She added: 'The rollout has been really, really slow... But I've met with the chief executive and he is now going to consistently roll out more every week. It is really, really late but it is finally good to have them coming.' A spokesperson for SWR said: 'We've introduced eight more trains in the past two months and, as of today, we are running 14 Arterios on more than 160 services every weekday, on routes to Dorking, Guildford, Hampton Court, Kingston, Reading, Shepperton, Twickenham and Windsor & Eton Riverside. 'We're looking forward to many more customers enjoying the increased capacity and comfort the Arterios bring to journeys as we introduce more trains into service over the coming weeks.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Major railway line issues 'do not travel' message
A major railway line has urged customers not to travel on the morning of Monday, July, 21 following a significant signalling failure at London Waterloo, which has caused widespread disruption across the South Western Railway (SWR) network. The fault has left Platforms 1 to 14 unusable at the capital's busiest rail station, severely limiting the number of trains that can operate in and out of central London. As a result, trains and crew are now displaced across the network, triggering knock-on delays and cancellations. In a statement issued this morning, a SWR spokesperson said: "Due to a major signalling failure at London Waterloo, please do not travel on our services this morning. READ MORE: Rail line to shut for ten days over safety concerns READ MORE: Car with child passenger crashes into telephone pole shutting road for hours "The failure of the equipment that routes trains in and out of the station means we cannot use Platforms 1 to 14 at London Waterloo at this time, significantly limiting capacity. "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. "While we are hoping to restore some services later in the day, these are still likely to be subject to delays and alterations." SWR and Network Rail went on to apologise for the disruption and is urging passengers to avoid travel on SWR services for now. While technicians work to resolve the issue, no estimated time for full restoration has been given. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Passengers were further advised that SWR would not be reimbursing taxi fares, but tickets dated for Monday will remain valid for travel on Tuesday, as reported by the Daily Mail. Customers can check the latest updates on the SWR website or on by heading to X (formerly Twitter) before travelling.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Continued disruption at Waterloo as services return after signal failure
Passengers are likely to face continued disruption at one of London's busiest train stations this evening as services gradually return following a major signalling failure. Fourteen platforms at London Waterloo were out of use after issues were first reported to National Rail around 5.30am. The group warned that major disruption is expected until 9pm on Monday. — SWR Help (@SW_Help) July 21, 2025 South Western Railway (SWR) issued a 'do not travel' notice in the morning, with updated advice asking customers to avoid travelling if possible. According to the operator, the equipment that routes trains in and out of the station failed and caused services across its whole network to suffer cancellations, delays and revisions. Following the mechanism being fixed, some routes are expected to be restored. SWR said: 'Following this morning's signalling problem at London Waterloo we are gradually reintroducing train services across our network. 'Customers are asked to avoid travelling if possible, as trains and crews are being returned to the correct positions to run train services. 'Later this afternoon, we expect to restore a reliable train service on our routes to Reading and Windsor & Eton Riverside, as well as our suburban routes. 'Significant disruption is expected on our long-distance routes to Exeter St Davids, Portsmouth and Weymouth until the end of the day.' National Rail advised that tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on a number of bus and train services. Passengers can travel on specified routes with London Buses, Falcon Buses, Stagecoach South, and Morebus operators as well as certain train journeys on the Tube and with CrossCountry, Southern, Great Western Railway and Thameslink. Any unused Monday-dated tickets will be valid for travel on Tuesday. SWR – the first operator brought into public ownership by the Labour Government in May – apologised for the disruption. A second train company, Operator c2c, which runs services between London Fenchurch Street and south Essex, was nationalised by Labour on Sunday.
