This morning, 5 January, South Western Railway services resumed between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction following 11 days of engineering work on one of the busiest stretches of railway in the country
More than 350 engineers have worked around the clock since Christmas Day to deliver a series of upgrades in the Queenstown Road area including:
- Renewing approximately 1,000 metres of track, including the electrified third rail
- Replacing switches and crossings, allowing the trains to change tracks
- Completing signalling and power upgrades
- Installing new ballast and sleepers to strengthen track foundations
- Altering platforms at Queenstown Road station to fit the new track layout
The work was carried out over the Christmas period, when customer numbers fall significantly, making it the least disruptive time to complete these vital upgrades. Completing the work at this time avoided the need for eight separate weekend closures.
Speaking on behalf of South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex, George Murrell, Route Renewals Director, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding while we carried out these essential upgrades at London Waterloo. The improvements will make one of the busiest stretches of railway in the country more resilient and customers can expect fewer faults and delays, together with smoother and more reliable journeys.”
There will be two partial closures between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction over the weekends of 10 – 11 January and 31 January – 1 February to allow for further maintenance works to take place in the area. Customers are advised to use SWR’s journey planner at southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey
Image credit: Network Rail
