Media centre

Thursday 17 Sep 2020

Network Rail announces major investment in busy Wessex route this Christmas

Region & Route:

Southern: Wessex

A busy railway junction in London will be rebuilt this Christmas as part of an investment programme to improve punctuality on trains into Waterloo.

It means there will be a reduced train service on the South Western Railway route as engineers from Network Rail install new equipment at Nine Elms junction near Vauxhall over ten days.

Between Christmas Day and 3 January 2021, engineers will make journeys more reliable for passengers by replacing the points - which are moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another- at the critical junction between Clapham Junction and London Waterloo (Britain’s busiest railway station).

Platforms 12 to 20 at Waterloo will be closed for the work and there will be alterations to train departures.

Vauxhall and Queenstown Road stations will be closed for the duration and there are likely to be queuing systems in place at Waterloo and Clapham Junction stations to manage passenger journeys safely. Passengers travelling on the Windsor line towards central London will need to change at Clapham Junction for onward services.

As there will be a significantly reduced service, passengers are being asked to plan their journeys if they’re travelling over the festive period and to use alternatives where they are available.

Further details will be made available on Network Rail’s website

Mark Killick, Network Rail Wessex route director, said: “These improvements are important to deliver a more resilient railway for the thousands of passengers who travel through this area each day. Once complete, it will support us to deliver safe and reliable journeys for many years to come.

“There is never a good time to carry out complex works of this type, but by completing this work at Christmas when fewer people are travelling, we hope to minimise the impact to our passengers. We apologise to those affected by this and thank you for your patience.”

Alan Penlington, South Western Railway’s customer experience director, said: “The work taking place over the Christmas period this year will improve reliability and resilience along this crucial stretch of railway.

“I realise this will mean a lot of disruption for our customers, however, the majority of journeys can still be made by changing trains and Network Rail are doing all they can to minimise the impact of the works.

“We are urging our customers to check before they travel and I’d like to thank them for their patience while this vital work is carried out.”