Passengers travelling through London Waterloo this weekend face a major shake-up, with South Western Railway cutting services short, diverting trains and running replacement buses while engineering works close lines around Staines and Teddington.
The works affect trains across Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October. Lines in the Staines area are closed all weekend for maintenance, while on Sunday the closure extends to the lines between Teddington and Shepperton. Routes to Reading, Windsor, Weybridge, Woking, Kingston and Shepperton are all hit, with Saturday also bringing changes for Basingstoke and Alton passengers.
Saturday’s service changes
On Saturday, Waterloo to Reading services are diverted between Clapham Junction and Virginia Water, calling additionally at Surbiton, Weybridge, Addlestone and Chertsey. Trains to Windsor are diverted after Twickenham and will terminate at Hounslow instead, as will Weybridge via Staines services.
To plug some of the gaps, extra services will run between Waterloo and Feltham via Twickenham, and buses will replace trains between Hounslow and Virginia Water via Staines and between Hounslow and Windsor via Staines.
Longer-distance commuters are affected too: Saturday’s Waterloo to Basingstoke stopping services and Waterloo to Alton services are revised, running combined as far as Woking — where the train divides — and calling additionally at West Byfleet.
Sunday’s service changes
On Sunday the Staines blockade continues, so Reading services are again diverted between Clapham Junction and Virginia Water. This time they will also call at Wimbledon, alongside the extra stops at Surbiton, Weybridge, Addlestone and Chertsey.
Windsor trains are diverted after Twickenham and terminate at Hounslow, and Woking via Staines services will also terminate at Hounslow. Additional trains will run between Waterloo and Hounslow via Twickenham, while the afternoon and evening Kingston via Hounslow services will run throughout the day, also terminating at Hounslow.
Replacement buses on Sunday run between Hounslow and Virginia Water via Staines, between Hounslow and Windsor via Staines, and between Hounslow and Woking via Staines.
Sunday also brings a second closure: the lines between Teddington and Shepperton shut all day for maintenance. Shepperton services from Waterloo are diverted after Teddington and terminate at Twickenham, calling additionally at Strawberry Hill, with buses running between Teddington and Shepperton.
How to check before you travel
Engineering timetables can be altered at short notice, so check your journey on the day using South Western Railway’s website or National Rail Enquiries’ live departure boards before you set off. Replacement buses add a significant chunk to journey times, so build in extra time — particularly if you are heading to an event or have an onward connection to make. Interchanges such as Clapham Junction and Twickenham are likely to be busier than usual.
It is worth checking the return leg too: Sunday’s timetable is not a repeat of Saturday’s, with the extra Teddington to Shepperton closure, different replacement bus routes and all-day Kingston via Hounslow services in the mix.
If your train ends up delayed or cancelled, keep hold of your ticket and make a note of the services you actually used: you may be able to claim compensation through the Delay Repay scheme, with claims made online after you travel.
Wider weekend disruption
Waterloo is not the only place facing a difficult weekend on the rails. Our round-up of the Tube and rail closures to know this Saturday and Sunday has the full picture across the Jubilee and Victoria lines, the Overground, DLR and trams, while Southern passengers face buses replacing trains across four routes and Southeastern has engineering works around Lewisham this Sunday.
Anyone tempted to drive instead should note that M25 slip roads and carriageways are also closing overnight around London this weekend — so whichever way you travel, check before you leave and allow plenty of time.
